Pleasure Cruise (Solo Flashback)

[Gunho Ma]

Summer 30, 509 AV Location: On a ship somewhere in the Suvan Sea A perfectly clear sky with only a few clouds and the seagulls for company. Idyllic, if you had a fondness for the sea. The half-vantha could very well appreciate the scenery, but the rocking motion of the boat was upsetting his stomach in ways he'd never though it would. He had to earn his sea legs, that was what the sailors told him but he had no idea what sea legs were in the first place! This was Gunho's first time out at sea and if he had his way he might have never come on the journey. But his father was a strict man, his will unbending. As the Shinya's oldest son he wanted Gunho to become as he, a well rounded person who was blessed with experience of the outside world. Being confined to a single city or a single region of the world would, according to his father, make him ignorant of many things. So now he was on a ship bound for Riverfall to personally hand a Lakan back to an Akalak who's name was the only thing he knew. The strange twisted dagger was something his father had received in his youth as a reward for a noble deed, now it was being returned to it's owner because that Akalak who gave it to him had sent them a rare kind of medicine that had saved his ailing grand mother from the jaws of death. A debt repaid... and here was the proof. Without a strip of land in sight, he leaned against the boat's railings trying to keep his vision trained on the white mast that billowed out completely in this strong tailwind. This was a good thing, they told him. "You're that boy who's good with his hands aren't you?" the one speaking was female, her voice heavy with a Benshiran accent. Gunho was startled by the sudden presence of the woman, but not nearly as much as her exotic and flattering outfit. A very attractive woman this one, even a boy his age could not help but stare... then abruptly look down. "I am sorry I didn't..." The woman quickly snapped two palms across each other in front of her whilst shaking her head in protest against the stuttering gibberish he was about to say. She didn't seem to mind his gaze and actually looked as if she was holding back laughter. "I'm the one intruding upon your reverie." she hastily said. "Besides, many men have seen me naked. I find your restraint cute... but then you are still too young." "...It is still rude, I am sorry." "Impeccable manners but... you're too tense, too rigid." she held out a friendly hand, inviting him to take it with only her smile. "I am Fayha. Once slave, now seamstress and soon to join the ranks of the Nakivak." He didn't even know what a Nakivak was but he shook her hands all the same. "Gunho Ma, a viraya - a monk in training from Lhavit." "A monk?" Fayah seemed a little bit surprised though she took the discovery with a grain of humor. "You do not have the look of one." "I suppose not..." many of them did decide to shave their heads. He just didn't want to, he was happy with the way he looked and he didn't really have issues with the heat like his friends. "I heard from the sailors that you're a masseuse. Can you help me with my back? I seem to have slept in a bad position and now it's aching. Its making sleeping a little difficult." the benshiran woman drew herself closer and was lifting his chin with h"If you can help me I'll give you something nice." Perhaps the way she used her charms were a little risque, but even if she'd offered nothing in exchange for the services she desired Gunho was far too young and she far too attractive for him to deny her small request.

[Gunho Ma]

