Closed Dancing in the Spring

[Matthew]

23rd of Spring, 514 AV.

He really hadn't been sure how to learn more about self-defense. Sure, there had been the idea of sparring with Bitzer. There had also been the idea of asking some of the more rough and tumble types, but he wasn't exactly sure which ones to ask. In the end, he had thought it would probably be best just to take a shot at it and see how it went. Hopefully it wouldn't end up with him getting beat to a pulp. He would have a hard time bringing in business with a face that couldn't sell.

The Harlot had chosen a day with wind. He had recently purchased an earth-brown cloak that draped to his ankles, and on the hotter days of Spring the cloak could roast him alive. He wore it to help himself blend in a bit better. The simple white cloth shirt and britches underneath weren't anything special, but they were completely clean. They were also well-fitted, showing off the better assets of his body. The cleanliness and attractiveness is what could make him stand out in Sunberth, and it was only recently that he had noticed this. With that in mind, he had bought the cloak. Now he looked like any other mysterious figure roaming the darkening streets of the slum city. He also had a knife strapped onto him, that was one other change. That was what he was going to the tavern for, after all.

When he had arrived, he had gotten his pint of water and then started his task. Most people laughed him off. He couldn't hide his styled hair and beautifully handsome face, and the slightly feminine features caused most of the gruff men he approached to immediately dismiss him. Not taken aback in the slightest, Matthew had continued to ask. He had timed his adventure so that no one would be quite yet drunk, though perhaps a little tipsy. He didn't want to start a fight.

In the end, he actually amused some folk. He had found one man who had given him a very detailed lesson on holding the dagger. He had shown him how to wrap his fingers around it, and he had also walked Matthew through swinging it vertically and horizontally in simple slicing motions. Matthew had thought the lessons to be a bit basic, but was quite alright with that. Knowledge was knowledge and he was certainly a beginner.

It had taken him a few chimes to notice the chortles and muffled laughter, but he had realized soon enough that he being made fun of.

Several more chimes later and he was sitting at a table, aimlessly watching the tavern patrons mill about. He had recently been training himself to keep his ears and eyes open so that he could notice every little thing that went on around him, so he distracted himself by focusing on that. The first part of Intelligence was listening and learning. the Harlot sat there, blue eyes bright as they aimlessly glanced around. His ears stayed open though, just listening to all he could hear. He was mostly hoping to stumble across someone wishing they could teach a clueless young man how to weild a weapon, but he really doubted that it was going to happen. He'd figure out something, though.

[Caela Dorin]

Nobody had noticed Caela nestled away in a corner, partly concealed by shadow. Her simple, modest garb and carefully arranged cloak had hidden her successfully from the eyes of lewd men. While a man would stare quite openly at an attractive woman, he'd be careful not to look too closely at a cloaked figure. The wrong sort of attention could get you killed in Sunberth after all so she was almost certain to be left in peace. Unless some lunatic arrived in the tavern but that wasn't likely to happen. It left her with the chance to nurse a drink without harassment before having to go and entertain the occupants of the drinking house.

Her hood afforded her the chance to survey others without their knowledge and she did enjoy to people watch when people weren't gawking at her. She was able to watch the various customers and how they reacted to one another. The dancer could pick out the ones who were likely to be aggressive by the way people avoided them. She also spotted the weaker characters, the ones that weren't considered a threat. Those ones were laughed at, shoved around and sometimes even spat on. Those ones tended to cower. One of them stuck out though. He only flitted into view every so often but she saw how others reacted to him. He was different. No matter how many times he seemed to be laughed at by the more aggressive types, he kept approaching them. The young woman had no idea what the stranger's mission was but he kept her entertained as her drink slowly diminished.

When she finally got a good look at him, she was surprised. It was Matthew! It was the strangely pretty man that she'd danced with the previous season. He was dressed in an entirely new style; he didn't stick out except for his face. He could wear drab, nondescript clothing but he couldn't make his face look unremarkable. No wonder he'd been laughed at when he approached the rougher types, he looked like a weak pretty boy because he was one. She still didn't know what his occupation was. The girl bit her lip, wondering if she should try to find out. Moving over to Matthew would mean drawing attention to herself. She considered it, releasing her lip with a slight sucking sound. She downed the last of her drink and made her way over to him where he was talking.

