"Oh! Th-that does feels good..." Lisa gasps as she rubs her thighs together...
Orik doesn’t relent, keeping it up until he thinks she’s on the verge of climax. He then suddenly slows to a near stop, letting her come down ever so slightly, before resuming.
Again.
And again.
And again…
Never letting her cross over that threshold.
"Orik! Orik!" Lisa whines. Her hands grip the tub, and her movements have sloshed quite a bit of water over the sides. She looks back and up at the man behind her. "Please... Why are you teasing me so?"
”Well, if you want it, come and get it,” he says as he doesn’t relent, though his hips moving adds a punctuation to the statement.
Lisa obliges, turning around and climbing onto Orik's lap. She moans softly as she gets into the right position, rocking her hips back and forth rhythmically.
Orik smiles, an unsettling sight given the look in his eyes. ”That’s what I thought. You don’t care about any of that b+~$*@+# the Scarnetti b~#&# says,” he says as his hands slide up Lisavet’s waist to her breasts, squeezing them firmly. ”You just let yourself go and give in to what your body wants. What it needs,” he says as he slides his hands back down to your waist, pulling you down further onto himself. ”And what it needs, is me.”
After a couple of mugs of wine shared between the two girls, Thanara starts talking. First she goes into detail about her recent punishments from Savah, though she leaves any mention of Rynshinn out of them.
Then her thoughts turn back to Aldern. ”I didn’t really feel like I had major feelings for him. My dad forced me on the date, anyway. But he WAS nice. Wasn’t he? You were there! I’m not crazy am I? Something had to have happened to him, right?”
She sighs and takes another long drink, longer than a normal, proper drink of wine should have been. ”I just…I guess I was mourning the man I thought he had been. Such a gentleman turned into that…thing.”
Lisa feels a flash of concern at Orik's words. This is a side to the man that she hasn't seen before, and she's not sure if he's just playing at being mean or if he actually means what he's saying. But she's too lost in ecstasy at the moment to say anything, especially when Orik pulls her down even further.
She rocks back and forth for a few moments longer before she finally crosses the threshold. She leans back and lets out several shuddering breaths as she finally achieves what Orik had been denying her.
”Good girl. Gooood girl,” he coaches her as she climaxes. But he hadn’t finished this time yet. He holds her on top of him for several more minutes, coaxing her to continue moving on top of him until he to finds relief again, before letting her slump down against his chest. He squeezes her rump possessively as the two lay there, still entangled with one another in the tub.
Lisa lays against Orik for a few minutes, letting her heart stop pounding. But the whole evening has left her feeling strange, so she soon extricates herself from Orik's grasp. She steps out of the tub and reaches for a towel to dry off.
"I have some duties to attend to at the cathedral early tomorrow morning," she says. "I should call it a night."
”Oh. Alright,” he stammers as Lisavet calls the evening short. He reaches for the soap and actually begins washing himself off as she dresses. ”See you tomorrow?” he asks.
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Orik," Lisavet says. She hesitates a moment, then turns back and leans over to give him a kiss before leaving.
Then her thoughts turn back to Aldern. ”I didn’t really feel like I had major feelings for him. My dad forced me on the date, anyway. But he WAS nice. Wasn’t he? You were there! I’m not crazy am I? Something had to have happened to him, right?”
She sighs and takes another long drink, longer than a normal, proper drink of wine should have been. ”I just…I guess I was mourning the man I thought he had been. Such a gentleman turned into that…thing.”
"Was rich." Snow says with a shrug. "Stupid. But nice. Horses liked him. Paid well. Not bad. Not before at least."
Then she circles back to what Thanara told her earlier. "Why?" She asks. "Is that love? Thought people... were kinder. To partners. Not punish. Or you enjoy that?" She seems genuinely curious. "Never had 'relationship'. Don't know how."
Thanara sighs and lays down on Snow’s blankets, her head resting on Snow’s lap as she stares up at the ceiling. ”I…don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship either,” she confesses. ”I know what people say about me around town. Because of how I dress. But they are wrong. I’ve never been intimate with anyone before…her,” she says, saying it out loud making it feel more real. ”I mean, at first it was scary. The powerlessness of it. But, it’s also kind of…hot? Letting someone else have complete control. When all my life, I could basically do whatever I wanted? It’s…excitingly different I guess,” she says as her finger absentmindedly traces delicate trails across her stomach.
Snow starts absent-minded-ly running her fingers through Thanara's blonde hair as she thinks about the other girls words.
"So is change. Boundaries. Like no control?" She says slowly. "Trust? You trust her? To be good? Not... ab-use?" The last word isn't one she often uses apparently. "Not me. Want free. Want control. Like control. Liked Shayliss. Was... soft. Controlled her. Was good. Felt... right. Like Alpha should."
