Lisa nods, her heart pounding. Luckily, it seems like nobody else is around. "Okay."
After a moment, she lets out a sigh. "What do I do about Orik?"
Thanara balls and looks at her feet. ”I…I dunno. Whatever you want. I…I have someone else in my life, too…”
An unsettling thought hits Thanara, causing her stomach to conjure a swarm of butterflies.
I…I just caused Mistress to lose Rynshinn…
Then her eyes look back to Lisavet’s.
Should I…would I want that for her?
Lisa's mouth is a firm line. "I want to be with you. If you want to be with me, too...then I will end things with Orik."
”You…you don’t have to!” Thanara stammers quickly. ”If you can keep an open mind…so can I! I won’t be jealous! I…I…could maybe introduce you…” she adds.
"Oh. Um...okay," Lisa says. She's clearly confused, but doesn't want to scare Thanara away.
Thanara’s eyes flit between Lisavet’s. ”Okay to which? Not leaving Orik, or do…do you want me to introduce you…”
Lisa takes Thanara's hands. "I won't leave Orik, but I don't know if I will be able to keep him from learning about us. Sarenrae asks her clerics to be honest in all things. And, if you want to introduce me to your...your 'other' person, then you may. If you think it prudent. I want you to be happy."
”O…okay. But…I can’t let my father learn of any of this, okay? He…he’d snap…” Thanara pleads.
"Of course. He is not a nice person, Thanara," Lisa says.
”I…I know…”
She looks around before adding ”We…we better go. Before we get caught,” with another delicate kiss before she heads on down the alley in a hurry.
With the taste of Thanara still on her lips, Lisa walks off with a bit of extra spring in her step...
Ryn crawled forward on her knees, gently sliding her hands up the boots to the fasteners for snow’s trousers. She undid them expertly, having made them herself, and pulled them down to around the shifter’s knees before setting to work on proving her worth to Snow. All the while, she maintained eye contact, her eyes searching, pleading for approval.
When she brings Snow to the release she wanted, Ryn leaned back onto her heels, dutifully waiting to see if her new Mistress approved.
Snow's low growls of approval make it clear that Ryn's performance is most satisfactory and the shifter takes a few long breaths, allowing her eyes to feast on the sight before her.
With her breath restored Snow pulls Ryn up, bends her unceremoniously over the table and sets to work.
"What you want?" Snow asks, holding Ryn in her lap as the two form a sweaty pile of limbs on the rug. "With this. Us. Know about Savah. What she is. Don't have to say. But us. Want it clear. No... untruth."
Ryn tears up. ”I’m…I’m through with Savah!” she says with venom heavy in her voice. ”What she does…what she made me do…” she adds with a trembling voice.
She gently brings a hand to Snow’s cheek and says ”Just…treat me right, and I’ll do the same. Okay?”
"Ok." Snow says, running a finger down Ryn's spine. "Being honest. This is... natural. To me. Natural for wolf. Am Alpha. But not... experienced. With people. Some men. One woman. Want to treat you right. But might need help. Might not... know what is right."
Her amber eyes are open and honest as she stares at Ryn.
"You are mine. Will be your Alpha. Your mistress. Want to be. Want you. Want to be right too. So tell me. Talk to me. Have... things to learn." She pauses and then leans in to rest her chin in the curve of Ryn's next. "So talk. To me. Tell me. About you. What you like. What you want." Her voice drops into a husky growl as she nips Ryn's neck. "What you need."
She nuzzles her face into Snow’s shoulder and neck. ”Just…don’t make me do things I don’t want. I…I’m fine if you see other people. Just…don’t force me to do the same. Or to…be rough,” she says. But then she sits up quickly and adds ”I mean, YOU can be a little rough, but I don’t like to be.”
"Good." Snow says, continuing her pattern of nips along Ryn's collarbone. "Helps. Thanks." The taste of Ryn's skin is far too tempting and the conversation collapses in favor of other, more pleasurable activities for some time.
"So," Snow says again, once they've tired themselves out for a second time and Ryn is relishing the warmth of her body temperature. "What to say? Open? Hiding? Put collar on you?" The last one is a joke, but the image isn't entirely unpleasant. "Who knows you are mine? Everyone? Just us?"
