Completed [Wright Memorial Library] How curious... (Matthew)

[Litani]

Think.

Concentrate.

Breathe, for the love of mercy. Breathe, woman.

Litani's eyes watched Matthew as he spoke, and for once, they didn't seem to waver. For once in this their first meeting, she seemed easily able to just simply look at how exquisite he really was, daring herself to let a few of her thoughts reflect in her eyes as she listened. Something about him had shifted and she sensed it - he was cool and confident when he walked up, now he almost seemed to need something from her. Seemed.

Fumbling buffoon. Right. That's... even remotely in the realm of possibility. Is he a liar or just that naive? ...or am I that naive? Petching hell.

Wordless, the Konti raised her left hand and ran it lightly over her features, trying to clear her head and read his mind both at the same time. "All right," she said softly, to him and to herself and to no one at all. She shook her head, let her hand fall away, and repeated the phrase as she sat down again: "All right..."

For a short time, Litani pressed her lips together and gazed sightlessly at the table between them. Her hands laced themselves together before her, delicate and webbed and marked as they were. After a few seconds, her thumbs started to tap themselves together as if keeping a tempo for the thoughts behind her eyes. Apparently having reached some conclusion or agreement within herself, she started to speak quietly... still to the table, for a moment, but letting her eyes climb slowly. "This would probably start best if I had some vague idea of what you already know." By the word 'know', her eyes were on his, but her next words followed quickly: "I don't need details! I just... your face is young, to me, Matthew. Please forgive me if I read you wrongly. ...I just... I have no idea how to even begin if I do not know where you've started."

She was starting to blush again, but what she said actually held a ring of pedagogical truth to it - one cannot teach a student without knowing what lessons have already been taught. Or so she told herself. Or maybe she just wanted some sense of what the board looked like, if she was going to play the game.

"Have you begun this profession you've chosen, or have you chosen to wait until you feel as though you've learned enough? And how have you learned - books alone, or from another...?"

Shameless. Perfectly shameless.

...no, I'm being professional! That's what he wants, isn't it!? He wants to learn. He was sent to me to learn--

Not about sex, he wasn't!

...yes, well, that's what he wants. Knowledge is better than ignorance.

Shameless.

She waited quietly then, her eyes on his, her features schooled to the nearest approximation of serenity she could summon. She found herself rather unspeakably grateful that humans could not read minds, nor hear the vibrant bickering to which her internal monologue was subjecting her. She simply sat, her questions posed, letting him think over what answer he might give... how he might next move the pieces on the game board. Beneath the table, her long legs crossed slowly as she started to relax again. Slightly.

[Matthew]

He felt himself visibly relax when her gaze held his. A part of him hated needing to learn, but he had managed to confess it, and she hadn't run away yet. Letting out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding, he settled a bit into his chair, feeling some level of comfort flooding through his recently-agitated veins. Why was this so important to him, anyways? Was it really just the most radical thing he could find to both deal with his family issues and own personal shortcomings? It was cliche and silly to strike out against a controlling family, but it still brought him comfort. It brought him a feeling of control, something very important to him. Perhaps that was why it was so important to learn from this Konti. Somewhere in this whole ordeal, something hadn't been under control. That couldn't happen again. She sat, and he breathed again. Fantastic. At her request, his mouth opened quickly, only to be cut short when she quickly let him know he didn't need the details. This gave the harlot some pause, as he was rather unaware of how to educate her on such a thing without going into details. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for the words, finding it hard to describe something so scientific to him in a simple manner. He had done it before though, hadn't he? He had managed to speak in thoughts and theories instead of facts and logic. "I... have studied touches and tastes that are focused on the actual act. I am wanting to learn more about touches that can be used seductively, instead of sexually. I know seduction is sexual, but certain touches aren't made with an end goal in mind. They are just made to be seductive. Eventually I wish to learn about touches that are also purely romantic, or purely flirtatious. Does this make sense at all?" It was hard not to go into specifics with this particular topic. He tried to keep himself so detached that a lot of it was just fact to him. Just words he had written or read. He tugged at his lower lip with his teeth, then tried again. "I have some idea, but this is just theory. I would rather hear first hand-account, or deal with a test group. A test group is hard to come by for this profession, however. So, I feel it just best to ask trusted individuals. There are just very few of those as well. This entire thing is something of a secret, still." With her next question, he nodded, speaking quickly this time. "A little bit, just to practice how effective things are. While I can make all the scientific assumptions I want, each woman is a variable. I have studied both books, and a few women. I have to be extremely selective, as this still needs to remain a secret. So far I have done well by simply using women who need it to be kept a secret even more than I do. It would be shameful for an established University professor to have such relations with her young student." His eyes glittered for a moment with a feeling of something completely different than before. He was intelligent, and he knew it. He was cunning. For a moment, his eyes glanced down to her serenely folded hands, curiosity in his stare. She would probably realize that he was considering what she had taught him, and already wanting to try it again. His handsome features focused to a look of study, and underneath the table, she would feel the toe of his boot very lightly touch to the side of her own foot. It was attempt at what she had shown him before, just a little motion that reminded her of his presence. Let her have a sample of his touch. It was almost amusing the level of focus that was in his distant stare, as if he was trying to learn something incredibly advanced. Such a simple thing, but he took it in such an incredibly serious way. After a few moments of the vacant stare, like he was trying to compute something deep within his mind, he suddenly glanced back up to her. "By the way, do not worry about offending me. Speak and act freely. I am planning on selling my body for a variety of depraved things. I can deal with the offensive and not take it on a personal level."