"Hello Matthew. Fancy seeing you here again," she murmured, letting the hood drop. Her blonde tresses were shaken loose as they were freed from their confines.

x

[Matthew]

Blue eyes turned to regard the newcomer, a polite smile touching Matthew's lips as he realized who it was. "Ah, hello. The dancer. It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Dorin." His head smoothly leaned up, slow enough to allow her time to react if she wished, the end result being a soft kiss on the cheek if allowed. It was an odd sort of greeting, but seemingly simple to Matthew. His lips did not linger, he did not try anything more, he merely placed it and then was back to his original seated position. He opened his mouth to speak, but was briefly interrupted by the arrival of a bar maid holding a mug. "Your water, Matthew." There was a tone of amusement to her voice, but the young harlot didn't seem to notice. He merely nodded and politely thanked her, taking the mug and stealing a quick sip, wetting his lips before continuing on.

"Are you doing well? You look as beautiful as you did the last time we met." Much like the kiss, the compliment was just that. It was a genuine compliment in that soft and polite tone of his, not looking to flirt or flatter, merely stating something that he had observed. While a lot seemed to see Matthew as a complicated and mysterious sort of character, he didn't think he was either of those traits. He was instead painfully simple and open, something that seemed almost too easy to read. Perhaps that was why people always assumed he was something much more complex. Perhaps he was, and just didn't notice it.

He tried to focus on both listening to the crowd and speaking with Caela at once. Instead of hanging onto every word the surrounding patrons spoke, he opted just to keep their voices on the edge of his conscious and listen for a few key words instead. If he heard those words, then he would focus back onto the conversation. Otherwise, Caela would occupy most of his focus.

"I am looking to learn how to use a dagger. I have not studied a form of self-defense, but I feel it is a somewhat required skill in Sunberth. Would you happen to be able to teach me, or do you know someone who would? I haven't found anyone willing to help me yet." The polite smile once again bloomed across his beautiful features, eyes intent on her own. He did take another sip of the water, the cool liquid quite refreshing in the midst of the mild tavern heat.

[Caela Dorin]

Somehow she hadn't noticed his blue eyes before, or maybe they just hadn't stayed in her memory. She had certainly forgotten how attractive he was with his almost feminine features. His features complimented his cool blue eyes made a shiver run down her spine as he gazed back at her. His words were soft and polite, expected between acquaintances but when he leaned towards her she froze in bewilderment. The soft press of his lips against her cheek surprised her further and made her cheeks warm at the brief contact. To him, it was as if nothing had happened. The dancer was too surprised to even feel amusement at the arrival of his water, she just stood beside him with her mouth slightly open.

His words jolted her out of her dumbness and made her face warm further. Caela was sure that her face had betrayed her by some show of colour but she swallowed and made herself reply to him. "Yes, I've been well and... thank you, I..." The young woman trailed off as she tried to find some way to repay the compliment but she came up empty. Here she was supposed to be some sort of great seductress (at least she liked to think so) and she felt like an absolute idiot in front of him. In fact, she felt a number of years younger than she ought to be, like a young naive teenager again. It was not a pleasant feeling. Matthew was certainly a different sort of man but that was something that she'd realised when they'd first met. He wasn't predictable and so she didn't know how to deal with him at all.

His continuance of the conversation made her sigh quietly in relief and eagerly try to keep their talk going. ”Oh you want to learn about using a dagger, really? No offence or anything but I don’t think anyone will take you too seriously. You don’t exactly look like the sort of person who would be... capable of wielding a dagger, at least not to the rougher sort around here who could actually teach you,” she murmured, realising that she was quickly digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole. ”I’d have a basic understanding of its usage myself but I’d be a true novice with it. If you’d be willing to put up with my extremely mediocre skills then I’d want something in return. Another dance perhaps?” she suggested tentatively, trying to keep the hope from her expression. She was far too attracted to this pretty boy for comfort.

x

[Matthew]

The Harlot had learned to notice the signs and he now noticed them with her. His eyes did not waver from her own, but the clues popped out at him from the edges of his vision. There was a light tinge of pink to her cheeks, something that actually went well with the natural tone of her skin. He very nearly complimented her on that as well, but bit off the response before it instinctively came out. A blush was something that most people didn't like pointed out, even if it would be pointed out in a positive light.

