Closed Book I: How much can the Dead Feel?

[Matthew]

11th of Summer, 513AV.

Matthew had heard the rumors about Dominac, and so here he was. A dirty mind would likely have picked up some dirty books over the years, and dirty books were exactly what he needed.

A small bell rang out as he entered the little shop, the sudden noise causing his bright blue eyes to glance upwards. He regarded the bell with some distaste for a moment, before quickly turning his gaze to look over the shop. Noting the dust and cobwebs first, he pulled back a bit, even as the door closed behind him. He was trapped for a moment, stuck between a shut entrance and a castle of dirt and spider homes. He had to take a moment to pull himself together, to reach deep within himself, to carefully pick out what pieces of bravery he had and combine them all in a single steel stomach. It wasn't as if he was afraid of getting dirty. He just really didn't enjoy spiders, and what else would a million different spiderwebs hint towards? Mumbling softly to himself, he hunched a bit, shoulders tugging in and chin burrowing down. He tucked his hands inside of his long black coat, the garment opened down the middle to show off a simple white button-up shirt. A small red bowtie adorned his neck, and a pair of dressy black pants hugged his legs. He looked rather sosphisticated and sharp, as if he had put a lot of thought into his outfit. He had, even if it was just a bookstore trip. Who knew if he might run into a potential client. His blue eyes roamed the bookshelves and artifacts for a brief moment longer, then turned towards the back of the shop to find the employee on duty.

Nuit alert.

Ah, it was perhaps the least likely candidate for a client. Sure, he had heard they could feel sensations just like the rest of them, but he doubted the undead had any sort of hunger for his sort of profession. How would that work, even if they did? He paused for a moment, thinking back to his studies, recalling the vial of ichor that they had examined in class.

He couldn't help but make a small face, turning his head to hide it from the potential gaze of the Nuit. Gross. He wished his mind hadn't so innocently wandered there.

Steeling himself, he turned back, and made his journey forward. He moved incredibly gracefully for a man, his steps practiced and gliding, his entire being moving in this slow confident "sway" of a walk. He somehow managed to avoid all of the dust and spiderwebs, taking his time in making a clean path through the maze in front of him. His eyes searched for those of the Nuit, teeth sinking thoughtfully into his lower lip as he approached. Nuit alert.. The alarm went off in his head again, and patiently indulged in it. Didn't they hop bodies? Wasn't their disease infectious? His step didn't pause, but his mind did. He had first noticed she was a Nuit (rather quickly) just because of the way she covered up. Mostly her eyes. Yes, there was the paint, but it almost prounounced the dark circles under her eyes. Perhaps she wasn't a Nuit, and he was only jumping to conclusions. That was only one assumed identifying feature, after all.

He finally made it to her, blue eyes still holding hers, if they had caught them in the first place. "Hello. I am looking for books on female pleasure points, and anything regarding the science or practice of the female orgasm. Self pleasuring, as well as induced by a partner, if possible." He spoke in a quiet, friendly, professional tone. He asked the request as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, never once glancing away or changing his polite facial expression. However, his next question caused his expression to display a minor amount of discomfort. "Are you a Nuit?"

[Isolde Seibold]

There was the tinkle of the bell at the front of the shop, and the Nuit looked up from her scribing, setting her pen down and flexing her fingers, trying to wipe a bit of smudged ink from her palm. She'd just been hired yesterday, and the job was as fresh and exciting as it had been before... except now there was a nervous quality to the Nuit's glance towards the front of the shop. Upon her early arrival at the store this morning, Mr. Ariva had taken a brief amount of time to dictate to her about prices and inventory-- and there had been a lot to remember. Then he had said he had some errands to run and that he would be back soon, and don't make that face because if she wanted to earn her keep that meant helping out customers, and she better not frighten them away! Without seeming to hear her stammered objections
--probably because she had voiced them under her breath, unwilling to actively go against her crotchety new employer-- Mr. Ariva had departed, leaving her to tend the shop alone. On her second day. With not a bit of experience at this sort of thing.

