Thalas Manse - Chyril 26th Late Morningtide

[Ashari]

Ashari was surprised to see Aerin slip down to her knees, but impressed by her words. It seemed like a sanctified enough statement, but her offering of mind-probing was fairly simple to deduce. Not wanting to disappoint, she gingerly placed a dirty hand on Aerin's clean forhead, pressing it against her warm skin as her eyes fluttered shut.

Fingers twitched over the surface of the fair girl's skin, though Ashari's mental probings went no further than the interior of her own mind as she considered how she was going to begin her teachings. Grounding first. Shielding would be the most obvious next choice. It will get her comfortable with the energy of herself, as well as how to protect herself. Then we can begin work on her inner core... It brought back memories of her own schooling and how Thira had taught her. It hadn't been proper. She hadn't prepared her first by explaining what she would be capable of, she didn't realize how harmful she might be to herself accidentally.

She wouldn't allow Aerin to fall prey to the same follies. No, as a good teacher she would ensure she didn't. "I believe you," she finally said, but didn't withdraw her hand, instead turning it around so that the backs of her fingers might slide across her skin and down her cheek, the tips mingling with her freshing washed hair which was still quite wet. "Now you're all dirty again," she said with a laugh, looking at the ashen streak dancing down the side of her face. "But I'm going to be a cheater, and sneak off to bathe before you've a chance to wash up again." She winked and rose from the seat, motioning for Aerin to make herself comfortable on the sofa again in her absense. "I'll be brief," she said, and then walked out of the room with the purposefullness of someone with the task.

She didn't lie, for it wasn't a quarter mark later until she was back and wearing naught but a comfortable chemise clinging to her freshly cleaned body. Ashari felt better with the bath behind her - refreshed and renewed and ready for the next tasks. "Aerin," she began, walking into the office with a beaming smile that lit up her face. "Energy comes from everything are you aware of this?" Her feet were bare, and her long black locks draped around her shoulders in clumps of towel-dried sheen.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin sat still during the pseudo-mindreading, oblivious to the fact that nothing was happening at all. Her experiences with magick had all been focused on vials, bottles, and philters, her only glimpse into the remote capabilities of magic coming from her viewing of Pralix bombarding the stone with sunlight to change its properties and, even then, it had not been watching a person do it.

When she had watched Morgan use magick to dig, it had been the same thing, her eyes seeing only the effect and not the cause, not watching the Aetheric energies form nets of power which lifted the rocks away, but rather just watching them float. Same thing with Becca’s light and illusions…poof…there they were. So to must it be with Ashari’s magick, in her mind, the redhead imagining Ashari’s hand reaching into her thoughts and feeling around before voicing confirmation. Aerin was happy when those words graced her ears.

Oddly, she was happier still when Ashari dirtied her face once more, that simple act making her more relaxed around the other woman, remembering how stand-off-ish Ashari had been as far as hugging and such at the dig site. Her razor-sharp wit brought a smile to her face as she watched Ashari rise. “So Companion training begins with making clean girls dirty, I take it? Noted.” She watched Ashari ascend the staircase before plopping back down onto the couch to finish her meal, Cicero garnering a new nut on occasion if he wished it, the redhead rummaging about n her bag for her mirror and a bit of cloth to wipe the smudge away as best as possible.

“I like her…” she whispered to Cicero. “It’s like having a younger older sister…” Aerin peered deeper into her bag and pulled out a pre-rolled smoke, not wanting to deal with the pilfered tobacco yet as it was all still in leaf form and would take too long to process. She was just returning to her seat after the smoke when Ashari reappeared and queried her once more.

Aerin looked up to answer and found herself momentarily at a loss for words – she had dressed as if she were coming down into a bevy of Ashari’s friends, but Ashari…

“Wow…” she whispered, giving Ashari a good looking-over as Ashari walked into the office. “I…” Memories of the tiny people mating within Praxis’ lens filled her memories, making it even harder…

…difficult… Aerin thought to herself as she caught her eyes drawn to two certain spots on Ashari’s torso as the chemise clung perfectly to her mistress’s form…

…to look away from Ashari, body, but she finally did it, scoring a lock on Ashari’s eyes. “Yes…” she started, giving a small swallow, her cheeks a little flushed. “Professor Pralix at the University showed me when I interviewed with him. He had me look through a lens at the Aether and I saw the energy in a great many things as he let me wander around with it for a bit.” Her hand reached out to stroke the arm of the chair that she sat in, her fingers rubbing over it back and forth as she imagined them massaging dozens of tiny little naked people all at once. “They are in everything…even us…” she continued, not realizing her inappropriate use of pronouns.

[Ashari]

"Lens? That sounds interesting... I shall have to ask Ashtallion about such a device, see if he might have an idea where it could be found. Would be an interesting trinket to have around - and a good study tool," she amended. Ashari was fully prepared to dive into agreement about the aformentioned energies, but she was struck by the scent of the tobacco. Memories were so easily triggered by scents. "I.. you smoke, do you?" If Aerin was swallowing hard to avoid her hotflash over Ashari's succulent form, then Ash was doing the same to push away the cold-sweat at thoughts of her lost lover. "Iorn smoked..." She sighed and shook her head. "I always thought it was a nasty habit - leaving about stubs of his cigs to smoulder and burn in the ashtrays." It was slowly becoming easier to talk of him in the past-tense, something she never thought she'd be able to do.

"He died here," feeling the need to fill in some of the blanks so that Aerin might understand her teacher better. "Do not pity me my loss as I recount... please..." She crossed the room without preamble, and sat next to her student once again. Taking up her wine, she finished the old half-filled cup in a single swig, giving a small wince at the acidity, only to fill it and recline, one bare leg swinging casually over the other at the knee. "He was haunted by a demon, who found him here, in our home via a poor victimized young woman.

