For A Day of Sky [Fawn]

[Arvælyn]

"It wasn't easy..." Arvalyn agreed, and that was true enough. His flight from the land of his birth had come on him quite suddenly, perforce. He'd had no time to prepare, nor had he a clear destination in mind when he quite Antiris. After a sleepless night terrified and alone on the road, his mind wandered back to Aurin and his description of Kalzasi. His fantasies had run rather wild and, on the long, hungry sojourn, the city had taken on an almost divine quality in his mind- A promised land. Even a year later with his full potential achingly out of reach, he had an abiding love for Kalzasi. It was the first place he'd been allowed to be himself... Or rather, to be the self he'd always sought to become but never chanced to back home.

"Mm..." Arvalyn lifted the fork Fawn had brought for him and poked at the tip of the quiche. The girl's quip reminded him of his recent concerns. He'd lately grown anxious that his career had plateaued, and that he might, to paraphrase a popular number in which he'd performed, 'Sacrifice his sacro working in the back row."

"Well, for better or for worse, skin pays better than fabric at this venue. After working the stage here for a year, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get every grain of body glitter off if I live to be four-hundred..." He trailed off, as the prongs of his fork pierced the egg and cheese pie filling. He glanced up with a wistful smile at the questions.

"Quite nervous, yes. They actually had me start out as a server at the cabaret tables near the stage, so I could watch the shows at night and rehearse during the day. Lunaria seemed keen to undress me from the outset, so no, it wasn't long before I was working in back." He furrowed his brow, "I thank the gods I had Aurin around to protect me and show me the ropes, as it were." He took a bite of the quiche, and glanced to Fawn's empty plate with a blink. His eyes darted to the silverware she'd fetched for herself, that remained unused, and then his gaze returned to the girl with an amused glint in the gold there.

"You're welcome to some of my grapes, if you're still hungry..."

[Fawn]

33 Frost, 120 AoSxx

"Well, good thing I like glitter, then!" She said with a giggle, beaming as she pushed her plate out in front of her with a content sigh. She looked at him then. Not just looked, but in fact studied like she would a new horse. He was well built, with elegant but broad shoulders and clean, unblemished skin. His hands moved with a certain grace and decisiveness that she wondered if, had he been blindfolded, he'd still be able to move so smoothly. Probably, she decided.

But his admission to nerves gave her hope. That perhaps she too would become less of a klutz over the years if she succeeded, and maybe even end up as elegant as he was. Then again, she'd never been the type to practice poise. In fact, back on her farm she'd been used to quite the opposite. Her family would chastise her for being too clean, stating that if she didn't need to wash her clothes after taking care of the animals, then she hadn't done it right. She'd spent many a day jumping over fences, climbing trees, and riding bareback that by the time she'd left for Kalzasi you'd wonder if she had an elegant bone in her body.

But, maybe it could be in her future. "Really? Then I suppose I'll look to ye for guidance, since we seem so similar that is." She bit her lip, thinking briefly on how to best utilize her knew source of knowledge, before shaking her head. "Nah, I'm quite full. Ah! One moment." Fawn then stood, picking up her own plate and silverware and trotting off to the kitchen to return her dishes with a bounce in her step. There was a clear area next to one of the large sinks with dishes stacked, where she placed her own before returning to the table with Arvalyn and plopped down in her seat. Copper curls danced before settling around her shoulders.

"So, what was the first 'rope' he showed ye? I've got a number I'll be performing tomorrow after the opening few, but, I don't rightly ken what to do after gettin off stage. So many want to go to the back but I'm not ready for that sorta stuff yet." Truthfully, she felt a bit bad. Here she was, clearly prancing around the room showing off her goods, and only making most upset when she admitted they wouldn't be getting lucky that night. Save for that one orkhan, who seemed eager to wait as long as necessary.

[Arvælyn]

"Then you've come to the right place!" Arvalyn chuckled, pulling at his collar and craning his neck to glance down at his bare, smooth chest beneath. Indeed a few glints of artificial starlight answered the lighting in the room- stowaways from the prior evening's performance. He popped a grape into his mouth, and glanced up at Fawn.

