Solo The Hands that Soothe

[Sayana]

Spring 52, 515 AV – Soothing Waters When Sayana arrived at the lobby of the Soothing Waters she couldn’t help but relish in the warm humidity radiating from the baths. The receptionist, Ivis, greeted her politely and asked what she needed. She was about to explain that she had simply come for a bath when a young man caught her eye. “Alexus? What are you doing here?” The Eypharian asked with surprise. Alexus stopped in his tracks and politely turned around. “I work here. I provide massages for knights, squires and citizens alike.” The Eypharian abandoned the receptionist to stride over to the masseuse and wrapped a low arm about him. “Would you teach me how to massage like you do?” Sayana asked with a coy smile. The young man tried to maintain a confident composure as he replied, “So you can put your hands all over your blue lover? I don’t think so.” He attempted to dismiss her and release himself from her arm but soon she had another one on his shoulder. “Please?” Sayana asked genuinely. “I’d really like to learn, and I’ll pay you the full price as if you were massaging me.” “Full price for you practicing on me and following my guidelines?” Alexus confirmed as he considered the preposition. “One more thing.” “Anything.” “I’d like a kiss from you.” Sayana quickly obliged with a peck on his cheek but Alexus’s expression suggested he was not satisfied. “A real kiss.” Sayana pondered over it for a moment and finally answered, “Only after you hold up your end of the deal. Then I’ll kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before.” During her hesitation she had considered Aren and whether such a thing would be alright with him. But really, if a well chosen kiss in exchange for learning some massage techniques was something that would hurt him, then she didn’t think he had his priorities straight. It wasn’t like the kiss would mean anything. The masseuse nodded in agreement to her terms and led her into the massage studio. A couple of the other healers looked over in surprise when he was the one who took off his shirt and lay down upon the massage table. “First, five gold mizas for a bell and a half. I’ll need all that time to teach you.” Alexus held out his hand expectantly and Sayana provided the coin he requested. “Next, there are some warmed oils on the table. Use enough to cover my back.” Sayana took a bottle and poured a little onto her right hands and began rubbing the oil into his skin. She could feel him relax with a slight groan and she smiled at the effect. It seemed like even a masseuse could get stiff muscles. After setting the oil down, she began using all six hands to spread the oil to cover his back. She pressed down and squeezed around his shoulders as she tried to mimic what one of the other masseuses was doing.

[Sayana]

“Now there are many techniques you can use with your hands. You can squeeze with your hands, use just your fingers to press into the muscles, use your knuckles to dig in, and even simply press down in the palm of your hand.” Alexus explained and Sayana began to try the different methods. She found her thumbs were pretty strong too and it seemed as though the young man liked it when she squeezed hard with her hands while rubbing in deep with her thumbs. She also spent some time giving his upper arms some attention while at the same time rubbing his sides with her low hands. “I did not expect a massage by an Eypharian to be so… encompassing,” Alexus remarked as she moved her pairs of arms to different parts of his back and upper body. Mostly her hands did similar movements all at the same time, but occasionally she had her high hands squeezing his shoulders while her mid and low hands pressed down upon his back. “Don’t forget to use your body weight to press down, like ahh…” He stopped mid sentence as she pressed down with most of her upper body mass. The oil really helped to be able to continue the rubbing motion even with all the pressure. “Now imagine that you’re loosening the muscles and moving the blood towards the heart,” Alexus instructed from the table. It made sense to her that she was helping the muscles relax, but it was curious to think that she was making the blood move inside him. Still, she continued rubbing and squeezing his back and sometimes alternated which set of hands were on what part of his back. “So… how do you seem to know so much about me? Or at least you did when we met at the Herald’s Arms.” Sayana pried tentatively as she switched to using her knuckles on his lower back. “I, um...” Alexus began and then realized he was falling for his own trick he had so commonly used upon his clients. “I just find out about things,” he replied evasively. “How much did you want that kiss?” Sayana whispered into his ear as she bent down over him. He wanted it for the challenge as well as for the enjoyment of the kiss itself. But also, it was always nice to have a bargaining bit of blackmail should he ever require it. “Alright, I do a lot of listening,” Alexus conceded and went on to further explain. “I talk to people in the taverns and ask questions. But I don’t do it in such a way to make people suspicious.” Sayana considered his explanation. Simply talking to people didn’t seem underhanded, nor did it sound too hard. And yet he seemed to know a good deal more than what he let on.