[Litani]

In her years of study, medicine had brought many things before her eyes and across her table. Wounds. Bodies in various states of disrepair or deformity. Youth. Age. Every manner of variation and complexity. But hearing the sensual described with cold detachment? There was still no getting her mind around this.

Litani shifted slightly, though whether from their current conversation or simply a matter of getting comfortable was unclear. "It makes... sense," she replied softly, answering his question, though her tone was unconvincing. As much sense as it makes sitting here listening to it, anyway, came the following, dryly bemused thought. "I admit I've never thought of these things in quite this way so... you are not the only one learning." She smiled then, just a subtle expression. Maybe a mask, maybe a deflection. Maybe sincere. Difficult to tell. She listened quietly as he went on.

His measure of intelligence was more than clear, as was his confidence, but the way in which he'd described his 'learning' heretofore was... unnerving. Not all that surprising, really, if one turned the situation on its side and came about it from a different angle. But unnerving, all the same.

I will have to be careful with this one... even more careful than I thought. A slow breath exhaled from her as she considered his words, the sound near to a sigh. If he can use others, he'll probably do the same with me. Perhaps that's the price one pays, in letting ones own self be used... people become things, and things can be manipulated and adjusted... things are made to be used.

Without the whispers of suggestion that his Djed supplied him, Litani's head was clearing quite quickly and returning to her own fashion of analytical approach. Which is to say, of course, that her mind was running over the options of things to say, whilst holding the greater part of itself back under control. Still, she glanced up at him with a blink when he touched her foot with his own, turning back on her the subtle hint she'd offered a few moments before. She didn't move and showed no other outward sign of the touch, save for the glance. But she didn't move away either.

Instead, she took a slight breath to answer, only to be cut off with a brief chuckle as he suggested she should act and speak freely. That brought a pause to her. Right. Tell me you know how to bring down the proud, and I can speak freely? Mmmmm. I don't think so. I haven't come this far with what I study to have it taken from me. She shook her head lightly, though did not voice the thought aloud. Some part of her genuinely winced at this realization... some part of her was disappointed with herself for feeling so guarded all of the sudden.

You've never even met this boy before, it's a natural response. It's the wise response.

I am here, now. The books smell familiar, the air is still... I am here, now. I am safe here.

The mantra against mental disquiet helped. It usually did. But when she returned her consciousness to the moment, she found him still looking at her. He was still there, just as breathtaking as ever, just as oddly inquisitive. He was waiting for an answer, she realized.

Clearing her throat delicately to find her voice again, she Konti brought her elbows up to the table and drew her laced fingers up to her lips in a gesture of thoughtfulness. "You certainly realize, of course, that there is no grand codex of these things you ask... no central library upon which to dwell so that you may learn everything." She smiled slightly, her left eyebrow twitching up a faint degree. "Women are all unique. What may be a flirt to one may well seduce another... " I would know, sad as that is. "And the same goes in reverse. But there is one thing I find myself questioning."

With this, she briefly licked dry lips and then pressed them together, narrowing her eyes in a thoughtful glance. Her head tilted slightly as well, in a fairly common mannerism of interested confusion. "If you can do as you did to me... why bother learning the rest at all? The academic exercise of it?"

She chuckled a little, finding that she'd be neither surprised nor shocked if he answered in the affirmative. Perhaps the question was silly in the first place, given all he'd told her. With that in mind, she went on, "If you want to truly get into the mind of a woman... the most powerful way is to make her believe that you truly want her. What you do to yourself - how you look, the things you say, the way you carry yourself - is all fine and has its place... but if you want to have her truly? Then make your touches and glances convey desire. Make her feel beautiful when you look at her... let her feel that she is wanted. Needed. Make her feel that your talent and strength and intelligence all crave her and her alone. Without that? " She shrugged gently and shook her head. "Whatever seduction you contrive will be short lived."

