Completed [Rearing Stallion] Working while Learning

[Matthew]

24th of Summer Kevith had decided to call in a favor with the Herald, and apparently Matthew was the one chosen to go help out. It was stupidly late at night, so much so that it could almost be called early in the morning. Normally there would still be a rowdy crowd at the Tavern, but one huge barfight later, and the entire place was a complete mess. This wouldn't be an issue for Kevith to clean up, but the day had been a long one, and all of his family and staff were tired. The only one that hadn't been there since the wee hours of the morning was the newer waitress, and luckily for her, this meant she was the one left with the cleaning. Kevith wasn't a heartless man, though. He had asked the Herald to lend some help. Why had they sent a harlot, Matthew wondered? He softly knocked on the entrance to the tavern, just to signal anyone in there that he was coming. He had been told it would be just him and the waitress, and he didn't really want to scare her. Opening the cracked door, he slipped in, closing it and bolting it shut behind him. Glancing his blue eyes over the area, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dismay flood through his veins. He had heard that there was a remarkable lack of brawls at the tavern (popular with Knights apparently), so apparently when they had them, they were glorious affairs. Food hung from every single item in the main room, some of the low lights above the tables completely coated in the filth. Shattered dishes and glasses littered the floor, with spilled drink coating various surfaces. The fireplace was barely lit, just casting light over the area. All in all, it was a pretty horrible sight. It was his job, though. Not the job he had expected when he had decided to sell his body, but here he was. Rolling up his sleeves, he stepped forward, unsure of where to start. He was dressed sharply, and would now have to worry about getting something on him. He wore a simple button-up white silk shirt, the first few buttons undone just enough to show off his slim throat and strong chest. His skin was a creamy tanned shade, and the definition of his body was obvious through the rolled-up sleeves and thin material. It was a body that looked like it had been scientifically defined, built from the ground up to simply be appealing to the eyes. It had been, actually. A pair of clean and crisp black trousers completed the look, giving Matthew this calm and professional appearance. The extremely light blue eyes and perfect hair didn't help matters. He was stupidly pristine, by all normal standards. He worked hard on being pristine. "Hello? I am Matthew, a prostitute from the Heralds Arms. I was sent to help clean?" He called out softly, looking for signs of life. His profession was stated calmly, his words slow and carefully pronounced. Proper through and through.

[Kaie]

The tavern was a rearing mess. A natural consequence of a rowdy brawl that lived for some time before the knights thundered through and shut it down. Kaie had seen her fair share of tasteless bar fights in her short career as bartender, and this one's aftermath looked no different than the others. Chairs that were wielded as weapons had splintered across the floor, mugs had spilled upon each other in a foul display of froth covered tables, and food had found its way far from original plates. Over all the place looked like a disaster. At least they hadn't bloodied the counter so much this time around. Still, the mess would be no more enjoyable to clean up.

It had been a poor bar maid's first night on the job. A short training session by a superior before she was thrust out into the rowdy crowds. Kaie had watched her almost carelessly from behind the bar counter, sneaking a glance her way to see how the girl was doing. At first she seemed to be doing her job well. That is before the fists started. A plate pushed aside and a powerful shove later, the animosity had started its slow and steady rise. Before the cluster of violence had a chance to really kick up, the girl had just about sprinted behind counter. You would've thought a siege was afoot by her reaction. Total breakdown. Nonetheless, the Myrian woman decided it would be best to send home the young girl. Never mind the fact Kaie should've gone home long before her by default. Shaking like a leaf, the girl would be useless against this travesty. Besides, maybe Kaie would get a couple extra Mizas for a little over time.

This is going to be a long night...

A knock broke her from internal anguish at her task. She looked up from what she was doing, soiled rag in hand. For a second she forgot about the pool of stale alcohol she had reduced to a small puddle. Careful eyes now focused on the door. Had her cheap bosses actually sent that extra help they had promised? Blue. That was the first thing she saw. His eyes were vibrant orbs that were clouded only with a silent horror of his new setting. Join the club, she thought to herself, an almost invisible grin turning up a corner of her lips. At least he was excited as she was about their task.

"Hello? I am Matthew, a prostitute from the Heralds Arms. I was sent to help clean?"

Gods! How typical, She thought while subduing the urge to shake her head. She had a room as foul and unpleasant as a commoner's stable and what do they send her? A pretty boy dressed in fine clothes with hair just as astonishingly perfect. In fact he seemed like the manifestation of perfection itself. A harlot nonetheless. Then again, if he had a the limbs and competence to do it, how could she not accept his help? Kaie left the rag on the floor beside the stain and rose from behind an overturned tabled.

