Open Opening the Floodgates

[Shakune]

85th Spring, 515AV

Keeping up appearances was important.

Shakune knew this fact, she fully appreciated it. But tonight, the importance of appearances played heavily on her mind.

As one of Goldfinger's financial clients - the phrase made her teeth grind - she had received a plain-looking invitation three days ago. The slip of parchment had informed the courier that her presence was desired at a certain date, time and location.

The curled letters, neatly signed GF at the bottom, had looked like a threat. Worse: the message could have been a death warrant, an invitation to her own funeral. It had been nearly a season since she had first met Goldfinger and acquired a loan from him. Surely that was too short a time for the loan shark to begin making threats to Shakune's life for lack of payment? Her business was going well after all, and she was hoping to make her first payment instalment at the turn of the Summer. Common sense told the woman that the invitation was nothing to do with her loan from Goldfinger. But only after she had read and reread her signed contract with him did Shakune finally accept this fact.

So, what was the invitation all about?

Perhaps it was still a threat. Something along the lines of: I'll show you what happens if you decide not to pay me back. But Shakune had already learnt that lesson - she still bore the scars as evidence. It would be a fruitless exercise on Goldfinger's behalf to beat up some poor old sod and invite Shakune to watch. No: he was smarter than that.

So she'd asked around, and found out a couple of other people who had received a similar invitation.

The truth behind the invite turned out to be even more disturbing. Oh it was an invitation, alright. An invitation to a party.

It all seemed too... pleasant. Sunberth wasn't the kind of city where a man could open his front door and welcome strangers inside his home for a party. Even a classy Sunberth soiree would involve at least two counts of murder, one of rape and so many pickpockets that everybody may as well leave in a completely different outfit to what they arrived in. None of it made sense, and everyone seemed to be equal parts concerned and excited. Everyone liked a reason to celebrate, even if the origins were dubious.

Shakune had decided to attend the mysterious party. If Goldfinger was hosting it, as the signature on the invitation had certainly implied, she needed to create a certain... image about herself. The last time she had seen the loan shark, she had been half-crippled and almost a broken woman. His smug face was burnt into her memory. It haunted her dreams. He had, in his own words, tried to show Shakune what Sunberth was really like by setting two slavers after her whilst she delivered a dummy message to some now very dead stranger. She'd killed a man, almost been killed herself, and been absolutely terrified.

Now she could walk again, her confidence was back, and Shakune felt that she needed to deliver a message of her own: nice try, Goldfinger. She needed to show that dodgy little petcher that she simply couldn't be knocked down. She would honour her contract with him, of course, but she wouldn't shy away like some scared little girl.

So Shakune had bought a dress. She disliked wearing dresses for the pure reason that she couldn't sit comfortably in them, but this occasion demanded such a garment. The dress featured a corset-style top that synched into Shakune's narrow waist and pushed up her breasts. The skirt hugged her thighs before falling loosely to her knees, but a thin slit up the left side of the material revealed the courier's copper thigh. All in all, it left little to the imagination and certainly made an impact.

Petch, she'd even bathed - miracles really could happen.

"You look different." The man beside Shakune complained. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt that stretched across his stomach in an incredibly unflattering way. A faded green splash of questionable origin stained the shirt just above his right nipple. He leant momentarily close to Shakune's hair, inhaled deeply and then cried: "You bathed! You tryin' to impress someone?"

Shakune muttered a collection of curses back to her friend, throwing him a look that warned the large man to pay her altered appearance no more attention. With a glum look he accepted her threat and the two continued on their cautious way towards The Gate.

oocSo the way I normally do open threads is if nobody posts within a week after my last post, I'll continue writing just to move the story along. Feel free to join at any point throughout this thread. And of course, have fun!

