Closed [Pig's Foot Tavern] The Temptation of a Woman (Kechaiya)

[Caela Dorin]

.

There was the jealousy fuelled suspicion now, the woman clearly jumping to wrongful conclusions. Caela wasn't keen about going into details but she could sketch out some of what had happened, minus the near rape and the fact that Noven had come back to train her in her room. Best not to mention that he'd ever been in her room. A doctor was not a good enemy to have after all. The young woman would have gone back to explain it but Kechaiya had already latched onto the information that the dancer had offered to allay her suspicions.

"No, he didn't look at me like the men here do. And I mean that you can be his type. The type of woman that he likes not..." the young woman trailed off. She'd said slave and she'd quite clearly said that she didn't want to be one again. Kechaiya had been a slave? Caela hadn't met a slave before, well at least not as far as she knew. Sunberth had them, there were slavers who operated within the city. There was a slave market but the dancer had never been that bothered about it, it'd always just been there like any other part of the city that she'd grown up with like the brothels and the taverns and the blood sport rings. Somehow they'd never reached the level of thought reserved for human beings in her mind, they'd always been livestock in her eyes but she couldn't equate this woman before her with the image she'd conjured up in her head.

Had Kechaiya been a slave here? Probably not or she would have been taken back to a master by now. Slaves weren't freed after all, they ran away. Well she didn't think that they were ever freed although she'd heard of slavers being killed and their stock set loose but she didn't know anything definite about it. Another thing that I'm going to have to look into that I don't understand, she thought. Had Kechaiya been a slave in her homeland wherever that was? She could always ask but it'd probably be a bit insensitive.

Her words concerning a seduction of Noven were taken up far too enthusiastically, the woman seeing it as something Caela could teach her. "Woah hang on now! I didn't say anything about teaching you, I just said it was possible," the blonde interjected quickly but it was already too late. The foreigner was enraptured with the idea and she'd laid an offer before her that was too good to not take into consideration. She chewed her lip. Free medicine? And all she'd have to do was teach this woman how to be seductive? It didn't sound as easy as she'd just made it sound especially as she'd said it to make the woman feel more confident, not to gain a student.

The black eyed woman's exclamation had been a little too loud. The men at nearby tables had started "whispering" their remarks again and Caela was having a hard time blocking out their words, heat burning through her face as she tried to resist the urge to hide under the table.

"What in petch does sexy look mean?"

"Say it's just that foreigner mixing up her words. Probably meant lick instead."

"Oh hai she really is a skirt chaser! I'd watch that lesson all right even if the black eyed freak's in it."

"Caela likes men watching her so she wouldn't mind us watching that."

A crude slurping noise emanated from the men's table followed by laughter, the dancer not daring too look around as she tried to hide herself behind her hair. Why was this happening to her today? Why couldn't they just shut up and mind their own business? She didn't go taking everything they said the wrong way although they weren't talking about sex and making men want to bed you... The dancer started talking to cover them up, shushing the woman to stop her from talking so loudly again.

"Do you want the whole tavern to hear what you're up to?" she hissed, not looking around as she leaned in close to the woman again. "I didn't say that I'd show you but I suppose that I can but not here. We can go back to your room and I can show you how to do it." Oh gods even as she said it her words sounded far too suggestive to her ears. Hopefully those men wouldn't hear what with her being so close and trying to be quiet about it. Please don't let her know what they're talking about and get the wrong idea too, she prayed silently before she addressed Kechaiya again. "I'll see if I can get off work now but if I can't I shouldn't be too long if you can wait. Just keep drinking your water."

Rising from her chair she made her way up to the bar to talk to her employer, back stiff as more of the men's comments floated to her across the floor. Merv didn't seem too pleased to see that she was still not dancing. She leaned her elbows on the wooden counter, avoiding any sticky drink puddles and tried to look at him pitifully. "Merv?" she drew his name out slowly as she batted her eyelashes at him a little. "You're not getting off work." The young woman's mouth dropped open. She hadn't even said anything yet!

"But Merv I've told you about my side and it's really sore after the dancing I've done..."

