Niamh goes to Demaht for advice on men.
“Um…Demaht? Can we talk for a sec?�
Demaht glanced up from the book she had been reading, stretched out on her stomach on the bed. Peeking into the room was Niamh, the door open just a few inches. Ergh. Tzak must not have closed it all the way when he left to do…whatever, probably hanging out with Tacky Hatâ€"er, Nexus. She hadn’t asked; she was just soaking up the alone time, because it was the first time she’d had alone time in millennia after finally convincing Tzak to use a wish so she didn’t always have to be near him. Sighing in annoyance, Demaht set the book aside and sat up on the bed, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the paler woman scathingly.
“Talk, eh? Feh. Why should we? Thought ya hated djinn. Ya didn’t wanna talk to me before ‘less it was about destroyin’ me.� Rolling her eyes, she clasped her hands together and mimicked Niamh’s voice. “‘Throw the necklace away, Tzak!’, ‘she’ll steal your soul, Tzak!’, ‘destroy it, Tzak!’, ‘djinn are evil, Nexus!’ Bah!�
Niamh winced and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Er…right. Yeah. About that, ah…sorry.�
“Pfft.�
“No, really. Um…I’m sorry. It’s just back home we have legends and…look, I’ve been wrong before, alright? I’ve been wrong about a lot of things, and I’d never met a djinn before so all I had to go off of was what I’d heard. I guess I was also kinda jealous, too. You’re really pretty and you were hitting on Nexus. I guess I felt threatened.� Niamh tried not to grimace at her own words. Yeah. That still pissed her off and she wasn’t being really honest, but she knew the best way to please a djinn was to stroke their ego and act humble, as much as it pained her. “Forgive me,� she added, clasping her hands in front of her, lowering her eyes, and bowing her head.
She was never doing this again. She’d only ever been this humble worshipping Mother Sun or apologizing to Vec. Never. Again.
Demaht looked her over for a moment, quite enjoying this even if she wasn’t smiling, then snorted and gave a regal wave of her hand. “Right, right. Whatcha wanna talk about?�
Good, it worked. Niamh straightened, but she didn’t raise her eyes. “Yeah, about that…â€? She cleared her throat. “Alright. I, um…well…you see…I figured you’ve lived a long time and you know a lot and you’re really smart and gorgeous and allâ€"“ Nope, she wasn’t trying to butter her up a bit. “â€"so I thought maybe you could…er…maybe you could…â€?
Niamh suddenly faltered, twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands nervously, and Demaht couldn’t help but grin. The girl was blushing something fierce and staring so intently at the ground. Ah, she so loved watching people squirm. Whatever she wanted to ask, it must be good. “Light this is stupid. Hokay. Well, you see, I was just kinda hoping you could help me with...ah…augh, you know what, on second thought just…never mind. It’s not important and…forget it! Sorry to bother you.�
But just as she turned away to make her hasty, flustered exit, a surprisingly strong hand grasping her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. Niamh gave a jerk of surprise and gasped; she hadn’t even heard Demaht get up. She gave another gasp when Demaht began to drag her backwards across the room, flailing and tugging at Demaht’s hand, but her grip was unyielding, her strength inhuman. “H-hey, waitaminute, leggo!�
“Nope! Ya gotta finish what ya started, doll. Ya bugged me, interrupted my readin’, so ya better make the intrusion worth my time. Now sit down an’ get it out,� she ordered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling Niamh down to sit beside her. Then she folded her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow. “Well, girl?�
“Er…� Niamh blushed again and quickly looked away. “I’d…rather not.�
“Nope. Too late for cold feet. Finish what ya started.�
“Um, I forgot what I was gonna ask.“
“Hah! Like hell ya forgot! Damn, ya are a lil’ cocktease, ain’tcha? I thought ya were, judgin’ by how ya were actin’ last night with your man! Surprised the guy hasn’t just thrown ya down an’ taken ya. I woulda.� Niamh’s blush darkened. “Now c’mon. Hurry up or I’m gonna get pissed.�
Niamh bit her lip, crossed her legs, and stared down at her hands. “Alright, sorry. Just…promise not to tell anyone, alright? Especially not Nexus. You have to promise, and I know djinn have to honor their promises. Promise.�
Demaht rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, promise. Go.�
“I…need advice. On men.�
“ Oh yeah?�
“Yeah. Um…so…help?�
Demaht chuckled and shook her head, grinning. “Anythin’ in particular ya needa know?�
“Everything,� Niamh groaned, rubbing her right temple. Then she froze. “I take that back, not everything, no sex stuff. It’s just I’ve never been with anyone before, so…just…I don’t even know what I’m doing half the time. I just kinda go with the flow, you know? No, that’s not right. It’s more like floundering around. He’s more experienced and open, I’m…not.� She nibbled her lip again. This was usually difficult to talk about, and yet now that she’d gotten started, and around another female, she was surprised at how easily the words came, and how good it felt to finally admit all this. “I just wanna make him happy. He’s always being sweet, he’s understanding, but…I feel like he’s doing everything. And it makes me feel bad. Like why can’t I kiss him first?�
“Why can’t ya?�
“I dunno! It was rhetorical!� Niamh said, throwing her hands up in frustration. “See? It’s stupid.�
Demaht’s grin widened. “Weeell…even if your too chicken to kiss ‘im first, there’re still some things ya can do first…while kissin’. That’d prob’ly make ‘im happy.�
Niamh looked up suspiciously. “Nothing dirty…�
“Naaaw. It ain’t dirty. Just little tricks ya can do when you’re kissin’ that he’ll love. How d’ya guys kiss?�
“Uh…like you normally kiss…�
“Which is…?�
Niamh looked away and rubbed her neck, which felt hot. “You know…on the cheek, on the lips…sometimes he, um, kisses my neck…�
Demaht was trying hard not to giggle. What a virgin. “Ya guys frenched?�
Niamh gave her a blank look.
