Spirits of the Earth

Anoki smiled coldly up at the man standing before her--not that he could see her smile; only her eyes were uncovered, her face covered by a veil, her hair covered by a colorful Thanati head scarf. She wore the tunic and breeches of a man, but it was only for mobility's sake; it was clear that she was taking no efforts to disguise her gender.

She wanted those she hunted to know they'd been bested by a woman.

The man glared back at her through his agony, one hand clutching at his other hand, which she had rendered useless with a well-aimed dagger. He had thought to draw a blade against her--so she had sent a knife through his hand and pinned it to the alley wall behind him, where she'd cornered him up against the side of a tavern. He wouldn't be drawing a blade for a while--unless he was ambidextrous.

A few more throwing daggers, these ones through his clothes, ensured he wouldn't be moving for a while. She wanted him to hear what she had to say.

"And what have we learned tonight, hon?" Anoki asked him sweetly as she stepped over to him, swept down, and picked up the knife he'd dropped. She gave it a once over to take in the quality and then clicked her tongue and shook her head, like a mother sorely disappointed in her child. It was good quality, which meant he wasn't hurting for coin--which made this situation that much more unfortunate.

"Hmm? I asked you a question, dear. Speak up, now, don't be rude!" Using his own knife, she cut the strings of his coin purse. She bounced it in her hand, feeling its weight, and then lifted an eyebrow expectantly. "Well? Oh, fine, you're the strong, stoic type, I see. Fine. I don't have time for this, anyway, so let me illumine this for you!"

She opened the purse and fished around inside it, counting out coins. "You stiffed someone the other night, you see. A woman I happen to know works very, very hard to satisfy her customers! And not only did you not pay her for her work, but you did and said some very, very rude things that were not, in fact, agreed to!" Coins collected, Anoki drew the purse closed and tossed it at the man's feet.

"So tonight I hope you've learned that that is not how we treat people! It's not how we treat anyone, regardless of their profession! And if I ever hear of you treating another Peach how you treated Lily the other night, you'll come out of it more than just a few coins short, you understand? I took Lily's cut from your purse, and a little extra to cover the insult because she certainly deserves it, and a little extra for myself to cover the expense of tracking your sorry ass down and giving you the education your mother apparently failed to give you. Oh, that includes your dagger. You won't be using it for a while, no?"

Reaching over, she yanked the knife free of the wall--and the man's hand--and he cried out and clutched the limb. "The Ladies of the Night are always watching. Remember it. You'll have a lovely scar there to remind you. Good night! Kisses!"

And with a wink, Anoki blew the man a kiss and took off.

Goodness, what a night! It had taken some time to track the man down, but it always felt good to be victorious! With a yawn, Anoki stretched her arms over her head and started to head back for the brothel. Better get some sleep, because it was back to work come morning!

Except as she turned down a street, she heard a commotion coming from an alley--and not two seconds later, a man went rushing by, looking spooked that she saw him and carrying a pile of...

Clothes?

Anoki blinked, momentarily puzzled, until she connected the dots. The commotion, the man's shady behavior, the clothes...

Had someone just been mugged?

Her first impulse was to chase the thief, but if someone had been robbed, they might have been injured. Clothes at least were replaceable. Turning toward the alley, she rushed in.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but you obviously don't know who I am, or you wouldn't be waving that knife at me," Caelwyn Caye said flatly, staring at the darkly dressed thug in front of him.  He exchanged a long glance for the longest minute of his life before Caelwyn raised his brows.  "Well!?"

"Hand over everythin' ye got!  Or I'll gut you clean and cold right here on the street!" he growled and two of his buddies behind them each took their turns cracking their knuckles.

Caelwyn sighed, rolling his eyes.  "Fine!  Since your intellect, in it's own meager capacity, is busy sparking and fuming in it's attempt to maintain the simple effort of remembering to breathe, I will tell you who I am.  I am Caelwyn Caye."  He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned, hoping that would put the matter to rest.

The thugs exchanged glances between each other and then stared back at him.

Caye sighed again.  "THE Caelwyn Caye?  I've corrected Bandaster's method on engineering enchanting crystals?  I've catalogued many of Darken Vei's unknown mineral deposits in the Karabi Mines?  I wrote a rather noteworthy paper called 'The Worship of Rocks of the Lesser Fae in Ancient Times'?  Ah, well, I can see from the blank expression on your faces that you obviously haven't read it.  You!, my ragged friend, are in luck.  I just happen to have a spare copy for you to pour through.  Wait, you can read, can't you?  Oh, no matter, I'm sure one of your slovenly friends here can read it for you."  Caelwyn happily opened up the flap of his leather bag and produced a folded pamphlet and handed it over to the knife-wielding thug.

The man took it warily before glaring at Caelwyn and cut through the sheaves of paper with his jagged blade and throwing them around like confetti.  Caelwyn gapsed, anger welling up and burning behind his eyes.

"Hey!  That was uncalled for!  Not to mention rude!  And a complete lack of consideration for other people who are trying to keep your smelly city clean!  Luckily for you, I have another copy.  But you better not cut this one up or you'll be sorry!" Caye spat.

"Get the bag!" the first thug barked.  The thug on his right lunged forward, shoving Caelwyn back.  He staggered, held only by the strap of the pouch that the ruffian yanked from him.  With a punch to his chest, the strap snapped loudly and Caelwyn fell hard to the floor.

"I warned you!" he growled, trying to get back to his feet and rushed at the bag-snatcher.  He ducked into a boxer's stance and struck a hard blow to his ribs, crippling the ass-wipe that dare take his bag.  "Haha!"  But it was glory short-lived and soon the other men were upon him, beating him hard with clubs and limbs.

Caelwyn was half-conscious when it was over, registering the thugs muttering to themselves as they rummaged through his pockets and pulled off his clothes.  As if that was really necessary! Hmph!  It was cold tonight too! 

"Quick!  C'mon let's get the hell outta here!" one said and they scurried off quickly down the street.

Caelwyn groaned, his head throbbing, his body would likely bruise not too long after this.  Footsteps were coming down the alley swiftly, lightly, and would soon be upon him.  "Not again.  I don't have anything.  They took it all," he mumbled unintelligently.  "I hate Ketra."

By the time the stranger approached, Caelwyn was able to blink and open his eyes, though his vision was a little blurry.  "Huh?  Y-yeah, I suppose, I'm fine.  Just a few bruises.  Nothing new there"  He sat up, holding his bruising side.

Good thing she'd made the smart decision and checked on the victim, first, because he...

Didn't look too great.

And for one breathless moment, she thought he might be dead as he lay there, crumpled on the ground, but then he stirred and mumbled something, and Anoki felt her heart beat again.

Thank gods.

"Shit, man!" she breathed, and picked up her pace. She dropped to her knees beside the man and took quick stock of his injuries, even batting his hand away so she could feel his ribs with her deft fingers. Poor thing had sure had a number done on him; already bruises were blossoming on his tanned skin--tanned skin that she wouldn't have minded touching under different, happier circumstances.

What? Just because he was injured didn't mean she couldn't appreciate that he was attractive, especially butt naked as he was.

"You certainly don't look fine. You look terrible. Nothing broken here, at least, but how's your head?" She tilted her head and peered into his eyes, uncomfortably close, and let out a frustrated sound. It was too dark to check that his pupils were dilating properly. "Got any dizziness? Blurry vision?"

Caelwyn groaned and rubbed at his throbbing skull.  Something else stung his nostrils and he made a face.  "Ugh!  Something stinks of liver and onions. Is it your breath?" he sputtered, coughing slightly.  He got over it quickly, however, and opened his eyes more clearly to the stranger tending to him.  His vision was blurred slightly, but it gradually sharpened.

"I'm a little dizzy, but I think I'll be all right other wise.  It's just a thrashing; it wasn't the first and won't be the last.  But that's okay.  I got the bastard that got my ..."  Caelwyn adjusted his eyes in the dark and peered all around him.  "My bag!  They took my bag!  Those rotten illiterate swine!   I have to get it back!" 

Despite his beating, Caelwyn found some strength in his anger and promptly tried to stand.  His body clearly protested and he buckled against Anoki, falling crotch-first uncomfortably close to her face.

Well.

It wasn't the first time--and wouldn't be the last--that she got a dick in the face. It was the first time it had happened in this context, however!

With a surprised yelp, Anoki toppled backwards under the man's weight and landed sprawled on her back with her face against his thighs. For a moment she just lay there, staring upwards, torn between laughing at the ridiculousness of it all or politely saying nothing and preserving the poor man's dignity. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, from what she could see! But most people weren't as blase about nudity as she was, especially when it was purely, hilariously, accidental.

"You know," she began, her voice slightly muffled, "normally, most men buy me flowers first."

Or rather, most men bought her first, but she figured flowers were more appropriate for actual courtship!

She gave him a gentle shove. "And lovely as the view is, I do need to breathe."

Caelwyn would have been embarrassed, should have been.  But couldn't she see he was in a crisis here!

He rolled off of her.  "Yeah, sorry! Look!  This is an emergency.  There's no time to dawdle, I need that bag and fast.  I'll skin those bastards alive if I have to!  Did you see the way they went?  Tell me now."

He was completely unfazed by either fact of being in no condition to fight and have little more than his...er, bare...essentials.

Pushing herself to her knees, Anoki gave the man a flat look from over her veil.

"Mhmm, I'm sure you will skin them alive! I'm sure they'll rue the day they were born," she said as she rose to her feet and offered him her hand, smiling behind her veil. Poor thing obviously had some head trauma if he thought he was in any condition to pursue the people who had...put him in that condition.

"I'm sure you'll have them screaming for their mothers! Here, let's go, they went this way!" she said, nodding in the direction of the brothel. "If we hurry now, we'll catch up with them in no time! Lean on my shoulder."

She wasn't about tell him the real way they'd gone. Men like him were stubborn. He'd just bicker and struggle and injure himself more!

Caelwyn gave a great sigh of relief.  "Oh thank you!  You have no idea how nice it is to find someone helpful in this stinky city.  It really is a matter of life and death you know!  I need that bag.  It is of the utmost importance.  The very future of my career...Kia!  It could change everything!" 

He winced visibly, putting an arm around her shoulders and using her as a human crutch, and wobbled along.  His ribs hurt to move them and he stepped wearily beside her.  "Say why are you wandering out around here?  Can't be you're always on the prowl looking for people to save is it?  OUCH!   I think I stepped on a rock!"

...Erk.

That hit Anoki like a kick in the gut, and for a moment, she actually felt a little guilty for misleading him. That bag sure must be worth something!

...Orrrr those were the over-dramatic ravings of a man who'd been bashed over the head. Nah. Couldn't be that important. Certainly not more important than his health!

She was certain he'd thank her later, for saving his life and everything.

"Life and death? How wild!" she said to humor him as she guided him along, bowed under his weight and stumbling here and there when he wobbled. He was taller, which made it awkward, but thank the spirits he was slender to make up for it! "Now shhhh, hon, don't talk so--ah!"

She jumped a little at his exclamation, but let her breath out slowly when he revealed the cause. A rock. Oh good gods. Yup. She'd definitely saved his life here tonight. "Careful, dear; watch your feet. This is cobblestone," she said with a wry smile, giving him a gentle pat on on the arm. "Buck up, now, and hold steady, brave warrior! We're almost there!"

For indeed, The Randy Peach was now within view. A bit of an unorthodox place for healing, but shit, she sure as fire didn't know where else to take him.

Caelwyn exaggerated his limp, clamoring alongside her as his foot throbbed from the rock.  It really hurt!  It was all jagged and pointy!  And had no place being in the middle of a filthy street!  Gods, it would be a mercy just to kill him now would it not.  Everything hurt so much and now he stubbed his toe.  He was close to tears and he sniffled audibly beside her.

"Oh good.  All I want to do is get out of these streets.  And kick those bastards in the balls!  For helping me you can kick one and I'll take the other..."  He grew quiet, peering up at the building ahead of them. 

"Wait, we're almost where?"

Anoki beamed up at him, trying to be the brave, confident one in the face of his misery. Poor guy. Was he crying? Granted, after what had happened to him, he'd sort of earned the right to cry, she supposed, but gods! He was whimpering over a rock when he'd just gotten the unholy shit beaten out of him!

"Just a little detour, love. Along the way, of course! You can't very well kick bastardly balls without shoes, now can you?" Should she tell him the truth? Mention the name? Or would he freak out? Yeah, probably best to keep that on the down-low for now, juuust in case...

By the time they got to the door, she was panting from the effort of supporting him, but she managed to get a hand free and bang on the door until it swung open--revealing a short blond woman with a tousled look to her who...wasn't wearing much of anything. And what she was wearing was rather sheer.

So much for being subtle about all this.

"...Hi, Vixen. Ah." Anoki nodded to Caelwyn. "Injured man! Don't mind us!"

"Shoes..." he scoffed.  "Who cares about such petty things as shoes?  Though I do feel a bit of a draft on my backside..."  His grumblings and complaints gradually faded as they neared the back entrance to the whorehouse.  Caelwyn was too busy brooding to be any wiser to the siatuation, hoping his headache would pass when the door opened. 

He was aware of his nakedness and just figured he'd stumbled upon some kind of Adelan fashion trend when he looked upon the half naked woman.  He tiredly stared at her breasts, that looked like two drinking horns pointed toward the stars, then he looked back up to her face.

"Your breasts are showing," he said, sniffling a little and rubbing his nose with a free hand.  He limped up the steps and inside, holding his side, his ass scraped and wind-chapped.

[ooc: drinking horns pointed toward the stars. I think I just died. xDDD]

Mmm, yep. Poor man definitely had some head trauma! Either that, or he was Just That Oblivious.

Vixen looked at Anoki, and Anoki looked back at her, and then Vixen glanced down at her chest and gave an exaggerated gasp and covered her breasts with her hands. "Oh no! Don't look!"

"Pffffff." Anoki bit back the laugh that wanted to bubble out and swatted at the girl instead, motioning her aside. "Come on now, doll. Lift those feet! I know you can do it! Let's get you upstairs--think you can handle stairs, tough guy? I bet you can, big, strong man like you! Onward, now! Vixen, make sure no one sends--"

She looked at Caelwyn and paused, trying to figure out how to phrase it. Some people could be so prudish, she didn't want him freaking out if he learned this was a whore house. He could freak out later, after she'd gotten him propped up in bed with a poultice smeared all over him. "Consider me occupied for the night, dear. And see that that's respected. Ah, here we go! One foot at a time, now," Anoki said as she lead her charge to the stairs leading up.

Caelwyn sneezed loudly in the aftermath of the cold wind, rubbing his nose again and making for the stairs.  A girl giggled and ran across the top of the stairs with her knickers off and a man hungrily chasing after her and they vanished down the other end of the hall.  Caelwyn stared and shrugged after a moment, limping up the stairs. 

"You don't really have to lay it on extra thick, Miss.  I am obviously neither big nor strong.  If I was I wouldn't have have gotten my ass kicked that's for sure."  Caelwyn reached the top of the stairs and held himself against the wall and held back another sneeze.  More giggles came from where the woman ran followed by shriek.

Caye peered at Anoki.  "She all right in there?  She sounds like she got something stuck in her."

Gods help me!

This time, Anoki couldn't help it. She burst into laughter and just about dropped Caelwyn, and though she desperately tried to rein it in, she was soon wheezing and had to press her free hand to the wall to keep from doubling over with mirth.

"She probably did!" she giggled, then clapped a hand over her cloth-covered mouth and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Don't you worry your pretty head about them, hon, they're just...horsing around, the silly gooses."

Although soon enough there came some other sounds--a woman's moaning, a steady thumping against a wall, and masculine groans. Anoki froze, glanced sideways at Caelwyn, and cleared her throat again. Welp. Seemed someone had been too excited to wait make it to their room.

"Really rowdy rough-housing. This way!" Anoki cheerfully said, and hurried them past the hall to the first door on the left. She grappled with the knob for a moment before she swung the door open and hauled him inside what turned out to be a rather lush looking room, furnished with a large bed and vanity, decorated in rich, romantic colors, and scented with a musky incense.

"Rough housing?  Well he's clearly winning," he commented, staggering after her until at last they came to her door.  Caelwyn wrinkled his nostrils at the smell of her room and he wiggled unceremoniously.

He plopped down on a cushioned chair and favored his side more.  "Well this place seems full of rough housing."

"It, ah...yes. Yes, you could say that," Anoki said, pursing her lips to try to keep from grinning. Already this man was an endless source of amusement.

Which was probably mean of her to think; poor guy was hurt and delirious!

With a gentle pat on his shoulder, Anoki crossed her room to her bedside table and began to rifle through the contents of its drawers. Rope? No. Flavored oils? Er, no. Gag? Definitely not...ah! Lavender! That would work.

Snatching up the vial and closing the drawer, Anoki returned to the man's side and felt his head again, frowning.

"While you're still naked, I'm going to rub you down with oil. It's lavender, so it'll help bring down the bruising. You'll smell like a ponce for a bit, but it'll be worth it. How's your head doing? Is your vision still affected?"

At first the notion barely dawned on him.  Caelwyn blinked at her several times before he noticed the oil in her hand.  Oh, right.  He was still naked. And still without his bag. 

"Well, if you think it'll help, I suppose it could be worth a shot.  My head feels okay, just a little throbbing, but otherwise okay.  It's my ribs that hurt that most.  At least I didn't get kicked in the nuts," he griped, sitting up.

"I'm Caelwyn, by the way.  Caelwyn Caye."  He sniffed the oil and made a face.  "Oh,pffffft.  Well, if I can't kick their asses, I can probably make them pass out with my scent.  Oiffff.  This stuff is strong.  Must be used to rub on really smelly areas."

As Caelwyn spoke of the "smelly areas" the oil was used for, Anoki couldn't help but snort. Yeah...she used it for aromatherapy, certainly, but she decided not to mention how spot on Caelwyn was, and how the oil could be used to...loosen up certain areas. He probably wouldn't want to know he was, essentially, getting butt oil rubbed on him.

"Well, you are rather stinky," she said with a grin as she dripped some oil into her hands. "So it has to be strong to handle all this man." Rubbing her hands together, she started to smooth the oil onto his side, wrinkling her nose at the darkening bruises there.

"Anyway, Caelwyn, I'm..." Anoki paused. The name thing was always tricky. In fact, this entire situation was tricky. She'd brought him here, to her room, because she needed to get him somewhere safe and didn't really know where else to take him. But right now, she was in her crime-fighter get-up. Transitioning from "Dagger" to "Cherry" was going to be...interesting.

What was she supposed to do? Leave, change clothes, and pretend to be a different person like he was an idiot or something?

...Actually, hell, while he was still wonky, it might actually work.

She smiled at him. "Dagger. Local hero!"

Caelwyn stared at her with wide eyes.  Dagger?  She couldn't be serious.  And yet, at the very least it meant she was either cuckoo for coconuts or had a strange sense of humor.  He was gonna go for the coconuts. It certainly explained the get up.

Caelwyn winced at the sensation of the oil on his skin.  "Well Dagger.  As soon as we're done here, I want you to show me where those bastards went.  I know you led me to get me back to health.  I'm not a moron.  I really just didn't have the energy to fight you on the matter.  Bah, it stings."

"Do you think you'll be up for it?" Anoki asked as she spread the oil to more of his bruises, her touch as gentle as she could make it. Her lips twitched even as she said that, as she resisted making a dirty joke concerning how 'up' for it he currently wasn't.

"My hands are magical and lavender works wonders, but I'm no miracle worker. I'm not going to patch you up just so you can get yourself beaten to a pulp again. Or worse. Those types don't mess around. You're lucky they didn't just slit your throat."

Caelwyn jumped and yelped, nearly out of his seat as she braced his side with another dose of the oil.  "Yowie-wowie!" he griped and seethed at pain that was more or less nonexistent.  "What do you mean am I up for it?  Of course I'm up for it.  I told you it was a matter of life and death.  Except for the bruises, I'm in perfect condition to give those ruffians a what-for!  Though...if truth be told, I'd really just rather go in and get my bag and avoid a needless confrontation.

"I used to box when I was a young boy.  I was quite good at it.  But it seems long nights in libraries and old dark subterranean tunnels have left my reflexes a little worse for wear.  YOW!"  There was an aching bruise on his left buttock that he had only realized was there when he'd been sitting on it for sometime and he turned over on his hip, peering down on it over his shoulder and scowled at the swelling there.

"Mhmm, I see," Anoki said, in a tone that clearly conveyed she was only humoring him, and didn't actually buy what he was selling. Not with the way he was yowling and carrying on while she was barely touching him! Men!

She didn't buy for one moment that he boxed.

With a frown, she gave him a playful smack on the top of his head. "Stop squirming! You're only making it worse! In any case, I'm going to say you're definitely not up for handling thugs if you can't even handle a woman's gentle touch without yelping like a whipped dog."

Ugh, it was always so dreadful when people wanted you to 'stop being so dramatic.'  Or made claims of 'you're being ridiculous!"  Caelwyn hissed lightly and settled down as she tended to his wounds.  "Fine.  Er...sssssssorry," he murmured, finding the last word difficult to spit out, but he managed it.

"You've got gentle hands," he commented, watching her work.  "You must do this kind of thing for a living.  That and wander strange alleyways to find people to work on, huh?"

There. Much better. He was behaving like a man now, and not a child. Still, Anoki couldn't help the amused quirk of her lips, because he must not have been in THAT much pain after all if he could go from squirming and wailing to sitting still and minding himself without much transition.

Men! And people said women were dramatic!

"Careful now," she teased as he commented on her profession, "you're getting dangerously close to exposing my deep, dark secret. The one where I hire thugs to beat men in alleys so I can nurse them back to health."

He gasped a little before realizing...  "You're putting me on, aren't you?" he said, laughing despite himself.  He smirked, shaking his head.  He did suck his breath in a little at the sensation of the substance on his skin.  It still smelled funny, but he supposed he could live with it.  "So since you duped me into sitting here like an invalid, and I, despite everything I've accomplished, fell for it, what do you really do?"

At first, Anoki thought his gasp was feigned, but then...he opened his mouth.

And Anoki blinked twice before it hit her and she burst into laughter, throwing a hand over her mouth--and then sputtering when some of the oil got in her mouth as a result.

Blech! That tasted terrible!

Making a face and wiping her mouth off on her arm, Anoki cleared her throat and grinned at him. "Wow, you're really gullible, aren't you? I could have a lot of fun with that..." She wiped her hands off onto her breeches, since Caelwyn was now thoroughly oiled up, and then pat him lightly on the cheek. "And maybe I will. Anyway, what I do..."

With a shrug and a coy smile, she walked the few steps to her bed and plopped down onto the edge. "Why don't you guess? That's more fun."

And it gave her time to think of a good cover story.

GUESSING!  Yes!

He mentally clenched his fist in automatic victory and smirked at her.  "Sure I'm game.  I don't mind taking a gander at it.  As you may or may not know, I am rather adept at the art of deduction."  He inhaled sharply and first observed her clothing.

She was dressed in men's clothing, loose and easy to move in, and out at night, so she was obviously a night owl.  Or someone accustomed to late night activities.  Then there was the state of her room, a rather...sultry room at that, and comfortable, if not smelly.  There were strange objects around there, some he had seen before, and others not so much.

Then there was the scantily clad woman and the ah...rather celebratory game of chase from earlier.  His eyes suddenly widened and he smiled smugly.  "You're a courier of some kind aren't you.  Involved in some kind of illegal trade.  But not so much so that you wouldn't be afraid to help a stranger in need, and yet you needed some place quiet and inconspicuous to lie low, so naturally, you would pick a brothel.  Of course the other choice is that you're a prostitute who has a fetish for dark alleys, but that's like one in a million, I'm sure."

Oh, this was going to be fun! Smiling like a cat, Anoki sat back and watched the wheels turn in his head. If his...deductions...were anything like what he'd shown so far, she was really looking forward to the nonsense he was bound to come up with. Also, it would actually save her the effort of thinking up something herself! Win-win!

And then...the kicker.

Anoki pressed her lips together to hold in her laughter, because it was kind of glorious how right he was, but that the truth was outlandish to him! Gods, Caelwyn. For all his whining, there was something kind of fucking adorable about him, so different from the usual guys that came around here, and that just made her want to tease him more.

She leaned forward where she sat, arms resting on her knees, and grinned her biggest grin.

"Well, slap my ass and call me Bessie! Guess I'm just a shiny diamond, then, eh?" Her smile widened. "Yep. You caught me! I'm a prostitute."

Caelwyn made a face, as the realization slowly dawned on him.  It took a few minutes to sink in, and when it did he stared at her, slackjawed like he'd been punched in the mouth.  Then when he realized it, he closed his mouth and put his head back.  "Oh..." he muttered and then all the evidence started to fit more easily together.  It still didn't explain why she was in the alleyway, or her odd choice of clothing.

"Oh...  Well, then, Bessie.  That would certainly explain the shackle cuffs clasped to your bed posts and that peculiar whip hanging by the wardrobe.  And why my skin feels all tingly with this substance on me.  And an absurd reminder that I am still very naked.  Fascinating circumstances really," he said thoughtfully.

At first, Anoki had meant to play it off as a joke. Rib him some more. Then she could just lie and say, sure, she was a courier and this was totally a cover and she was just preying on his gullibility. After all, this whole...crime-fighting thing was supposed to be a secret.

But as she watched his reaction, and also thought about what he actually knew about her...

No, actually, maybe she didn't have to lie at all.

All he knew was she'd stumbled upon him in an alley and brought him back here. He didn't actually know what she'd been up to, or why she'd been out there. And her weird dress, well, that was easy enough to explain away! No need for lies. She was shitty at keeping those up, anyway.

Laughing at his slack-jawed expression, Anoki curled her legs beneath her on the bed and got comfortable. "Good observations! So I suppose I should mention now that if you try to bolt off half-cocked to get your ass kicked after I've worked so hard patching you up..."

She flicked her wrist, pointing to the shackles. "Don't think I won't use them. Now that we've established that, er..." She flicked a glance over him. "I don't suppose you'll want clothes? If I'm right in interpreting that as a subtle hint. Sorry, friend. I'm so used to having naked men in my room, it didn't even occur to me I should clothe you."