"Don't care. Suck it up or don't work at all. Up to you," he responded gruffly, rubbing the inside of a tankard with one of the filthiest rags she'd ever seen. The dancer had no idea what to say to him to try to soften him up. He seemed to have had his mind set before she'd even tried to wheedle her way out of here. Well he wasn't the only one that could be stubborn.

"Oh come on, Merv. I've danced tonight, haven't I? And I did it yesterday and I brought you in plenty of coin, right? Can't you help a girl out? Please?"

"You've missed work so you need to make up for it. Can't come flouncing in here when you feel like it. You work now or you find work somewhere else."

"Merv, come on. I'm serious about my side. It hurts like petch and it'll get worse if I go out there again. That woman I was sitting with was the one who treated me, a doctor. Says she'll give me something for the pain if I go with her. I'll work tomorrow..." A shake of the head from the barman, although there was a moment of hesitancy beforehand. She was breaking through. She'd have to come to a compromise. "If I do one more dance, will you let me off? I won't be much good to you after that unless you want to pick me off the floor when I collapse in agony. Just one little dance?" Caela looked at him hopefully, sticking her lower lip out a bit.

He shook his head again and the dancer couldn't understand how she'd failed. He wasn't normally this obstinate. "I dunno why I give into you, do you know that?" he said after a pause. Her face lit up, the woman grinning broadly at this good news. "One dance, ya hear? Do that and you can go. Go on." The dancer was back across the room to Kechaiya as soon as her boss had given his blessing, leaning on the table to relay her sentence.

"I have to do one more dance, okay? After that we can go." With her news delivered, Caela moved back onto the dance floor that she'd occupied earlier, steeling herself for what was come. Once the music started she got to work.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya was wholly too focused at the negotiation at hand with the dancer to notice the crude comments, and wouldn't have understood them anyways. When Caela pointed out that Kech was being loud however, the doctor now looking around the immediate area. There were certainly a bunch of eyes and weirdly large grins staring back at her. For some reason she found this funny, and the giggle-snort emanated from her mouth once more. She quickly stifled it with a hand, remembering that Caela said she was too loud.

Still listening as Caela suggested her room, she nodded, the connotation of such lost on her. When she was finished, nodding rapidly, before forcing herself to stop as the world began to get dizzy, "I wait." She drained her water once more and waved over the cranky serving girl as Caela left to speak with Merv. Her new water arriving, Kechaiya downed it quickly, before realizing that her stomach was incredibly full, and her bladder was starting to complain.

She saw a man at the table next to her keep glancing over, then would look back to his friends, and they would all laugh. He then stood up and sauntered over, his face looking ready to explode into laughter at any moment. He was a rather normal looking man, not especially handsome, but not ugly either, short brown hair, few scars, and a hint of muscle. And he had all of his teeth, a rarity in Sunberth. He sat down without invitation, though Kechaiya didn't feel the need to say anything, the urge to relieve herself growing ever stronger.

"So... Do you only lick melons and oysters? I know they don't have that nice fishy taste, but I wondered if you liked to lick sausage as well?"

Kechaiya thought this was a very strange question, and couldn't figure out as to why he looked ready to lose his mind laughing. But since Caela was gone, she figured she could talk to him, "No lick melons, that silly. Too chewy. Oyster no bad though, tasty, good with spice sauce. No lick sausage, just bite, chew. No as good. You lick food?"

At that response, the man absolutely lost it. He literally fell out of his chair laughing, his friends joining in on the joke. Kech didn't get it, but found herself smiling and laughing along with them, which only increased their fervor. She was still laughing as Caela returned to the table. "One more dance, yes. I go make pee now, feel like waterskin with too much water."

Kechaiya made her way around the tables just as the music began and entered the cooler night air, hips wiggling in urgency. She saw several men coming back and forth from an alley next to the tavern, and settled on that. Turning in, she found several men urinating against the wall of the bar and she hurriedly made her way to the end of the line. Backing facing the wall, she pushed her undergarments down to her knees, then squatted, skirt balled up in her hands at her hips, relief coming quickly. Many of the men were now staring, hoping to get a glimpse of anything, but more than happy enough to see her thin, dark thighs. When she was done, many of the men were still staring at her, peckers in hand, bladders long since empty. She looked over at them, noting that none of them flinched for they couldn't make out her eyes in the darkness of the alley. She hiked up her drawers and walked past them back into the pub.