Standing at 5'6'' she certainly wasn't anything near the tallest of her people. In fact other than her bronzed skin and choice of clothing, one might've been fooled into thinking she wasn't a Myrian at all. She had her ears pierced, something common here, and hadn't a single trace of ink on her body. Not yet, anyways. She hadn't the chance before she found herself in this godforsaken city. Her brown hair fell just below her shoulders in loose curls and waves. The dim remains of the firelight danced across one half of her face, giving that bronze a soft glow. Her features were soft upon her face but yet she had this sort of intensity about her. A confidence and sure-fire appeal. She was wild. A savage in the eyes of her fellow man in Syliras. Of course that could easily be judged from her traditional clothing that still chose to wear. A loincloth hugged her hips, which she had altered some for the sake of human views on "public decency." Paired with that she wore a fitting vest that buttoned once in the middle. She was a toned woman with a steely gaze that settled on the man before her. Appraising his value for their task. He would do.


"I'm Kaie. Let's make this as painless as possible," She said with an almost apologetic shrug. A tanned hand gripped a grey towel from the neat pile on one of the few tables that remained unscathed. With a swift flick of her wrist, she sent the towel his way. Hopefully he'd catch it. Much to her surprise he was a fit man with class. He hadn't spoken with the uneducated, thirsty voice the women of his profession often did most nights at the Stallion. That's not to say his wasn't...Oddly pleasing to the ear. It was like he didn't even have to try. How interesting...

The Myrian woman had returned to her previous task. The puddle was slowly but surely soaking into the rag. Finally! When the pool was almost nothing more than a cleaner spot on the wooden floors, curiosity possessed her like none other. She popped her head out from behind the over turned table again to peer at him. Her brow furrowed together in deep thought and confusion, searching for the words. Kaie had seen plenty of whores around the tavern. Big women and small women. Easy girls and ones that liked to play hard-to-get to earn their pay. Hell, she'd even seen men who dressed as women prowling the night scene. Matthew on the other hand was like none she'd ever laid eyes on.

"Matthew, you seem too intelligent to be a prostitute," She admitted rather bluntly, perplexed eyes fixated on him. Perhaps her words were rude or off putting but she hadn't really thought it through. In fact she was often very impulsive when it came to her curiosity. In the rare moments she found something remotely interesting in the barbarian world, Kaie couldn't let it go. She was straight forward in general anyhow. The Myrian hoped the man hadn't taken offense to her words and would shed some light on the subject. A subject she knew so very little about.

[Matthew]

He had to fight to keep his face from twisting in a display of both disguist and awe. There were chunks of wood mixed with various types of food strewn all over the place, and he was pretty sure there was some blood splattered around the place too. Not only had the people in the tavern had a food fight, apparently they had gotten into a much more physical fight as well. Most of it was thankfully on the floors, so he wouldn't have to reach all over the place. But there were still some things dripping from ceilings and light fixtures. Those would be the ones he dealt with first, he supposed. At the far end of it all was a girl, and he assumed she was the one he was supposed to help. Almost instantly his eyes turned distant, flicking over her with the professional ease of a blacksmith examining his latest purchased steel. Her bronzed skin was the first thing that brought tugging questions to the back of his mind. Everything else looked fairly normal, except for her outfit. His examined it last, noticing how much skin was displayed and how casually the outfit was assembled. It wasn't a show. It was something natural to her. Even if it was near-inappropriate it, she wore it like a second skin. It wasn't to impress, which brought a few more questions to his mind. She would perhaps notice he was serenely calm about his whole examination of her whole. It wasn't like he had the leering look of some of the other bar patrons, or the hungry look of a Myrian, or the shy glance of a little boy. He was just looking. Unashamed and painfully simple in his head-to-toe glance of her fit figure. Tugging on his lower lip with his almost too-white teeth, he let his gaze slide up to match her amber eyes. They shifted in the light, going to a light brown and then back to an amber. The final piece of the puzzle was the greatest question of all though. He could see the intensity in her stare, and feel the fire in the air. It rubbed against his skin, causing his hairs to briefly stand on end. It was a familar feeling, but he couldn't place it. He felt like he should place it though. Like it was important to his survival. Why was he worrying about survival in a civilized Syliras tavern? Matthew himself was a stark contrast to the feel in the air. Almost a direct opposite. He was a painfully calm and cold presence, something that seemed constructed from the ground up. Everything about him was particular and appropriate, including his aura. It wasn't like he was serene, really. It was more... apathetic. Distant. Different. Her eyes left him, and he snapped back into reality. "A pleasure, Kaie." His words were once again careful, pronounced slowly and properly. As she flicked her wrist, he gracefully caught the cloth, and moved through the mess with the grace of a cat. His muscle moved with him, rippling and appealing, his six foot figure confident and cool in its steps. He magically seemed to avoid all of the mess until he reached his destination, the first of many light fixtures that had something dripping from them. Analyzing the grime patiently, he wrapped the towel around his fist and went to work. He was slow but precise with his movements, methodical and planned, wiping the fixture clean before moving onto the next. He didn't fully scrub the mess, merely loosened it up so a quick splash would rinse it fully clean later on. They had a lot of ground to cover, and he wanted to be able to cover it as quickly as possible. He was so intently focused on his task that he had nearly forgotten about the presence of the odd stranger, until her question reached his ears and actually caused him to pause a bit. Slowly he turned his head, fixing his endless blue eyes upon her own, tilting his head curiously. The harlot wasn't particularly offended by her words, just had never been asked them before. Again he chewed his lower lip, furrowing his brow in thought before explaining. "I believe that serving a woman's body takes intellect. There is a certain amount of primal instinct involved, but there is also intellect involved. Really, the more intellect, the better. For instance, I studied medicine before I became a prostitute. I know the body quite well. If I could close my eyes and verbally direct you to every single point on your body that provides you with any level of pleasure that you wish, wouldn't you think that when I use my own hands to dissect you, it will be something quite interesting?" He turned back to the fixture he was on at the moment, focusing his gaze to the mess he was having to scrub. "When predators take apart their prey, even they have intellect in how they do it. There is a certain way to strip something down, so that you fully disassemble every piece of flesh that is possible to feast on." He wasn't so sure why he used such a way to describe it. The words he used just seemed to fit the oddly wild feeling in the air. Frowning at a particular chunk of something or another that he was scrubbing at, he roughly rubbed at it again. Why was it proving so difficult to pry off some of this mess? It wasn't like it had been sitting here long enough to harden. Sensing there would be more questions, he did what he could to keep the conversation flowing. He probably didn't have to. She had this feel about her that let him know she would probably talk no matter how easy or hard he made it for her. "What made you guess that I was intelligent?" He was pretty sure the answer was obvious, but he wanted to see. He knew he held himself and displayed himself in a manner that so far, had been unique to him. At least in his particular profession.