She refills Thanara's mug, having barely drunk half her own.
"Is she your Alpha?"
Thanara struggles with the phrasing. Then understanding slowly comes and she stammers ”I mean…I don’t know what that means. People aren’t…like that…are we?” before gulping down another large mouthful of wine to buy some time.
After leaving Orik's, Lisavet wanders through town for a bit, trying to collect her thoughts. Eventually, she asks around about Thanara, learning that she and Snow went to Mvashti Manor.
The priestess inquires there about them, and Madame Mvashti directs her to Snow's room. She knocks on the door. "Hello? It's Lisavet. I hope I'm not interrupting. May I come in?" she calls.
"People. Wolves. Mostly same." Snow says with a shrug. "Sandpoint. Big pack. People have small groups. Like pack. In family, someone in charge. Like Niska. She is Alpha. Us and Lisa. We are pack. I am Alpha." She says that matter-of-factly, as though it can't be disputed.
"Is Savah your Alpha?"
-------------------------------------
"Lisa?" Snow calls, although her nose can confirm the priestess's presence. "Come in!"
Snow and Thanara are looking rather cosy in the large pile of blankets and pillows that apparently serves as Snow's bed.
Thanara’s pulse quickens as Snow proclaims herself the boss to herself and Lisavet. Does she see us as her servants? Or…does she mean she wants to…
She sits up at the knock on the door, thankful for the timing and pouring herself another mug full of the wine as she lets Snow answer the Priestess. She holds it up to Lisavet with a silly, inebriated smile. ”Hey!” she says enthusiastically, trying to change the tone of the conversation.
Lisa smiles when she sees the other women curled up in the bed. "Room for one more?" she asks. She gets comfortable beside them and graciously accepts a glass of wine if offered.
"So, what are you two ladies talking about?"
”Just…stuff,” Thanara says, not comfortable bringing up the details of her unorthodox relationship with a priestess, even if said priestess had shared her own intimate stories with her.
"Oh. Okay," Lisa says. She doesn't press the issue, but she does quickly drain her mug of wine and hold it out for a refill.
"Well, I actually came here because I wanted to talk about Orik," she says once the buzz from the alcohol has begun to set in. "Ever since we met, he's been nothing but the perfect gentleman. But tonight... I'd been thinking about the comment you made the other day, about worrying about becoming with child. I tried to talk to him about it, but he didn't want to discuss it. And he called you a... a mean word for bringing it up. It just seemed so out of character for him. It made me feel uncomfortable."
"Think for yourself." Snow says with a shrug. "How uncomfortable? Some or too much? Then speak to him. Set limits. Rules. Be strong. If not then his rules, not yours. That can be ok." She adds with a shrug. "But must talk. Or trust him. You. Must decide."
It seems her view on relationships is fairly straight-forward.
Thanara had been listening empathetically…right up until Lisavet mentioned she said something mean about herself! When a pause in the conversation arrives she asks ”And just why did he say about me!?!?”
Lisavet blushes. "He called you a...a b&~$@, and said that you were just talking b%%@&&~+. His words, not mine." She quickly finishes off her second glass of wine.
"Why with him?" Snow asks, getting up to refill Lisa's glass, although it requires opening Thanara's bottle. "Are pretty. Have any man."
"I don't know. He treats me well. We have fun together. I like him, or I think I do. I didn't like how he acted tonight, though." Lisa sips at her second glass and leans back among the pillows.
"Give him more time?" Snow says shrugging again. "Think. Decide. If you want him, keep him. If not worth it, lose him."
She relaxes opposite Lisa, tugging Thanara over to sit with her. "If Thanara or him, who? Maybe that is good question? Will always have Pack. Us. Friends to help. But is Orik pack? Best friend? Or just mate-friend?"
She smiles at the cleric, a lazy grin. "Nothing wrong with mating."
Lisa nods at Snow's words. When Snow tugs Thanara over, she scooches across the pillows to be closer to the two of them as well. "I would choose Thanara. There's no question of that. We are a team, but more than that, I consider both of you my very best friends. I would not jeopardize that for anything."
She laughs at the ranger's last comment. "Orik is not 'pack.' We are 'pack.'"
"Good." Snow says with another grin. "You understand. Thanara doesn't, yet. Thinks pack is all mating." She tickles the sorceress's ribs. "Pack is friends. Support. In fight and out. And mating."
The blushes that the last statement produces leaves Snow looking delighted, and slightly wicked. She doesn't follow up though and lets the embarassment dwindle for a while, finishing her mug of wine in the meantime.
"Nice. Having friends." She says eventually. "Thank you. Both. Glad you are my pack."