She found her table once more, and sat down, much more comfortable. She still had some wine left, and didn't wish to be wasteful, so she filled up her goblet, and sipped at it slowly this time. She looked toward the space where Caela had danced last time, enjoying the music that was in the air this time. The urgency now gone, she found herself a lot more relaxed and a bit more clear in her thoughts. She closed her eyes, just swaying with the music, sipping at her wine.

[Caela Dorin]

.

The thoughts of getting out of here spurred her on. She could cause herself as much pain as she liked because it would only be temporary or so she hoped. There was no knowing if the doctor would set any obstacles in her way, even unintentionally, that might slow down the dancer's pain relief. She hoped not but then Kechaiya was strange when drunk. Maybe she was strange when sober too. Still normal people didn't give that much detail about the need to empty their bladders. Her use of Common was a source of amusement though, for the most part.

She kept one eye open for the woman as she moved herself about the room, thinking of tricks that she could pull to better amuse her audience and her boss. Couldn't have Merv saying that she hadn't put in the effort. The dancer perched herself on tables, swinging her legs and kicking out in ways that sent her skirt ruffling up in tantalising ways. She was always sure to show some skin but not too much, depriving them of such views for chimes at a time, taunting and teasing them with her body.

She risked a tight spin, forcing her body's momentum to turn her on one foot. It lasted a few ticks, skirts fanning out around her before her balance went and she had to drop her raised foot to catch herself. There was a wobbly moment before she righted herself, jeers about her having had too much to drink ringing in her ears before the dancer was moving again. Back and forth across the floor, moving around as much of the tavern as she could where foot room allowed. Kechaiya had returned to her former table and Caela was glad to see that she was still drinking away at her water. She'd sober up a bit hopefully so that she wouldn't have to be looked after on the way home.

A few more twirls around the room, a flash of thigh here, a touch of the hip there and a few other basic movements that made up her repertoire and she was finished. Her steps brought her back to the foreigner's table, hands pressed down on the wooden surface as she looked down on the doctor. Now that she was beside her, she could see that her earlier assumption that the woman was still drinking water had been wrong; she'd gone back to drinking wine. "Kechaiya..." Her voice was stern as she regarded the woman with an eyebrow quirked up. "What did I say about that wine? You've had too much of it. Would you go back to the water for gods' sake or I won't teach you anything you know. I don't have to help you with Noven, you know. Maybe I'll take him myself."

The dancer allowed the threat to sink in before she sat down, holding out a hand to take the goblet from her. A twitch of the fingers, a gesture to pass it over. The fingers of her other hand drummed on the table in a sign of impatience. She had every intention of waiting for that goblet to be given to her; she wasn't taking no for an answer in this. "Do you want me to help you or not? No point trying to teach you anything if you're out of your head now is there? So give me the wine, drink another tankard of water and then we can go. We'll head back to your room, you can give me the medicine and I'll see about getting that cook of yours into your bed. Sound like a plan?"
.

[Kechaiya]

When she opened her eyes, she saw that Caela was dancing on top of a table. Kechaiya watched wide eyed now, listening to the cat calls and wolf whistles. That seemed really dangerous, but it did allow for the men to see a lot more leg. And she did have lovely, thick legs. Her father would call them 'Good Child Bearing Hips,' because apparently large hips made it safer and easier to give birth. She never did find out if her mother, who had thin hips like herself, had a rough child birth or not. Just another of the many things she'd never get to ask.

But rather than dwell on the past Kechaiya began humming, poorly and off beat, the tune that was playing, again not caring about the comments the nearby patrons made. She opened them at one point as Caela was approached, a smile spreading across the doctor's face. But the moment Caela said her name, the smile vanished, and Kech felt like when she was a child and her father caught her pestering his patients when he was gone. She heard Caela's threats loud and clear, and understood enough of them to take it very seriously. She was blushing now, and pushed the the cup of wine away from her, shoulders slumping in shame.

