Under A Bundle (Work Solo)

[Devero]

Timestamp: Winter 21, 511 Time: Midday Location: Nerium Family Business Devero was just standing there looking at all of the the bundles of deliveries waiting by the door. It was going to be a long day. He sighed, and plucked the note off of the first one. The Meadows Public House It looked like a bunch of sheets for the foreigners' beds. A bunch of jewel tones. Devero thought them to be a bit gaudy personally. He groaned, and bent at the knees and grasped the large bundle at the base. He slowly raised up, the weight a tad more than he was used to carrying. Stupid merchants always complaining about not having brand new sheets. He stepped out of the front of the office, and onto the first of a long series of woven bridges. He could normally traverse these with ease, but he had to be careful now, the sheets were throwing off his center of gravity. Each step was followed by an uneasy wobble. While cursing foreigners once more, he was thanking Viratas that he remembered to not wear his sandals. Step, wobble, step, wobble. Several grueling chimes later he made his way through the opening. He made his way over to an empty table and set the bundle gently on top of it. He looked to see who was working the counter. He almost smiled. It was one of the beautiful Aconite girls. One of the single ones. He walked over to her and leaned up against the counter. He looked down, waiting for her to look up at him. When she did, he slowly raised his face and looked her straight in the golden eyes, and his mouth twisted into a seemingly uninterested smirk. "I have a delivery for you Solona." He purposefully used the name of one of the most well known and beautiful of Aconite women. He saw her smile, as if taking it as a compliment. "My name is actually Saneela." She chuckled lightly, "Thanks for the delivery errand boy." "My apologies Saneela, I always seem to mix Solona up with the few women who actually surpass her beauty. So," he made sure to put a layer of emphasis on her name, "Saneela, would you be able to guide me to the rooms where these sheets need replaced. I wouldn't want give a woman of your standing to do the work of mere errand boy." She smiled and couldn't make eye contact with him. She called over another worker to man the counter, and gestured with her finger for Devero to follow her. He picked up the bundle, and watched her walk with a slight skip in her step, a sway in her hips. He smirked and followed her up the steps. They entered the common area, a few visitors and the like milling about. She led him through the first door and across the wooden bridge. "Hold still Devero." She pressed her body against his back as she plucked the topmost sheet from the bundle. He felt her linger against him a tad longer than a normal person would have, and he smiled to himself. "I'm surprised. You know my name." "We know all of the best people in Kalinor." She quickly changed the sheets on the bed. The pair repeated this for every room, until they crossed into the final one. She held open the door as he walked in behind her. She shut it, and silently locked it. "You can just place that on the table there." Devero obeyed, and thought he heard something soft hit the floor. He heard footsteps approach behind, and hands wrapped themselves around his waist. He felt two little buds pressing through the silk covering his muscled back. He smirked. "Let's not change those sheets just yet." He turned around, and saw her naked and beautiful before him. He had yet to meet an ugly Aconite girl, and this one was truly deserving of all the praise he'd given. His mouth met hers, and the pair quickly found the silken bed. Nearly a bell later... Devero straightened his shirt as he stepped out of the room, and walked back across the wooden bridge and down the steps. He gathered a bag of coins from the man working the front desk, and quickly made his way back to the Nerium business.

[Devero]

Devero plucked the note off of the second bundle that needed delivered. The Temple of Viratas There was only one thing this bundle could be. The silken wraps for the bodies that were brought to the temple. He smiled, it'd been a while since he'd gone to the temple. As he picked up the bundle, his wife Navara came in. She spied him about to leave and came over, holding close to his back, kissing the nape of his neck. He could hear her sniff the air slightly. "So which of the Aconite women was working the front desk?" She asked teasingly. The two of them often took other lovers, and even shared them from time to time. "Saneela." "Ah, she just began working there I think. I've often heard she rejects most suitors. At least from men. We should invite her over sometime. Now get to the temple, they are nearly out of shrouds." Devero briskly left the business and stepped out onto the woven bridges once more. He could feel it bouncing beneath his feet. So he wasn't alone on this bridge. He stopped, trying to feel through his feet how many were on the bridge. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling. He felt several sets of bounces, always in sets of quickly repeating twos. He guessed it to be several children, running along the lines. He smiled. He couldn't wait to begin Harvesting. He and Navara were really hoping that pitterpatter of feet would be on their home's floors one day. He continued along the lines until he reached the temple. He set the bundle off to the side, it would be taken care of by the proper people later. He made his way over to the bloodbath. He hadn't added to it in a long time. He stepped up the edge, looking at his reflection in the dark crimson. Would Viratas help him to build a family with Navara? Would he look down on them and smile? Devero hoped so. Devero pulled back a sleeve and exposed his wrist, raising it out over the pool. Using one of his black nails, he made a small slice in his wrist. Several droplets quickly formed and fell into the pool, sending ripples that obscured his reflection. After he was done donating, he licked up the remaining blood from his arm, and the flow was quickly stopped. "May this blood give greater life." He left the pool, and disappeared into the hallways of the respected dead. He quickly found his way to where his own ancestors were kept. He didn't know any of them while they were alive, but still felt a connection to them. All the generations of Neriums were here. It was comforting, it felt like his family was still watching over him. And he hoped they were watching over Shai and Vashaio, where ever they may be. He prayed that Viratas wouldn't let them die away from home. They deserved to be laid to rest here just as much as any other of their race. He sighed. He missed his baby sister. She may have been the black sheep of the family, but she was his first, and closest friend. He often times wished his family hadn't pushed her away as they had. He got up, said goodbye to his deceased family, and made his way back to the shop.