"Be wary of the temptations of demons, Aerin - their words are most seductive, but told in half-truths that never work out for the mortal involved. You see.. they have eternity to decide how to tell you exactly what you want to hear. It did this.. to that poor girl.. and Iorn, he fought it, he saved me as I fell prey to the promises of the demon - words that said it would save him and I at the cost of only all of Tazlure itself. Iorn, well," she sighed, reminded of his bravery. "He would pay no price except his own life, and in doing, thrust the demon from the girl and gave her peace. He is a hero that will never be recognized, for no one else alive understands what he paid." Ashari licked at her lips feverishly, her eyes taking on the sheen of her hair in their wetness.

"I fled this place following his death - it's a tomb to him as much as to our love - frozen in time." The magelet blinked a few times, pushing those delicate tears back and away, as if they'd never been, leaving only the rouge of her lips as hint to her previous distress. "I don't want it to be like that any more. I wished that I had died with him then... for a long time, that I might just close my eyes and never wake up. Aeris, though a good friend, was dependant on my protection. I could never describe to her what I've just told you... she was, in many ways, too naive - too precious and pure - to understand this pain," her eyes squinted at the word in emphasis, looking to Aerin for the understanding she'd been unable to find anywhere else, but which she'd sought out. Ketch, he'd understood, or, as much as he could. He was in love with her though, and it made her fear bearing her soul to him as if he might leave her. She couldn't stand to be left again. "So, what you've walked into is those memories, so please forgive me if I draw distant at times - it's not to you, nor the teachings, but into my own past. We cannot escape our personal demons, but only learn to put them in their place." Slowly, it turned into it's own sort of lesson via her pained honesty. "It won't be like that always, just until I finish mourning," with more enthusiam she managed: "And.. I think I'm getting there - to the end of it." The beautiful brunette nodded. "You're helping, just by being here, and forcing me to deal with things I otherwise wouldn't have. You do not realize the debt that puts me into with you."

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin nodded when asked about the tobacco, her eyes lowering momentarily. “I make sure to put mine all the way out… Less chance of it burning something important, right? And I can take it outside if you want me to – I just saw the ashtray and did not think…” she began, her words barely a mumble as Ashari began her trip down memory lane. Aerin understood Ashari’s pain all too well – how often had she walked the strets of Citadel swearing that she saw Rat’s face on a stranger’s body? Seen his long hair pent up with one of the same rat-skull bone rings that she had in her bag as a reminder of him? How many nights she had woken up swearing that she felt his breath on his cheek or his hand on her breast?

“I know a little about those…” she answered with another nod as Ashari spoke of demons. She had studied them a little when she was younger and knew that she was just as skilled at controlling one as she was piloting an airship or preaching the true word of Dominicus. “…and I promise not to fuck with them…” She listened further as Ashari spoke of Iorn’s death and how the house was a tomb of many different sorts. Aerin took another look around, already having put it in her mind to clean for Ashari, making a note to leave the office mostly intact and any incognito ‘shrines’ to his memories intact.


“I am certainly glad that you didn’t…” Aerin replied quickly. “As is Aeris, I am sure. And yes, sometimes it takes someone just as…damaged…as ourselves to understand us, I think. And distance is fine… as are walls sometimes…” Aerin replied with a comforting smile as she tentatively reached up to help brush a strand of hair out of Ashari’s face. “The hard part is knowing when to close the gap or let down the wall…and with whom… My biggest fear about the idea of becoming a Companion is losing sight of that…” If allowed, she would stroke Ashari’s cheek in the same manner that Ashari had done hers, minus the smudging.

“I already know that I stir up memories of Aeris for you, and now your lost love as well… Are there any other people in your past that I need to know about, lest I step or burp the wrong way and remind you of them as well?” she asked with a grin. Her face drew closer to Ashari’s as the woman spoke of debt and changes, her voice lowering to a sincere and controlled near-whisper. “You can cry on my shoulder or chew on my ear debt-free, mistress… For there are going to be times, I am sure, that you will be a shoulder or ear for me and it will be endless insanity…” she continued, her lips nearly a hand’s width from Ashari’s.

“…if either of us try to keep an accurate account of the tab…”

[Ashari]

Ash did nothing to stop Aerin's closeness, nor her gentleness at moving the delicately drying lock of hair. Her face leaned into the young woman's hand quite without her realization of it's movement, nor in the comfort she took from their proximatey. For, she'd been cold of late. Only the briefest highlights of warmth were lost in the enveloping darkness of her life. Ketch... their first night... it was so long ago now. Last night, with him again, renewing the fact that they were, infact, alive had woken something in her. Something that had been slumbering for months - through the winter - only to be exposed with the spring melt.

The fire had been just the beginning of what would be Ashari's rebirth from the cinders. From it would come her claim on the Empire itself. Though, for now, Aerin was able to watch her push from beneath the rubble of her past life, and bloom from the vulnerable teen she had allowed herself to become the teacher she was meant to be. It would be a process worth watching carefully, for from it Aerin might gain the ability to do similarly herself.

A joke brought about a smile, but she shook her head. "No... but I doubt I could warn you of the hauntings before they arrive, else I'd be able to deal with them myself, yes?" She quipped with a vivacious smile.

Aerin drew closer, and it was Ashari's immediate reaction to slide further back, pressing her body ever closer into the dusty sofa cushions as her eyes widened just slightly. Vulnerability had the curious effect of often being a turn on. Perhaps it was so many people's need to soothe and make one feel better, secure and cared for. Ashari did want to be taken care of. She wanted it so badly that a subtle sigh was elicited from her still freshly abused lips, pink from the pressure of her tongue which she'd used to push away the so recent almost-tears.

