"Okay," Lisavet says, admonished. "It's just that I've been eating a lot of Ameiko's delicious cooking, and I've noticed I've put on a few extra pounds... Sorry, I'm worrying too much, aren't I? I just want to make a good impression."
A thought occurs to the cleric, and she gasps. "Oh! Am I supposed to give him a kiss at the end of the date? Like, a kiss, kiss?"
Thanara giggles. She shifts her robe back to her previous two piece outfit and replies "That depends, I suppose. If you have a good time. If you like him. If he likes you. If you want to. If he wants to. So on and so on. There is no real correct answer I guess," Thanara says as she steps over and has a seat on the bed, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands as Lisavet frets about the date.
"Got it," Lisavet says. She pulls the boots on to complete the look and spins around a few times in front of the mirror. "Okay! I think I'll be ready tomorrow night. Thank you, Thanara."
She looks back to the sorceress reclining on the bed. "Is there some way I can repay you for your kindness?"
Thanara smiles back. "You can owe me a favor down the road. But I just want you to have a good time," Thanara replies with a genuine smile as she bobs her foot up and down in the air.
Lisavet nods and smiles. On a whim, she leaps on the bed beside Thanara and throws her arms around the sorceress, drawing her into a tight hug.
Thanara squeels in surprise when the priestess basically tackles her onto the bed! Before she even realizes, she is returning the hug, though her hands are splayed out on Lisavet's bare back as she does so. She can feel the warmth of her friend's body pressing into her own, and she can feel her pulse quicken.
"You are mine, and I expect you to act appropriately."
She holds the hug as long as Lisavet does, not wanting to appear rude. The longer the hug goes on, though, the more turmoil she feels roiling inside. Especially as the smell of Lisavet's hair seeps into her nostrils.
"You want me to find a bag for you to put that outfit in so you don't have to carry it back?" she asked.
At length, Lisavet pulls away from Thanara. "Yes, thank you. That would be lovely."
She rolls over on the bed and sits up to remove the boots, then stands and shimmies out of the clothes again. She carefully folds the borrowed outfit and places it on the bed before finally moving to put her other dress back on.
This time, Thanara can't help but openly ogle as her friend disrobes again. She even has to bite her lower lip. Damn you, Savah. I never was like this before. What have you done to me?
Thanara steps over to her armoire and picks up a small bag that will hold the outfit. She stands back up only to see Lisavet still changing in the mirror. She freezes and finds herself simply watching in the reflection.
Lisavet hums a little song to herself, completely unaware of Thanara's ogling. She pulls the gold dress up and slips the straps over her shoulders before turning to the sorceress. "All set. Thanks again, Thanara. Have a good night."
She leans in and gives the other woman a peck on the cheek before turning to leave.
Thanara is a complete mess, again, as Lisavet starts to go. "I'll walk you back to town," she says as she follows her out.
Fortunately, wherever her father was, he did not have a chance to prepare to meet the women before they departed the manor. So the two managed to return to town without being accosted by Titus Scarnetti.
Once back in town, Thanara says "Okay, if you need help with hair and makeup tomorrow, just find me, okay? Have a good night!"
Once they say farewell, Thanara heads down a different road before darting into a back alley, shifting her robe to her cloak, then making a bee line for Savah's Armory. She was far too worked up to let the thoughts slide. Savah will appreciate that, I suppose...
She makes her way into the back entrance, unlocks the door and enters, locking it behind her. She shifts her cloak back into the scandalous two piece dress she had been wearing all evening before making her way back up the stairs. Once to Savah's bedroom, she lightly knocks on the door.
Thanara leans over to Snow and says "I'm sorry the story upset you. I was hoping that by advocating for her might start a sympathy movement in town and help start us on a path to maybe help redeem Nualia, even after all she's done. I didn't mean to make you sad..."
"Not you." Snow says quietly. "Me. Don't worry."
The 'party' breaks up relatively quickly once Thanara, the social glue, and Lisa leave so Snow does the opposite, staying in her corner and nursing her drink. She gets her peace until the small tavern starts to clear and Besk drifts over to sit down opposite her.
"Hey, you're Snow right?" He asks with a practised smile. "That was quite the story Thanara told. Did you really kill a goblin god? That's pretty impressive for a quiet thing like you!"
Snow looks up at him blankly. "Why? Quiet is not useless."
"No, no, of course not!" Besk replied hurriedly, "What I'm trying to say is that I'm very impressed with you. Would you like another drink? I'll buy. Or we could go out on a walk somewhere?"