"Oh, heh... I'm not sure I'm the best guide to mentor a body through this life. I sort of keep myself to myself, when I can, and there are... All sorts of gregarious types haunting these halls. They may not be as talented as I, but they'll make for better teachers, I'll be bound." As Fawn stepped away to tend to her dishware, Arvalyn took a few more bites of his quiche. Favouring the crust, she would find him peeling a peace from the filling as she returned and reclaimed her seat. He popped the buttery bit onto his tongue, but nearly choked at her next question. He coughed a bit and rapped at his chest with a fist,

"Ah, well... That's rather a personal question, as it happens, but... I suppose to be tasteful about it, he taught me that what our audiences seek- Whether they be here for bawdy songs or beautiful bodies, is connection. Some people want to connect to a fantasy on stage, others want that fantasy alive and breathing in arm's reach. Some come for lust, but a lot of others come for..." He paused, and searched the air for the right phrasing, "...an approximation of love. A conditional sort, but something that makes them feel wanted and worthy." He glanced to the stage, imagining himself back at its centre and the way he felt the moment after his final note had ceased to resonate throughout the room. Connected. Wanted. Worthy.

"Anyway. You can be as selective as you please with private clients, so no need to race into it. If I could go back, I'd've taken a bit more time... been a tad more selective. Do you have anyone here keeping an eye out for you?"

[Fawn]

33 Frost, 120 AoSxx

Fawn dipped her head, a sheepish expression taking over her face. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to what is and isn't ok to ask someone." Her home town had been... a strange sort. All manner of folk coming through during travel times, but mostly filled with her family and close friends. A total of perhaps 150 people in the entire town, many of which were children her own age. But once she was a teenager, had been thrust into the family business and hadn't seen her friends outside of morning deliveries and evening suppers at her cousins place. And even around her vastly more outlandish aunt, there had been far more interesting topics going round the table.

Though, thoughts of Mino trickled into her mind. The aura he'd extended to her, his hands in her hair, wrapped around her locks and pulling her close- wanted, worthy. It made sense, and she tucked that piece of information in the back of her mind for later. Right. Make people feel wanted, worthy, whole. If she could figure out a way to elicit the same response to her customers, perhaps she could make them happy, too.

But still, she wondered if he was embarrassed to talk about sex. She pursed her lips, confusion running through her mind as she thought back to the few times she'd mentioned the act in front of city folk. Were they prude? Did the city have some strange feel about it? Marina had been asexual, uninterested in intimacy outside of friendly, romantic touching. The differences in everyone's reactions to it had her confused.

Frustrated, she pouted and leaned her chin on a her hand, elbow propping her up as she studied the mans expression post-coughing fit.

"Why is it that ye city folk are so strange about sex? I haven't done anythin' of it, but ye either act like it's worth more than gold or its terrifying and shouldn't be spoken about. I don't understand. If yer a lad ye stick it in somewhere and a few moments later it's done."

Fawn blinked, her brow raising with his question and pulling her from previous thought. "Keepin' an eye out? Nah. I figure I don't have much to fear inside the cabaret. It seems safe enough in here, save for the drunken lads on occasion I'm sure." She straightened out her back and began running a few fingers through her curly tresses. "Why, ye think I should fear?"

[Arvælyn]

"I'm unoffended." Arvalyn replied, with a dismissive wave of his hand, before he sent it back down to collect his fork to break off another piece of quiche. He wasn't keen to talk about that strange, vulnerable, treasured memory of giving himself fully to someone for the first time. That was his own souvenir to cherish and regret from time to time, depending on where he stood with Aurin in a given moment.

He arched an eyebrow at Fawn's espoused frustrations,

"Well, perhaps after you've done something of it, you'll better understand." He said, placing his fork down on the plate and pushing the half-finished quiche away. It was rare for him not to finish a meal, but his stomach had been fluttery with nerves of late and they didn't seem to want quiche for company.

"And worry not, there are plenty of them what-..." He winced, "...who'll be more than happy to talk your ear off about sex. Some even get off on just talking about the act in front of a pretty thing, and there's more than that who'd fancy a demonstration." He smirked, "And, if you want to keep a steady client base, I'd try to make the lads last longer than a few moments. A bloke likes to feel he's gotten his money's worth, so there's merit to the tease." He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, I only asked because I had Aurin to look after me. There are fail safes at the cabaret, sure, but I wouldn't venture to say that anywhere is completely safe. It's good to have allies about to keep a sharp eye out in case things go sideways. You seem an outgoing sort, I'm sure you'll make friends easily enough."

[Pharaoh]

R E V I E W

Arvælyn:
Lores: 13
XP: 10 (No magic)

Fawn: (Derelict Character)

Injuries/Ailments:
n/a

Loot:
n/a

Notes: This thread never got closed after Fawn vanished into the Dread Mists.