All Piss and Wind

[K'irr Darkwater]

25th of Winter -

The Fortune's Folly, just shy of the 21st bell

The sound of his bunk creaking under his weight matched the low groans of his casinor as it rose and fell with the gentle swell of the bay, one of his own husky groans leaving him as he slowly drew himself back and away from the body before him. One calloused hand dragged over her freckled shoulder blade, snagging against bits of blonde hair as it slid roughly down the side of her bare body before catching on her hip, his other hand sliding beneath her. Gathering her up, he pulled her back against him as he settled back onto his heels, her warm back pressed against his chest and seat against his lap as he wrapped one arm snugly around her hips - anchoring her in place, the other across her chest as a rumble escape his own. The sound was muffled by the pale blonde hair that covered her neck and spilled messily over her shoulders, his face nuzzling into it as he breathed in the smell of her, welcoming it over the dank, kline musk of his living quarters. He savoured this for a few ticks and his companion seemed to, as well, a low hum leaving her as he felt her head loll back and fingers find his beard.

With great reluctance, he finally eased his head away only to nudge her own, lips finding the corner of her jaw then teeth finding her earlobe, "Your head not here..." His words were a low, tentative rasp and he knew his Common was lacking but he used it anyways. She may have known some Fratava but he'd wait to until he had no other option. For now, he'd make do.

"Hmn?"

She sounded confused and he felt the muscles along her back tense and flex as she moved to turn her head towards his own.

"What d'ya mean by that?"

He was grateful that came out in a purr and he closed his half-lidded eyes as she scritched curiously at his beard, as if doing so might draw some sense out of him.

His words were slower now, "You seem.." he paused to try and conjure up the word, using this time to shift his weight some, arms tightening around her as he dipped his head to nuzzle and nip at her shoulder. Lifting his head and shaking away a stray tendril of hair, he added, "D'stracted."

K'irr was an accommodating and attentive lover so when he noticed something different with her tonight than the past few times they had been together, he couldn't help wonder why. "You somewhere else... in your head," he added for further explanation.

His lips tugged wider, nearing a grin as he felt the vibration of her laugh.

"Mmm, I didn't think men used this head when petchin'.." she teased while avoiding the question, her fingers remaining where they were, this time giving the short hairs of his beard a playful tug.

A chuckle left his nose as he shifted, tugging a bit on her hip for emphasis, "I use heads, hm.." his own leaned away so he could try and eye her, amusement linger in his own husky voice, "both heads noticed."

He watched as her smile faulted and felt her hand slowly slip away from his face. He reluctantly released her once he felt her give one of his arms a tap and he rearranged how he sat on the narrow bunk, fingers giving his chest and the mat of hair there an idle scratch as he watched her make herself comfortable.

Cira eased onto her side and then lazily rolled onto her back, knees bending as she rolled them off to the side to rest against the wooden wall of his cabin. She ran a hand over her face while mumbling, seeming self-conscious, "You wouldn't understand.."

He cut in before she could continue, "What you mean? Try make me." He passed a hand over one of her ankles, fingers grazing her calf as he moved forward, lowering himself so he was propped on his side.

She turned her head away from him, lips pulling into a tight line as she ran a hand back through her hair, "It's silly... I-" She paused and then next few ticks were an near unbearable silence. Her blue eyes sought his own and, hesitantly, she slowly began to add pieces to her story. "I didn't grow up with your kind.."- for she was playing at having a Svefra father - "so I don't know.. what it's like, if you even have superstitions or beliefs beyond Laviku."

He stopped her with a finger upon her lips, "Slower.." His Common was rusty and he struggle to keep up with what little she had said so far. He knew how she could get when she got going so he felt this little reminder would suffice.

She grinned and shoved his hand away while shaking her head, "I dunno, K'irr... I just.." Her voice tapered off and they were once more bathed in silence. Finally, she turned her head to look at him, "Surely you heard about the Priest of Dira that showed up."

WC = 857

-----Fratava

---------Common

[K'irr Darkwater]

The Svefra furrowed his brow some as he listened but couldn't place the Priest she spoke of. As much as he had planned to venture out and learn a bit about this city he was stuck in, he really hadn't gotten far, having been too focused on getting his ship repaired so he could get back to his Pod.