-10GM for 1 dress take from ledger

[Tubby]

Tubby looked up at the stars, his black eyes searching the stars. He didn't feel like sleeping; too bored. Which, if you really think about it, is a rather stupid reason. Couldn't sleep because he was bored. He placed another piece of clay into his mouth, chomping on it rather noisily. He was sitting on a rooftop, taller than any and all people around him, finally. He loved the feeling of not being so small, but then sometimes it was a blessing. He wondered if there was a magic that could let him get bigger and smaller at will.... He'd have to find out.

Turning over, well, more like rolling over on his belly, the Pycon stood up, brushing his stomach to wipe off the clay crumbs. He looked around, his big head hitting the hilt of his longsword, Ice. The little thread of clay from his the back of his neck tightened involuntarily as if he thought someone was pulling on the weapon, trying to take it, when in fact he caused it to move. He brought a three-fingered hand to his chin, or where it would be, and tapped it thoughtfully. He wondered what adventures he'd get into today; he hadn't done anything at all except sit on the roof all day.

Turning on his padded foot, Tubby commenced pacing on the roof, waddling back and forth. He had his arms clasping behind his back, his head down, trying to look as if he were someone important thinking about a very serious decision. From his Nexus he let forth a spew of grunts and hmm's as if he were trying not to talk to himself, but had failed slightly. It was rather silly, and not needed in the slightest, but it was what he felt like doing. At least it made him look a little more.... Mature to the random passerby that happened to look up at the roof.

He had heard there was something cool going on, or at least something was happening today. He couldn't remember if the people he heard it from said it was cool or not; all he knew was that someone named 'Goldfinger' was hosting it. The name made him slightly shiver with excitement. What if he has a finger actually made out of gold?!?! That would be sooo cool!! I want a gold finger. He held up a tiny, fat finger in front of his face, imagining it made from gold. Really, seeing as he hasn't seen all that much gold in his life, his imagination just made it a yellow color, very bright against the off-white of his clay-skin. He let out a small hum of amusement, swinging his arm back so his hands could clasp again.

Finally getting even more bored from the pacing than from sitting on the edge of the roof, Tubby started his descent. He turned, grabbing the edge of the roof, and put his feet on part of the window sill, waiting until he felt relatively still. He looked down; the ground couldn't have been more than ten to fifteen feet from the ground, so if he fell, it wouldn't be that bad. It still might hurt quiet a bit, though. He let go of the roof, making his feet morph to grip the window sill to steady him and keep him from falling. He moved down, letting the clay that used to be his feet move up his belly, so that he was still gripping the building, but moving down. When it was about to touch his face, he let the grip go, so that he fell. He tried grabbing at the window, but couldn't keep his grip.

His body gained speed as he fell, the distance seemingly longer to the ground because of his tiny height. He watched the ground speed towards him, waiting until almost the last second to try to stop his fall. He let his belly grow and expand, using the massive amount of clay from his head so that his stomach would become a big ball. When his stomach was huge, his head only a bit bigger than his Nexus, he hit the ground, bouncing a little before rolling. He splayed his larger-than-normal stomach, so the he could stop his rolling. His Nexus dreadfully dizzy. He collapsed, his concentration for keeping his altered form together vanishing. He just laid there, his form reverting back into the usual fat, humanoid one.

"You bathed! You tryin' to impress someone?" Lifting his now massive head up, he looked at the guy who said that, walking next to a lady in a dress. He wondered why she had such attire on; not many people wore such nice dresses for no reason. Maybe she's going to meet Golfinger!! He struggled a little trying to get up; he wasn't morphing for a good while after his fall.

He stepped behind the building, moving out of view. He watched her, before running towards another building. He was following her, hoping that she was going to the guy named Goldfinger.

[Shakune]

"I just want Goldfinger to see that he can't scare me." Shakune explained in a not-so-patient tone. The dress she wore was tight, uncomfortable and completely unlike all her other outfits. Shakune was a woman more comfortable naked, but for the sake of those around her, she usually wore lose-fitting tops and trousers that allowed her run without any issue. The black dress she wore now was both impractical and itchy. With a grunt the courier scratched her armpit.