[Kaie]

Kaie couldn't help but notice the way he gazed at her. It wasn't invasive or crude, rather it was not so unlike the way she had appraised him. Truthfully, though, he was far more meticulous about it than she had been. Matthew certainly paid attention to the details, scanning her bodice head to toe and everywhere in between. He wasn't too unlike an art enthusiast at a museum, the way he simply looked at her. Studied her. Not really there to criticize nor obsess over but to take in what scenery was upon a canvas. Open minded and level headed. All of this was reinforced by the way she noticed he handled his job. Neat, orderly, and efficient. The more she had watched him, the more she felt his presence in the room. A true professional that was so calm and collected she decided it ought to be a sin. Matthew was a cool and cold as ice. Despite their physical distance, Kaie could feel their energies clash and twine with one another, dancing on some invisible boundary. Her fiery ambience contrasting and harmonizing with the frosty air he brought around his own being. Nonetheless, it was refreshing.

Finally he answered her question without anger or distaste clear in his speech. Instead he remained that knowledgeable, low-key guy. She found herself subconsciously drawn to him. His voice pulled her in, causing her to lean slightly in his direction as if his voice was but a whisper in the dark room. Certainly his answer was not one she had expected. At first she had found herself internally nodding in agreement with his statements about primal instinct when it came to his...Profession. Although she was no seasoned adventurer in the world he thrived in, her first experience alone was enough to tell her it all came naturally. She touched the dark skinned squire where she had wanted. Explored the edges of his body that caught her eye. Anything that piqued her interest was qualified to receive her attention. Then he brought up the subject of intelligence which indeed surprised her.

Intellect? Since when had such a thing taken precedence over experience and passion? Not even passion, but perhaps lust? She had known notorious whores who couldn't even read. Well, she couldn't read Common either, but in her defense it wasn't her native tongue to begin with. Kaie cocked her own head to the side as she often did when she was confused during socialization. A habit she adopted when first learning the language and watching hand gestures to further convey messages. With her head in the firelight, her eyes burned a bright amber as he continued his explanation. It wasn't his medical background that made her eyes widen just slightly, but his claim. Involuntarily she found herself glancing down at her body for nothing more than an eye movement. She knew points of pleasure...Didn't she? Were there really so many unknown to her on her own body even? What secret places upon a man had she been completely naive to? Now he truly had her in the palm of his hand.

Kaie arched a curved eyebrow at Matthew at the talk of predators and prey. Matthew's analogy was intriguing to a woman who knew much about such a vicious cycle. Too many times had the Myrian woman crouched somewhere between the brush, watching a Myrian Tiger handle with the dismemberment of its latest catch. Like the harlot said, it was all rather systematic and methodical. She was pleasantly surprised to find she genuinely understood the complexity he presented her, if only because of this clever affinity. Had he chosen such a parallel to aid her in connecting with what he had tried to convey; or had it all just been a rather ironic coincidence?

Then came the ever anticipated question. How had she come to that conclusion? Possessed by the new conversation, she ceased her cleaning to process her thoughts more thoroughly. She locked onto his eyes and held his gaze for a moment before giving him her fairest answer.

"The way you look and behave. Your well kept hair. Your clothes. They're high quality and expensive in appearance, which to me means one of two things. Either you're high born or you worked to meet your current status. Since you say you're a prostitute, the hard work complex would be more...How you say...Logical?" She began confidently, stating her thoughts as they filtered through her head though she stumbled with her Common wording toward the end. So many years in the barbarian city, where they spoke the language so much, taught her quite a considerable amount of it. She built onto her previous teachings quickly and developed her skill at an astounding rate. Quicker than any of her kin she had run into along the way had.