Handicapped. There was little place here for him to create the ambiance he would normally offer to his clients... a thin blanket could not replace a cushion and with the boat rocking every so often he did not have a tranquil place of stillness... why then was this Benshiran so relaxed. Her head nuzzled the thing pillow while she wore that easy smile he was quickly growing enamored with. "Are you ready?" Gunho poured a lot of oil in one cupped hand then with great difficulty put the cork back on the bottle he'd brought with him so he could stow that away. Now he briskly rubbed both hands together, firmly, quickly so he could get the oil to heat up and get close to body heat. That was a small simple step many people overlooked, but he was a student of therapeutic massage and forgetting something fundamental would be a mistake at his age. "I am." he set his hands upon her naked back feeling the warmth from that olive skin. With special attention he began spreading the oil, distributing it evenly on her back, down the spine, over the shoulders and finally around the neck. Light broad strokes, this was not a massage yet, this was the foundation of a proper massage. Gunho then knelt beside the woman, not daring to lay on top of her since he wasn't prepared for what she would bark at him if he did. He had to kneel, drawing his legs apart and making sure he was sitting in a way that he could move unobstructed and not lose the stability. A masseuse did not want to suddenly veer off course because his balance was poor. Following the tenants of what he was taught when he was young, he started from below with the intent to follow the flow of blood returning to the heart. From the lower back near the swelling of her rear and even though his hands were trembling he quickly found purchase. With one hand atop the other he applied pressure with his palms, digging and dragging them in tiny circles never crossing the ridge of the spine. "We're starting." Then the real massage began. He turned his entire body into one single unit when he performed his massage. When he moved he was generating power from the waist and shoulders then collected all the energy into his small circular rotations. This was the key to the seemingly impressive stamina of a masseuse, he should be able to use every part of himself and not simply the hands. There was more to a masseuse than strong and dexterous thumbs, this was that knowledge applied. From the lower back, Gunho drew circles, each one moving forward inch by inch from the last until he made a trail leading up towards the tip of the shoulderblades. This was meant to move blood into muscles that did not normally receive it, to create heat, to stir deep muscle. This could allow blood-flow to permeate further than it could unaided with mechanical support. He repeated it twice more on one side and when the viraya was through he moved over to the other hemisphere of the woman's body so as to completely cover all her back. When he stopped the woman asked him if he was finished. He grinned, there was confidence in him now since he was in his element. "We've barely started."

[Gunho Ma]

Somehow, doing something that he did religiously in Lhavit made him feel comfortable. Without even knowing how or why, the half-vantha was no longer aware of the swaying surface that he was sitting on. He was no longer distracted by the beauty of the woman before him. All there was in this moment of inner-peace was the training and discipline that had come into creating his skill with his hands. His face was serious, not lined with lust or annoyance, just serious to all that would observe. His eyes were strange too, their softness now sharpened into focus. He knew what he was doing and he wanted to see through it. Fayha's back had been rendered into a relaxed lump of flesh and bones, now he could work more magic into it. With a hand drawn into a talon-like shape he dragged his hand from above her buttcheeks sliding it's entire length wary of lifting the ridge of the palm off the woman's skin on it's course to her shoulders. There, before his hands skimmed off the flesh the other joined it, though instead of travelling on the back it came from underneath, from the collarbone up towards her shoulders to create the illusion of flesh being pinched together and tension released as all that blood rolled up. Then he went at it again, repeating the procedure three more times before he change position so he could work on her other side. Each flow earned him something akin to a grunt from the woman. He didn't dare speak, not unless he was spoken to. A masseuse created a sense of peace, tranquility, solace... he did not inspire thoughts or activity. Only relaxation and restoration. His hands now took a different shape, straight, pointed and he looked at the woman's back with two flat palms raised like knives before meat. He waited for her to exhale then pummeled away, his hands drummed against flesh with just the right pressure and he moved up, pounding and flattening muscles where he passed. This was an easier massage, an intermission that would relieve his joints as much as it would give her pleasure. The thrumming continued, dancing up then down her back without crossing one hemisphere of her body in steady waves of predictable slow pacing. The vibrations shook him too but he accepted it, allowed it to ride his body and disperse through his legs while he continued to move with precision and an empty mind. Now that he wasn't burdened by stress, the sound of the crashing waves, the smell of the sea and the cry of the seagulls were no longer so mundane. They'd grown beautiful... they had always been and he was only closing his mind off from them.

[Gunho Ma]