Her large friend seemed more confused then ever. He wiped a large over his face, brows furrowed as he said, "and that means you got'ta dress up all fancy?"

Shakune came to a sharp stop and rolled her black eyes at Lenny. "Yes." She bristled, "because Goldfinger is a man who understands money. And this dress, whilst pushing my tits up to my chin, also demonstrates I have money to burn. It shows him I'll be able to pay him back in full very soon."

"But you can't yet, right? I mean, I bought all the drinks last night..."

"Lenny, there are more important things than alcohol in this world."

For the second time that day, Lenny's face portrayed an expression that was full of concern and worry for the mental wellbeing of his friend. But he knew better than to push this conversation, so he fell silent. Shakune had made her mind up about the tactics with which she would attend this party. And though Lenny didn't understand it - not in the slightest - he'd learnt to just let her do what she wanted.

The courier glanced to her podgy pal, feeling slightly guilty as she looked at his sorry face. She hadn't meant to snap at him, but these grand parties were unfamiliar to her. She'd no clue how to act or speak at such events, and Lenny's questions had simply pulled apart her plan to come across as successful and glamorous.

Her jaw tightened as Shakune and Lenny entered the Gated Community. The buildings beyond the wall were completely different to the rest of Sunberth: made of stone, the structures actually looked architecturally sound. Shakune eyed them with jealousy: I bet these roofs don't leak when it rains. Lenny gave a whistle. He was also clearly impressed. "Jeeze, would'ya look at this place"

But the courier's attention had moved on from the buildings. She'd spotted a familiar face in the thin crowd. A short man, with dark hair and an even darker smile. He was surrounded by a group of brutish-looking thugs, each of who eyed the rest of the crowd with a well-trained eye.

Goldfinger.

He hadn't spotted her yet, so Shakune turned sharply around and positioned Lenny between her and loan shark. "He's over there." She whispered frantically, sounding slightly like a gushing teenage girl who had just seen a particularly dashing teenage boy "should I just... go up to him?"

Always one to miss the subtleties and importance of social interaction, Lenny shrugged and said, "yea, why not?"

[Shakune]

Shakune hesitated, suddenly quite shy and at a loss for words. What would she say to him? How would he reply? What if his cronies wouldn't even let her get close? She winced as the countless potential awkward endings to this interactions fluttered through her mind, filling the courier with self-consciousness and the desire to crawl into a hole and hide. "A drink first, I think." She concluded with a final nod.

In actual fact, Shakune bought four drinks: one for Lenny, three for her. As she gulped down the last shot of hot rum, the courier tried to fool herself into thinking she was now feeling far more confident. "It'll be fine. I mean, what's the wore that could happen?" Glancing to Lenny hopefully, Shakune silently begged him for words of confidence and hope.

"Them tough men could slit yer gut open, for one thing." He deadpanned, shrugging and then giving it more thought. "they could rip that dress off you an' make you run 'ome naked." A little snort of laughter erupted from his nostrils, "but I reckon you've done that plenty o'times before now."

"Thanks, Lenny. That's enough advice for now." Shakune grumbled with a roll of her black eyes. Again she shot a nervous glance to Goldfinger, but this time his gaze met hers. The loan shark's lips flicked into a minute smirk, and then he spoke to a bald-headed henchman to his left. Goldfinger, accompanied by his entire entourage, began to move towards Shakune like a lecherous group of insects. She wanted to cower and run away, but the courier stood firm, hands clasping the last of her shot glass tightly.

"Why, Shakune." He sounded surprised to find her here, as if he had expected her to disappear in the season since their last meeting, "I'm glad you could make it." These final words were accompanied by a conspiratory smirk, shared between Goldfinger and his thuggish right hand man. Shakune recognised him from the day she attained her loan.

"I'm never one to miss a celebration." She said evenly, trying her utmost to ignore the five other men that surrounded Goldfinger, "though I'm interested to know what we're celebrating, here."