Goosebumps raced along her skin, prickling at her neck until she shivered and took in a quick breath through her nose. Blinking several times she gave her new student an embarassed smile, and looked down into the space between them which was alarmingly small. "I-" Another hard swallow, this one due to her interest in not hurting Aerin's feelings. Young gray eyes flicked up to meet Aerin's - looking tender and unsure. "I'm not a... I mean," she winced at her own inadequecy in the face of what she thought to be a far more complex situation than it was. Biting on her bottom lip her eyes shifted away again as soon as she finished speaking. Idiot.. idiot idiot idiot... Look at her... By the Mother you're such a baby... But she couldn't. Instead, she found herself monitoring the vacant air between their bodies as if it might hold inspiration for her awkwardness.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin felt her own feelings of apprehensiveness about the signals that her body was sending with the closing proximity, but a small part of her felt charged by the moment, Ashari’s young, glistening skin so pure, so clean, and smelling so fresh and sweet. And that smile as she quipped, a subtle sign that Ashari was feeling more and more comfortable around her, Aerin’s return smile a signal of the same. When Ashari leaned back, Aerin should have mirrored the action and blushed, apologizing immediately, but such an act did not happen, the redhead following the motion in parallel, a silent seated dance which needed no instruction, for her, at least.

She could almost feel Ashari’s near fright as their dance had moved Ashari’s lips away from Aerin’s reach, but had brought her throat more into view. And what a view it was, Aerin’s bright eyes darting along the flesh as if counting each goosebump individually as she rose up on her knees a little to get a better view of Ashari’s eyes as she tried to explain…something. Aerin wasn’t sure what Ashari was afraid of, but she had a feeling that, of the two of them, Aerin’s experience outweighed Ashari’s in this one small detail.

Much like Ashari, however, Aerin was feeling a need for closeness – a physical intimacy that transcended baser desires and flowed more along emotional lines. Human contact that was soft and non-intrusive, allowing both people to deal with their own emotions, the emotions of the other, and come away from the experience as more than they went into it.

As Ashari stared at the space between them, Aerin leaned in a bit closer, keeping a bit of space between them for both their comforts and keeping mindful of the fact that such advances, while slow and caring, could easily invoke feelings in the other woman of being attacked, and so Aerin kept her desires at bay as she brought her lips close to Ashari’s ear and softly whispered. “I understand… Mistress…. You can always…” Aerin allowed her lips to brush against the sensitive nub at the front of Ashari’s ear, breathing in Ashari’s scent before continuting.

“…tell me to stop…”

The last words were both the end of a suggestion as well as a subtle challenge all their own as she lowered her lips from Ashari’s ear and allowed them to brush oh-so-lightly across her jawline as the redhead pulled her head back just a bit and looked deeply into Ashari’s eyes.

“Do you want me to stop?” Within those words were the definitive barbs of a challenge that Aerin was practically making to herself as well, but – as she continued to gaze down at Ashari’s beautiful features, goosepimpled skin, and utter vulnerability, Aerin grew more and more unsure of her own ability to answer ‘yes’ to it..

[Ashari]

Aerin wasn't to be so easily swayed nor distracted by the girl's hesitation. Her face brushed passed her would-be mentor's without Ashari moving, merely out of her own growing trepidation of them coming in any physical contact. Oh... she not getting it... she isn't getting it... Though she didn't make it happen, her body trembled as the warmth of Aerin's came closer. Her soft lips whispered over her ear - a mixture of sound and sensation that caused for her gray orbs to be hidden behind their lids as her eyes fluttered closed to mere slits through which she could see only the fiery red haze of Aerin's long luxurious hair as it shifted dynamically in the morning light. You're no Panling, Ash... Fluffy lashes obscured her vision further until her eyes closed to surrender her to Aerin's suggestive phrasing.

The student, in turn, was offered the lavendar scent of Ashari's favourite soap which she'd used only burns before to remove the remnants of their hard mornings labors. Intermixed with it was something else... Ash's earthen scent of sandlewood and cinder pushed from her pores as if such smells were original only to her dusky skin. Such smells as those which might remind Aerin of the beautiful mage for the rest of her life. Each time she wandered into a candle shop or dallied at an herb market - even in fields where lavendar grew wildy and untamed like the girl whom she seduced right now - she would feel the softness of her freshly cleaned skin. Perhpas such places like that in particular would remind her of her teacher as tiny florets of lavendar were crushed between her thin, pale fingers.

Her lips felt no different from men's, and her kisses, she imagined, wouldn't either. Perhaps only in their softness, but that would be just the beginning. Eventually boilling passions would push them harder, and cause for Aerin to take a step for which Ashari would not be prepared. For, she was no lover of women. She saw them as beautiful - created in the image of the Mother, perfect in each own's way, but not supplying that which she yearned for most... something which only a man was in possession of.

And so, as Aerin traversed along her jawline, a manuever she would be imparting quite sucessfully on Andolin at their next meeting, Ashari was able to smile. The fluster which her apprentice's initial interest had caused melted by way of her own realization that she did want to seduce the newly appointed Caesar, and beyond that... she wanted to share his bed.

She betrayed no hintings at such realizations, her face still painted with her insecurities as she shook her head subtly, not yet jeopardizing their intimate moment by-way of words, but also not yet turning down the beautiful rissi. Though Aerin sought eye-contact, Ashari didn't hold it, her eyes dancing between her student's tempting lips and elegant curves. With the delicate demeaner of a virgin bride, Ashari nestled her face into Aerin's neck and whispered gently to her as her hand moved across her pupil's thigh with treacherously slow precision that comes only from a woman's touch.