Snow shrugs. "Drink. Yes please."
One drink leads to a second and by the time that drink is done the tavern is empty apart from the two of them. Besk has been shuffling closer and closer to Snow, whose nose has made it quite clear to her what he is after. She meets him halfway in a ferocious, and somewhat un-practised, kiss and neither of their clothes last much longer after that. Besk ends up on his back on his mother's bearskin rug while Snow takes full advantage of him to work out her feelings in the most cathartic way know to man.
She leaves to the light of the moon, slipping out of the tavern with Besk snoring in front of the glowing embers.
Better. Snow decides as she wanders through the darkened streets back to Mvashti Manor. Feel better. Plan going well. If nothing else young men hadn't tried coming onto her before - well, not more than once.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Savah appears at her bedroom door looking sleepy but extremely pleased to see her Pretty One present and extremely eager. The night turns into something of a lesson, with Savah recumbent in her chair instructing Thanara on exactly how to serve her mistress. When she is sated, and Thanara is whimpering with need, Savah has her lie down on the bed and pleasure herself, performing for her mistress's possessive eye. She holds Thanara at the edge for some time, until the sorceress is begging for mercy and then, in the aftermath of Thanara's final, explosive climax, the two curl up into bed together to make up for the night before.
About midday, Lisavet finally manages to track down Thanara for help with her hair and make up. She escorts her back to Scarnetti manor to work her magic. The two make small talk with minimal awkward moments, though the one major stand out was when Titus burst into the room and started to yell, but immediately stopped when he saw that a priestess was a guest in their home. Instead, he begrudgingly apologized and left them to it.
Thanara apologizes for his behavior, but requests not to talk about it further.
Eventually, Lisavet is fixed up beautifully for her evening with Mr. Vancaskerkin.
As Lisavet nears the Cathedral, she can see Orik standing at the bottom of the stairs into the structure, holding a small bouquet of camellias in his hands. He is not dressed in fine clothes, though his outfit does appear to have been washed. He is expecting the priestess to approach from the cathedral, so he has not noticed her approach.
Lisavet politely ignores Titus Scarnetti's outburst, not wanting to interfere in family drama. She thanks Thanara for helping her get ready, then bounces down the street to the cathedral. Her heart beats quickly when she sees Orik already waiting for her, flowers in hand.
After a moment's hesitation, she comes up behind him and taps him on the shoulder. She stands with her hands behind her back as he turns around, smiling as he waits to see his reaction to her appearance.
"Wow!" Orik says, clearly impressed by Lisavet's new look. "That's not... I didn't... I mean... you look great!" He finally manages to vocalise what his impressed expression has already been saying. "These are for you." He adds, offering the priestess the carnations.
Once she's had a moment to enjoy them Orik offers his arm. "I asked around and everyone said that the best food in town is at the Rusty Dragon so I arranged for a table. We've got a little bit of time so I thought you could show me the best bits of town before we go." He flashes a reasonably charming smile. "And I'd like to be seen around town with such a beautiful woman!"
Lisavet takes the flowers and breathes in their scent. Orik's smile is a bit at odds with his rugged features, but somehow it works for him. "I haven't been in town that long myself, but I'll give you the tour, as best I can," she says, offering him her arm.
She takes a circuitous route through town, pointing out such landmarks as the theater and the Old Light. Eventually, they reach the Rusty Dragon. "So, what do you think of Sandpoint? I'm sure it's a lot quieter than a place like Magnimar" she says.
"I'm from Riddleport originally." Orik says with a shrug. "Magni.ar is pretty impressive. I mean some of those ruins are pretty impressive, even if you don't know much about them. Never had much time for reading personally so I don't really know much about them. Much busier though. It's always noisy. I quite like the peace here honestly. Not sure I'd want to stay here forever, but for a few years... yeah I could see that." He pauses to open the door for Lisa before continuing. "And you Priestess Ambra? You said you were new in town. Where have you come from?"
"I'm from another small town not too far from here. Galduria? It's got a famous arcane college, the Twilight Academy. Not much call for priests of Sarenrae, though, so when I heard the new cathedral here was looking for a follower of the Dawnflower, I came to answer the call."
"Well Sandpoint is lucky to have you." Orik says with heavy gallantry, pulling out Lisa's chair as Bethana shows the two of them to a table.
He takes his time ordering, seemingly unsure of exactly what some of Ameiko's more adventurous dishes are, before diving back into conversation.
"So, was being a priestess always your calling Priestess Ambra? Can't honestly say I was ever set on this path myself but its part of the family business as it were. Once I decided to leave Riddleport this was just... a natural fit I guess..."
