War with Heaven [Charlie]

[Nnerka]

17 ASH 121

There were rare occasions that found Nnerka on the street for work. Or, well, thinking about work in any capacity outside of the walls of the Velvet Cabaret. It was not that she did not enjoy her job; being a courtesan provided one with the opportunity to encounter a wide variety of people. An interesting assortment of tastes that sometimes aligned with her own, and seemed almost trivial to her. Brow raising, to be sure.

But of late, she’d found it not robbery to attempt to understand what it was that made people seemed so enamoured with having only two legs. From her understanding, they afford limited speed and hunting with them was a lot different. Less...precise. To her, at least. She fanned herself where she sat, lounging easily.

There had been an assortment of gazes on her. Eyes lingered before glancing away to return to their tasks just before her eyes could meet them. Not that she minded much. Nnerka — even with only two legs and secondary arms tucked away for the most part (currently, crossed under her under her chest) — was still an oddity. An interesting creature to observe with the way the pink of her hair shone and black of her eyes seemed to swallow the light.

But — the insufferable heat.

She scooted to touch closer to the shade, spreading further out on the bench. She hadn’t heard complaints about her taking up practically all of it yet, cheek resting in the palm of her hand as her eyes drooped lazily closed. One set watched as spiders in a tree made their webs, a sort of respect in her observance of them. And then, with a bit of a start, she realized something: she was bored. Bored, and warm. Two things that made for a recipe for napping, and she was pulled once more to her tiny spiderling days of quiet afternoon naps in cool places. Holes dug and lined with webs to be more comfortable. She couldn’t exactly do that in the middle of the street and she suspected she would need to do a lot of digging to make a hole she would fit in.

With a sigh, she let her eyes close. At least, six of them. Sprawled out over a bench, she looked picturesque, gaze far off and expression almost wistful.

[Charlie]

Charlie was, to say the least, terrible at going unnoticed. Even the way he walked commanded attention from across the spectrum. He practically waded through the throngs of foot traffic, trying to catch the eyes of any that he could. The easy, confident smile painted his face permanently even as he composed new melodies for passerby as he walked. He could not make lasting impressions like this, but he could alight their faces in mirth for a fleeting moment, and that was enough.

Even those that he didn't enchant had a reason to stare, as Charlie's choice of attire scarcely fit the damnable heat he was walking in. A dark button down shirt, full length pants and a cloak that hung off his back and down past his elbows. It seemed designed to make him boil in his clothes, but he looked hardly bothered. Each piece of the outfit was perfectly tailored to Charlie's body, not a spare inch of fabric to be found in the entire ensemble. He looked good, but more importantly, he looked rich. Smallfolk might think he belonged to a Lesser House, but anyone with experience would have been able to see past the attire and to the utterly amorous young man that was so clearly beneath.

It was on this walk that he spotted Nnerka. At first it was her starkly beautiful appearance that drew his eye, though admittedly his eyes did wander to so many, many people. Then he drew in her body language, and simply had to know more. He cut through the crowd, easily weaving past people and giving them courteous apologies as he made his way over. He could not yet see her symphony, and as such was blind to what might have worked as a pick-up line. Ah, but there was no reason to overcomplicate things, right? He stood off to one side, in the way of the sun to grace her with more glorious and well earned shade.

"You, ah... You don't mind if I take a seat, right?" he asked, and as he did his eyes wandered. He wasn't subtle either. He scarcely noticed that he'd been looking at her breasts, or down to her waist before finally trailing back up to her eyes, though he showed no actual concern over the number of eyes she had. He focused on each pair in turn, each moment seeming to make his heart somehow grow fonder. His heart thumped faster, his muscles just the slightest bit more tense and his breath came with a touch more effort.

And of course beyond all of the physical evidence that he was a fool immediately in over his head, Charlie was also carrying his coin pouch off one hip, and it jingled so loudly it may as well have been a collar with a bell to any courtesan in the city.

What an idiot.

[Nnerka]

It was the darkening of the sun’s path to its rays reaching her skin that caused her to look up. A figure shrouded in the darkness of the angle. A moment’s irritation passed as her brows furrowed, a hand lifted to block the rest of the sun the other had missed in an attempt to see him properly. Squinting further, she sat up slightly. Her hair fell over her shoulder as she shifted her weight to her elbow. A single dark brow rose at his inquiry. This was what he’d walked up to her for? Her other eyes opened, one after the other, to stare him down a moment.