"You will be a stunning companion, Aerin," she started huskily, and furthered the comment with a nip to the exposed flesh next to which Ash's face hovered. "I doubt you will need little in the way of training in regards to this area, but I am not your toy to meddle with... please don't take my vulnerability concerning the death of Iorn as invitation to play." Her fingers tightened on Aerin's thigh, as if in punctuation to her statement as she withdrew from the woman's intimate vicinity, her even gray eyes having gained a substantial predatory gaze in watching her student's reaction. Her hand remained unmoving in it's secure, though not painful, grasp.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin was no Panling either but, thanks to her strong aversion to worshipping any type of higher power, she could often be confused for one. Paulie had most certainly thought so. She was more along the lines of a tainted innocent, having seen no religious or moral obligation attached to the Sapphic act beyond Rat’s personal dislike for it – others within Rat’s troupe, not Panlings either, had certainly found great delight within the ‘forbidden’ acts when they had been watching Aerin and others from afar.

She enjoyed the scents associated with Ashari – the woman certainly knew how to mix her fragrances like an alchemist of sensation, and Aerin found herself drinking in even more of it as Ashari’s lips found her neck. She harbored no interest in sexual conquest but, as Ashari’s hand met her thigh, Aerin’s ego flared up, delighted that she could illicit such a strong response from a woman who had seemed so virginal and unsure just flickers earlier. “Mmmm” she hummed contentedly in agreement as Ashari initially complemented her…

But when the delicately soft grip tightened and the reprimand came, Aerin’s placid expression reddened sharply and she took in a gasp of air – Ashari’s scent assaulting her senses as one final insult before the redhead plopped back into her seat, not ripping away from Ashari’s grip, but definitely not crowding her any longer.

Aerin bit back both a lump in her throat and tears that threatened to well up as she nodded in silence, learning her lesson. “I am sorry, mistress… I sought only comfort – not conquest, I assure you…”

Aerin’s eyes lowered from Ashari’s gaze submissively, traveling first to the wineglasses, then to Cicero, and then back to Ashari, her thoughts swimming in confusion. Was she really so randy as to make a move on anything or anyone who moved? Was it the wine? The intimacy of sharing? The fact that Aerin had never had what others would consider a real and fulfilling relationship and just felt…lonely? The more she thought of it, the harder she found it to hold Ashari’s gaze, but she did her best to keep the tears off her cheeks as she once more lowered her gaze and folded her hands in her lap.

“I am sorry that I overstepped my bounds and offended you, Mistress…” she said after a few burns. “I misread the moment and the signs. I will take the blame and offer no excuses.” She took a deep breath and raised her glistening eyes toward the direction of the gardens, needing a flicker or two alone to collect herself and – from the shuddering feeling in her shoulders – possibly exorcize a few of the ‘inner demons’ that she and Ashari had just been speaking of.

Doing her best to hid her oncoming meltdown, Aerin cleared her throat and wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “I---“ she started, her throat seizing up as a sob saw the opportunity for escape. “I need a burn alone, please…”

Without awaiting permission, Aerin would rise, twist out of Ashari’s grip if needed, and dash carefully through the house and toward the gardens where she could – hopefully – find out what had turned a simple reprimand from a teacher into something which troubled her deeply.

Apparently, she had more to work on than she or Ashari had initially realized, but she tried her best to show herself that the ability to hold back tears until she was alone was not one of them. For some odd reason, the scar on her thigh had begun to ache.

[Ashari]

Comfort... or to comfort? She wondered as she watched Aerin backtracking. She had, perhaps incorrectly, guessed that it was Aerin using the soft, vulnerable moment to seduce her mentor - allowing her teacher to take strength from her student's embrace. It would appear she had been incorrect in her initial assessment. Aerin was the one seeking comfort, something which became painfully obvious as the redhead extricated herself from her grasp and demanded a moment alone. "You have until the count of ten," she called after her, not knowing whether or not her pupil heard her, nor whether she recognized the meaning of what she said.

As her form disapeared around the corner, Ash began her counting, quietly, to herself. "One," she whispered delicately, while flexing the fingers that had just been tracing a path up Aerin's finely toned thigh. "Two," she continued shifting in a way that allowed for her shoulders to roll and stretch. "Three," Ash continued, lifting the bottle and refilling both their glasses. "Four," she punctuated and rose from the couch.

Reaching the door, she announced a little louder: "Five," but this was still mostly to herself. "Six." Was poured from her lips as she passed the stairs. Her voice carried upward, ascending the steps with echoing somberity. "Seven." The cadence was increasing as her feet danced along the dusty floor. Her feet left delicate footprints mixing among those of Aerin who left a clear path to where she'd retreated.

"Eight..." Ashari now spoke at full volume, stepping out the door and into the bright sunshine of the morning. The chilled air of spring pulled at her chemise, and made for her to wish she had gone upstairs, if only to retrieve her robe. "Nine," she said in a quieter tone, walking up behind her new student, to whom she offered the cut glass which sparkled in it's crystal supremassy, placing a myriad of colors over both girls. "Ten... that's all you get. No more alone time, no more wallowing." It was up to Aerin whether she turned around or took the glass. Ash wouldn't move to insist, nor would she force the crying young woman to face her. If she didn't have want of the drink, then Ash would place it down beside her.

"There are things I can be for you, Aerin, and there are things I cannot. It is best we do this now, before hurt feelings or mixed ones get in the way of your future studies."

She placed a tender hand on the redheads shoulder. "You need to be strong to do this. I cannot hold your hand. There will be times when I will be harsh - and hard... it's for you." Ashari had no want of being Thira, but she did want her student to be safe. "And to be a companion, you must be able to put aside your wants in place of those who seek out you," she said quietly. "You cannot be vulnerable unless they want it... you cannot be difficult unless they require conquest.

"But with me, you can be whatever you need to be, so long as it's honest."

