Closed Warmth and Wine

[Madeira Dusk]

28th of Winter, 518

"So, what's in the box?"

"It's a secret."

"What kind?"

"The secret kind."

Madeira hugged the garment box to her belly and smiled to diffuse any resentment her refusal might have conjured. But the woman behind the counter of the mulled wine booth, Blossom, didn't seem terribly put out by the evasion. If anything her blue eyes shone with delight out of the garden of flowers tattooed on her face. Madeira had never known a nosier person.

"Tell you what", the woman countered, wrapping Madeira's purchase of a large bottle of wine in brown paper and string. "You tell me this secret, and I'll tell you one of mine, ok?"

Madeira had a feeling that Blossom’s secrets came much cheaper than that. But she agreed.

"Well." Blossom began dramatically, leaning over the vat to pass Madeira the wrapped bottle. The fragrant, heady vapours from the wine shimmered in the cold air, diffusing the delicate lines of her tattoos until she was nothing but a smear of colour against a backdrop of sparking snow. "You're one of those Cravens', right? Well I served Godric Craven here earlier today. And he had Ruby Pastel with him."

"Is that so?" Madeira intoned disinterestedly, tucking the toasty bottle under her arm and handing the clerk the ten gold she owed. Blossom's flowers seemed to wilt as it became clear her juicy bit of gossip failed to hit the mark.

"Ruby Pastel! You know, she's engaged to that painter who does the murals!"

"I don't concern myself with the private lives of my family" Madeira cut her off pointedly. And I prefer they keep out of mine, she failed to add. Gods knew there were things she could never tell her family: not her dabbling in Malediction, the state of Allister's mental health, or the real reason she was prone to nosebleeds. These, and a few others she couldn't even admit to herself, were all best left to the few people she could actually trust.

"Fine." the clerk huffed. "But a deal is a deal. What's in the box?"

"A cloak."

"A cloak?"

"A tiger fur cloak."

"Who's it for?"

"My friend."

"Well, that's not very special."

“No, it's not." she agreed, in the amicable tones of a liar.

There were actually quite a few things special about this particular cloak, and the friend it was meant for. But there was exactly one person in the world she was willing to share the whole story with, and it wasn’t the prying shop clerk.

"Have a good night, won't you?" Madeira waved cheerfully to the vendor, turning from the warmth of her stall to face the glowing courtyard.

Madeira wasn't the only one who had stumbled upon the festival that night. The square was humming with conversation punctured with delighted laughter. Some danced to the jaunty music of the fiddler on the roof, others browsed the stalls that were selling everything from warm mittens to mince pies. Children, waving toys and ribbons, chased each other around the tall frozen fountain that seemed to change every time Madeira looked at it. And over everything was the soft glow of the hundreds of multicoloured lanterns strung in the trees, between buildings and even unsupported in the air.

Though the bitter cold pressed in from all sides, nipped colour into her cheeks and weaselled it's way through her grey wool cloak, the atmosphere in the festival kept Madeira warm. She couldn't help but be pleased- even grateful. Winter was back. Morwen walked Mizahar again. That glow of hope, that the world was righting itself after a year of uncertainty and bloodshed, kept her warm and lifted. Nobody celebrated it out loud, but silent toasts were raised to the missing goddess and the return to the certainty of the seasons.

However, there was someone who she knew would not be taking this winter for the symbol of recovery that it was. Under her cloak she pressed the garment box and bottle of wine to her belly, smiling ruefully. If anybody was suffering in this cold, Ssanya was. The Dhani had a baffling preference for unbearable heat and an intolerance for even a mild chill. Madeira had set out to look for the Wolf's Cave as soon as she could make it out of her front door to make sure Ssanya was armed with enough wine and determination to last the season. She had stumbled on the Fair in her search, however, and could not help but stop and buy a bottle of wine to share.

A few stalls down from the mulled wine seller was another brightly painted booth, but this one seemed unmanned. A pyramid of bottles were lined on a wooden table inside, and behind it was every kids fantasy. Soft stuffed toys and marbles and games were packed floor to ceiling, crowding the shelves with childish delights. Madeira paused, her eyes caught on a little wooden duck on wheels on the top shelf, and her mind went straight to Emma. Her little nine-year-old ghost loved to play with the black marble she got from Terag. It hurt to realize that that was the child's only toy. Perhaps she could win her a toy here?