"Oh, I couldn't just wear anybody's clothes.  Though, I suppose it wouldn't do for me to just wander around naked.  It could be quite inconvenient considering I'd have my junk flying everywhere.  One cannot chase down ruthless thugs with one's penis flopping about," he said sourly.  "I'd be thankful for some clothes, if you have any yes.  Then I will formulate a proper plan to get those sons of bitches.  They will rue the day!"

Caelwyn's face turned red from anger and he tried to sit up only to buckle under the pressure.  "Stupid bruises.  Ugh, that's it.  I'm going to die."

Floppy penises and flying junk.

Boy, did he use some creative language! Though, really, that was what it looked like, and it was all rather silly, when you thought about it--and in Anoki's business, she did a lot of thinking about it.

"Mm, indeed, nobody likes a floppy penis. They're not fun," she agreed with a wry smile before she slid back off her bed and strode across the room toward her wardrobe. Halfway there, however, she paused and turned to Caelwyn. She had no doubts he was being dramatic again--he was not going to die--but she also had no doubts that chair was hard and uncomfortable.

"Why don't you take my bed?" she said, nodding toward it. "It'll be more comfortable. Don't worry, I promise not to pull any tricks unless you pay me. Do you need help?"

Caelwyn shook his head.  "I think I can manage," he said, grunting with a great deal of effort to stand, supporting himself on her dresser and knocking over a odd phallic looking statue before he flopped down onto her bed, arching his back.  "Thank you..." he panted,"...for the offer.  This bed is very soft.  You must need it if you're on your back most of the night, I suppose."

Caelwyn watched her rummage through her wardrobe and blinked.  "Ah, what trick exactly,  Are you some kind've magician?  I've always liked a bit of practical magic.  Show me something!"

Turning to give Caelwyn a look from over her shoulder, Anoki smiled slyly. "I'm afraid my best magic tricks are ones with my tongue and hips," she said, "and I can make a cock disappear, if you catch my drift. Hmm...and I suppose escaping from ropes could count as a trick, too, buuut..."

She laughed. "Magical as that all is, I'm not sure if that's the sort of magic you mean?"

Pulling a red silk robe from her wardrobe, she headed back to the bed and draped it over Caelwyn's head, then leaned down to peek at his face. "Like I said, honey, my magic costs and you, my dear, seem to have misplaced yours, no?" She tapped his nose with a finger and sat down next to him, reaching down to pick up the phallus he'd knocked over and check it over for damage. It had been rather expensive, all polished stone! Luckily, she saw no abrasions.

"I do know a great knife trick, though!" she said, setting the object back on the table.

"Oh. OH!  Sex tricks.  Well, yes, as you've observed I have no money, nor any place to put it even if I did," he said with a wisened nod.  He busied his hands with wrapping them around his hips and waist.  "There we go."

Caelwyn flicked his eyes at her, peering at her from the corner of his, not quite sure what to make of her for a second.  She was an odd one, sure, but he supposed he could've been found by worse.  "Well as long as you don't take advantage of me, because really, I don't have time for that kind've nonsense, I'm up for just about anything.  It's not like I can go anywhere.  Knives are crude tools but interesting.  Entertain me."

Anoki looked Caelwyn dead in the eye and said, with utmost solemnity, "My dear captive, I swear on my shiny polished phallus that I will not ravish you unless invited. Until then, knife tricks it is."

And then, with a little grin, she reached across Caelwyn to the table where there lay a small basket of fruit. (Hey, just because her room was fancy didn't mean it was the most organized!) She plucked an apple from it, then pulled her knife from her belt.

She scooted up onto the bed more and shuffled back from Caelwyn, moving more toward the foot of the bed, to give herself some space. Sitting cross-legged across from him, she held the apple in one hand and the knife in the other. "Now, it's not the most amazing thing in the world, but it's the only one I can do here without putting a hole in the wall. Observe!"

Focusing, she flipped the knife up into the air, then caught it with the apple--with the blade sunk length-wise into the apple, rather than stabbing in tip-first. Removing the blade and rotating the apple, she tossed it again, caught it in the apple the same way, and then repeated the process several more times. One final toss and catch, and she set the knife aside, held the apple out, and broke it apart into perfectly sliced wedges.

With a smug smile, she offered one to Caelwyn. "Hungry?"

Caelwyn didn't realize it.  In fact, he was dead set on booing her.  But when a smile touched his lips at the trick, he gasped a little watched he apple unfurl outward.  "That's something!" he said and took an apple crisp for himself.

"Where did you learn to do that?  I'm not inclined toward blades myself, but it could come in hand some day.  But, ah I should've known already.  You're good with your hands."  And he munched on another apple piece.  "So what do you really call yourself?  I imagine you wouldn't get many clients with a name like Bessie. If I remember, you said you were called Vixen yes?  But that doesn't seem to be your real name."

"I taught myself!" Anoki said proudly, and took an apple slice for herself. "Got bored one day, and it was just me, a knife, and an apple, so I did what any civilized human being would do. Threw knives. It actually didn't take too many tries to get it right? You'd be amazed how quickly you learn when you cut yourself enough."

She took a bite of apple and fluffed her hair. Oh dear. Hopefully he'd forgotten the name she'd given him because he was forgetful, and not because he was concussed.

"Vixen's the other whore," she said, swallowing down her apple. "And I'm Bessie only to those with a milkmaid kink. To everyone else, I'm Cherry. Try to remember it this time, hm?"

[Actually I don't remember if he ever asked her what her name was! lol]

"Ah, Cherry!  That was it!  I knew it was something fruit related.  Admittedly, cherries aren't my favorite. They always got those little ball things in 'em,"  he said, eating more pieces of the apple.  "But it's a suitable name for a whore, uh, no offense."

A gradual banging on the wall behind them made the headboard move in rythm and moving his head along with it as he sat up.  "Well, if I don't think about it too hard, it almost feels like a back massage."

[Loooool neither do I! xDDDD SO IT WORKS OUT!]

"Suitable, but kind of silly if you think about it," Anoki said with a smile. "Since cherries are often symbolic of virginity, and whores aren't exactly--"

She cut off as a banging interrupted her, and then she let out a long-suffering sigh. "I told Chastity to move her bed back from the wall!" she said, and set her knife back on the table as she crawled forward on her knees, leaned over Caelwyn, and pounded her fist on the wall.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Move the bed!" she shouted, and pounded on the wall again until the banging on the other side stopped. A few moments later, and there came the faint sound of something scraping across the floor.

"Chastity!?" Caelwyn said, snorting out a laugh and nearly choking on his apples.  Well that certainly beat the hell outta cherries.  He shook his head and watched her for a moment, double taking.

"Hey!  That was actually a nice massage.  You even gotten the shit kicked out of your back.  My back's all tight and knotted, it was working nicely you know," he said with a mild scowl.

Anoki lifted one of perfectly plucked and immaculately maintained eyebrows. "Be that as it may, it was going to give me a migraine after too long. Besides, you realize where you are, correct? If you want a massage, you just need to ask."

She scooted back on the bed and cracked her knuckles. "Ask nicely enough and pathetically enough and I may even give you one for free. If you also promise not to sob through it. That's just awkward."

It wasn't normally something she would offer free of charge--her time was money, and people paid for just her presence--but she wasn't working tonight, anyway, and the guy was so busted up she couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Honestly, I hadn't even thought to ask.  It's not like I have any real way to compensate you.  But if you insist, it's not like I can turn down such a much need offer," he said and managed a smile at her.  With some effort he crawled down onto his belly, mindful of his bruises and shoved a pillow under his chin.  Maybe she didn't really offer, but he would just ride it out as long as he could

"I promise not to cry.  I'm a man after all.  Men don't cry.  I whine and complain, but I'll do my best to be extra manly, I promise."

"Hmm...that wasn't exactly asking you just did there, but it'll do!" Anoki said with a laugh and a shake of her head as he assumed the position. Poor guy. But really, with how beat up he was, and how eager he was to get his stuff back despite it...

It really begged the question of what was in his bag?

She crawled over him and lightly straddled his back, sitting up on her knees rather than sitting on him, because she didn't want to put pressure on his bruises. Reaching over him, she grabbed more oil from her bedside table--more lavender. He may have complained about the scent, but it was supposed to be good for relaxation, and she figured he'd complain even more if she mixed scents.

Rubbing it onto his shoulders, she grimaced. "Pardon my language, but damn. You have some huge knots here..." she said as she began to knead them. "On second thought, I won't dock you too many man points if you whimper. If I'm going to get these out, I'm going to have to be a little rough. Is that okay with you?"

Caelwyn melted into the bed and shrugged his shoulders.  "Be as rough as you want.  I am putty in your hANDS.   I am CLAY to be molded to your WHIM!  I am the sand to be MAaaAAAde ...ugh..into a castle."  Caelwyn groaned in slight pleasure, thought it seemed unusual for him to let anyone touch his back.  He could make an exception for this moment however.

"I'll be okay.  No whimpering here.  Just a man being manly, gettin a massage.  I always pay my debts, so name your price and I'll see that you're well compenSAAAAATED!"

Anoki didn't need to be told twice! As soon as she got the go ahead, she laid into him, kneading his muscle like clay and really getting her fingers in there, trying to rub out the gnarly knots. She didn't attack them directly yet, instead focusing on the areas just outside them first, to try to get them to loosen up a little.

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the way his voice rose as she worked him. But hey, he wasn't complaining!

"You know, I bet if we had a little musical accompaniment, you could sing a pretty tune, way you're going on," she said with a laugh. "You're hitting some high notes there, my manly sand castle! What is that called again? Alto?"

 "Alto?" he asked.  "Nonsense!  I'm a baritone!"  He actually laughed and began to sing in a low manly tone hitting all sour notes.  "Bah, well, singing has never been one of my strong suits."  Gods above, her hands were like magic as she kneaded into him.  He shook here and there where the muscles were most tense but he never whimpered or cried.

But Kia knew he wanted to.   "GoooOOOOOds.   Get right there where my lower back mEETS my uppER BAck.  That's WHERE it HURT the most.  Bllllllllaaaaargh!"

"Is there a sick whale in here? Or is that just me?" Anoki teased him as he sang, and reached up to ruffle his hair playfully, getting some of the oil in it as a result. "I think alto suits you better, honey. Stick to what you're good at."

Shifting a little down his back until she straddled his legs, she trailed her hands down Caelwyn's spine--and arched her eyebrows appreciatively, because this gave her a good view of his ass. And as she'd observed before, he did have a rather nice one--she'd seen a lot of asses, she should know, she was something of a connoisseur of asses.

"Right here?" she asked innocently as she began to roll her fingertips into the muscle, meeting stiff tissue. Dear gods. This had to be painful. Still, she grinned. "You know, the kinds of sounds you're making, soon enough it's going to be Chastity pounding on our wall."

The innocent motion made him jerk his entire body underneath hers.  "Gah!" he said and seethed.  "HrrrMMMMMmmmmmmgh!"  He turned to looked up at her from the corner of his eye and caught the little simper on her lips.  "Y-yeah that's the spot."

Her hands felt divine.  And he forced his body to become completely prostrated on the bed.  He layed his arms out on either side of him and let her work.  "Bah, Well Chastity can go suck an egg.  Or whatever it is she sucks on. Fffrrrrrrrrrghghghghghgh.  Kia's corn cobs, that feels gooood!"

Anoki's grin was devilish, her voice a purr as she leaned into her hands, putting her body into the massage.

"How good? Too good?" she asked. "Because if it's getting too good, honey, you may want to warn me. There's no shame here, sugar, but these are clean sheets, so I'd at least like to lay a towel down first."

"What?  Gah.  How could a massage ever be too good?" he asked, moaning loudly to the force of her hands.  Caelwyn could only assume she enjoyed her work since she was just so damn good at it.  He supposed there was more to it than just massages, but he was liking it so far.

"So just how well,  Vrrrrgghhhhhhghghghh - does work like this pay?  I guess you gotta be Goooooood right? "

"It depends on how good you are," Anoki said, with shameless pride in her voice. "The better you are, the more in demand you are. The more in demand you are, the more people will pay, and thus the more you can charge."

She ground into one of his hard knots then, attacking it with her thumbs, her hands surprisingly strong for being so soft and well maintained. "Me? Not to toot my own horn, but I'm good, darlin'. I get paid the fat coins. You should feel humbled and impressed, getting massaged by whorish royalty for no fee."

She winked at him. "Maybe if you ever find your money, I can show you more magic tricks."

She hit another spot that made his body jerk, but he was better prepared his time.  "Oh, I didn't realize I was in the presence of someone so special.  You have my regards.  But I can see why you're probably worth it."  He laughed.

"What's your least favorite kind of customer?" he asked with a simper.  "The real fat ones I bet.  You'd need a map to find your way around 'em."

With a laugh, Anoki pinched his bottom before she went back to his knots. "Don't be judgmental, now! A lot of them are actually really sweet and pay well! No, my least favorite kinds are..."

She made a sour face. "The pigs. The assholes who think women are inferior, and that they can abuse them and treat them however they like. Don't get me wrong, honey, I like some power play, and I like it when things get rough. But I mean the sorts that have that attitude outside the safe, consensual fantasy."

When she said that, Caelwyn frowned a bit.  "Oh...  I had no idea," he said peering at her from the corner of her eye.  He supposed most people had 'no idea'.  It was easy to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others.  He had a better excuse since he was not the sort of man that frequented these kinds of "establishments". 

"And how can you tell?" he asked.  "I mean when they come in?  How do you know the good ones from the bad ones before it's too late."

Anoki winced as she considered that question, her hands stilling for a moment, before she went back to work.

"Mm, well, you don't know, and that's the problem..." she said quietly, voice trailing off. But then she lightly smacked Caelwyn's bottom and gave it another little pinch to try to lighten up the mood. "Oh my! Things sure went to a dark place fast! Honestly, honey, it's okay. I sure wouldn't have expected you to know. If it makes you feel any better, though, we may spend a lot of time on our backs, but we're not helpless little turtles. We look out for one another, and have ways of handling the rotten apples."

Another light pat on the bottom. "And your apples seem fine and ripe to me, so I wouldn't be worried."

Caelwyn was a little stunned by the slap and pinch and he tried to turn his sore neck back to look at her, well as best he could before he flopped back down and gave an awkward laugh.

Before Caelwyn knew it, he started to drift off to sleep as the massage endured and he closed his eyes, soon breathing softly.

At a certain point, Anoki could tell she was losing Caelwyn--namely, when he stopped responding to her comments. So she quieted down as she worked, and rubbed his muscles until she felt the tension leave his body, and heard his breathing slow and even out.

When she stopped, and he didn't respond, she knew he was down for the count. With a wry smile down at him, she moved slowly, carefully, and swung a leg over him as she crawled off of him. Poor thing needed the sleep, no doubt, and she wasn't about to wake him. Him healing up was more important than his possessions--and in any case, that bag of his was likely long gone by now.

Hopefully it didn't have anything important in it!

With a yawn of her own, she took off her belt, veil, and headscarf, because whatever. He knew she was a whore now. Honestly, she'd only kept it on because she'd forgotten. With that taken care of, she pulled the covers up and over Caelwyn, then slid beneath them herself.

Because sure, she'd said she wouldn't pull any tricks, but that didn't mean she was giving up her bed!

It was a few hours later that Caelwyn opened one eye and peeked out into the dark room.  His body was starting to feel better and his back was a little stiff as he opened up his other eye and turned over, finding Anoki was fast asleep.  He looked out the window, still evening and his eyes narrowed.

Bah, well, he healed up long enough and he'd wasted enough time lying here.  As quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed and held onto his side, slipping the robe around his waist and knotting it, making it look like a miniskirt and he stepped softly to her wardrobe.  He suppose he couldn't be picky about what to wear considering everything in here could be sewn together to make one outfit.

He grabbed a skimpy looking dress-thing and threw it over his shoulders like a shirt.  Thank Kia he was slender enough for it to fit him and it stopped just about the folded robe.  It would do and it was better than nothing.  Caelwyn moved toward the window and opened it, taking one peek at Anoki before climbing through it and trying to find his way down. 

"Ouch!  Dammit!" he hissed, when he lost his balance and fell on his ass, landing on some crates at the bottom of the window.  It wasn't a soft landing, and he made some noise as he got up, but he didn't care.  He was already out of the building and now he was going to track down those rat bastards and-

"Get my bag back," he said determinedly and, still holding his side, began to stagger down the street back in the direction he came.

It was the loud crash that made Anoki jerk awake with a gasp, her heart just about jumping out of her chest--because she'd been having one of those falling dreams, and the crash coincided perfectly with Dream Her's collision with the ground. Blinking in the dark, groggy and disoriented, she let out a deep sigh when she realized she wasn't squished, it was all a dream, and she was still in her plush bed. Reassured, she turned over onto her side and stretched out--and then froze when her arm flopped out onto her bed, resting against a still-warm patch of bed that was now...empty.

When it shouldn't have been empty.

That snapped her to wakefulness, and she sat up in bed and shoved the blankets back.

"Caelwyn?" He was nowhere to be seen--but she could hear commotion just beyond her window.

Her window, which was open.

He didn't. Oh, idiot man!

Anoki slid out of bed, threw on her boots and grabbed her knife as a precaution, and rushed to the window so she could poke her head out. And sure enough, there he was, staggering along, clutching his side, and...

Anoki squinted her eyes.

What was he...? Was he wearing a dress? Her dress? One of her favorite sheer red numbers, too!

Noooo! He was going to stretch it out!

"Caelwyn! Caelwyn, wait! You wait right there! Stay!"

And then she slammed her window shut, turned, and sprinted out her door, nearly colliding with Vanity and her client, and raced down the stairs and out the door, ignoring the men calling to her as she went. He couldn't get far, staggering as he was--or so she hoped! But she didn't want to take any chances, and soon she was darting into the alley her room's window overlooked. "What are you doing?"

Oh he could get far!  He'd scour the entire earth to find those stinkin' slimy no good mud-flinger spawn.  Normally, Caelwyn was willing to let bygones be bygones.  After all, all the energy wasted fighting against the foolish and the stupid could be better spent on more important tasks.  Caelwyn wasn't immortal, he wasn't going to live forever, so why bother?  But this was different.  This was personal.

He was wounded sure.  He was dressed in a rumpled robe as a skirt and a wrinkled snug dress as a top.  It was hard to look tough when dressed like he ran away from a circus troupe, but nothing could put out the fire in his brain.

Except maybe for these stray rocks on the ground that were poking at his feet and the sharp pains slithering up his side.  And the voice calling out from behind him.

"Shit!"

That was when Caelwyn bolted.  Or rather hobbled hurriedly, clutching his side and trying to get as far away from Anoki as fast as his crippled body could go.  Maybe if he didn't answer, she'd go away!

"What are you--stop running, dammit!" Anoki took off after Caelwyn with an exasperated huff, because why on earth was he running from her?! She'd helped him! Even given him a free massage!

And now he was taking off with her dress and...dressed like a loon, come to think of it.

If anyone saw him like that, they might think him crazy.

Which he sort of was, falling out of her window like that!

It didn't take much to overtake him, hobbling as he was, and she grabbed him by the shoulder to yank him to a stop. "Gotcha," she said, and forcibly turned him around to face her. "So, two things. One, why are you running from me, and two, why are you wearing my dress?"

Caelwyn back peddled away and leaned against a wall when she turned him.  His shoulder was a little sore and he visibly winced.  "Well, for starters I wasn't running, I was hobbling with speed," he corrected with a hiss.  "And for seconders, I'm out here because I have to get my bag back!  I need it!  And I can't very well do that naked.  There are laws against indecent exposure and I don't need to go to prison right now.  That'd be very inconvenient.  And for thirders, I know you're going to try and stop me, so that's why I didn't tell you."

Anoki laughed at that, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. "Actually, I'm not going to try to stop you," she said, and flashed him a grin. "You're the first man that's jumped out of my window, much less while wearing my clothes, so..."

She pat his shoulder, more gently this time. "Any man that does that is a thing to respect and fear. I think it's a good sign; we'll have good luck finding your bag tonight. However!"

She took off her tunic, right then and there, without a care for anyone walking by in the night--and without even minding that Caelwyn would see. Then she held it out to him with one hand and motioned to her dress with the other. "Let's switch before you stretch that out."

"Switch?  Why?  I don't know.  I think red is a nice color on me," he said , holding the sheer top to his chest.  He puffed his chest out to her and gave an exasperated sigh when she handed him her tunic.  This was ridiculous.  He was perfectly fine wearing the dress.  But if she insisted. 

Her breasts hanging out didn't faze him, much.  He'd been to Essyrn; there seemed to be nothing but exposed breasts when he was around.  Caelwyn slipped it over his head and took the tunic, pulling that on, and handing her the dress.

"But I'm keeping the robe-skirt," he said pointedly.

"It makes your ass look good. Has a good swish when you move those hips, too," Anoki teased Caelwyn with a wink, before she pulled the dress over her head. She left her breeches on, because indeed, she didn't want to get arrested for public indecency, and it at least wasn't sheer at the breasts. It was an odd outfit, overall, but now they matched!

Sort of.

Either way, Caelwyn was earning major points in her head. Maybe he complained a lot, but he had reason to complain, and now he had her respect: it wasn't often (or, like, ever!) that she met a man so secure in his masculinity and sexuality that he was willing to chase bandits in women's lingerie, and now a makeshift skirt. And not only that, but he didn't even complain about it! Didn't even comment on it! He just accepted it and did it like it was perfectly normal!

Mad, mad respect.

So maybe he was still injured, and maybe she didn't think this was a good idea, but he'd gotten this far already, so...

Anoki tugged her dress down and smoothed it out. "We look ridiculous," she said, grinning. "Which means they'll never see it coming when we kick their asses. C'mon, then. Let's track those bandits."

There were things a man just had to do, without regard to clothing status, mental impairment, or injury.  If there was any lesson Caelwyn had taken away from his obnoxious father, it was that much.  You had to do what you had to do, and no matter what happened to you, nothing could stop you from doing it.  He was glad, at least, that Anoki agreed to help him in this endeavor.

He was going to do it anyway, whether she allowed him to or not, or she accompanied him or not.  But it was nice to have someone at your back when you were about to play emergency rescue in a robe-skirt.

Caelwyn pulled the shirt over his head and shrugged, careful to mind his ribs.  He wrapped an arm around them still, but tried not to look too fazed by it.  "Okay, first thing to do is go back to the scene of the crime, and then we fan out from there.  Unfortunately in my dazed state, I didn't really get that good a look at where they went.  But that's where you come in.  You know these mean streets, down to the dirt and gutter, I imagine.  So let's move!"

And he began to hobble off once more back to where they came.  Thank goodness it wasn't far because he kept skipping around, stepping on sharp rocks and hissing, "ow, ow!" as he went.  But he remembered the formation of the crates that surrounded the alley he was in and he pointed to the exact spot he was in.  "There!  I even see my blood on the floor.  Bahah!  Those rat bastards are as good as curdled cheese."

Anoki gave Caelwyn a look as she wondered if "down to the dirt and gutter" was a quip about her whore status, or just an unfortunate turn of phrase meaning she was just familiar with the area, considering it was her home. But he hadn't made any insulting comments about her profession yet, so she decided to let it slide. She knew she could be overly proud, defensive of her choice, and defensive of the other girls, and now was just not the time!

Instead, she walked with Caelwyn. She'd humor him until he threw in the towel (he wouldn't last long, she reckoned!) and until then, she'd babysit! She imagined--and hoped--this would be an educational experience for him.

"Yup! That's your blood, all right!" she said, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Now, if I remember correctly, and I've got a pretty great memory, they went that way." She pointed in the opposite direction.

"There's some taverns that way, but otherwise not much. But I'd say if I were a thief, and I'd just robbed some poor bloke naked, I'd probably head to the tavern for some ale and good-natured boasting! Not that I'd know anything about that. You holding up okay? You know, you'll need to really watch where you step, especially as we head down that way. You don't want to step on any nails."

Oh good, she was on the scent.  He was afraid he was going to have to search for himself, but thankfully she was one with her nose, much like a bloodhound.  "Good!" he said, beaming at her.  "Okay, be careful.  I don't want them to be alerted that we're on the trail.  Last thing we need is them scurrying to the four winds because they got spooked!  Okay off to the taverns!"

Caelwyn bolted off in the direction she pointed, like a spy tiptoing around bits of broken glass and nails.  "So what's the plan?  We go into every tavern and ask around for shady ruffians carrying around an extra pair of pants?"

"That's the plan!" Anoki cheerfully confirmed, and reached out to grab his arm and tug him to the side before he could step on a rusty nail. "Surely that won't be too much of a hassle, hm? You were up close and personal with those brutes. You must have gotten a good look at their faces!"

She eyed him as she said it, head slightly tilted. "Right?"

Caelwyn 'pffft!' forcefully with his mouth and laughed, looking at her with a quirked brow.  "Of course I did.  They were both quite ugly fellows.  The one that ripped my paper, much to his misfortune because I found it a delight to read, had a scar down his eye, dark beady eyes like a goblin or a rat.  The other two were large, like tbears but with less hair, one bald, the other balding -naturally his hair was running away from his face considering how ugly he was. "

Caelwyn sighed and skipped over a loose cobble.  "They all smelled quite awful, but I'm not sure if that might aid in their capture because this whole city smells funky."

Anoki pat Caelwyn on the back, consolatory. "Congratulations! You just described ninety-percent of Adela's criminal population! If all else fails, we'll find some crooks that fit that description and beat them out of frustration. Chances are, they'll have deserved the beating, anyway."

She flashed him a grin and ruffled his hair. "I kid. We'll find them."

And looking ahead of them, she caught sight of the first tavern on the block, The Rising Cock. Hanging above the door was a sign with a crowing rooster painted onto it, with a stylized sun in the background. Anoki snickered and pointed. "Hehehe. Rising Cock."

He shot her a curious glare.  Ah well, perhaps it wasn't the best description, but Caelwyn was positive that no matter what he'd recognize his assailants when he saw them.  He couldn't forget their foul teeth, beady eyes and that scar that rose up from between the index and middle finger on the first man, likely a knife accident gone wrong.  And another had a silver cap plated over one of his bottom teeth.  These were details he refrained from telling to Anoki just yet.  But when the moment became relevant he would divulge he decided.

Caelwyn turned and peered up at the unusual name of the tavern and blinked, not understanding the joke involved initially.  "What?  It's just a cock.  It's crowing at the sun.  Cocks do that come morning you know," he said with a blank face.