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin worked hard at quickly expelling the tears so that she could return, knowing in her heart that Ashari would probably be none-too-pleased at the breakdown. She had not heard the warning of the countdown, but did hear the counting as Ashari approached and childhood reflexes kicked in, knowing that a spanking of some sort might occur once the counter reached ten. By the time Ashari reached ten, Aerin had collected herself a bit better and swallowed hard, stepping forward a bit to turn and face her mentor, taking the glass without argument. And listening to everything that Ashari had to tell her without interruption.

“I am sorry – I promise I will learn to harden…to numb-up when needed. I did it before with ---“ She stopped mid-thought, refusing to let the memories bother her again. “Like I said, I have had no real experience with matters of the heart. Matters of the flesh, I have more experience in, but even that is limited – I think the wine…and the sharing…and the sorrow…” Aerin bit her lip and looked away for a flicker, her eyes returning to Ashari’s as fast as they had left. “I thought wrong…I thought it was something that we both needed at that moment, and I am okay with that, really, Mistress… I see you as a friend and teacher…not as…something more…” Aerin struggled, not wanting to give Ashari an unintentional verbal slap to the face.

“And I am deeply sorry for the tears and running…” she continued, taking a drink. “Rat was the closest I had to love and he rejected me twice…once for the same reason that you did…” Aerin sighed, the wine once again hitting her lips as she motioned back toward the relative privacy of the house. “I guess it stabbed me in more ways than it did you…my error, that is…”

Aerin finished the glass in a healthy gulp. “Demons be damned, mistress…how in the nether can we kill ghosts?” she asked, nervous – not drunken – laugher punctuating the end of her question.

[Ashari]

Ashari was fully willing to let Aerin get out everything she needed to in the somewhat uncomfortable setting for the occassionally conservative girl. For, the mage had never intended to give off the impression of wanting the affections of a woman. The whole thing sort of made her feel squeamish. Moral values of her father via his appreciation of the One were instilled at a level that not even the beautiful brunette was aware of. Not that she had any problem with people making their own choices. She celebrated it. The openess of the Citadel was one of the numerous things she enjoyed.

As her student spoke Ash only nodded, not wanting to interrupt her unburdening and allowing her explaination of what happened. "Of course, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that I'm just ever so beautiful..." The girl grinned and rubbed Aerin's upper arm with the same soothing motion generally imparted by mothers and best friends.

"Come on, then, let's go inside." She said, chosing to take their conversation indoors. As they walked back through the house, the magelet gave a sigh. "I find the easiest way to eliminate the ghosts - be the true apparitions or merely figments of one's imgination, is to speak openly to them and about them, and not give them anywhere to hide. Secrets and lies, to yourself and to those around you, create niches and crannies where those demons love to escape to." Metaphors were a handy thing.

"I have a lunchtime meeting with the Caesar. I need to start getting ready, would you mind picking up our brunch and tucking it into the kitchen when you're done eating?" The pair reached the foyer and Ash's eyes went up the stairs just like her feet would be doing in just a moment.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin listened closely as Ashari answered, her question having been mostly rhetorical to shift the uneasiness to jest but still…Aerin could not help but frown at the fact that there were some secrets that she would just have to keep hidden.

Like her attraction to other women.

Twice she had tried and twice she had been reprimanded for it. Once by Rat and once by Ashari. Aerin was full ready to sigh and move her thoughts onto other things when Ashari assigned a chore to her and mentioned splitting their company for a time. “The Caesar? Wow… you do get about, don’t you?” Aerin smiled despite her lingering sorrows over rejections and such. She nodded at Ashari’s request, moving to the food almost immediately – she would have plenty of time to mope once Ashari was gone.

“I shall keep myself occupied with study, if you do not have other tasks for me to do instead…” Aerin suggested, fully intending to get quite a bit of reading and note-taking done in the book that Professor Pralix had loaned her so that she could get it back to him quickly. It looked as if Aerin was, indeed, welcomed into the guild and it made no sense to her to keep the Professor hanging as to her status as a student.

Aerin would do as requested, storing away the uneaten portions of the breakfast, before retiring Cicero and her belongings to whatever room Ashari assigned her - saving the unpacking for later - and helping Ashari prepare for her meeting. She had plans for herself beyond study, and she hoped to have a few things straightened out before Ashari returned home.

OOC: After Ashari leaves, I would like to keep the thread alive to RP some study and introspection, please, with or without any NPC interaction.

[Ashari]

It was somewhat sad if Aerin believed Ashari was unable to understand her love of women. She could, infact, get it on a more studious level, it just wasn't something she herself wished to pursue. It was more a miscommunication and misunderstanding so far as Ash viewed it, and if her student wanted to seek out other female lovers she had no problems with it. Actually, she'd likely encourge it. Pregnant companions are in very small demand, and she'd much rather her getting her fix than being an angry monster needing affections.

As Aerin commented on the meeting with the Caesar she offered a wolfish grin generally faced only by conquesting cads. "He's... interesting," she replied. "Such meetings could be well-within your future as well, Aerin." Ash put a foot on the step and shook her had as if to say she had no task for her student.

"Study... yes. Have you ever meditated?" She asked. "If not, give it a go - you'll find being able to center and calm yourself will help with your future studies with me very much." And with that she was quick to show her zeal and age by jogging up the steps, displaying her toned tanned calfs as she went until she disappeared around a bend and into her room so that she might get ready for her meeting.

After a time she descended the steps fully dressed - and dressed to impress. She wore a coppery velvet dress that shone and shifted in color the way that only a fabric of such texture can. Her hair shone and she wore only the subtlest of makeup, only to hightlight her features.

"Have a good afternoon," she called through the house if Aerin wasn't around as she passed through the door.