His thoughts were interrupted as she latched onto his offered topic of conversation and ran with it, causing his eyes to sharpen and focus as he intently listened to what she had to say. He didn't look the sort? He glanced down at himself, furrowing his brow as he tried to understand. He knew he stood out. Was it perhaps the way his face looked? Everyone he knew that could fight always had some sort of scar to show for it. Even Edreina had markings on her body that had been won from some sort of battle. Perhaps he needed a scar? He hummed to himself just a bit, very low under his breath, a recently-developed habit that he found himself falling back on when he was lost in thought. She had offered to teach him, which he appreciated. Another dance seemed to be an odd payment, seeing as how she wouldn't be able to learn anything from him.

Oh, wait, she was flirting. Perhaps he wasn't as good at picking up on it as he had originally thought.

He chewed his lower lip in thought and then slowly nodded, voice as soft as always. "A basic understanding is more advanced than no understanding at all, which is where I find myself. I feel that your terms are perfectly agreeable. Where would you like to meet for the lesson? The easiest places for me would be either the Mill outside of town, or the Hot Springs. I can give you directions to either, or we can meet anywhere you would like. I certainly appreciate you offering yourself for this." Another polite smile was given to the dancer, blue eyes not wavering from her own for even a single moment.

[Caela Dorin]

The man was always watching things. She could almost see his brain working behind his eyes as he took in everything and seemed to analyse it. There was something about the way he looked at things around him that seemed to suggest that Matthew was stripping everything down, including herself. It wasn't something that he did in a lewd way like she was used to but he was stripping her bare in a different way. It was making an already awkward situation into an extremely uncomfortable situation. As a result, she was glad when her babbling about daggers made his eyes light up with interest and stopped his creepy analysis.

The man took on an expression of confusion and he looked down at himself. The dancer wondered if the comment about his appearance was the reason for that expression. Did he seriously not know how... soft he looked? No right-minded thug or mercenary would be caught dead making a deal with Matthew, let alone teaching him. He just looked like too much of a sissy and even the young woman had to admit that to herself. Once more, she wondered what line of work he was in. Sunberth was a rough sort of place and she couldn't see this gentleman fitting in anywhere. The young woman wondered why he bothered spending so much time grooming himself. Perhaps he was hiding something behind such a soft exterior. Maybe there would be an opportunity to ask him at some stage because not knowing was driving her mad.

Her brow had creased as she tried to puzzle out what his occupation could be but it smoothed as she listened to Matthew talk. She was surprised and pleased that her offer hadn't been turned down although she couldn't see how much help that she could really give the man. Unless he was really really bad. If that was the case then perhaps his approaching the rougher patrons in the tavern had been an act of desperation. That would explain an awful lot.

"Oh well, I'd be glad to help if I can but you'll have to wait awhile. I have to work you see," she explained, parting her cloak slightly to show her modest street clothing with her dancing clothes peeking out in places beneath it. "The Mill should be a good place and don't worry I don't need directions to get to anywhere in Sunberth. I've lived here all my life." She flashed him a warm smile and then glanced at the bar towards where Merv stood. He flashed a hand signal in her direction and she nodded in reply. She needed to work. "Unless there's something else you want to arrange, I need to entertain some drunken men. Would you like to meet me after work in about two bells or do you want to wait until tomorrow?" Caela asked, obviously impatient for the answer.

x

[Matthew]

"Ah, excellent." Matthew returned her warm smile with a polite one of his own, full lips curving in the professional gesture. "I'll pick you up after work. See you in two bells." With a wave of his fingers and one last gulp of his water, the Harlot was out the door and to destinations unknown.

***

He spent most of those bells just getting ready. He switched to more appropriate clothes, a simple white sleeveless tank top that was appropriately fitted to his slim but toned figure, and a pair of loose black shorts that hugged the definition of his hips and gave his body plenty of room to breath. He warmed up his muscles with a steady jog around the city, an old habit from Sunberth that he had sadly slacked off on. He could tell that he had gotten out of shape, lungs burning no more than a few chimes into the simple work-out. He polished off the warm-up with a quick series of sit-ups and push-ups, dropping to the ground to perform the bodybuilding exercises when he felt that he couldn't run any further.

Then there was lunch. Trying to be considerate to the person who was to be teaching him, he dipped into his food supply and made two simple sandwiches for the pair. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder, he packed away the light lunch along with some water and his practice knives. Satisfied with his preparations and feeling that it was about time for Caela's shift to be over, the Harlot went to pick the woman up. He would arrive right on time, sweat having dried from his body, a quick rinse and a spritz of cologne preventing any body odor from swelling up again. If he caught her at the end of one of her dances, he would patiently and politely watch, paying her the attention that he felt her show deserved.