Ryn thinks a few moments as she catches her breath. Then she smirks and says ”I don’t care who knows. Just, no collar. At least in public. Clashes with my style!”
Snow nods with a smirk of her own. "Understand. No spoiling good style! Busy tomorrow? Spend time together? Have..." She pauses, seemingly trying to remember a specific word. "Date? Dress up? Or stay here? No dress."
She grins. "Would like date. Never had one."
Ryn blushes. ”A date would be nice.”
"Ok." Snow says, making decisions. "When close? Meet you here. Dress nice. Go to Dragon. Dinner. Maybe walk, or dance."
She grins and whispers in Ryn's ear. "Will wear boots. Then smell arousal, all night. Yours."
Ryn simply groans an acceptance before burying Snow’s lips with her own.
The next night Snow picks Ryn up from her shop. True to her promise she is wearing her 'good' clothes, the low-slung trousers with silver embroidery up the seams that Ryn enjoyed seeing when she modelled them in the shop and the gorgeous leather boots she was gifted the day before. Combined with a finely embroidered jacket, and with her hair brushed and washed Snow is clearly making an effort for her first date.
Chivalrously offering her arm to the beautiful seamstress the two set off but soon end up in the much more comfortable natural arrangement of simply holding hands, much to the interest of most of the people they pass - seeing the notoriously un-romantic Rynshinn Povalli with Sandpoint's newest object of interest set tongue wagging before they are even out of sight.
Snow has arranged their table in advance but even so the gossip practically reaches the Rusty Dragon first, so the pair arrives to something near silence until Ameiko bustles out of the kitchen and demands to know who died this evening "And is it because of my cooking?" That provokes a roar of negation, laughter and sympathy and Bethana shows Snow and Ryn to their table without further incident.
Snow draws Ryn's chair for her and then tucks her in, before shrugging out of her jacket and tucking it over the back of her chair. She s wearing the corset that her girlfriend made for her, leaving her shoulders and muscular arms bare and Ryn's eyes trail up and down those same arms repeatedly as Snow watches her watching and grins a rather delighted smile.
"You did this just to tease me, didn't you?" Ryn hisses once the pair have ordered a drink and been left in privacy.
"Yes." Snow replies simply. "Want you wanting me. Is it working?" She adds with a wicked smile.
Ryn groans in response and at Snow's raised eyebrow murmurs. "Yes Alpha. It is."
Bethana's return with two plates of fragrant stew interrupt the flirting and conversation turns to lighter matters, as the new couple settle into their food.
Lisa had stayed with Orik the night before, but her thoughts had been of Thanara. So the next day, the priestess entreated the sorceress's maid to deliver a letter to Thanara inviting her to meet with Lisa at the Rusty Dragon that evening to discuss "matters of faith."
Lisa sits at a corner table, nervously smoothing her robes, as she waits for Thanara to arrive. When the other woman finally does, she flashes a big smile but tries to remain calm, waiting for Thanara to quietly join her at the table. "Hi. I missed you," she says quietly, reaching under the table to take Thanara's hand.
But she quickly yanks it back when Snow and Rynshinn walk in. She tries not to stare as the pair sit down and begin to, quite obviously, flirt with each other. "By the Dawnflower! Since when are the two of them together?" she asks, mystified.
Thanara’s heart had been racing from the moment she got the message. She got herself ready, electing to wear her favorite purple and gold dress, before heading out. Her father had stopped her first, demanding to know where she was going. But when he learned his daughter was meeting with the priestess she had been working with, he relaxed and allowed it, commenting that ”It’s good for you to be seen with them so long as the three of you stay in good favor with the town.”
Thanara slides into the U-shaped booth and when Lisavet takes her hand, she gently squeezes it in return and whispers ”Same,” before starting to pull her hand away, but pauses when her attention is brought to the door.
Her jaw drops as she takes the sight in. Rynshinn dressed to kill, hand in hand with Snow, flaunting her figure as never before! Thanara blushes heavily as she envisions them together, and her thighs shift against each other beneath the table. ”I…I don’t know…” she stammers in reply to Lisa.
"What do we do? Go say hi? Try to sneak out the back?"