OOC: Finito for Ashari. ::puts on her seduction hat:: Time for the Caesar... Have fun studying!

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

OOC: Aerin did help Ashari get ready, a little, by helping with her corsets, etc., as noted in Ashari’s first post with Andi, so not RPing that out again here.

IC:

Aerin had been in her room retrieving the slim tone that Professor Pralix had handed her, the young redhead’s knack for procrastination having allowed for only the skimming of a few pages before allowing the book to gather dust among her belongings. It was, indeed, as the professor had warned, a treatise on basic alchemical concepts, and Aerin studied the tome’s cover for a few flickers, nodding toward the sound of Ashari’s voice as her mentor left, Aerin tossing the book back into her bag with a sigh. It was as useless to her as it would be to Cicero.

Meditation, however, was indeed something that Aerin had dabbled in a bit – of course she knew that sitting there quietly on the verge of sleep while thinking of nothing was far different than true mind and soul-cleansing meditation. Aerin looked about the bare room that she had claimed as her living space and sighed, boredom overtaking her quickly as she thought of all the waiting she would have to do while Ashari was out on errands. She needed friends…classmates…other teachers. Aerin considered herself a loner but, when she got down to the brass tacks of it all, she was more the type to be most comfortable in a crowd.

“I need someplace else to meditate…” Aerin muttered to herself while pulling out one of the drawers in the dresser, lining it with some clothing, and placing Cicero within so he could sleep, if needed, leaving the drawer half-opened and not trapping him within the furnishings. A few burns later, she found herself back in the neglected gardens once more, a little clearer-headed this time.

“Ahh, Mistress…” Aerin began with a sigh as she knelt beside one of the flowerbeds and began to pull weeds, using both hands as not to favor the freshly-healed one. “…This is perfect…” Aerin whispered to no-one but herself as she took a deep breath and began to visualize the garden returning to lush glory under her hands, deciding that she would memorize sights, smells, textures, sounds, and even the taste of the air within the gardens as tools to use to create her own little inner garden in which to meditate.

She let go of her worries about her encounter with Ashari. Mistakes are weeds in my garden…

She let go of her combination of love and hate for Rat. Bad memories are weeds in my garden…

She let go of her frustration over not being able to see the Aether as others could. Jealous thoughts are weeds in my garden…

She let go of her animosity toward Dominicus and the rest of the pantheon. Conflicts with imaginary enemies are weeds in my garden…

She let go of the still-present weariness of their dig for Aeris’ remains. Fatigue is weed in my garden…

She let go of the focus on the pain in her hand. Pain is a weed in my garden…

She let go of her own innermost arguments regarding her recent thefts and brush with cannibalism. Self-loathing is a weed in my garden… And conflicts between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are a sickness of the mind…

Aerin paused in her weeding and sat upright on the pathway, her legs crossing into a comfortable position, a long breath drawing inward, and her lashes fluttering shut. She held onto the image of the weeds in her hand - mistakes, bad memories, jealousy, religion, fatigue, pain, and self-loathing – and within her mind’s eye, on the exhale, her fingers opened and Aerin simply…

…let go…

[Grey Wolf]

It was such a beautiful day and the sunlight filtered through the leaves and played upon Aerin’s face, keeping her cheeks and forehead pleasantly warmed up. Somewhere nearby a bird was singing and a burn later another joined it, and should she choose to look she would find a pair of black-feathered birds perched upon a nearby rock, the original song pitched low as the bird made swift oblique runs, bowing its head towards its companion. The other bird did not move, its tail and head kept low, only the tiny eyes moving and observing the dancing bird as it made its runs, not a single note more raising from its beak. The dance continued still, the singer not losing focus, as it slowed down its steps, circling closer and closer towards the motionless bird. It was almost like observing some strange ritual, the dancing bird trying to impress the other with its soft singing and intricate dance.



OOC: I will let you decide how well Aerin focuses and how successful her meditation is. You are experienced enough to handle it, though I advise you to keep an eye on your skills.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin’s mantra seemed to be working, although she found her mind – which was prone to wander to begin with – seeking refuge in anything and everything outside of the scope of the calm and clarity she was wishing to achieve. At first, she noticed to song, opening her eyes a crack to view the birds…

Concentrate… weed the garden…

Her eyes slid closed again, but she found the birds still in her mind and, after a flicker or two, her eyes opened once more and caught sight of the birds once more, lost in their dance for a flicker or two.

“Weeds in the garden…weeds in the garden…” she chided herself, clamping her eyes shut once more and covering them with her hands for good measure. If she had any hopes and aspirations of becoming a mage who could both see and manipulate the Aether, she needed to learn to concentrate and meditate. And that is just what she set her mind to do until she was too tired to do so.

OOC: We can end here and take this thread out of your workload, if you’d like. Just wanted to give her a little IC practice, define her routine, and have her fail a bit like this to introduce the skill to her. She’s naturally flighty and easily distracted, so we can safely assume that she does not reach ‘Zen Center’ this attempt. LOL

[Grey Wolf]

The birds were oblivious of Aerin’s concentration problems, and continued their wild dance, the immobile bird finally moving. Lowering her head, she bowed to the frantic male and turned her back to him a flicker later and lifting her tail up in the air. And the male, waiting for such a signal rushed towards her and jumped, the birds mating right before the young woman’s eyes, showing not a shred of decency or restraint, the entire mating process looking quite violent and hurried, with quite lot of chirping and screeching and wing flapping. At last, after what could not have been more than half a burn, the male jumped back, the female turning towards him and lowering her tail, his tiny chest rising and falling frantically.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

The redhead found her eyes popping open again and again, watching the birds as they mated, a look of both contemplation and frustration lining her face in the mask of a woman on the edge of throwing something. Focus… Focus… she chided herself fretfully, choosing to keep her eyes open for the time being as she watched the birds. Their actions were not too far off from how she viewed the Aether and Aerin could not help but wonder why almost everything in her life seemed to revolve around mating and sexuality.