“There’s room enough for two.” An automatic accommodation followed, limbs being rearranged to allow him space. He seemed jittery, and when he moved he clinked. The other brow rose.

She was used to the sort of staring that Charlie seemed to do without trying to hide it. Or maybe he wasn’t doing it consciously at all. The stirring of something other than curiosity and far from hunger hit her as she sat up. Drawing herself to sit upright on the bench — she towered over her. As she did most people. An inclination of her head, a cock of her hip to rest a bit more of her weight on one hand.

Without the impeding of the sun and shade and angles she didn’t care for, she could fully take the man in. Just as his gaze had drifted over her figure, so too did hers. Somewhat; she allowed two or four eyes to slide down his frame and back up to his face. Not without noting the coin purse at his hip, of course. And how dark his attire was. Her brows rose higher. There were always signs for a fool, and this man was one of them.

Brushing hair from her shoulder, tucking strands carefully behind her ears she turned her attention back to the crowd. Watched the way the people move, as if oblivious to the other’s presence or simply ignoring him. Either option worked, really. A singular eye would turn his way, the faintest of smiles on her lips.

“Do you intend to sit with me in silence, or did you have a conversation planned when you walked up to me?”

[Charlie]

His eyes lit up when she accommodated him, and he spared not a moment before he was sitting down beside her. The bench was large enough that he could have sat on one end comfortably away from Nnerka, but of course he didn't. he placed himself right up against her side with barely an inch between them. Still he looked at her, so obviously awestruck it was almost endearing. There was no attempt to be sly or sneak glances when he thought she wasn't looking, and instead Charlie drank in her form like one might appreciate a fine statue. He looked at everything, and delighted in even the oddest details, such as how her clothing pooled or bunched whenever she moved. His gaze wasn't lecherous, of course, not by far. He was utterly marveling at her, and looked ever more a fool for his efforts.

Finally he managed to tear his eyes away, and he looked out towards the crowd like she had, but Charlie at once knew none of them could compare to her. Peoplewatching was so...bland when he had such an exotic beauty just beside him. Then he heard her speak, and his heart lurched in his chest. He tried to look over to her with a cool and confident air, but his movements were far too fast to call to mind anything other than lovesickness or desperation. Now that she was properly sitting up, Charlie realized how she towered over him. It only made his chest thunder ever harder. Gods, but she was tall.

"Hmm? Oh!" Charlie's grin widened. "Truthfully? I'm sure I had something planned, but you managed to knock it clean out of my head." his voice was cheerful and sweet, the admission likely sincere given how utterly infatuated he seemed to be. "But I'm sure it was something along the lines of 'I'm Charlie, and I was hoping you'd give me the time of day so I can ask you out for drinks.' " He sat back, turning his palms up and shrugging. "Is that about on par with the other men today that have surely tried to make themselves known to you, or should I keep workshopping it? Actually, I think I should have asked for your name in there, too." He laughed at himself, and the smile never faltered on his face. At least he was bold.

[Nnerka]

Her smile spread slow as he spoke. Bold; she liked it. Indeed a contrast from the client she had taken before, skittish and unsure. A rare occurrence for one to be sure of themselves. Enjoyable, usually as well. But he moved fast, almost jumpy. Attitude and movement contrasted, creating an interesting reaction that she wasn’t entirely used to. A blink, a calculated delay of the action across all eyes creating a ripple, as she turned her full attention to Charlie.

“Not exactly, no. I haven’t had many asking me for a drink. I think I may look a little too frightening for most.” She wasn’t one to play coy, usually. The act itself was something she didn’t think suited her much. And yet, there she was, tucking more hair behind her ear and feigning some level of bashfulness. Terribly. But she suspected that the other wouldn’t care much. “But I would love a drink. It’s rather hot today, isn’t it?”

Her smile wasn’t wide enough to pull at the seams of her mouth and reveal the teeth that lurked beneath, but it wasn’t small enough to fall up her attempts at being coy. Not that she needed it. “Charlie.” She let the name roll off her tongue, head dipped in a nod as if to confirm she’d heard it right. Her gaze on him was intent, mostly on his face. Mostly. Two pairs of eyes strayed down to the coin purse at his hip again.

The fae could say that she thought he knew if anyone asked. If he tried to raise a fuss later. It was entirely his fault for walking up to her with money on his hip and a dopey smile on his face.