"Cocks do that come morning," Anoki repeated, poker face on. It lasted for all of three seconds before her lips twitched, then she snorted, and then she burst into a fit of helpless laughter, doubling over and clutching at her sides. Gods help her, she couldn't help it! She'd been born with a twelve-year-old boy's sense of humor, and it was even funnier because Caelwyn didn't get it.

"They sure do! Cocks do indeed rise in the morning!"

He was taken aback and did a double take as she burst out laughing, unsure if he was laughing at him or with him - though he knew he wasn't laughing - and blinked at her.  It wasn't until she sobered that he finally nodded.  "Oh!  You mean cock as a euphemism for the male sex organ, otherwise known as the penis," he said, feeling like he solved a riddle.  "And the rising for be for when it becomes erect during arousal."  he gave a sighing laugh and shrugged.  "I suppose there is humor in that, though I'm not sure precisely as to why.  But the longer we dawdle the further our quarry gets away from us.  We can speak of cocks later.  We must resume our pursuit!"

And with that he took her hand in his empty one and ushered her on.

"Actually, judging by the sun, I'd say it's a morning wood reference," Anoki snickered as they headed toward the tavern. "Gods, it's funny. Laugh! You're a man, where's your immature sense of humor? Most men are obsessed with their dicks."

But she sobered as they approached the door, and turned to look at Caelwyn as she rested her free hand on the handle. "Okay, you ready? We're just going to go in, take a quick look, see if you spot your boys, and then leave fast if we don't. This is a pretty seedy part of town, and dressed as we are--" She snorted. "We look like two idiots just begging for a beating."

That said, she opened the door and held it wide for Caelwyn.

Caelwyn did a double-take at their state of dress and memories of rocks and bullies came flooding back to him.  "Right," he agreed wholeheartedly.  "In and out real quick."  He moved through the tavern door, sauntering, trying to act as natural as possible.  "Remember.  Blend in."

But as soon as they entered, all eyes were on them -more specifically him- and he just moved on through to the bar and casually looked around the room, eyes scanning the crowd.  He spotted a pair in the back that resembled the second pair of men that lay the hurt on him.  He turned back to Anoki and hunched on the counter.  "The two in the back.  One should have a cigar burn on the inside of his wrist and the other, the balding one should have a silver cap on his tooth.," he said.

It was an effort to keep a straight face. It was a serious situation, certainly--it was dangerous, going up against thugs like this! But "blend in"? And to have that line delivered deadpan? Anoki bit back her comments as she strode inside and did her best to own her ridiculous outfit.

However, there wasn't much Caelwyn could do to own his. People were looking, and she could see several leaning in to gossip amongst themselves. They must have thought Caelwyn was some sort of loon--and honestly, they wouldn't be incorrect.

She drew closer to Caelwyn when he spoke, and followed his gaze to the men in the back--and she had to admit, now she was more impressed with his observational skills. Details like that were valuable, and would set them apart from the hordes of nameless thugs. Not to mention, he'd been getting his ass kicked when he'd seen those men, yet he'd managed to pick up on those tiny details?

Flashing him a grin, she gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Good job. That'll narrow down our suspects," she said, and leaned in closer. "Why don't you go wait outside. I'll go check them out, and if they're our guys, I'll work some of my, let's say...magic on them to flush them out. I'll lead them outside, and then we'll take them together. How's that sound to you?"

She paused. "Though...before we do this, I need to know that you can. You said you can box. Think you're well enough for that?" Because she definitely had her doubts.

Honestly, he wasn't sure he was in any condition to fight.  Perhaps, if he willed himself enough, he might able to convince his body to go into overdrive to beat the information out of those two men.  He was skeptical at best.  "I'm fine," he said with a laugh.  "I'll meet you out back."

He nodded to her and slapped her ass as he got up from the stool and casually walked out the front door. 

Anoki jumped and gave a little yelp when he slapped her ass, because she genuinely had not expected that from him! Huh! This Caelwyn, as it was turning out, was full of surprises--maybe that's why she just couldn't help but stick around him and see this through.

She had a feeling she'd be the one doing the fighting if it came to that, though. Boxer or not, and even if he was feeling better, these crooks had laid him out once before.

As soon as he was out the door, Anoki fluffed out her hair, going for a sexily tousled look, and strode over to the mens' table. She put some extra sway in her hips, and when she leaned her hands onto the table she made sure to press her elbows inward to squeeze her breasts together, giving her a little extra cleavage.

"Hey there, boys," she said when they startled, having not expected company at their table. She smiled, watching them from under thick lashes, and when she saw their eyes stray to her breasts, she took a quick look at them. She couldn't see the balding one's teeth, since his mouth was closed, but a look at the other one's wrist showed a scar that matched Caelwyn's description. Huh! She hadn't expected it to be this easy! But then again, crooks could be stupid and lazy. With Caelwyn out of the way, they probably felt cocky enough to go to a nearby tavern, never guessing they'd be pursued.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you caught my eye. Big, rugged men like you are harder and harder to find, and I just thought..." She cocked her head. "If you weren't busy or anything, maybe you fellas would like to join me? Out back. For a little free entertainment..."

"Well, if you aren't the little minx!" one of the men, clearly drunk, laughed as he grabbed her about the waist and pulled her onto his lap.

Ack! That was the opposite of what was supposed to happen! Anoki shot a glance at the door, and hoped Caelwyn would be patient while she tried to sort this out and get them outside like they were supposed to!

"Ouch!  Stupid rusty nails," Caelwyn hopped up a little, kicking a piece of metal away in the dark.  It was smelly in the alley and Caelwyn was sure he stepped on a piss puddle just outside the rear door.  He'd cleaned his foot off as best he could and tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand.  It wasn't like Anoki promised him this was one of the more glamorous parts of Ketra.  Being from Serendipity, Caelwyn didn't know why he had such high expectations.  Nevertheless, this wasn't about bodily cleanliness, or even the fact that he was out here half-dressed and shivering.

This was more important than everything above, combined.  This...was about education!

Caelwyn stayed in half-darkness, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the woman to work her magic.  With any luck, those two buffoons would be panting like dogs in no time.

"Come on, Anoki.  Just take your breasts out!" he hissed to himself.

[He's gonna need some tetanus shots!]

Take her breasts out she did. Well, perhaps not literally, but within minutes she'd gotten the bald one's face buried in her cleavage and was trying, desperately, not to cringe as he drooled between them.

She was definitely going to need a bath after this.

"Oh, you two are just delightful! Ever so charming!"

She'd swapped some spit with the scarred one, whose lap she sat in, as the bald one tended to her breasts, and had to hold her breath each time so as not to gag, because his breath reeked of rotten meat and tasted just as bad! Oh, Caelwyn was going to owe her big for this one!

Finally, though, once she'd gotten their full attention, and felt the happiness of the scarred one poking against her ass, she decided this was enough. Hopefully she had the drunk idiots hooked enough that they'd follow her like dogs to a bitch in heat. She could only hope!

The bald one had just begun to tug down the top of her dress when, with a girlish giggle, Anoki flounced to her feet and pulled her straps back up. "Well, darlings, I hope you don't mind but I'm getting a little shy! I'm not one to give an entire tavern a show," she said with a grin, backing away from them with an exaggerated sway to her hips. "I only do private showings. So if you're interested in seeing more, why don't you join me?"

And then she turned on her heel and headed, briskly, out the door while the dumbfounded men scrambled to their feet, with much drunken stumbling.

Anoki shut the door behind her and turned to Caelwyn, the airheaded smile long gone. "They're coming, so get ready!" she said, taking up position on the other side of the door. "I hope you appreciate this, because they drooled all over me."

Caelwyn was ready as he could ever be and he released a sigh of anticipation when at last he saw Anoki emerge from the other side.  "Geeze!  You couldn't have taken any longer," he mumbled and awaited in his initial position when the men burst through the backdoor, the bald one spotting Anoki first.

"Ah, there ya are darling," he said, grinning.

Just then Caelwyn tapped him on the shoulder and just when the man faced him, his fist came flying square against his jaw, making him spin and sprawl face first into a piss puddle.

The scarred one was a little wiser to the game.  "The hell!?" he growled, dashing forward to come to his buddy's aid.  He swung a left hook and Caelwyn was ready for him, ducking underneath it and skirting around him, hitting him hard in the ribs and the again in the kidneys, dropping him like a rotten egg.

That's how he smelled anyway.

Anoki was left standing there, her eyes wide, her mouth open with words that never came out, and her hands lifted in preparation to fight. But she never got a chance to use her fists because Caelwyn, weak, injured, clueless, pretty Caelwyn...

Left her completely speechless as he released his inner beast and took out the both of those men! True, they were drunk, so maybe he was at a bit of an advantage--no, who was she fooling?! He was dressed like a loon and had been whining about walking barefoot not minutes ago, but those moves were not the mindless flailing of a total amateur. The guy had actual moves.

The two men were out cold, the one laying in the puddle moaning softly, but he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon. Anoki blinked once, twice, and then covered her mouth in shock. "Caelwyn, you...how...where did that come from?!" she breathed, turning to gawk at him.

That left hook of his...

Hot damn.

"Ow!  Damn nail!" he hissed and kicked another nail away from the sprawled bodies on the ground he wiggled his fist around.  It was sore and unused to such exertion.  At least not in a long while he looked back up at Anoki with a confused expression.

"What?" he muttered  "Oh, that was nothing.  I coulda given them much worse.  But I'm not here to fight, I'm just here to get my bag.  And maybe my clothes too."  He turned over the one moaning in pain and waved away a gust of bad breath.  "You.  Remember me?  Yeah, you took something of mine and I want it back.  Who's your other partner?"

The man only groaned, blinking hard at him.  "You...that skinny...crazy..."

"Just answer the question.  What's his name?"

"Blaaaaaaaargh...   Foley."

"Where can I find him?"  Caelwyn said and shook the man vigorously.

But he already passed out again and Caelwyn stepped back.  "Foley huh?  Well, can't be too hard.  Just have to scour the city.  Come along, Anoki!  Put your breasts back together, eh?  You might need those later."

Scour the entire city.

That snapped Anoki out of her impressed stupor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know you're probably feeling really good and cocky now, and that's great! But do you realize how big Ketra is?" Anoki asked, reaching into her dress and adjusting her breasts, moving them back where they were supposed to go. She used both hands to press them together and give them a slight lift, bouncing on her heels as though that helped give them that extra boost.

"It's not exactly a tiny village, Cael."

Caelwyn crossed his arms over his chest and half listened, instead watching her adjust her breasts with curiosity.  He stepped forward and took the liberty to adjust her left breast.  "Well you do have a point," he began.  "The best chance we have would be to search in a radius.  He can't be far."

He stuck his hand down her shirt all the while he was talking and moved her boobs around until they were more or less symmetrical.  "There.  Much better.  Anyway, I don't suppose you'd suggest going around, asking for a Foley?  Because that wouldn't look suspicious at all."

Anoki didn't hear a word he said, because she was a little too distracted by the fact that he had his hand down her dress and was...playing with her breasts.

Oh, she was used to people manhandling those puppies, all right, but she didn't expect it of Caelwyn! And so casually! Just reach and grab and wiggle it all around! Her eyes went wide as she just stood there and watched him, eyebrows rising, and even placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out to give him more room to work. Well. Alright, then! She could dig this.

"You know, I usually charge for that," she remarked when he was done, a crooked, amused grin on her face.

"Charge for what? Directions?"  Then he recalled her breasts and pushed them up again, nonchalantly.  "Oh those?  Well one was slightly more up than the other.  I understand in your profession you must keep your assets in prim appearance.  I was only trying to help."

"That's very considerate of you," Anoki said, the smile never leaving her face. "And so altruistic! Thank you for looking after me like that. Well, looking after the girls, anyway. They appreciate it, too. By all means, keep on helping!"

Though so help her, if he remarked that one was slightly smaller than the other, or was implying she was sagging by the way he kept pushing them up, she was going to have words.

"Anyway! You were saying something earlier? Before you starting helping me?"

"You have little to be wary of.  They're very nice and well taken care of.  I'm sure everyone appreciates them," he said with a beam and took her arm, leading them out of the alley.

"I said maybe we should spread out some kind of radius from this location.  How many Foleys can there be in the city?" he repeated.  "There's got to be an easier way to narrow it down."

"Now that you mention it, I do know of one way we could narrow it down real quick," Anoki said with a devious smile, and tapped Caelwyn lightly on the nose. "I'm just not sure how well you'd like it."

At that notion, Caelwyn furrowed his brow.  "Well, what did you have in mind?" he asked, curious, but nevertheless skeptical.

Anoki cast a look behind them, at the men passed out in the filth.

"Just that we could always take one of them along and torture the information out of them," she cheerfully said, taking out her knife as she spoke and twirling it between her fingers.

Caelwyn thought about it.  "It's an interesting thought.  But why do you seem so excited about it?  I take it it's something you do often then?"

Anoki laughed, still playing with her knife. "Oh, you know, it's just that I torture people all the time. Daily, nightly! Whips, chains, hot wax, manacles, all manner of terrible things that get men moaning and begging and screaming! I know my stuff."

She winked at Caelwyn. "Seriously, though, we could just question them."

Caelwyn crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a serious look.  "Well, I want neither of them to moan or scream or beg for mercy.  Though your suggest does pose another possibility.  We need to make one of them talk.  And it seems a viable solution to our current situation.  I normally am not a proponent of violence as a means to anything, but considering our circumstances..."

Soon he nodded, pointing to the scarred one.  "He looks like the easiest to carry.  I almost forgot I was still injured, so you'll have to do most of the heavy lifting."

Anoki looked from the downed man, to Caelwyn, and back again. The smallest of the men was still nearly a foot taller than her, and at least twice as heavy, if that beer belly was anything to go by.

Putting her knife away, Anoki placed a hand on her hip. "Now, I know I'm awesome and everything, but there's a logistics issue here with regards to his size versus my size. No matter what any girl tells you, Cael, size does matter. Now, I suppose I could drag him...probably get him at least to that alley..." She cocked her head, looking from the mouth of the alley to the man as she estimated the distance. Then she shrugged and walked over to the downed man and grabbed him beneath the arms.

"We're not torturing him, though. Gods, what's the matter with you! You didn't think I was serious about that, did you? You'd actually torture a man for this bag? Really? Harsh."

Caelwyn supposed he had a point.  But she had seemed so excited about it before, and to think she was simply putting on a jest!  This was no laughing matter and he frowned deeply at her.  "My life's work is in that bag.  All my life, I've had people bully and harass me, dog me like some kind of wilderness prey animal.  Sure they threw rocks at me and called me ninny, but I'll be damned before I'll let them ruin everything I've worked hard for.  Thugs, rockheads, ruffians, and braggarts, you name it."

His eyes were serious and he flicked his middle finger out to the man Anoki tried to carry.

He moved in to help her, though moving down to lift that much weight didn't bode well for his back or ribs.  Still he did not complain and helped her drag him down the alley.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're a ninny," Anoki said between panted breaths as she struggled along with the unconscious man, though it was a little less of a struggle with Caelwyn's assistance. A little. Caelwyn must have saved up all his strength just to punch those thugs' lights out, because his injuries seemed to be catching up with him now.

"At least, not anymore," she added with a grin. "After knocking those guys out and basically saying torture is a totally valid option to you, I've reconsidered! Remind me never to cross you."

"Oh you have nothing to fear from me," he said, exchanging grins with her and he actually laughed at her little jest.  "I'm just a scholar.   But I happen to take my work quite seriously.  I do what I must when needs be.  But ugh!  This man smells like he hasn't bathed in months.  Is it really this bad for everyone in Ketra? Not you of course.  You smell lovely."

"Nice save there," Anoki said, sticking her tongue out at Caelwyn before she went back to dragging that man's body, grunting with her efforts. They were almost there! Hopefully the bastard didn't wake up before they got there.

"Of course it smells bad, though. Where do you think you are? The fancy noble district? Should I pick you a rose to hang near your nose, m'lord?" Reaching the alley, she dropped the man's shoulders unceremoniously, and winced when he banged his head against the cobblestones. Whoops. Well. He was going to have one hell of a headache when he woke up!

Caelwyn rolled his eyes.  "No but getting this large brute out from under my nostrils would be a delight for certain," he said and soon dropped him to catch his breath.  When he was ready once more, he kept pulling.  He cut a glance to Anoki once more.  "So, where are we going and how are we going to get him to talk?  I take it torture is off the table?"

"I've no idea, I'm not sure, and dear god of course it's off the table!" Anoki answered with a laugh, cutting Caelwyn a look. "And you said I sounded eager about the torture bit! Are you sure you're just a harmless scholar?"

She leaned forward, making a playful show of eying him shrewdly, her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down, head to toe. "Are you sure you're not some shady criminal mastermind in disguise, posing as an innocent scholar? What are these documents, anyway? Some kind of wicked plots that, if in the wrong hands, could endanger king and country? Is that scar of yours some guild brand?"

Caelwyn looked at her, wondering if she was serious and then he turned down to the man that they were carrying.  "Well, if you absolutely must know, I was working on something rather interesting.  I'm located some ruins in the middle of the Draconi forest and those papers I was carting around were a map to it's exact location, not to mention reports on some crystal deposits there.  They had high traces of magic energy, a curious thing for dormant crystals.  Oh, and I also had a library book on topography that's quite long overdue.

It was Anoki's turn to look at Caelwyn in an are you serious sort of way.

"...A library book and some shit about crystals..." she said after a long, long pause, looking from him to the man they were lugging along. She looked back at him and made a prompting motion at him as though waiting for more.

"And...?"

"Well, they took my ring.  I've had that ring for a long time, and it's very important to me.  If I don't get it back, I could get in quite a bit of trouble," Caelwyn casually added.  "And if they don't give it back, they'll be in  even more trouble."

Caelwyn heaved the man just as far as he could go, and the scarred face buffoon groaned as if he were slowly coming to.  Caelwyn wanted to kick him.  Hard.  In the face.  Then the nuts.  Then his face again, just for good measure.  But they needed him coherent enough to answer questions.

Anoki gave Caelwyn a sly grin. "Ooooh. You engaged or something? Your lover gonna kick your ass if you lost it?" she asked as she knelt beside the groaning man. "'Cause if that's the case..." She let out a low whistle. "We better solve this fast before we have a homicide on our hands."

Gripping the man by the ear and turning his face toward her, she slapped him hard across one cheek, then the next. "Wakey wakey, princess."

"Pfft, engaged!?  Don't make me laugh," Caelwyn said, scoffing.  "It's my ring.  I need it.  For things."  He didn't say anymore when the scarred man finally came too.  Or somewhat after Anoki gave him the slapping of his life.  Caelwyn figured she was used to this sort of thing; the slapping, he meant.  However, she continued to surprise him.  She seemed to be used to lots of things and he wondered if she could explain the theory behind some of them to him.  It wasn't often one got a chance to learn from a prostitute.

But first things first.

"Remember me, pookie?" Caelwyn asked, trying to smile, even with the bruises on his face.  "Yeah, I hit you and I could do it again too.  But don't make me please.  My hands are ruined enough as it is.  You took something from me, you did.  And now I want it back.  So, er, just tell me where you took my things, some hideout or some other and no harm will be done.  I'm assuming your third associate has it yes.  Your other friend is still incapacitated."

But the scarred-faced man just blinked at him, a stupid look smeared across his face.  "Huh?"

For things? That pointedly vague statement made Anoki's eyebrow lift, piquing her curiosity--and reminding her of why she'd agreed to this crazy goose chase in the first place! She couldn't help it; Caelwyn just kept surprising her, and was full of just the right amount of mystery and excitement. And if there was anything she was a sucker for, it was mystery and excitement. She'd made so many assumptions about him, and yet he continued to prove them wrong, so this had become a game of what next?

Gods be damned if she didn't want to see the contents of that bag and know the significance of that ring after all this fuss!

But before she could ask what kinds of things, it was back to roughing up the crook.

Anoki let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb, stupid. You took the man's bag! And apparently his ring. So where is it? You can't have gone far with it--it's only been a few hours."

The guy stared dumbly at them, blinking slowly, and Anoki began to worry that maybe Caelwyn had literally knocked him silly. "Dunno what yer talkin''bout," he grunted, rubbing at his bruises.

With a loud sigh, Anoki pointed emphatically at Caelwyn. "This man. Right here! You beat him up earlier and left him naked in an alley. Remember? Does it help if we use small words and short sentences? Cael, use small words and short sentences, I think we're confusing him. You? Beat up man. Steal his things. Want things back. Where things?"

"That's right.  I am a man.  And you took my bag.  A man's bag, that's me."  Caelwyn wasn't at patient for this bullshit.  If he was any sort of brute, he was sure he would have had the information he needed from this man without any further dancing around.  Kia only knew what that savage was doing with his work while his thugs were out drinking!?

Caelwyn blanched at the thought and reached out to slap the criminal himself.  The man woke up then, unaccustomed to being slapped like a small child and he tried to rise to hit him back, but Caelwyn backed away in time.

"Now I have your attention, you bastard," Caelwyn growled, standing and trying to look as intimidating as he could in his current get up.  "You remember me?"

"Yeah, you're the fairy tried t'hand out some stupid paper," he said and spat at him.  "I laid you out!  You shoulda got worse."

"Where're my things?" Caelwyn demanded.

"Go suck an egg, chump!"

Caelwyn rushed at him, and launched his fist at him, but held just an inch from his face.  The scarred faced man clearly flinched, even audibly whimpered. 

Cowering away from Caelwyn, the man finally broke. "Look, boy, we don't got it no more! I swear! I-I dunno what he wants with yer shit!"

Anoki perked up, her eyes narrowed as she knelt down beside him. She made a show of playing with her knife, cleaning off the blade on the edge of her dress. "He?"

The man's eyes went saucer wide, the blood draining from his face. "...Aw, fuck me."

"You couldn't pay me enough. So, love, who's he? Hurry up! Your fairy friend here's goblin-kind, and goblins bite."

"Uhhhh..." The man looked between she and Caelwyn like he was watching a jousting match. He held an arm up, as though preparing to block an incoming punch. "I-I can't. He'd have my fuckin' head! Jus' ferget I said a thing!"

"Then we'll have yours instead," Anoki said with a smile, tapping her knife to her lips. "Your choice! We can do this here and now, orrrr you can spit it all out and have a chance at running away. I guess it depends on who you think you have a better chance with."

The man was silent, and Anoki was about to suggest Caelwyn punch him in case he'd fallen asleep again, but then the man whispered, so low it was almost inaudible, "Brennan."

Caelwyn caught the name and crossed his arms over his chest.  He wasn't in the mood for anymore games.  Or beatings, but the name struck him as curious and he needed to know more.  He crouched down to the man and glared at him hard in the eyes.

"Who is Brennan?  And where can we find him?"

"I ain't sayin' another word.  That fucker's dangerous.  He bought that crap pretty quick too.  And if'n yer so smart, then ferget yer stupid junk!"

"I will not," Caelwyn growled.  "Now you'll tell me who he is, and where we can find him or...or...  We'll send you into the sleaziest tavern we can find, dressed in my friend's negligee here."

At that he opened his eyes and he looked between the two of them.  "You wouldn't!" he said, but he didn't sound as confident in himself as earlier.

As soon as Caelwyn mentioned dressing the thug up in lingerie, Anoki flashed him a look, a wide grin plastered on her face and eyes lit up like a child at a festival. She really, really liked the idea of that! Hell, she liked the idea of that even if the man broke and told them everything! It'd be bloody hilarious, and she was kind of kicking herself that she hadn't thought of it before!

...But then she realized that the negligee Caelwyn was referring to was the one she was wearing, and that it was one of her very favorites!

...Though she had gotten it pretty dirty out here. She wasn't sure if these guys' disgusting, rotten drool would ever wash out of it. Eugh.

Fine. She could make a sacrifice for The Cause. And there was no greater cause than humor--aside from, of course, justice.

"Oh, we would," Anoki said as she shamelessly began to strip off her negligee. Clad only in her breeches, she held it out in front of her and tilted her head as though sizing him up. "It's going to be a very tight fit, and you'll show more thigh and ass than even me when I wear this thing properly. But you know, it's the right color for your complexion. Caelwyn! Hold him still!"

"No! No!" The man began to panic now, eyes going wild. "I swear! I swear it, I dunno! I dunno where he is! Fucker ain't never told me!"

Caelwyn got an eyeful all right, and he was grinning widely.  He couldn't be sure if it was because he was staring at her breasts or because this was just the thing they needed to get the man to break after all.  He didn't dwell on it, for their was the matter at hand of actually fitting the man into the small negligee.

The man struggled and despite Caelwyn's pain, he threw his whole body into forcing the gown over the man's head.  The scar-faced man was still somewhat dizzy from the blows to the body he'd received, but he still put up a fight.

"You better tell us!  And quick!" Caelwyn growled.

Oh gosh, her poor negligee was certainly getting stretched way past its limits! It would be a miracle if it didn't burst at the seams. Holding in her laughter (that would detract from the seriousness of the situation, right? They were inquisitors right now!), Anoki stepped around the struggling man, came around to his front, and crouched down to be more on his level.

"I don't buy that!" she said, and tapped him on the nose with her dagger. "If you don't know where he is, you surely must know someone who does!"

"I swear! I swear!" the man howled, struggling weakly under Caelwyn's weight. "He's prob'ly out whorin'! It's what he does!"

"Whoring?  Great.  More whores.  Don't people read in this town," Caelwyn griped.  Then he looked at Anoki.  Oh right!  "Oh, my apologies, dear.  Nothing by it, of course."

The man was still wriggling beneath him.  "Which brothel?" Caelwyn asked.

The man was in tears, burning with shame and humiliation.  "The...The...  The Playpen," he spat out, pathetically.

Caelwyn pushed off of him.  "Good.  You're smarter than you look.  I don't say that often.  Now quit your sobbing.  Even I didn't cry when you beat the hell outta me."

Except when he was crying when he stepped on a rock, but he wasn't going to tell him that.

"Oh, gods, not that rubbish heap," Anoki groaned loudly, throwing her head back. "That place is so bloody trashy. Uuuugh..."

But she climbed back to her feet and sheathed her dagger, scowling. "Well, Cael, I guess that's where we're going. To the Playpen. Which sounds like a den of twelve-year-olds. Gross. I would suggest we bring this one with us, since he's already dressed for the occasion--" Never mind that Anoki literally was dressed, or undressed, for the occasion as well! Not to mention that it was her occupation of choice, cough cough... "--but we don't need him snitching or shouting valiant warnings, thinking he's gonna redeem himself. Looks like we're going on yet another shady-ass adventure!"