Before he could reply, she added, "I'm certain that you're aware of such things. But best to start on a common understanding, yes? This having been said..."

Watch yourself now, girl. Watch what you say and how you say it. He sure as hell will be.

"...are you, in truth, looking for a 'teacher' who will suspend her disbelief for you?"

There. Let him chew on that and we'll see what he comes up with. We'll just see.

[Matthew]

Not noticing the unconvincing tone to her voice, Matthew let the smallest of genuine smiles crack his full lips. Her statement that she understood was something he had needed from someone, and something that he hadn't gotten throughout this entire charade. He supposed it didn't really matter, but it still made something swirl warmly deep inside of him. Whenever she admitted she was learning as well, he was almost happy for her, but also slightly confused. She didn't think about things in the way he did? Not even a little? He wondered if he should be envious of their ability to think primarily on an emotional level. No, it was an ability he had as well. It was just something he could flick on and off, just the same as he could flick everything else on and off. He sometimes wondered if someone at the academy had just Animated him. It would be almost depressing to him, if he had turned on the switch. She had seemed to calm down, and if he had the ability to read minds, he would be relieved at her ability to approach this on an analytical level. It was probably the one thing he had primarily wanted when it came to this. If everything worked out and that analytical piece of the Konti was able to shine, he would likely be grateful. Not that he was opposed to emotions. He was just more comfortable with someone who had an anchor to hold onto in the midst of all the turmoil. Their eyes met as she glanced up, and the man stared at her. After a few seconds, his eyes narrowed, and he gave her foot the lightest of brushes again. "Like this?" His gaze seemed to ask the question, his head tilting just a bit. Funnily enough, he looked slightly dismayed when she told him there was no grand codex. Though he had known it was likely impossible, the young Matthew was still naive in some ways, and had faintly hoped that there was one. He went back to chewing his lip, the skin actually turning a bit red, swelling just a tad. It added to the fullness already there, drawing attention to it. His teeth were so very white as well. It was becoming more and more obvious how Matthew toiled over the little details of his appearance. Even though her statement was a bit of a setback, he still continued to listen, convinced he would still find other ways of learning what he needed to do. Her next question was another he would answer quickly, not at all having to search for the words to use. "As I did to you? Do you mean the magic, or the natural seduction? Or the combination of both? The magic is more an instinctive thing, and I am opposed to using it as a force. It is merely there to help please. I want to be a force in my own self. With merely words and touch, looks and feel. I am not happy with simple seduction, or barely getting by. If I am to be a harlot, I plan on being the only harlot that any woman would ever need. Just like being the best doctor, or the best wizard. I seek the knowledge to completely disassemble a woman down to a being of heat and carnal instinct, and then have that animal feast in whatever way it needs. Or be feasted on, if required." The words themselves were sensual and heated, but he spoke them quickly and sharply. It was an odd contrast. Nodding, he confirmed the small lesson she had just spoken, agreeing with the gifted wisdom. "That makes perfect sense, thank you. That would be my place. My job. What a perfect way to describe it. Let her know that she is the only thing I breath in that very moment." He always took things just one level higher, didn't he? Perhaps to her satisfaction, the last question made him pause. His eyes narrowed again, watching her own. After a few moments, he responded, voice seeming to be careful. "What do you mean? I do wish to find a teacher who thinks on my same level. Not purely on a sensual level, though some sensuality is common for the subject matter. I have had to use my talents to keep my goals a secret with the rest of the teachers, but you... you seem trustworthy." You don't seem to be dangerous, his eyes said. Somehow they had started getting crafty with each other. Perhaps the Konti secretly liked it. He wondered how she would feel to know that he already had a map of her plotted out in his head? He didn't want to have to use it. He found himself respecting her, and he appreciated that.

[Litani]

The Konti chuckled softly as she felt him move, as she heard his words and listened to his eyes. He wanted to be ‘a force’ in his own self...? Well, that’s one goal down, she thought dryly to herself, smirking just a little in consequence. With a thoughtful twitch of her left eyebrow, she considered this idea of being the only harlot a woman would need. An interesting concept, given that most women probably never thought to approach one at all, even if they would know how to go about doing so. More of us could probably use it... if we were honest with ourselves. The smirk remained. There was something darkly amusing about the underhanded insult she’d managed to direct at herself with such a thought. Closing her eyes briefly, she bent to retrieve a flask from the leather satchel at her side.

In the movement, she inadvertently slid her foot alongside his, as if remembering suddenly that he was there. Her eyes snapped to his, she paused, but then gave him a subtle nod and continued the task of fetching the flask. ‘Like that,’ the nod seemed to say. Sitting upright again, she untwisted the cap and drank lightly, just enough to wet her lips and find her voice again.