Nearby, "Aww looks like the little licking lovebirds are fighting."

Kech now felt as if she had truly disappointed someone important, someone... close. On the verge of tears once more, "I sorry. I want you help. No want make you upset. You nice me." She quickly drank some more of her water under the watchful eye. "Please no be mad. I want you be friend." She waved over the waitress who huffed and grabbed another water. Kechaiya took it from the annoyed woman and quickly downed it as well. "I no have many friend. None. You nice me, I like you. I sorry."

Kechaiya hadn't called anyone a friend since she was in Eyktol, and now felt wholly exposed. She had told this woman so much about her, and the dancer was mad and disappointed at her. Rather than wait for the inevitable denial, Kechaiya grabbed her pack, stood up hurriedly, tears flowing once more, quickly exiting the tavern. She looked up and down the street, trying to remember which way home was. She looked up to find Leth but that quickly caused dizziness to set in. She stopped, trying to get her balance back, wanting to get home to where it was safe, where she didn't let anyone down, where she had no friends. Wobbling, she made it a few steps, before having to lean against the wall, and just stopped moving, the sobs quiet and pitiful.

[Caela Dorin]

.

The dancer realised very quickly that she'd been overly stern with the doctor. Her eyes were taking on that watery quality again and the last thing that Caela wanted was for her to start crying again. If she started all that nonsense again then they wouldn't be getting out of here any time soon and Merv was likely to come down on her head if she was still hanging around the bar and doing nothing.

Again she was at a loss for how to comfort the drunken woman, her words not helping matters as it was making it harder for her to think. Did she have to make her feel so guilty? She'd only been trying to make sure that she was in some way sensible when they left here and yet now she felt like the greatest bitch in Sunberth. "I'm not upset," she interjected as the woman started downing water at a rapid pace. "I'm just trying to be nice. Make sure you aren't drunk so that you learn better, all right?" Not very comforting she knew but it was the only thing that sprang to mind as Kechaiya dug the knife into her emotions and twisted it. "I'm not mad! I'm trying to be your friend, okay? Friends help each other. I'm only helping," she continued when the woman made no reply, only set about drinking another lot of water.

If she keeps this up then she's going to need to make pee again on the way home, her mind chimed in at exactly the wrong moment. She snorted in reaction before she could stop herself, hand coming up to cover her mouth to hide her mirth but it was already too late. She always had to think the wrong thing at the wrong time. Couldn't her thoughts have waited to butt in while the woman was turned away rather than when she was listening to someone saying that they had no friends? Kechaiya was going to think that she was laughing at her now. Perfect! If that didn't bring on the waterworks she'd be surprised.

"Kechaiya..." She didn't get a chance to say that she hadn't been laughing at the foreigner. The woman's name was hardly out of her mouth by the time the woman was hurrying away from her, carrying a backpack while tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Petch," she muttered before getting up to follow her with "Oh there's trouble in paradise. There's she's off to chase the skirt now," filling her ears. The blonde had to dodge around a few of the patrons, elbowing her way to the door when necessary and ended up outside only moments after the onyx eyed woman. She hadn't gotten very far and didn't like she'd be going anywhere soon either so there'd been no real need to hurry but she hadn't known that.

The doctor was leaning on the wall not from the entrance, sobbing in earnest now. Caela cringed at the sight of her, knowing that this situation was her fault, but approached her all the same. The young woman hovered by the other's side for a moment before putting a tentative arm around Kechaiya's shoulders. The other arm did its best to complete the hug, the gesture made awkward because she was trying to attempt it from the side. One hand patted the woman on either her back or her shoulder; the blonde didn't pay too much attention. "Now you don't have to get upset, Kechaiya. I wasn't laughing at you, I wasn't upset with you or angry. I bit fed up with you, yes but I didn't want to smack you or anything." Words were just coming out of the blonde's mouth. What came out on automatic was definitely not what she could call comforting but she made no effort to censor herself, just stumbled onwards and probably made matters worse.