[I can't remember if Caelwyn was wearing a shirt or not.  I'm going to assume he was. D:]

Caelwyn looked over at her breasts and gestured to the pair of them.  "Not that I could be anymore obvious than that, however.  But it might be more practical to cover them up.  Having them flopping all over the place might be more than a bit distracting, yes?" he suggested and pulled his own shirt over his own head and gallantly handed it to her.  Well, more like shoved it against her breasts.

"Now off to the Playpen.  And from your reaction, I'm assuming those of your establishment have a sort of rivalry with the place?"

Anoki shot Caelwyn a knowing look as he talked about her boobs, though an eyebrow arched sharply when he mentioned flopping. Flopping! Really? She looked down at her breasts and pushed one up, frowning, but stopped her examination when he shoved his shirt at her.

She pulled it on over her head, and had her head stuck inside it when he mentioned their rivalry.

"Rivalry?" Anoki said with a derisive snort, and pulled the shirt down over her head. "With those greasy scumbags? They're not even remotely in the realm of competition with us! We are a classy establishment. They are a den of filth! It's not even apples and oranges, because they're a rotten vegetable to our ripe, juicy fruit."

She waggled her eyebrows at Caelwyn as she said it, then smoothed down the shirt. "On a more important note, you don't actually think my breasts are floppy, do you? I think they're quite perky!"

Really?  Floppy breasts!  That's what she focused on what he said after she so vehemently defended her own establishment?  As much as he respected her for that - there was no honor he would spare to show all the world the value of true scholarly pursuit - he wondered if there was just a bit too much vanity that came with the profession of the flesh. 

But he had to give her a proper answer before they could move on, or he'd be racking his brain around his word choices for the rest of the night.  They had a mission after all and couldn't afford dangerous distractions.

"Floppy!?  Not at all!  It was merely a turn of phrase to signify jiggling breasts.  They're lovely truly," Caelwyn said with a grin and gracious bow.   "So much so those nipples could probably cut glass.  I mean look at 'em!"  He shrugged at her and gestured to her breasts like 'what're ya gonna do?'  He nodded however and gestured down the alleyway.  "Come on, Lady Diamond Tits!"

"Oh." Anoki broke out into a wide grin, and Caelwyn saved his own life!

Though at his little "nickname", she gasped and snapped her fingers. "DAMMIT!" she said, stomping her foot. "Why didn't I think of that?! That could have been my Peach name! Lady Diamond Tits...gods! But nooo, everyone already knows me as Cherry! That sounds so lame now!"

With a playful huff, she fell into stride beside Caelwyn, a little extra bounce in her step. He seemed rather affected by her breasts--don't think she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at them!--so she decided a little extra bounce there couldn't hurt, either. Though, on second thought, it actually kind of did. Ow. Okay, less bouncing now...

"So you like my Diamond Tits, eh?" she asked, nudging him in the side and waggling her eyebrows.

"Oh your breasts?" he asked, catching him off guard.  "Oh?  They're quite aesthetically pleasing.  As far as breasts go.  I'm sure you hear all about them when you're working."  He snorted a laugh as they pressed on.

Anoki looked over at Caelwyn slowly, her eyebrow liiiifting.

"...That is the single most unsexy thing I've ever had a guy say about my breasts. Congratulations!"

Caelwyn couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing, so he just smiled.  "Well, I am a wordsmith, dear," he said.  "Out of all the breasts I've had in my face, yours are by far the most pointed."

"The most pointed..." Anoki repeated, not sure if it was a good thing or not to have pointy breasts. Maybe he just meant her diamond-cutting nipples? She could get down with that.

"I'll take your word for that! The way you talk, you must be an expert. Had a lot of breasts in your face? I want to know how many tits I'm competing with."

"We don't HAVE to talk about this now, y'know.  It's all rather distracting," he said, keeping his head foward.  He could feel Anoki smirking at his back.  "There were just too many tits to count."

"Too many to count, eh?" Anoki said, her grin broadening. She fell into step beside him and hooked an arm around his shoulders, chummy-like.

"C'mon, this sort of thing is kind of my business! Literally! You have to share. Details, man!"

"Breasts, just lots and lots of breasts.  Nudity is socially acceptable in Essyrn, where I've done plenty of excavations.  I've had breasts in my face since I arrived and breasts in my face when I left.  People just seemed to like putting their tits in my face.  It was all rather impractical, really.  Do you know how HOT it is in Essyrn!?  I had sweaty breasts on one cheek and another on my right, and everything was just sticky and dripping and impossible to breath in.  Women always found an excuse to show me their breasts, though I can't imagine why.  But I told one good lady to please move her breasts from my desk because my hand kept brushing against her nipples as I was writing my notes."

...Okay.

That was unexpected.

Anoki looked at Caelwyn for a moment, eyes wide and slowly blinking as she registered his words. And oh, was there a lot to register there, because each word was a single brushstroke making up the colorful, vivid masterpiece he painted. A nightmarish masterpiece of sweaty, suffocating breasts. Breasts everywhere!

And then she just lost it. She collapsed against him so she was hanging onto his shoulder, weak with laughter, her hand to her eyes as tears collected in them.

She had not been expecting so dramatic a tale! Or for him to be quite so passionate about it! He seemed genuinely distressed! And that just made it funnier.

Caelwyn crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with a haughty glare.  "Oh it's just great that you find my situation so amusing!  At least one of us did.  My associate Serling certainly thought so.  I do believe he was red-faced with embarrassment really though.  He always was a prude.  While the human body can be beautiful, I don't see the need for any excessive touching.  Though I supposed I did thank them by shaking their breasts.  Serling told me it was the local custom.  But he ended up laughing just like you are now."

"Sh-shaking their breasts?!"

And Anoki died anew at that visual, crying with laughter, because while she had only known Caelwyn all of a night, it was something she could totally see him doing. And she could just picture the seriousness with which he did it. Shaking their breasts like he'd shake someone's hand.

"And you believed him?! Oh, Cael!" She wiped her eyes, still giggling. "Please tell me you're a virgin."

At that insinuation, Caelwyn grew flustered.  "What!?  What could POSSIBLY give you that idea!?  I've seen plenty of naked women.  Pfft, virgin.  What does that even mean anyway?" 

Anoki gasped, her free hand flying to the side of her face in genuine surprise. Okay, maybe not total surprise, because he did seem pretty damned oblivious on a lot of levels, and yet the frank, ambivalent way he handled nudity, while awkward, hadn't really reeked of virgin awkwardness. There had been no copious blushing--he'd adjusted her breasts for her, for gods' sakes! Really, she'd just been teasing him! He couldn't really...really?

But that answer was pretty damning.

She gaped at him. "Oh my gods. Oh my gods. You ARE! Aww, Cael! That's adorable!"

"It is!  I don't!  NOT EVEN!  I..OH YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE!" he said and was so hot in the face that he didn't think about what he did.  He just did it.  He lunged for her and smashed his lips to hers, gripping her face hard, with all the fire of his anger and kissed her hard.  Anything to get her to shut up.

Well then! Caelwyn was just full of surprises tonight!

And Anoki was okay with this!

Her laughter was cut off with a muffled, surprised sound, her eyes flying open with shock, but then she decided, well, for all she knew it could be his first proper kiss, so she ought to give the virgin a good one. And so she grinned against his lips at first, feeling smug to have made him lose control, before she got straight to business and took over the reins. She tangled a hand in his hair and kissed him fiercely, nibbling his lips and tasting him with her tongue, and she let it linger before she drew back slowly and fixed him with a pleased look.

"First kiss?"

The kiss sent an unnatural chill down Caelwyn's back and he felt his let twitch and shiver like a dog's might if they were being scratched on that one spot on their back they just couldn't reach no matter how hard they tried.  It positively took his breath away and it was an exhilarating experience.  But when she pulled away, he licked his lips and gave her a wicked grin.  "Wouldn't you like to know," he said and shook his head at her.  "Look, we still have work to do, let's get back to it.  You can harangue me later on it all you want."

Anoki's grin widened. "I'm gonna take that as a 'yes' until further details are provided," she said, just to tick him off. Hey, annoying him seemed to get pretty good results, and he didn't seem to be complaining about those results, either.

With a wink his way, she gave his ass a light smack and his lips a quick kiss before she parted from him. He was certainly getting a lot from her tonight, free of charge, but she wasn't a Peach right now, anyway, and it was kind of fun to just genuinely flirt, purely because she wanted to and not because she was getting paid. She didn't get an opportunity to do much of that.

"Alright, virgin boy, let's get you to your second brothel of the night! But gods help me, you are banned from getting any action from this place, you hear? They're rivals. Remember that. Riiivals. And thus evil."

Caelwyn scowled at her, huffing and shaking his head.  "I'll get action from any place I damn well please," he said with a resolute nod.  But now that she mentioned, it was probably a good idea not to allow for any further distractions.  They'd been delayed long enough.  So with that in mind, he slapped both of her ass cheeks with both hands and promptly ran off down the alley, well, stealthily.  They were still on a mission of course.

With a snorted laugh, Anoki shook her head and took off after him, the most strangely dressed crime-fighting duo in (she was pretty sure!) history. She caught up with him quickly, though, and fell in beside him, and couldn't help but whisper to him out the side of her mouth,

"Well, if you DO ever want to dip your wick, do it at my place. Definitely not theirs." And she gave him a sidelong look. "It's far cleaner. Otherwise, your little buddy might just fall off. Just, you know, some advice. I do know what I'm talking about here, years of experience and all that."

The whole conversation had left Caelwyn largely ruffled.  And he hated the fact that it did! Oh, what did it matter?  What point did it have to this particular venture?  It was none of her business anyway.  Okay, so maybe it sort of was her business.  But no real relevance, indeed.  He inwardly rolled his eyes and sniffed indignantly at the comment about dipping his wick.  He did well to ignore it, and brushed his hair back out of his face.

But then he made a face at her.  "What?  Fall off?"  Oh, right, cleanliness.  Coitus often made things exorbitantly messy and the exchange of body fluids could lead to all sorts of unwanted outcomes, like warts in odd places and children.  Gross.  "Never mind, I get the picture," he said, putting his hands up.

He stalked around the corner until he saw a building that seemed to match their destination.  Especially when there was a sign just above the door that said in rather faded letters "The Playpen."

[That's right, Cael! Children are gross! >:C ]

Anoki flashed Caelwyn a pleased grin. "Good," she said. She not only liked keeping business away from the Peach's filthy rivals, but she also just...

You know. Was looking out for the guy. If he was a virgin--and she could smell it on him like blood in the water--then he should have a good first time free of worries about warts and disease, with a girl who knew what she was doing and had all her teeth!

...Like her.

Unless he was more into men. Oh gods. What if he was? Except that kiss. He could like both.

Snorting at her own thoughts, she shook it away and focused back on the present. Time to kick some ass--if that guy back there wasn't full of lies.

"Bleh," she said, striding up toward the doors. "I can smell the sleaze from here. Now, remember, don't touch anything. Or anyone. You might catch something. In fact, try to hold your breath if you can."

And with that, she opened the door, and they were both greeted with a rush of smoke and incense and body odor, all mixed together and making for a rather...unfortunate perfume.

Caelwyn was an expert on many things, but as it turned out, brothels weren't really one of them. So when Anoki face him advice, he was going to take it.And the thought of losing his lunch so early in their adventure still did not stuff well with him. He was brave however and steeled himself for the unpleasantness to laid out before them. After all how hard could it be to track one man down in the middle of hooker rush hour?

Caelwyn surprised himself with his optimism.  So he was more than ready when the door was open and out poured the scent for heated flesh dripping with body odor and hormones spilled out all over the floor.  His first instinct would've been to stop the presses as the half dressed workers turned their eyes to them immediately. In fact one of the girls recognized Anoki and scowled at her as if she were a leper.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face round here, sister!" she spat.  Caelwyn thought he saw acid burning on the floor where her saliva landed.

"Oh, hello, Misty!" Anoki said with a brilliant smile as she reached out to take Caelwyn by the arm. "Look at you! That one tooth finally fell out, I see. You know, that dangly one that was all--"

If Misty could have vaporized Anoki with her eyes, she would have. As it was, Anoki could swear the woman's eyeballs began to smoke. "What are you doing here?" she ground out, and shot a killing look at Caelwyn.

"Why do people normally come here? We're customers! Just having a little look-see at the wares before we purchase any, right, Cael? C'mon, now! Let's leave Misty here alone before she starts spitting the rest of her teeth." And with a little tug, she started to guide him toward the lounge. Best to check there first, just in case!

Though with their luck, the big man would already have a room...

Losing her teeth?  Just by standing there?  Oh, well if there was a first for everything, he'd definitely like to see that.  Perhaps he might interview her later on the cause of her affliction and that just a little cleaning with a small brush and a cleaning paste might do just the trick.  Perhaps even some straight gin to clean between the teeth.

Caelwyn walked along with Anoki and leaned into her ear.  "How do you know her?  Oh, wait, I think I can guess," he said and looked off to the lounge where several whores were traipsing around and lounging on the limbs of their clients, and others groping each other and heading upstairs.  There were several men that fit the description of their target, but Caelwyn settled on the biggest one in the back with two girls, one on each arm.

Oh, the very sight of him made Caelwyn sick to his stomach!  He could puke!  Oh and he just might have were it not for one of the other whore's spotting him and proceeded to grab onto his other free arm.

"Well, hello there, handsome!  You don't look familiar to me.  Let me show you around, I'm Crystal."  She was a petite thing, no bigger than his shoulder and slim and a bit lanky on the arms.

Caelwyn leaned his head back, glaring at her from the corner of his eye.  "Caelwyn Caye," he didn't want to be rude after all.  Not now.  "Er, do you-"

"Everything?  Yes," Crystal gave him a simpering grin and tried to be demure.  "I can be anyone you want too, honey."

"Er, yes, that's fine dear.  But I need you to tell me everything you know about that man over there."

"Oh he doesn't work here.  But I do.  50 a night, no chops.  100 if you want the whole roleplay gig, babe," Crystal went on, trying desperately to command Caelwyn's attention.  She glared at Anoki.  "I've got it from here.  Why don't you run back along to the Wench.  Oh, I mean the Peach."

"Ha ha. So witty," Anoki said with a roll of her eyes before she took hold of Caelwyn's other arm. "Sorry, doll, but he's with me. I decided to take him on a tour and show him how not to be. Now run along. Shoo. Go play with your other Pigpen friends."

Then she gasped and covered her mouth as though she'd made an embarrassing gaffe. "Oh, I'm sorry, I mean Playpen!"

Crystal's glare deepened, her cheeks reddening, but Anoki tugged Caelwyn away from the woman. "C'mon, loverboy," she said, and leaned in to press a kiss to the side of his neck, right near his ear, while Crystal glowered and stormed off.

"You have to be assertive with these types," she whispered into his ear, using the kiss as an excuse. "They're pushy and distracting, so you have to learn to just give a firm 'no'. Don't smalltalk them; that's how they reel you in. And for the love of the gods, don't give them personal information! You want to tip the brute off before we even find him?"

Don't make small talk and don't give personal details, got it!  Caelwyn nodded quickly to her, even with the heat of the kiss by his ear, which made his leg do some kind've funny twitch like a dog when you scratch that middle part of their back that they just can't reach.

"Okay, but how do we get close enough without making him suspicious?  I'm afraid to admit that I'm not nearly as versed in body language as you seem to be.  You are the expert in this, and as much as it pains me to admit, I'll be willing to defer to you in anything if it means getting my bag back."

Anoki's eyes narrowed by a fraction. "As much as it pains you to--oh, never mind! Now listen, we're just gonna play it casual. We're in a pretty safe space, strange as that may sound."

She tossed a glance over toward the big man Caelwyn had been asking Crystal about moments ago.

"I have an idea, a sort of test we can pull. We don't want to tip him off before we get to him, because we don't want him to have time to flee, but there's no harm in going directly over to him and seeing if he reacts when he sees you. That way if he gives some sort of tell, we're close enough to grab him." She looked back at Caelwyn.

"He's in public now, around lots of people. He could get violent here, sure, but I know this place employs some brutish guards to keep order. If he starts anything, they'd be on him."

Caelwyn doubted the man would recognize him.  He wasn't among the group that assaulted him, however, there could always be the possibility that the ones that did tipped him off already with a description of him.  But Anoki was right, and as much as that prospect soured his stomach, Caelwyn was in no position to contradict her.

"All right.  That could work.  Boobs first though," Caelwyn said and promptly walked with Anoki in front of him, pushing out her lower back and squishing her shoulder blades together so that her chest would stick out more.

[OH OOPS RIGHT CAEL NEVER MET THE DUDE. XDDD *BRAINFART*]

"What are you--?!" Aaaand then Anoki was walking toward the group like a bloody idiot, because Caelwyn decided to push her along and make sure her chest was puffed out like a strutting chicken! Was he...literally hiding behind her breasts?

She humored him, though, and walked like an idiot, too amused by how his brain apparently worked to fight it. And sure enough, they were drawing stares--including from their targeted group. "Do you think my boobs double as a shield or something?" she asked in a whisper. "Because they're so firm and fabulously perky?"

"No, mostly because a man's first instinct is survival, and that includes procreation...Well, the sex without the creation part in this case.  And what better way to sell sex than to lead with your chest." Caelwyn moved behind her from that position and practically shoved her bombs right up into the burly man's face.

He didn't even notice Caelwyn as he looked up from her chest to her face, grinning widely through brown teeth.  "Well, hello there, stargazers."

[Omg bombs. xDDDD]

Ohhhh, gag. Had the man never heard of cleaning his teeth? Now, Anoki had laid with some gross folk in her time, but she had both soft limits and hard limits when it came to hygiene, and one of her hard limits was bad oral hygiene. If she was going to put her mouth on someone else's mouth, or they were going to put their mouth anywhere on her, they needed to at least scrub their teeth and tongue first! Worse even than his rotting teeth was the stench of halitosis, hitting her just a second or two later, and Anoki clamped her mouth shut even as her throat convulsed with the effort it took not to audibly choke.

No wonder the women with him were making sour lemon faces...

When she had composed herself enough, she flashed him the most brilliant smile she could muster. "Aww, thanks, babe! You know, it's a rare gentleman that notices my pretty sparkling eyes before my breasts."

It took a few moments, but when the guy got it he barked a laugh--that sent another cloud of stench at her. She swayed back against Caelwyn. "Oh, aren't you funny?" He then pat his knee, the one that wasn't already occupied by a voluptuous brunette. "Why don't you come on over so I can get a better look?"

Anoki smiled and twirled a lock of her hair. "Aww, that's a real sweet offer there, dollbaby, but it looks like you're occupied and I've got my heart set on someone already. Word on the street's one of our regulars here is a downright beast in bed, and I'd love to be savaged by him. Seems Brennan's a popular man, though," she added with a sigh. "I can't seem to find him anywhere."

That was when the man's face changed.

Anoki barely had time to recognize it before he snapped like a viper, shoving the other women away and grabbing her by the arm before she could react and yanking her from Caelwyn's grasp. He had a knife to her throat before she even knew he had one.

"How'd ya know my name?" he growled--before his eyes fell on Caelwyn. "And who the fuck are you?"

Well that escalated quickly.

Caelwyn stumbled backwards when Brennan pulled out that knife and his old flight instincts immediately took over.  Or they would have if he wasn't just frozen in fear.  Yes, Ketra would not be among this top vacation spots come next summer or spring.  He'd probably be content with going back home to Ravensway.

Nope, Ketra wasn't nice at all.

But right now he had a friend that needed his help.  And it probably wouldn't do to make the one person who showed him any hospitality suddenly hate his guts because he ran away from a fight.

"You got a tongue you pussy, or did someone else cut that out too!?" Brennan snarled a laugh and pressed the blade harder against Anoki's throat.

"I'm looking for you, Brennan," Caelwyn replied at last, sound more courageous than he felt.  "Name's Caye.  Sound familiar?  You might recognize it from a bag you stole!"  And with that he launched his face square toward Brennan's chin.

OH DEAR! Anoki's eyes went saucer wide when Caelwyn literally headbutted Brennan right in the chin, because that could have gone very badly for her! She was the one with the knife at her throat! What if Brennan slipped and cut her?! It would be curtains for her!

But by some massive stroke of luck, Caelwyn was just the right kind of crazy that his crazy plan worked, because it took Brennan off guard as much as it did Anoki. He yowled in pain, his mouth slamming shut right when he was about to speak so that he bit his tongue hard, and blood dribbled from his mouth as he swore and fumbled the knife.

He didn't drop it, but he lowered it, and Anoki seized the moment. She snatched the knife from his hand and grabbed his wrist, twisting and locking his arm behind his back while he was still stunned, and pressed the point of the knife to the side of his neck. "Move and I break your arm!" she said. "If the knife doesn't slip first!"

It...wasn't an ideal situation. But things had gone tits up fast, and what else were they supposed to do? But now the entire brothel was silent, and all those eyes were on them.

And Anoki saw with budding horror that some of those men were rising from their seats in the lounge and popping their knuckles, and that their eyes had a different, predatory glint to them.

Brennan wasn't an idiot.

He hadn't come here alone.

[Lol!  A wrong word that actually turned out well!  I totally meant, "FIST" instead of "FACE" as in Caelwyn punched him instead of headbutting.  Whoops!  But I'm not fixing it because I like this better.  Besides it's not like Caelwyn is not used to using his face, he did get beat up a lot.]

Now he certainly wasn't expecting that!  But it wasn't a moment he was going to let go to waste.  However, acting first had abruptly caused the very problem he was trying to avoid, a full out fight.  That being said, there was no going back now.

"This can get real ugly, really fast, Brennan.  Just tell me where my bag is and we'll get out of your way and you can go back to your whores!" Caelwyn said quickly, looking for a faster solution as his thugs began to encircle them.

[I still love this so much, you have no idea. xDDD HAPPIEST MISTAKE EVER.]

Brennan shot Caelwyn a blank look. "No, really, who the FUCK are ya?" he repeated in a growl, eyes narrowing as though trying to place Caelwyn's face.

Anoki shot an uneasy glance at the rough-looking men that were closing in, and noted the way some reached into her their coats or rested their hands near their belts. They were armed, of course, but worst was a sudden, strange thrumming tingle in the air that made the hairs along her arms and the back of her neck stand on end. Someone was casting magic, or drawing magic, and that worried her.

That and the fact that they were grossly outnumbered.

But she kept her grip on Brennan and glared at the thugs. "Step off!" she snapped. "Take five big steps back or it's going to get ugly!" One of the thugs only took another deliberate step forward, testing her. Dammit. "Brennan, I'd answer the man if I were you. Some of your thugs beat this gentleman, left him naked in the street, and stole something precious to him. They said you had it! Where is it?"

There was a brief pause, and Anoki felt Brennan twitch as though startled. "Did they."

"Did I stutter? Where is it!"

Brennan let out a short laugh. "Who toldja I had anythin'?"

Despite boxing those guys in the alley, Caelwyn did not enjoy violence by any means. But it seemed there was no escaping it now; there could be no turning back.  Especially since those men began to get weapon happy.  But then their expressions instantly changed when Brennan made a noise they clearly were not expecting. 

Caelwyn lunged forward, bringing his leg back and letting momentum snap it back forward at an alarming rate and it slammed hard into Brennan's groin.  The brute immediately buckled over and held his nuts, making a whimpering moan and dropped to his knees despite Anoki's dagger.

And the other men just stood back in horror.

"I think I popped a ball," he squealed.

"My bag. Or I pop the other!"

Haaaaarsh.

Anoki wholeheartedly approved! Though if she hadn't had quick reflexes, that could have gone badly. Brennan doubled over and Anoki let him, moving with him and hoping he hadn't sliced himself!

"I don't have no fuckin' bag!" Brennan whined, still clutching himself as his eyes watered and nose ran quite pathetically. Then again, Anoki was pretty sure any man would be sobbing after a kick like that!

"Really? 'Cause sources say you do! Your men sold you out, so don't bother denying it!"

Brennan whipped his head up and tried to muster up his best glare. "Who?"

"Does it matter? Some scarred-faced buffoon and a bald guy with a silver tooth. Looks like your group ain't as tight as--"

Brennan surprised her then, cutting her off with a hoarse, choked laugh. "Oh, I know exactly who yer talkin' about," he wheezed out, voice still unnaturally high in his agony. "And those ain't any of my men."

"Then whose men are they?" Caelwyn had lost a great deal of his patience already and he wasn't going to accept a finish it answer.

"Maybe you'll get a chance to find out," Brennan said with an ominous smile--

Right before one of his men thrust his hands out at Caelwyn and sent a shock of electricity arcing through the air at him, making the air crackle. Anoki let out a yell of warning--and that distraction was all that was needed for the men to close in fast.

Caelwyn howled and he crumpled to the ground.  Everything happened so fast, it was hard to keep track of all that happened.  His vision blurred, but he could make out, somewhat, his men attacking Anoki and putting her in the ground. And then someone kicked him hard and everything went black.

When Anoki woke up again, she...wasn't in the brothel.

She was nowhere she recognized, actually, except that it was a forest.

In fact, she wasn't even right side up!

She was naked, hanging upside down from a tree branch, a coarse rope tied around her bound ankles. Her hands, however, were free and dangling over her head, and as she slowly yet groggily gained more clarity...ugh.

She realized she was covered in a thick, sticky amber substance that smelled far too sickly sweet.

Honey...? She darted out her tongue to lick her lips. Yup. Honey.

What kind of crazy ass customer shenanigans had she gotten into this time...waitaminute.

Twisting a little, she caught sight of another shape not far away, similarly hung from a branch by his ankles and covered in goo. Caelwyn. He looked like he'd endured a pretty good walloping, too, though maybe some of those bruises were from before. With a groan, Anoki rubbed her face, which was sticky, and let out a groan as her head swam, the blood pooling around her brain. She felt sick, her head all achy, and the overpowering smell of honey wasn't helping.

"Cael!" she hissed, and started to wriggle, started to try and rock back and forth--which was awful, and made her stomach twist. They weren't a small distance up, either! And she wasn't sure how long they'd been here, but long enough that she could see the sky lightening through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

"Caelwyn! Caelwyn, wake up!"