After a half-second’s thought, she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion in her head and she took a breath to speak. He wanted a teacher who could show him how to seduce... without being seduced, herself. He wanted secrets. He wanted someone to tell him how to take a woman apart and put her back together again, and he expected to be able to do so without... affecting... his teacher?

All right then. Challenge accepted.

“Just like the hand, the foot carries nerves and sensitivities... for some women, more than others. In this, the flirt is in the secrecy - neither of us can see it and yet we can both feel it, and if anyone else were at the table, they wouldn’t know it. Our secret.” She smiled lightly, perching her chin on one hand and gazing across the distance to him. “There’s a lovely danger in a secret... but for a woman to let herself be vulnerable, on some level she must feel safe. Even if some part of her likes the danger. A secret is a good way to accomplish that.”

She paused briefly, again sipping from the flask before capping it and setting it on the corner of the table. Having done, her hands returned to their folded placement before her and she tilted her head back a degree, regarding him with eyes that were starting to open up a little... starting to soften. Perhaps the idea of being in control had its appeal to her as well. Perhaps the idea of being a teacher suited her. Ironic that he was asking her to teach him how to seduce her... Just who is in control, then, exactly? She wondered if he quite realized that that was, in fact, what he was asking for. Whether she pondered this to any depth or not was unclear, but perhaps if it was just learning. Perhaps if it was just a lesson... perhaps if it didn’t mean anything. Perhaps then she might be able to listen to her body, to the curiosity in her blood, to the instincts that impressed themselves upon her mind. Perhaps.

“This,” she said quietly, letting her foot drift gently along the side of his ankle, “isn’t particularly intense, not with shoes on but... you can let her know that you know where to touch her, when the time comes - the ankle bone is delicate, the arch of the foot perhaps. Or even just the rhythm of the way you move. All that is easy to say, and easy to suggest more.”

With this, she went quiet and a subtle movement of her throat was the only outward sign of her swallowed tension. The knowledge he was after was going to make this... interesting, to say the least. Particularly given her own inexperience. She idly wondered who would learn more in this strange, oddly intriguing relationship.

[Matthew]

He actually made a note to make sure his eyebrow didn't raise at the sight of the flask. Depending on what was in there and how well she would handle it, that could turn this entire thing upside down. Was she a casual drinker? Or was it something to help keep her calm? Perhaps she was one of the people who could use it to clear their thoughts? Or maybe it was just water, and he was overthinking it. He decided to only glance at the flask once, acknowledging it and no more. He was already doing enough thinking on how to solve this particular puzzle, and he didn't need to start tossing even more pieces into the mix. Instead, he just moved on, returning the subtle nod she gave him with one of his own. Finally she gave him more of the words he wanted, and he soaked them in. He imitated her position, leaning forward and propping his chin on his palm, blue eyes watching hers intensely. He certainly gave the impression of a good student with how much undivided attention he gave, but then again, he had been giving her that all along. Focus and eye contact were important to him. He knew how socially important they both were as well. They let her know he was interested, he was listening, and he was learning. Little nods of his head would accompany some of her words, and his eyes would briefly flicker with others. Every now and then his fingers twitched, the digits aching for a pencil to sloppily write some notes down on. Instead, he found something else to occupy his hand with, gently touching fingertips to his lower lip and giving it a soft tug. It was a bit odd, but there the student sat, listening and playing with his lip. Feeling her foot upon his, his eyes finally glanced down. That distant and intense gaze overcame him again, something that happened whenever he was trying to commit something new to memory. As she continued to explain, he lightly touched the side of her ankle with the very tip of his boot. Boots were bad sorts of shoes for this sort of thing, weren't they. Mumbling something to himself, Matthew suddenly snapped out of his stupor and blinked up at her. Considering her quietly, now easy-to-see signs of brain activity fluttered across his features. Once again, he was up to something. He wasn't trying to be sly, he just had that look like he was ready to take it to the next level. Perhaps she would manage to figure out what it meant, and would be able to brace herself. After Matthew learned, he instantly wished to apply. "Excuse me, miss?" Matthew spoke, but his head turned to the side, a friendly (foreign) look tugging the corner of his lips into a calm smile. If Latina turned her head just slightly, she would see that Matthew had called upon a random librarian who had decided to wander by their table at just the wrong time. Smiling and eager to assist, the librarian came over quickly. "Can I help you, sir?" Matthew's foot brushed Litani's. It would feel... bare. Had he managed to somehow slip it off so quickly? Had the arch of his foot just very lightly brushed the arch of her own? He didn't react at all, still smiling up at the library employee with that odd friendly expression. Odd for her, likely. He knew he didn't often look friendly. He wondered if she could tell he had trained himself to apply this generic look. "Yes, please. I have this book that I can't for the life of me find a home for. Would you know where it goes?" He lifted the book on general anatomy, offering it towards her. Once again his foot brushed Litani's, teasing at the side of her ankle with the lightest touch of the side of his. it was a gentle touch, one not at all unlike any other gentle touch with the rest of his body. It just required focusing on the skin, and the concept of brushing skin against skin. You only wanted the skin to barely touch when trying to do a light brush of the finger. It was the same with this, he assumed. Using what she had told him he continued to play with her, not at all betraying them to the librarian. She was simply a tutor, and he was a student. Their secret. The librarian nodded quickly, taking the book, her own smile still bright. "Of course. Shall I take it now?" Matthew turned his head towards Litani, chin still on his palm and fingers still tugging absentmindedly on his lower lip. "Were you done with it, Litani?" His eyes were as expressive as always, which was a special touch he tried to add into every practiced attempt. 'Our secret' they said. He was trying everything she taught him. If he would continue to do that had yet to be seen. He himself actually hadn't even thought of it yet. He was merely acting in the moment for now, though his brain was going through the possible steps this particular moment could take.