Thanara did get upset when she heard what he said about her. Then Snow asks the priestess if she had to choose him or her, who she’d pick. And Lisavet said her! Knowing how close that Lisavet and Orik were, and Lisavet would still want her, made her blush.
She was numb as Snow pulled her back into a close position, and Lisavet wiggles over to sandwich her. Then Snow calls her out and tickles her ribs, to which she giggles. She notes the look in Snow’s eyes and she nearly caved. Then Snow backed off and opened another bottle. Thanara sighed and squirmed her legs together as she savored the feeling of the two women with her.
”Snow is r-right. You are too beautiful Lisavet. You could have anyone. You pick who you want to be with,” she stammered as her overly desperate kind relished the feeling of Lisavet and Snow pressed against her.
"Well, right now, I just want to be with you," Lisa says with a giggle. She wraps her arms around Thanara and pulls her into a tight hug.
Thanara’s eyes fluttered shut as Lisavet pullled her in for an embrace. When the embrace relaxed. she brought a hand up to Lisavet’s cheek and pulled her in for a kiss!
She then turned back towards Snow, reaching over with her other hand and leaning towards her as for a kiss also.
Lisa is surprised by the sudden kiss, but she doesn't pull away. Maybe it's the wine, but Orik's earlier words echo in her head: "Just do what feels good." And the kiss does feel good...
The priestess opens her mouth to say something when the kiss ends, but she clamps it shut as Thanara immediately turns and kisses Snow. What is happening? she wonders, but her thoughts are muddled...
Not even Shayliss could accuse Snow of playing with other people's feelings - she doesn't have the skill required for such things, but she does have strong instincts and when Thanara kisses Lisa and then immediately turns to her those same instincts scream at Snow that something isn't right here.
Everything that Thanara has confided in her this evening, combined with enough knowledge of human behavior to know that wine does not lead to good decision making crystalises in Snow's mind, a fraction of a second too late to avoid Thanara's lips.
She pulls away almost at once but can't resist a tiny taste, a swift brush of her tongue over the sorceress's soft lips. But being Alpha is more than mating with the pack, it means protecting them too.
Snow redirects Thanara gently, turning her head back towards Lisa, and then shimmies out of the blanket pile to stand by the open window. A deep breath of night air clears the fog of pheromones somewhat and she waits there, not wanting to interfere with what Thanara clearly wants, but unwilling to be a part of it either. Not when she expects Thanara to regret it in the morning.
When Snow pulls away, Thanara gasps at herself. ”Oh…oh gods…”
She jumps up, staggering a bit from the alcohol, but her sheer will to get away keeping her upright. ”I’m sorry…so sorry…I shouldn’t have,” she stammers as she bolts out the door and down the stairs, not pausing to bid a proper farewell to their host.
She was out the front door and turning down a side street as fast as she could. She just wanted to be gone. Away from here. She was totally humiliated.
She just wished she could fly away.
…and she did.
Without even realizing it, almost as if she were in a dream she could control, she was floating up and above the streets. Then the rooftops. Then the town. Until she was slowly landing on the balcony outside her room. She collapsed onto her four post bed and cried herself to sleep.
Snow follows as fast as she can, which is much faster than Thanara the moment she gets outside and switches to four legs. However no wolf, no matter how fast, can fly although thankfully Thanara has yet to master subtlety alongside flight.
Following her is relatively easy and once Snow has seen where Thanara lands she paces up and down in front of the Scarnetti Manor. Despite her pacing there is no real question in Snow's mind. Thanara needs her right now. So she breaks into the Manor.
It's surprisingly easy, easy enough that Snow is grateful that Aldern never tried to take anything that really mattered from Thanara. Even so by the time she slips into the room Thanara is already asleep, curled up under the sheet in a ball of misery.
Snow pauses for a few seconds and then shifts. A few moments later the mattress bends slightly under the weight of a ghostly white puppy that pads over the sheets, turns a few times and snuggles into the convenient spot next to Thanara's clenched fist. Despite its best intentions the warmth, and exhaustion after a long day soon catches up with the puppy and it yawns and settles into sleep.
”Wait,” Lisa calls when first Thanara and then Snow race out of the room. The priestess gets tangled up in the sheets and pillows, and by the time she gets out of the house, there is no sign of either of her companions. Her head and heart are pounding, and the world seems to be swaying. Too much wine, too quickly. She can still taste Thanara on her lips.
Lisa’s not quite sure why she goes back to Orik’s house instead of the cathedral. But he happily lets her in and closes the door behind them...
Thanara wakes up slowly, raising up to the side of the bed and holding her face in her hands. Her clothing had shifted to its base form, a translucent, diaphanous robe that hangs loosely on her body.
