Valeria went to work, carefully working her hands across Ameiko's back and trying not to dwell too much on whose back she was feeling. She was, however, thankful that Ameiko had kept her shirt on; if she hadn't, then Valeria would have been very distracted.
Ameiko's back feels quite warm and soft underneath your fingertips, even through her clothes. It doesn't take long for you to find the knots in her muscles and work them out. In fact, her sighs and moans of relief somehow keep you working longer than you intended.
"Ahhh... wow, I really needed that. Thanks." Ameiko whispers up at you, her eyes half-closed.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Hmm." Shalelu looks back down at her bow and sighs. "What's wrong with finding a mate in Sandpoint?" She pauses for a moment. "Aside from the whole kitsune part of it, I mean." GM Rolls: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9 DC 9 Bluff: As much as she tries to hide it, she sounds... disappointed.
"Well, I didn't say I was going along with their plans, now. Finding the kind of mate my parents want for me doesn't interest me at all, whether it's here in Sandpoint or in Minkai, Absalom, or anywhere. I guess I'm what the varisians call a 'firefly', you know? Men, whether they're human, kitsune, or something else, just don't interest me."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Well, I didn't say I was going along with their plans, now. Finding the kind of mate my parents want for me doesn't interest me at all, whether it's here in Sandpoint or in Minkai, Absalom, or anywhere. I guess I'm what the Varisians call a 'firefly', you know? Men, whether they're human, kitsune, or something else, just don't interest me."
Shalelu's face brightens considerably. "Oh."
Her smile doesn't last for long--it gets replaced by a concerned look directed at you. "Do they know?"
"Hmm... they know I like girls, since my first crush was Arna, the smith's daughter, but you know, it's pretty common to like both. They were actually glad I wasn't going with boys because humans can get kitsune girls pregnant, and they want to keep the family line "pure". They don't know that I could never see myself with a male, whether kitsune or no."
"I guess that means I have two things to tell them."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Shalelu's expression turns a bit grim. "Hmm. A potentially dangerous line of thinking."
She finishes restringing her bow and starts testing its pull. "It's courageous of you to consider doing so. I'll support you if I can."
"Dangerous? I don't think they'd be, you know, violently angry, just disappointed..." She places her hand on Shalelu's shoulder and gives it an affectionate squeeze. "Thanks, Shae. I can't imagine what I'd do without you."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Dangerous? I don't think they'd be, you know, violently angry, just disappointed..."
"Good."
"Thanks, Shae. I can't imagine what I'd do without you."
"You'd probably get lost in the woods somewhere. And then I'd have to find you." She smirks.
"In all seriousness, I could do no less for my student."
Ameiko's back feels quite warm and soft underneath your fingertips, even through her clothes. It doesn't take long for you to find the knots in her muscles and work them out. In fact, her sighs and moans of relief somehow keep you working longer than you intended.
"Ahhh... wow, I really needed that. Thanks." Ameiko whispers up at you, her eyes half-closed.
"It, uh, it certainly felt like you needed it," Valeria stammered, glad that Ameiko (probably) couldn't see her blushing, "if it was still that stiff after this long, I'd hate to think how bad it was originally."
"If it flares up again, let me know. I'm, um, I'm happy to help."
Ameiko sits up and stretches with a relieved moan, her shirt riding up a bit as she does so. "If it does happen again, you'll be the first person I'll go to."
She looks you in the eyes and chuckles. "Do you always get flustered when you give massages?"
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Valeria coughed in surprise at her question. "Well, it's a, uh, kind of an, uh...occupationalhazardwhentheclientsanattractivewoman." The rapid-fire response was punctuated with another cough, turning away as she felt her face heating up even more.
**************************************************************
Xel may not have been able to perceive through Valeria's senses, but the empathic link was working perfectly. "Oh gods, this is ridiculous!" he remarked out loud, drawing a look from a pair of caravan hands who were passing time with a board game that tended to suggest a higher level of intellect than what caravan hands are usually assumed to have. "Oh, not what you two are doing, no. Incidentally, your border with Cheliax is a little soft, might want to reinforce it."
Ameiko doesn't say anything in response, instead patting you on your shoulder as you turn away.
"That would be a bit of a bother, wouldn't it?" She says as she starts walking out the door. "Anyway, we should be coming up on Sandpoint soon."