A shift in his mental state did miraculous things for Gunho's ability to pay attention to detail. He was still a novice, but compensating skill with attention had always worked miraculously in every case he'd applied it. He found that spot, that uncomfortable knot in Fayah's back. This was probably where she'd slept on and he was now sliding one set of fingers and thumb over it after another. The motion was the same as digging in one spot with one's hands but the knowledge of how to keep the fingers in the form they should take was not something anyone could easily replicate. Effort went into gaining this form and Gunho was a hard worker even among his brethren viraya. He glided the pads of his fingers over those lumps, piercing, kneading and flattening it so he could take away the discomfort or at least replace the sensation for now. Fayah raised her head from he pillow and Gunho's fingers froze. "A little harder please." "Sure." he resumed his activity, bearing the weight of his body upon her back to relieve that concentration of pressure. He spent minutes like that, waiting for a change in reaction and when she was no longer mewling he used his knuckles instead. With these there were multiple angles he could use, he could change from one side to another, tapping and creating a unique sensation for the Benshiran to enjoy. He worked his hands, rotating them, switching from one surface to the other without favoring any. Performing a massage was not so different from cooking, too much of one flavor could ruin the dish. He had to alternate his techniques, to keep the woman guessing and keep surprising her senses so it could surrender to the pleasure and release that accompanied his work. And it was work indeed. It was tiring, this entire thing was tiring even when one used their entire body. But this was training to Gunho, while he still had reserves of energy to use he had to drain them. He could rest later, there was more than enough time to rest in the middle of nowhere surrounded by miles of water and bright sun.

[Gunho Ma]

The last stretch seemed always the hardest. But it was also the most rewarding. While everything leading up to this was a tightrope performance where one had to be gentle so that tense muscle wouldn't get injured, this late stage of a massage was a point where the masseuse had to have already allowed the client to relax. There were few or no more walls, physical or mental stopping him from using all his tricks. Gunho could now perform a massage with his hands gliding down towards the lower back instead of the other way around due to the decreased muscle rigidity. A relaxed client was easier to work with, more pliable to suggestions and now it was possible to do much more than before. The half-vantha was sitting near the head of the woman, massaging her neck without touching the spine. Pressure here had to be very gentle, it was always better to use less than more firmness when in doubt. As he moved down to the shoulders he could exercise less caution. He used more strength here, more weight from his body. Gunho's fingers dug in like like pincers, looking for deep tissues he'd read about in his studies of human anatomy that he could manipulate to release stress. He dragged his thumbs outwards from near the spine, always moving in one direction but never staying in one place. Soon he could knead the flesh of the back itself, creating a pulling sensation that moved in one direction in waves of carefully determined pinches and twists. He repeated a sequence of kneads, counting silently before moving down the back... but near completion his fingers started to ache. He could feel them losing power, it was inevitable, his training was still incomplete. He shifted to using the knuckles of his hands to finish Fayah off. It was easier for him, less harder on the fingers. The firmness and strength of his massage could be drawn from his straightened elbows and the weight bearing down on his shoulders. He began the final approach, his massage deliberately staggered and the beat seemed to relax the Benshiran all the more. In the end he dragged his hands together and clapped the woman's back lightly numerous times to reach the conclusion of his back rub. He felt tired, the half-vantha looked exhausted but he was happy to please. "Don't get up yet. When you're relaxed like that you're going to find your body a little... uncooperative." Fayah wasn't in any hurry to oppose Gunho's advice. "I was expecting a sloppy massage." "That was sloppy." he leaned his back against a crate and breathed deep. "My teachers are far better than I." "Can you tell me why you're going to Riverfall? You don't seem like someone into learning fighting." "I actually am interested, but my journey isn't about that. There's just something that's been lent to my family that I have to return to its rightful owner now." he touched the Lakan sheathed and tied to his back to confirm it's position. "Thanks, I think this experience actually helped me get over my sea-sickness." "A massage?" the woman sounded perplexed. Gunho laughed, he probably would've been too if he were in her position. He looked at the clouds, at the seagulls flying in circles. He wondered if they'd been watching too.

[Trident]

Gunho Ma Skills: +4 Massage +1 Organization Lores: First Time on the Suvan Sea Setting Up the Massage Focusing on Your Job Removing a Knot in One's Back Female Body [basic] Comments: What are you talking about, this thread being boring? I really enjoyed it! You went into a depth not usually seen, and the way you talked about the massaging me me feel as if you really know what your PC is doing - which, for all I know, you do. You get a point in Organization for trying to set up a good massage place on the middle of a rocking boat, as well as focusing only on your massage. The other points - well, I think you know why you got them. If you have any questions about my ruling, feel free to PM me!