Oh, why not? It would not take more than a chime, and then she could continue the search for Ssanya and the Wolf’s Cave. The Spiritist dropped two bronze coins in a jar on the counter and picked up three rubber balls. With her tongue between her teeth she considered where best to hit the stack of bottles.

x

[Allassanachassanya]

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28th Winter 517
"Speech"

Woooooosshhh... thunk. The compacted snowball shot through the air, straight from the hands of the remarkably astonished boy, into the back of the already marginally grumpy woman who trudged with cloak wrapped tight around her and scarf tucked close against her cheeks and neck. "Petch you," she muttered under her breath, but in the sake of the festival atmosphere she kept her lips shut and her attention focussed on the amusements in front of her,
rather than the pesky gang of children that played obliviously behind.

Ssanya was bloody freezing. Last year she had somehow wandered into the frozen wastes of 'Alvanthal' and it was just as cold now as it had been then. Back then, the news that Morwen had forsaken Winter seemed a joke, one that Ionu felt keen to continue with his or her own creation of a wintery season of sorts. Now though, some residents of the city dared to hope Morwen had returned. Ssanya wasn't quite so pleased. She shivered, and knocked the residual snow from her back with quick, fleeting brushes of her ungloved hands. As soon as she'd finished, her fingers curled back underneath the folds of her cloak as she huddled against what felt, to her, like blistering, frosty wind.

The breeze was as a matter of fact really not as bad as all that, but to a cold-blooded snake woman,
any temperature that was cold enough to freeze water was her worst nightmare.

But then, she hadn't come to the Winter Fair to continue feeling miserable.

The Wolf's Cave was not a bad place to live, all in all, but the Dhani had noticed of late that there was a terrible draft under the door. Once she'd noticed it, she'd found it very difficult to ignore. Once the snow and ice had descended, her strong desire to remain snuggled in her room had been foiled not only by the cold draft but also by an intense feeling of boredom that she felt could only have stemmed from Ionu's unknowable ways.

With that in mind, Ssanya had reluctanly followed directions and stories to the Winter Fair, and a bell later, throughly chilled, she had stumbled across the festive affair. A giggling baby swaddled on her mother's hip danced across her path to the tune of 'Folly's Lads' as she walked aimlessly through the merry crowds.

Stalls dotted through the throng, whilst Ionu's glimmering gift of gorgeous, sparkling lights replaced the dim stars behind and painted the evening sky with radiant twinkling. Children, wild with freedom and sugared candies, ran and ducked between laughing adults and merry-makers. In need of something hot, Ssanya rooted around in her pockets for a miza or few and thrust the coins into the hands of a red-faced man in return for a hot, flaky pastry and a steaming mug of chocolate.

The Dhani woman kept wandering, more content now her hands were distracted with the warmth of the cheap clay mug. She glanced with amusement at the skittering of a snowflake squirrel, and properly chuckled as she witnessed a gangly man slipping up on the ice, the act of an accident such as that never not being amusing to the snake-woman.

But then...

Her eyes strayed to the mouth of a stall, and there in the gap was a familiar face.S sanya, always glad to see Madeira (for that was who it was), immediately clasped one hand around her cloak and the other more firmly around the mug as she ran awkwardly up to the Craven woman she had the privilege of calling friend. "Madeira,
it'ss Ssanya! Hello, how are you, how have you been?" She grinned, and flung her spare arm around the woman's waist to curl her into a hug of greeting.

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[Madeira Dusk]

timestamp

As Madeira was taking careful aim over the stack of bottles like she was planning siege, am arm snaked around her waist. The smell of chocolate and spice was on the breath in her ear and she could hear the grin in the voice that announced her friend.