So the Nuit had taken a few long chimes to set about reviewing the wares in her head, and the prices that the old man had given. He had a certain system when it came to the selling of items, having to do with a lot of factors like age of the ware, quality, demand, and a bunch of other things that the Nuit had tried to memorize as he had been speaking. She hadn't been certain if she was remembering them all correctly, or if she had been leaving some out as she ducked and weaved between the shelves and piles, ticking off areas of goods in her mind. She supposed she would just have to do her best if a customer came. At the time, she had thought it unlikely. The old man had left the store in the morning for a reason: simply because not as many people ventured out early morning to visit such a place. Seeing as it was unlikely that she was going to actually have to deal with a customer, the Nuit had forgone sitting at the neat front desk and had instead headed to her own, over-piled, groaning, monstrously-unorganized desk in the back, which she had inherited with her new job title. It was here that she set to scribing, her primary task in her new occupation.

And now there was a customer, approaching her with a whole lot of grace and style that the Nuit would never have, and dressed very fancily to boot. Immediately she stood, nodding respectfully to him, feeling a bit uncomfortable when his blue eyes searched for hers, unused to people really taking a close look at her-- and then he spoke and she blinked, surprised at his request.

"Hello. I am looking for books on female pleasure points, and anything regarding the science or practice of the female orgasm. Self pleasuring, as well as induced by a partner, if possible."

At least the embarrassment didn't show on her face; she had never been one to blush, even when she had had flowing blood to facilitate the response. If anything, she merely looked surprised, before holding up a hand and saying, "E-Excuse me for just a second. I need to uh, see if I can think where s-something like that might be..." She tilted her eyes down, towards the floor, crinkling her nose and bringing down her brows in concentration, reviewing what little she knew about the layout of the store-- and a moment of furious thinking later she thought she might know where something like that might be. "Okay, sir, j-just a moment, let me go see--" Before she could walk away, his next question came popping out, and she froze where she was, completely surprised again.

"Are you a Nuit?"

Her first reaction was to want to deny it, and fervently, but-- well no, that wouldn't do! She couldn't bring herself to lie to him, even though his question was one that she would want to lie to-- he was a customer, and her actions reflected on the store, and regardless, she was no good at lying anyway. Still, it was an uncomfortable question, causing her a lot of fear and potentially for him --depending on his personality and her response-- a lot of anger or disgust. She certainly knew that people hated what she was. She only hoped he was not one of the ones that would get violent about it.

Isolde's eyes glanced up at his for a moment, and he didn't seem angry... at least not yet. "Y-Yes. I-- I am." It was said in a rather small voice, and then the Nuit was sweeping past him, on her way to figure out if Undeniable Interests even had any sorts of materials on, uh... that sort of interest.

[Matthew]

He rose an eyebrow at her stutter, slightly confused. It hadn't quite clicked with the man that his request could be taken as odd, for he was in total business mode right now. He merely searched her eyes for an answer, though they weren't revealing that much to him. Her next words caused all curiosity to flee his mind though, and he was left considering the new knowledge she had bestowed upon him. Nuit alert. He mentally shot himself a look, telling the alarm to pipe down. Yes, his first instincts had been right, so what should he do about it? Was there a way that they were supposed to act around Nuits? He didn't respond to her at first, merely giving her a distracted nod as she hurried off.

Once again, his mind worried about if her condition was something that could be transmitted. He knew it was, somehow, but he couldn't remember the specifics. He feverishly chewed on his lower lip, his blue eyes regarding her as she bustled about. He felt an odd mix of fear and curiosity, and wasn't sure how to handle it. He wasn't used to this.

"Can a Nuit feel physical pleasure in that way?"

Best to just dive in headfirst, he supposed. "I recall that you can still feel sensations. Your organs are useless to you, but your sensations are still there. So, is pleasure a sensation that is still felt? Or is that even something a Nuit ever considers?" His tone remained neutral the whole time, as if this was normal dinner-time conversation. He crossed his arms, leaning back onto the counter she had been standing behind, which was pretty much the only non-dusty thing in the room. It was an honest question, and he felt like it was a good one. He wasn't sure how their bodies worked, so who better to ask than one of the Nuit themselves?

