Trying an experiment. The Paizo board only seems to support a single gameplay thread at a time (although as chapters advance, I should be able to spawn new threads and move off older ones). But I thought I'd see if I could stick a second thread for supplementary role play in the game's header.
As the team prepares for bed, Piper sits at the table, turning over his old flute in his hands. He seems to be a bit down.
Alara is busy rummaging around in her satchel, looking for something. She looks up and sees Piper seated at the table. She walks over and seats herself across from him.
"Something wrong?" She asks as she continues to dig around.
She pulls out a small comb from her grooming kit, along with a handheld mirror. She begins combing her hair.
"Still kinda... well... worried about Walthus, I guess." She says with a small measure of uncertainty.
"If you'd like..."
She takes your hand and presses the comb into it.
Her hair is quite soft & smooth. It's obvious she takes very good care of it.
As you finish, she gives you a quick peck on the cheek as thanks.
She puts the comb back in her kit, starts digging around inside again. This time, she pulls out what appears to be a chewing stick & some tooth powder.
Before the shifts start, Piper sets up the borrowed bedroll in the guest room. After his shift, he heads back to the guest room, waking up whoever's next. He then places his equipment against the nearby wall. He then removes his armor and lays in the bedroll for a peaceful night's sleep.
Alara lays her bedroll out on the floor and sits at the edge of the bed. She makes good use of her tooth powder & chewing stick before packing her things away, curling up beneath the covers on the bed, and going to sleep.
Before he goes to bed, he looks over to Alara. He walks over and kneels to the side of the bed. He gently strokes her hair for a few minutes. Smiling, he kisses her forehead before putting his lips to her ear. He mouths out, 'Goodnight, beloved.' before removing his lips and going to bed.
As you move to the bedroll, you see Alara's lips quirk into a content smile.
Seeing your smile, he just smiles back and goes to bed... but not before removing the shirt part of his uniform.
One of Alara's eyes opens slightly, catching sight of you.
She runs her tongue along her lips.
Her eye closes again. It appears she'll be having pleasant dreams tonight.
Piper smiles at Alara. Through most of the night, Piper teaches Alara the various hand signs, helping her hands memorize the signs that she has the most difficulty with.
Alara picks up the basics quickly, but has trouble with the more complicated hand signals.
The first time Piper's hand touches hers, she blushes. She looks up, into his eyes, smiling shyly.
He mentioned he inherited his mother's looks...
Seeing the look she's giving him, Piper asks using Sign Language: 'What are you thinking about?'
"Um... when we were playing with the geisha's fan, you mentioned that you had your mother's looks." She says, trying to sign her hands along with her words.
She thinks she got the general idea of her words across.
"I was thinking about how pretty your mother must have looked for you to inherit all of it." She turns pink.
That, and how you'd make a better geisha than me... quite silly, when you think about it.
He signs: 'Indeed, most of my looks come from my mother.'
He becomes saddened. He continues: 'These looks are the only idea of what she looks like. I don't know what she looks like. Nor are there any pictures of her at home.'
He stops, looking down, saddened. One of his hands go to his holy symbol of Shelyn, stroking the edge.
Alara notices your saddened look. She shifts over next to you, her hand stroking your holy symbol of Shelyn, covering your hand with her own. Her blush fades.
"Piper... I-I'm sorry if this is painful to talk about. If you don't want to talk about it..." She trails off, a very concerned look in her eye.
She does her best to sign along with her words, but her hands are visibly shaking. She rests her hands in yours after she finishes.
She leans in, her lips softly pressing at the corners of your eyes, kissing away your tears as they begin to form. As she pulls away, she finishes with a chaste kiss on your lips.
"…she must have been beautiful." She whispers.
At this point her hands are shaking so badly that she can barely sign properly. She bites her lip, her heart beating faster.
"I would love to learn from you."
This time, her signing is clear and true. She is ready to begin.
As your arms wrap around her neck and as you kiss her, she sinks down to the floor with you, pulling you into her lap so you can kiss her on even footing.
