Even the Orchestra is Beautiful [Aurin/Flashback]

[Arvælyn]

The 19th of Searing
119th Year of the Age of Steel

It had been a few days since Arry had collapsed at Aurin's doorstep, and his circumstances were already immensely different. He was officially an employee at the Velvet Cabaret, which felt like a huge achievement. Aurin had arranged for him to meet with the proprietress once he'd had a few days to heal up from the wear and tear of travel. Aurin had calmly and comprehensively explained that it would serve Arry to put his best foot forward, so they'd worked together to realise that goal. His hair had been washed and trimmed, he borrowed clothes that fit him well enough even if the boots were a tad clunky.

The meeting went swimmingly! Aurin had brought him into Lunaria's office and made the necessary introductions, and then Arry was left alone with the Velvet Diva. He powered through his nerves and didn't completely humiliate himself. He actually felt as though he'd presented himself quite well! Lunaria, who had seemed terrifying to him in theory, was an absolute delight in practice and had been very encouraging of his dreams, goals and plans. Everything had gone as well as he could have dreamed, except insofar as Lunaria had thrown one curveball...

"Aurin?" Arry called out as he knocked on the door to the human's cottage, even though he'd been lent a key whilst he stayed there.

"Aurin, it went so well! Are you at home?" Arvine leaned against the doorframe, grinning gleefully. As a moment passed, his brow furrowed with contemplation. He wanted to share the good news with his saviour, of course, but there were a few things about which he had questions well. By and by, Aurin answered the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry... were you napping?" He bit his lip, "It went amazing, but... We need to talk. I have questions..."

[Aurin]

Aurin appeared, a little bleary in the eyes. He grunted but stepped back to let Arry in. By now, they had sort of settled into a bit of an understanding. It was new and fragile still, perhaps, but they had spent more time together since Arry arrived than they had for their first meeting in Antiris. Aurin was just a bit of a curmudgeon, but if actions speak louder than words, he was certainly doing what he had promised to do. He had housed, fed, and clothed Arry without asking for anything in return, without pressuring him to do anything in particular. Lunaria would give anyone an interview on his recommendation at this point, but it was good to hear that it had gone well.

The man expressly did not lock the door after closing it behind them. It was daylight. Nobody was coming to kill him. Arry had made a joke about it and so he was proving that he wasn't afraid. He was, though, and he knew it was largely irrational but better paranoid than dead, he thought.

"No nap," he assured him, "but was thinking about it." He had been lying down but didn't want to sleep until he heard how the interview went. His schedule was funny, but he was sleeping less than usual, trying to do right by Arry.

He put the kettle on for tea not because he particularly wanted some, but for something to keep his hands busy. The breezes coming through the grills at the top of the walls kept it from getting too hot inside, and tea was calming and clarifying. Anyway, Arry seemed a little jittery or excited or both. He might like some himself. Aurin wasn't trying to make it a home, exactly, but he was trying to make it welcoming, even though he was unused to sharing his little space with anyone for more than a few hours.

"Questions, eh? All right. Fire away."

[Arvælyn]

"All right..." Arry clunked into the cottage in borrowed boots, which he kicked off with ease, as they were a bit large for him. He made his way over to Aurin's bed and turned, as if to sit on it, before deciding he was more keen to pace and stalking back toward the door.

"So, I told Lunaria about my goals for the future, and she didn't laugh in my face, which I considered to be a right good start. I told her I was eager to get started, and that I'd be happy to work my way up. I was honest about my lack of experience and that, but I told her I could do other sorts of work whilst I learn in the kitchen or whatever. She said she wanted me on the floor, because..." He glanced to the floor as he continued pacing to and fro across its length, "Well, she echoed your sentiments about my appearance." Arry explained, vaguely.

As someone who'd spent his entire life trying not to be seen, he was far from accustomed to being complimented about his looks. No one outside his little crime family really spent time looking at his soot-smudged face, nor could they see the shape of his form beneath the oversized hand-me-downs he wore day-to-day. If he was more attractive than the average human, he certainly didn't know it. His first inkling that such might be the case had come from Aurin himself. With Lunaria having offered a second opinion in support of this thesis, Arry was a tad taken aback.

"So, I'm going to get started as a serving lad during the night shows. That way I'll get to watch the performances and see what they're all about, whilst 'elping out the 'ouse. I'm supposed to meet with some director or summat tomorrow afternoon, so they can see if I have any talent and maybe start training me for the stage if they find some. So..." Arry took a breath,

"There was one thing Lunaria mentioned that I'm especially nervous about... It's just- Well, she said that before I perform on the stage in front of a crowd, it might do me good to do some, um..." He cleared his throat and paused his pacing. He turned to face Aurin directly,

"Private performances?" He scratched the back of his neck, "She said some performers have found patrons that way. Rich folk what believe in their talent and 'elp pay their way to stardom, so..." He shrugged one shoulder, "I just... Might have led her to believe I'm a bit more advanced in that department than I actually am." He bit his lip.

"Do you have any idea what it might entaill?"