Even death seemed to hold an erotic thrill for her, it seemed, as her appetites for the sensual had crossed back and forth with violence when she had committed her first murder, the total control over the life and death of another human being a spicy and potent aphrodisiac. The bodies in the banner – two of them naked and again nudging the morbid side of her libido as she had examined their remains and found sexual attraction there still – as if they were naught but lifeless dolls who could no longer spur her advances. Aeris, unlike the others, had brought fantasies of both necrophilia and necromancy to her mind, Aerin wishing for the few flickers that she dared that she could make love to Aeris’ stilled form and, in doing so, awaken the Swanmaiden from her endless slumber to find the waiting arms of a kind and welcoming mistress.

And then there had been her slips of late. Baring her breasts in public for attention… Misusing her body… Her uncharacteristic attractions to Professor Pralix, Claire, the Adhiel woman at the University of Magic, Ashari, and even Paulie whose attraction was twinned with revulsion for the young mage from Murrelbuck. Ashari and Claire, she could understand – both were beautiful in their own ways, but the others – there should be no attraction at all, as she reviewed her personal tastes. Perhaps I am like these birds… she contemplated. Eager to mate and not caring with whom…

She once again thought of the scene that she had seen through Pralix’s lens – the flame made up of miniature people bound in endless orgy. Perhaps the Aether was trying to weave itself into her – trying to meet her halfway in her quest to see it. To manipulate it with her caress. To taste its sweet honey upon her tongue. To hear it moan in response to her commands. To smell its musky odor in the air around her. To see it flex as she wove it to orgasmic release. Sitting cross-legged in the garden, Aerin felt her right hand slip under her skirt, her fingers absentmindedly tapping upon a small segment of her body which was normally counterproductive to concentration for her but slower than what she normally liked.

Slow…

Rhythmic…

A silent mantra as she watched the birds and tried to picture them as mating again and again under her command, her mind focused on nothing more and nothing less until she felt her conscious thoughts go numb and her eyes slip closed once more.

Tap…
…tap…
……tap…
………tap…

It may not have been clarity and focus as she would have liked – and probably not the type of meditation that Ashari would condone or foster for further practice, but the attention on self was certainly a calming and peaceful way to drown out the world around her. She was not trying for orgasm and would pull her hand away for a rest if she felt one rising. She was doing it for inner calm and, in her untrained mind, whatever worked was worth a shot.

[Grey Wolf]

The birds soon moved close to one another, the male nudging the female's chest with his head, shifting closer and a few flickers later they stood one next to other, exchanging caresses, much like a pair of human lovers might do in bed after lovemaking. Each caress of the male was followed by a cheerful shrill chirrup, the female answering with a caress of her own and a softer, deeper sound, almost like a sensual wordless murmur, her head often resting against her mate's back. As Aerin stared at them, the birds too stared at her, though neither moved closer, continuing their caresses within a safe distance from the gigantic human. Shadows disappeared as sun rose high up in the sky, only a small path of cool shade remaining around budding mage. Whether it was the warmth of the sun of her questing fingers that made the day seem hotter, as she spied a large one-eared orange tomcat sneaking along the garden wall, licking his whiskers, bright yellow eyes focused on the two love birds.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin’s eyes kept opening again and again to the birds – they were proving themselves to be quite the distraction from her meditation and an Aerin interrupted during meditation was not a happy Aerin in the least. She had begun to peer about for something to throw at them when she had spied the cat. Her mouth opened to yell at the three interlopers in order to both end her distractions and save the previously-horny-now-satisfied birds from the cat just to take out her frustration on the cat. Meditation or no, I am going to lay hands on some pussy one way or another… She flexed her leg muscles to rise but then had a change of heart, the sadistic side of her curious if the cat would get either of the birds or even just once. He certainly had the advantage of knowing how not to be seen.

Aerin, however, allowed her frustration at the continuously interrupted session and decided to take a different tack altogether. Despite her ire, she was certainly more relaxed and, even if her attempts to control fire went unsuccessful at the guild house, Aerin decided to take her best attempt at Ashari’s brand of magic…without any lessons.
Lick your balls… Lick your balls…, she soundlessly told the cat as she pictured him doing that very act. Come on…no birdie tastes quite as good as your own little coin purse, does it? Lick ‘em… Lick ‘em now! Possibly looking the fool, Aerin placed the middle and index fingertips of each and on her temples as if the act would make the magick flow more smoothly. Your ass too…drag that rough little tongue over that stinky ‘ol spider… Lick the balls… lick the ass…

The latter two commands, she would repeat like a new mantra – until the cat did whatever it decided to do however she would let out a small screech before letting it get to the birds…just to piss off the cat..

[Grey Wolf]

The tomcat continued his approach, showcasing the skills of an experienced hunter to [bAerin[/b] as his paws moved over the stones soundlessly, any cover available used to hide him from the birds. Wind and scent were not a factor in the sheltered space of the yard, and he kept his orange striped body behind the birds, pausing each time they even looked like they were going to turn, sliding along the ground to within striking distance. He was definitely licking the whiskers in anticipation, but showed no inclination to do what Aerin requested, though at the last moment he paused and lowered his head, down between his front legs. For a flicker it might even have seemed he was going to lick his ball, but instead her smoothed a few hairs on hi left paw and in a single fluid motion his entire body tensed and he leaped.