She gradually becomes aware of the fact she is not alone, and turns to see Snow
In her puppy form in her bed. She jumps with a start and says ”What are you doing here!?!?”
The puppy raises its head slowly and yawns, showing a mouthful of tiny teeth. Apparently uninterested in conversation it trundles a few inches over to snuggle up against Thanara again and then tucks its head in, clearly intent on going back to sleep.
Thanara is now getting angry! She grabs a pillow and throws it at Snow! Tears start flowing as she seethes ”You think I want anyone sneaking in here? After what he did! How many times you think he was in here? Stealing my things? Doing gods know what?”
She grabs another pillow and heaves it as well. ”And then…and then…” she stammers before slumping down to the floor, turning her back to the bed, before burying her face in her hands again. ”Just…just leave me alone…” she mutters.
The pillow gets the puppy's attention and she leaps up, looking rather affronted. Then Thanara starts crying and the puppy jumps down to the floor and nuzzles her slightly before taking a few steps away and crouching.
Nothing happens.
The puppy twitches, a gesture that conveys confusion and crouches again.
Nothing happens.
The puppy turns to Thanara and starts yipping, it sounds down-right alarmed, maybe even scared...
When Thanara still doesn't respond the puppy eventually stops yowling and crawls into Thanara's lap instead, where it adds pitiful sounds puppy noises to the sorceress's tears.
Eventually, the ruckus elicits a response.
Thanara’s door swings open suddenly and an angry Titus Scarnetti looms in the doorway! He glares at the scene a moment as Thanara recoils defensively. ”What…the f+*!…is there a dog doing in here!?!? What did I tell you about pets!?!?” he roars.
Thanara hurriedly tries to reply ”N-no, Father. It’s n-not like that!”
He points a finger at the pup and says ”Get that THING out of my house, right now! And get some clothes on! There’s some family business we need to talk about. It’s about time you pulled your weight around here, Little Miss Hero!” he says the last bit with a mocking tone.
The puppy hops out of Thanara's arms and plants itself firmly in between the two Scarnetti, growling ferociously! Clearly Snow's protective instincts have not diminished with her size.
Titus kicks a heavy booted foot at Snow, narrowly missing, but close enough that Snow can appreciate just how strong the man is.
Before Snow can retaliate, Thanara wraps her up in her arms. ”Don’t! Please!”
He points at the window. he shouts before turning and heading out, slamming the door behind him.
Thanara sets Snow down. ”Just go…please…” she pleads as she shakily steps over to her make up table and begins fixing herself up.
Confronted with a closed door and a balcony at least fifteen feet above the ground Snow lets out a soft whine. She can't go anywhere! So instead she trots over to sit by the door, quietly.
Thanara scoops Snow up and says ”Okay…this worked last night…”
She closes her eyes and mutters some words, and then she slowly starts floating! For the first time this morning, a weak smile appears on Thanara’s lips before she floats out the window and to the yard below. She gently sits Snow down and says ”Now go. Please,” before she turns and floats back up to her room, vanishing over the rail and closing the balcony door behind her.
Snow is rather frustrated at being denied the chance to urinate on Titus's shoes or commit some other act of puppy mischief. Still, no point crying over it so she heads off through town, looking for Lisa - since Thanara doesn't want her.
The fact that she's currently stuck is something of a worry but the sunshine and the interesting smells are more than enough to distract Snow's puppy mind and when she manages to get half a cinnamon bun, an apple and some sausage just by wagging her tail and barking, Snow decides that there are worse things that could happen!
When she finally arrives at the museum its closer to noon than dawn and the cathedral is, thankfully, open which makes slipping in to find her favourite Sarenrite nice and easy. Thus Lisa finishes a conversation with Father Zanthus to find a white puppy sitting next to her and looking at her cutely.
Lisa feels slightly sick when she wakes up beside Orik that morning. Fortunately, her healer's kit is stocked with herbal hangover remedies to help clear her head and settle her stomach. She slips out while Orik is still snoring and heads to the cathedral--she really does have duties to tend to!
When she sees the white puppy, she smiles and kneels to scratch behind her ears. "Hello! You're Snow, aren't you? You look cute like this!"
The puppy yips and whines. "Hmm? What's wrong? Can you change back and tell me?"
The puppy whines and spins around a few times. "Oh! Are you having trouble changing?"
The puppy sits and pants. "Okay, let me try to see if my prayers will help."
Lisa clasps her holy symbol to call on Sarenrae and help her friend!
That evening, shortly before dinner, a stoic Thanara makes her way to Vernah’s. Once inside, she maintains her composure until she is certain that she and Rynshinn are alone. But once alone, her mask cracks and she has an emotional breakdown, clinging to the seamstress.
”What’s wrong with me, Ryn? I…I ruin everything…” she sobs.