Again the short man threw his cronies a weighted look. As much as she despised the man, Shakune found herself wishing that she were alone with Goldfinger. At least than she wouldn't have to watch him snigger and smirk with his friends like a schoolboy. "Why does there always have to be a reason for a man to share free alcohol and food with his friends?" He spread his hands out in a gesture usually reserved for the confused or innocent. Shakune suspected Goldfinger was neither. After briefly pouting, Goldfinger moved their stagnant conversation onto another topic. "How is that business of yours?"

"Fine, fine." Shakune wavered her hand dismissively. No Questions was one of the may topics she did not want to discuss with Goldfinger. Whenever he said the name, she felt it sullied her business in some indescribable way. "So how--"

Goldfinger cut her short as if he'd never even heard Shakune speak. "See, that's the power of business. I was speaking to Spud here," he gestured absently to one of the identical looking men milling around him. Shakune glanced up quickly, still too peeved by Goldfinger's rudeness to truly bother who 'Spud' was, "and he was saying 'why do you even bother givin' hand outs to people?' See, Spud has worked his entire life to reach his current position. He's the best bodyguard in the city. He's had no help his entire life, ain't that right Spud?"

One of the men - who in all fairness, did look remarkably like a potato - gave a brief nod and stared at Shakune through a pair of piggy eyes. "Yeh, boss. Ain't my old even 'elp me beyond squirtin' me inside me ma's belly."

"See, there's two languages in this world. Spud only speaks in one language--" Goldfinger continued smoothly. Shakune thought: Well, his one language is clearly not Common, is it? "And that's violence. I, however, speak fluent in business and know only a few words in violence. Had you gone to Spud for a loan, you wouldn't have got even a copper, would she Spud?"

The talking potato guffawed and shook his head, "Nah, boss. She'd get a cock in her mouth and a blade in her gut."

[Shakune]

They'd been walking during this conversation, Shakune finally realised. The group of them now no longer stood in the centre of the Gated Community Clearing, and had instead moved in a quieter part of the common. She could still see the throng of people of the party, and never before had the sight of Lenny been so comforting. But they were out of earshot, and to the left of them was an alleyway that would be hidden from public eye.

Why had they guided her in this direction? There was an obvious answer, of course: to kill her. But that wouldn't make sense. Goldfinger was too clever to simply kill an investment. A dead businesswoman was never exactly quick to pay off her debt, after all. No: there was another motive here. One that she was too busy thinking about to follow what Goldfinger had been saying. When she dropped her attention back onto their conversation, she found he had moved across topics quite swiftly:

"And so that's why I sign my name in blue ink, not black. It's the little details that help a business flourish, you understand."

Of course she didn't. Shakune had no clue how in the Gods' name the loan shark had managed ending up talking about ink, but she felt an undeniable need to correct him from an earlier statement.

"You were wrong." She stated bluntly, ignoring the fact that Goldfinger had now moved on to the riveting discussion of the pros and cons of using red ink. The loan shark glanced up in mild surprise, but soon that smug little grin crept across his face again.

"Oh? When was I wrong?" His voice cracked slightly with humour, and the men around him all began to snigger away quietly.

"There's another language that's spoken. The one I'm fluent in."

"And which one's that?" Goldfinger folded his arms, eyebrows raised quizzically. He was intrigued as well as amused -- right where Shakune wanted him to be.

But the courie did not say a word. Instead, she raised her hands to the top of her dress bodice. Her fingers, made clumsy from the earlier rum, began to unloop and uncurl the slip of material that kept the corset tied tightly together. Despite her need to look down to see what she was doing - Shakune was really not familiar with fancy dresses - she maintained a steady gaze with Goldfinger. Eventually, much slower than she had anticipated, the loan shark dismissed his cronies with a flick of his bejewelled hands. They lingered for as long as possible, each aghast and suspicious of Shakune's bizarre display. But they eventually seemed to come to a mutual decision that whatever she was up to, it didn't include slitting the throat of their boss.