"Then there's the way you act. You're relaxed and comfortable in your own skin. I did notice your immediate reaction to the mess and how you approached it, though. You don't prefer to get your hands dirty in this sort of sense. If I'm correct it would lead me to believe you're more of a pacifist, too. Not a violent warrior. All of which brings me to believe you rely on your mental abilities to compensate," She concluded with a slow nod of her head toward the end. Naturally since this was all a working theory she could've missed her mark entirely. It was amusing to try. Working her thoughts around in her head like a puzzle was entertaining to her, though not nearly as fun as sparring. Far better than what they were doing now. Kaie picked up the rag again and moved onto the next mess: a flipped bowl of soup leaking from the edge of the table to the floor. Still, she waited patiently and gauged the harlot's response, curious to tell what he may say.

[Matthew]

He couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do under her gaze. There was something about her, and there was something in the air. He didn't think it was any sort of magic. He could almost taste the intensity in the air, almost feel the heat rubbing against his skin. His hairs raised yet again, and he had to force himself not to break their stare and look down at them. He could almost put words to it, but not quite. It was still evading his mind, darting around the outer reaches of it, teasing him and taunting him with its mystery. It was such a familar feeling too. It almost bothered him, and for a second, his cool ice lashed out at her steady fire. He liked puzzles, but there was something frustrating about a puzzle that felt like he already had all the pieces to. He just needed to assemble them, and then everything would fall into place. He took a deep breath, drawing in his lashing calm, settling himself down. It was a mild frustration, and one that wasn't worth getting annoyed over. Answers would come in time. He would find them in her ever-shifting eyes. Instead, he found focus in her answer to his question. Impressively, she answered it very well. She saw and she analyzed, and then she laid out the facts in a cool and quick manner. She was sharp and intense, which only further added to the feeling that he was familiar with something about her. The sharpness wasn't as familiar, but it was definitely still a part of the puzzle he was reaching out for. He didn't even notice her faltering Common, impressed and already replying. "Excellent. I am relaxed in my skin. I move the way I do out of confidence in both me, and my surroundings. I don't like getting myself dirty when it comes to things such as this, which is a little quirk of mine. I wouldn't say I am a pacifist, but I wouldn't exactly call it violence. I cannot fight, but if I am to one day learn, I don't want to learn to fight. I want to learn to kill. I wouldn't learn it for the thrill or the skill, merely a means to erase someone who means me harm." His words were proper and slow, his eyes displaying thought as he spoke. "Though, when it comes to my clothes, they were fairly cheap. It all depends on how nice you keep them, and how you wear them. Really though, you were remarkably accurate. Good job." His praise was simple and polite, though she might be able to sense it was genuine. Returning his focus to the chunk he was scrubbing on, he finally managed to wipe it free. Scowling just a bit at the light fixture, he continued to move by each one of them, continuing at a methodical pace until he had them all completed. A rinse would finish the job, but until then, he would move on to the other raised surfaces. He started with the tables, glancing around to find a bucket of some sort and grabbing it. Using an edge of the towel to grab, he would grab stacks of plates and dump their contents into the bucket, and then return them back to their tables in an orderly fashion. His tedious patience with making sure everything was arranged and orderly was either annoying, or impressive, or both. The plates found themselves sorted by size, split and divided into different little stacks. He was dissecting this entire mess inch by inch, much like how he had spoken of dissecting a body. He had noticed her curious stare and glance at her body when he had mentioned his logical breakdown of a woman, and was trying to figure out if it was appropriate to bring it up. He had learned that he couldn't just offer knowledge at random, for talking about such things was frowned upon. In the end, the feel of her in the air somewhat encouraged him on. She was straightforward and genuine, so perhaps she would appreciate it as well. "The Mons. That is a name for a specific point on a woman's body." It was one of the most basic, and the first one he told curious women about. "Sit down for a second, and spread your legs a little. It is the area right below the waist of your loincloth, but right above your private space. It is usually missed, because when most people drift their fingers that low, they are planning on dipping them inside or rubbing more specifically sexual areas. If you pause right above, and brush the skin with a little circular motion and some pressure, then you will feel something of a warm glow start to spread." For telling a woman on how to touch herself in a certain way, he sounded awful... indifferent. It was that cold professionalism again, allowing him to speak on this level without appearing to be a completely perverted freak. "You don't have to sit down right now, obviously. Just remember it for the future." He couldn't help himself. He naturally catered to curiosity he saw in others, and the gleam he had seen in her razor-sharp gaze was no different. His blue eyes rose, finding her own amber stare, and he tilted his head. It was a noticeable habit by now. "Does that make sense? Intellect in dissection. If the intellect is ingrained well enough, then it even becomes a part of instinct."

[Kaie]

Kaie listened to the man intently as he reiterated what she had said, pointing out incorrect observations and rewarding her for those that were successful. She could feel the air around him. That coolness permeating toward her so subtly. Like a soft frost air that lulled those in its company to a gentle sleep. The sort of lullaby that could bring victims to their ends willingly. Had she not noticed this aura, Kaie's intense flame might've melted on itself if such a thing were possible. Nonetheless, he did have a small effect on her like he must've with all women. With Matthew came that invisible breeze that rolled over the coals and dimmed a ferocious fire within her.