When she was done, he would make sure she was okay with his choice of lunch and then offer to walk her back to wherever she lived if she needed to change, drop off anything or pick anything up. Then they would be off, headed to the run-down mill on the outskirts of town.

It was an old thing that Matthew had visited a few times before. It was a two story mill that was falling apart, leaving beams of both rotten and solid wood spider-webbing all over the place. Matthew was quick to slip into the old mill and find his way up a fallen beam, arms extended to the side as he carefully wobbled his way up to the second story, blue eyes sharp with focus as he struggled to keep his balance. He didn't turn his eyes to regard his companion, but his question was obviously meant for her. "How do you think we should begin, Caela?" He put the ball in her court, so to speak, allowing her to take the lead however she wished.

[Caela Dorin]

Caela favoured him with a quick nod before turning and heading fro the back room. Once in front of the mirror, the cloak was discarded and then the street garb was stripped away to reveal her dancing clothes. Her fingers moved over the clothes, flattening them and removing any creases. Taking her time, she applied a layer of colour to her lower lip, spreading it from the centre of the lip outward on one side and then the other. Her cosmetic brush was made to dance over her cheeks, in a quick, movement, rouge coating the tips of the bristles. She decided against doing anything to her eyes and stepped out into the bar to deal with her admiring fans.

****

Two hours was a long time to dance, even if you were only using slow and sensual movements. Caela had been dancing for years and so her body had grown used to the demands that she put upon it. It didn't mean that she couldn't break into a light sweat as her limbs worked and her body teased. A slow ache would burn in her muscles and leaver her weary when she stopped and so she didn't stop. She kept her movements slow and graceful but not overly extravagant. The dancer wasn't in the mood to pull off anything too elaborate, seeing as such dancing couldn't be truly appreciated by the men that she had to amuse. That didn't mean that the twists and turns of her body didn't entice and enrapture the customers. They were used to seeing the female body at work but most of the girls who danced in bars weren't true dancers; they didn't have the passion for it. Caela did and it showed. She was sure that that was the greater attraction, the fire that seemed to possess her when she really let go while she was dancing. Such passion was all consuming and so she noticed little once it took hold. Hence, she wasn't aware of Matthew's presence until she was finished.

Once she saw him, the young woman smiled, her cheeks already flushed from exertion or else she would have been blushing. She ducked her head and hurried into the back room to grab her street clothes, not wanting to keep the man waiting any longer than necessary. He had prepared a simple lunch for them, sandwiches and water that would sustain them during their training. It was very thoughtful of him, Caela believed as was his offer to walk her back to her living quarters. She agreed to such a proposition, eager to rid herself of the sweat from her skin and to put on fresh clothing.

She was quick to enter her rooms to strip, wash and change. Wearing a more practical training outfit of trousers and a blouse with her dagger strapped to the belt at her waist. They made their way in silence to the old rundown mill, neither obviously in the mood for talking. Caela focused on what she could teach him and how to go about doing it. She had no idea what level of skill he was at so she'd have to determine that first. If he had any bad habits, she could only hope that she would be able to correct them as opposed to making them worst.

When they reached the old building, her companion was quick to make his way to the second floor via an old beam. She followed him cautiously, carefully placing one foot in front of the other and using her arms for balance. As she made her way up to the next floor, Matthew asked what her plan of action was. Biting her lip thoughtfully, she put forward the plan that she had been thinking about on the way to the mill. "Show me what you can do first and then I'll see what I can do for you. It might not be much though, there's no guarantee that I can help you out," she explained as she reached the end of the beam and straightened up.

x

[Matthew]

Matthew took a moment to study the crisscrossing wooden beams that mostly made up the second floor, though there were a few patches of solid wooden planks with slightly-rotted edges. From what he understood, balance was an important part of acrobatics training. The support beams of the mill would be an excellent way to practice good balance while also working on their martial skills, if the beams were actually solid enough to support them. A few were very visibly sagging and looking as if they would collapse under the weight of the air alone. He avoided those and slowly tested out a few of the beams, patiently balancing his way out onto them. Edreina had at one point taught him how to keep his balance while on a rocking ship, and some of those concepts came into play now. His hips swayed back and forth as he moved, almost like the sultry natural flow of Caela's own body. A few more ticks of testing and he seemed satisfied, balancing his way back to a the more secure section of flooring that the Harlot and Dancer shared.