Softening his features, he pursed his lips and gave his head a small shake.

"'Course you wouldn'," Cira drawled, trying to lighten things with a slight grin, "you're nah scared of nothin'."

K'irr matched her grin and reached out to take her hip, giving it a strong yank to draw her ever closer, delighting in the sound of her squeal. Ignoring the playful shove she gave his chest, he pinned her with his gaze as his hand slid to grip one of her cheeks, "What will be will be." Despite his attempt to seem philosophical, he gave her ass a squeeze and finished his words with a tap of his thumb,"No point in fearing what come."

She gave his chest another small slap before he felt her settle in against his body, one of her hands dragging lazily up his side before the weight and heat of her arm moved across him as she moved to hold him loosely.

What she said next was muffled and too hard for him to understand so he moved a hand between them and gently shifted her head so he could see her face while huffing out a sound to express his confusion. She seemed to understand - or, at least, he thought she did - and spoke once more, her words soft and insecure.

"Some o' us fear death, y'know.. and the Goddess Dira cuz o' what she represents." She shook her head again, "I'unno... it freaks me out him bein' here. All casual. Everyone's gettin' all worked up... people claiming he means the end is comin' for us all." She curled more into him, words getting harder and harder for him to understand, "I jus don' like 'im."

Despite his difficulties understanding the language, he gathered enough from the tone and context to put together the basics of what she expressed. She was scared and this Priest of Dira seemed to be the cause.

He slid his hand up her body and gave her a strong squeeze, his words dry, "So this..Death Priest" - the words were nearly condescending in manner - "be in your head."

He felt the absence of the warmth of her arm more keenly than the half-assed shove she gave him.

"I knew you wouldn't take it seriously..."

He shifted around her more, enveloping her, coddling her in a way that begged forgiveness as a stray chuckle left him. "I being serious... He give you fright." He squeezed her again in a bid to calm and comfort her yet the ghost of a smirk remained on his lips. "Did he say thing to make people.." he fumbled for the word, or something equivalent to the one he wanted to use - nervous - and his eyes shut tight in mild frustration before he settled on, "fear? To get people all worked up." His eyes sought her own pale blue ones again after trying this best to use her words in the correct context, curious to see if this man had said anything of if it was nothing more than his mere presence that had the superstitious locals spooked.

"He just... is."

He watched her hand flail for emphasis.

"He's creepy. He carries a scythe."


"Scythe?" He was unfamiliar with the term.

"It's a long thing on a pole.. a big, curved blade. Sometimes they can be used on fields but this one-"

He interrupted her while his fingers toyed with the bottom point of her shoulder blade, "Maybe he come from fields."

She leaned back and looked cross for a tick before rolling her eyes, "Gods give me patience, K'irr, I swear.." She began to move, "I'm not gonna stay here if yer gonna keep mockin' me."

He tightened his arms around her, staying her movements. With a bit more effort, he managed to pull her back to him and grinned while he ran his calloused hand over her back as if she were a cat that needed some soothing. "C'mon now, Cir.. I listen."

WC = 726

-----Fratava

---------Common

[K'irr Darkwater]

Cira stilled yet the look on her faced told him she wasn't happy. His thumb brushed against her skin idly, to and fro, while he waited for her to speak. After a near chime of nothing more than the soft sound of water sloshing soothingly against the casinor and the creaking the vessel gave off in reply, he finally tried to coax more out of her. "So.. this priest make you feel scared," he groped for another word, something better, "uncomfortable. He has a scythe and everyone think he mean death is coming."

"Because death is coming. Why else would one of Dira's people be here?"

His prompting had worked.

"He's even drawn out all the Skull Crows in the city."

He felt her tense as if a shiver ran through her and she shook her head as her body wriggled to readjust how she laid, resettling in against his frame. He wasn't sure what these Skull Crows were but he had spent enough time with her to tell when she was ready to give a spiel and he wasn't about to make her angry by interrupting again.

"There's been huge flocks of them creepy shykes and they are everywhere. You couldnah have missed 'em. I hear there been days when there 'ave been so many of the buggers that they right block out the sun - the entire sky. They're bad omens, those Crows. Death, death, death. That's all any of this means. The priest, the bloody Crows." She was getting worked up and exasperated, a small crease forming between her fine brows, "And the two of 'em showing up together? It's bad.. it can only be bad."