Only to miss by a hair’s breadth, the birds taking to air at Aerin’s shout. He did catch the male on the wing, though all it did was send him spiraling out of control for a flicker a few loose feathers floating to the air, as the tomcat landed. Malice and something akin to feline frustration shone in his eyes for a flicker, the cat staring after the birds as they spiraled out of view chirping frantically. The striped predator, let out a long sorrowful mewl and then turned his deep yellow eyes at the girl and moved closer with confidence and cockiness his kind usually exhibited. He aimed to brush against her legs and make her pet him, and preferably feed him some scraps now that she so foolishly chased his lunch away.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

After her yell, Aerin stayed calm, watching the birds make a narrow escape, pleased with herself for thwarting what her father would call the Will of the One. Her green eyes stayed locked on the cat’s own yellow as he advanced, her breathing and demeanor calm.

Closer and closer the cat came – and she kept herself calm.

Closer and closer still. Calm…calm.

She gave a smug look of her own to match his, her fingers not moving an inch until he drew closer still.

Calm…calm…

Slowly, she reached out to slide the fingers of her good hand along the back of his head like he wanted. To make amends for scaring away his meal.

Calm…calm…calm…

She let him continue to move toward her under her hand, her palm cupping the top of his head lightly as her fingers curled to scratch behind his remaining ear and the stump of the other.

Calm…calm…calm…

Slowly and steadily, she let her fingers find better purchase along the cords of the muscles in his neck, her thumb and little finger curling under his chin lightly and playfully as her palm pressed his ear closer to his head.

Calm…calm…

If the cat were comfortable with her caress, and if she were quick enough, there would be a snap as her fist clenched the skull tightly, her arm lifted, and her wrist twisted, making the cat’s own body weight twist and stretch the vertebrae and surrounding tissue forcefully as his body passed over her head and over her shoulder before rising up once more, her wrist spinning in three clockwise circles, and her arm bringing the body – living or dead – back to the earth with a hammering force.

Calm…calm…calm…

This was the Will of the Aerin.

[Grey Wolf]

Sadly, the tomcat was unable to read minds, and his small feline brain picked no hints of Aerin’s intentions, her repeated mantra perhaps working as was intended, fooling the animal with an aura of calm she may have radiated at that moment. It meowed and pushed its head against the girl’s hand, and started to purr as her hands turned to scratching, its back raised, offered as a willing target of more petting. Then the hand closed around its neck and with a surprised shriek the cat was whirled through the air, screeching miserably. It’s weight prevented Aerin from finishing the maneuver she attempted, the girl losing her grip as she swung the cat around and sending it flying towards the wall.

The result was very much the same as she intended, the tomcat’s body impacting against the wall with such force that its screech was cut off abruptly, the cat landing at the foot of the wall with a soft thud. Aerin paid for the murder though, the orange furred beast sinking his claws into her forearm and leaving a trio of deep gashes in her skin, blood flowing freely from them, her recently healed hand injured once more. The cat was still alive, though life was fading from its ruined body, right side of its head smashed in, an eye staring towards its killer, mewling pitifully.

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin’s good hand shot to her other hand as soon as she felt the pain, confusion setting in as to how in the nether the cat had managed to strike, but the blood real nonetheless. Her eyes watched the crimson flow from the fresh wounds for a flicker or two as she tried her best to press the torn skin back together, her gaze moving to the mewing mass as her breath hissed loudly through her nostrils, her lips pressed tightly to one another in a thin, hard line.

Her mediation was SO shot.

And so were the cat’s chances at recovering while being just a bit more malformed. In a flicker of cruelty and clarity which came as a surprise to herself, Aerin found herself squatting before the cat, out of range of its claws, but not out of range of its eyesight. Aerin raised her freshly re-wounded hand to her lips and drew her pink tongue slowly across the gashes, a blatant mockery of the cat’s own nature when dirtied or wounded, her glare as intense as the faith of a Oneist seeing Dominicus in the flesh. Both of us have our wounds… but mine will heal…, she thought to her adversary as he lay dying. “Bitch or bird…” she stated softly, mocking the cat further with the image of the male bird spinning out of control as the cat’s claws had narrowly connected with wing. “…you stood no chance against either, did you?” Aerin took a pause to reach under her skirt and remove her undergarments, standing when it was time to step free of them, the still fairly clean underwear quickly finding themselves bloodied as she wrapped her injured hand once more, her eyes never leaving the cat’s for a flicker.

She stood there, still staring, for a burn or two more before allowing her gaze to roam over to where many flowers must have grown in the neglected garden, a smirk crossing her lips at long last.

“Mew all you want, you little fucker…” she hissed, squatting once more before the dying cat. “Blood makes the grass grow greener and the roses bloom more radiantly. You may have kept me from weeding my garden, so to speak, but you sure as Nether will help it grow now, won’t ya?” With a final chuckle, she turned and began to dig, looking over at the cat on occasion to make sure that it was not moving, knowing that she would do everything in her power to make sure that – if so – it did not move far.

OOC: Just FYI, I do not tolerate animal abuse of any kind in real life and Aerin's actions here are textbook examples of actions done by most serial killers in their youth. Just wanted to draw the line between the real me and the psycho-princess in my head.

[Grey Wolf]

Perhaps if cat could talk, he would have offered some reply to Aerin but as it were the striped tomcat simply lay there, his life slowly ebbing away, though death was slow in coming. His wound would not heal and only question was whether his life would be measure in flickers, burns, marks or even tides, though with his skull caved in he would die. The tomcat’s one good eye stared at his killer with sorrow, but as she stared at him it turned into a look of pure malice and hatred. He could not move, and each time she glanced at the cat, Aerin would find his chest moving less and less, and by the time the hole was dug his breath came out in wheezing gasps. He lay there, waiting for death, his eye glassed over, unseeing, gazing into the great beyond, and whatever afterlife that waited nasty orange striped tomcats.