"Ssan! It's good to see you." There was no surprise in her voice, just joy and a touch of concern, like they had planned to meet here all along. Unable to reciprocate the hug with her arms full, the blonde bumped her forehead against the smaller woman in a strange kind of welcome. Even though the Dhani was bundled in a dark cloak and had her hand wrapped around a warm clay mug, her cheeks were bitten and red.

"I've been looking for you. What's dragged you out in this weather? Oh, wait, wish me luck.” she held up the three rubber balls with a wink and motioned to the booth stacked with prizes. "I'm going to win Emma a present. Then I have something to show you."

The first ball went wide and sailed past the bottles. Then after much teeth gritting and a narrowing of her pale brows, the second hit the tower square in the middle. Madeira was ready to let out a victory cheer, but the ball simply glanced off like it had hit a brick wall. The game was rigged. Typical.

Well, she had one left. The Spiritist wound up her skinny arm, said a quick prayer for luck, and threw the third with all her might. Ionu must have heard her call, because at that moment the skittering snowflake squirrel Ssanya saw earlier shot across the top of the bottles and away. And that tipsy momentum from the squirrel coupled with the whipped rubber ball proved too much for the rigged game to handle. The bottle tower teetered and fell with a jubilant crash.

"Yes! You never seemed like good luck before, San. But I guess that’s changing", Madeira smiled wide and kissed the top of the Dhani’s snow-damp hair.

Stepping behind the counter, Madeira reached up on her toes to take down the duck toy she had eyed earlier. Painted a warm summer yellow, the wooden toy was the size of her hand and set on wheels. Someone had lovingly painted the duck's orange beak with a cheeky smile and sweet blue eyes. Still grinning in triumph, Madeira showed Ssanya her prize before tucking it into her pocket.

"I'll make sure Emma gets this tonight. But first I have something for you. Come and see."

Edging past dancing revellers, Madeira lead them to the fountain. On the stone ledge she rid herself of the cargo under her cloak: the warm bottle of spiced wine and the black garment box. She opened the box and removed layers of tissue, before pulling the cloak out.

The bold black and orange of the tiger stripes rippled like liquid as they unfolded. The fur seemed to bend the light around it, so it remained a shade darker than it’s surroundings. The hem was edged in sturdy leather to keep from fraying, as it seemed to be made of a single enormous pelt. A deep hood lay across the shoulders, and the three buttons up the front were hook-and-eye made of braided leather and a long claw.

Madeira held it up for Ssanya's inspection by the shoulders. There were a million things she wanted to say about it: the story about where the pelt had come from, who had designed the cloak, what part she played in it and the special properties wound into the very stitching. She wanted to tell her why she had it made for her. Why she wanted it to protect her like it once protected Emma, but also how she wanted it to help her further her studies and interests into all those things the world didn't want her to know.

But to the Dhani, it would just look like a cloak. So she settled herself with asking a question first, the question she was unexpectedly nervous to know: "Do you like it?"

x

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

"Emma isss the little girl, issn't she?" Ssanya scrutinised her, and her lips twitched into a fond smile at the look of concentration on her friend's face. Madeira had always been a focussed one, ever since their first encounter. Ssanya admired that. She had been lacking that quality herself recently: where once she had been principled and determined to make her mark with malediction and find her place in the world, now she was anchorless... and more importantly she had not achieved the heights in malediction that she might have naively imagined in her youth in the nest. Missing an anchor wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It was through drifting like a lost ship from city to city that had brought her to Alvadas, after all, something that Ssanya thought to be a good move. But in recent times, her own, personal stagnation was a thing of distant dread to the Dhani woman. When she had noticed the second new neighbour move in to the room beside hers she had realised her own inactivity. The comings and goings of time had passed her by, and she did not enjoy knowing that fact.

Still, in the joyfulness of the fair, it was hard to feel down. She considered Madeira's words, and winked at the mention of luck. She followed up the wink with a wish, saying, "Good luck, Maddy." She took a small step to the side to allow the spiritist to get a good swing, and people-watched as she kept an eye on how Madeira was doing, ready to cheer if she should win. Ssanya also could not help but feel a childlike excitement to know what the other woman had to show her. With Madeira, it must be something spectacular. She half-suspected it to be a cursed item, like the rabbit bone from the Summer, and her dormant curiosity for the magical power that was the legacy re-kindled. The other half told her to stop expecting what this mysterious thing might be, to stop her rampant second-guessing. Madeira was good at surprises, and Ssanya would not be disappointed, no matter what it was.