He ran a hand along her brow and brushed her hair back, repeating the process until he felt her body relax some. She had spoken so quickly that he had struggled to follow but he had gathered enough that these crows were a bad sign and seemed to have appeared en masse once they priest showed up. Slowly, he ventured, "You think priest is linked to these Skull Crows?"

She drew her head back and eyed him as if what he said was stupid. "Of course they are."

He tried his best to stifle his chuckle as his hand paused its motions and cradled her head, thumb grazing her temple. She was adamant about all of this and he offered a nod. He was superstitious in his own right and perhaps that meant he should be more sympathetic towards her fears but he simply couldn't wrap his head around it all. It was all a bit too foreign despite how real it obviously was to her - and how real she was trying to make it to him.

Another chime seemed to pass before she spoke again, this time sounding more confident. She had allowed herself to be too real and now she worked to really sell what she was saying, "I saw him today."

He said nothing, only tipped his head in an encouraging way, eyes fixed on her face, ready to do his best to gain some insight into her words by reading the expressions she used.

"Mhmm," she confirmed, as if his gesture had warranted such a need, "and there were three of those Crows perched on his scythe. He's a right ugly man, ugly like them crows, and he was speaking in tongues. I wasnah about to ask him what he was saying or what any of it meant, but he was looking out towards the distance as if talking to spirits."

"Someone braver than me strode up to him and asked him what it all meant, the starin', the words. The priest's voice was as dark as his words: 'Meet me out at Lodestar Isle'." She paused to lock eyes with the Svefra to drive this point home, "No one but the Daggerhands go there and even those thugs don't like it. I have little doubt he's getting people out there to perform some magic ritual. Kill all the poor sods dumb enough to make the trek."

K'irr blinked, unsure of most of the words she had spoken, "I hear of these Daggerhands. They group? Clan or something?"

"Gang," she corrected bluntly. "A brutal one that holds sway over the docks. But even they are scared of him. I heard from someone at the Drunken Fish that they've offered to ferry any of those idiots interested in seeing what this priest is about over to the Isle. Heard they even commissioned a ship."

He nodded, vaguely aware of how the city was run mostly by these groups from when he had gone about the task of finding a buyer for the Kelvic. Cira had proven to be the best source of information he had come across yet so he didn't doubt what she said. He had little doubt she might have embellished some of what she spoke of but the underlying meaning was true and he couldn't help but grow more and more curious about this priest.

"And Lodestar Isle is an... island?" He needed to know more about this place, more about this adventure.

She scoffed and shook his head at him, "Of course it is.. sits North East of the city."

He tucked that nugget of information away for future reference.

"Is there place he said - or Daggerhand said - to meet to get to island? To board that ship you speak about?"

She grew silent and still, then, eyeing him long and hard.

"You.... you don't plan on going, right?"

He shrugged and slid his hand down her shoulder, his eyes following its course, "Why not? Maybe I find way to stop your fear. Or at least find out what priest is all about."

She shut her eyes tightly, "K'irr.." Pausing, she opened them and pushed out a sigh before manoeuvring her hands so they were between his thighs, chin pushing forward as she moved her face closer to his own, "I don't want this going anywhere."

He bit as his bottom lip as they pulled into a broad grin and rolled his body into hers, pushing her down onto her back. He smothered the wild giggle that sprang from her lips as he pinned her beneath his weight, grinding roughly down against her while his hands blindly searched for and then found her wrists. He dragged her hands up above her head as he broke the kiss, leaning his head back to peer down at her. "Fine," he rasped with finality.

Reluctantly, he drew himself back and off her, muttering out on a rumble, "I need to piss..."

He righted himself and shot her splayed body a longing look before glancing towards the adjacent table. He moved towards it and the stack of cards that laid on its surface, sweeping the stacking into his hands in one fluid motion before tapping them against the table.

He turned and offered her the stack, "Tell you what, let the cards decide. You split stack and draw card - if it red, I stay; if it black, I go." He set the stack down and tapped them, "But don't tell me the card, just the colour."

With that, he slipped out and onto his deck.

WC = 1211

-----Fratava

---------Common