Unslinging his backpack from his shoulder and setting it in a corner, he took a moment to stretch out his limbs, arching and flexing his back and arms before dipping down to extract his wooden practice daggers. They were simple carved pieces of wood with metal cores, a non-lethal weapon that replicated the shape and the size of normal daggers. He had another in his bag, one that he always kept there, but that was a different thing entirely. Setting one dagger on top of the bag and tossing another one up and down in his hand, he considered her question before slowly and softly answering.

"Not much at all. I know basic hand-to-hand combat techniques and I know the proper way to hold a dagger. Really, at this point in my training, all I have been trying to do is to get used to holding it. I've never really held a weapon before, and I definitely haven't ever carried one around. It is an oddly foreign experience for being something so simple. If you are close to the same experience level, we could always simply try to fight. I've found it hard to find people to practice actual combat scenario's with." He offered her a polite smile, glancing back down to his bag. She would be able to use the other wooden dagger she had, if she wanted. Then again, she might be the sort who felt it was best to experience the danger and lethality of bare steel.

Sky blue eyes slowly wandered back to her, brow furrowing. "It might be an interesting exercise for me to act like a particularly drunk man from the tavern, one looking to take a little more than the show you offer. It'll allow me to get used to the basics of attacking and it might come in handy one day if you actually do ever run into trouble." He slowly spun the wooden dagger in his palms, getting familiar with the odd weight of it, giving it a few little practice swipes in the air just to limber out his arm.

[Caela Dorin]

The balancing act didn't end once she reached the end of the beam. On the contrary, she was somehow left on a more unsteady surface than just the narrow old beam. The floor wasn't that solid, rotting away in places characterised by the way support beams sagged. It was going to be an interesting experience training up here. She'd have to learn how not to fall through the floor. That wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind but it would be a challenge that they'd have to overcome. They'd have to be careful even if they found somewhere that was solid enough for them to work.

The young woman watched anxiously as Matthew set about testing the beams. It certainly put a dampener on the lesson if he incapacitated himself by ending up on the floor below them. Even though it was nerve wracking to watch, it was also worth watching him move. Caela couldn't exactly help staring at him as his hips swayed back and forth. The movement was quite hypnotic and after watching him for a little while, she grew uneasy for a different reason entirely. Far too much of a pretty boy, far too attractive, she thought as she dragged her eyes away from the sight and tried to focus on something else.

The dancer was able to look at him directly again when he'd finished his balancing act and come back. She moved to the more solid flooring that he seemed to have found, testing carefully with her feet before each step just to be on the safe side. The young woman came as close to him as she dared, not wanting to move too close to him, just in case her body... overreacted in some way to his near presence.

Just focus on what you're supposed to be doing, she reminded herself, watching as he produced practice daggers from his bag. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. He'd certainly come prepared but at least there was no chance of either of them injuring the other by accident with pieces of wood. She bent to pick up the dagger he'd left on top of his backpack and tested the weight of the fake blade. She took her own dagger from her belt and compared them. Returning her dagger to her proper place, she nodded in satisfaction. The two were close enough. It'd be like fighting for real, except without the chance of getting hurt.

"Whether or not there's just one right way to hold a dagger is debatable but I'll take your word for it. As long as you can hold it without cutting yourself, you should be all right," she replied, smiling. His idea of a practice bout interested her though. "We could fight, yes although I'm not very good. If I was ever actually attacked, I'd probably just stab and slash wildly. I should probably try to do a bit better than that though."

The young woman became rigid at his suggested scenario. She didn't like the sound of that at all and she didn't want to associate Matthew with those lecherous louts. If he was a good actor and it was believable then she'd probably panic but if she could keep in mind that it was just training then she'd be all right. At least that's what she told herself.

She gripped the dagger in her hand, choosing a forward grip to allow her to "attack" from a lower position. He was taller than her after all. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt, followed by her thumb which came to rest against her index finger. The practice dagger was now held point up, ready to be thrust upwards. She tested it, stabbing upwards before smiling at Matthew.

"I'm ready. Attack when you're ready and I'll see if I can block you seeing as I can't really move out of your way and circle behind you. We haven't really got that much floor space," she remarked, checking the floor within a two foot radius from where she stood. The blonde dancer had to be sure that she'd be able to step in any direction without fear of losing her footing unexpectedly. She beckoned him towards her, partly encouragement but also partly a challenge.

x