Lisa notices that while he mentions Riddleport occasionally he hasn't volunteered any information on why exactly he left.
"You don't have to be so formal. Just call me Lisa," Lisavet says, smiling across the table at Orik.
"Yes, I grew up in a cloister dedicated to the Dawnflower. I was taught her ways from an early age, and was ordained as a cleric when I turned sixteen."
The priestess doesn't press Orik about his early past. Instead, she asks, "What is the strangest job you've had as a mercenary?"
"Err, once got hired to guard a man's cat." Orik says, rubbing his chin and the small scar there. "Dunno why, damn thing was more dangerous than me! Had to carry it around for three days, special carrying basket, four kinds of food. Man was crazy and the cat hated me! Worst job of my life."
He smiles again and points to his chin. "This is my memorial to that cat, I called it Saul. Kinda' like my cousin - vicious and too damn quick!"
"So, Lisa." He continues. "Strangest injury you've ever had to heal?"
Lisa begins to giggle. "There was this one man in Galduria! He was having too much fun by himself, and he got a the handle of a broom stuck in his... in his... Gods, I can't even say it!"
She gestures to her rear end and bursts out laughing.
Orik gapes for a moment and then burst out laughing as well. His laughter is a deep bellow that draws the attention of almost the entire bar. Even Ameiko pops her head out of the kitchen to see what's going on.
He's still laughing when the meals arrive and Orik digs into his pie with enthusiasm. It is an excellent pie, rich and with plenty of gravy and Orik doesn't realise that he's got a spot of gravy on his chin as he looks up at Lisa.
"Great food this! I can see why everyone said it was the best."
”Indeed! Oh, you’ve got a little something... there...” The priestess leans across the table to dab at Orik’s chin with a napkin, incidentally giving him a great view if he looks down.
Orik does look down, as is natural when someone is bringing something towards your face, and ends up looking just a little too long - inadvertently giving Lisa a chance to realise exactly what he's doing. He starts when he realises and spends the rest of the evening being a scrupulous gentleman, focusing his gaze solely on her face and his food.
When desert, a fine fruit cobbler, is done Orik lets out a delighted sigh. "That was wonderful, think I've gained at least five pounds!" He smiles again before standing and offering Lisa his arm. "Would you like to walk, slowly, with me for a little while Lisa. Your company was even better than the food and I don't want to end our evening too soon."
They walk for some time, until the couple find themselves outside the cathedral and Orik looks around, seeming slightly awkward. "Prieste- Lisa. I had a really good time tonight. I'd like to... do this again sometime, if you would too."
Lisavet, too, is embarrassed by the the happenstance and pointedly avoids mentioning it throughout the rest of the meal. Fortunately, the awkwardness is blunted by the delicious dessert, and she offers her arm to Orik again as the pair stroll through the town.
Eventually, they arrive back at the cathedral. ”I had a lovely time as well, Orik. I would be happy to go out with you again. Thank you.”
She hesitates on the stoop. Do I kiss him now? Or wait for him to kiss me?
Orik smiles broadly at the accepted second date, and steps closer and leans his head down towards the priestess…
Yes, okay! Now I kiss him!
Lisa takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and tilts her head up to press her lips against Orik’s.
Orik delivers a light kiss at first, testing the waters of her interest before attempting to kiss her with more zeal as his hands instinctively wander to the bare sides of Lisavet’s ribs.
Oh! His hands...
Lisa’s heart beats faster as she gives in to the passionate kiss, letting Orik take charge of the situation.
Orik’s passion grows as Lisavet doesn’t seem interested in halting the moment. His lips grow more eager and his left hand slides up her bare back as his right slides the opposite direction.
Things are escalating quickly, but Lisa has enough presence of mind to recognize where things are going if she doesn't put a stop to it. She gently pulls away from Orik. "Let's, uh, save some energy for date number two, yes? G-good night, Orik."
Assuming the mercenary doesn't press the issue, she heads into the cathedral and closes the door. Then she leans against the wall breathing heavily, giving her weak knees time to recover!
As Lisa recovers, a few of the younger male priests cannot help but do double takes at her as she stands panting against the door. Before she can move away, though, she feels a thud against the door of someone attempting to enter.
”Hello? Is someone there?” as muffled but familiar woman’s voice comes through the door which Lisavet is accidentally barring, it’s tone somewhat urgent and scared.
Lisa quickly steps aside and opens the door. "Yes? How can we help you?"