Still, when the well-stacked tower did finally fall, she fumbled over her hands as she hurried to softly clap, too distracted by a spiralling magical thought to be properly paying attention to the stall game. Madeira's look of satisfaction was too funny though, and she couldn't help a 'heh, heh' of laughter. "I do not think I notissssed until now that you are sso competitive, Madeira! Maybe I am not good luck, but it was good luck we ssstmbled acrosss each other. I never did reply to your quessstion before, did I?" She shrugged, as if to say, oops! The gesture immediately felt odd on her shoulders, light and frivolous as it was, but in that place it was perfect. The two had experienced their fair share of tense situations, and Ssanya figured that this relaxed setting simply felt strange because of it. Not bad though... no.

"I came out of the room because I wasss bored..." She shut her eyes lazily, and then opened them with a mischievous sparkle in her gaze. The close contact of the woman's swoop in to kiss the top of her head made the snake woman playful, and she speedily leaned in to steal a kiss to her soft, pale cheek. "... But I will not be bored now, not around you, even if it isss petching cold." Her brown eyes widened innocently, as if she had not done a thing, but hidden laughter glimmered there in the dark depths of her gaze. That laughter was a thing that she had unlocked upon meeting that strange Kelvic on a summer's day that seemed so far removed from where they were now. She had never been a woman to laugh overly, but... but there was much to laugh at, and with. Much to be joyful about.

Indeed, as Madeira led them over to the fountain, Ssanya could hardly stem the rising excitement. She sat, but she fidgeted, her feet shifting backwards and forwards, making little furrows in the Ionu-blessed, undisturbed snow at their feet. She waited quietly as Madeira fiddled with a black box she produced from under her cloak, and then gasped as she revealed the garment hidden within. Immediately, her fingers delved into the rich fur that it was made of, and she stroked the smooth, thick warmth with a stunned look on her face. "Thiss... Thiss isss for me?" Ssanya closed her shocked mouth slowly, and then a bright grin spread across her features. "Oh, Madeira, I love it! It iss... made of animal, animal fur? Like a big cat? Where did you get it? How?" She gently took it from Madeira's grasp and held it up so she could see it in full, admiring the clasps, the way the heavy fur seemed to fall just right. It was a warrior's cloth, and something about it made her spine stand straighter and her resolve deepen. To her, it was a gift that one might give to a queen. That she was not such a person filled her with amazement, for how did she deserve it?

"May I try it on?" She hardly waited for the answer before slipping the cloak around her slight shoulders. It was weighty, but she could feel the warmth of it immediately, and her hands firmly grasped the claw clasp to pull it across and fasten her in. Her old cloak lay gathering snow on the fountain edge beside her. She did not care, but with a flush of bright colour illuminating her cheeks, she scooted closer and wrapped her arms fully around the surprisingly nervous spiritist sitting beside her. That emotion was a new one, Ssanya did not expect to see it on her usually confident friend's face, and so she lengthened the hug to further show her gratitude. She whispered, "It'ss gorgeous. Thank you." But she could feel her heart beating with something else other than gratitude. In the bubble they created with their contact, she could not hear the revelry of the crowds that milled around them, but only the cadence of their own breathing. Madeira smelt delicious too, something that was only heightened by her dulled yet still sharper than a regular human's senses. Ssanya shut her eyes, and tried not to do something she might regret.

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[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira's breath caught in her throat as Ssanya pulled the cloak over her shoulders. The fur flowed out from her like a war mantle, like a queen's cape, like the tail of a comet. With the Dhani's shoulders drawn back and her head high, snow sparkling on her eyelashes and a sliver of teeth between her parted lips both happy and proud, to describe her as beautiful would have been an insult. It took Madeira a moment of staring, tracing her eyes across the colourful lantern light as it reflected off her dark hair and pooled in the high planes of her cheeks, before she could articulate was she was:

Magnificent.