[Litani]

There was a reason that she was a professional.

In the course of medicine and healing, all manner of indignities cross one's path. Typically they come in the form of a patient's infirmity, but a doctor is on occasion required to step outside her comfort zone to do what needed to be done. She'd been in the process of making herself comfortable with that as, at the university, she'd been academically challenged and made to grow in her knowledge. And, to her vague surprise, it seemed that was going to happen now.

Litani gave the approaching librarian a subtle smile of welcome, the kind that comes readily - either by practice or by sincerity - to the friendly exchange with a stranger. She flicked her eyes to Matthew, listened to him speak, watched him offer the book back to the librarian. And, beneath the table, she felt the subtle but direct difference in the way his touch suddenly felt. Abruptly, she felt her eyes shift back to him as a renewed awareness of him slid through her mind through her Gift; it stole her breath momentarily and distracted her, as she had neglected to shield properly against it. Still... there was a reason she was a professional.

"Yes of course," she said softly to him, nodding fluidly and carrying a note of dignity about her posture; she was simply approving of a new student, their relationship was nothing more. Secret. She glanced back at the librarian and gave the other woman a slow nod of respect. "Thank you very kindly for your help," she said sincerely.

The reality of her patients' bodies was something she'd been training herself to shield against. How can one concentrate when the link of physical communication can override everything you yourself are feeling and thinking...? When he touched her, he was once again in her mind and she blinked herself free of the polite exchange with the librarian, hoping the woman hadn't noticed a thing. She probably hadn't. Litani was good, and her tells were subtle, but anyone watching her face closely could see the flutter of eyelashes as her walls came down. She took a deep breath. And then, she was herself again - feeling him clearly, but centered. Anchored.

"Clever," she murmured to him, after the librarian had gone, her voice carrying a smirking note of praise. Whether she meant the compliment or not was difficult to discern by the look in her eyes; she might've been teasing him back for springing such an interaction upon her. Still, she didn't seem perturbed by it directly. If anything, perhaps amused. She extended the touch then and let the cool skin of her left foot slide against his ankle, under his pant leg. Sensitive flesh glided against sensitive flesh and she caught herself with a subtle smile playing across her lips - whether he knew it or not, she was using the touch to bring her mind back to him, back to what they were doing... away from any consideration of what an observer might think. It was a fleeting movement and selfish entirely, but it also went in line with the lesson. A distinction without a difference... or so she hoped.

As her foot curved suggestively against his, she met his eyes again and twitched a brow in thoughtfulness. She smiled faintly and her voice was a silken contralto as she continued the lesson, murmuring to him, "The flesh is a multi-faceted thing..." In point of fact, she suddenly shifted a fraction closer and let him feel a line of scaled skin brush against his ankle. "What pleases one race may upset another... The Konti, for instance." With a delicate clearing of her throat, she shoved the sensual part of her mind back into a corner, kicking and screaming in her head, and spoke of her race as objectively as she could. "We are marked by Laviku, we carry the marks of His creation in our skin." With one hand, she reached up to trace the scale marks on her face - they almost seemed like a frame for her features, trailing down from the crown of her head to trace her ears, then tumble down the sides of her neck. "That difference in texture is subtle, but it is there... in some places, I think it makes us less sensitive. While in others..." She trailed off a bit here and, despite how she'd separated herself mentally, she felt a creeping blush begin to crawl at the edges of her skin. "...in others, it makes us more sensitive."