"I am your friend, or I will be your friend if you want me to be, and I'm not going to steal Noven away from you." You can't steal him when she hasn't even got him. "I just said that so that you'd get a move on. Encouragement. You know what that means. Kind of like hitting a slave to make it do what it's told. You do or say something to get someone else to do or say something that you want them to do." That was one of the worse explanations she'd ever given in her life and she belatedly remembered that Kechaiya had mentioned being a slave. Her mouth jumped to correct herself. "Not that I beat slaves or anything. I don't agree with beating slaves. There shouldn't be any slaves. Slavers should die." She'd developed opinions on things that she'd never thought of before now, all in the space of a few ticks.

The dancer took a few breaths, using the time it took to consider what she would say next. If she didn't think about it then gods knew what would come out of her mouth. She'd like to think that it wouldn't be worse than what she'd already said but she didn't think that she'd done her worst yet. "Well Kechaiya, why don't we get you home? You told me the way before so I'll get us there without any trouble, okay?" Her eyes made the mistake of wandering and taking in her surroundings. There were men standing watching them from inside the tavern and some had stopped on their way to and from the toilet alleyway. All of them were staring. "And can we go now? I wouldn't want to rush you only we're doing that attracting men's attention thing and not in a good way. Think you can walk?"

Her arms unwound from around the doctor, the dancer taking a step back for the sake of propriety and waited for the woman's response. "You can lean on my arm if you want," she offered, holding out the arm nearest to the woman with the limb slightly bent at the elbow. Her attention was given to the men briefly in the form of a glare. "What the petch are you lot looking at? Go back in there and get pissed or whatever it is you were doing before," she ordered.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya started for a moment as she felt movement near her, looking over defensively, only to see it was Caela. Who was now putting an arm around her. And then paired it with another, and it became a hug, albeit a strange one. Kechaiya found herself turning somewhat toward Caela, and placing her face against the dancer's shoulder, trying to quiet her tears and sniffling. She listened as Caela spoke, Kechaiya now realizing that she had been mistaken. Kech mumbled, "I sorry Caela."

Then Caela said she was in fact, her friend. Or would be. And at that prospect, Kech looked up at the dancer, tears lightly flowing down her dark cheeks, nose a bit darker than normal from the crying. She gave a toothy smile at this, and wrapped her own arms around the blonde, completing the hug. She heard Caela speak, going on about slaves and slavers and it all being bad, but she was focused on the fact that Caela claimed to be her friend. And Kechaiya believed her, because Caela was here, now, despite the handful that Kechaiya only now realized she had been.

Nodding as Caela offered to take her home, still beaming alongside her new friend, Kechaiya responded, "Yes, home, we go now. Thank... friend." Kechaiya extricated herself from Caela's embrace, and took the nearby arm, just in case she got dizzy again. And of course, to not let go of her shiny new friend. She turned to look at the men that Caela just hollered at, watching them all flee inside as if their mothers were coming for them with switches in hand. Kechaiya was still awed that Caela could make men want her, and fear her, at the same time.

Kechaiya kept a relaxed grip as the pair made their way to her home. It wasn't far from the tavern, and Kech fished her key out of her blouse, hanging from the leather string around her neck. She was a bit more sober after the walk in the cool air, or perhaps after the good cry, as she got the key in the hole on the third try. Pushing the door inward, she gestured Caela into her small one room apartment. It wasn't much, wood floor, fiery hearth, small bed, small table, and a couple of chairs. The majority of her table, as well as the mantle over the hearth, was filled with bowls and pouches of varying plant parts. Kech gestured to a chair, before grabbing a few logs and tossing them on the fire. She then grabbed her kettle, and filled it with water from her skin. Returning to her the mantle, she plucked down a bowl, felt at the leaves. They weren't dry enough yet, so she returned it, and grabbed another further down. This one was much more satisfactory and she dumped the bowl inside the kettle with the water, and hung it over the blaze.

"Is most Tolm and Vyfox. Tolm make pain stop, Vyfox make heal fast. Use chamomile so no taste like inside boot. Take ten chime cook."