Ssanya slid closer and hugged her in gratitude, her cheeks flushed and glowing, and Madeira's heart reacted strongly to having this unearthly creature touch her. Her heart stuttered just the same as it did when Ssanya touched her while she was cursed. But it wasn't fear like before. It sat deeper in her chest, an organic, confused hum of a heart and mind that couldn't keep up with each other.

Fearing the Dhani could feel the sudden inexplicable change in the rhythm of her body, she held her by the shoulders and pulled away just enough to whisper in her ear.

"Its- You're right, it is a big cat. A tiger." she began, uncomfortably aware of how her breathing had changed. "But not really... San, it's a Kelvic. His name is Raj, he is Emma's bondmate. It's all his- the leather, the fur, the claws, everything." Anyone else might be horrified to hear that they were wearing the skin of a sentient creature, but Madeira knew Ssanya would see it differently. She would understand the care and respect that went into handling his corpse, and what kind of latent power it had. "He was strong and loyal. He loved her."

Madeira didn't realize she was pulling away until she found herself whispering into the Dhani's jawline, instead of her ear. Her eyes flicked up and she found herself staring into one dark almond eye. Her heart gave another vicious stutter. Not knowing what else to do, she plunged forward into her babbling explanation.

"It- Its imbued permanently. With soulmist. No ghost can touch you while you wear it. It can protect you, I wanted you to be... I thought it could forward your studies, and help you discover what..." Her thoughts were being blown away by the breath of chocolate and spice on her cheek, and she couldn't remember what she was trying so hard to say.

"You will do great things..."

She could feel the bones of the Dhani's shoulders shifting under her hands, the movement rippling under the fur. For a moment the tiger was alive again inside the woman.

"...with this, with you..."

Ssanya had always been her ally, from the moment they met. It was their sudden inexplicable understanding of each other in a world that misunderstood them both that made her trust her. And it was this trust that curved her hand from her shoulder to the back of Sanya’s neck.

"...and with..."

And with Catherine and Dandelions, blood and Nuits and rabbits skulls, a friendship she never had before somehow grew in the cracks and pulled her apart. She found herself leaning forward, and her last word ghosted across her lips.

"...me."

Then she kissed her, and her thoughts abandoned her for good.

x

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

ooc200th post! <3
Their faces were so close to each other. Ssanya stilled, found herself focussing on the loudness of her own breath, and listened to Madeira talk. She was... nervous. The explanation she gave though made her heart light up. It was the perfect gift, one she immediately loved. The heavy mantle lay comfortingly around her, and she already felt comfortable in it. Yet, that comfort was tinted with something else, something that was making her heart pound. Her nose turned ever so slightly to brush against Madeira's cheek, and her eyes opened to look into the blue, blue gaze of the pale Spiritist. It was inevitable what was to happen next, she could read it in her eyes. Her blood rushed and her heart beat faster. Then...

Softness. Lips pressed against her own, and Ssanya recognised the feeling she'd be ignoring blossoming under the gentle light of Madeira's advance. She felt like grinning and spinning the woman around and dancing and talking to her, but she didn't. Instead, she kissed back under the light of the hanging lanterns, as snow turned their hair dark with damp. Ssanya felt every bone in her body relax as Madeira touched her neck, and she shuddered, an action that spread from the nape of her neck right the way down her spine. It was not in any way unpleasant. Her fingertips left pinpricks of sensation wherever they landed, making her kiss deeper. She responded in kind, curving her own hands down her body to rest gently on Madeira's waist where she could feel the movement of her breathing, regular and comforting. She did not hesitate, and did not feel an ounce of worry, but only bliss. All the cold was gone.

After a few moments, the two parted. Almost instantly she wished to be closer again, to feel her friend's face inches from her own, and the shape of her body near to hers. Ssanya stared, then slowly smiled, sharing a look that spoke of a new connection. They had been friends for a year, and together had shared many adventures. If she'd really, truly taken the time to stop and evaluate her own feelings, she might have began to acknowledge the rising admiration, and more than that, the attraction she felt towards her. Madeira, in her own way, was beautiful. Ssanya knew it, and suspected others did too, although they might not tell her as much. Life was short, though, wasn't it? Her lips parted.

