PM to join It's Not What it Looks Like! (Halin'a)

[Lavine]

10th of Summer, 514 AV

It wasn't that the young Kelvic was naive. She knew places like this existed, she just never thought she would find herself eying one of them. She never expected it to sound appealing, to find comfort in such a forbidden way. And she certainly never imagined that she would pay for such a thing.

Despite all her preconceptions, Lavine was not at all surprised when her feet carried her closer to the business. Women lined the door frame, sliding in and out of the establishment and calling like they thought they were Hypnotists. A few men hooted as they went past and even fewer slipped closer to speak with the blatantly promiscuous women.

The petite girl could feel a lump slide down her throat as she tried to swallow her fear. A couple of the women disappeared and suddenly there were less men on the sidewalk as well. The place didn't need a sign or a description of their services; everyone knew that this was Loveless and it was a brothel.

A knot worried at her stomach until she finally ducked into an alleyway to calm down. I will not go in there. I don't need to. I can't. It's awful. But even as she chided herself, Lavine left her clothes to the floor and shifted into her animalistic form. She shook her feathered head and continued to intermittently chastise and reassure herself as she drew closer and closer to the brothel.

She knew she couldn't get...such services anywhere else. Although Zeltiva was relatively safe, the girl had heard too many stories of Kelvic slaves to risk a relationship. This, Loveless, was the next best thing and currently her only option. The barn owl tipped her head to one side, then the other before taking off into the building.

There were a couple of shrieks, as was to be expected, but overall life went on inside the brothel. Men and women alike crowded the room in various states of dress. Some were clad in what Lavine might consider a handkerchief while others wore low-cut dresses or see-through silken cloaks. One brave individual wore nothing at all.

Lavine was so flustered by the whole scene that she nearly forgot to change back into a human before addressing the clerk. She made her escape and swiftly changed. Once she was on two legs again (and not to mention bare naked), Lavine returned to speak to the clerk. In her anxiety, she stuttered.
"I...D-do you have services available t-t-today?"
The Vani rolled right off her tongue without thought.

Lavine soon realized her mistake, however. Shaking her head fiercely, she tried to correct herself. "I mean..."
Before the next tick came, Lavine had turned feathery once more and bolted for the door. All confidence was gone and the fight or flight response was kicking in. Her obvious choice was, quite literally, flight. By this time, there was quite a raucous sound coming from the place.

It wasn't until she made it all the way to the door that something finally stopped her. Her head collided with a stray limb, thrown up in self-defense by a patron or an employee, she couldn't say. The owl crashed to the ground and squeaked softly before returning to her human skin.

If nothing else, she had gained herself quite a few admirers lying naked on the floor amongst the chaos.

[Halin'a]

Halin'a had been bored; the few patrons who'd talked to him had eventually decided that they were looking for something different. Which was fine by Halin'a; he got paid whether or not he had sex, and he was rather grateful to have a night just enjoying the free booze. His enjoyment was interrupted, however, by an owl flying in the door-- Halin'a was confused; usually owls had better vision and sense than to wander into a building that wasn't home to their nest. His confusion was quickly resolved, however, when the owl landed and shifted-- revealing herself to be a Kelvic. Idly, Halin'a mused that she was quite good-looking, but the lines of her body radiated nervousness, and when she turned away from the front desk, Halin'a assumed she was going to leave. Only, she tried to leave as an owl, startling more than a few customers; one threw her arm over her head with a shriek, accidentally knocking the owl from the ground. When the owl shifted back to a girl, Halin'a couldn't stand by and let everyone just laugh; he quickly stripped off his shirt and strode over to the girl, offering the shirt to her while attempting to shield as much of her from view as he could from the leering and jeering spectators. "Here," he said, his voice soft, comforting. "My name is Halin'a; can I help you?"

[Lavine]

Lavine sputtered as the man guarded her gently. She pulled the shirt over her head to buy her time although her plan had a few flaws. By the time she was wearing the man's shirt, she found that she still had nothing intelligent to say.
Halin'a. He's kind...shirtless in a brothel...and wait. He's talking to me? Lavine's own scrambled thoughts had drowned out his last words, but she could easily fill in the blanks as he gazed at her with concerned, deep blue eyes.

He must have asked her a question. There was no other reason he would look at her like that. But what had he asked? Probably a question about her well-being, seeing as she had just crash landed. Carefully finding her Common, Lavine spoke slowly and cautiously.