A grumble down below alerted her then, and she stopped swinging and glanced down.

And sucked in a deep breath.

Because right below them was a brown bear, attracted to the sweet smell, and it had its eyes on them.

He knew he smelled something sweet.  But then his body jerked awake when Anoki called his name.

"HA HO!  AH!  WHAT!?" he yowled and realized very quickly that things were not how they ought to be.  "Why am I upside down!?" he yelled back to Anoki, though it was only then that he realized the bear.  Wait...wait! 

"Oh KIA!"

NO!  OH NO! HE WAS NOT GETTIN' EAT BY BEARS TONIGHT!  (Or was it day?) 
"Anoki!  Play dead!"

Anoki stared at Caelwyn like he'd lost his mind.

"Play dead?! Does that even work?!" she hissed, dizzy and miserable from the blood pooling in her head. She glanced again at the bear, which was circling beneath them and sniffing the air, and blanched.

It was worth a shot!

She let herself go limp.

And after a few moments, she cracked am eye open.

And saw the bear still there, staring hungrily up at them--and licking its lips as some honey dripped down and onto its muzzle.

Then, with a frustrated grunt, the bear rose onto its hind legs and stretched to try to reach them.

Anoki squealed before she could help it. "I DON'T THINK IT'S WORKING!"

"Frost your nipples!" Caelwyn cried out, but just as he did so, the bear turned it's attention on him.  "What!? NO!  GO AFTER HER! EAT HER FIRST!"  The bear grumbled something, stood up and licked the honey off his cheek.  "Ewww!"

It was Caelwyn's turn to wiggle and squirm, using all the muscles of his body to pull himself up.  His feet were already getting tingly and his legs ached from lack of blood.  The bear growled in frustration nipping toward his asscheeks but not quite making it. "Anoki! Distract it! I think I can get loose! Or at th very least climb this rope!"

"Eat me first?! You TRAITOR!" Anoki snapped, and could have either laughed or cried when the bear started to lick Caelwyn's cheek--laugh because it was funny, and cry because it wanted to eat them!

But then Caelwyn was climbing the rope, leaving her dangling--and the bear turned its attention to her with its other prey out of reach. It stretched for her, its tongue lapping at her arm, and Anoki jerked away and and started to try to swing herself, narrowly missing a swipe from the bear's massive paw.

"DISTRACT IT?! How?! Should I jiggle my boobs at it?!" she yelped, voice rising. She grabbed for the rope when she'd gotten enough momentum, narrowly missed, and yelled when she swung back and smacked right into the bear's face. It surprised the bear just enough that it dropped back down onto all fours, shaking its head as she'd smeared honey all into its fur, but then it growled and rose back up and took another swing at her.

Anoki jerked her arm out of the way just in time and lurched up again, this time catching the rope in one hand as her stomach muscles ached in protest. "HURRY UP!"

He did hurry and climbed the rope, pulling himself up on the branch and making short work of the knot around his ankles.  God's he was sticky beyond belief!  Even ants trying to navigate over his legs got stuck in the honey.  He didn't waste any time climbing over the branches and over to where Anoki was and pulled her up before the bear could swipe at her bottom.

"Crickety-crap!  That bear is mad.  Let's hurry before it climbs the tree."

Caelwyn slipped an arm around Anoki's waist to help steady her and pulled her toward the base of the tree where the brancheswere thickest, the boughs creaking under their mutual weight.  And then the bear growled and stalked around the tree, trying to find the perfect spot to climb.

"Hurryhurryhurry!" Anoki gasped as Caelwyn hauled her up, throwing her arms around his neck with a squish, the honey mashing between them. Gods. So gross.

But right then she wasn't concerned with the grossness. She was concerned with the bear, that had indeed found a good spot and had begun to shimmy its way up with alarming speed. "Shit. Great. Okay, so here's the deal! We wait for it to get up here, then we use the rope to climb down. Sound good? Hopefully that'll buy us enough time to put some distance between it and us. I don't think bears normally eat people, but damn if we don't smell delicious."

As she spoke, she released Caelwyn's neck and got her balance, then worked at the ropes binding her ankles, and soon had them undone.

Caelwyn paused.  "Wait a second.  What if he doesn't want to eat us?  What if he just wants to lick off the honey?  I mean, it is a bear.  It is entirely possible..."  He stared at the bear, which growled at having it's quarry so far up in the tree and it's frustration at having its easy meal snatched from it getting the better of him.

What was he saying!?  The bear wanted to eat them and pick its teeth clean with their bones!

"Fuck that!  Let's get out of here!" he said, quickly snapping out of it.  With a rush he led them through the branches, one sticky movement after another, and loose leaves and branches clung to his ass and anything else they came into contact with.

Caelwyn slipped, a branch breaking just as the bear started to climb the tree.  It was largely all the way up the tree when he fell out of it and groaned, holding his back.  It wasn't that hard of a fall, nevertheless, it left him winded and he slowly climbed to his feet.  "C'mon Anoki!  Jump!" he wheezed and started to limp away as fast as he could.

Ouch. That...did not look like a soft landing, and Anoki winced and braced herself and peered down through the leaves to make sure he was still moving and living. But Caelwyn had proven to be a resilient bastard, and soon he was back up and...

Leaving her?

"Hey! Where're you going?" she shouted after him, and then gasped and nearly toppled off her branch when it gave a sudden, violent wobble. She had to drop down and wrap her arms and legs around it to keep her grip--and a glance backwards revealed the reason it had shook.

The bear was level with her now, claws still dug into the tree's trunk, and was reaching out and testing the branch's strength with one massive paw. Anoki sucked in a breath and looked back to Caelwyn. "Cael! Get back here! You're supposed to cushion my fall!"

"CUSHION YOUR FALL?"  He couldn't believe his ears!  This from a woman that was more limber than a carnival acrobat!  Couldn't she just plop down from a tree and land on her head, or whatever it was she did!  She ought to be used to bending in weird positions by now.  Oh, but he couldn't really leave her behind.

Thankfully, his limping hadn't taken him far, and he scurried back to her.  With arms open, he signaled her to jump.  Just as the bear was taking another swipe.

Hey, she could bend, but that didn't mean she wouldn't break! And a fall seemed like a great way to break some bones!

...Though, in all honesty, Anoki realized she was probably exaggerating the height in her mind, that she was probably imagining it as a longer drop than it was. Caelwyn had landed fine, after all! But she'd rather pretend to be a little dainty in this area than admit the truth: that she wasn't really great with heights.

Thankfully, Caelwyn came back, and as soon as he opened his arms, she jumped.

Right as the bear swiped. She felt the air stir where its paw passed, but it missed by inches, and then she was tumbling through space as her heart lurched--

Right before she collided hard with Caelwyn, who while not exactly a soft landing, was a lot softer than the ground! With an oof!, she sent them both collapsing to the ground.

Caelwyn wheezed beneath Anoki.  She wasn't exactly a large woman. But she wasn't light either!  Behind her, he could see the bear growling loudly with rage at having to climb all the way back down.  That was enough to get Caelwyn to scramble to his feet, dragging Anoki with him.

He didn't realize it then, but he was actually screaming at the top of his lungs.  He had Anoki by the hand and was running as fast as his legs could take him.  He was still rather sticky, and his junk stuck to his thigh and debris clung tohis feet.

Despite Anoki's own misery, being covered in sticky honey mixed with bugs and gods knew what else was clinging to her, she burst into laughter as they ran. Because Caelwyn was shrieking like his balls were on fire as they ran, which of COURSE let mama bear know exactly where they were going--and any other critters (or people!) that were itching for a piece of them!

And gods be damned, but she was tired and hysterical enough from the stress of the situation, and the blood rushing from her head back to where it ought to be, that it was extra hilarious. While Caelwyn screamed, she cackled as they ran, so if they had any watchers, no doubt they would have been labeled completely stark raving mad.

Finally, though, she got her senses back enough that she suddenly pulled against Caelwyn to tug him behind some thick bushes, and she clapped a hand over his mouth to silence him, panting breathlessly. "Shhhhh!" she said, and finally got a good look at him--and he looked utterly ridiculous, a complete and total wreck. She imagined she looked no better--

But she didn't have time to think on that, because that was when the bear came ambling along, its nose twitching and nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air.

Just when he thought he was going to die, there Anoki went throwing him into some bushes and saving his life again.  He stared at her wide-eyed and was stock still as the bear came hunting.  In his mind ran all the facts he knew about bears and one thing was for sure, they had a potent sense of smell.  Could they really hide in these bushes and expect to remain unfound?

But perhaps Kia favored them that day, because the bear kept on sniffing and trundled off right past them.  Caelwyn strained a little beneath Anoki's hand, wiggling until his nostrils were free and he sucked in a deep breath.

He noticed then the kind of bush they were in, the powerful aroma of Phaecallia concealed their honey covered bodies.  Which reminded Caelwyn that Anoki's belly was sticking to his.

Anoki held her breath, body tense. If that bear caught them now, it was the end for them. Bears ran faster than people, and neither of them had any weapons. Those huge, dagger-like claws would take care of them, and then it would have a nice honey-covered, meaty snack!

...Yet it walked right on by.

It was several long minutes before she released her tight (almost suffocating, whoops!) grip on Caelwyn's mouth and sucked in some gulping breaths of her own. "We are so goddamned lucky today," she breathed. "Aside from the part where this happened in the first place. Who knew the gods would send the one bear with a broken sniffer--"

Her words cut off abruptly, because that was when she started to feel it: a terribly, itchy burning. She grimaced, not having the knowledge of plants to identify the issue, and started to pull away from Caelwyn--which proved a bit challenging when the honey had suctioned them together. It clung to them, stretching between them in strings. "Ow...is it just me, or was there like...maybe something in the honey?"

"It does feel a little funny.  Though it might just be a reaction to the Phaecallia flowers blooming in this rosebush," Caelwyn said, trying to sit up.  But when he looked down he frowned a little, blushing furiously.  "Oh, sorry, my penis seems to be stuck to your leg."

Anoki followed Caelwyn's eyes downward. Then she looked back up at his blushing face, and burst into laughter.

"Not the first time that's happened to me," she said, and reached down casually to help pry him off of her, gently as she could since the thick honey was acting like glue. Forgetting, of course, that thing called personal boundaries and that he might not like his penis being handled by her (he wasn't a client, after all!), but at this point she felt they were far, far past that, and that they'd long since gotten familiar with each other's junk.

...In the most strangely platonic of ways? She didn't think she'd ever been this naked and this intimate with anyone in her life without sex having happened or been about to happen.

"Won't be the last, either--though honey was never involved! Hold still, doll. There we go! Penises. I've seen a lot of penises, and just between you and me, they'll never stop being funny."

"Very true.  Penises are odd if you think about it," Caelwyn mused thoughtfully.  Frankly he didn't mind the handling all that much, and it made him feel funny.  He didn't really put that much thought into his penis, or handling it, or anything because frankly he had more important things to do.  But at least Anoki was mildly respectful and gentle.

Her hands were at least warm too.

"Do you feel itchy?" he asked, as they finally crawled out of the bushes.  "I think the Phaecallia unleash protective pollens when disturbed that irritate the skin.  We need to find water to get it off.  That and removing the honey would be a good idea too."

"Greeeat," Anoki said with a sigh as she followed Caelwyn out of the bushes, dirt and leaves sticking to her in all the wrong places. She probably looked like some sort of wild fae creature. Caelwyn sure did. She scratched at a bare patch of skin on her arm, frowning at the red rash she could already see developing. "As if we weren't banged up enough, let's add a poisonous plant to the mix!"

Because now that she was no longer afraid for her life, she could feel all her other aches and bruises, the throbbing headache from where she'd been knocked out, and various other dings and scratches--her ankles rubbed raw from the rope, some cuts here and there from likely being dragged around, aches from her tumble. Without a bear putting the fear of the gods into her, or Caelwyn being hilariously distracting, now she was just starting to feel a bit miserable and, as a result, grumpy.

And blech. She felt all gross. The honey was in her hair, too! Gods, she hoped she wouldn't have to shave herself bald to get it out!

"It's almost like everything's trying to kill us," she remarked, and scratched at her butt.

Caelwyn looked and felt no better than Anoki, but the wailing and complaining about this little side quest to their misadventure could come later when he was barking Serling's ear off.  He took Anoki by the arm and pulled her along through the bushes.

"The best thing we can do right now is to get cleaned up.  Some sedimentary run-off will be good to counteract the rash and cool and sooth the skin.  I think I hear running water off in this direction, " he said and dragged them both off as hellish as they both looked.

"Sedimentary whatwhat?" Anoki said as she followed along with him, scratching at her shoulder with her free hand, then her back, and cringing as honey got trapped under her nails. Augh, gods! It was starting to get worse. "What's 'sedimentary'? That some scholarly talk or something?"

Caelwyn shook his head.  "That's just fancy talk for mud," he said and wandered through the bushes leaves and loose branches clinging to his ass as he went.  Thankfully the water was mucher closer than he thought and a pond opened up before them.  He crouched beside the water and went about cleaning off his hands before diving into the water.

"Then just say mud!" Anoki said, right before she caught sight of the water.

She could have cried with relief. While Caelwyn took his sweet time getting in, Anoki charged forward and jumped into the water, shrieking when it was cold--but embracing it fully, because the cold instantly soothed her inflamed skin. She dunked under the water and scrubbed furiously at her matted hair and scraped at the honey plastered to her skin.

"Damn those bastards! I swear to the gods, if they ruined my hair, I'll murder them all!"

He didn't question when she griped about her hair. With being the only boy in a family of nine sisters he knew only too well yhe inportance placed on a well-maintained hairdo.  He never put much stock in his own, but it certainly didn't hurt to wash himself out.  When he was largely clean, he approached Anoki.  "Here let me help.  I have 9 sisters I know what I'm doing."

And he carefully began to work the muck out of her hair.

"...Nine sisters?" Anoki repeated, jaw dropping. "Sweet gods and goddesses. How are you still alive?"

She didn't at all object to his handling of her hair, though, for it was clear that he indeed had experience and it was better to let someone who could see what they were doing have at it. Besides, having someone else play with your hair (even if it was gross and covered in honey and bugs and dirt) was nice, and she closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

"That does explain a lot of things, though."

Caelwyn furrowed his brow.  His hands worked slow enough around her head to not completely knot the mess up, and deftly enough to pull the mess out.  He never cared much for physical appearances in terms of his own. All that mattered in yhe long run was his research and contributions to every Thinking Society known to this modern world. 

He turned to look at her over her shoulder.  "Explain what exactly?" he asked, curious and yet cautious about that response.

Anoki risked turning her head a little, as far as she could go with his hands in the strands, and smirked. "Like how weird you are around women! Or at least...woman. I haven't seen how you are around other gals."

Caelwyn frowned at her evaluation.

"I'm not weird," he said, irked that even he would feel defensive about such a notion.  "I think I'm fairly normal.  Much better than most other men might treat a woman.  I've met some nasty numbers in my travels that all regard women as property, as if it might somehow emasculate them to see bright and beautiful intelligent women in their society.  How can mortal kind ever move forward in our respective societies if we suppress viable contributors toward making the world at large a better place?  If anything, I think having so many sisters has made me a better man."

Caelwyn sniffed indignantly, and pulled the remaining gunk out of Anoki's hair.  "Besides, I think respecting the mind of anyone without regard to what they look like on the outside should be most important.  Unless you look like a buffoon.  Then most likely you are.  Of which, thankfully, you are not Anoki.  But you are...odd, if anything.  It's refreshing!  I haven't had so much fun in many many months."

"Oh, no, no!" Anoki said with a laugh, holding up her hands. "You misunderstand me. See, I agree, and that's not why you're weird! Most men are scum, you're absolutely right. Trust me, in my profession? You see 'em all. A lot of them do think that they're buying us, not just our services, and that we're not people deserving of respect. And I know it's not just whores this happens to. It's girls getting groped on the streets and other things."

She winced as some of his pulling plucked out strands of hair, but all things considered, he was doing way better than she could have done on her own--and was being far gentler on her than she'd be on herself. "I like your attitude. I like that you treat me like a person, not...how most people treat Peaches. And I think you've got a beautiful outlook. Honestly. It's refreshing. I wish more men were like you. What I was talking about, actually, was...hmm...how do I put this..."

She peered back at him again and smirked. "Like, nudity obviously doesn't bother you. I mean, nine sisters, I'm sure you saw things. I have a big family--not nine sisters, thank gods, but six siblings. There was basically no privacy, so I get it. And yet at the same time you're so awkward. And yet not? You can grab my boobs and adjust me without batting an eye, your dick gets stuck to my leg and we can still make eye contact, but other, minor things get you so flustered. It's like you can't decide whether to view me as a sister or not."

She paused. "...Though I hope none of those things ever happened with your sisters."

"Oh, my father made sure to ensure that my sisters were well prepared for that sort of thing.  I think I had more trouble than they did with regards to harassment.  My sister Theodosia was always the one to give those town boys black eyes for throwing those rocks.  They never did have a good arm."  He smiled and pulled his hands from her hair when the gunk finally came out of it.

He pulled it back a little, letting it drape across her back and he flicked an eyebrow at her.  "You are definitely not my sister.  Why?  How should I be treating you instead?"

Damn. Anoki liked the sound of Caelwyn's family, and found herself feeling a little...irrationally jealous? And a little sad? But his next question drew her mind away from that can of worms--and left her genuinely stumped.

"...Huh." Anoki cocked her head, brow scrunching up in thought, and then turned around to look at Caelwyn. "I...hm. Hah. You know what? That's kind of an interesting question." She scratched the side of her head, relieved to find it free of gunk, and slid her eyes away from Caelwyn sheepishly.

Because the truth of the matter was, she wasn't sure what normal was. Here she was giving Caelwyn a hard time, and yet she didn't have a good answer to such a simple question. Because she didn't have friends who weren't also in the profession, and didn't have relationships with people that weren't related to her job. She'd never had a relationship, period. She didn't know how things normally worked. She just knew how things worked in her world.

Shaking her head, she smiled and pat his shoulder. "You know what? I actually like how you treat me already? So just keep doing that!" she said at last.

And it was the truth. She'd meant it when she said she found him refreshing. Maybe this right here was the closest thing to normal.

At that Caelwyn blinked and his smile only grew.  "Very well.  Then I shall.  My father didn't raise a ruffian, that's for sure.  I'm a gentleman, if anything."  He bowed extravagantly and turned around so his back was facing her.  "Okay, now wash my hair.  I've got gunk too.  I'll rub you down with mud soon.  We'll take care of that rash, don't worry."

"Rub me down with mud? Sounds exciting," Anoki said with a laugh, not looking forward to the experience at all. Cupping water in her hands, she dumped it over his head to wet his hair before she attacked the gunk--but gently! She started with the big chunks of twigs and leaves and crap that was stuck to the honey before she began to carefully thread her fingers through his hair to get at the honey itself.

"So," she said as she worked. "We're alive. I guess those bastards wanted to humiliate us more than murder us, and for that I'm pretty grateful."

Caelwyn made small sniffs and grunts at the feeling of her running her fingers through his hair to pull the gunk out of it.  His head retracted back, snapping with the force of each pull, but at least his hair was getting clean.  Her skin, he estimated, wouldn't stay irritated for long after the mud treatment.  The nutrients in the soil would return it to that natural coppery glow that had a nice affect on her eyes.

"Why take us all the way out here?" he wondered.  "Perhaps they have a hideout in the woods somewhere.  We must be miles outside Ketra, maybe more.  They must've been walking for hours, seeing as how the sun is pretty high in the sky."

Anoki paused at that assessment, eyebrows rising.

"...That's...a really astute observation, Cael," she said, visibly impressed. She rinsed honey from her fingers and went right back to work. "That'd be a lot of work on their end just to stick it to a couple of nobodies. And they kept us alive. Granted, I don't know enough about these people to know if murder's something they do, and I guess being obnoxious isn't enough to kill people over, though people have been offed for less. And I did hold a knife to the guy..."

She frowned in thought, and plucked a few stray leaves from Caelwyn's hair. "What do you think? Do you think they were lying about it not being them? Hold your breath!"

She pushed down on Caelwyn's head to dunk him under the water and swish his hair around, then pulled him right back up and went back to checking his hair.

Caelwyn sucked in a deep breath as down he went into the water and blew water out of his nostrils upon rising back up.  "I think they still have it, and likely think whatever was inside my bag must be of some kind of value to them.  Perhaps they believed us to only be a nuisance, but oh they will be wrong," he said grimly.

And finally turned to her when he felt his hair loosen of grime and other such nonsense.  "You ready for that mud bath yet?  Your skin looks like my backside after being too long beneath the sun's rays."

Wrong, indeed. Because while Anoki had initially followed along with Caelwyn for shits and giggles, it was personal now. They'd humiliated the both of them! And an insult like that just could not stand! So, bag or no bag, they were going after the fools. Dip them in honey and string them up for the bears and see how they like it. Maybe throw in some bees!

It was those dark musings and the distraction Caelwyn's hair gave her that kept her from scratching her irritated skin, even if she had to keep shifting awkwardly. The mud bath was sounding nicer and nicer.

She checked his hair again for anything she'd missed and let out a quiet groan. "I'm ready," she said. "My body's ready. It's irritated as fuck! I'm gonna scratch myself to my bones if it's not dealt with soon! Just forgive me if I'm not thrilled by the...mud part. Mud's like...animal shit, pretty much, isn't it?"

Her body was ready.  He blushed, not really understanding why, but the action came about anyway.  Caelwyn barked a laugh.  "Mud is dirt and water," he clarified quickly and went about caking some between his fingers and slapping it onto her arms.

"Soo..." Anoki grimaced as some of that mud got slathered onto her arms, a full-body shudder going through her at the sliminess of it all! In fact, she was pretty sure she saw a worm in it. Ew, ew, ew! Her toes dug into the mud beneath her feet as she squirmed, her expression one of abject disgust.

"...Dirt is made of animal poop though, right?" And she frowned and looked around, making a face, her nose wrinkled. "I mean. A lot of animals probably poop and piss in this very water. And have been for centuries. And then we drink it..."

Indeed, for all that Anoki was all about getting down and dirty, whether fighting crime or in the bedroom...she wasn't all that much of a nature person.

"You could say it's the poop of rocks," Caelwyn snickered and slathered the mud on her neck.  "You don't get out much do you?  It's fine.  It would smell bad if it were poop wouldn't it?  Besides all things return to nature.  Our cities and walls won't last forever.  Nature will come back to claim them in the fullness of time.  I've seen jungle ruins where entire temples were swallowed up by vines and vegetation."

Caelwyn massaged her shoulders for a bit, working the mud into her skin.  "Just relax.  Mud won't kill you.  Unless you swallow it, or get some in your eyes."

Anoki's eyes widened, and she gave him a startled look at the mention of mud killing her!

"What kind of mud is this?" she said, cringing and squirming away in disgust as he slathered up her neck. She lifted her chin high as though afraid he might get some in her mouth by mistake. "Now, I'm a city girl and all, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard of mud that kills. Is this poisonous? Why would you put poison mud on me!"

"I just mean you might choke on it!" he laughed and washed his hands in the water.  "Okay my turn.  Hurry!  I could peel my skin off just scratching it."

Anoki relaxed after that, letting out a small breath. Not that she actually thought he'd been slathering her with toxic mud. Really. Okay, maybe a little. Caelwyn was unpredictable enough, and had an atypical enough view of the world, that she wouldn't be all that surprised!

"Sometimes, I can't tell if you're talking literally or figuratively," she said, and bent down to scoop some mud into her hands. With a nudge to Caelwyn's shoulder to turn his back to her, she started to slap on big ol' gobs of mud and massage it into his back like she might massage oil into a client.

"You know, I've done a lot of weird things in my time. I've had a lot of strange requests from clients. I've indulged a lot of interesting kinks. But I have to say, this whole trip with you? Beats them all."

"Even after having no sex?  Most people would disagree," he said with a laugh and leaned back against her hands.  His muscles twitched with shivers of pleasure.  He didn't get back massages often.  And frankly his work was exhausting.  Most people didn't understand all the work that was involved with the scholarly pursuits.  It was both mentally and physically taxing.

But having a nice pair of hands working out those kinks was not something he was going to take for granted.  "You're very good at this.  You must massage a lot of clients often."

"Especially since there's been no sex," Anoki confirmed with a nod. "That just makes this all even weirder. I've never been so naked so many times and for so long with another person naked around me without someone getting off."

She slathered more mud onto him, working it onto his shoulders and down his arms. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you! I'm just saying. I've also never gotten all muddied up like this before, either, or had honey licked off me by a bear, sooo...this is definitely one big journey of discovery and first times. Goodness, you're all kinked up."

With a frown, she kneaded her thumbs into the knots she found, deciding to showcase her skills. "Nothing I can't handle, though. You could definitely say I've had a little practice in this area! Now, hold still and don't be a baby. This is a big one, so I'm going to have to just..." She dug her thumbs in, massaging into his flesh and attacking the knot with vigor.

"Gah!"

Caelwyn leaned forward when her hands worked into his backs.  He groaned, loudly, unable to contain, because really it felt like heaven.  He leaned over a stone on the ledge of the pond and turned to look at her over his shoulder, his face blushing red.

And it was only then that he realized, he liked massages maybe a little too much, especially when she reached his lower back.  "Whoops," he muttered at least thankful for the depth of the water.

Anoki paused at that, and leaned in a little more to get a peek at his face. Her eyebrow rose.

"Whoops?" she repeated. "Whoops, what?"

He gave a soft chuckle.  Face still flushed, he looked back at the mud and forced a shrug.  "Oh I just got an erection.  It's no bother.  Carry on," he said.

Anoki bit her lip to keep from barking out a laugh. Well, that was blunt! Once again, Caelwyn surprised her with his frankness; he was such an interesting blend of awkwardly prudish and yet also not?

"Really? From this?" she asked, and kneaded her thumbs into a knot in his lower back, just above his ass. "Are you a masochist by any chance?"

"I'm in as much surprise as you are," he was quick to say.  But the pressure of that massage did feel too good to resist.

And what an odd question.  He took a handful of mud, pondering something and smirked.  "Masochist?  You mean something like this?"  Abruptly he turned and flung the mud at her face.

SPLAT!

The mud hit Anoki dead-on, splattering her face and even getting in her mouth and up her nose! She let out a horrified squawk and flailed in disgust, spitting and gagging and wiping at her face.