Despite that she had no direct point of reference - she'd never been without scales in her life - she felt vaguely confident in her statement. Humans, for example, knew nothing of what it felt like to have webbed digits or gills or scales at all. In the end, it was all a subjective guess but... he'd wanted to learn. And in truth, she only knew one thing to teach him. Herself.

Her left hand placed itself on the table between them again, flat, palm against the table and fingers relaxed. The webs there were easily evident, as were the tiny scaling patterns upon them.

"The marks of a specific race can be among the most alluring to touch... As you are exploring her, learning her, acknowledging her difference from yourself and yet..." She smiled softly, meeting his eyes, inviting him into the sultry notes of the conversation as she revealed them. "...and yet, aware of such differences, still you use it. Still you know how. You show her you're not afraid, you show her you're in control... both of yourself, and of her. " Briefly - just briefly - her lower lip caught itself between her teeth as she thought through what she was saying to him.

You're shameless and you're not even sorry!

...why should I be? Nothing's happened... we're only talking.

....

Climbing through the way that this conversation was affecting her, Litani found herself strangely elated and strengthened in her sense of self - that she could maintain control and still manage a level of enjoyment was a new concept for her. Always before, it was cold duty or relentless emotion... always the dance between the two, the struggle for dominance within. And logic always won. Always. But now... now, she had that veneer of reason overlaying the feelings that the two of them were toying with creating. Now... it was on a whole different level.

And she'd only just met him.

With a gentle renewal of her smile, she said softly, "If you mean to make love with a race other than your own... then get to know them individually. I cannot teach you what would please a Dhani, or what might satisfy a Zith... but I can show you how to seduce a Konti."

[Matthew]

Perfect. Roll with the punches, and don't let them blur your vision. Let your body and instincts act as they will, but hold onto that mind. Everything outside is merely a shell that be plied and molded, everything from outer appearances to inner emotions. For, that was still not truly the core. The body and everything that rages outside of it and inside of it is still not the very center. The center was the core, the center was the ice. It wasn't the heart, it wasn't the mind. It was something Matthew couldn't put words to. It was a single piece of land in the middle of a raging ocean of life itself. As long as he could stand on that island, then he could control the seas with a mere thought. Our secret. The librarian glanced down for a moment to check the cover of the book once more, and Matthew's foot moved. It caressed and touched, clashing the side of his toe to the side of hers. Normally, he would be repulsed. Feet were something dirty, dirtier than the rest of the outside skin. But now, it was different. It was the brushing of skin, and the sharing of heat. All from the simple touch of a hidden foot. She was perhaps most perfect of all, for even with the sensual little touch they were sharing, his body was still quiet and calm. It was mechanical almost. It was too serene. Needs were foreign. Is was a little hungry now. Was that it? "Yes, thank you kindly." He nodded at the librarian as well, offering her a slightly larger smile as she bowed and walked away. The employee didn't know anything. She had seen what they ideally were. Merely a teacher and a student, done with one book and moving onto the next. As Litani praised him, Matthew found himself offering her the smallest of pleased smiles, okay with the emotion that flooded him briefly. He was a bit of a prideful creature, and he knew it. "Thank you." If he noticed the tease in her voice, or thought anything of the movement of her foot, he didn't show it. That distant look flickered in his eyes again though. He had almost forgotten she was a Konti. Her skin was obviously different, but for some reason, it hadn't really mattered to him. It was simply skin. Everyone had different sorts, from the normal human version to the delicately scaled Konti version. Curious to feel more of it now that she had brought it up, he curved his own foot, clashing his ankle lightly against her own. Now they were touching at the calves almost, his own movement soft and delicate. He made sure to keep it barely on the surface of the skin, and to keep everything normal otherwise. He didn't show any outward sign that they were flirting underneath the table. Our secret. When she pointed out the scales on her face and neck, he nodded, understanding her point. It was one of the things he worried about in his profession. What about the dead skin of a Nuit? What about the clay flesh of a Pycon? While most would cringe to even think about such things, he did not falter for a second. It was merely business. Growing more interested in the lesson by the second, his blue eyes flickered down and he leaned a bit forward, staring intently at the webs between her fingers. Slowly, his free hand reached out. It was almost torture in how slowly he moved. It wasn't like he was teasing her, or giving her time to react. He was merely so patient and methodical in his motions. In his everything. As she watched, he slowly lifted his eyes back to her own, no matter if they would be staring back at him or watching his hand. Fingers lowered to her own, and ever-so-lightly, the very tips of his fingers would dip in between each of her long digits. Touching the thin webbing, he sluggishly traced it from the base of her finger to the ending of the web. He took every bit of time he had, moving as patiently as physically possible. Just a mere brush of the skin once again. Chin resting on his hand still, he spoke again, words soft. "You understand what I want to learn perfectly. If each different race is like a fruit, and I want to learn how to sink my teeth into the juicy innards... I have to learn how to delicately peel each different type of skin fully off." She would instantly know the feeling of what was seeping in the air. It was that sensuality again, and now that he had told her that it was his Djed, it would be obvious. He wasn't even trying, was merely swirling it around them instinctively. It seemed to add so much to the situation though, and probably not in a good way. It was like some physical essence of teasing flirtation was mixed in with what they breathed.