He tilted his head as she looked for whatever it was she thought she had, quietly studying her until something clicked in the back of his mind. He had Auristics. That, in theory, should be able to tell if she was a Nuit or not. She had of course already told him, but it would be an interesting test nonetheless. Focusing, he brought his hands up to his temples, needing the physical touch to guide him. He touched two fingers to either side of his head, as if trying to soothe a headache. With a small suck of air, he also inhaled Djed. Not from around him, but from within. He couldn't really explain it, and Djed barely had a science behind it. He just knew that it was inside of him, and if he pulled, he could tug it to his head.

He focused, and for a brief moment, a variety of lights blinded him. Her aura was impossible to see among all the other lights flashing in the room, which were impossible to read. He had never been unable to just focus on one thing. It seemed as if everything else in the room screamed for attention as well.

He let go of the Djed, feeling his breath come a bit harder than normal. There were a lot of artifact-looking things in the place. Maybe it was some sort of odd magic.

[Isolde Seibold]

OOCOh gods, my poor Nuit! Well, here goes...

Where to find, where to find-- Over here? The Nuit scurried around the corner of a new row of shelves, hooking her way up to about the middle, brushing quick hands against the dust coating the wares, knocking cobwebs away with pale fingers that were already ink-stained from writing, despite her being new at this job. The-- The biology section should be right... or at least, one of the biology sections, everything's all mixed together-- If not, perhaps the topic would be in the theory section... or research... or, I don't know, perhaps even in the same area as the bits on succubi... At least, I thought I saw those mentioned somewhere... She was glad his request had her busily checking different parts of the store. Firstly, it'd help her better memorize the place. Secondly, she didn't want to have to judge his reaction to her admitting that she was a Nuit. As long as she could keep her eyes on other things and not on him, even if she was searching for a particularly unusual topic--

And then he had to start asking rather, ahem, invasive questions.
"Can a Nuit feel physical pleasure in that way?" The Nuit jerked in surprise, knocking her head against a shelf with the movement, having to frantically hold everything in place so it wouldn't all come tumbling down. Gods, what the fuck sort of question was that? And then she had to cover her mouth with her hand, because that was exactly what sort of question it was-- She was ducked down behind the shelves, trying to keep the half-amused-half-mortified expression on her face from his line of sight. And he just kept plowing on.

"I recall that you can still feel sensations. Your organs are useless to you, but your sensations are still there. So, is pleasure a sensation that is still felt? Or is that even something a Nuit ever considers?"

It took the Nuit a very long time of internal debate to figure out whether or not she even wanted to answer questions like those, or if she was just too embarrassed, and she wondered if he was honestly curious or if he was just poking fun at her in a way that nobody else had yet bothered to do-- but one quick peek at his face and he looked serious enough about it, not even cracking a grin... So what should she do--?

Well, certainly she was going to get him out of the shop as fast as possible, before he could start asking more questions. Isolde set to searching with renewed vigor, hastily swiping away dust and spiders and dirt and more cobwebs with the heart of someone who really wanted to find what she was looking for, and fast.

But she certainly had to say something in the meantime, and oh gods was she actually planning on answering him...? Shyke, what was it that the old man had said? "Anything for the customer--"

"Well, uh. That's c-certainly an, um, interesting bunch of questions, yeah--" Well, at least he had distracted her from being afraid that he might be angry she was a Nuit. "I m-myself h-haven't really considered th-that sort of thing, y'know, b-because i-it's not really uh... well, love isn't something that c-comes easy to-- someone-- like me." Considering that the love of her life was long dead, and she wasn't really planning on falling in love again, ever, if she could help it. "A-And I know th-there's the whole 'lust without love' thing, b-but I've personally never-- really-- been into that s-sort of thing." Oh gods, why was she talking about this? "I-I'd imagine it's... possible. We do feel other sensations, so I d-don't know wh-why not that too--" Oh gods, and now that she was going she couldn't stop, petch, put a sock in it already! She bustled over to a new area of shelves, searching frantically now, if only she could find those books, come'on already--! "B-But I mean, having a, uh, well-- a partner i-isn't likely. I-If you th-think about... um. Well. L-Let's just s-say that blood flow i-is pr-probably a bit of a problem for m-male Nuits, m-making it hard for them to er~" Gods, dammit, here goes nothing-- "*ahem* ~get it up." She rushed on, nearing the end of her awkward, mumbled speech, "So... i-it's pr-probably not really much of a possibility between a Nuit male-and-female pair... A-And I d-don't think i-it's likely that most a-alive men would r-really go for a d-dead body, so--"

And yes, there it was, her salvation! She snatched the two thin, leather-bound books from the shelves, dusting them off, trying not to read their titles and failing miserably: "Attaining Highest Sexual Pleasure" and, comically, "Escorting Her to the Time of her Life". No matter the titles, though, hopefully these were what he was looking for, and if not-- she didn't know if she could take another round of questions. A Nuit, flustered, imagine!

She quickly returned to him, holding out the books, trying not to look up at his face and not being able to help herself, totally embarrassed by her own musings now more than his original questions. Oh gods, this was too weird.

OOCA point I didn't work into Isolde's answer... The body she's in isn't hers, and she doesn't like the idea of banging around with someone else's unsuspecting body, so yeah. Disrespectful to the dead and all that.

And long post, I apologize profusely!

[Matthew]

His eyebrow arched again for what had to be the 20th time as he stretched up to the tips of his toes, trying to see over the mounds of items in front of him in order to make the Nuit girl out. She had completely vanished into the bowels of the spider lair, and now there had been a loud banging noise. His look took on one of slight concern, the hesitance obvious in his voice. "Are you okay? Is... is it a spider?" It might be amusing that a spider was the first thing he worried about, considering what else could probably be lurking among all of this filth. When he saw her again though, he visibly relaxed, settling back down into his normal stance. He briefly considered trying to use the Auristics again to see what had caused the bump, but decided against it. His eyes were already hurting from the first use, and he could tell he was a tad short of breath. Best not to press any sort of luck when it came to magic, even if it was one of the safer classes.

Her response came slowly, with such a long pause inbetween that he almost stated his question again. When she responded, his professional expression couldn't help but break into a small smile, sky-colored eyes twinkling. Was she stuttering? If she had a healthy amount of blood flowing through her veins, would she be blushing? He supposed the subject matter was a bit uncomfortable, and he had been a bit forward in asking about it. He hid his chuckle with a lift of his hand, feigning a cough into it instead. It was almost cute. Nuit alert. Almost. His brain almost instantly shut down that train of thought, and his amused expression immediately returned to professional.

"I trade sex for money, you see. " The awkward statements just came one after the other. He apparently had no shame, nor any concern for her obvious hurriedness. It wasn't unusual to see a handsome man who was in that particular business, but it was a bit odd to see them searching for books to study. Apparently he was passionate about his line of work. "I do other things as well. I like to think of myself as an Escort. While I do offer my body, there are also other things to be offered. A pretty noble lady may wish to have a handsome date to a local ball. A lonely widow might ask for someone to lie next to her at night to remind her of the warmth of her late husband. Things like that." Absentmindedly, he reflected on the fact that he was currently working at a public pleasure house. He didn't need to become too well-known for his body, as that would likely pull away from the "Escort" status he hoped to attain. Mom would be so proud. "So, while most live men probably wouldn't go for a dead body, it may one day come up in my line of work. In fact..." He took the books from her, tucking them under one arm.

Yahal save her, he was going to keep going.

He offered her a small smile as their eyes met, then turned, digging in his pocket with his free hand. He produced a small piece of paper and a writing utensil, and quickly jotted down his name and some additional information. "If you ever want to come by, even purely for science, I can get a few hours with me for free. I would like to find out exactly how to handle a Nuit, should that ever come my way." He folded up the piece of paper, offering it to her, his eyes having to meet hers before he realized what he was saying.

He was being way too up front about this. Not many people could talk about sex and pleasure and the such in the way that he could. He paused, the paper extended, his expression blank as he searched for any words to say. "...It would be funny to hear the rumors, of a Nuit taking me for her own." He offered an awkward smile with the attempted joke, then immediately blinked, stuttering his own words out for the first time. "P-purely physically. Sexually. Professionally. N-not... b-body snatching, I mean. This is mine." He nodded down over his body, eyes cautious, deciding to put the paper on the countertop instead.

"We could always just discuss it next time I come for a book, too." Yeah, that could be a better start.

[Isolde Seibold]

Isolde brought him his books and he took them, putting them under one arm. Okay, now she could tell him the price and he could leave and she could stop being so very embarrassed-- but no, he was continuing on. Gods, what was with him? Normal people hardly talked to the Nuit at all. And never, never about this sort of thing-- A nervous smile broke around the corners of her lips, she couldn't help it, the conversation was just too crazy, too unexpected--

And then it came. "So, while most live men probably wouldn't go for a dead body, it may one day come up in my line of work. In fact..."

Wait, what was he doing, rummaging in his pockets? At first she thought he was getting out money for the books --oh yeah, she hadn't even told him their price, she needed to do that-- but no, it was a piece of paper and a utensil, and he started scribbling something down. What was this? Like an IOU-- could he even do that--?

And then he said it. "If you ever want to come by, even purely for science, I can get a few hours with me for free. I would like to find out exactly how to handle a Nuit, should that ever come my way."

The Nuit just stared at him. He kept going, holding onto the paper. A stammer broke into his words. He set the piece of paper on the counter.

"...It would be funny to hear the rumors, of a Nuit taking me for her own. P-purely physically. Sexually. Professionally. N-not... b-body snatching, I mean. This is mine." He nodded down at his body and the Nuit couldn't help but follow his gaze, before her eyes snapped back up, and she thought that if it was possible to simply die --perhaps just self-combust-- she was about to do it. His words were just starting to dawn on her, the meaning struggling through. She was having trouble comprehending, but yes, she had heard him right, but what the petch had he just-- just offered? Holy-- The Nuit found herself drifting behind the counter, wanting to use it as a shield. She needed to find another reason to hide behind it, to duck down so he couldn't see the look on her face-- oh gods.

And then she realized something, and she couldn't help it. The smile at her mouth twitched. She took a deep breath, trying to contain the feeling of utter, wicked mirth. It didn't help. She needed to escape, she needed to get away, but there was nowhere to go-- and then the dam broke, and she leaned forward over the counter, cupping her arms around her face so he couldn't see, just shaking with silent laughter. It had been so long since she had laughed that she didn't know what to do, and she couldn't stop. She wanted to, she was so embarrassed, probably he was going to feel bad, like she was laughing at him, but she wasn't.

Okay. Well maybe she was a little. But she couldn't help herself. Because--
Because-- "I-I'm so sorry--" she wheezed, hysterical giggles breaking like waves in her voice, muffled by her arms, "B-But-- it's just the thought-- o-of you-- wanting me-- f-for my body!" Sure, he only wanted it so he could figure out how to tickle a Nuit's fancy. But still-- she couldn't speak anymore, the laughter breaking through her once more, coming audibly this time, and it felt amazing to laugh, like all the warmth in the world.

The fit winded down a few moments later, and a few ticks after that she was able to unburrow herself from the shelter of her arms, straightening up, smile still twitching. If she thought about it too much she was going to accidentally start up another round, and she didn't think she could handle that. "I-If you want both books--" she pressed her hand to her mouth again, blue eyes positively dancing, her shoulders shaking. After a tick, she spoke from behind her hand, "Th-That'll be-- I'm so sorry, I really-- I can't-- Please don't feel bad-- Okay-- I can do this." She took a deep breath, dropping the hand to the counter, smile and eyes shining, "Th-That'll be 5 GM, s-sir." There, she had done it, phew.

And to his last statement --the "We could always just discuss it next time I come for a book, too."-- she simply nodded her head, she couldn't do anything else, and she certainly hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings or his pride or anything with her laughing fit. But, gods, seriously--

OOCSeriously, no offense intended by this post at all!
If it makes up for it, this is the happiest I've ever portrayed her, so congratulations! ^^
Also I can't believe I used the phrase 'tickle a Nuit's fancy'.

[Matthew]

Her eyes appeared to be ready to pop out of her head, and honestly, he was braced for it. He doubt they were secured on there tightly anyway. If he had to, he would perhaps catch them, just to make sure they didn't meet an untimely end on the floor. No, that was silly talk. If she could see, they must be attached quite snugly, correct? He frowned, chewing his lower lip again, trying to control the heat that was forcing its way to his cheeks. He had only met one Nuit, and that Nuit had been incredibly logical and cold. For some reason, he had applied that stereotype to this one (the books said they were emotionless and cold and dead), and now it looked to be backfiring. This one seemed to have personality and emotion, and he wasn't so sure how she was going to take of his rather open offer for lovemaking (for science!) at the local brothel.

Then, she collapsed onto the countertop, and he wasn't so sure what to do. Was she crying? Was she laughing? He gingerly reached out a hand to touch to her shoulder, planning on seeing if he could get her to lift her face. Nuit alert. He quickly retracted his hand, thinking better of it.

Finally, her giggles burst out, and any control he had once had over his cheeks was completely gone.

He flared a bright red, ducking his head as she laughed. She tried to apologize, and he sullenly muttered "You should give yourself more credit. I am sure any man would be delighted to sleep with a... Nuit." Obviously a bold-faced lie, but what was he supposed to do? He wasn't about to say that he wasn't exactly looking forward to handling whatever might be contained inside the Nuit, but what else could he do? He had to take one for science, as his old professors used to say. Sure, that was more about World Magic, but still. It could sort of apply to other things in life. She ducked her head again, shaking with laughter, and he merely shrunk even more. He wasn't angry, just ashamed. He knew the logic behind romancing any random woman, but a Nuit? He had no clue. Apparently he had approached it wrong. Asking for sex on the first "date". Stupidstupidstupid.

"No, no, you are fine." His words spilled out, cheeks still red, a hand running through his thick hair to ruffle it around a bit. "5 mizas, you say?" He quickly fished them out of his pocket, gently slipping them onto the table, turning towards the door. "Thank you for your help, miss! Sorry for the... trouble!" He quickly spoke the words, surprisingly as carefully pronounced as always. He took a hurried step towards the door, then paused, eyeing her and then the piece of paper he had left. Clearing his throat, he walked over to it and quickly edited it to match the recent turn of events.

Matthew Wayne

I am just needing a bit of training on what a Nuit would like in bed. a date, or any sort of semi-romantic setting. Purely professional, of course. If you ever get a free moment to teach, please drop by my apartment, or come by the Herald's Arms and ask for me. A short summary of my skill set is below.

Skill set:
-Intimacy
-Seduction
-Cuddling
-Romance
-Teasing
-Playfulness
-Dates
-Companionship
-Lovemaking
-Questionable Things

"Right. There we go. That still applies. Uhm. Do I need to give you anything else? And, uh, how often is the stock updated?" He averted his eyes, finding a mirror off to the side. Noting his reflection, a bright idea came to mind, and he quickly tugged on his Djed once more. This sort of magic came much easier, and he willed words at his reflection, basically trying to use a bit of sorcery on himself. Calm down. Caaaaalm down.

[Isolde Seibold]

The Nuit caught sight of his red face, of the embarrassed way he ruffled his hair, and she finally managed to control herself, the last of the laughter dying from her features, save for the smile. "Th-Thank you for stopping by--" she offered as he turned to go... then thought better of something and came hurrying back, scribbling once more on the paper. Once he had finished she reached out a curious hand and turned it towards her on the countertop, eyes flashing over its contents for a moment, before her smile swelled again, her expression amused-- she honestly didn't know what to do with herself, she was never in this good of a mood, and coming right after such an awkward bout of conversation, too.

"Right. There we go. That still applies. Uhm. Do I need to give you anything else? And, uh, how often is the stock updated?"

"I think you're good. You've certainly given me enough--" Oh gods, was that a joke at his expense? She was terrible-- Isolde immediately gave a guilty look, that was no way for her to behave towards a customer... But he seemed to miss her guilt altogether. Abruptly he was staring, simply transfixed, at a mirror off to the side, and with such intensity that she was a little alarmed. "Uh--" She glanced down at the paper in her hand, picking out his name, "Mr... W-Wayne? Are you-- are you okay? I really am sorry..." Was this sudden change because of that last remark? She shouldn't have said that, what if she had embarrassed him more? All hints of amusement had died out, replaced by a sort of soft concern. Was he okay? Perhaps he wasn't used to having someone laugh like she had, or talk to him like that, though she had meant nothing by it-- it had just slipped out. Still, she shouldn't have done it. She was hardly acting the professional.

Trying to snap him out of it, she continued, "As for stock, it really differs... And with those two books, I'm afraid you've already bought out our entire, er-- romance section. But--" She stopped, considering. "Well, I can advise Mr. Ariva to look for more books of that type, if you'd like... And we could probably have them in within the Season, or if you had a specific date, or time--?" Perhaps a question would get him to come back to himself...

Receipt+1 "Matthew Wayne" calling card, free of charge

[Matthew]

Calm down.

He had done something that he probably shouldn't have, but it was too late now. The mirror somehow reflected his thoughts, like he had intended... but then it reflected again, and again. His eyes connected to each other, each one sending a suggestion, causing an endless loop back and forth. The words echoed in his mind, churning up as a single thought time and time again. He couldn't break the pattern, he couldn't look away, he couldn't interrupt the words. He was oddly at peace with it though. Even with the magic burning in his brain, even with the Djed sucking up through his veins, he wasn't at all worried. A dull headache wasn't starting to throb, but he didn't even concern himself with it. Why would he? He was supposed to be calming down.

Her words struck him like a hammer upon a nail, and he blinked, head snapping to the side as he rose out of his stupor. Blinking rapidly, he stared at her for a moment, faintly listening to her words. She apologized, then stuttered out a few more words, her tone apologetic and meek. He tilted his head, that blank look still on his face. Why was she apologizing? He was the one who had been a little rude.

"Sexual science, you mean. Romance is easy. Logical. The workings of the body and how to completely control them on a sensual level is something completely different. Though romance may be a factor that is considered." He gently corrected her, a small smile on his face. It was a common misconception. He knew she probably didn't mean romance, but for some reason, he couldn't help but tease. Memories of the earlier encounter, even with his shame, caused the corners of his mouth to lift just a bit. Now that he was fully out of his self-induced stupor and shame, it was time to fight back. "But yes, that would be excellent. Any books he can find, or even artifacts. I will purchase them if I can, or work out some sort of payment. I am open to anything, if it be simple books on kissing, or ancient tools used to self-stimulate." He smiled politely at her, his eyes dancing as well, as if paying her back for the little bit of fun she had gotten on his expense. "But, if I may be so bold... there was one book I saw that actually might be handy for you? Out of concern for your condition, of course. Consider it a way of me thanking you for being so helpful, and understanding of my rude request." Condition?

With the smile still on his face, he walked past her, books tucked under his arm. She would distinctly feel the mischief of the man, leaking off of him like a physical force. He was feeling playful all of a sudden, and that couldn't bode well. That sensation really leaked off of him.

He strode into the maze, still amazingly avoiding any dust or dirt. He was looking for something he had noticed when he had first strode in, out of the corner of his eye. He spotted it again, and quickly pulled it out, making sure to only hold it by the very tips of his fingers. Making a face at the dirty book, he carried it over to the countertop, gently setting it down. "There you go. I read it in medical school. No doubt it would work wonders." With a genuine smile and a teasing wink, the man turned, his coat tails flopping up. Giving a little wave and a grin, he strode out the door, books in hand. If she went to the book and turned it over to see the title, it would be very clearly written in bold white script.

Stopping the Stammer, a Precise Guide to Stuttering Therapy; Version XII.

Oh, so he thought the Nuit suffered from a stutter. How cute. His laugh rang out across the street as he vanished into Syliras, the sound whimsical and amused.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Matthew Skill Points Earned Interrogation 2 XP Auristics 1 XP Seduction 1 XP Lore Earned Seeking Sexual Knowledge Can Nuits Feel Pleasure? Other Shenanigans:-5 GM for books. Isolde Skill Points Earned Observation 2 XP Rhetoric 1 XP Lore Earned Odd Requests from a Stranger Matthew Wayne, Escort Can Nuits Feel Pleasure? Other Shenanigans: + 1 Matthew Wayne Calling Card Comments : I laughed fairly heartily during this read. Definitely an entertaining conversation, so good work haha! If you have questions or concerns PM me!