"CAELWYN!" she shrieked, only thinking of all the animals that had likely pooped and peed in the freakin' mud! And all the worms that were probably in it! In her mouth! She spat and sputtered and when she'd swiped the mud from her eyes and could see again, she rounded on him with two fistfuls of mud.

"Oh, you're going to regret that, mister!" And then she smashed both open hands against his cheeks, turning his face into a mud sandwich.

In her retaliation, Caelwyn was bursting with laughter and he was snorting mud.  "Anokiiiii!"  And she was met with more mud to the face and in her hair.

"It's good for your scalp!"

"AGH! STOOOOOP!" Anoki shrieked as, soon enough, the mud was all up in her hair! All slimy and gritty and squished against her scalp! And she had a lot of hair! A lot of thick hair! That was so disgusting!

"CAELWYN! THAT'S GROSS!" And she grabbed for his wrists to try to stop him even as more mud got smooshed into her mouth, wrestling his arms down even as she tried to jerk away and escape getting more mud flung at her.

And it was that strange, unsteady combination of trying to pin him while simultaneously trying to dodge him that threw her off balance as one foot sank deeper in the mud and pitched her sideways--and down she went, splashing into the now very muddy water, and dragging Caelwyn down with her.

The sheer force of laughter stole his breath away.  Caelwyn was rolling, his belly aching at Anoki's reaction.  Because, frankly, it was hilarious!  She was squealing like a baby-child!  Caelwyn roared and fought back against Anoki's wrist grab.  But as they went down, soon they were both covered in mud head-to-toe.

He floundered, flailing his arms around spewing out water, swishing his hair around.  The momentum rolled them over against the mudding bank and Caelwyn landed on his back with Anoki atop of him.  "We..."  A snort.  "We look like pigs in a mud-pile!"

Anoki spat out a mouthful of muddy water, gagging and choking all the while and scrubbing at her mouth--only to realize her hands, of course, were just as filthy. "Oh. My. GODS!" she gasped out, and spat out more brown water to the side--and then just flopped atop Caelwyn. Utterly defeated.

Some things, you just couldn't fight. Sometimes, you just had to accept that you were covered in worms and gods knew what else. Because fighting against the mud had only gotten her muddier.

She spat out another mouthful. "This is hands down the grossest thing I've ever done," she said, and then propped her elbows up on his chest and glowered down at him. She huffed. "I think I've got mud up my ladybits."

Caelwyn just snorted again.  "I think I got some up my nose."  He blew some out of his nostrils, and yup, sure enough there was dirt up there.  "Gods, this is pretty gross.  But kind've nice, yes?  I mean the mud feels nicer than being eaten by a bear."

He looked up at Anoki.  But his face scrunched a bit, confused.  "How can you tell?"

"Being eaten by a bear would at least be quicker," Anoki said with an overly dramatic sigh, just because she felt sort of whiny and felt she'd earned the right to be a little whiny! She spent her days meticulously clean when she wasn't getting dirty, and even when she was getting dirty she wasn't without her boundaries. Nothing on the face or in her hair, for example.

At his question, though, she gave him an odd look, at first incredulous--before she barked out a laugh and let her head plunk down against his chest. "Not literally, Cael!" Anoki said, and snorted. "I mean, I've definitely got it down my ass crack and all up in between, but it's not..." She snickered. "It's not literally up my kitten, you know?"

She gave him a look. "That would take some effort."

"Kitten?"

Where did a cat come into all of this?  Was there a cat in a tree somewhere?  Or did she mean her... Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

"So it's all over?" he said, snickering a little.  "I guess the only way to really know if it's up there, is to have someone inspect it."

...Dear gods, he was adorable. Anoki could practically see the blanks slowly fill in, the pieces fall into place, as realization dawned in his eyes.

She laughed and poked his chest, drawing a little design in the mud caked on there. "Oh? What, are you volunteering?" she asked, and waggled her eyebrows with a playful little grin.

Caelwyn laughed, snorting out more mud caked up his nose.  He blew fiercely and looked at her sideways.  Perhaps it was a flirtatious question posed by anyone else, but posed by him, he was a scholar and a scientist and who better than he to find the solution to her quandary.

"Certainly," he said and gestured.  "I could take a look, and tell you my diagnosis."

Anoki's flirty smile faltered, and she blinked at Caelwyn in wide-eyed surprise. Wait. Wait, wait, wait!

"Hold on. You're...you're serious?"

Caelwyn nodded, but quickly added.  "If you need me too, certainly.  I'm here to help you as much as you are here to help me.  It's only fair, after all you've done so far."  He shrugged as if it were nothing at all. 

Anoki stared at Caelwyn a moment longer, expression unchanged--and then her lips twitched and it was all over from there.

She burst into helpless laughter, collapsing once more against his chest and even slapping lightly at his arm as she giggled. "You are so weird!" she got out between breathless gasps and snickers.

Caelwyn just stared at her for a moment before smiling, confused a little.  Was that not what he was supposed to do?  As ever his father raised a gentleman.  If she needed help, he ought to help her.

"I guess that's a good thing right?" he asked, looking down at her laughing form.  He snorted himself.  "I am a scholar of course, and if there's one thing scholars must do, it is experiment and learn all they can.  Life is too short for anything otherwise."

"Experiment, huh? By poking around in my muddy crevices?" Anoki teased, and tapped his nose for good measure.

"Hmm. Not that I'd object to being poked by you. Or experimented on, for that matter, if you know what I mean." And she gave him another playful eyebrow waggle.

"Poked?  What like this?"  And he took an index finger and drew odd shapes on her cheeks and smeared mud into her nose.

"I'm sure you'll just laugh and it'll all be a great big hoot," he chuckled and drew around the shape of her mouth.

Anoki pursed her lips as he started to draw on her muddy face--and add more mud to what was already there.

Yet, she didn't protest. She supposed that once she was already literally covered in the stuff, the worst had already happened so...what was left to protest? She'd already be digging mud out of her butt for days. What was a little more on her face? Sigh.

"Oh yes. Poked exactly like that. Mmm baby, that's just how I like it." And she dug her hands into the mud around Caelwyn and slopped a big pile of it onto his head, then smoothed the sides to start shaping it into a hat. Well. It was supposed to be a hat, at least, but it kept losing its shape and dripping down his face.

"I like my mud hat.  I hope you like your mudstache," he said, and spread mud on her upper lip.  He snickered again before leaning up and testing his lips against hers, pressing them gently.  It was just a peck before he pulled away, laughing again.

"Mudstache and mud beard!"  And he rubbed mud on his chin.  "I bet I look dashing don't I?"

"Mudstache!" Anoki repeated with a laugh, delighted by the pun--though her laughter was cut short with a surprised gasp when he pressed his lips to hers, however briefly.

And though it was just a brief touch, she was rather surprised at how her heart genuinely raced--just from a damned little peck! What the hell, Anoki? A flash of confusion shot through her, mingling with the fluttery belly feeling she'd felt when he'd kissed her more enthusiastically before, but she didn't have long to dwell on it when he started putting more mud on his face.

She shoved the feelings away, and let out an amused snort. "Ah, yes. Very attractive! I sense the beginnings of a new fashion trend, a hot new alternative for hairless men! By gods, you're a genius."

And she leaned in then and gave his lips a kiss, tasting mud but fighting back the urge to spit. "Mm. And no irritating stubble scratching. Brilliant!"

"Well, luckily I have my mother's complexion.  And I've never grown any excessive amounts of hair," he said, feeling his lips tingling with the pressure of her kiss.  He was hesitant, but curious, feeling a jolt in his belly.  A smile spread, followed by an easy laugh.

"But you've already seen my body.  Now you've seen it all slick and sloppy."  His head leaned up and pecked her lips again.  "That wasn't my first kiss you know.  My first kiss was Shailia Bradley.  She smelled like old socks.  It was horrible.  And really, she kissed me!  She said I owed her because she got Apples - that was my cat - out of a tree.  I'm pretty sure she was the one that put him up there!  At least you don't smell like old socks."

"Nah. I just smell like mud instead!" Anoki said, and squished her hand down against Caelwyn's mud hat to really grind the mud into his hair. "Because of a certain someone, I might add. But I assume you're talking about my smell when I'm not wallowing around like a pig."

She smoothed some of the mud away from Caelwyn's hairline as it started to creep down, threatening to drip into his eyes, and tilted her head. "Have you kissed many others after this Shailia gal?"

Caelwyn felt his scalp tingle beneath the mud hat from the way her fingers  moved through his hair.  He smirked, flickering on the corner of his lips.

"Not really.  I don't have much time for such things," he said, shrugging.  "Do you remember your first?  Kiss that is."

"Oh, of course. I don't think that's something you ever forget," Anoki said as she threaded her fingers through his hair, and wet her hands to start smoothing some of the mud out of the strands.

"I was about seven. His name was Derin Day, and he was a brat. I hated that kid. He was always pulling my hair or chasing me or kicking over over the little faerie houses I built with sticks and rocks. Oooh, I'll never forget his stupid, snotty-nosed laugh!" She laughed at the memory before her smile turned sly.

"One day, I decided to fight back. So when he started to chase me, I chased him. He wasn't expecting that, and I was always faster than him anyway. He hardly knew what to do, he was so surprised! Then when I caught him, I kissed him." Her grin widened. "Told him that was how mommies and daddies made babies, and that now he'd have a baby. Scared him straight, I did! He believed me, too, because I told him babies come out the belly button. He never messed with me again. Too afraid I'd kiss him again."

"What a jerk.  I concur kissing him was the right move.  Maybe I should have kissed those boys that kept hounding me.  Hmmm, though they might have just thrown bigger rocks had I done that.  Well, enough.  I learned that when people try to hurt other people, it's usually because they're trying to compensate for something gravely lacking in their own lives."

His hands were busy brushing away the mud from her face.  Feeling bolder, he leaned slowly forward and kissed her experimentally.

"I think it'd only work if there were still young enough to think bellybuttons were for babies," Anoki said with a snicker--though it was promptly cut short by his mouth on hers.

And this time, it tasted significantly less muddy, perhaps because the others had cleaned it away, and this time she wasn't ready to just let it end short. Hands still tangled in his hair, she leaned down into the kiss, once again rather surprised by his forwardness--but not at all complaining about it, either.

Sliding her hand down to cup the side of his face, she deepened the kiss, drawing his bottom lip between her teeth to nibble and suck lightly on it. Of all the things she thought she'd do in her life, making out covered in mud was not on that list.

But, she supposed, it was those unexpected moments that made life most fun.

He found he didn't quite mind being kissed, especially if it was one like that.  As if his lips were possessed of their own volition, they mimicked her actions, slipping his tongue between her cheeks and tasting a bit of the mud that got into her mouth.  It tasted of minerals, a bit of blood, and ...was that edible paint?

Caelwyn laughed against her lips, turning his head to deepen the kiss until his lungs started to hurt for want of air.  He pulled away with a string of saliva between them.  His heart pounded in his chest, and in his ears.  And for once he was at a loss for words.

Anoki licked her lips when Caelwyn broke the kiss, and broke the string hanging between them in doing so. For a few long seconds, she couldn't speak--out of sheer surprise!

When her brain finally caught back up with her body, she stared into Caelwyn's eyes and narrowed her own at him as she leaned in until their foreheads pressed together. "I'm starting to feel like your 'I haven't kissed many people' spiel is just a clever way to get more kisses," she teased, and pressed her lips to his again.

Caelwyn's expression was incredulous, unable to fathom any possibility where she wouldn't believe him.  "It's true!" he said hastily.  "I haven't!  I've, uh, just always been an astute learner.  And you wouldn't believe the kind of instruction others attempt to demonstrate even when it is clearly unwanted.  I just happen to know the proper structures of a kiss."

But then her lips silenced him - and really, it was better than trying to explain himself.  It was exhausting having to do it constantly!  Nobody would know what it was like to have people constantly confused around you - never fully understanding the complexities of life at large.  But at kiss, at least, was simple enough for most people to understand.

Even simple enough for Caelwyn.  And it was starting to make him tingle in place more south than just his belly.

It was, indeed, better that she silenced him! Because leave it to Caelwyn to go and make things all technical! Proper structure of a kiss, pah!

"Shhhh," Anoki murmured against his lips, before she tugged his bottom one lightly between her teeth. "You don't have to explain everything. Mystery has its own allure, my dear."

She smoothed her hands through his hair, plastering it back and out of the way, and then cupped his head as she went in for another kiss, this one slower than the others but no less deep as her tongue danced with his. She trapped his own tongue between her lips and sucked on it teasingly, and despite the mud and the filth, she felt her own blood heat and heart begin to race. And just from kissing! Gods. It was a nice feeling, though, nice to experience this slow build up of desire rather than the usual manufactured feelings she felt with her clients, the demand to always be ready to go at a moment's notice! It wasn't always like that, true; many of her clients liked to take it slow, or just wanted to talk and maybe kiss a little. But it was still interesting to feel it outside of a professional setting.

And maybe that was the reason she abruptly stopped and pulled back, blinking down at Caelwyn in concern. "Are you...are you enjoying yourself?" she asked, and licked her lips.

As strange as it might be, she really wasn't used to just...making out with someone like this! All her other encounters were always negotiated in advance! Likes and dislikes, hard and soft limits, those were all discussed before anything took place. She had done none of that with Caelwyn, and couldn't help but worry about how he felt--even though he'd kissed her!

Caelwyn felt himself warming and heating all over.  His body was growing tense in ways, though understood in theory, had never been felt before.  Not like this anyway.  Fear and excitement tingled in him, thrilling through every extremity.  He found himself wanting to kiss her back, whimpering where Anoki's teeth had sunk into his lip.  He blinked, catching his breath.

Oh she had said something.

He smirked, nodding.  "Of course.  Are you?"

Anoki smiled at his answer, and relaxed, and answered him further with another kiss. "Of course," she murmured. "Nasty mud and all. I just wanted to be sure...be sure you were comfortable with, well...this."

Her smile turned playful as she gave his lips a teasing lick. "After all, you are the delicate flower here, my sweet virgin, and I wouldn't want to pluck your flower before you're ready to give it." And she gave him another kiss, slow and sensual, her lips moving gently against his.

"I'm finding I'm remarkably comfortable with...this.  And well, we have been through quite a lot in this past several hours."  He sniggered against her lips, relaxing into that kiss and letting his mouth slowly and sensually explore hers.  She was very good, for all intents and purposes.  But then again she had more experience than he did.

He wasn't opposed to learning new things, but perhaps there were better places suited for such.  "We should probably get out of this mud pit," he murmured, turning his head between kisses.  "Get cleaned up.  Find those bastards that strung us up."

Anoki let herself flop atop Caelwyn, letting out a sigh. Right. Find those bastards. She was beginning to think that particular situation was perhaps larger than they were, and she wasn't feeling too keen on barging back in and getting strung up for alligators next time, but...

Alas. She was a Lady of the Night, and those people were criminals.

Still, the diversion was nice!

"Yes, yes...we probably should. But there's also no harm in resting. We do need to come up with a better strategy for next time, since our current technique left us...wanting." With another tender kiss, she sat up, shamelessly straddling him, and grinned down at his mud-caked form.

"I'm not going to complain about washing off, though. And just so it's on record," she said, tapping Caelwyn's nose, "I am never doing this again. This mud thing."

Wanting?  Pun intended Caelwyn assumed, sitting up slowly and making small circles around her nipples as if they were tribal designs.  "I concur," he nodded and gently nudged her off so he could get to his feet.  He helped her up and once out of the mud, came the arduous task of finding a place to wash it off.  And clothes, yeah they would probably need those too.

"You concur? Need I remind you if was your idea?" Anoki said, even as she was...a bit distracted. Because there Caelwyn went, doing that thing he did where he got all bold and handsy with her breasts, this time tracing around her nipples. Did he even realize what he was doing when he did things like that?

She let him pull her up and out of the mud, and grimaced at the sucking, squelching sound that produced--which made her kind of want to gag. Gross, gross, gross! And yet, they'd been making out in that grossness. Weird how some good ol' fashioned tongue wrestling could make you more tolerant of things.

She scraped some of the mud from her arms and looked around for a glimpse of clean water. "Caelwyn," she said, as she wiped more mud from her breasts. "Do you do that on purpose? That thing you do where you manhandle my tits and things?"

He had no aversion to nudity.  But even he had a point of just wanting to put on a proper pair of trousers and read a book, before a warm fire and a hot cup of tea at his side.  No doubt Serling would be going batshit over him having been missing for so long. But the fact that mere thugs were capable of duping him wasn't making this trip any better.

He'd been idly scraping off the mud when he glanced at Anoki.  "On purpose? Whatever do you mean? Was I not supposed to touch your breasts?" he asked curiously.

Anoki blew out a breath.

"Well, no. You're not not supposed to. That is, I don't mind that you do it, though I certainly hope you don't think it's okay to just grab any woman's tits! Which I'm sure you don't, and I just--ah! I suppose what I'm trying to say you confuse me."

She flicked a little mud at him. "I find you difficult to read, sometimes. Which isn't usual for me! I'm usually good at reading people! Usually if a man grabbed my tits I'd think he was looking for a lay. But--!" She pursed her lips. She wasn't sure how to articulate what was so confusing about him, because it was starting to sound silly as she put feelings to words.

"You flux hot and cold so quickly, it's confusing! I can't tell when you're being platonic or not half the time!" And even as she said it, she flushed with embarrassment. Maybe this wasn't his social awkwardness. Maybe it was hers? Maybe it was both of them! But when her only real interaction with people was other Peaches, clients, and criminals...maybe she knew how to People less well than she assumed.

"Well, I know you're not supposed to!  I don't go around squeezing breasts," he said with a chuckle.  And shook his head, scraping his back against a tree, mud sloshing off and onto the ground.  "If I did, I wouldn't hear the end of it from Serling.  He's my colleague.  He's a bore, and never stops whining.  About everything.  But he would find some reason to complain."

He shook his head because thinking about the fool would distract his concentration.  The task herein needed his full focus.  After getting the mud off of course.

This time, however, his full attention was on her.  And her clearly flustered state.   This was the first time he'd ever seen her in such a way.  "I...I don't really know," he admitted.  "I think they're very nice to look at.  And to touch.  They're very nice breasts.  I thought we established this, yes?"  His tone was curious and he found his own hands cupping over his chest, scraping mud away to reveal his nipples.

"Mine don't disappoint so much do they?" he asked.  "I mean for a man's chest."

Anoki just looked at him, exasperation in her eyes, but then she barked a laugh when he so successfully cut through her frustration--frustration she still didn't really understand! With a shake of her head that sent little droplets of mud flying from her hair, she reached out and pinched both of his nipples to perkiness.

Turnabout was fair play!

She stepped back and pursed her lips thoughtfully as she moved her hands lower to cup his pecs, pretending to weigh them like breasts and not a flat chest. "Not bad," she said, nodding to herself before giving his pecs a squeeze. "Nice and perky. You could cut glass with these things--ow!" She drew her hands back and looked at her palms. "In fact, I think you just nicked me!"

And she stuck her tongue out at him, for he'd told her similarly once.

He gasped, but quickly shut his mouth when she took the opportunity to pinch his nipples.  In fact, he had to hold in a laugh at her antics.  Oh, she was intent to tease him was she!  He stuck his tongue out back at her when she gestured in kind.  Rubbing his hands against his nipples, he noted their sharpness and took her hands, pressing them to his chest again.

"Are you sure they're as sharp as you claim?  I think you need to examine them more thoroughly," he said with a resolute nod.  He took his own hands and pressed them to her breasts, squeezing them gently.

Aaaand there he went again. Anoki raised both eyebrows and pursed her lips as she watched him grope her, even as her own hands were pressed to his chest. She gave a little snort and roll of her eyes, deciding it was perhaps best to pretend his fondling didn't feel feel delightful, and gave his nipples another rolling pinch. Perhaps it was best, in general, not to think so deeply about the strange things Caelwyn did?

She splayed her hands over his pecs more fully and gave those a squeeze, too.

"Indeed, it's always a good idea to check for lumps that shouldn't be there!" she said with a nod. "And you certainly need another person's help with that! They might catch something you missed."

At that possibility, Caelwyn blinked and gave a small gasp. "You don't feel any of those lumps do you?" he asked, tone growing more serious.  He fumbled over her breasts, squeezing them gently and rolling thumbs over the points of her nipples.  They felt unusually hard.

"What am I supposed to look for?  Your nipples are like rocks."

Oh my gods, does he think I'm serious?

Anoki's eyebrows lifted higher as she watched him. They were doing a terrible job of getting out of the mud, and she was doing a terrible job of pretending this wasn't affecting her. Fortunately, her blush was hidden beneath a layer of mud, but she still couldn't help but squirm a little and bite the inside of her cheek, her breath catching in her throat. He had to know what he was doing. He had to be like...like...roleplaying or something. It wasn't an uncommon fantasy, the naive innocent juxtaposed with the worldly sexpot. And yet, something about Caelwyn was just so genuine she doubted that was the case.

She had a feeling he was genuinely concerned.

Damn it.

Letting her breath out slowly through her nose in a calm, controlled manner, she pressed her fingers to his chest and felt around his nipples, and slowly worked her way toward his armpits. Just to give him peace of mind.

"The lumps you're looking for aren't nipples," she said, and reached for his hands and guided them away from said nipples and to the soft flesh around them. If he stayed there any longer, it was going to drive her mad! "It's any other lumps elsewhere that you're looking for. Hope you don't find one, because if you do, you're basically doomed. Unless you find a really good healer." She lifted her eyes to his quickly and smiled. "Don't worry, you're clean."

A wave of great relief washed over Caelwyn's expression.  He beamed and gently slid his hands from her body.  "ThankKia!  TThat's a relief.  And um, yours seem just fine too.  Very well shaped, soft, nicely rounded."  His smile turned wry and he winked at her, before turning his back and checking his chest just to make sure again and working at the rest of the mud on his skin.

He got most of it off before it dried and wiped his hands on slabs of bark.  He was happy at last to have it off him.  Maube he didn't mind getting dirty, but he could understand Anoki's aversion to being drenched in mud.  He'd made a mental note of it.

"So which direction should we start in?" he asked at last,  "Do you think those thugs have some sort of hideout out here?"

"I'm not sure. They're not a group I'm familiar with," Anoki said with a frown as she grabbed some leaves and wiped more mud off. So, so gross. She really needed a bath.

"But if I had to make a guess, I'd say they likely do have a base out here somewhere. Otherwise it'd be quite the hassle to come all the way from the city clear out here just to string us up. They clearly don't view us as a threat, otherwise they would have killed us. Instead, they just humiliated us. We're a joke to them."

She scowled at that and scratched more flaking mud from her neck as she thought. "They're confident, they're not threatened by us, so it'd stand to reason they wouldn't be afraid of dropping us off near their base. They probably figure we'd be scared off and leave after that, us being weaponless and naked and all. And they probably have numbers on us, anyway...ah!"

Perking up, Anoki flashed Caelwyn a smile. "Of course. We could probably track them! They would have had to leave prints by that tree, so..." She cast a look in that direction. "We could always backtrack and hope the bear's gone."

Well, there was a plan he could get behind.  The, uh, hoping that the bear was gone part of the plan.  He smiled at Anoki and when he was ready to go, he ran across, snatched her hand and stalked back along through the woods, carefully noting where they'd come back from.  "There's that flower bush," he said, pointing, and tracing them down to bear prints in the ground where the animal had chased them.

"Back that way.  Can't be too far."

"We were rolling in the mud long enough, I can't imagine it'd stick around," Anoki said, barely keeping up with Caelwyn as he hauled her along. Not because she couldn't run fast, but because she couldn't run fast barefoot. She kept stepping on sharp rocks and stickers that had her yelping and hopping along--which was fairly uncomfortable, running and hopping with no support for her breasts.

Quite flattering, that! Now Caelwyn could tease her about floppage.

"I guess it's a good thing we did, too. Rolled in the mud, I mean. That'll mask our scent, won't it? Oh. Look. There we go."

Anoki motioned ahead of them to the great tree they'd once swung from. And it was blessedly free of bears. For now! With an encouraging smile his way, she tugged the arm he was gripping and started to pull him along.

"Be careful where you walk! Watch for tracks. We don't want to accidentally cover them."

Yes, now that she mentioned it, looking out for tracks was a distinctly good idea.  After all their blundering and running away from the bear, and that little stint in the mud, Caelwyn could only hope that something substantial enough remained for them to follow.  He turned on his focus, inspecting the ground, soil, and grass closely for signs beyond their own movements.

"There!" he said, pointed toward prints that looked a lot like boots.  "And...a piece of cloth?"  Caelwyn stepped around the larger tracks and bent down to pick up, and it had an unusual symbol embroidered in it.  "Looks like a snake coiled around a fist.  Unusual.  And equally interesting."

Anoki squinted her eyes as she studied the symbol, and then shook her head. "I don't recognize that," she said with a frown. "But clearly, it must be the symbol of their gang. Or organization. We're...probably dealing with something bigger than a little ragtag group if they've got their own calling card. Which begs the question of..."

She looked at Caelwyn. "They must really want your research, if you've got some big names after you."

"But how could that be?  When I mentioned my name the looks of sheer idiocy on those men's face was astonishing!" Caelwyn said, barking a laugh.  Still, he sobered and gave it some thought.

Perhaps it wasn't so farfetched after all.  Maybe those men weren't very bright, but they could have easily looked over his things and decided that it was worth stealing after all.  And his face burned with sudden anger.  "If they think they can steal my research, they've got another thing coming!"

Anoki gave a light shrug. "Far be it for me to understand such lowly minds as thugs!" she said, though she paused after that, as though reconsidering. "Though perhaps I do have more insight than most, having dealt with my fair share of them. I'd guess if your bag was fancy-looking enough, and you were making as big a fuss about it now as you were then, they probably took it on principal--because it seemed important. However!"

She raised a finger. "They're making a rather big deal about it now, from the treatment we received! Maybe their boss has looked it over since then."

She brushed some flaking mud off her bottom. "But that's just a guess. Only way to know for sure is to find these people and live long enough to ask. Right now, though, what I really want are clothes and a bath so..."

Anoki looked down at herself, then at Caelwyn. "Getting back into town is going to be awkward. We might be tossed in an asylum!"