[Litani]

From anyone else, his touch would be an invitation... a request. A desire for more.

But as he touched her, and as she felt his body in her mind, she didn't feel the craving of the flesh that she'd glimpsed once or twice before - in a patient, in a suitor, in a friend. There was nothing of that, and it disquieted her slightly. He wasn't touching her because he wanted to touch her, and his tease wasn't designed to cater to a need of the flesh. Instead, it was his mind that was taking everything apart, all that cold analysis passing between them and settling in the delicate spans of skin, the exploratory pads of his fingertips.

Litani felt him touch those marks of her race that she'd so easily referenced seconds before and a part of her mind twisted on itself, reacting purely to the touch... to the moment... to the sensation of what his magic could create between them. In consequence, she flinched ever so slightly and closed her eyes against the feeling, bearing it as a wave of an unrealized shiver beneath her skin. She smiled faintly. Took a deep breath. And then opened them again to settle on him.

Let yourself pretend.

Her gaze took a gently feral glint to them and she edged just that fraction closer to him. The Konti's hand came up off the table but not to leave his; in fact, the way she turned it over and slid it along the back of his fingers was nothing short of an invitation to further the dance. Her fingers curled along his and traced the knuckles with the edges of her own, leading the movement to trail her index finger up along his wrist and then down on the edge of the thumb. She touched him with the side of her fingernail, changing the sensation from soft skin to smooth, hardened edge. "There is a place in the world for every touch," she murmured quietly, perhaps speaking more to herself and her hands than to him. Then her eyes recaptured his and she opened her fingers, curving them against his as if to draw his palm up against hers and lace their fingers together. The simple gesture was meant as a tool of demonstration - if he should permit it, their hands would come together as closely as those of lovers, but it felt different. Had she been human, nothing unusual would be here, but she was not. Those delicate little slips of flesh between her fingers prohibited them from unifying their touch as completely as he would be able to do with any other race. She watched his eyes, then smiled faintly.

"The Konti are sensitive... we feel much. In fact... we might be your most elusive customer." A faint chuckle wandered through her contralto voice, its timbre held low as the secrets passed between them. "The act of love is as much a game of the mind and heart as a game of the flesh..." For just a second, she seemed to glance off at some thought wandering by, something that troubled the azure depths of her stormy eyes. But then they flicked back, the same as before, allured and alluring as they watched him. "I can tell what you need when I touch you. I can tell what your body desires, what it craves... the more, the longer I touch you, the deeper I feel." With anyone else, this might steal a flush across her cheeks but, strangely enough, conversing with a harlot in a library and touching him as suggestively as she was... she strangely felt at ease. Perhaps it was because of that cold, calm center of ice to which he held so tightly. Perhaps that kept her from sensing anything more. Perhaps it clouded what she otherwise knew as a very instinctual, very uncontrolled method of communication - for whom else would keep themselves so tightly guarded? ...and I thought I was hard to get to.

"Each Konti has a different such... Gift. For some, it is a gift of the body while for others it is a gift of the mind. But for all of us, you may rest assured - we are watching you as closely as you watch us, even if in a very different way. Her fingers uncurled then and briefly left them touching palm to palm, before she drew just slightly away and curled her fingers down, gently raking her nails down against the underside of his fingers to his palm. And again... perhaps he was not the only one taking the opportunity to learn...

Only when the tip of her index finger left the heel of his palm did she flash him a faint smile and then turn her arm over, showing the delicate skin of the wrist to the ceiling and to his eyes. There, lying in iridescent beauty against the pale ivory of her skin, was an excellent example of Konti scales blending with a more human flesh. It looked as though Laviku had drawn His lines at either side of her arm, leaving the top and the underside both naked and revealed - this being evident, she faintly turned her arm back and forth for a second, showing him the way the light played against the patterns there. "The edges of my arms are not as particularly sensitive," she said softly, bringing her other hand over to trace a line on either side of her forearm. And then she brought her fingers to the bend of her elbow, where another tiny patch of scaling could be seen in the fold. "But yet... here... it is different." Her fingers traced a circle of nails and skin against the scales and she smirked slightly as the flesh reacted in her mind. "The interplay between sensations, between what is skin and what is not, is... very noticeable to us." With a strange flash of self-consciousness, she swallowed faintly and renewed a faltering hold on his eyes, saying softly, "Or at least, it is for me."