Soon that response had finished pleasantly in a genuine way. She sensed he was truly trying to give her a compliment. Thinking for a moment, Kaie decided that in Common, this would be rhetoric. Perhaps a reply to such a statement wasn't necessary? The inner debate brought back her silence. To distract herself from her ever rambling thoughts, she returned to the mess once more. That damned spilled soup. Its orange contents had spread like a thick sea over the edge of the table. The liquid had coagulated long before and was steadily making its final passage down toward the floor. Its movement was rather sluggish, honestly. She swiped the rag across the surface to remove the ugly slime. It hadn't come off so cleanly. A few scrubs later it disappeared. Kaie wrapped her hand inside the clean side of the rag and grasped the edge of the bowl. She righted the bowl and picked it up just as Matthew continued his speech again. Immediately her gaze returned.

The mons was it? Kaie was active enough to know what he spoke was true. Yet she only recognized the simple, gentle brush of a hand with other intentions. Surely that specific spot wasn't meaning to find its final resting place there. Still she knew the sensation he claimed she would know, and that made him again an object of interest. He seemed more legitimate to her. Now he was a man with true professionalism, one that went with knowledge. Blue eyes met hers again to bring that icy chill down her skin. Intellect again, hm? The Myrian woman pondered upon his point intensely. Was he saying that intelligence he had gained in his trade harmonized with primal urges? The idea of it brought a fierce gleam to her eyes as she was piecing together what he was showing her. It was like all this time she had tunnel vision. As if the secrets of his world had been invisible to her, hidden in all of her vast blind spots. Secrets she never knew were there to begin with. That is until Matthew so casually opened her eyes just a bit wider with his explanations. Finally Kaie was beginning to see the whole board.

"Yes, it makes sense. You know much, Matthew. Intelligence. It makes someone in your position more..Dangerous," She began slowly, verbally piecing what he had told her together. She figured he understood exactly what she meant by "dangerous." Bowl in hand, the woman made her advance to his side of the room. Her footsteps were deliberate. Soon enough she had crossed the invisible boundary and entered his icy domain. The Myrian, however, did not even bat an eye. She paused only when she had reached the bucket and promptly dropped the bowl inside. Kaie eyed him and she figured he had already anticipated she would have further to say on the subject. If he hadn't he could probably tell by her expression that she was searching for words right then.

"You're already a master at your trade. So tell me more about this intellect. You know much about women but you clearly have a more intimate perception of men, naturally. It's instinct that tells you what to do. Anyone can know where to put it. Show me...How one turns primal lust into art," She challenged him, speaking to him without making eye contact. The woman lifted her free hand and raised her index finger. She ran the finger around the light fixture Matthew had previously wiped down. Only when she reached her request did she casually return her eyes to his with eyebrows raised; waiting to hear his response to her off request.

[Matthew]