"The language I'm on about," she said slowly, partially distracted by the complexity of her corset, "is far more physical than business and more effective than violence." Shakune stopped her undressing, allowing the loan shark to finally drink in her body with his hungry eyes. The corset fell undone to just above her navel, though even now he could see most of her breasts, which spilled delicious outwards after being released from the bodice.

All men, however powerful or weak, Shakune had come to learn, knew the value of a woman's body. Goldfinger would be no different. His inflated ego depended on people coming to him for favours and loans. In this instance, it was Shakune who would provide him with a service. This change in roles would no doubt arouse him, make him playful. It was a sure fire way, she hoped, to keep the loan shark at bay for now.

He came closer to her, hands out like a demanding child. But she sidestepped out of his way, standing in the mouth of the alleyway and beckoning Goldfinger to join her down her. "And this language I speak," she continued, once again starting to untie her corset, "benefits us both."

[Shakune]

The corset top of her dress fell back and downwards, revealing to Goldfinger Shakune's copper skin and narrow waist. For a while, he said nothing, and she simply stood there waiting for him to move, patient and revelling in how their interaction had managed to flip on itself.

The moment extended onwards. Goldfinger watched Shakune and Shakune in turn watched him. Who would give in first?

It turned out to be a mutual moment of weakness. Or rather, to Goldfinger it would appear to be as such. For Shakune, she allowed herself to wait until she was almost certain that Goldfinger would accept this alternate offer before finally acting on it. When he stepped forward, she lifted her skirt and secured herself against the brick wall behind her.

He was rough, completely demanding and surprisingly noisy. In between his furious grunts, Goldfinger licked, sucked and nibbled upon Shakune's breasts. His lips never touched hers. There was no intimacy whatsoever, just an act than needed happen for Shakune to secure her immediate safety. She had longed for Goldfinger to perceive her as a worthwhile investment, as a successful businesswoman. And yet here she was acting the whore. She was annoyed at herself, but even angrier with Goldfinger and his thugs for forcing her hand. Had she not been threatened, had he not loomed over her with all those armed guards, she would not have had to fuck her way out of potential danger. Would this happen every time they met? Would she have to drop her clothes whenever she saw Goldfinger to protect herself and to put his dogs off the scent of her blood?

It was all over very quickly. Goldfinger grunted, shuddered, and pinched at Shakune's skin tightly. After the briefest of pauses, he stepped back, concealed away his modesty and gave her a tiny nod. "Well." He murmured, eyes roaming around Shakune's body as she attempted to tie up her corset and pull down her skirt. She felt dirty, used. Unlike all her other sexual escapades, this had manipulative and malicious undertones. In this single act, she had destroyed what little respect Goldfinger might have had for her. "This doesn't count as payment, you know." A smirk. Toying with her in this way was amusing to him.

"I know." She said defensively, her voice far too snappy and quick for a woman who was in control.

"Good, good. Well, I'll be seeing you Shakune." Another nod, and Goldfinger turned to exit the alleyway. Shakune followed, but stopped when she saw the loan shark bustle and laugh with his guards.

"I'm thirsty as shyke." He said jovially, elbowing whichever thug was closest to him, "I've just spent the last ten chimes in the middle of the Ekytol desert." They men laughed cruelly whilst Shakune watched on.

[Pulren Marsh]

A Grade is Coming
Your Wave

I'm not sure if it was a blessing or a curse for Shakune that this thread didn't go on longer. She is one to parlay, for sure.

 

Shakune

XP

• Observation 3
• Rhetoric 2
• Intelligence 2
• Socialization 2
• Seduction 2

Lores

• Rhetoric: Many Kinds of Currency
• Seduction:Slow Reveal
• Goldfinger: Easily Swayed by Sex

 

Tubby

Should you return, PM me for a grade.

Your Grader,


Pulren Marsh