“You can call me Nnerka.” She leaned forward, glancing down at her legs. “You wouldn’t mind helping me up, would you? I know a place we could go to.” The slightest inflection of her tone, a tip of her head; she was just shy of puppy dog eyes that she had never quite figured out how to get to work on all her eyes.

[Charlie]

"Not one offer, and you've been posed like that? Either cowards, or blind!" Charlie said with an exaggerated exasperation. "If you frighten anyone, then I'd not wish to know them. I fear that our differences would be far too wide to reconcile." His accent was starting to slip now, the polished city tact giving way to a more rural twang that left the ends of his words drawing out just a moment too long to go unnoticed. He practiced for so long to lose his accent, and beautiful women always found a way to draw it right back out of him.

He noticed her looking at his purse, but he thought little of it. Why shouldn't she know that he was a man of some means? He took his measure of her, and it seemed only fair she be allowed to do the same. Her intents were unknown to him, lost in her beauty and the alluring pull of her voice. At her approval, Charlie exhaled a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. Relief washed over him, and all of his muscles seemed to lose their extra bit of tension. She liked him, that was good. She liked him enough to know a place they should go for drinks, that was better. Any other explanation died before it could even become an inkling of an idea. Perhaps if he could have seen her symphony he might have known. Even that didn't concern him much anymore. Her agreement had rendered his need to see her emotions obsolete, and the fact she was a mystery to him so quickly became yet another thing that drew him into her clutches.

He considered her name, though it was clear that he would have found it beautiful no matter what she called herself. "Nnerka. lovely name."

Then she asked for his help, and he nearly tripped as he threw himself off the bench to accommodate her whims. "Of course, allow me, ma'am!" He spun on his heels to face her now, and extended his hand to help pull her to her feet. Once she was standing, he was at her side, looking up at her with those puppy dog eyes she simply couldn't get right. Curiously, Charlie had not stopped holding her hand. He was making this almost too easy.

"Lead on, Nnerka."

[Nnerka]

She wouldn’t have said she was posed that way on purpose. Merely that it had been more comfortable a position with her extra limbs and larger frame. But — as he spoke, his voice did a thing. A slip of an accent that she couldn’t place. Probably somewhere from the surrounding area of Kalsazi she had never ventured to before. It grew thicker the more he talked. She might say that it was even endearing.

It became more endearing when paired with his enthusiasm to do as she asked. He stood before her with speed that could only come from someone eager to please. He’d even nearly tripped. A pathetic display, one that might have been a cry for attention and adoration from someone he clearly deemed attractive enough. Adorable. To be so completely enamoured with someone and only have their name — Charlie made excellent prey. If this were outside the boundaries of the city and she were hungry enough, he would have made for an easy meal. In a way, he still was.

While it had been evident that she was taller than him while seated, it would be more so as they stood side by side. There would be the uncomfortable angle needed to hold her hand, one she took pity on him for. “It might be better if you were to hold my other hand.” At first, it would not be clear what she meant, until one of secondary arms slipped out from her clothes. Her kimono slipped down partly with the movement.

On this rare moment of walking among the crowd in a less than “monstrous” appearance, Nnerka’s second arms were much like the first — easily mistaken for the appendages of a humanoid creature. Five slender fingers edged in long nails. She traded the upper for the lower, passing Charlie’s hand down to the lower. A much better angle for a walk, and one that allowed him to be closer.
And much easier to lead.

She had not gone far from her place of employ to begin with. Already, she could see the crimson arches and dark tiled roof of the cabaret coming into view. “Anything you fancy drinking?”

[Charlie]

Despite only now noticing her secondary pair of arms, Charlie could not possibly have been less bothered. Though that was perhaps unsurprising if her multitude of eyes hadn't given him any pause. His eyes did linger on the additional limbs, of course, but more out of curiosity than anything else. The fae weren't unknown to Charlie entirely, of course, but that did not make them any less vexing. He might have gotten away with saying he was drawn to their exotic beauty, though that would have implied Charlie was not hopelessly drawn to beauty in all of its forms.

He took her lower hand in his own, and even interlaced their fingers. He was drawn up now close to her side, though her strides were so much larger than his own that he at times trailed behind her like a child. He scarcely noticed the crowd anymore, eyes drawn to her and his head now tilted upwards obviously just so he could keep his eyes on her face. Her towering height made excitement and fear swirl in equal measure, though he seemed utterly incapable of acknowledging that he was in fact feeling fear. The emotions were so closely linked that it became so easy to ignore the smallest voice of reason in his mind that tried to hell him this wasn't right. After all, how could this be wrong? It felt radiant to stand beside her, his head barely at her chest.