Well, maybe he had had a hand in making a bit of a fuss over his bag.  His fuss could very well have misconstrued their view on just what was in that bag.  He blanched at the thought that this was all his fault.  In hind sight perhaps he'd be able to laugh about this.  He sure hoped so.

"Then we'll just have to sneak in won't we?" He  waggled his eyebrows and looked up around them.  "We could just claim we were robbed.  Which we were.  The guards might even take pity on us."

Anoki stared at Caelwyn a long moment, and then burst out laughing and slapped her forehead.

"Oh, of course, we could tell the truth! What a novel idea! I think I've gotten so comfortable being sneaky that I've forgotten when it's useful to be honest." She scratched at the side of her head, grinning a little sheepishly. Because, indeed, she'd already been thinking up a hundred different lies to get them in when all this time, all they needed were facts.

"Very well, then! We were robbed--which we were. Be sure to look appropriately dejected and miserable. Let's see those puppy-dog eyes! C'mon! Mope like you mean it!"

"Oh, I can mope!  I can mope so hard, you'll be scratching my belly in no time!"  Caelwyn said, being absolutely serious.  He turned to her, frowning deeply and turned his brows up, eyes downcast and looked absolutely pathetic.

"See?  Don't I just look like a vagrant of the street?" he asked, but was soon laughing and plucked a stuck pebble from her left cheek...butt cheek.

"Let's get a move on Princess."

Oh, he was good, she had to give him that! Caelwyn certainly knew how to look dejected, and when he went from that to laughing again, she had to admit, it was quite the transformation.

"Oh, yes, you look like the saddest little vagrant-dog to have ever been kicked! You look downright pathetic--and I say that with love. Oh!"

She jumped a little when Caelwyn plucked something off her butt, and she brushed a hand along her ass to see if anything else was clinging. "I hope that wasn't another tick. Very well, off we go, then, Duchess!" she said, and gave him a teasing wink before she offered him her arm.

"Let's hurry back. I can't wait to scrub this--probably literal--shit off me!"

And just as Caelwyn had estimated, they weren't that far from the city.  Within an hour they were at the gates.  And hiding well in the brush.  At the gates, Caelwyn was sure to emerge as exhausted as he really felt, waving his arms to hail the nearest guard.  "Help us!  Please!" he wailed pathetically, bits dangling every which way he staggered.

"We've been robbed!  They took our clothes, everything we had!" he said and only then did he cover up his manhood when the guard blushed and flustered out words between them.

"What happened?" he stammered.

"We're just travelers, good sir.  Bandits on the road.  Oh, this is terrible!  My wife is going to be so upset!" Caelwyn sniffed, rubbing at his eyes.  "I was supposed to meet her for tea hours ago.  But...um, my special friend here....  Look, it's a long story.  Can you help us?  Please?"

"You can't walk around naked.  Pubic - I mean PUBLIC! indecency 'n all that.  Jeffer!  We've got some robbed folks here!  Get 'em a warm blanket!"

Caelwyn certainly didn't waste any time!

Anoki had taken up the rear (no pun intended) for the last mile or so, straggling behind Caelwyn as exhaustion and discomfort took over. She wasn't used to such rough living! Or rather, she was used to getting dirty and roughed up and then returning to the brothel and her familiar comforts--and bed. She had to admit that for all they'd been through, she was rather impressed by Caelwyn's perseverance, and remaining energy to be able to flail around like that!

Exhausted as she was, it was an effort not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked! And the horrified looks on that guard's face? Priceless. But laughing would have killed the effect they were aiming for, so instead she dragged her feet and did her best to look downtrodden and exhausted--which she didn't actually have to fake!

She covered her breasts with one arm, and covered her groin with her other hand as she crept out into the open more slowly than Caelwyn, feigning modesty and shame and blushing daintily.

"Special friends", indeed!

"What? You're married?!" she gasped, playing along. "You told me I was your pookie pie! Oh, you've got a lot of explaining to do, mister, once we're all settled!"

Jeffer was an older guard, gruff and grizzled and scarred from his service, and he arrived a short moment later with a pair of old blankets. They would do their job, though, even if Anoki sniffed at the one she was handed and wondered if it had been used under a saddle. No matter! She wrapped it around herself and huddled in it as the guards ushered them through the gates.

"Oh, it was so awful, though! So awful! All those horrible men! They stole my pendant even, the beasts! Oh! Smithy, darling," she said, turning to Caelwyn and giving him a look, hoping he'd play along. "Didn't you manage to tear something off of one of them? When you were so bravely fighting them off?"

She hoped he'd kept the cloth he found, the one with the insignia. Maybe these guards would know something about them.

No, he hadn't missed a beat.  But when she said Pookie-pie, he almost lost it.  He curled his lips into his mouth to keep from laughing.  Thankfully he just looked like he was whimpering and nursing his manly wounds. Which, if he were anyone else, that's exactly what he would be doing.

When Jeffer covered them, Caelwyn thanked them and nodded at Anoki's hint.  "I found this," he said.  "One of the brigands must've dropped it.  Does it make any sense to you?" 

Jeffer took the strip of cloth, examining it.  "Roy?  We seen this symbol before ain't we?"

Roy stepped closer and looked over Jeffer's shoulder.  "Hell, this looks like something from one of Royce's boys.  Call themselves the Snake Eyed Savages.  Buncha hoods and ruffians.  Small outfit.  Just an annoyance on the road, but looks like they're trying to get bolder."

Bingo!

"Snake Eyed Savages? How awful!" Anoki said, touching her hand to her throat. "Oh, they were so terrible. I thought they'd murder us for sure! Do you know where they patrol? Or where their base is? I'd like to avoid another run in with them, if I can!"

Roy gave her an odd look, and she knew she'd probably been asking strangely specific questions there, but...

"We ain't found their base yet. If we did, they wouldn't be a nuisance now," he said with a wave of his hand. "Just stay off the road at night and don't go wandering into the woods and you shouldn't have an issue."

"Thank you, good sir!  How about our good fortune, my little pookie-pie," he said with a smile.  Caelwyn bowed his head to the man and then the piece of fabric back.  Well, he had to since the guard practically threw it at him.  He nudged Anoki.

"We need clothes.  Real clothes.  My bum is all chafed from all this running about."

"Your bum's chafed? I've got bug bites in places I didn't even know I had," Anoki said with a pout, scratching at her belly, her skin still covered in a thin layer of dried dirt. She was glad they'd passed no reflective surfaces, because she was certain she looked dreadful.

"And from the way that guard was eyeing me, I must look a fright," she added as she took his hand and started to lead him along, back toward the brothel. "That's the first time a man's seen me naked and looked away in disgust! Gods. Come on then, honey-kisses. I want more than clothes. I want a bath. We're doing that before we do anything else."

Chafed buttcheeks and bug bites galore, the two of them would take a dip in a pool fit for a whore.  Wait...

Caelwyn scrambled along with her as the brothel soon appeared before them.  Which really it wasn't hard to find, seeing as it was the biggest and best brothel in all of Ketra.  Going up the back, much like they had done the night before, they were greeted by Starla.  She grinned at the pair of them.

"What in the heck happened to you two!?  Hmmm, I hope it was sexy at least."

Caelwyn just gave a forced laugh.  "You are so clever.  Truly, you ought to be a bard."

She just winked at Caelwyn and slapped his ass as they ran by and up the stairs.

"Super sexy," Anoki said as she jogged by with Caelwyn. "It involved riding crops, mud, and squealing like pigs!"

And she left it at that while Starla howled in laughter, dragging Caelwyn back to her room and shouting for hot water for a bath.

And when the others saw what she looked like, well...no one argued or barked at her to go fetch it herself.

Yanking open her door, Anoki hauled Caelwyn in after her and shut it behind her, huffing out a relieved sigh and letting her shoulders sag. Ever since last night--or was it the night before?--they'd just been in a state of constant GO GO GO that now that she was finally home, exhaustion hit her like a kick from a mule. Feet dragging, she shuffled over to her nightstand, hesitated, and then leaned down to get a look at herself in the mirror.

The bedraggled, muddy, ring-eyed face that stared back at her, hair caked in mud and flying in all directions, looked more like an exhumed body than herself.

She jerked back from her vanity with a shriek. "I'm HIDEOUS!"

Indeed, even Caelwyn was beginning to feel the dregs of the rush fade away.  He was exhausted, too tired even to look in the mirror.  He'd plopped down on her bed when he suddenly jumped up at her screaming.  He sat up and stared.  "Yeah...but we both do," he said with a sigh.  And was thankful when a knock at the door indicated that the hot water was ready.

Caelwyn plopped both buckets down and groaned with exertion.  "Look, the HID-Y will wash away.  You take a bath, Anoki.  You've earned some good R&R and a damn hot meal.  Really!  I'll even keep my chapped bum out of sight until you feel better."

With a heaving sigh, Anoki waved dismissively at Caelwyn. "No, stay. You've already seen me at my worst," she said as she pulled a tub out from under her bed and dragged it into the center of the room. She motioned for Caelwyn to dump the water in, and then tested it with a toe.

"You need to keep me awake, anyway. Make sure I don't drown in my bath," she said as she slowly tossed the blanket aside and lowered herself into the water, hissing as the heat stung several little cuts she hadn't realized she had. The water grew murky as the dirt washed off, and she frowned at it. She'd have to request more water if she wanted to be truly clean--which she did!

Sitting back, she cocked her head and smiled teasingly. "You could always join me, too," she said, and yawned. "Because you're getting bathed anyway--and you are absolutely not allowed to touch my bed again until you're clean! I don't want grit in my sheets!"

He hadn't thought she'd been serious at first, but when he saw the water, it was his first instinct indeed.  Shyness be damned.  They'd both been rolling around in mud and his chaffed buttcheeks were starting to irritate him no less.  So he plopped in just after her invitation and scooted as far back into the tub as he could, and started to scrape off the dirt from his body, or what remained of it.

"Ahh!  That's the stuff of life!" he said with a laugh, running hands through his hair and soaking it through and through with water, even as murky as it was getting with two filthy bodies in it.  "Say you've got any wash oils, do ya?"

"Of course I do! But I'm not going to waste them on our first rinse," Anoki said as she worked her hands through her hair, teasing out the dirt and filth and clouding the water all the more.

"We'll need a second bath, and we can use them then. Ick..."

When she'd rinsed off as much as she could--and surprisingly, even with the murky water, she looked far cleaner and more human now!--she rose from the bath, grabbed a towel, and dried off just enough so she wouldn't leave a water trail through her room. "I'll get them to send up more water," she said before she poked her head out of her room and called for more.

Or rather, demanded.

She looked back at Caelwyn as she waited. "Dump that out the window when you're done," she said.

He caught a glance at her when she rose from the water.  He could admire beauty in shape when he saw it.  He gave a appreciative smirk before scraping off any excess that remained.  He stood and let himself drip a bit before drying off and  shuffling toward the window.  An entire tub filled with water and excess dirt wasn't exactly light.

And Caelwyn was by no means a strongman, but he managed to angle the thing just right and lifted it and dumped that water right down into the alley below.

"Oof!"  He nearly stumbled to the ground, dropping the tub and scooting it back into place.  "There," he panted, quite proud but thoroughly exhausted in his effort.

"Well done!" Anoki said with a beaming smile Caelwyn's way, having watched him the entire time. You know, get a good view of his backside and shoulders. He wasn't exactly bulging with muscle, but he wasn't a noodly sort, either, and he'd often surprised her with his strength. He had a nice body, she decided. Lithe and slender, but it suited him and gave him a curiously graceful look.

She realized that she probably could have gone and helped him with all the staring she was doing, but...she was tired, and in more of a mood where she just wanted other people to do things for her rather than expend any extra effort.

Caelwyn finished up the task right when the water was dropped off at her door, and Anoki flashed Caelwyn a beaming smile and clapped her hands.

"You can grab the fresh water while you're at it!"

He was so worn out then.  The tub had been heavy!  Or maybe he was just being whiny.  It wouldn't be the first time, or so Serling would say.  He laughed inwardly at the thought.  Wait until he told him about this little adventure!  He couldn't guarantee that he would howl with laughter but it was getting more and more interesting that's for sure.

He gave Anoki a look before succumbing to grabbing the heavy buckets and dragging them back into the room.  "Here we go! A fresher steaming hot bath," he said, smiling as he poured the water into the tub and slipped in first.  This time he would enjoythat soothing heat and he slipped down as far as he could go.

Caelwyn listened so well.

That definitely earned him extra points.

Still smiling, she gathered up some of her special oils and soaps off her nightstand, deciding that after all they'd been through the last few days, they could indulge a little. They'd certainly earned it, and she was eager to feel human again! They were her pricier ones, many of them gifts from patrons, many of them imports from Essyrn and Thanatos. They ranged from wonderfully spicy concoctions to flowery scents, and a few even smelled curiously like desserts.

She set them out beside the tub, creating a small semi-circle around them that left them in easy reach, and slipped into the clean water with a happy groan.

"Ohhhh man...I could stay in here all night," she said, splashing water onto her chest and face. "I brought some soaps and oils, in any case. Feel free to use them! And feel extra special, too, because I'm letting you use the special, expensive ones," she added with a wink.

Caelwyn closed his eyes, only vaguely registering that she'd joined him in the water.  It wasn't that big of a tub and the two fit just barely. But he opened up his legs and sat up enough and she could slide in a bit more comfortably now.

"Special oils you say?" he said and took one that smelled of chamomile.  "This one looks good.  Or is this one of those um...slicker uppers you professionals use?"

"...Slicker...upper..."

Anoki stared at Caelwyn, her cheeks puffing out with repressed laughter--before she let it out in a whoosh, bursting into helpless giggles. He was so earnest about it, too! Gods, such a sheltered guy!

"No!" she finally managed, finding the whole thing ten times funnier when she was running on little sleep. "Sometimes, Caelwyn, oil is just oil. Granted..." she added, pursing her lips. "You could probably use it that way, but I'm pretty okay with my hoo-ha smelling like hoo-ha. This garden's not supposed to smell like flowers."

Taking the oil from him, she poured a few drops into the water, which was plenty. It was highly concentrated stuff!

"Don't worry, Cael," she said, shooting him a teasing look. "I promise I won't bathe you in stuff that goes in butts unless we're doing something that involves butts."

"Oh, you were going to put stuff up my butt?  Do guys ask you to do that? Or don't they normally go looking for men to work that area?" he asked.  He dipped his arm into the chamomile water and smiled. 

"Oh, this is makes my skin feel all tingly!  Look, blow on it!"  He leaned forward, grinning as he held his forearm out to her.

Oh, he just made it too easy.

Snickering, Anoki leaned forward to meet him halfway and puffed a breath onto his arm. Then she raised her eyes to his, her grin widening. "I can think of something more fun to blow on," she said, and bumped her eyebrows.

"Like what?  My foot?"  And with that he shoved his foot out of the water and poked her cheek with his big toe.  Kidding aside the cooling sensation of the oils made his hackles stand on end. And sent pleasant chills down his back.

"CAELWYN!" Anoki yelped, smacking her back against the edge of the tub as she jerked away from him. She threw a hand up and slapped his foot away, scowling. "EW, EW, STOPPIT! THAT'S GROSS!"

And she rubbed at her cheek as though to cleanse away the toe germs. Even though his foot was clean.

He was laughing, and after his cackling fit he sobered and he leaned forward and took his hands and cupped her face.  He scrubbed her cheek himself before leaning forward and licking it off himself.

"There, all clean," he laughed and lightly blew on her cheek.

Anoki's expression was so thoroughly unamused as Caelwyn cackled like a loon. Because he'd first gone and discovered that she hated feet, and now he was licking her cheek like an animal!

At least that was less gross than having feet stuck in her face, on Anoki's personal Scale of Grossness.

"Eugh!" she said, sticking out her tongue. "What are you? A dog now?"

He rubbed away the remains of his saliva.  "Oh, just relax," he said, rubbing the oils into her cheek.  "I was just trying to clean you up."  Letting go, he sat back against the tub and reached for a loofa, soaping it up and scrubbing at his chest.

"With your spit!" Anoki said. Maybe it was odd for her to complain, considering spit was involved in a lot of sexy things, but some things were fine in the moment and gross out of it! The same way hair was sexy when attached to a sexy person's head, but gross when it got stuck on a bar of soap.

Giving him a dry look, she twisted a little in the bath to turn her back to him. "If you really want to clean me up, be a doll and scrub my back!"

Caelwyn gave an exaggerated sigh.  But beneath he was laughing, just slightly as he coaxed her in closer and let her nestle between his knees.  He took her scrub brush as caked it with soap, sudsing it up until it was all poofy white and slathered that gently across her back.

"Like that?" he asked, looking over her shoulder, and circling the brush over her shoulders.  He used both hands, applying just enough pressure to her neck as he lightly blew on the oils that coated her skin.

Anoki had to give Caelwyn credit. For all her ridiculous demands, he listened, and he listened well. She was beginning to suspect he was the "eager to please" sort, and if that was the case? She was one happy camper.

She was already a happy camper now when, despite his sighing, he let her scoot in close and took to scrubbing her back--and then went above and beyond even that. Really, she'd just expected him to give her a quick washing and be done, but he was actually doing a damned fine job of this, scrubbing with the brush and using his hands, and even blowing on her wet skin just enough to send a pleasant chill down her spine. Goosebumps rose with it and she let out a little moan of enjoyment and closed her eyes, relaxing completely.

"Ohhhhh, yes," she purred, melting. His touch felt even better after the long day--days?--she'd had, her sore muscles turning to putty. She could have fallen asleep right then and there, and the only thing stopping her from doing just that was that sleeping meant she wouldn't be awake to feel this. "Exactly like that. Oh, you're a god..."

"Well, I did feel pretty godlike emerging from the cave of boobs with my life intact," he said, smirking as he brought the brush down along her spine.  He enjoyed that she enjoyed it and felt for once it was nice to do something for someone else.  Although her moaning did throw him off a bit.  Was it flirtatious to be touching her like this?  And the response flirtation in turn?  He couldn't be sure and couldn't be bothered to think of such things in such a way.  He had a massage to focus on after all.

"All right, I just need to fit this brush in a little lower," he observed and scrubbed at her lower back, spare hand kneading the muscles along her kidneys.  "How does this feel?"

"Wonderful," was Anoki's breathless reply, and she leaned forward more to stretch out her back so he could get at it all. He was going to be the death of her. She was going to turn into a puddle of Anoki and meld with the bathwater.

"You're really quite good at this. Can I keep you?" she asked sleepily, sighing as he massaged her and shifting herself this way and that like a cat that was trying to coax their person to hit all the right spots.

"I think that'd make Serling quite upset, since he'd rely on me to make my brilliant discoveries.  He really is ass-backwards without me now that I think about it."  Caelwyn set the brush aside and began kneading both hands into her back now.  "Besides I couldn't even begin to think what you'd do with me if I stuck around.  Although perhaps I could imagine a few."

He chuckled and blew lightly on her spine.  "You keep your body very strong, Anoki.  Is this all from whoring?  Do some people prefer soft bodies to hard ones?"

Anoki let out a soft snort at his comment about whoring.

"Well, it is a rather good workout. I always feel it in my thighs after a good romp." She smirked at him, then relaxed back into his hands.

"As for bodies, people prefer all types," she murmured, her eyelids heavy as she just let him pamper her. Gods above, this was almost better than sex. When was the last time she'd ever gotten a massage? She was usually the one doing the massaging, and it usually wasn't their shoulders.

"Some people like their partners plump and squishy, some people like them lean and muscular, some people like them soft and delicate. Fortunately, we have all sorts here to cater to a variety of preferences, so if my hard body is too intimidating, they can always snag themselves a waif to feel all powerful around."

Twisting her head to look at Caelwyn, she batted her eyelashes at him. "Do you prefer soft bodies?"

Caelwyn listened while he worked.  It was quite therapeutic in a way to give the massage and let his hands work deeply into sore muscle.  She had a beautiful form, one that even he could appreciate.  For anyone that had any investment in knowing that there was more than what met the eye to anything, he could happily say her breasts were the perkiest of any he'd seen.

"Oh, that is true.  Differing tastes does give spice to life, in a manner of speaking."  He chuckled, rolling his hands up to her head and massaging her scalp.

"Oh I prefer emaciated, embalmed corpses myself," he went on.  A moment of silence and he blinked.  "Not for coital purposes mind you.  I mean, for research purposes.  On the subject you mean, truth be told, I never really gave it much thought." 

He turned his hands down from her neck and pulled his arms around her.  Hands massaged along her abdomen, pulling her back against his chest.  "What kind of bodies do you prefer?  Other than the paying ones I mean."

"...I'm really, really happy you clarified that," Anoki said with a snort, having gone very quiet when he made that statement, "because I was about to run for the hills. And that would be a shame, because your hands are so nice."

She leaned back into him, letting her head fall back against his shoulder as he pulled her back against him, and she sighed and shut her eyes. Absently, she drew her hands up and ran her fingers over the backs of his hands and along his forearms. She couldn't reach much of him like this, but she knew from experience that such simple caresses felt really nice, and that hands and arms were too easily forgotten.

"Mm...you know, that's a good question. I've been with a lot of different people over the years, different body types, and I'm not sure I have a type. Physically, I mean." She gave a light laugh. "Ah, it's going to sound so cliche to say this, but I think I'm most attracted to personality. An attractive person with a foul, selfish disposition instantly becomes hideously ugly, but a kind, attentive person that's plain or awkward instantly becomes about ten times more attractive."

She paused. "That's not to say I'm not totally shallow in a lot of regards, so I guess if I were to answer honestly, from a first impression sort of perspective...well...I suppose I've got a bit of a thing for pretty people, so alright, that's a type. The overly rugged sorts with veiny, bulging muscles thick as trees and forests of body hair don't do it so much for me at first glance. But if they're a sweetheart, I'll swoon."

The touch of her fingers was enough to send chills down his spine.  Goosebumps coursed their way along this forearms and shoulders and being close enough to smell her only made the chill drift further.

"I could understand that," he hummed.  A smirk spread across his face, fingers tracing underneath her breasts and cupping thepair of them, thumbs rrolling over the points of her nipples.

"I've dealt with all sorts of dreadful people.  Thank Kia above that I ran into you in this awful city after my ordeal.  And now that you're helping me still, I can't thank you enough."

...Bastard.

A little jolt went through Anoki when his hands found her breasts (he must be a boob guy, she decided--he certainly seemed fixated on them and she wasn't complaining!), and she bit her lip as his thumbs teased her sensitive nipples. Dammit. He knew what he was doing. He knew she liked that! And she was certain that if she glanced over her shoulder, he'd be smirking like the stinker he was.

She shivered and let out a huffed breath, her toes curling. She was all relaxed and sleepy before, and now she was all alert, dammit. Alert, and still exhausted, and feeling the first flushes of arousal. What a frustrating combination.

"Ah...yes. Helping you. That I am!" she said distractedly, before she let out a soft whine and shifted restlessly back against him. "You're horrible, you know that?"

His expression was thoughtful, and his hands kept their idle motion, lazily running along the pert points that had become her nipples.  Caelwyn hadn't considered this a moment to be smug.  If he touched her breasts it was because she allowed him and he had thus dedicated himself to giving her a massage.  Were not the breasts as important to the body as the neck and back?  That's what those other people said anyway.

"Hrm? Horrible?  Why do you say that?" He asked.  "Do you not like the massage?"  He glanced at her face over her shoulder, brows raised.  Although he had an inkling that whine hadn't been one made in displeasure.  But he didn't want to be presumptuous.

"No, no, I like it, a lot, and that's the problem. Do you catch what I'm saying?" Anoki said, a little exasperation in her voice. She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or being sincere. Did he...did he really not understand? Really?

Like, she'd figured out that he was a virgin--he had to be!--but...but REALLY!

Even virgins at least knew what playing with someone's breasts did!

She decided to be blunt, reaching up and covering his hands with hers to still him. "What I'm saying is, when you do that, it makes me...randy."

"Oh.  Well, then that's a good thing isn't it?"  His tone was sincere, nut there was a vague twinkle in his eye as he looked at her hands that covered his hands that now covered her breasts.  "Feeling randy, I mean.  Does this make you randy?"

He leaned over her shoulder and left a soft wet kiss along her neck beside her throat, lips feeling at her quickened pulse, plucking at the flesh there.  "How about that?"  Frankly her reaction made him curious, and although it was a simple touch, she did feel more flush, and her pulse increased.

Still his thumbs rolled cautiously over the points of her nipples, and his legs eased around her.  They eased her in their vise, squeezing her closer to him.

Bastard!

Despite herself, Anoki let out a breathy moan and tilted her head to the side when he kissed her, exposing more of her neck to his lips. Maybe he wasn't so inexperienced as she thought? Maybe that was all an elaborate joke! Or maybe he was just that rare but wonderful brand of curiously experimental, the sort of person that was naturally gifted at such things because they weren't afraid to try new things--and because they paid close attention to their partner.

Oh, whatever! She could theorize all she wanted, and boggle all she wanted, but the fact of the matter was he was turning her to putty now. Her heart raced, her blood heated even as her skin tingled with chills, and she found herself shifting restlessly and biting her bottom lip as he drew her closer and continued to play with her nipples--which, gods help her, was her weakness. And after over a day of his teasing, she felt close to bursting.

"Yes!" she gasped out, with a bit of a whine. "Incredibly so! Gods, Cael..." She brought a hand down to his knee and gripped him tightly, leaning her head back against his shoulder and sucking in a breath. "Please tell me that is your intention. Pleeeease tell me you're trying to tease me into ravishing you."

He was a curious fellow indeed.  And while Caelwyn wouldn't call himself hot blooded in any sense, he was interested in all the different reactions his actions elicited.  Her hitched breathing, the sound of her moan admittedly made his heart speed up, and when she opened her neck for him, he leaned down and gave another sucking kiss to her tender flesh.  Caelwyn was as humanas any man, no automaton that just sat and breathed.

"Tease you?  Not at all.  I'm merely wondering at you.  At your reactions."  He gave a soft chuckle as he kissed the other side of her neck.  He smiled and winked at her.  "Why? Would you ravish me terribly if I kept it up?"

He cupped at her breasts, squeezing them gently as his own blood heated.  He couldn't lie.  There was much to enjoy about the sensations of feeling her against him.  Proof she might find pressing against her back.

She couldn't take this anymore. Something had to give! Another soft, needy whine left her when she felt his erection grow and press against her back--but it was proof, at least, that this was affecting him, too.