”I…have no idea…”
The 'sneak out the back' plan goes out the window when Snow looks up and catches sight of her friends sitting on the other side of the common room. She raises a hand in greeting, which causes Ryn to turn around and wave too.
Then a few minutes later Ryn excuses herself and Snow, setting aside her empty plate wanders over.
"Hey." She says. "Good to see you. Nice evening?" Her nose twitches in a gesture that Thanara and Lisa are both familiar with now, but the shifter gives nothing away.
"Snow! Hey! Yes, we were just about to have some dinner. As friends," Lisa says awkwardly. "So, you and Ryn? Are you together? Like, together together?"
Thanara does her best not to openly gawk, but fortunately everyone in the Rusty Dragon has at one point or another tonight. ”Snow…you look amazing,” she says complimentarily.
"Yep." Snow says with a wide grin. "Ryn is mine. With me. Together. On a date!" She seems unreasonably happy about this. "Never had date before."
The shifter narrows her eyes slightly at Lisa before turning to Thanara. "Thanks. Ryn made this." She points to the corset. "Said look good. Trust her on clothes! Maybe ask for more?" She adds, watching Thanara carefully to see if that final statement elicits any more of a reaction.
A gentle hand falls on her shoulder as Rynshinn steps up behind her. "Good evening Thanara, Priestess Ambra. It's nice to see you both." She says politely. "Are you having a nice evening?"
"Sarenrae's blessings to you, Rynshinn," Lisa says. "Yes, it has been pleasant so far. But Thanara has only just arrived. We were going to have dinner and discuss matters of faith."
”Definitely,” is all Thanara can muster as she bites the inside of her lower lip.
When Ryn returns, Thanara looks her up and down before making eye contact. ”Hey, Ryn. How are you?” she asks, hoping the seamstress understands the implied double meaning of the question.
"Happy." Ryn says, oddly serious for such a cheerful word. "I've never been on a date like this. It's... different for me, but a good different. I feel... safe, with Snow." Her gaze rests heavily on Thanara, saying clearly that she understood the double meaning.
"Anyway, we should get back to our table." She adds, running a hand down Snow's arm. "I hope you two have good evening."
Snow looks between her friends, "Will talk. Tomorrow." She says firmly before leading Ryn back to their table on the other side of the room.
Lisa watches the pair go, slumping back in her chair once they have left. "Phew! Do you think she noticed anything weird with us?" she asks Thanara.
Thanara leans back into the booth as well. ”Ryn…I dunno. Snow…probably. She always seems to know.”
The Dragon finds peace for a little while until the door opens once more and another familiar figure enters the tavern. Savah looks around, her eyes alighting first on Thanara, which brings a pleased smile to her face and then to Rynshinn, whose back is to the door, laughing at something Snow just said.
Savah's face turns thunderous and Thanara can see the anger in her eyes as the blacksmith approaches their table. Her smile is tight as she approaches.
"Thanara, Priestess Ambra. How nice to see you both! You look very cozy." She says, eye flicking between the two. "I was going to ask if I could join you but I don't want to interrupt..."
Thanara pales as the situation unfolds. Not daring to make a scene (she hoped) she simply said ”No! By all means, sit…please,” the last word with just a hint of a change in tone.
"Very well." Savah says, moving into Thanara's end of the bench despite there being very little room, she simply sits right up against the sorceress instead.
"So, it seems very crowded in here tonight." The smith says, keeping the tight smile plastered onto her face. "Lots of new people, new couples." She looks over towards Rynshinn and Snow, who are deep in their main course but Thanara feels a hand grip her thigh firmly.
"When did that happen do you think?" Savah asks, waving Bethana over and ordering a large mug of Ameiko's brandy.
Thanara squirms between Lisavet and Savah. ”I don’t know. Seems to be a reE-cent change!”
”Yes, it seems that many people have been finding partners recently,” Lisa says, oblivious to what’s going on beside her. She rests her hand on Thanara’s other thigh...
Thanara gulps as a second hand comes to rest on her right thigh! Fortunately, Lisavet wasn’t as bold and…comfortable in the art of stimulating Thanara to have placed it too high up. As it was, their fingers couldn’t have been but a few inches apart. Resulting in Thanara finding herself in a mental battlefield.