[Aurin]

Aurin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"All right, so... courtesans are entertainers. Dance, sing, play instruments, be charming and clever in conversation... It is good to secure a small number of patrons, especially if one wants to move out of here and into their own employ. Many patrons will want private, erotic dances. Some will want sex. They have to sign contracts with Madame Lunaria, though. She won't force you into anything you absolutely don't want to do. She does look after her people, and there are people like me in the building in case things go cock-eyed... pun intended."

He leaned back against the wall since they weren't sitting down. Someone pacing around him in such a small space would make him jittery too. Best to remain standing tall, even if that meant a bit of a slouch.

"You're young and pretty and people will certainly proposition you, either directly or through Lunaria, so you will eventually have to let her know what you decide, but it can wait a while. Give you a chance to get settled in a bit, you know?"

Pausing, he tried to gauge Arry's reactions to all this. Sex held no mysteries for Aurin, but he didn't throw the kid a lifeline in order to sell him into sex slavery. Not that Lunaria would abuse him so, but there were fine lines in all of this that had to be respected.

"If you don't, you can work that into your mystique, perhaps. If you do, it won't be like a street whore, taking as many johns in a night as possible. It wouldn't be every night, even if you are young and pretty. Is this making sense? I want you to know you have choices here. Options."

[Arvælyn]

Arry nodded along, comprehending.

"I remember you told me about courtesans back when we first met. It sounds very glamorous. Is that what I'll be?" He smiled at the notion. Aurin had spoken of courtesans who had courtiers, and hosted classy salons in their stately homes. At least that was how Arry had interpreted it, and he'd been fantasising about that life ever since. Lunaria, for her part, hadn't used that word explicitly during his interview. She hadn't mentioned titles at all, really. It seemed like the work he'd be starting out with was rather eclectic and that things might narrow down into a more focused job once they'd had time to appraise his talents.

"I'm just not used to this, y'know?" Arry finally plopped down on the bed, though his nervous energy still presented itself in the way he bounced on the edge of the mattress. "When you're picking pockets the 'ole point is to keep everyone's eyes off of you. Now that people are paying attention, it's... I just didn't expect to be treated so nicely. If I'd known 'ow nice people would be, I might've lifted me 'ead up sooner." He mused, looking up at Aurin where he stood.

"Aye, you're making perfect sense, Aurin, but I don't want to miss any opportunities. If a few private dances, and um..." He gulped, "...aught else is a way to skip rungs on the ladder to success, then I'm prepared to do what it takes." He bit his lip,

"The only thing is, I've only, you know... Fooled about with a few of me mates, after lights out back at the 'ideout. I could probably improvise a little sultry dance or summat, but if it came to it and they wanted summat more, I'm just..." He glanced down at his foot, where his big toe was squirming absently against the floor he could feel through a hole in his sock.

"...not sure what they'd want or 'ow to give it to 'em."

[Aurin]

"Aw, shit," he said, though he quickly laughed. It was a bit fatalistic, perhaps, or something along those lines. He walked over to the table, took the chair, and set it across from Arry, then sat down. He wasn't so close as to be up in his personal space, but this was the sort of conversation they ought to have face to face.

"All right. From here until forever, I guess, you can ask me anything. Even if you feel stupid... I'll do my best to answer so you don't have to go into anything totally unprepared. Worst thing is I might tease you, but I won't tease you in front of other people, all right?" He leaned forward, elbows to knees.

"Why don't you start by telling me what you do know, and what you have done with your mates after lights out. A lot of people say a lot of things that just aren't true, or get blown out of proportion. If you're going to be doing this, though, you need to know what's what. It likely won't be enjoyable at first, not until you get the hang of it, and not with every client, most likely. We can hope for the best for you, but ultimately it's work. It's about their pleasure though many will want you to enjoy yourself as well. But if it was focused on your pleasure, they wouldn't be paying you for it."

He paused thoughtfully. "All right, that's not entirely true. There are folks out there who would pay you for the opportunity to pleasure you, but you can't depend on that happening. And if you're nervous at first, that might not be the worst thing. They might be kinder, more patient if they know you're inexperienced. Again, not always, but we can hope for the best and work to make the best more likely to come about."

[Arvælyn]

Arry knitted his brow, a bit offended that Aurin's instinct was to laugh. He didn't say anything, as he didn't feel he had much right to. The man had saved Arry and given him a new life- He had a right to derive a good chuckle from the former-thief, if he wanted one.

Arry looked down again, drawing his feet together as Aurin pulled the chair over, and clasping his hands between his knees.

"That sounds fair." He agreed, hazarding a glance up to meet Aurin's eyes. "Well... I don't know, I feel weird saying, but... You know, sometimes we'd reach below our breeches together, or... 'elp each other out, that way." As the flush of pink crept up Arry's neck to dominate his cheeks, his eyes darted down to where his hands fidgeted in his lap.

"One of the human boys used to like for me to kiss him on his-... I mean, I think you get the gist, don't you?" His body curled forward and his hands rose from his lap as his arms crossed over his chest.