"You are..." What was she? "You are beautiful, Madeira." She flushed, but grinned again, the action as natural as breathing. "And, amazing, and I..."
"I do not know what to sssay."[/color] She stopped talking, and ran a hand down the length of the vibrant tiger fur. It was wet to the touch where snow had melted, but even so it was still warm. She looked down at the ground, looking at the paving slabs that glistened with ice and whiteness, and tried not to look up. Suddenly, she wondered if the other woman had only meant to kiss her as a way to say you're welcome. Whether the kiss was not...

Ssanya ignored the voice in her head, and raised her eyes to gaze into the blueness captured in her friend's. "I could never thank you enough for being in that housse lasst year. I knew that we would undersstand each other, but not that it would lead to thiss. Who could know the future, anyway? I do not know I would want to know, but only that thiss... I did not know thiss would happen, and only that it feelss natural, to me. Together." Ssanya's hand moved almost of its own accord until she rested it against the softness of her friend's cheek. "I do not know how you feel, only that it musst be ssomething ssimilar to my own feelingsss... and thisss makess me feel comfort."

Her fingers grazed over the woman's ear, then alighted at her jaw. She marvelled at the ease of it, how wonderful it was to simply touch her - how foolish she had been all these months, not realising that! She kept the incessant smiles to herself that time, instead leaning in once more. Now that they'd started, Ssanya knew she wouldn't be able to stop. Control was not something she knew when it came to love... not that she would acknowledge that word, not at this stage. She only knew that to not kiss her would be a painful shame, that it would be cruel to have had that special nearness and then to deny it. So instead she inched herself so that her arms were curled around her waist under the woman's own winter cloak, and whispered into her ear.

"I know why you made thiss pressent for me, and I love it more than you could realisse. Thank you for protecting me. One day, I will do the sssame for you. And we will do great thingss, together." Idly, she pressed her lips to her damp hair just above the curve of the woman's ear. "How are you feeling, Madeira?" Her voice thrummed from her core, and her hand gently caressed her side. They trod new, unfamiliar ground, but Ssanya felt brave and fresh and confident. She blinked her eyes closed, and sneaked another inquisitive kiss. "The great mysstery of your being growss with every chime." Her voice was warm with humour, and she could only let loose the grin that curled at the corners of her lips and made her gasp a slight breathless chuckle.

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[Madeira Dusk]

They fit so naturally together. Ssanya didn’t hesitate, there was no fumbling awkwardness, or the chill of the unreciprocated. In that first kiss Madeira forgot her nervousness and fell into the sensation of arms around her waist, her hands in her hair, and the mingled white cloud of their breath between them. The pounding of her heart slowed, and she lost herself in this new feeling that felt so like peace.

After seconds or centuries, the two pulled away, and the cold air that rushed to fill the empty space between them felt greedy and intrusive. The two women stared at each other, then broke into the same slow smile as they recognized this new bond in the other. Why hadn’t they done this sooner? It filled the Spiritist with regret to think there was an entire year of her life where she hadn’t touched her.

Ssanya was the first to break the silence.

"You are… You are beautiful, Madeira. And, amazing, and I…”

Madeira let these words flow through her, let them build her wounded pride from the ground up. Oh how she had grown in a year. They both had. She closed her eyes and leaned into the palm on her cheek, feeling the roughness of a woman who worked with her hands. Back then, in that old house, she too never could have dreamed this would happened. Yet at the same time it seemed inevitable. Like the gods knew these two souls were on a collision course.

Ssanya was baring her soul, with the soft hiss of her accent and fingertips that explored the lines of her face. Madeira just watched her and basked in the openness as the last barrier between their already deep friendship was obliterated. And she smiled knowing it would never block their way again.

"How are you feeling, Madeira?" Ssanya’s voice was as warm and playful as her last quick and curious kiss. ”The great myssstery of your being growss with every chime.” Madeira laughed as the hand beneath her wool cloak counted the edges of her ribs. She leaned her forehead into her and closed her eyes, breathing deep of the frosty air.