"I'm fine. I'm just lost I think."

The unwilling Kelvic sat up and drew the over-sized shirt to her knees while shooting nervous glances at the slowly dispersing crowd. Her heart beat so quickly in her chest that she could have sworn the beautiful man heard it. Realizing the awkward silent lapse as she adjusted herself on the floor, she started off on a tangent to fill the quiet air.

"Yeah, I'm just lost. I'm looking for a place to meet some people. I don't think is exactly a good place to find, uh, friends."

Lavine took a deep breath to calm herself and managed to give Halin'a a half-smile. Her racing heart did not slow when she took in the man's features. In the evening light his deep blue eyes looked old and wise, yet youthful. His brown hair teetered on the edge of multiple other colors, reminding her of a raven's the way it shimmered with hidden color. He was tall and well muscled but kept his expression calm enough so as not to be intimidating.

As a last show of passivity, Lavine bowed her head and mouthed a silent thank you to her protector.

[Halin'a]

Halin'a hesitated for just a moment before offering the Kelvic a hand and helping her to her feet, glaring heavily at the men who had yet to avert their eyes. "Let me help you out," he said quietly, acknowledging her silent thanks with an equally silent nod. As they headed out the door, Halin'a noted that it would soon be moonrise; with it, would come his own-- albeit involuntary-- transformation into his Ethaefal seeming. Idly, he wondered what the girl's reaction might be; at least he could shift without leaving behind or destroying his clothes. As they stepped onto the street, Halin'a tucked the Kelvic loosely against his side, leaving a decent bit of space between them, but not enough that no one would think they were anything but together. The Ethaefal was careful to keep his grip loose in case the Kelvic didn't appreciate him manhandling her a bit. "What is your name?" he asked after a moment. "And, where are your clothes? I can help you to them, if nothing else."

[Lavine]

Safely nustled into the crook of Halin'a's arm, Lavine was towed outside into the warm and still evening air. He asked questions respectfully, never once judging her for entering such a place or acting so ridiculous. She reasoned that he had no right to judge since he was there too, but she felt that there was something deeper about his calm and balanced demeanor.

When he asked her her name, she did not hesitate to give him her real one.
"I'm Lavine. And thank you very much for the offer, but I don't suppose you would be able to take such a long leave from," She gestured vaguely in the direction they had come from, "There." Her hands fidgeted at her sides when passerby stared at her. Logically she knew they weren't angry. Hai, they were probably jealous of her, hanging on the arm of a Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome.

Squirming slightly under their gaze, the girl shifted her attention back to Halin'a.
"I think I should probably just go home. It's getting late anyway."

This part was a lie. She knew she would not return home so soon and would likely end up piss-drunk in a bar somewhere, trying her best to drown out the night's humiliation and her loneliness which was, in fact, the original purpose of her visit.

"I'm sorry you got stuck with me. If you can wait, I could return the shirt to you tomorrow. Or, I could go get some new clothes now and you could take this back. I needed new ones anyway." Lavine wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to head into the alley to retrieve her clothes alone. The thought brought extra displeasure after the day's mess.

[Halin'a]

Lavine, Halin'a mouthed to himself; it was a pretty name. Still, his attention was drawn back to the Kelvic's words as she continued speaking. Halin'a listened intently, not interrupting until she was finished. "I can take the rest of the night off," he assured her. "That is, if you would like some company." Halin'a didn't know much about Kelvics, but he did know that for the most part, they were social creatures, especially the unbonded ones. Which, if Lavine had come to a brothel by herself looking for company, Halin'a supposed she was. "Madame Zana owes me one." Especially after that last private customer she'd arranged with Halin'a. He still imagined he could feel the bruises sometimes. "I don't need to sleep, so the late hour is no concern for me," he explained. "I'm an Ethaefal; a son of Leth. In fact, once the moon appears, which I dare say will be soon, I'll make a transformation of my own." He offered Lavine a smile. "Plus, I find myself curious about why a Kelvic would search for company among whores; I haven't seen an unbonded one in there yet, and I've been working with Madame for almost three seasons now." Halin'a knew why most other races sought the companionship that whores offered; actually, he'd heard stories of people paying whores just to sit and listen to them complain about their lives, rather than to have sex. He supposed that everyone got lonely, but a Kelvic... That he didn't understand. And the way Lavine had been so nervous when speaking to the clerk who kept a record of who went with which whore and for how long made him wonder. Plus, Halin'a had always been protective of young people, man or woman-- he didn't know what made him that way, he just was.