When she stepped into his space, he quickly realized the feeling. He had been prey once or twice. Actual prey. He had been on the recieving end of a trained bandit trying to slice his throat open, or an animal trying to pluck his eyeballs for lunch. The animal in particular had given him this same exact feeling. The same exact feeling she did. Her steps were slow and deliberate, her gait confident and sure. Her gaze was sharp and unwavering, amber burning with a comfort of her surroundings. Of him. Comfort in the fact that she was in control of her space, in control of herself, and as an extension in control of him. Setting his jaw, he refused to step back, though he wanted to. He had been exposed to the feeling from someone else, and he had stepped back then. He refused to step back now, even though he had to repeatedly keep his foot from lifting in the motion. Instead, he clung to her words, focusing and listening to what she had to say, quietly considering what she was telling him. Dangerous, was he? He hadn't thought of it like that before. Was it actually dangerous? He sensed she didn't really mean 'dangerous' in the normal sense of the word. Perhaps more skilled. He took it as a compliment, either way. Quietly, he took in her next words and her request, and then paused. She wished to be able to do the same? Or at least, wanted to see exactly what it was he claimed he could do? It was interesting that she was so forward and simple about it, but he appreciated that. It was rare to find someone who was able to treat the subject as openly and casually as he did. She didn't see it as some confession of love or lust, or some binding contract that their relationship was about to reach a new level. It was just another subject. But how would he show her? His mind blurred, quickly running through who she was. Proud and strong, bright and burning, dominating and alluring. She had no doubt had men. They had no doubt taken her, or at least tried. How was his science and art different from their instinct? He closed his eyes. Flames flickered to life around his island, the purest representation of desire and hunger that his mind knew how to generate. He turned, cool blue eyes a sharp contrast, studying the flames. Raising a hand, he waved it, and the flames responded in kind. Somewhere in the back of his mind was an echo of relief, and he slowly stepped forward, approaching the inferno calmly. Cupping both of his hands together, as if he was holding a ball between them, he focused on the fire and willed it to bow. It did, leaping up in great tongues of red, swirling around until it found a raging home between his hands. Controlled and contained passion. What he was about to do was painfully similar to the dreams that had plagued him in the past years. But those dreams had only sharpened his control. The eyes of ice opened, and the air shifted. Suddenly, there was no longer ice. There was only flame. His Djed swirled, and he expelled it with a breath of air, leaking suggestions into the space surrounding them. She was just barely in reach of his aura, so he stepped forward just barely, further enveloping her into it. It wasn't anything forceful, anything sneaky. It was merely the idea of heat and hunger, shimmering in the air like it had a physical presence. No longer did her flames flicker against ice, instead, they were faced down with flames of his own doing. Flames of hunger, of passion, of primal urges and needs. His body tensed and rippled, the man moving once again like a predator, the fire burning brighter. It seemed so simple really, fighting fire with fire. He was responding to her presence and fighting it with a presence of his own, though his was decidedly more sensual. It was just a feeling. A collection of intimate little things, from the look in his eyes to the twitch of his muscles, to the clenching of his fingers to the bite of his lip. All of it combined to shamelessly show her one single thing, and one simple desire. But really, fire against fire wasn't that impressive, was it? Boring, almost. No doubt the Myrian had met man after man who dared stand up to her in this way. Sometimes they took control in the bedroom, sometimes she took control. Either way, it was really the same sort of dance. His gaze then dipped, sharply dropping to study her body. He spoke silent words to her, the intellect now coming into play. He was unashamed in how he stared at her largely-exposed skin, not at all blushing or glancing away. Instead, he drank it in, eyes flickering brighter and brighter. She would see it though, see that it wasn't merely a man admiring her. That was all too common too, wasn't it? No, there was something else. His eyes, while filled with that primal lust that caused many a man to lunge for her, were filled with something else as well. That intellect. That analyzing gaze. There was a plan. He was a wild animal with a plan. He wasn't simply going to leap at her and throw himself where he desired, where he thought she would desire. He was going to tear at her neck, bite at her lips, touch along various points of her body that even she didn't know about. He was going to weaken her, and then slowly disassemble each and every little piece of her until she found herself laid bare and wanting. His flames weren't just going to try and match hers. They were going to deconstruct hers into ashes, and turn her fire into his own. I will burn you his eyes said, as they slowly climbed up from her body after an incredibly detailed stare. Her body was a canvas, and he had planned each and every single stroke down to the final beautiful painting. He was intellect, mixed with instinct. He was intellect, guiding instinct. Sometimes instinct, guiding intellect. He was controlled, even to a point where if he was ever not in control, his body would instinctively carry out all the information that he had embedded into it. Then, like a switch, the fire completely vanished and the harlot was back to ice. He stared at her a moment, then turned back to his cleaning, letting her process for a few short moments before he spoke. "I can teach you. It will require 10 gold mizas, or a skill taught in return." The harlot was just that. A harlot. He was for sale. He was now on the market particularly for her, if it was something she wanted to take. He had even given her a sample of what he could do, and what he would show her to do. And that wasn't the only thing that he was capable of generating with his seduction.

[Kaie]

The Myrian woman couldn't keep a grin of amusement from edging into her expression. She could see his discomfort. The way his jaw set and body became almost rigid. What was it about her that made him so? Was it a matter of her race that made her seem intimidating maybe? Kaie was unsure but as was her nature, she took advantage of any space that was given. She was basking in it and there was no doubt he could see that clearly. Then the game changed, the air turned, and suddenly it was no longer an eternal struggle between fire and ice. Now there was only flame.

Shock flooded Kaie's expression and it was all she could do to keep from letting her mouth hang open. Her playful smirk had dropped to become a line of pink lips. Only her eyes held the sparkle of surprise she felt at the alteration of events. The Myrian could feel it. The emotion behind whatever it was he was projecting. It wasn't that slow fog he displayed before. This was rapid and spontaneous, this lust. The quarry had turned upon its predator and proven to be just as menacing a carnivore. Had she not been so stubborn, she might've back pedaled. His icy eyes held a desire that burned. A hunger that wished to be quenched. Fiery passion. The competition of the elements brought a surge of confidence back to her, to brighten her own flame to match his. Determination got the best of her.

Frosty blue pools stared at her body, scanning it so deliberately with trained eyes. The way he so closely watched her made her almost feel self conscious, the way he appraised her like she had seen slave buyers do once before. He was gathering the visual information to weaponize against her. Her amber orbs narrowed a bit at this realization, but then her brow suddenly relaxed. Though never one to judge, Myrian nature forced her to remember Matthew was indeed a barbarian. Was she really letting an outsider reintroduce her to any notions regarding vulnerability? It was this understandings that snapped her immediately from her girlish worry. Was she not a woman and a Myrian at that?

Kaie returned in a new mental light. She was back to her old ways and prepared to play. New found focus found his eyes and now she was the one analyzing his every detail. She started at his torso, followed along to chest and arms, and finally settled on his eyes. Naturally she found she wasn't nearly as adapt as Matthew in these observations. All she found was the difference in his eyes. The difference of focus and demeanor he had in them. They were more carefully thought and assertive. All knowing. So this was what intelligence and knowledge looked like in a place like this? Who knew she'd find such an awakening, staring into the eyes of a whore.