[Sayana]

“Shall I do your legs as well?” Sayana asked in a casual tone that contrasted from their hushed voices from earlier. Without waiting for a reply she lifted his hips and slipped her fingers under his pants to pull them off. He was now simply in his undergarments and she went to get more oil for his legs. As she began rubbing the oil into his legs, her high hands working on one leg while her mids were working on the other leg, she began conjuring her next questions. “So do people simply answer the questions you pose, or do they need prompting or persuasion?” Sayana continued to pry in a lowered tone. Alexus gave a soft sigh as he thought about how far he wanted to go with this. If he gave her enough to satisfy her curiosity without sounding incriminating then that should be sufficient. “Sometimes they do, sometimes they need a mug of ale or two to start talking,” he replied. “Occasionally they would prefer a gold miza for their information.” As Sayana made her way down to his feet, she got a bit more oil and began pressing her thumbs firmly into his feet. Both her high hands and mid hands were working in pairs on each of his feet and it gave the unique experience of having them both done at the same time. Sayana also found she could give her low hands a rest since the massaging was a lot more work than she thought it would be. “Don’t forget the heel and the ball of the foot,” Alexus murmured as he listed off two important pressure points on the foot. As she adjusted her technique, he let out a satisfied groan. “Is there anything else you do to gather information about people?” Sayana asked as she moved back up to work on his shoulders. “Well aren’t you being nosey,” Alexus retorted with a roll of his eyes. “Well?” Sayana pressed as she bent more fully over him. What he did not expect was the cool chill of metal against the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t dare,” he spoke in a chilled voice. “You’re right, I wouldn’t. Not here.” Sayana replied and returned the small dagger to its sheath. She had carefully blocked it from view with her body to avoid notice by the other healers. “However, I can’t say the same thing while out on the streets.”

[Sayana]

“I don’t like being threatened,” Alexus replied keeping to the hushed tones they were speaking in. “And I don’t like it when someone seemingly knows all the ins and outs of my life,” Sayana answered calmly. She noticed that his body had gotten stiffer with the threatening line of conversation and she emphasized smooth firm movements of her hands on his body as if to smooth out his tense muscles. “It’s alright hun, so long as I know how you do it,” she spoke in a gentle voice. At last he relented. He really did want the triumph of kissing her lips. “Alright, but this is the last thing I’ll be telling you about it. When I’m trying to gather information I don’t only listen. I look at the people who frequent the taverns, what they wear, how they hold themselves, if they are confident or anxious. I also keep an eye on the businesses and watch to see how they are doing. Someone’s clothing might reveal if they are being prosperous or if their business is slipping. Knights and squires often have regular patrol schedules, and if they deviate from them, then there might be something happening requiring extra knights, or there might be something else amiss within the Order.” This answer was probably the most informative of all of them. It made Sayana rethink the way she saw things in and about the city. Could little details like that really allude to so much more? She was getting better at noticing people and their body language but she hadn’t considered that clothing might reveal so much about a person. They Eypharian pensively continued massaging his back and they were both quiet for a time. “Flip over. I should probably do some of your front.” Sayana spoke firmly and Alexus obliged without hesitation. However, as soon as he was on his back, the Eypharian bent down to give him a deep kiss on the lips. For a moment he was surprised but he soon melted into the kiss and put a hand on the back of her head. It lasted a good while as she teased him with her tongue. At last she broke the kiss and took his hand that had held her head. “There’s your kiss Alexus. I don’t disappoint.” When all was said and done, it had turned into quite a productive session.

[Devi]

Your Grades have arrived! Sayana Skills: Massage - 3XP Intelligence - 3XP Negotiation - 1XP Intimidation - 1XP Interrogation - 1XP Seduction - 2XP Persuasion - 2XP Subterfuge - 1XP Kissing - 1XP Observation - 1XP Lores: Alexus: Masseuse at Soothing Waters Massage: Basic Techniques Massage: Basic Techniques Intelligence: Bribing for information Intelligence: Body Language and Clothing Comments: Dear Gods I want a massage now... Nice little thread, Sayana is turning into quite the sneaky little mynx! I'll be interested to see where this thread leads in Sayana's wider storyline . Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread. Happy Writing!