[Lavine]

When the words "Ethaefal; a son of Leth" reach Lavine's ears, she found herself leaning back to gape at the man in wonder. She had heard of Ethaefal of course. She knew that races of all kinds wandered the streets of Zeltiva going about their daily lives all around her. But to be in contact with such a divine creature- a son of Leth himself- was positively stunning. She had never seen an Ethaefal change and was eager to experience such a thing.

Curiosity had her in its clutches, and now she knew she could not leave Halin'a's side.

Perhaps a bit too happily, Lavine nodded in decision. "Alright then. I left my things in the alley. Just over there." She tipped her head in the direction, beginning to drag the Ethaefal with her.

"A child of Leth..." She whispered in awe as they walked.
"You said you change. Ethaefal have..." Lavine gestured to her head, unsure of what would offend the whore and what he would tolerate. "So do they grow or is there a cloud of dust or what?"

Before he could answer, the curious Kelvic suddenly remembered that he had asked a question. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Lavine smiled. "As for my...visit...Well, I live outside of town. I don't know many other people and I don't get a lot of social interaction. I'm an only child- parents are gone."

She kept the conversation moving quickly; she didn't want any pity. "It gets lonely and I figured I would try a brothel. But clearly, that is not my style." She gave a shrug and sheepish smile.

"Now I know, yeah?"

[Halin'a]

Halin'a chuckled good-naturedly at the Kelvic's awe; it was a nice change from the reactions he usually got, given that he spent most nights at Loveless. Halin'a grinned at her question. "Yes, Ethaefal have horns-- an Ethaefal's change is rather like a Kelvic's, I'd imagine. Except not quite so drastic. Our horns appear and our hair changes color, but that's about the extent of our transformation." He squeezed Lavine's shoulder comfortingly. "I know what it's like to be lonely," he reassured her. "And I don't blame you for trying to seek out company. But yes, I don't think a brothel was, perhaps, the wisest place to go." He smiled to show her that he was teasing. "Oh, I suppose those are your clothes?" he asked as they came down the alleyway, pointing to the small pile. "Good thing this isn't Sunberth, or you wouldn't have any clothes to come back to."

[Lavine]

Lavine grinned good-naturedly at the man's teasing words. Upon spotting her clothes in a crumpled mess, the girl scurried over. In a flash, she pulled the large shirt off over her head, tossing it back to Halin'a.

"Heads up!"

Next, she pulled on her outfit. Her hands stumbled as she tried to shimmy into the too-tight shirt, but easily slid into the shorts. Her clothes were slightly mismatched- although only noticeable to an observant eye. Not being the wealthiest, the girl had to make do with what she had. Once she was fully dressed again, she stood and faced the Ethaefal. A part of her wondered why he was still there; the other part didn't care and was just glad to have company.

"Now, what reason would you have to be lonely?" In spite of her teasing tone, Lavine was genuinely interested. Halin'a had no reason to be lonely. He was admittedly gorgeous, and from what she had seen he was loyal. He seemed intelligent in the way he spoke, even mentioning Sunberth which hinted at being worldly-wise.

She mentioned none of this, however. It seemed too intense and out of place for the current situation. Rather than bring down the mood, she joked again.
"Is that why you were at the brothel?"

[Halin'a]

Halin'a yelped in surprise as his shirt covered his head, but he chuckled and pulled it back on as Lavine dressed. Once the Kelvic was finished, he answered her question. "I have walked Mizahar for fity-seven years," he began. "Except for the past few seasons, I've spent that time in Syliras, with very few friends. After spending even half a century in Leth's realm, surrounded by the god and his other followers, it is incredibly lonely to walk on this earth again in a physical form." In response to her second question, Halin'a couldn't help but chuckle softly. "No, Lavine; I was not at the brothel looking for companionship. I work there; I am a prostitute. When I first came to Zeltiva, I needed the money and had few other skills. At the time, it seemed like a decent option. Now, I... well, I don't enjoy it, per se. But I do enjoy the company, now. The other workers all have their stories, and their fears, and their hobbies. In a way, we become a family."