Within her was the slow burn of everlasting coals, a bonfire rising with every passing heartbeat. An alertness that came with anticipation. So as his eyes burned her with a bold message of dominance, her own dazzled in the face of his challenge. Primal urges in her brain went off like imaginary alarms. She wanted him. The way he stared at her, the way he so skillfully moved, made her want to want him. It was out of her control. The riptide effect was inescapable. He could have her in the palm of his hand, and he hadn't even approached her yet. Just when their likenesses began to clash, a harsh wind blew out his flame and blanketed him once more in frost.

He spoke his words polite and in a general, business kind of voice. His offer now spread on the table. What a true professional the harlot was. It awed her, really. After all, how often had she run into such people who dressed and acted a certain way, but turned out to be quite the opposite. Imposter. Matthew on the other hand was the real deal. His demands were fair, and so she considered them and gave her answer.

"A harlot through and through. I must admit that I'm impressed," Kaie began with a soft laugh of admiration, stepping once forward leisurely to put herself further into his sphere of influence. Now there laid only a couple feet between their bodies. She tilted her chin up at him to keep contact with his eyes. An expected effect considering his height. The savage thought for a few moments, perhaps a second or so, before making up her mind.

"Your price is fair. I have the Mizas for your services, but I may have something worth more than what anyone can put in your pocket. You said you wished to one day learn to defend yourself, to kill your enemy, yes? I can show you how to turn your body into a lethal weapon. How to kill with just your hands. Or you can just take the gold. The choice is yours. Either way, I accept."

The woman suddenly flicked her wrist outside her body to send the rag flying from her grasp, gaze never breaking. She didn't care where it landed. She watched only the man before her, curious as to what his first move would be. Countering her previous move, Kaie now backed up. She created distance from Matthew until she was in the center of the floor, the first place she had bothered to clean before his arrival. The place where the boundary between their auras once laid. She was offering him center stage. A messy one at that of course, but she didn't know better. Whether he decided to relocate them or not was her choice. It would be odd to learn to follow a barbarian rather than to lead, but it was the only way she'd learn. No doubt she'd be stepping out of more than one comfort zone this night. Amber eyes kept their burn on low now. Just enough to say to him, "you're welcome if you dare."

Who said you couldn't mix business with pleasure?

[Matthew]

"I'll trust you to pay, and we can work it out after the first lesson. You can also decide if you want more lessons after that. If you decide not to pay, then I suppose we'll just consider our newfound relationship to be ended." His voice was crisp and his nod was sharp, and the pact was sealed. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was the one in control of this particular field. He would need to keep himself steady against the aura of intimidation that she so readily permeated the air with. He sensed she was delighted by a man who could make her want in a new and savage way, and anything less than that would be simply normal. He didn't wish to be normal. He despised normal. No matter if he taught a lesson or if he gave pleasure, he wanted to make a lasting impression. Something that would make the customer return. An addiction, he would dare say. He reached out, taking more of the fire. It swirled in his palms, and he compressed it. Controlled it. Owned it. Lessons on seduction. It was so horribly familar. It had happened just like this, so very long ago. Once again he closed his eyes, and once again he re-opened them to reveal blazing heat. "There are a lot of little things." He stepped forward, approaching the line that they had somehow drawn, his eyes locked on hers. "A lot of little things that all combine to make one being. One being that is wanted." He continued towards her, his gait painstakingly slow. Patient. Graceful. Confident. "I step with ease, so I must be comfortable with my body. I step without hesitation, so I must be confident with where I am going." Oddly enough, his hips had this very slight sway to them. Almost like a woman's hips, but not as pronounced. Even more notably, his gait caused his muscles to ripple and flex, just barely. "My moving hips draw attention to the definition and prize there, and the movement of my body causes attention there. Men are visual creatures, and women also can appreciate something that looks good. Clothes, movement, aura, it all combines to create one thing. Some of the little quirks come naturally. Some of them, if you want to be good, have to be practiced and put into effect. Most importantly though, are the eyes." His blue orbs stared at her, blazing. Want. "People can read eyes. They may doubt what the eyes tell them, but it can be made obvious. Don't hold it back. Just let what you want them to see consume you, and let it express itself." Need. "Remain controlled, remain aware, but simply look. First their eyes, and then if you like, look at their body. Study it, like only a lover would. Make sure they know. Make sure they see." His eyes dipped to her body to showcase this, and then turned back to her gaze, the smallest of smirks lifting the corner of his full lips. See? I can devour you. Somewhere among everything he had been saying, everything he had been showing, he was now close to her. He would step until he was barely brushing her, tall figure looming over her. He stared down, gaze flashing. His smell was in the air, something of a forest scent, as if he had applied perfume. "Remember, all the little things. All the little details. If I pay so much attention to the little details, then imagine all the little details I can find on you when the time comes." He breathed suddenly, lowering his head, lips suddenly hovering painfully close to her own. The message was clear. If he was so very aware of all those little things, then how detailed would even a simple kiss be? His breath was hot, his stare forward, his voice changing into something husky and suggestive. "Do you understand so far? The first step is all about the look. Play to your strengths. Your deep eyes, your intensity, your fitness, and your hair."