"Uh, good, good! I'll uh, I... you've already left, okay." She muttered to herself, running her hands through her hair as she tried to calm herself down. Although she couldn't help but let her mind dwell a bit on how Ameiko had acted afterwards.
"Are we just teacher and student anymore? I'd like to think we're more than that..." Haru says, and though her fur hides it, she'd be blushing if she were in human form.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
...replaced by the sweet, luxurious sensations of relief...
...it certainly seemed that way, with how she was moaning...
...
...
...you may need a bucket of ice water.
"Are we just teacher and student anymore? I'd like to think we're more than that..."
Shalelu looks up from her bow at you. "After a trip like this? I thought that much was obvious." She says, arching an eyebrow in slight confusion.
"Well... good! Right, sorry, I guess I just felt a little self-conscious there when you said 'student', you know, a bit of self-doubt whispered in my ear, 'maybe that's all she thinks of you as'." She runs her nails through the fur on her head, and gives her tail a shake. "To be honest, sometimes when I got lost during our lessons, it was a little bit on purpose -- well, once or twice entirely on purpose -- just so I could get your..." she pauses as she looks at Shalelu's amused expression. "... and you totally knew exactly what I was doing, didn't you?"
"I may have." Shalelu shrugs. "And don't worry--I don't see you as just my student anymore."
"But I think we should save this conversation for later--we should be coming up on Sandpoint shortly." She gets up and starts walking to the head of the caravan.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Haru watches the elf walk away and leaves the question rattling around in her head unasked. So how do you see me, Shae?
The caravan wagons trundle down the road to the coastal town. The town itself looks like it's starting to wake up for the day--the streets have barely anyone in them.
The wagons pull up to the White Deer Inn and stop near the town's north gates. "Well, here we are." Sandru says as he hops out of his seat and down to the dirt. "I've got a few things to take care of if our newest passengers are going to be sticking around for this trip."
When are we planning on heading out again?
He asked Sandu as they entered the town. He was mentally making a list of the things that he needed to do. Madam Koya would need to get to her home and gather whatever she needed for such a lengthy journey, He needed to see the good father at the church to see if he could do anything more for the lovely Kelda.
"It'll take a couple of days for me to resupply and get a new wagon." Sandru says, starting to walk into town. "If we're going to be leaving Sandpoint behind, we'll need some more comfortable accommodations for our new passengers."
Koya steps next to Kavell and looks around the town's streets. "Well... I never thought I'd live to see the day. Gettin' to go and explore beyond Varisia..."
Shalelu steps next to you and takes your hand. "Come along. We shouldn't keep your parents waiting."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Once they were in town (and she'd finally settled down), Valeria made her way to her place to tell her parents what was happening. Halfway there, she ran into one of the more unusual sights in town - a boy a couple of years younger than her running through town while dragging a large, heavy wooden platform, weighed down by a few crates and possibly the largest half-elf most people have ever seen. With a bit of a smile, Valeria started jogging to keep up.
"I see the familial torture continues," Xel remarked, having already shifted to the giant man's shoulder.
"Hey Uncle Leo," Valeria said before turning to the poor boy dragging him around, "hey bro, training going well?"
"Do I really look like I'm right for an casual conversation right now?!" Maxim replied.
"He's goin' well," Leo butted in, "I've even started adding extra weight to this and it hasn't slowed him down much. Hop on, we're headed back to your place anyway,"
"OH GODS, NOT MORE WEIGHT!!"
"What did you say?" Valeria asked, a noticeable edge to her voice.
"N-nothing! Why; I'll hardly notice the difference!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Once you settle onto the wagon, Maxim groans and starts pulling the wagon along. His muscles are visibly straining to pull the wagon, and it's a bit of a slow going. But compared to before, he's actually able to pull it instead of straining ineffectually against it.
It takes a while, but Maxim eventually makes it to your family home. He just about collapses from exhaustion when he pulls the wagon up before it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Valeria explained what had happened and what they planned to do. While she had to make multiple promises to find a way to get home (which she'd been planning from the start - as soon as she'd decided to go to Minkai, she'd started looking into intercontinental teleportation) and to try and let them know how she was going regularly.