“…Oh. Right. Wrong era, French ain’t here. I mean kissin’ with tongue. You’re just doin’ the closed mouth thing, ain’tcha?�
“Er…well…yeah…�
“Psha. Amateur. Look, that’s how parents kiss their kids or kids kiss other kids. That ain’t how lovers are s’pposed to kiss! Bo-ring! Ya ain’t gonna impress no one with that, certainly not your man, an’ how long ya been together? Seven months, was it? Gods, ya should be passed that, you’re torturin’ him. But whatever, torture can be fun. Anyway, for starters…� Her grin turned devious. “Next time he goes to kiss ya, just slip ‘im the tongue.�
Niamh stared at Demaht blankly, then blinked. “Oh…you mean like, ah, touching his lips with it?� she asked, eyebrows drawn together skeptically. Nexus had done that to her before, the first time they kissed, actually. She’d been shocked at the time, but it had felt kind of nice in an odd way.
“No! Stick your tongue in his mouth.�
“WHAT?�
“Ya heard me. Slip your tongue in his mouth. Or let ‘im do it to ya. Just open your mouth, that’ll tell ‘im ya want it.�
“That sounds disgusting! No way! I wanna get better, not worse!�
“That is better.�
“If I wanna gag him, maybe!�
“Gods be damned, ya don’t shove it down his throat, ya fool! Ya gotta have technique, be subtle an’ artful! A caress here, a touch there, no just shovin’ it in. Be slow an’…ah hell, prob’ly better if ya just let him go first, actually…then ya just gotta follow his lead, do what he does an’â€"stop makin’ that face, it feels great.â€?
“You gotta be kidding.�
Demaht snorted and shook her head. “Don’t knock it ‘til ya try it. Look, if ya don’t believe me, I’ll show ya,â€? she said seriously, scooting closer to Niamh, whose eyes widened in horror. “Ya wanna practice? ‘Cause we can,â€? she said, still closing in on Niamh, who was inching away to keep a safe distance between them. “Best way to learn is by doin’, after all, then ya can really impress Nexxy-baby! Just imagine the surprise on his face! Good surprise, not badâ€"“ There was a dull thud as Niamh ran out of bed and toppled to the floor. Demaht’s eyes crossed. “Idiot.â€?
Niamh scrambled to her feet and backed up until her back was against the dresser, one hand massaging her sore bottom. “Ahahah, no thanks, I’ll pass! Look, let’s just…enough with the tongue stuff, alright? I’ll, uh, keep all that in mind. Any other advice?� Then she jerked. “Clean advice.�
“When ya have sex, do it in the bath. Less mess, no one gets the wet spot, laundry can wait, an’ running water feels really great over yourâ€"“
“NOT WHAT I MEANT!� Niamh yelped, throwing her hands up and turning scarlet. “I mean stuff I can do that isn’t sex or dirty or perverted or…just…I want romantic ideas, okay?! Sweet stuff! Stuff men like that isn’t sex!�
“Oral? Handjobs? Breasts?�
“NO!� Niamh shouted, raking her hands through her hair miserably. “You know what, forget it. Just forget it. I don’t know what I was thinking coming to you. Just…see ya later,� she said, pushing off from the dresser and walking toward the door.
“Tell ‘im ‘I love you.’�
Niamh froze, then glanced over her shoulder in surprise. “Huh?�
“Tell ‘im ya love ‘im,� Demaht repeated, lips curled in a small, secret smile. “I know Tzak wishes I could tell ‘im that. Well, not literally wishes, but desires. I think mortals like that.� She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I can’t tell ‘im that, though. I can’t lie, an’ I can’t love. You can do both, though. You’re human. So tell ‘im that.�
Niamh was quiet for a few moments, her hand resting on the doorknob and eyes staring off toward the ground. But when she finally looked up again, she met Demaht’s eyes directly and smiled, for once not blushing. “Alright. I’ll try. It won’t be the first time I’ve tried, either,� she said quietly before she turned, opened the door, and stepped out.
“What? Afraid to tell a little fib?� Demaht snorted, picking up her book again.
“No…afraid to tell the truth.�
