Closed [The Tent City] Group Lessons

[Razkar]

The Myrian listened to the woman babble her words, child bubbling on her hip like a conjoined twin, and felt a flush of both pride and apprehension when he realized Edreina was working her djed once more on the female. Her skills were growing, for sure, and aiding him in his own work... but from what he'd heard, Sunberth was no place to showcase one's magecraft. They'd sooner lynch you than fawn, like many other cities.

But how to find her? Just wait around the Quarters?

"... if you would like a bit of help finding the boy with the orange hair-"

Damnit! Orange! I knew it was something starting with "o"...

"-then perhaps I can be of assistance. I work for a pleasure house in the Sunset Quarter, no doubt my fellow workers would know who this street whore is. If anything, perhaps I can present myself as a valid candidate for her pleasures."

Razkar weighed and measured this for a moment. Matthew was hardly a sellsword, and he didn't want to throw an amateur into the mix, not in Sunberth... but had he not survived the tangle with the Balicani? He'd inspired them to greatness with his djed and been crucial to their victory. He'd shown nerve and ability and Razkar finally nodded.

"Good idea." He said, perhaps to the harlot's surprise. "Better you find her face and where she is than me. You are... less likely to cause a scene."

Razkar inclined his head with respectful thanks... and then Matthew had to go ahead and spoil it all.

"In return, I will take what is owed of me... and I will take it tonight. The two of you will come to the Scarlet Sanctum and purchase me for a night. Then you two will have sex, and I will watch. I can't help but be curious about true intimacy, among other things. Does this sound fair?"

Edreina could feel the Myrian stiffen next to her, as if he'd suddenly been possessed by the spirit of a tree. Hard, immobile... paralyzed, almost, limbs taut and eyes unblinking. Thoughts and rejoinders - from the profane to the lethal - charged before those black orbs but he did not speak. Perhaps some line about a man know everything about the work of a cock but nothing of human nature? Or something more simple, like: suggest that again and I'll feed your face to the next passing jackal?

No. Instead, he closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, sounding for all the world like the first wisps of a coming storm. When they opened again, they were... somewhat relaxed. Razkar had no desire to embarrass his lover, nor play into her hands, insult her... but still-

"So sad," he muttered in his own tongue, shaking his head slowly, "A man so wise in some ways... but so utterly stupid in others." A pair of confused looks told him that even Edreina was mostly lost with that comment, and he crossed his arms, switching to Common. "Your debt is between the two of you. I am a Child of Myri, not a... harlot for study. You are curious about intimacy? Then first understand it is a private thing between two people. Having it..." His nose crinkled in disgust and Edreina may have felt those wisps again, building in his voice. "... scrutinized like some experiment is... no. Not even the savages-" his voice was rank with cruel sarcasm as he spat the word "-of Taloba would do such things. And you forget: I do not owe you a debt."

Speaking of which, he turned to Edreina and put up a hand when Matthew's mouth opened again, stilling him into silence before he could say something else that might encourage Razkar to hurt him. His words were hissed but not whispered, simple to his ears, deliberately so, for her benefit.

"What is you thing with this male? What he give?"

Yes, he knew it was "rude" to leave Matthew out of the loop... and yes, at that particular moment, he didn't care.

[Edreina]

"Does this sound fair?"

The redhead's calling card hair danced in the breeze as she cocked her head to the side, lips quirking curiously. She had promised him information and, unsurprisingly, this was the sort he craved; always looking to better his craft with experience. It seemed fair enough, to her. Already he had done much for them and was volunteering to do even more without prompting.

She could tell, even before he spoke, that Razkar did not feel the same. Without even reaching out to touch him, she could tell that he had gone rigid, immovable. Without turning her head to see him, she knew that his face was stone. This will not go well... Not unless I can convince him...

But, why did she want this? Some vaguely twisted part of her had surfaced at Matthew's demands and now balked at the possibility that it could be taken away. While the Svefra was not particularly a fan of displaying herself and the antics of a bedroom, the possibility of it being Matthew changed things entirely. What better way to learn how to grow to be even better at pleasing one another than to be watched and critiqued/guided by one who did so for a living?

Even as Razkar was speaking, Edreina was forming a plan, hatching and nurturing it until she was sure that it would work. He said the expected bits, stomping down his metaphorical sandal'd foot and attempting to end any argument before it began. He should have known better, especially where his young love was involved. It was not that she always got her way, just that when the situation was being handled with egotism or ignorance, she managed to convince others to see the light. The Djed of the young mage's Hypnotism may have been out of the question but, after nigh on three seasons at the warrior's side, she had learned how to reason with his logic and opinions.

"What is you thing with this male? What he give?"

Now, it was her turn to be given pause and minor annoyance. The grand argument she had planned was versed in Common and now Razkar made it clear that their discussion was to take place above the harlot's ears. Myrian was not her strong suit and Fratavan far from his, so she would have to improvise.

Pale fingers alit upon the hollow at the base of her throat, fingering the silver talisman of Yahal she now wore. "Gift. Goodbye." When spoken by the Svefra, Myrian did not growl or snarl but had a lilting purr that was nearly pleasing to the ears. Nearly. Blue eyes now dancing with the joy of a challenge went skyward, seeking words. Not any words would do, they had to be the right ones. But, with her poor vocabulary, Edreina had to settle for combining multiple words and ideas in an attempt to get what she had promised Matthew across. Slowly, the words fell from her lips and her eyes upon his ebony ones once more. "He and me hunger for know, for understood... This-" again she touched the necklace, not knowing the word for it in his tongue, "-me take, him gave." She flushed faintly, ruing the days she mocked Razkar's poorer Common but noting how far he had come in the time he had known her, resolving to do the same.

"Me gave him..." She growled ever so quietly, trailing off in search of a word but finding none. Out of frusteration, she flipped to Fratavan, spouting off a series of words and hoping Razkar would understand one, "Promise. Vow. Word of Honor. Deal." With that out of the way, she returned to his tongue - flicking an apologetic glance at the harlot as she spoke. Odd though it was, Edreina found strength as her explanation went on. "He no take, no then. Future. This him take now." She stepped closer to her lover, voice dropping and eyes dancing with barely restrained excitement. "Think, you. Pleasure, him teach. Master. You, me, learn. Apprentice. Better, all. Better me, for you pleasure. He no want you, me, only know, to understood. Like you teach weapons but..." Her smile shifted and she rolled her big blue eyes, "Different."

Trying to convince someone in a language you could barely comprehend, let alone speak clearly was a feat and Edreina was visibly proud of herself for being able to get her idea across to him, even if this attempt did not work. In a final attempt, she growled out with eyes disconcertingly innocent for the topic, "Please? Me want better to you..." And then, with a wry grin, remembering an odd day in Zeltiva and the word whose double meaning she had learned in the throes of passion, "Me spoil you... It may not have been entirely correct for the situation, but her wink forced it to be so.

Now, she just had to hope that this had been enough and they would not have to delay giving Matthew an answer or, even worse, her breaking her word to give him any scrap of knowledge he desired and she could provide. Flippant as they were, the Svefra valued the, well, value, of their word.

[Matthew]

He could see that the Myrian was infuriated- no, perhaps irritated was a better word. Perhaps a word that was a combination of the two would be best. However, he could not understand why, which in turn, was perhaps the one thing that was irritating Razkar the most at the moment. The Myrian had seemed pleased with Matthew's first offer, so it was obvious that the second offer was the core of the problem. Perhaps he had just phrased it wrong. He had suspected that the man would be shocked and perhaps bashful, but angerritation was unexpected. He opened his mouth to respond to the Myrian's harsh words, but a well-placed hand cut him off. Choosing to nibble his lower lip instead, he kept an eye on the two as they spoke to each other in that gruff Myrian dialect. He still needed to learn it, he realized. It all sounded like babble to him. Watching them with narrowed eyes, he tried to understand the feelings in the air. Edreina seemed willing, with a smile, a touch of the symbol he had gifted her- Ah, she kept it, how nice. -and a purring version of Myrian that seemed to be coaxing. An apologetic glance was shot his way and he shrugged, not the sort to be offended and understanding that it would probably need some discussion. Edriena switched to something totally different for a moment, her own natural language if he remembered correctly, and then back to Myrian. He had no idea what was going on. The moment there was a lull in conversation though, he couldn't help but step in. "I... thought it would be better to include Razkar, instead of just asking Edreina. I wouldn't want to take something that is yours, since relationships usually seem to claim some ownership over the other." It went unspoken, but he felt it would be off-putting to have sex with Edreina anyways. It wouldn't give him the information he desired, and there was something odd about the idea of engaging in the act with the Svefra. She certainly wasn't repulsive or anything. He felt he was as close to asexual as he could be, but there was just some line there. Perhaps she was like family, as far as emotional ties went. He would have to ask someone about it. Someone who would know, which at the moment, he had no idea who that would actually be. "Of course, if it is better, I can be involved. That would certainly cost extra though, and it wouldn't quite achieve what I am looking for, I don't think." That idea was also slightly odd to him. While he had never experienced attraction towards a male, it was still sometimes a part of the job. He very rarely experienced it, but with Razkar, there was much of the same feeling that came with Edreina. He considered phrasing this, but decided against it. Best not to verbalize the idea of Razkar purchasing Matthew. He instinctively knew that many more shocks to the Myrian's system could result in unpleasantness. His attempts to explain his thought process certainly hadn't helped. He had tried to explain it, but had missed that the true insult was the invasion to intimate privacy... even if Razkar had clearly spelled it out for him. "Though, I can say there is much I can teach. I can tell you one thing that you could do right this very moment, and continue to do, that would likely satisfy Edriena on an emotionally intimate level." What better way to convince a dangerous animal than to offer it some bait?

[Razkar]

Why do I even bother arguing anymore?

Razkar had often reflected that as peerless as he was with a blade in each hand, he was as a babe before a tiger when Edreina turned her talented tongue (stop sniggering) to convincing him of something she wanted him to do.

No, it's worse than that. She convinces me that I want to do it!

She hit him from more than one angle, too. Fittingly enough, just like he'd taught her. Switching between Myrian and Fratava, a hesitant purr and the rolling lilt of her native tongue, she force him to concentrate on her words. Absorb them through strained ears, lips moving silently as he digested the Sea People's language mingled with his mother's.

Well, the mystery of this "debt" is revealed, at least. But she's not just pushing that as a reason for us to do this, it's... for our benefit?

"Me spoil you..."

He wanted to snarl and grind his teeth, but they had enough of an audience right now. He was surprised some enterprising Tent City street rat wasn't selling tickets.

"You fight bad. Very bad." He said (eventually). His Fratava was improving thanks to hear, and now they were practicing, it would... "Damn you! You do thing now! You have thought, in my head."

He looked to her for some gap in her defenses, but there was none. No arguing. She made it sound all so... reasonable. He ran his hand through the masses of black streaming down from his head, hanging loose instead of his usual topknot. Yet another habit he'd come into, traversing the barbarian lands.

"You are... yes. He master. We learn." He reached out and held her hand lightly. "If was other, not you... but is you. So is OK."

Oh, 'twas a golden moment. Trust and honesty and love and female intellect over male pride. Then Matthew went and did that thing again.

"I... thought it would be better to include Razkar, instead of just asking Edreina. I wouldn't want to take something that is yours, since relationships usually seem to claim some ownership over the other."

Razkar sighed and cast his eyes skyward, but his choler was not yet rising. She had cooled him, reined in his anger and he saw the harlot... perhaps a little more as she did. Awkward but full of knowledge and questions in equal measure. He doubted there'd even be any arousal on his face while they were...

Yes. That image will take some time to be clear in my head.

"You thought right, Matthew, I just-"

"Of course, if it is better, I can be involved. That would certainly cost extra though, and it wouldn't quite achieve what I am looking for, I don't think."

Razkar froze. So did the crowd. And Edreina. That image, on the other hand, bullied its way into his mind and clung onto his screaming inner vision despite all attempts to dislodge it. His mouth worked a few times until he remembered there was a tongue in there.

"That... That won't be nec-"

"Though, I can say there is much I can teach. I can tell you one thing that you could do right this very moment, and continue to do, that would likely satisfy Edriena on an emotionally intimate level."

"No! Just shut up, will you?! I don't-"

He cut off the explosion before it could do too much damage, gnashing his teeth together like he'd forced a muzzle over his head. Matthew looked about ready to flee into the nearest shadow... and Edreina just spread her palm over her face and sighed. Razkar's mouthed fluctuated for a few ticks as his mind tried to catch up, finally clearing his throat and shuffling the dirt with a toe.

Actually, that wasn't dirt.

"Sometimes..." He said quietly, trying to wipe his sandal clean. "You just... don't know how to make the right words with people, Matt."

He sighed and felt the expectant looks on his brow, though the hand rubbing his brow shielded them. He sighed again and showed his face. Defeated.

No! Persuaded. Much better.

"I agree. Much can be learned, by us all," he managed to say, face twisted like he was chewing a lemon, only half-believing those words in his mouth. "And I... trust you, as far as a man can be trusted in this..." He shrugged helplessly. "... thing."

Razkar shot a look at Edreina that told her very silently that she now had a new debt, and it wasn't to Matthew.

[Edreina]

20th Bell

"Um..." What a great start to any seduction. Standing in the center of a very strange room, Edreina felt as if she were about to perform for an audience. In one respect, she was but... not in the way most would think. There was no script, no director (unless you counted the ever-watchful Matthew), not even a direction of- Well. They knew what they would be doing but the matter of starting it was another entirely. "I'm not sure how to go about beginning... This." Sure, she was once cool and confident and cocky; she had even been the one to tell the lady at the front door that they were here to see Matthew.

Somewhat shyly, she glanced over at Razkar, hoping - quite selfishly - that he was faring about how she was so that they would look like fools together in the eyes of the Harlot.

He was always so damn posh and put together, it was nearly unnerving. So, she had taken steps to appear decent, at the very least, when Razkar had not been looking; imagine the shyke she would have caught over that. Her hair was brushed and unbound, her skin cleaned of all of the muck and grime of the city. Instead of the cloak and weapons and leather vest he had seen her in earlier that day, she wore only her leather pants and linen binding about her chest.

Trembling faintly, she decided to sit on the edge of the bed, hands crossed demurely in her lap. With only her eyes, she asked Razkar to sit beside her and, if he chose to do so, would rest a hand on his leg. "Better... you're the one who is collecting a debt. How would you like for us to begin?" She asked finally, looking to Matthew.

[Matthew]

Matthew was blinking at Edreina and Razkar, perched nearby on a chair like some sort of therapist. He had one leg folded over the other, blue eyes glittering as the wheels behind them turned. He looked like a scholar more than ever now, having fetched a pair of glasses at some point that were now perched on his nose. Even worse, there was a small stack of old paper on his lap, and he had a little inked quill poised above it. The harlot was going to take notes. But at the moment, he was staring at them. Eyes slowly moved from one lover to the other, curious, analytical, somewhat stoic. The fact that they were alone in a bedroom and were about to have se- no, make love- in front of him didn't seem to bother him at all. He looked exactly as he always did. The biggest difference was the glasses. Why was he even wearing glasses? Clearing his throat, he adjusted his position a bit, raising an eyebrow at the two of them. Briefly, he wondered what the lady at the front door had thought. It was extremely rare to see a couple pay for a prostitute. No doubt they were whispering about it now. He hoped they were. Everyone had their schemes in this town, and he was no different. "Well." He started off slowly, not so sure what to think. Perhaps he had assumed too much about the pair. "When I was told the two of you had engaged in intercourse, I assumed you meant... well, sex. Did you mean something else?" From anyone else, it would sound mocking. From him, he genuinely thought that Edriena and Razkar had absolutely no idea what they were doing. "Usually one kisses the other. On the mouth. Sometimes the tongue is involved. Usually other touches are involved. It is different for everyone. Go with your instincts, unless you would like a step-by-step guide." That one would normally sound sarcastic, but Matthew actually meant it in a helpful way. He was fond of step-by-step guides, personally. His mind briefly wandered back to their interaction in the Tent City. He still wasn't exactly sure what had gone on. He didn't know how to make the right words? He was pretty sure he knew the Common tongue better than Razkar did, no offense intended to the Myrian.

[Razkar]

Just pretend he's not there... the room shrinks to you, her and the bed. That's your whole world.

The words whispered through Razkar's mind after it had cooled a little; after the embarrassment had ceased making his skin crawl. He stood next to the bed with his hands awkwardly clasped, clad just in his loincloth. Matthew had seen him in less than that, after all, when they'd met at the Bath House in Syliras.

Yeah, and this is just like that, isn't it?

The bitter, sarcastic shard of a thought broke his careful concentration. The full impact of what he was doing, where he was... why he was doing it-

For her. You're doing this for her.

The Myrian heard the human babbling on in his calm, pedantic tone, but it was Edreina's discomfort that pained him. Why did she agree to this? Fine, they weren't the masters of lovemaking that Matthew perhaps was, but she'd never been... unsatisfied, as far as he'd known. He certainly hadn't. Seeing her in her glowing, freckled beauty, bare save for leggings and her bindings but looking so lost, even afraid-

"Silence, male."

The tone would brook no argument. Matthew would not fathom it, though. Razkar was often amazed he hadn't just been killed by this point: people that knew so much yet grasped so little met Dira sooner than they would have liked, in his experience. So he plowed on, voice a low growling, eyes never leaving his lover.

"You wanted us both here. Fine. We are here. We shall do what you ask. But leave your questions and comments until later-no, I am not asking."

The look he flashed at Matthew was... odd, for a Myrian. It was hard, flinty, and that was usual, but there was a strange pity there, an exasperation for one he actually quite liked, and yet could not educate.

"I know you do not understand," he said, voice a shade softer, "And right now, I do not care. I care that you obey. When we are done... well, you will have plenty of notes. I would be happy to read them. Now just watch..."

Razkar stepped towards his female, looming over her and her confused countenance. A scarred, tanned hand reached down and stroked her cheek, sliding down her smooth, pale face and cupping her chin, lifting it gently.

Black eyes that the world feared shone at her with as much adoration he could fathom. Razkar was many things, and regretted few of them. But he would not see someone he loved so much so tormented.

"My love..." He muttered in the low, keening purr his language became when lust possessed it. "You feel good. I vow."

He pressed his lips to hers and sank to his knees between her legs, other hand reaching up to cup her face, warming it and his palms with the light that seeped through them. His lips explored hers, nipping at them gently, tongue pressing and probing against her own... and his hands began a slow descent over her shoulders... finding the ends of her bindings and pulling them free.

"Turn." He said with a grin that chased away the awkward uncertainty of the past chime. "Turn. Spin. Make cloth go."

Razkar waited for her to answer, Matthew quite forgotten and gratefully so. Besides, he might learn more this way. Lovers were never truly authentic when observed like plants under a looking-glass, just as "reality" ceased to be real when it was scripted and scrutinized.

He wants intimacy? Fine. He shall have it. But it will be our intimacy...

[Edreina]

Razkar, odd though it surely sounded, managed to be more polite than Edreina, who wanted nothing more than to tell Matthew where to shove it. While not a nervous creature by nature, something about being observed and judged as she pleasured her male wound tight her nerves. Like every woman, she imagined, Edreina wanted the affirmation of being "good in bed" and, if she turned out not to be, given instruction as to how it could be done better. Most partnerships ended over mizas or mating, she had been told when much younger.

The rough hand on her cheek startled her for only an instant, after that she leaned into it lightly for comfort. Black eyes were met with glittering blue for only a moment as they were quickly obscured by pale lids.

And then, she was lost.

Lost to the press of their lips; lost to the dance of their tongues; lost to the heat of his hands as they burned a path over her fair skin. Her own fingers found themselves lost in a tangle of black hair as she pulled him closer, breath catching as his teeth found her sensitive lower lip. Smirking faintly, she tilted her head to the side and bit his lower lip, tugging it lightly so that his body followed and he was pressed closer to her arched body before losing herself in their passion once again. Matthew was forgotten, their room was forgotten, even the stench that hung about Sunberth was forgotten. All that mattered was him and her.

His growled command took a second to process but, once the words had clicked, a playful grin split Edreina's face. Though he still knelt before her, she stood. Bringing her arms up ever so slightly and spinning in a quick, tight circle, she allowed the cloth to spring together and fall away, exposing her freckled chest. Made dizzy by the spin, she gasped and stumbled clumsily, right into the arms of her lover.

Smiling still, sliding her arms around his neck, she kissed his eyelid, his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and then slowly down his neck, pausing only to nip at the corner of his jaw. "Thank you..."

Gently, the Svefra leaned towards the bed, hoping to end up there with her lover, on her back beneath him, atop him, whatever. In any case, her hips would press against his insistently, hands knotting in his hair as she kissed him madly, corners of her lips tilted in an ever-present smile.

Ever so faintly, a hand trailed down his chest, fingertips tracing out the corded musculature of his chest and abdomen. In a single instant, she pulled away to bite his neck and caught hold of his manhood through his loincloth, grinning and laughing deep in her chest at the reaction her surprise had incited. "Don't be so shy..." The Fratavan whisper, spoken so close and so low that her breath and lips danced against his ear, was laced with the barest hints of Djed. The Svefra wanted so badly for him to feel the primal lust building up inside her, even if the tongue she fell to was not one he spoke easily.

Despite what most would think upon simply looking at the couple, the Svefra tended to be the more voracious and impatient lover. Surely, that was one thing Matthew was noting... unless that was a good quality.

There was little to stop her advances save for a pesky piece of cloth but even the knots holding that in place fell to the nimble fingers of a sailor. And then, inexplicably, she stopped, pale digits hesitating before pulling it away. A whisper of self-doubt and worry wormed its way back beneath her fluffy read locks, buzzing in her ear. Was she doing too much? Too little? Was Matthew growing annoyed? Was Raz- that was a silly leap. But, still, she faltered for an instant, eyes raising to those of the Myrian.

[Matthew]

It took every ounce of self control that Matthew possessed to stop from responding to Razkar. His entire body actually shivered with the effort, blue eyes locked onto the Myrian, both of them staring silently at the other until Razkar glanced away to focus on Edriena. Letting out a slow breath of air, Matthew instead just screamed it in his head. You can't even read Common, can you? But, in any case, he sat tight. He had assumed they had wanted commentary in the moment, but apparently that was not the case. He would just have to do what he could to make notes so he could give them back to the Svefra and Myrian later. He wasn't so sure how well that would work, but if anything, he could just memorize the key points he needed to touch upon. If at any point the two lovers checked upon Matthew to see how he was taking all of this in, he would appear as calm and composed as he ever did. He didn't seem to take amusement or pleasure in their actions, just looked at them in that same quiet and analytical way he always did. If anything, Razkar might remember the stare from his younger days. Matthew looked like a teacher of sorts, studying the form of two students for any flaws that he could make sure were fixed. Every now and then he would let out a little noise and then jot something very slowly onto a piece of paper, but other than that, he didn't really move a muscle. If the two of them wanted him quiet, then he would do what he could to remain quiet. In his mind, he let Djed flood through his veins, and with a slight clench of the jaw he let it burn and explode. His mind lit up with fire, and all the fire buzzed in a straight line to his eyes. His blue orbs glittered for a moment, and then he could see. Their auras clashed and danced, one dripping with blood and smelling of flesh, darkness streaking through it while gold sparks angrily lashed away at it. It rose from him like curls of smoke, some of the curls dancing toward the Svefra's aura. One of the curls of smoke was firmly latched to a tendril of Edriena's aura, no doubt showing their deep connection to the other. Interestingly enough, some of the gold sparks that attacked his aura were also visible in Edreina's, though hers coexisted happily with the rest of her colors. Funny enough, hers tasted like salt. And smelled like blue. He inhaled it, closing his eyes and sniffing the color. Auristics threw off his senses, and then re-arranged them. He had gotten used to it, and actually enjoyed it a little. Blue eyes blinked open and stared closer at the auras, while some part of his mind distantly paid attention to the actual act of sex. He did see room for improvement here and there, and mentally noted them down as well as marked a few words onto his paper. However, what he was truly interested in seeing was the love or intimacy. He wanted it in physical form. He wanted it to be something he could touch or study, to see why people longed after it so. He briefly wondered if anyone had ever longed to see it from him. He had never had a relationship where he would consider someone his partner like that. Had he ever had women or men wonder if he cared about them like that? He wouldn't know what it sounded like, or what it looked like. Had that been what he had heard in Kaie's voice, or seen in Litani's eyes? He would never be able to say for sure, not unless he asked either of them. It simply didn't make sense to him on a logical level. Everything had to make sense. Was that so very wrong? For a moment their auras surged brighter and more defined, Matthew losing concentration and letting just a little more Djed trickle into his brain than was needed. Discarding the thoughts from his head, he refocused his eyes on Edreina, taking in her aura next. Her hesitation wasn't even noticed. Hesitation was to be expected.

[Razkar]

Passion built on passion, as it always did when they were together. Every fingertip she placed on his flesh was like a seed that blossomed, bloomed, spread roots under his skin that tensed and loosened his muscles all at once. A groan so soft and shuddering it was like a death rattle dripped from his lips... and his own hands found their strength again.

Her own language danced in his ear and a low, feral growl answered her. Her hands around his hardness spurred him on, tore down the last bonds of awkwardness that made Matthew vanish from his mind at the same time. Strong fingers all but clawed at the knotting around her leather pants, loosening and then leaving them behind as they dropped with a rustling sigh to the floor.

Razkar tasted her and himself on her lips; all the djed she could muster there for her wyrd was a shadow compared to the passion he gorged himself on, and for every dram she gave him, or he took, he repaid a gallon.

This was what she loved about them joining: it was a battle without the blood. Two wills and lusts crashing against each other, brawling on sheets and tangled fingers, limbs, hair, mingled sweat and gasps...

But then she paused. So close to freeing him from his loincloth and she seemed to still like a cold wind had washed over her. Eyes so ravenous a tick before were suddenly wide and moist, the dance stilled-

"No... No..."

He whispered back to her, ever-happy to be practicing a new tongue and putting her at ease into the bargain. He cupped her cheeks again, but only briefly, kissing her deep, pushing forwards, laying her on the soft sheets Matthew had somehow procured.

"No fear. No sad. Me and you. Not Matthew. Like all times..."

He pressed himself against her, the physical and real backing up mere words. The warmth of her was almost... infectious. The way she writhed under him, her body moving, grinding against him and now, there was no fabric to hold either of them back. He gasped into her curls as he felt his hardness slide against her, and-

"Always... fast... you..."

A throaty chuckle sent gust of hot breath tickling her cheek before he kissed her again, moaning and sliding his hands down her sides, feeling goosebumps rise wherever they went, until he cupped her proud, pert arse and turned them both on their their sides-

-with her leg hooked over his hips, keeping that throbbing connection between their legs strong.

But that would come later.

Razkar's lips began a soft, wet trail down Edreina's cheeks, her neck, the valley between the warm globes of her breasts. Much as he hated breaking that tingling connection below, he knew this would set her shivering just like they both loved...

Relentless and worshipful with every inch they traveled, his lips went further and further towards the glistening triangle of hair between her legs.