"I'm going with you," Maxim suddenly said, "it's about time I put all this training to proper use."
Valeria started to protest until Leo spoke up.
"Nah; that's a great idea! Kid could do with a little proper fighting experience an' the punks 'round here are gettin' sick o' the constant ass-whuppin's. An' if you're headin' north, it's a good chance for some real cold-weather training, too."
Maxim seemed to pale at Leo's enthusiasm. "I'm gonna be dragging you around half-naked in the snow, aren't I?"
"You nuts?! I can't have you gettin' hypothermia an' slowin' yer training! Nah; it'll give me a chance to bust out that weighted clothing I've been hangin' onto - you should be fine with an extra 200 pounds, right?"
********************************************************************
Maxim and Leo were soon off to find Shandru while Valeria grabbed some extra stuff for a much longer trip - more clothing (including the few pieces of winter clothing she owned, just in case the weather up north was cold enough for her to actually feel it), plenty more research materials and a collection of novels she thought she'd want to read.
Haru tries not to think about the shivery feeling it gives her to hold the elf's hand as they walk to her parents' house. The secluded cottage, well outside of Sandpoint proper, was cheerful and cozy, with brightly-colored silk cloths hanging from drying poles, and flowers everywhere.
"両親! 私は家にいます！" she calls out to her parents as she approaches the door.
"こんにちは春！ あなたは一人ですか？私は服を着ていませんよ！" comes the reply.
"Only Shalelu is with me!" Haru replies in Taldane. She then whispers to the elf, "She said, 'I'm not dressed', which is our family code for 'I'm furry right now, do I need to shift?' They know you know, so it's fine."
Haru's mother meets them at the door, letting them in, and Shalelu sees her in her natural form for the first time, despite knowing that the Yoshiokas were kitsune for several years. "So good to see you home, and you too, Miss Andosana. Your trip to the north went well I take it?"
"Yes, very well. I know you can keep a secret, Mother, so I'll tell you this -- we found out that Ameiko's family is actually Minkaian royalty! Think of that!"
"Really? They're heirs of the imperial family? But that means -- with the throne empty --"
"Yes, if she can go there, she could claim it, and be the empress herself! Can you imagine!"
"I can't hardly. So... is she going?"
Haru heard the unspoken question. Are you going with her? "Yes, we are planning to go, everyone who came with us on the caravan north. Up through the Crown and down to Minkai. And I know that takes us back to where you grew up, and that's something else I need to talk to you about.
"I know you and Father have been discussing ways to find a kitsune gentleman for me to wed, and I can see hope in your eyes right now that I'll be travelling through the Kami no Mori, home of the largest population of Kitsune on Golarion. But see, you don't have to be looking. I have..." she pauses, swallowing the words she was about to say, I have found the person I want to be with, because this was not at all the time for that kind of revelation. "I have come to the understanding about myself that I am not attracted to men at all, of any race. I'm what the varisians call a 'Firefly'. I'm a woman's woman, so while it is possible I might find a person I want to be with on this journey, they wouldn't be male."
"Oh. But that kiss you had with the Cooper boy?"
"A test to confirm what I already suspected at the time," Haru says with a sigh. "I wish you hadn't found us, it gave you false hope that I felt I couldn't dash without hurting you."
"Oh Haru -- I wasn't -- I can't -- I truly just want you to be happy, my child!" Tears wet the fine fur on Kairi Yoshioka's face as she leans forward to hug her daughter. "If you're certain of this about yourself, I will put aside the attempts to find a suitor -- but listen, young lady! I still expect grandchildren! Whatever lady you end up with, she'd better be willing for you to make an arrangement with a kitsune boy and have kitsune children."
Haru groans in embarassment. "I'm nowhere near ready to have children, Mother!"
"Even so! We still expect them eventually. I know there are spells that can do things without you and the boy having to be together if you don't want that. Or there are ordinary ways, you know..."
"Ah! Mother! Stop!"
"Hello Haru! Are you alone? I'm not decent!"
Shalelu bows once as you introduce her to your mother, and listens as you explain your upcoming journey to her. When you begin to tell her of your preferences for women, she tenses up slightly, but relaxes when she sees Kairi's reaction.
She awkwardly clears her throat when your mother starts talking about potential... alternative methods regarding grandchildren.