“I feel…”

Suddenly their little world, that bubble that existed just between the two of them, was shattered by a piercing wolf whistle. Madeira looked up, startled and glowing an alarming shade of red, to see a middle aged couple dancing in the square of which she had completely forgotten they were in the middle of. The grey haired man and woman were giving them a cheeky thumbs up as they spun, laughing behind their mittens and their eyes misty with memories of their own young romances. It appeared her and Ssanya’s private moment was not so private after all.

Madeira abruptly took the Dhani by the hand and pulled her to her feet. Her posture was high and stiff with dignity, fending off imagined stares as she scooped up Ssanya’s old cloak and the wine bottle and steered her into the thick border of evergreen trees that surrounded the festival. Behind them there was a great deal of good natured chuckling from the old couple.

At once the colourful lights dimmed through the branches and the air turned to breaths of ice and pine. Madeira kept dragging her along, until the dancers were no more than flickers of formless shadows between the trees, and the only light trickled down from Leth’s domain. She did not speak. That nosy wine seller, the eavesdropping couple and all those revellers didn’t need to hear this, and definitely didn’t need to see this. But at the same time she was frustrated with living cautiously, and painfully aware of how her family name changed things for her. So she sought privacy for the chance to show Ssanya something she wouldn’t allow anyone else to see.

Between two trees hanging heavy with snow she suddenly stopped. Dropping their belongings in the snow she pulled Ssanya around by the waist she kissed her once and for all.

This was not the sweet, gentle epiphany of their first kiss. She held her body flush against hers, even through layers and layers of winter clothing, and her lips were seeking and greedy. Like this she endeavoured to pull every kiss, every touch, that she had missed for the past year out of the Dhani all at once. It was fast and burning and left her gasping. When it was over she stood there holding her as hard as she could in the cover of the trees, while the faint chatter of people and music drifted through.

“I feel everything”, she breathed into the curve of her ear, her voice tight and desperate to be understood. “In that house you were the first person to show me that something existed outside my situation. You’re strong, stronger than I thought and braver than you know, and I think it’s because you feel so alone. You are good, and kind, though not always at the same time. You give your respect to things nobody else would even notice, though never once has that respect been returned to you. You’re so extraordinary and it hurts. It hurts that I’ve never told you this before. I don’t know what the further holds or how to find out, San. But I think-”, she laughed under her breath as a stray tear rolled down her cheek, and buried her face in the other woman’s shoulder, “I think together would be a good place to start.”

x

[Allassanachassanya]

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"Speech"

Ssanya was just as startled by the sudden, piercing noise as her companion was. She whipped her head around and saw the old couple giggling, and stared after them with a hesitant smile playing on her lips. She didn't think too much of it until Madeira rushed them both past the crowds and the lights and through to the safe, blanketing darkness of the woods.

Though the forest was still, and the scene picturesquely peaceful, Ssanya was afire with youthful passion. The women entwined with a fervour borne of seasons of friendship suddenly turned relationship. Every little touch, every little term of affection the two had shared suddenly made blissful sense. Ssanya didn't have time to wonder how she'd been so blind and so stupid. Madeira made sure of that.

They kissed with burning passion, and Ssanya returned every touch with blind desire. The moment lasted an age and a tick and then... It did not end, but simply lessened, like the afterglow of Summer in the desert, still burning, but not quite as powerfully as before. Ssanya held her breath and listened carefully to the words that poured from her lips. It wasn't long until she too let the emotions roll over her, and though she gently reached with a smile to wipe the tear from the other woman's cheek, she almost cried with her.

"Together... Yess, Madeira." She whispered into the quiet, and lifted her hand once more tentatively touch Madeira's hair, tugging a lock free and beginning to wind it around her little finger. Her hair was so silvery blonde and soft. Her thoughts idled to a standstill as the two women stood pressed to each other under the canopy of snow-covered trees. It was chilly but somehow the cloak and Madeira's own body warmth stopped the snake-woman from shivering.