She sat down in the other chair, and poured some water into her only cups, offering one to Caela, and began sipping from one herself. She was definitely beginning to feel a bit more clearheaded, and since she was home, found herself returning to her more professional behavior. "How side muscle? No hurt worse when at springs?"

[Caela Dorin]

.

It was a relief to know that her awkward hug and potentially disastrous speech had worked out okay at the end of it all. Kechaiya's sobbing hadn't increased or her emotion been changed to anger so that was just fine in Caela's book. She wasn't sure just how much the woman had been paying attention to what she'd said but if she hadn't been listening too attentively, the dancer wasn't going to give a repeat performance. No way were those things coming out of her mouth ever again on pain of death or at least extreme mortification on the blonde's part. The doctor seemed content now, maybe even happy and she was perfectly cooperative. They were going to get out of here and she was going to get drugs!

It was only when she saw the foreign woman's expression as the men hurried away to obey her - much to her surprise - that she realised that she might have been a little too nice. There was awe in her expression and she seemed to positively glow beside Caela. She wasn't contented, she was definitely happy and the dancer was the cause for sure. It was a little disconcerting but there was something about her expression that suggested that she idolised the dancer. Oh please let me be wrong. I don't need another fan club, she groaned mentally, shooting wary glances at the other as they set off in the direction of the Sunset Quarter.

It wasn't a long trip but it was one spent in uneasiness for the blonde. She needed to find this woman more friends or she had a horrible feeling that she was going to become incredibly clingy. There were going to have to be a number of very quick lessons in seduction if that happened so that she could shove the ebony eyed woman off on Noven. If she turned into that sort of person then the cook could keep her all to himself. She wouldn't deprive him. There was no guarantee that that would even happen but the blonde was anxious that her suspicions would be proven true and she wouldn't know for sure until they had a proper chance to interact again. As it was, they walked to Kechaiya's room in silence.

The woman released Caela once they reached her doorway, fishing for something in her blouse that turned out to be a key, and got it into the lock after a few tries. The dancer was ushered in, suddenly apprehensive of what was going to take place inside. She hovered beside the doorway as the woman bustled about the place. The chair that had been offered her was ignored for the moment as the blonde looked around the room, taking the space in. Small, plain, not quite spartan but not packed full of stuff either. It was somewhat similar to her own room. Once the contents of the room had been checked over - it didn't take very long - she returned her gaze to the foreign doctor. She was busying herself with putting the kettle over the fire, something thrown into it only ticks before. What had gone in was soon explained to her.

"Herbs?" the young woman asked tentatively. Doctors used herbs she assumed and so that was probably what they were. The words meant nothing to Caela. She took the offered seat as Kechaiya sat down too, water offered to her in a chipped mug as soon as she was seated. She took it, glad that the woman was still drinking it too. She was going to need a clear head if she was getting a lesson from the dancer. They weren't going onto that topic immediately though it seemed, the doctor in a professional guise as she questioned her about her injury. Her hand moved to it as it was mentioned, the woman shrugging.

"It's been doing well aside from a few hiccups like going back to work." And being scared half to death by Thannis, she added silently. She shuddered slightly at the remembrance, grimace. She hoped that the woman would take it as a sign of pain. "The heat from the springs has been helping and I've been doing my stretches. They seem to be working. Thank you." Her eyes drifted to the kettle, the fire, the cup in her hand before finding their way to Kechaiya again. "So... Noven..." she began awkwardly and trailed off when she found that she had no idea how she wanted to proceed from there. Her eyes flitted from side to side as she considered quickly. "I said that I'd help you with him but I don't really know where to start. I suppose that you could tell me what things are like between you two and how you want them to be and I can work from there..." The young woman didn't sound too sure of herself and she knew it. Hopefully the other wouldn't hold that against her when it came to her giving advice.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya nodded studiously as the woman spoke of her injury. "Good, good. Glad." Then Caela cut to the gist, mentioning Noven, asking her what was between them. This confused Kechaiya for a moment, but not because of the language. She... wasn't sure what was between Noven and her, but whatever it was, it was good. She knew that much. But, at least for the moment, in this drunken stupor, she wanted more. She wanted to be wanted. For him to want her in the most primal of ways that all the men at Caela's tavern wanted her. She wanted to feel how Caela looked.