He pondered her question for a moment, though less out of his own desires and instead trying to determine what answer she most would want to hear. "Wine, perhaps?" He said after a moment. A perfect recommendation, even if not for the reasons he intended. While all forms of alcohol could be expensive, with wine it was downright expected. He so happily handed her ways to entangle him, though he yet seemed blissfully unaware. He then followed her eyes to see the cabaret club as well, the building standing out among the others nearby. Even then he remained clueless to her intentions.

[Nnerka]

She could work with wine. Her favorite was one that had become more popular within the lower areas of the city, considered uncouth by higher circles. Or, it was a matter that they were simply cowards. She’d seen plenty of faces pale at the sight of the bottle. Nnerka wondered if this would be the case with Charlie. Her smile widened partly, a delight in the prospect. “Very well.” The words might as well have been sung as she lead him closer to the cabaret.

The familiar grounds she lived on were upon them soon enough. Her grip on his hand tightened as she took to the stairs, her steps slow but not uncertain. Careful. There was a difference in balance when there were only two legs to work with rather than six. As they approached, the guards of the cabaret stepped aside from the door. They cast almost piteous glances Charlie’s way.

“Apologies; I’m not used to walking like this.” It was followed by a sigh as she pulled him further inside. The inner trappings of the cabaret were decadent. As they should have been. Patron and courtesan alike crossed their paths as the made it to the theater. The fae noted that there were a few more people within today at this time than days passed. She wondered if there might have been a performance she hadn’t heard happening.

As she approached the bar, she noted that the bartender was not one she was very familiar with. Probably a newbie; they didn’t gape at her, but they did stare between serving patrons. Nnerka gestured for Charlie to sit by the bar, taking a seat herself as she leaned up against the counter.

Her lips quirked up into a smile different from the one she’d shown Charlie thus far. “The Suzumebachi, if you please.”

The bartender nodded, lips pursed. They, personally, weren’t much a fan of the drink. For one, it had bits of hornets swirling around it. Some, still whole. The bottle itself was large, the liquid within a deep brown, tainted further by the floating insects inside. Until their shells caught the light and they seemed to glow. Two glasses were placed before them, the bottle slid their way.

“Have you ever tried this?”

[Charlie]

Most of Charlie's attention was of course on Nnerka, though this time his gaze wasn't entirely lecherous. He helped her up each stair by keeping his arm stiff and bent neatly at the elbow to make a suitable anchor. This was also the only time Charlie was ever in front of her, the young man moving up to the next step each time he helped her up to the previous one. At the very least he looked courteous to the passerby on the street, though already he could tell he stood out from the clientele inside of the club itself. The fact hardly seemed to dim his shine, that effortless overconfidence all but erasing any lingering thoughts that he have have reached beyond his grasp.

"Not used to walking in such a garment?" Charlie guessed, completely missing her meaning. "Well you make it look ravishing, so there is not a thing for you to worry about." Again he complimented her, and again it was clear it was not close to the last. Then he was pulled inside, and the full decadence of the club overtook him once the doors had closed behind the pair. It was unlike any other club Charlie had ever found himself in, and his eyes flitted from feature to feature and patron to patron before they always came loyally back to Nnerka.

In the dim light of the club, Charlie's eyes stood out in stark contrast. Outside in the daylight they had certainly been bright, but now the cyan irises glowed like a cat's. If she had not guessed that he was a mage yet, his eyes would have removed any doubts.

Then he took a seat at the bar, and listened to Nnerka order. He didn't let his confusion show on his face, adept at pretending he understood what the upper crust enjoyed. Once the bottle arrived though, that was. He blinked a few times at the bottle, but his desires again won over reason. "I've never had the pleasure, but if it's a vintage you've chosen? It's sure to be a new favorite." To Charlie's credit, he hid his apprehension well. Though it was more than likely a predator like Nnerka might still have noticed his obviously increasing heartbeat, a vein in his neck throbbing invitingly. Lifting the bottle, Charlie poured Nnerka's glass, and then his own. Bravery and stupidity were on equal display when Charlie filled his glass just as much as Nnerka's, and his glass had more than its fair share of insects floating in it. Charlie kept his eyes on Nnerka, simply keeping himself from reckoning with the concoction this breathtaking woman would have him drink.

"Shall we toast?"