”Do…do I push my legs apart to separate their hands further? Or would they both get the wrong idea and make a move? Savah is likely to anyway…oh my gods this is so…wrong! Is the tablecloth long enough to where no one can see? Do I tell them both, here? Now?”
Ultimately, she casually brings a hand down off the table and rests it on Lisavet’s hand, while with her left leg she dares to push back into Savah, trying to buy as much precious distance as she dared between the two.
”So…Miss Savah. I know it is a sensitive (like my thighs…oh stop please stop) subject, but have you considered looking for a n-new one?” Thanara said as calmly as she could as Savah’s fingers continued to inch further and further up her thigh, the sorceress unable to prevent a stammer or two. She had turned her head to look at her, and moved her eyes Lisavet’s direction, gauging her Mistresses interest…
"I'm still confident that my lost pet will find her way back." Savah says absently, although her gaze is more-or-less fixed on the other side of the bar. When Snow reaches across the table to take Ryn's hand Savah's grip on Thanara's thigh tightens convulsively, digging in hard enough to be painful.
Then she shakes her head and turns away, swigging down a large mouthful of the brandy that has just arrived at the table. She loosens her grip and begins to rub gentle circles instead, an apology of sorts.
When Thanara repeats the eye gesture a thoughtful expression comes across the blacksmith's face. "So, Priestess Ambra, I hear you've been walking out with the new warrior in town. Eric, or something like that? He seems like a fine figure of a man." She grins, "So, just between us girls, how is he? Does the 'package' match the paper? Is he one of those thrust and grunts, or can he actually make a woman feel something?" She swallows the rest of the brandy and waves for another. Thanara has never seen Savah like this, drinking so fast and clearly not worried about it.
-------------------------------------------
On the other side of the tavern Snow, who caught sight of Savah the moment she walked in, glances sidelong at the table she left a few minutes before. While Savah and the tablecloth block her view the shifter is certain, given the number of hands in evidence, and the slightly pained expression on Thanara's face, that something is going on. It takes all of her self control not to growl aloud at the smith's presumption.
Thanara's choice. Even if stupid. Her choice. She repeats over and over in her head, trying to focus again on the story her date is telling her. Don't ruin good evening with this.
"Orik," Lisa corrects when Savah mispronounces his name. But she blushes deeply at the women's follow up question. "Oh! Um, uh, I'm not certain that's the type of conversation to be having in polite company! Suffice it to say that he is...competent..."
Thanara inhales sharply at the painful squeeze! She quickly brings her left hand to her mouth while her right grips Lisavet’s tighter beneath the table. ”Ow! Bit my lip…”
When Savah starts making lewd comments, Thanara adds ”I agree, Ms. Savah. Really shouldn’t be doing this in public…” as she squirms a bit between the two women, thankful her growing blush can be blamed on the tone of the conversation.
"What's the matter? We're all girls here?" Savah says, "It's not as though Sarenrae requires you to be celibate does she? You aren't Pharasmins after-all. I've never understood that." She adds, seemingly at random as she drinks again. "They say they're all about life but they deny themselves some of its greatest pleasures. How is that living? What do you think Thanara? Is life in a cage really life at all? Or do you need pleasure to feel alive, no matter what form that may come in?"
It turns out Savah is capable of philosophy, with enough brandy at least!
Thanara was honestly surprised by the sudden philosophical debate going down around her. But she had no idea what to add to it. Her mind was busy trying to continuously track and gauge where the two hands were on her legs and what best position she could shift to to keep them from contacting one another.
”I…I don’t really know. I’ve never really thought about it,” she comments to try to take attention off of her.
"Priestess Ambra?" Savah asks, her fingers beginning to tap a staccato rhythm on Thanara's thigh. "What do you think?"
Lisa shakes her head. ”I may have been raised in a cloister, but I am not a monk. A large part of life is pursuing happiness, and I am not the type to deny myself such happiness when I find it.”
Savah finishes her second brandy in large gulps and waves for a third. "Quite right too!" She says firmly. "We should pursue what we want, no matter what other people say about it."
She stares across the room for a moment and then asks another question.
"So, what makes you happy?" She doesn't address the question to either woman, but looks expectantly at them both with her hands clasped together in the front of her.