"It was just mucking about, wasn't it? Just kid stuff." Arry had been eager to please, when attention had been thrust in his direction, but even at home that was rare enough. "Just sharing bunks and that when the nights grew cold, and sometimes waking up to a bit of an... Active embrace?" He winced and looked down,

"I'm embarrassed." He quickly drew his legs up and rolled onto the mattress so he was laying down with his back to Aurin, curled in a foetal position, hugging his knees.

"I'm sorry I brought this up. I'll just ask someone who isn't my friend. I feel stupid talking about this with you." He grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest, burying his face into it.

[Aurin]

Aurin caught the sort of flinch when he laughed, and so he nodded seriously as Arry offered a halting recounting of his smattering of experience. He sighed when Arry turned away from him — at least he wasn't laying on his pallet when there was a perfectly good, unused at the moment, bed. He was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he started explaining things as best he could, starting where Arry had.

"Well, reaching over and helping your mate out was giving him a handjob," he said. "Kissing it was the teaser before a blowjob, I imagine. Or fellatio if you're feeling fancy. Some acts and things have fancier names. Some really don't. I know a few of them in elvish, but I can't say for certain if they are the correct words, just what I have been told." He took a breath and just started talking to Arry's back, offering clinical information to him, at least unless the lad cut him off. No, Arry was a man. So he described the male sexual response, and the female. Explained how some people were somewhere in between those and scratched the surface about what that might mean. He described many sorts of foreplay, and many things best described as sexual congress. Men and women, men and men, women and women, and other variations. He talked about pregnancy. He talked about disease. He talked about some of the ways to keep oneself safe, some of the ways Madame Lunaria demanded her employees keep themselves and their clients safe.

Most of what he described would also be described as vanilla, but he certainly mentioned some of the more common kinks, especially those likely to pertain to Arry.

"But Madame Lunaria asks about those things beforehand, to make certain everyone agrees to everything."

He ran out of steam a little from staring at Arry's back. He thought about Looking at him to be sure he was all right, but the young man had a knack for knowing when he did and it only tended to upset him.

"Hey," he finally said, reaching out a tentative hand to touch his shoulder. "Are you all right? I know it's a lot. I... do you want me to take a walk so you can have some time to think?"

[Arvælyn]

Arry wasn't a complete naif, and he did know the terms Aurin used to clarify. He'd just been trying to speak in vaguer terms out of embarrassment. It felt vulnerable in a new and odd way to discuss his inexperience with Aurin in particular, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

He remained roughly in the same position as Aurin patiently explained some of what might be sought of Arry, if he decided to pursue this course. When he'd been in Lunaria's office, she'd made it all sound so innocuous and he'd been so eager to please her that his questions didn't even occur to him until the door shut behind him on his way out.

Now that Aurin went into greater detail about, not only the acts themselves, but also the sorts of clients who frequented the Velvet Cabaret in particular, Arry was less certain.

Feeling Aurin's touch upon his shoulder, he uncurled himself and laid on his back so his head could tilt toward the human.

"No, don't leave, please." He took Aurin's wrist in hand and tugged the red-haired man toward where he lay- asking without asking for him to join the half-Hytori on the bed. "I'm fine, really. I'm just nervous. It's sort of scary to imagine doing some of those things with total strangers. Especially if, as you say, it won't be enjoyable at first." He pursed his lips,

"I don't even know why someone would want to get so close like that to someone they don't know. Why do people pay for that?" He drew the pillow closer to his chest, and squeezed it tightly, letting his chin tip down to press into its cushion, though his nose poked out from above.

[Aurin]

Aurin took Arry's cues without embarrassing him further, at least on that account. He stretched out on the bed beside him, propping up his head and observing him, though he tried to be nonchalant about it. Anything was likely to throw his back up and make him retreat again. He was like a feral cat sometimes, which was entirely understandble given how Aurin had first found him.

"Ah, well. It can be awkward no matter which part you're playing, but being on the receiving end..." He shrugged. "It depends on the person, I suppose, and what they like and how their bodies work. If you're to be the passive partner, I suggest lubrication," and he held out his thumb, and ticked off on other fingers to follow, "breathing, and relaxation. But it's a strange sort of sensation at first, so relaxing can be difficult.

"As for why... I can't speak for anyone, really, and I wouldn't suggest polling them. They might feel attacked or judged. But some are married and the spark of romance has died out and they want to rekindle it with someone, even if it's imaginary, without ruining their marriage. Some have strong physical needs that they don't want to take care of solo. Some are just desperate to connect with someone, and it can be a connection. It might not be the one they are after, though.

"In my experience, it has been better when I knew and trusted the person, but sometimes... the body wants what the body wants. Sometimes you're just masturbating with each other's bodies, and there's nothing wrong with that if everyone's being honest about what they want. I'm sorry I laughed earlier... You've got a familiar street kid swagger and I suppose even I am sometimes surprised when you don't know a thing. I didn't mean to make you feel small. That's... actually never my intention."