After a blissful while, Ssanya stopped playing with the pretty lock of Madeira's hair she'd taken hostage, and she tilted her head back to gaze into the woman's blue eyes. She surprised herself noticing that they were lighter than she assumed. She blinked and thought she saw into them, as if peering into a crystalline pool and spotting living things thriving beneath the surface, but then she blinked again and saw the dark pattern of branches reflected instead.

She let a soft sigh blow through her nose and slowly bent her head to fall onto Madeira's shoulder. Never before had she been so infatuated with one person. Ssanya was almost scared at the powerful emotions that coursed through her. She couldn't understand how, after all the years she'd lived, she had only found this beautiful, soulful girl now. She couldn't understand any of it, but some part of life in Alvadas was wearing off on her, and she accepted the curious fear and the strange inevitability of it with more ease than she ever would have in any other place.

"I'm yourss." She blurted the words out. It was fast..- too fast, but she meant it. "I have very little in thisss world except my body, my heart, and my ssskill. We are friendss, and now.. thiss.. and I want you to know," Ssanya stuttered to a stop. "That I'm yourss," she finished lamely. Her hands fell to Madeira's hips and she slowly encircled her arms around her, unable to put into words the feeling of belonging she felt to the Spiritist.

.

.

.
.

[Madeira Dusk]

"I'm yours", the Dhani's softly hissed into her shoulder, and the fumbling words betrayed that she was just as new to this as Madeira was. A new kind of quiet existed around them at the pronouncement, and it could almost be mistaken for calm. The Spiritist breathed slow into Ssanya's dark hair, inhaling the scent of chocolate and spice. She let the words move through her, through the blood in her veins and the thoughts in her head, and branded them into her heart. I'm yours.

Even if something were to happen, and they were lost or separated or if this infatuation turned out to be nothing more, that promise would stay. Ssanya was a part of her life now. That promise lived in her heart, and she would always welcome her home. Madeira sighed happily, ruffling her hair.

"And I'm yours", she said. Completely. Inevitably. Always. "Come home with me. It's so cold out here, and we have wine to drink and things to talk about." But the talking could wait.

She detangled herself from the small woman, and immediately regretted the loss. She reached out and caught her rough, woodcarvers hand, laced with delicate scars, and held it in her own. A foolish thought that this was all some dream or elaborate illusion was purring in her head. She feared that if she was not looking at the Dhani, not touching her, she would dissolve away as if she never existed. Madeira still secretly wondered if she would wake to find herself alone.

Well, if this is a dream, she thought, it is a good dream. And if it is an illusion, Ionu cares about me more than I had ever imagined. And if it is real...

She almost laugh aloud. If this is real than Nysel and Ionu could keep their dreams and illusions, because she had finally found something better.

So holding her new lovers hand, she picked their stuff out of the snow and led them away from the music and the lights. The excited babbling of conversation faded as the trees ebbed and Alvadas proper appeared. The cobble streets of her winter-choked city did not seem so cold and bitter anymore. Madeira smiled as she held Ssanya's hand and followed them home.

x

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!

Madeira Craven

Skills

• Negotiation: 1xp
  Socialization: 2xp
  Subterfuge: 1xp
  Observation: 3xp
  Gambling: 1xp
  Seduction: 3xp

Lores

• People: Blossom the wine clerk
  Blossom: shameless gossip
  Rumour: Godric Craven is seen with a married woman
  Dhani hate the cold!
  Ssanya: unearthy beauty
  Ssanya: first kiss
  Ssanys: love confession
  Ssanys's Promise: "I'm yours"

Awards & Retribution
Wine: -10gm
Gambling: -2cm
Gambling: +Duck Toy

Notes
Notes here.

Allassanachassanya

Skills

• Endurance: 1xp
  Observation: 3xp
  Socialization: 2xp
  Deduction: 1xp
  Seduction: 3xp

Lores

• Dhani hate the cold!
  Emma Chamelle: Madeira's ghost
  Lore of introspection
  Madeira: a driven woman
  Deduction: making an educated guess
  Lore of the properties of the Kelvic Fur Cloak
  Madeira: first kiss
  Madeira: love confession

Awards & Retribution
+Kelvic Fur Cloak

Notes
Notes here.