Lisavet recognizes the older woman as Sarah, the Scarnetti maid. ”Oh…Gods be praised, I found you!” she says nervously. ”Please. Can you come with me? Umm…Lady Scarnetti would like to meet with you…” she says, looking around to make sure nobody else is near enough to be eavesdropping.
Lisa nods at once. "Yes, of course. Lead the way, madam."
The woman leads you back through town, her pace quick, but not so much as to not keep up “appearances.” But once across the southern bridge and out of sight of town, her pace quickens, and she finally starts talking a bit. ”She asked for you specifically. She didn’t want me to call for anyone at first, but I insisted and she eventually relented…”
As she approaches the manor, though, she raises a finger to her lips to signal the need for quiet before carefully opening the door and peeking in. Assured the coast is clear, she motions for you to follow and quietly makes her way up the stairs. There, she again urges you to keep quiet with sign language and then opens Thanara’s door.
Nothing seems off. There is a human form laying curled up on the bed, sheets pulled high, and you can see Thanara’s tussled golden hair resting behind her head on her pillow. ”Please…please help her…”
Lisa cautiously approaches the bed. "Thanara? It's Lisavet. Are you alright?"
When Lisa reaches the bed and puts any weight either on it, or on Thanara in the form of a touch, the sorceress winces in a panic and gasps in fear! Her head rolls over and Lisa can see she is badly beaten! Her eyes are swollen, nose bloodied, lips puffy and split! A further check reveals that she is nude beneath the sheets, and her ribs are bruised badly in various areas also, likely broken.
Thanara is trembling, tears squeezing out of her swollen eyes.
Lisa gasps in horror. "Goddess! What happened to you?!? Who did this?!?"
The cleric quickly invokes Sarenrae's grace to heal her friend.
The swelling and bruising immediately reduces and vanishes. As the healing magics fade, Thanara is now physically fine, but is clearly emotionally distraught as she pulls Lisavet in for a hug as she cries into her shoulder.
Sarah sees herself out to give the two privacy.
”I…I’m sorry. I h-hope I didn’t ruin y-your date,” the trembling girl mumbles into the crook of your neck as her tears run down the back of your shoulder.
"Shh. No, it's fine, Thanara," Lisa says softly, stroking the sorceress's hair. "It was a lovely date. I'll tell you about it later. But I need to know who did this to you. This cannot go unanswered."
Thanara panics and brings her hands to either side of Lisavet’s face. ”No! No we can’t! Please! It will only make it worse!”
She wraps her arms around Lisavet in another desperate hug, almost like she’s trying to hold her from leaving. ”Y-you said you owed me for the dress! Then this is all I ask! Nobody can know about this! Okay? Please…please…” she pleads desperately.
Despite her misgivings, Lisa sighs. "Very well. I won't say anything. But you do not deserve to be treated like this, Thanara. Nobody does. And you are not alone. You have friends who care about you. I will help you in any way I can, if you will only just let me."
The priestess holds the sorceress against her until she calms down. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" she asks.
Thanara nods meekly into Lisavet’s neck, her breathing coming in quiet sobs and her body still trembling like a frightened rabbit being hunted by hounds.
"Okay. I'll stay." Lisa continues to hold Thanara close in a warm hug.
Thanara lies numbly on her side in her bed, facing Lisavet. She shakily pulls her silk sheet up over her naked body as her eyes dart from the door and back to her nervously.
Lisa turns towards the door. "I will stay up and keep watch. Nobody will come for you as long as I'm around. Rest, Thanara."
Thanara lies awake for several hours, her body flinching at the slightest sounds. When she does dose off, it’s a fitful sleep and tears rollout of her eyes onto her pillows.
As dawn arrives the next, both girls are exhausted for their own reasons. Thanara sits up and pulls her sheet around her shoulders, her bare feet gingerly resting putting her body weight on them before standing and moving to the changing screen. A thin, diaphanous robe hangs over it which she pulls to her side and wraps around her, muttering a command word before stepping back around now dressed in her purple and gold dress.
She smiles weakly at Lisavet and says ”Thank you. But I am sorry your night was ruined because of me,” as she sits at her makeup desk and begins combing her hair.
"There is no need to apologize. And you did not ruin my night," Lisa says. She stifles a yawn as she stands and stretches. "I was happy to be here for you. Are you sure you're okay? I can stay as long as you need me to."
Thanara sighs. ”I’ll be fine once I get out of here. But…promise me you won’t tell anyone. And that you’ll help me with the same…discretion, if something like this happens again?” she asks as she looks back at you through the reflection in her mirror, her hands still brushing out her hair.