"In beginning of season, Noven fight. Get hurt, knife to stomach. First time meet. I fix him. He talk lot, but good. Many day later, I bring him medicine, help him sleep, make nightmares no more. Thief hit me," she made a bopping noise with her mouth, and indicated being struck in the head. "Try steal things. Medicine ruined. Noven save me. Bring inside orphanage. I see his stitches infect. I fix, but Noven hurt lot. Leave him rest, I go find herb for medicine. Big storm come in. Get back, wet, tired. Make medicine. Bring to Noven. But Noven have nightmare. Grab wrist," she pointed at her left wrist, "Hurt bad. Hurt rib too. Jillene make stop. He wake up. I give medicine. He sleep, I hurt, lot."

This part of her tale is when Kechaiya started to blush, "I wake up. Noven not in him bed. I get things, go to kitchen. Food cooking. I hurt worse than night. I make tea for heal. Drink, leave, to home. See Noven at door. Talking nervous. Ask me stay," her face blushing its deepest hue now, "I... I kiss him. No kiss before, anyone. He make food, give me flower, blue pretty flower."

Kech's dark face was that much darker as she talked about it. "That all, I think." And then it darkened even more, "I want Noven look me like men look you. I want be want. I want feel how you look." She glanced over at the hearth, only now hearing the water boil, but it needed to stew. Five more chimes at least. Looking back at Caela, "Never... been with man... and... mother was taken when young. When come Sunberth, know no one. Calyn take me in. But no have friend. Glad I meet you." She then looked down a little sheepishly. Her mind was clearer now, though not fully so. And she was only now realizing how she had behaved earlier. "I... no drink lot before tonight. I no like me drunking. Not good Kechaiya. Bad Kechaiya. I sorry, Caela. I no mean be..." she tried to think of the phrase, "Full of hands."

[Caela Dorin]

.

After her questions, Caela's condition took second place beside the relationship between the doctor and the cook. As Kechaiya began her explanation, the dancer nodded along understanding the need for context. So like with her in the baths, the foreign woman had met Noven when he needed treatment. The fact that he'd been stabbed didn't surprise her that much though. The man could fight but anyone could get in a lucky blow past his defences; he wasn't infallible. She also wondered if he'd been injured when he'd been helping her with her fighting skills. It seemed unlikely but then there hadn't been much of the season gone past when they'd met and if he'd hurt himself in the very beginning... Knife wounds didn't help that fast surely. The young woman wondered guiltily if she'd been involved in any way with his infected wound.

Her own guilt was pushed aside as she listened on incredulous about what she was hearing. So she'd been attacked and Noven had saved her - explained the crush - but he'd gone on to hurt her. Sure if Kechaiya was to be believed it had been done in his sleep but that was an extremely negative thing to have in connection with the person that you were interested in. It sounded like it must have been terrifying. She'd seen what the cook could do conscious and apparently he wasn't a good person to cross in his sleep either. Good to know, not that she had any future plans for hanging around a sleeping Noven

After that incident the dancer didn't know how an attraction could continue. Yes, there were women who would allow themselves to be used as targets for a man's fists and rage but they were usually fairly entangled with him at that stage, too entangled to want to consider leaving him. The doctor wasn't in any sort of relationship with the man and if that had been their last encounter with one another. But it wasn't all that had happened between them as her blushing attested. Caela leaned in closer, scrutinising her and hanging on every word as she continued. The man had asked her to stay, had acted nervous, had let her kiss him, had given her a flower. What in petch was the woman worried about? He was clearly interested in her so what more did she want the blonde to do for her?

Her own expression became brooding, the other's words not given as much attention now as she became absorbed in her own jealous thoughts. There was Kechaiya with all the things that Caela wanted, plainer looks, a man who was interested in her for her mind rather than solely her body and some romance in her life and yet she wasn't satisfied with her lot. She wanted to be Caela. No, she wanted to be what the dancer embodied. The part of herself that she was most eager to do away with was something that the other wanted to possess, except that she would be able to turn it on and off, reserved it for one person whereas she was resigned to selling it off to every man that came into the tavern. For the sake of coin.