At first helping with the moving of things that needed help being moved Friday stops when he sees Zaiobe poke her head out.
Walking over to her he'll calmly, and in his usual subdued voice, ask "Is everything okay?"
"If that is what you want, sure! Or was there anything you wanted to do in town?"
"Oh, okay. Let me get my supplies and I'll be right over... maybe we can head over there tonight if you'd like?" he thinks, along with what could be wrong about her going outside. Then he remembered the conversation with Haru and Valeria.
At her request he's quickly left and back with his painter's kit. "I haven't quite got yours down so would you like me to work on that or something else?" he asks upon his return.
"Okay, but I do take requests," he responded with a smile.
Nodding to the Harpy and setting up his board and paints he started out a with free form of Sandpoint. As much as he wanted to work on the one of her reading he was actually nervous to do so with her watching.
After Sandpoint he moved on to the beach. And then one of Haru as she was with her fur, since he actually hadn't ever attempted someone like that. Finally he moved back to Zaiobe, painting a scene of her standing in the doorway of the wagon rather than just sticking her head out with his watercolours.
He's paint for as long as she'd let him.
By the time you return from your home, you notice Leo & Maxim by the White Deer. They're speaking with Sandru--or rather, Leo seems to be arguing with Sandru and Maxim seems to be more interested in being anywhere else but around them.
"I take it he said no?" Valeria asked her brother, not wanting to get drawn into the argument. "Did the possibility of Leo draining the caravan of booze in a matter of hours come up?"
"It may have been mentioned once or twice." Maxim replied dryly. Their uncle's prodigious fighting skills were second only to his love of alcohol, some even joked that he could now use his liver as armour and that he was part dwarf.
At this point, Sandru throws up his hands. "You know what? I don't even know what else the boy can do. Sure, he can throw a mean punch and he can carry a man twice his size around town, but I have no idea how else he can help the caravan."
"So..." Sandru abruptly turns to Maxim and stares him down. "...what else can you do, other than what I already mentioned?"
He blinks and glances over at you, having finally noticed you. "Oh, hey Valeria. When'd you get here?"
Friday smiles at Zaiobe's complement. "Thanks. I've just had a lot of practice. And inspiring subject material."
"Well, I can forage for food if need be, could help keep our existing supplies going," Maxim explained.
"An' we can always use him for bait when huntin' big game," Leo joked, "I'm just kiddin'; I don't need bait."
"You don't even know how to use a crossbow," Valeria pointed out.
"Your point?" he asked, crooking an eyebrow at his niece. "Besides; maybe he could help train some of yer other guards, keep 'em from underestimatin' a guy without a sword."
Sandru wrinkles his nose. "Being able to forage for food? That's always welcome, but I was kind of looking for someone who knows how to drive a wagon. Can you do that?"
Once you've completed your errands with Koya, you return to the caravan to find Kelda sitting on the steps of one of the wagons, waiting for you.
"Ah. There you are. Shall we walk about this town?" She asks after clearing her throat. Her cast-clad arm rests in her lap.
He took her hand her good one a bit nervously offering her his best winning smile.
I would imagine you would like to first see if we can find a healer with the skill to completely fix your broken arm?
He said biting his lip for just a moment at the warmth in her hand. The grand cathedral had been easily visible as they came into Sandpoint from the lost coast road, in fact they had easily went right past it.
"You would imagine right, yes."
Kelda follows behind you as you lead her to the grand cathedral of Sandpoint. Though the years haven't been kind to Sandpoint, the holy stone structure stands as tall and proud as ever. There are a few people lingering on the stone steps of the building, but none of them really pay either of you much attention. The few who do take notice of Kelda's cast-bound arm and look away.
The cathedral looks much more impressive on the inside. Though most of the main chapel is dedicated to Desna, the shrines of other gods such as Sarenrae, Shelyn and Abadar have grown in size, and now attract more devotees than ever. The shrine of Shelyn, a stone alcove decorated with well-tended flowerpots and impressive paintings of coastal landscapes, currently has a few people in attendance. A brown-haired priestess in elegant white robes stands before the gathered worshippers. She appears to be in the middle of a sermon.
Oh, okay. I'd gladly do it," Friday innocently responds, while moving just enough to give Zaiobe a better view of the paintings on display.