And the way he spoke...

Was he hoping she would take matters into her own hands? It sounded like a challenge, and one she was willing to take him up on--but not yet. He wasn't a client, and they hadn't negotiated boundaries. She wasn't about to initiate before she knew what he was okay with, even if he was playing hell on her! Even if he was touching her in all the ways that suggested he wanted this, wanted her.

Anoki squirmed, squeezing his knee a little tighter and shuddering at those neck kisses, and though she just wanted to stay right where she was, wanted to reach behind her and answer his question with a hand around his cock, she finally grabbed his wrists and turned around to face him. The water sloshed over the rim of the tub as she settled on her knees and she laced their fingers together, keeping his hands from doing any other distracting things as she held their hands up in the air near his head and met his eyes. She needed to keep her head on straight, needed to get his honest answer.

Even if all the signals were there, she needed to hear it spoken.

"Caelwyn," she said, voice a little breathless and skin flushed with heat, "do you want to be ravished? Because if you do..." Her lips quirked into a teasing smirk. "Then yes. I will ravish you so terribly, you have no idea."

The grip on his knee left behind residual tingles, a crispness on his skin that he ought to ignore.  Pulse raced, and he met Anoki's eyes with a half-lidded gaze.  Did he want to be ravished?  It was a tantalizing proposal.  And frankly he was aroused enough to give it serious consideration.

Wrists were soon bound and he faced her with a deeper flush.  Still a grin bounced on his lips and he shrugged in response to her question.  "I don't see why not.  We both earned a moment of respite after the hell we'd just been through," he said.  He kept still now, although the tip of his manhood peeked up from the waters, as if curious as to the conclusion of this little conversation.

Caelwyn fought to keep a straight face, snorting a little, squirming beneath her grip.

Anoki's eyes followed Caelwyn's downward to where his cock was now peeping out of the water, and her smirk grew into a grin. "Good," she said, "because it seems someone's been feeling rather left out."

And her grip on his hands tightened into a playful squeeze as she tugged him into her and sealed her mouth to his in a kiss that was more sensual and tender than rough and demanding. Her lips moved against his, tasting and feeling, and she loosed her grip on his hands so she could slide them over his wet shoulders and down his chest and belly, nails lightly grazing as she passed over his navel and lower still--yet when she was only a breath from grazing his cock, she slid her hands over the tops of his thighs instead, then back up, and tangled her fingers in his hair.

She smiled against his lips, teasing him, and pulled back with a gentle nibble on his bottom lip. "Let's get out of the bath, then," she said, and leaned in to suck at his earlobe. "I want to take my time with you, and the water's getting too cold."

Whether it was involuntary or not, he couldn't be sure, but when she kissed him, he released a moan, a soft one filled with a quiet need.  Did he need?  Or was it merely a secondary reaction to the heat of another's mouth against his lips.  He kissed her back, massaging lips against hers and pulling away with loud smacks.  She tasted lovely, even sweetly as he kissed her.

Fire trailed where her hands left their residual contact.  He was half-dazed by the time she pulled away.  The ache in his groin was too hard to ignore, and a soft gasp escaped him when her hands pressed to his thighs.  "Kia's boobs," he hissed, smiling at her when he opened his eyes.  "We're all ready good and slick anyway.  And wrinkly...I mean...our skin...from the water.  Not...old."

He sputtered and let his hands continue their passage between and along the canyon of her breasts, rolling thumbs over nipples, cooling flesh against cooling palms.  He set them down at her hips, guiding her with him, as he stood from the tub and nearly slipped coming out of it.

He laughed.  "Gods," he snorted.  "I'm getting all the slippery everywhere!"  Arms slithered around her, gripping hard against her hips and ass, gripping along the muscle he found beneath her skin.

Anoki certainly needed at this point as Caelwyn's hands seemed to be everywhere at once. The guy might be awkward as hell, but gods above, he at least knew how to use his hands, and goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cooler air hitting her wet skin rose all along her arms and legs and the back of her neck as those hands moved over her hips and ass.

No, maybe it wasn't just need, but more want. He wasn't even paying her--and she wasn't even charging him! And the thought hadn't even entered her mind, even though by rights she should be. But how different would it be, doing this with someone who wasn't a customer, but a...friend? Would it even be different at all? Her heart beat fast, a thrill going through her that was half excitement, half...nerves? Nerves! Weird! Perhaps because there was no script here, and she wasn't playing a role.

And she was too tired to even think of what role she ought to play, anyway.

"Slippery is good," she said into Cael's ear, breath tickling his skin. "So is wet. Which I am." And her smile was wicked as she pushed Caelwyn backwards to her bed, and then guided him onto it, not caring at that moment that they were both dripping wet and soaking the bed as she crawled in beside him. She grabbed a blanket and yanked it over the both of them to keep out the chill, covering them in a little blanket fort, and pulled him in close as the blanket was still fluttering down around them.

Her lips found his again even as her hands trailed over him, one hand grazing over the wet skin of his hip and down along his thigh--before she teased her fingers along his cock, just light, grazing caresses as she kissed him.

She was right.  And when she was right, she was right. 

Caelwyn didn't really think about much of anything else right now.  He was not a man of desire or heated flesh, but he was as mortal and human as anyone else, prone to vulnerabilities.  Was it a moment of weakness?  He considered it to be nothing more than a shared moment between two friends.

He would enjoy himself, he decided.  There wasn't any point in having second thoughts.

They both made a plopping sound when their bodies made contact, and he felt the blanket beneath him stick to his form.  He laughed a bit.  "Damn, it'll get all sticky soon," he murmured, kissing her back with sensous lips.  They responded in kind, hands roving over her as the blanket was settled in.  It felt nice, trapping the heat around them.

Something twitched down below his waist, and when he realized it was her hand, he gasped pleasantly.  "Eager beaver," he muttered, biting at her lower lip.  He wasn't going to complain, nor let her have all the fun.  Fingers soon found the wetness between her legs, fingers rolling against her clit.

"Oh!" Anoki gasped when Caelwyn's hand slipped between her legs and found what so many men forgot was even there. Her body tensed in pleasure and surprise before relaxing again with a sigh, and she rolled her hips into his hand to encourage him, even as her mind boggled.

Maybe...maybe she had assumed wrong about him? She'd assumed him an awkward, bumbling virgin! But no virgin she'd laid with had done THAT without her having to guide their hand there first. Unless...

...His knowledge came from emaciated corpses.

Her breath caught on a sound that was half moan, half laugh, and she smashed her lips hard against his to muffle the sound and threw her leg over his hip to give him more space to work. She ran her tongue over his lips, nibbling and tasting, before she slipped it past them entirely and tangled her free hand in his hair--even as her other hand stopped its teasing and wrapped around his cock. "Mm, yeah," she murmured, stroking him from base to tip, thumb rubbing along the glans, "my beaver is quite eager. And you...it's not even morning, and your cock's already excited to crow."

She grinned against his lips, nipping playfully at them, and feathered kisses down to his chin and jaw, her breath hitching as they stroked each other, her hips pressing into his hand more urgently. "Gods, where did you learn that?"

The human body was if anything predictable.  The mechanics themselves simple enough to understand. Sure, he couldn't be certain his hand between her legs would be well received, but he didn't hesitate and when she eased into it, he continued rubbing fingers around her clit.  She was moist indeed, and his hand moved with ease.  But oh did she tease him.  He growled a bit, body tensing and easing as she gripped his most vulnerable appendage.

A snort erupted from her joke.  "Cock's crow?  Oh har har," he snickered.  "You must think yourself some kind of jester with how funny you are, yes?"  Teeth nibbled on her lower lip, tugging on it as he moaned.  "Your hand works wonders, darling."  Another deep biting kiss, and he rolled them both over.  His hand was slick with her, his heart skipping a beat a moment.

"I heard of this, and just let me know if I'm doing it right."  He removed his hand, sliding down to her belly, lingering close to her heat and giving an exploratory kiss on her thigh.  It increased in pressure, sucking on the flesh of her inner thigh, lips dragging closer until he faced her heat.  He gazed down for a moment before giving a flick of his tongue on her clit.

WELL!

Here she was, thinking she'd take it slow with him. Thinking, you know, she would ease Caelwyn into this like every other nervous, self-conscious virgin she'd ever laid with, slowly work him up, get him more comfortable with things, have no expectations...

And yet before she knew it, Anoki found herself laying there with Caelwyn's face between her legs.

She let out a choked gasp when he kissed her thigh, a sound close to a laugh--that area was a strange mix of ticklish and arousing for her!--and before she had a chance to fully register surprise, his tongue was on her clit. And her laughter died, replaced by an arch of her back and a whimper that was part enjoyment, part startled.

No, he was definitely new to this, if his words were any indication, but dear gods and goddesses, he was confident. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised her, since he had been nothing but confident everywhere else, but whoa. Many experienced men wouldn't even do that! Her hands shot down to his hair, tangling in it and holding him in place, and she rocked her hips up in encouragement, breathing heavier.

"Nooooo, you're doing that just right!" she gasped, letting her nails graze teasingly along his scalp. "My thanks to whoever told you that! Just keep doing more of that and you'll be any lady's best friend."

"Ouch!"

The hair pulling if anything startled him.  Caelwyn wasn't sure she was trying to pull him away or hold him there.  But when he couldn't move, he was certain the. That it was the latter.  Well, then he'd just have to give it a go then wouldn't he?  This was an experiment much like any other and even if his practical experience was rather limited, he was curious and inventive when he needed to be.

With a muffled sound of appreciation, he began to taste her, tentative, slow, and purposeful.  Her warmth had a certain sweetness to it, and when he eased against her, he grew bolder, focusing on her clit where she ached the most.

"Holy shit," Anoki breathed, and had to remind herself to be careful with Caelwyn's hair. Her hands still tangled in it, but she loosened her grip and threaded her fingers through it instead, nails raking lightly over his scalp. It was an effort, though, when the flick of his tongue made her tense and squirm, and her breathing soon came out in pants and gasps, her head tilted back and hips rolling up into his ministrations.

"Perfect..." she gasped out, a sound close to a whimper, biting her lip as she fought the urge to twist and writhe--and resisting it, because he had found just the right spot and she didn't want him to lose his place. "Oh, gods, Cael...you're gonna...ah...! You're gonna make me come!"

Her toes curled and her back arched, shivers coursing through her from her core to her fingertips, and there was surprise in her voice, for it had been a while since someone had focused on pleasuring her. It felt almost selfish, and oddly vulnerable, and as she felt herself growing closer, felt the tension building and warming, she suddenly groaned and gripped his hair tighter, tugging lightly to stop him.

"W...wait!"

Nails scraping along his scalp, while not entirely unpleasant, was a decent way to make him sink further between her legs.  Caelwyn was if anything adventurous.  Well, as adventurous as he felt suited to being at any particular moment.  In this one, his curiosity was getting the better of him.  To feel her body trembling at what he was doing intrigued him.  He wondered what more things could be done to her to make her feel such.

Would it happen more than once on a single escapade?  Could it be sustained over one drawn out period?  The possibilities seemed endless.  At least until she pulled on his hair again.

He paused in his lickings as he peered up at her, a stray hair caught in the fold of his lip.  "What? What?  Are you experiencing things?" he panted?

"Ohmygods," Anoki gasped when Caelwyn stopped, and she had been close, and close to forgetting her own little hangups if that had continued much longer. But he had stopped when she'd told him too and it gave her a chance to just breathe and get her wits about her. For a moment she just lay there, limp and half-giddy with pleasure, but his question brought her back.

With a soft grunt, she lifted onto her elbows and peered down her body at him, her brown skin flushed and heart racing away from her. "Things? Oh sweet deity of your choice! Many, many things, all of them wonderful. You're a natural, Cael! But!"

She sat up and reached out to swipe a finger over his lip, whisking away the curly red hair stuck there, and the moisture from her sex. "I can't let you have all the fun. It's not fair! I want to taste you, too."

And with a light shove, she tried to guide him onto his back.

Oh, she could taste him?  He didn't need any stretch of the imagination to wonder how that worked.  But that she would even want to do it was....absurd to even refute.  She was a prostitute and probably did all sorts of things he would have a hard time working his mind about.

"Hey, easy.  My ass is still.raw from the dirt," he said, falling onto his back.

"Allow me to take your mind off of that, then," Anoki said with a sly smile, her skin flushed hot and body still tingling from what he'd done--and what they still had yet to do. And as she crawled between his legs and grazed her fingers teasingly up his shaft, a little thrill went through her as she thought that she was likely the first person to do this for him--

And that, with any luck, she'd be getting him through a lot of his "firsts" tonight.

She grasped him gently and pumped her hand up and down his length just a couple times before she dipped down and kissed along his belly, letting her hair caress over his skin as she went lower still, until she was brushing her lips and tongue over his inner thigh. She nipped him playfully and suckled gently, then moved back up--and finally inward, to what she truly wanted. With a soft hum of enjoyment, she ran her tongue along him in one long stroke, from base to tip. She blew a soft breath over him, tickling his wet skin, and ran her tongue over the head, tasting and teasing and letting the anticipation build as her hand still stroked him. Oh, if she wanted to, she knew ways to make a man come in just a minute or two, but she wanted this to be special for him, wanted to take her time as she slowly slicked him up, her eyes lifted to his face as she worked.

And then, finally, she pressed her lips to the tip in a kiss--before she let him slide into her mouth, inch by inch, her tongue swirling along his skin as she took him in deep.

A moan escaped him, almost a laugh when her mouth found it's way along his inner thigh.  He snorted and rushed a hand to his mouth, feeling his face flush.

At any other time, to think they would even have a moment for any such dalliance was unthinkable.  But after getting nearly killed more than once, he only hoped this would be the stress-reliever it promised to be.

He watched her curiously, holding his tongue this time as she refrained from doing the same.  No words could describe the shudder that came through him at her touch.  Her hand was firm around his member, and he could feel his body twitch in response, despite the initial lewdness of the sounds.  Of course he knew the practical understanding of what was about to be done, but to feel it was an entirely different sensation.  His cock was a sensitive organ indeed, and the ache of it's hardness made him bite his lower lip in anticipation.

Pressure built inside his head from holding his breath, which was soon robbed of him the moment her tongue slicked up the shaft, teasing him little by little and making his fingers curl into the cloth of her bedsheets.  "Whoa!  Is it supposed to be that intense?" he panted, redfaced and feeling his whole body flush.  He kept his eyes trained on her however.

"Holy shit!" he gasped when she took him, feeling his cock engulfed by the heat of her mouth.  Teeth sunk into his lower lip and he wondered if his teeth weren't just going to break the skin.

Oh, he was delightfully responsive, which was so rare, in her experience. So many men were silent in bed--save for some heavy breathing and grunting--and it could be a challenge to get them to writhe when they fought so hard to be controlled. So there was little more satisfying than the sight of Caelwyn then, fingers curled into the bed sheets, teeth biting his lip--not to mention the surprised words spilling from his mouth. Anoki smiled around him, chuckling deep in her throat so he could no doubt feel the vibrations, and bobbed along his full length before she pulled back with a soft pop and breathed softly over his wet skin.

"Oh, it's supposed to feel very good," she murmured, letting her lips graze over the tip and flicking her tongue out to lap up a bead of precum. She slipped a hand between his legs to cup his balls and gently massage them, only adding to the pleasure, before she dipped back down and ran her tongue over them, then up again from base to tip. She smiled up at him, and gave him a teasing wink.

"It's only going to get better."

And then she sank him into her mouth again, gently scraping her teeth against him only the barest amount to switch up the sensations, before she swirled her tongue along him and began to bob, letting him slip past her lips each time before she took him in deeper. And all the while her hand still stroked what her lips didn't cover, while her other hand caressed his scrotum, eager to see just how much she could make him squirm.

Every motion made another little noise keep up from him.  Caelwyn had no real intention of keeping it in.  And he couldn't even if he tried.  It was all coming at him at once and he closed his eyes, trying to decide which sensation to focus on more.  But thankfully he didn't have to choose.  Watching her perform only added to his arousal.  He panted hard, moaning softly and not knowing much more to do with his hands. 

"Sweet Kia above that's...I...I don't even know what to say," he whimpered, gasping for air, as he watched her swallow him once again.  The bite of her teeth, however slight, made him jerk his hips up lightly.  The pressure on his balls sent chills spreading all throughout his body.  Teeth sunk into his lip again, this time drawing blood.  Another moan and his hand reached down to wrap fingers into her hair, gently tugging at it.

"Whoa," he panted.  "How do you even know how to do that?  That...thing with your tongue!?"  His moan came out in a pitch higher than he would have wanted, but there wasn't much he could do about that either.

Anoki nearly choked on a laugh--which would have been inconvenient, since he was nearly balls deep down her throat. Instead she drew back a little, lips tight around him, and bobbed again before she pulled back off him with a soft pop, trailing a thin string of saliva that she broke with a lick of her lips.

"Ohh, y'know, I get some practice here and there," she said with a smile, eyes twinkling in amusement. Did he forget she did this professionally? Dipping down again, she trailed her tongue up his shaft and then suckled on the tip, hand stroking up and down him as she did, before she took him in her mouth again to suck and bob, her hand pumping him in time to the movements of her mouth.

She enjoyed his little whimpers, enjoyed the way he tensed and squirmed and held his breath, and she enjoyed it all the more knowing she was the first person to give him such an experience--which made her that much more determined to make sure it was a damned good one. Though she saw he'd bitten his lip a bit too hard, and she reached up with her other hand to slide her fingers into his mouth, to give him something else to suck and bite on.

The mere thought of being his first had her practically dripping, but she knew she couldn't go too intense too much or this might be a little shorter of an encounter than she wanted. Most virgins she'd laid with needed a longer recovery time than more experienced men, and though she was being very giving now, she wanted to be a little selfish, too.

But only if he wanted to go that far.

Finally, she pulled back again and swiped a finger over his lip, wiping away the blood, then leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips. "Where would you like to come?" she asked as she nibbled his lips, before she laid her forehead against his and met his eyes. "In my mouth? Or in my cunt?"

His face burned red at every sensation until it was almost too much to be borne. Throat became raw and soon it hurt to breath.  With every little thing she did, he could have come, but somehow he held it back and when she rose back up to face him, Caelwyn was coated in a thin layer of sweat that made his hair damp.  He panted hard, opening his eyes at last and staring up at her.

What did she ask him?  His head was still spinning.  Both of them.  He looked at his manhood, glistening from her mouth and he quaked in suppressed pleasure.  Cheeks were blushing hard, but he was so warm all over he could cook raw eggs on his flesh.

"Do you have a preference?" he managed to croak out between heavy pants.  "I'm still, reeling.  You can pick this time.  I'm...not picky."  And kissed her hard, feeling the taste of himself on his tongue, and he moaned softly against her.

The question had been one of consent, and now that she had it...

Anoki kissed him back fiercely, moaning her enjoyment against his lips and breathing in his scent, her body as hot as his and more than ready. "I want you inside me," she breathed, and parted from him only long enough to climb atop him and straddle his hips. "I want you to have the full experience. That, and I'm feeling a little selfish, too. You see, my dear..."

She reached down between them and grasped him gently, stroking him base to tip in her hand before she began to rub her sex against his, slicking him up with her wet heat and teasing them both, wanting to hear more of his little gasps and moans. She nipped and nibbled at his lips, kissed at his jaw, dragged her tongue along his ear as she whispered hotly, "You have a magnificent cock. One I'm very eager to experience."

And the words had barely left her lips when she aligned him with her and sank down onto him, letting out a shuddering whimper as he filled and stretched her. She wiggled her hips to take him in deeper, flexing around him powerfully, and didn't stop until their bodies were flush together.

Only then did she breathe again, and she met his eyes with a smile and braced her hands lightly against his chest. "How is that?"

She got her wish.  Her hands slid with ease over his turgid cock and he whimpered at the feel, ready to burst in that moment, but keeping himself in check.  Just barely anyway.  It wasn't like they were playing with scorching hot brandings here.  The only thing burning up were his loins and flesh all over.  Which could very well replicate a branding if she marked him up pretty good.

He gripped her hips hard, fingernails digging in deep as she teased him, the running tease of her body felt as if they were bathing in lava.  "You feel so good," he panted, biting his lip hard and only waiting for her to satisfy that itch.  He didn't have to wait long.

Caelwyn did flinch again, in waves of pleasure that coursed through him from groin to spine and made his legs curl in and his back arch up into her.  He gasped and moaned softly, feeling her tightly around him.  "God, you feel ....I'm at a loss for words," he panted.  "What do most men normally call it?  Hot?  Like liquid fire?  Because good...dear, just doesn't cut it."

"Most men just call it 'fucking amazing'," Anoki said with a lopsided grin, cheeks flushed as she looked at him through her lashes. "If anything. But once things get going..."

And with a shuddering sigh, she lifted and rolled her hips back down, bottom lip between her teeth as she began to move, slowly at first as she learned his body and found her rhythm. Reaching for his hands, she dragged them up her body and placed them over her breasts as she rode him, body undulating gracefully like a dance. She let out a panted breath, gasping as she angled him just right--and he would certainly the little shudders coursing through her as a result.

"Most people don't--a-ah...most people don't do much talking at all..."

The undulations of her hips, her riding him with such ease was enough to shut him up.  To think that this kind of activity was something he'd been missing his whole life.  He'd clamped his jaw shut in an effort to keep from biting his bottom lip again because he was sure that was symptomatic of extreme eyes-rolling-back-in-head syndrome.  Clearly a clinical case.

"F-fuck," he panted, the word blurting out amidst one rise and fall of her hips.  When his hands found her breasts, his breath hitched and he gently squeezed them, thumbs rolling over hard nipples as he found her rhythm and did his best to follow it.  Caelwyn sighed, needing to open his mouth to breath as they began to move together. 

To feel her gloved all around him was more than he could bear, but like with anything he was new too, with practice, he fell into motion with her.  He pulled his hands from her breasts, sitting up and using them instead to balance himself against her.  But his touch was soon replaced by the curiosity of his mouth.  He ran his tongue beneath the hardness of her left nipple, kissing them eagerly as he bounced harder beneath her.

"Fuck," Anoki breathlessly repeated, hands in his hair as his mouth and tongue found her flesh so she could press him more urgently against him. She shivered under his touches, delighting in the way he soon fell into rhythm until their hips moved as one, and soon she couldn't control her whimpers and shuddering moans. Oh, he was a quick study, all right--perhaps it had to do with being a doctor and knowing something of anatomy, or maybe it was just pure eagerness. "Yeah...that's what we're doing..."

She threw an arm around his neck and pressed closer to him, even as she ground and rocked atop him, and with her other hand she caught his chin and tipped his head back up. Ducking down, she pressed their lips together in a needy kiss, tongue dancing with his, glad he was open to that. Some clients would do every debauched act under the sun, but found kissing too intimate. But she liked that closeness and connection, loved how it felt, and enjoyed that sense of...normalcy.

And he was no client, anyway.

"E-enjoying yourself?" she breathed against his lips, and braced both hands on his shoulders so she could better ride him, soft, mewling whimpers escaping her as she shifted from rocking to bouncing atop his length.

She certainly knew she was.

Caelwyn didn't know where to begin.  As much as it was overwhelming, he did not fight it, as he was soon melting against her body. He just let himself go.  For once he relented his penchant for overthinking everything, because really, trying to focus on just one sensation was rather moot by this point.  Everything felt like lava, sweet warmth that entrapped him by both limb and sex.

Something was beginning to warm in his belly, and his arms fell around her when she clung to him. He obeyed every coaxing motion, kissing her back with slow, sensual tastes.  The lack of experience that might have daunted another just made Caelwyn curious to try, to experiment with what felt good, felt better.  All the while he could feel her heart beating as fast as his, chest flat to chest.  Resistance was futile, and he broke the kiss to ease into the moans that were escaping him.

"Enjoying, gah! - doesn't even begin...to describe in," he panted, reaching his hand tup to brush away her hair that clung to her forehead.  He smiled at her, even laughing to the change of pace.  His eyes found a way to look at his brain again the moment his eyes closed in a long blink.  Forcing them open, he looked back at her and leaned in.

"Kiss me again.  Just wrap all of yourself around me," he begged softly.  "That's the best part."

Anoki was happy to cave to his request.

Capturing his lips with her own, she gently pushed him down into the bed. Laying as they were, bodies flush together, she couldn't move with as much power and purpose as when she rode him, but she could still grind and rock back into him, her movements more tender, more teasing. She moaned against his lips, breaths hot, and then leaned up to nibble at his ear.  Interesting. So interesting. So Caelwyn wasn't the sort to just gun for a quick fuck to get his rocks off--he wanted the intimacy, too.

It was so different from what she was used to, but she was willing to enjoy it while she could.

"I agree," she said, and sucked lightly on the tender skin just below his ear. Just enough to leave a little dark spot, a little reminder. "Makes you feel alive, doesn't it?"

Another hot kiss pressed to his mouth, her tongue flicking out to taste him as her hips still rolled against him, that heat building still--but slower now, almost maddeningly so. She whimpered, clutching onto him, and then gave him a little tug as she started to roll, trying to coax him atop her. "Mm, gods, Cael...you feel so good..."

Never did he think he would end up here beneath a woman - let alone a prostitute. Even if that was her profession and she had no shame in it, Caelwyn didn't quite see her that way. Oh he was under no illusions that this was anything more than physical. It was the act itself that was overwhelming...

In a way that Caelwyn was entirely okay with. After all, there was a first time for everything, so why not for this?

He whimpered at her slowed pace, but loved the way her body felt around his, pressed flushed to him as she rolled her hips like undulating ocean waves against his hips. He moaned deep and panted hard, his hands gripping her skin, nails dinning in hard to feel his cock wrapped around something so hot he was cutting through her like butter.

A shiver jolted down from the side where she touched his ear and he opened his neck for her to explore him. "A-alive?" he panted. "I don't think I've...felt this...alive since.....excavating tombs in the desert. You've just given me...something else to ....excavate."

He tilted his head to meet her kiss, following her body to roll over, belly simmering into a boil, and settled atop her. Caelwyn learned easily with the flow of what she taught him. He kissed her hotly, desperately as he rolled his own hips deep in her. "You're like a fucking glove. It's supposed to be that tight though, right?" he whimpered as he began to thrust deeper, the heat becoming too much to hold off much longer.

He let their bodies rock, fighting off his trembles as they began to build.