[Devero]

Devero looked at the largest, and lumpiest of all three of the bundles. He plucked the note off of it, and it read, Place of Purging He groaned loudly. He hated making deliveries to Svorador Hellebore. Devero could never place it, but the man just rubbed him the wrong way. He picked up the awkward bundle, this one was going to be a pain. He left the shop and stepped out onto the line. He found that the bundle wasn't packed well, and was both top and left heavy, and was seriously off balance. He slowly made his way across the line, when he felt heavy bounces beneath his feet. Someone was running on the line, and heading towards him. Just before Devero could shout, the person collided with his bundle. Devero fell backwards onto the line, trying to maintain his balance and keep a hold onto his delivery. He felt the bundle pull him to left, and off of the line. Purely by instinct, his ankles hooked around the line. He just barely managed to keep a grip on the bundle as it attempted to jerk him toward certain death below. "Watch where you're going!" He could feel the bounding strides as the offending party continued along the line, totally ignoring Devero's predicament. Devero hung there like a bat, and sighed. He began to swing his body and bundle back and forth along the line like a pendulum. He kept this up for several swings until he had enough momentum. As he reached the height of his swing, he jerked his body upwards, tightened his stomach muscles. He managed to swing up past the line, and hooked his elbow around it. From there, he balanced the bundle on the line, and unslipped his ankles from it. His body slid down until his weight was being supported by armpit. From this position, he swung his legs up and over the line and pulled himself up to a straddling position on the line. He quickly bounced up to a standing position, using the bundle as leverage. He picked it up and continued toward the Purging. He entered the Place of Purging, and was thankfully met by a worker that wasn't Hellebore. "Thank Viratas you've arrived, we are totally out of pillows for the surrogate wing. And we can't give them the good pillows like our women get, that just wouldn't be right. Follow me." They made their way down the wing handing out the pillows to various other workers to place in the surrogate rooms. When they reached the end of the wing, a medic fell out of the last room, struggling under the dead body of a woman. "You idiot! Don't get her mess all over my clean floors! We told you to stop carrying them out, you are too scrawny!" The man turned to Devero, "Would you mind making one last delivery? You look strong enough." Devero nodded, and knelt down before the dead woman. She was naked, and bloody below the waist. She had olive colored skin and four arms. A woman of Ahnatep. A beautiful one at that. He scooped her up, and held her out in front of him, careful not to get her blood on his clothes. He was quite surprised to notice that she had a lot of makeup on, a rarity, for Symenestra women were more beautiful without the aid of cosmetics. He recalled that even the men of the desert wore the same amount of makeup as the women. He shook his head as he carried her down the hall. Some cultures were so strange. As he exited the Purging, he held her out over the seemingly bottomless cavern. "Well, at least you found some use for your strange and miserable existence." Then he dropped her into the darkness, and made his way back to the shop. He hoped his wife was done working. Maybe they would go visit Saneela together.

[Poison]

THREAD AWARD!

Skills: Acrobatics 3, Seduction 2

Lore: Acquaintance: Saneela of the Aconite Web, Disposing of Surrogates

Notes: The points in Acrobatics are for moving across the bridges with heavy and awkward bundles. The points in Seduction are obviously for the scene between Devero and Saneela.

I couldn’t resist giving you something for getting rid of the dead surrogate either!

I thoroughly enjoyed the thread. I had no idea that a job thread could be so entertaining! Well done!