"Oh, I'll make sure to learn this very well." She says after the two of you part.
She's excited, she's flushed, and she's starting to giggle. Her signs are clear and articulate.
Apparently, she's a better learner when provided with the right sort of reward.
"Of course, sensei." She replies.
She stumbles over the last word with her signing, but focuses on you (and your lessons) with renewed fervor.
After Piper and Alara finish their lesson, Piper gains a thoughtful look. He signs: 'Alara, could I ask for your help with something?'
[ooc]Sorry, Alara. You might need to create another journal entry for this.
"What do you need help with?" She asks, signing as well.
It's reckless, dangerous... and potentially really amusing.
"Okay. Just so long as it doesn't involve me being turned into a chicken or something like that." She says, crossing her legs.
Piper nods at Alara, signing: 'Know that I would never do anything to hurt you, Alara. If something bad does happen, I take full responsibility.' Piper then closes his eyes and begins to play on his flute. The melody is slow, peaceful, and... sensual? Alara's mind begins to cloud. Her body tempature rises. Her thoughts begin to become more... lewd with each note. Piper's eyes remain closed. However, he makes one mistake. He plays an extra higher pitch note near the end. Piper faintly glows a pinkish color. He finishes the spell, looking at the elven ninja for any signs of the spell's effect.
Not seeing any signs, Piper turns his back on his girlfriend, looking at his flue with an inquisitive gaze. 'Did I play the wrong notes?'
The last note makes Alara cringe briefly. Emphasis on briefly. She's done a... passable job hiding her desire until now.
Wow, this is a nice song... ooohhh... oh, yes... you do know how to treat a lady.
As you turn your back to examine your flute, Alara's arms suddenly snake around your waist and she presses herself into your back, her tongue upon your ear, licking and nibbling on it. A small, lustful moan escapes her.
More... more... I need more...
Her hands start working at your belt buckle...
It was his 3rd year. Second semester. One of his team members came up with a small scroll. "Piper, check this out!" Piper turns to his gnome companion. Piper writes: 'What is it?' The gnome unrolls the scroll with a smile on his face. "Salvi gave me this scroll for a spell called Unnatural Lust. Apparently, it forces someone to crave being close to another subject or object within range! You have to learn it!" Piper just looks at the scroll and shakes his head. The gnome exclaims, "Oh, come on! Think of the possibilities! You have to learn it! It's a low-level that's actually taught in the college, believe it or not!" Piper thinks on that. After a while, he nods and the two pour over the scroll...
After the flashback, Piper looks at you. 'What have I done?'
She tenses. Wait--wha? What happened?
"Um..." Alara's face is turning a bright shade of red. She abruptly withdraws from you, slinking back to her old spot.
Her face is expressionless. On one hand, you're genuinely sorry for what you just did, and that's enough to put her at ease... mostly.
On the other hand...
Alara crawls over next to you and sits down. "I'm reminded of a story Dad once told me."
"In ancient times, before elves and Man knew of each other, there existed an elven archmage: a man who could bend the laws of the universe to his every whim. He could crush armies with a wave of his hand, he could create new worlds with a thought, but he had one great flaw: his heart was too wounded to truly know love."
"He believed that he could create such a pure feeling with the power of magic, and set out to prove it. His eye was caught by a young priestess of the Old Gods, one whose beauty was matched only by her great wisdom. He used his best enchantments to ensnare her, and took her as his wife."
"But even the most powerful of spells can only create a shadow of what love truly is. And that is what he created: not a lover, but an obedient servant. He charmed her. He dominated her. But in the end, not a single enchantment of his could make her declare she loved him. It was then that he truly learned just how powerful... and powerless... he really was."
"One day, the priestess broke free of his magic. Horrified by what he had done to her, and what she had allowed him to do, she threw herself from his tower window in despair. When the archmage learned of this, he finally understood how futile his efforts were and how his own hubris blinded him to what really mattered. In the end, he took his own life."