She paused now, taking a brief chance to let her gaze wander over him. He truly was the most exquisite male she'd seen to this point in her life, his every detail perfect and poised, as beautiful as he was handsome and as sultry as he was masculine. He was like nothing she'd ever laid eyes on, even without the magic that drifted in the air between them. And if she felt that magic, and if it troubled her, she showed no outward sign; the island of her mind had gone decidedly quiet as she'd taken the step of suspending her disbelief. Suspended... but not abandoned. She was operating with the sense that he did not truly want her, did not truly wish to pursue her... and therefore could not offer her a distinct danger. She had still not decided whether to be comforted or saddened by that sense... nor if it was accurate in the first place. But, in contemplative silence, she sat with her arms lying between them, all too aware that both teacher and student were caught in the web of their own... experiment. Howsoever that should play out, in totality, was yet to be discovered between them.

[Matthew]

He found himself fascinated with her hand, and if they had been unlucky enough to have an audience, every eye would be on what his fingertips were doing. He seemed breathless, lips parted and eyes focused, the blue oceans swirling at he traced her Konti webbing. It seemed so very intimate on the outside, but that was why Litani was perhaps so perfect for what he wanted. She could see beyond the instinctive sexuality that Matthew let leak from him, and touch down to the very core. If her own core of calm professionalism failed, then she could always latch onto his. It was there, so very deep down, but it was there. It was an anchor for both of them, though perhaps in completely different ways. Matthew didn't even give it thought. He was too busy taking in the details of her webbing, feeling the texture of her scales, letting his touch dance over it. So this was the feel of a Konti. He would commit what he could to memory. What she would allow. Allowing her to take the lead, his head tilted in the other direction, curious to her movements. He soaked it in and mentally noted every tiny detail that his body picked up on, from the feel of her skin to the sudden touch of her nail, to the difference of her stroking his knuckles as opposed to his wrist. Then it was down to his thumb, and then their hands were both lifting. His brow furrowed as he realized that they could not fully lace fingers. Instead, he pressed his hand back against hers, firmly pressing their different contrasts of skin together. Scale as opposed to skin, and then the folds between her digits... he curled his fingers a bit, slightly bending them as if trying to lace with her hand, but not forcing it when her webbing got in his way. He merely touched to the webbing, letting the rough undersides of his fingers press against it. Raising his eyes to meet hers, he noticed the allure in them. Nodding, as if answering some silent request of his teacher, he summoned the fire to his own eyes. His was a bit different, though perhaps it was complimenting. While hers was teasing and sensual, his were dark and heated. If hers were a quiet invitiation, his were a forceful threat. He knew what he could do. His body flexed lightly, silently backing up the threat in his eyes. As she explained her gift, he couldn't help but feel curious. His body would reflect that, some singular sort of feeling revealing itself from the ice. Matthew wanted to know. What exactly it was, that was hard to tell. It seemed to be everything, and it seemed near desperate. He didn't know this though. It was hard to look at himself from the outside in. What did his body tell her? Did it betray things he wasn't aware of? He was snapped out of his thoughts by the feeling of her nails raking against his skin. He refocused his attentions to her and what she was showing him, watching her point out different parts of her arm. Each fact she told him was important, and she was doing an excellent job in pointing out what was a specific point for her and her alone, and what was universal among the Konti kind. When she paused, he would again reach forward, as if taking this as a silent signal to test his newfound knowledge. He would not catch her gaze wandering, for his would once again intensely focus on her extended arm. His touch lightly brushed the inner bend of her elbow, and he circled his fingertip, imitating her motions of before. Teasing the patterned nook with his feather strokes, he then suddenly switched, dragging his fingertips down. Even though she had mentioned the lack of sensitivity in her arms, he still attacked them, dragging fingernails in a firm scrap down the entire length of the bare underside of her arm. Still not looking at her, his lips curled in a silent snarl, a compliment to the aggressive action he was performing. Then, his fingers swirled back to gentle when they found her wrist and palm, and continued to be gentle as they traced back up to the nook of her elbow. "What sort of payment do you want for these lessons?" He abruptly glanced up at her, blue eyes serious, handsome face professional. "Miza? Is there something I can teach? Do you require anything of the flesh, no matter how simple or depraved?" That ice crashed back into her senses, his body once again returning to the oddly lifeless husk that it seemed to somehow be. He had once again switched, and his offer was simple and business-like. He spoke easily about selling his body, just as easily as he had spoken about offering her Mizas in return. "I would like more of them. You are an effective teacher, Litani." Ah, a compliment. And he even gave her the smallest of genuine smiles to go along with it.