[Kaie]

The harlot spoke to her coolly as if he had made such business deals before in that light, gentle husk of a voice. No doubt he had drawn people in just with that gentle, intelligent tone. It was hypnotic and calm. It captured the listener with a smooth tongue, beckoning them forth like a siren. She found herself almost leaning toward him just to catch more of his alluring undertone, focused solely on the speaker. That's when the fire returned. It seared her with surprise as only an unexpected flame could. Almost immediately the burn of shock dulled into a slow roast of enchantment, of lustful eyes and confident gait. A warmth entered her being as if the air around him had changed her internal dynamic entirely. It was if the fire in his eyes had risen to dance with hers. His steps were deliberate and confident. What was it about his walk that was so...Attractive? Kaie had no knowledge what he was doing or how, but she did know she didn't mind. Not one bit.

As he approached, Kaie had become a statue of glowing bronze. She was not rigid or stiff but frozen. Her body stood tall in the center of the room with her hands still at her sides. It was only her head and eyes that followed him as he came closer. Burning, expectant eyes. She knew it was only her that he was coming for. Just her. He seemed to manipulate time itself with his slow strides, moving at such a leisurely pace. Anticipation was driving her insane. That alluring voice had returned like something from a familiar dream, speaking to her and coaching her. Telling her what he was doing and why. Each thing he said was drawing her attention to each place he described. Gradually her eyes began to wander his body longingly, appreciating it with new knowledge included. They made a neat path, traveling from his exposed chest down below to where he was trying to draw attention. She could see what he was doing, manipulating her, but even when she recognized it, she dared not stop him. Maybe it wasn't always so horrible to be lured in like this...

As soon as he mentioned eyes, her head snapped up like a thief caught in the act. Bold amber fires met his unwavering, fiery gaze. The icy blue pools seemed to pierce her very soul, or at least glimpse between the tightly packed flames guarding it. Then the eyes began to dip. At first it was almost a relief to her, the escape from the penetrating gaze that conveyed lust. The gaze that made her wish to do the sinful deed of laying with a barbarian again. Quickly, though, that relief was gone. It only lasted a few moments but those few seemed like an eternity. Matthew's studious eyes tore the clothes from her skin. Suddenly she was beginning to feel actually naked. Kaie's emotions were border lining on self-conscious, a foreign feeling to a Myrian woman of such confidence. Finally his eyes left her and the intensity of his stare was lessened by a gentle grin.

They were close then. Far too close. Kaie couldn't bring herself to push him away, rather, she didn't want to. Couldn't consider it. After all, this is what she had asked for and he sure as hell was showing her. She probably should've considered this possibility before he even asked for such a lesson. Naturally, she meant the fact he was forcing her to enact inhuman strength to keep herself from tearing his clothes off. She kept her eyes locked on his, unwilling to be the first to show signs of weakness by breaking contact. The Myrian listened to him as if he were some sort of mentor, like every word was part of a meal to ensure her survival. I'm sure you know just how to play those details, she thought to herself.

His full lips were so close to hers expelling that warm, inviting breath that made her breath catch. She lowered her softening eyes to look at them in longingly. Her head tilted slightly as she did, lips hovering just before his, locked in an internal struggle for control. Gentler eyes closed as her forehead neared his. It seemed like the whole room had shrunken to consist of only that space between. He could probably feel the tension in her body. The slipping of restraint. He was a pro at the love game. Kaie knew Matthew could see the ground falling out from under her.

Then he was speaking again in that suggestive husk, laying out a list of weapons she had against her object of possession. At the mention of her eyes her full lashes opened to once again reveal the bright ambers. Their fiery, intense components were still intact but there was a softness to them now. It was if they had melted at his hands. Really what they conveyed was unrestricted desire. They met his own eyes once more, struggling to look only at his eyes. A slow nod was all she could do at the moment to show him that she did indeed understand.

"I do. Teach me how to use those strengths. What do you mean by my fitness and my hair," She said when she finally found words again. Kaie had thought a lot about what he had said during her moments of silence. She was no professional like he was, but she felt confident in how you could use her eyes and intensity when she wanted to. Or so she thought. Hair thought was something new and interesting to bring in. As for fitness? Maybe she was just being sly when she specifically mentioned that one. Could anyone really blame her?

"Show me to touch, Matthew..." Kaie lulled to him in a detached voice, focused but hypnotized by him all at once. Absently, she dared raise a hand to destroy the invisible boundary. Gentle fingers traced along his right pectoral, feeling the fabric and the heat beneath it as she spoke. She tilted her chin down and stared at her fingers where they moved, fascinated by the muscle there. Deep pink lips parted mildly to exhale one smooth breath. Kaie's eyes flickered up to stare at him through her lashes. He had her interest before but now he had her attention. She could only guess where he might lead her next.