"The Gods looked upon his actions with hatred, contempt, and pity. They saw how easily one's heart may be led astray by magic of their own creation, and decreed that none of their race would ever again be so vulnerable. From that day forward, the elves were blessed with minds and hearts that were hardened against the school of enchantment, so a tragedy of such proportions could not be repeated."
"Piper... do you know what the moral of that story is?" Alara asks, putting an arm around you, finished.
She leans in and whispers in your ear. "Piper, I'm not mad at you. You asked for consent first, and I granted it freely. The fact that we're having this conversation shows that you're already smarter than the archmage... and a better man than him."
She hugs you. Her breath feels warm against your ear.
Your next words leave her speechless.
I love you.
A frightening phrase, for some. A promise of something beautiful, something to be treasured, for others.
"I love you too."
For Alara, those words were the latter. Cheesy as they may have been, it's all she can say that would fit.
She leans into you. "Besides..." She says with a little giggle.
Her hands run along your sides...
...along your legs...
"...you don't need magic to inspire lust in me. You don't need magic to inspire lust in anyone." Her voice is low and throaty.
Piper smiles at your confession. He signs: 'I know it may be too soon. But I'm sure of it.' He runs his hand through your hair and his finger on the hairpin in your hair.
At your hands, his breath hitches a bit. He then gains his cat like smirk. He latches onto your lips, nipping at your lower lip and pulling. He then releases and signs: 'Well, someone is being a cheeky vixen.'
At your compliment, however, his eyes widen in shock. His face becomes red. He signs out with shaking hands: 'Really? I do that? I didn't think I had that kind of effect.' 'I didn't notice that when I was on The Harrowing Harpies, the all-female team back in second year. Then again, they were giving those looks...' He stares down for a bit, lost in his thoughts.
As you catch her lip and pull on it, Alara lets out a little yelp of surprise.
At your blush, she gets a smile on her face that mirrors yours just moments before. She nods. "Mmm-hmm."
"You know, there aren't enough men who just put their best foot forward instead of trying silly pick-up lines to meet women." She says, lying down and folding her arms behind her head.
Piper lays down next to you, somewhat snuggled into your side. He signs: 'Thank you. If you met me before I left for the White Grotto, it probably be a different story. As in I would probably be to nervous to speak to you.'
As you snuggle into her side, she leans in to whisper into your ear again.
"What would you like me to do, Piper-kun?"
She's blushing.
At your question, Piper only snuggles closer, kisses you, and signs: 'Surprise me.' He smirks and blushes even more. He places his hands on your waist, looking in your eyes.
At this point in time, if she didn't have someone to hold her down, she'd likely float away. Her limbs feel lighter than before, more graceful. She feels... centered. Aware.
Her blush intensifies. She's starting to pant a bit as you part from her, and she unlaces the top of her armor for some air.
"I suppose I can ask you... what changed at the White Grotto? Part of me thinks that your classmates would be envious of you right now.." She asks, offering you a nervous smile.
He begins signing. 'Trust me, love. I was very unconfident at the start of my college career. It lasted until the first semester of my second year. As I said before, all students are arranged onto teams. But there are rare instances where some people would be left out of a team and appeal to existing teams to let them on. That's what happened to me. However, I was approached to be on a team by a female human bard. I agreed. However, when I met the team, it turned out that the entire team was made of women. I learned a lot of things that semester. Things like building my confidence and self-esteem, how to talk to a woman, and, believe it or not, dancing. And don't worry. There wasn't anything with them beyond friendship. Though, with your early comments, I just realized that they were giving me looks...' He ends it off there, too embarrassed to continue.
He then moves to a different topic. He signs: 'You would be right, though. My friends and classmates would be envious at the fact that I'm dating such a great woman. Trust me, being the only mute bard in the White Grotto wasn't easy.' He waits for your response, stroking your hair.
She listens/watches you as you tell her about your time at the White Grotto, a small snort of laughter escaping her when you tell her of the time you were on an all-girl team. "Well, no wonder you make a better geisha than me."
Something occurs to her: "Piper-kun, who did you learn unnatural lust from?" She asks with an arched eyebrow.