Bitter tears stung in her eyes, the young woman looking downwards in an attempt to hide them as she nodded to show that she'd heard everything that the woman had said. So she was to play the part of the doctor's female confidante, listen and give her advice because she had no one. If she thought that she was going to get bedroom tips from the dancer then she'd be better off going elsewhere for such things. The blonde was far from being an expert, her sphere of experience was far too limited to be of much use to the other even if she was willing to share, which she wasn't. Dwelling on those memories would nothing good for her mood so she shoved them down again.

The other's apology for her drunkenness earned a faint smile, what was humorous to her unable to make a dent in her now melancholic mood. "That's okay. I shouldn't have been so hard on you, it wasn't really your fault." The young woman shrugged, gaze returning to Kechaiya for another brief smile before she began to play with her cup of water. It was pushed back and forth and spun around as she tried to put off the inevitable conversation that she'd have to have. "You don't need to make Noven want you like that. You have his interest already if what you've said is anything to go by." A pause, the blonde raising green eyes to the other woman's black if she could catch them. "But if that's what you really want... then I'll help you out. Most of it will be up to you though and it might not work out as well in practice because I don't know him that well. I assume he reacts the same way as other men do but if he does then he must be very good at hiding it. That's not important anyway. What is important is if you really want this? Are you sure that it isn't the drink talking?"

Even if the woman said that it had been the drink, the dancer knew that it would be a lie. Getting drunk brought out things that people normally hid. If Kechaiya had said it drunk then she thought it while sober, even if she didn't admit it to herself. If she said it was only down to the alcohol though then Caela had an out, a dishonest one perhaps but an escape all the same.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya could see the turmoil of emotions upon the dancer's face, but wasn't sure what they meant. But it looked as if there was some sadness in her eyes. She wasn't able to study her face for long, as it quickly downturned. Listening with bated breath, Kech noticed a slight change in the woman's demeanor. She couldn't quite pinpoint it however, but she certainly seemed somewhat deflated. It concerned Kechaiya, making her wonder if she'd said something wrong, or if something in the language was misinterpreted. But the dancer had accepted Kech's apology it seemed, and for that, she was thankful.

When Caela mentioned that Kech already had Noven's interest, it somewhat surprised the doctor, but at the same time, didn't. The way he'd treated her had shown her... something. Kech had felt it, in that final, fleeting moment when they kissed. She had felt that he wanted her, but since then he'd been... proper, polite, nice. She wanted to feel that... yearning again. He'd given her just a taste, and it awoke something in her. But there was also the talk she'd heard, ever since those kids saw them together. They'd decided to share with her varying details of Noven's past experiences, ranging from the noises Amael made in bed to the frequency in which he visited the brothels. It intimidated her. He knew his way around women apparently, and she knew nothing. Of course, she knew the process of how babies were conceived, but as with all things, there had to be more to it.

Was sleeping with a man like eating a meal? Some things were good, others weren't, but you did it anyways? Where did the loud noises come in to play? And why did the orphans keep reminding her that Amael had beautiful red hair and breasts much larger than her own? Before Noven, this wouldn't have bothered her, but now it sparked jealousy, insecurity, and a realization of her own ignorance.

Her eyes found Caela's, still listening intently. She knew she wanted this, but wanted to know why. Surely there was a reason more than to repeat that feeling from the kiss. She now wondered if Noven had felt the same thing as her, at the same time. She wanted him, and everyone, to forget about those other women. To see her and only her. And to do that, she had to be better than the others. Better at something she'd never done before. As she was about to answer Caela's question, she realized the tea would be ready. She pulled the kettle from the fire, and poured it into a cup for the dancer, setting it in front of her.

Returning to her seat, "I want this. Is no wine talking. I want him see me. Only me. No Mae, no prostitutes. I want make him feel more good than they make him feel. I know not how do. I nervous, is scare. I want people talk of me, no those women like talk now. I no want be black eye demon no more."