Stavanger Bay There's talk goin round this town, keep it down now

Later that day, Rosalyn did take another trip past @Erzulie's spot to see if she had returned.  She didn't mind the excuse, and while she wasn't sure the woman knew the healing arts, she got the sense it was a part of her skill set.  Perhaps.  Her type had tended to at least know herblore back home.

"Erzulie?" she called out, not exactly loud, but enough so that she might hear if she was off a bit.  She sat down, grimacing as she looked herself over.  The ocean had done some, but she still likely looked a sight.

she carried from her den the bones of yesterday's kill — while the harlot preferred to eat outside her stone shelter, the rain had driven her indoors for the time being. it was afternoon before she had emerged again; now, the swab tossed the remains into the brush. 
the saltmetal scent of blood floated on the ocean's breeze before erzulie heard the voice of the first mate. a cool flare of anger entered the woman's two-toned eyes; she descended her stone balustrade in little time, arriving alongside the wolfess with a studious eye upon the lacerations. "who did dis to you, woman?" came her thorn-edged murmur, though erzulie profferred her companion a glance that sought to inform her anger was not directed at the first mate.

Luckily she was here, and when she approached, seemed irate on Rosalyn's behalf.  Which soothed some of her own righteous indignation... might have been her own damn fault, but still.  "Tried to snag a bite from the wrong pair.  Well, only one of em did this.  Other watched like it was some kinda show."    She had half expected the other to jump on as well when she was first knocked down, but her friend had apparently seen what Roz didn't.... that she was about to take a can of major whoop ass.

Enough on that though.  "Do you know anything that might help.  Some of ou- your trade.  Those I knew, they knew a thing or two about herbs."  They'd been the ones to show her how to prevent an unwanted child, herbs for healing when things went south, and even herbs for death. The first and the last were the only she'd had cause to remember well.

erzulie had begun to search along the wounds, listening to the brief bits of information conveyed by the she-wolf. the directness characteristic to rosalyn was appreciated by the courtesan; the misstep in wording provoked a flick of one cinnamon ear, but nothing more. "you have known harlots before, rosalyn? and heah i thought i be your first," erzulie teased with an arch of her brow before drawing aside.
"come wid me." assuming rosalyn would follow, erzulie set off along her earthen staircase and paused on the stone threshold of her den, turning to search for the bite-marked first mate.

She remained still as Erzulie looked her over, turning to afford better view.  "Aye, some.  Those that chose the life had skill.  And that gave em a lot o power with the crew," she said, casting a small grin at Erzulie.  "Had a lot of admiration for that, when I was younger."  It was admiration that had served her well, for a time.  And then it had abruptly not.  

"I'm guessing this was a path you chose?" She asked as she rose to her feet and followed willingly, curious.  She could assume as much because if not, why still do it?  But many wolves had many reasons behind what they did, and if she'd learned one thing, it was that oftentimes she wouldn't understand those one bit.

erzulie blinked warmly into rosalyn's fierce features, stepping aside to allow the first mate entry into the tidy den, large enough for a pair of wolves such as there were in this moment. along the base of the walls lay neat bundles of herbs, and a small apeture midway between roof and edge allowed a shaft of clean, sea-drenched light into the shelter.
the harlot busied herself searching through her stores, eventually surfacing with comfrey and poppyseeds. setting the tiny black specks on a leaf near rosalyn's paw, erzulie glanced lingeringly into the woman's face. "dis may hurt; dese will take away the edge of de bite." when her charge had presumably ingested the seeds, the swab settled herself some feet away, beginning a meticulous chew of the comfrey. "you feel burnin' in de wounds? itchiness?"

She did not answer the question, but she did not repeat it, as Erzulie went straight to work.  Her assumption was probably correct; it was clear the cinnamon-hued beauty was well versed in all the skills those she knew had been, and she plied them deftly.  

Rosalyn looked curiously at the herbs around them before complying and eating what she set out. Her nose wrinkled a bit at the taste, but she swallowed and then patiently sat.  "A bit a itch, no burning."  She responded, continuing to look about, somewhat impressed.  "You've done a lot here."  She had not been here all that long, and to be so well set up and stocked so soon spoke to her work so far.

rosalyn had asked a question of her — erzulie mused over what it had been as she approached the first mate, cheek swelled with the stickiness of chewed comfrey. settling near to the other woman, along the wounded side, erzulie leant forward to apply the poultice in ragged lines to the tooth-rippings. the harlot worked until each laceration had been smeared with comfrey; her lips pressed now against the rows of masticated pulp, pressing it gently into the wounds.
from this distance, erzulie beheld each detail of rosalyn's face; the proud jawline, the gaze that challenged. "yes. it was was my choice, and those who knew betta den me taught me how to be quick about my trades." erzulie smiled, drawing back somewhat, unfurling herself to pad into the corner of the den. returning on the odd-hop gait of three legs, one forepaw swathed in what cobwebs the spider had woven today, her mint-glow gaze preened with interest toward rosalyn. "and what did you pick for youself?" erzulie murmured, once more using her lips to line the comfrey with spider-silk.
if she lingered, it was both deliberate and brief.

She listened, and inwardly, she was glad to hear it confirmed.  She would have balked to hear the other say it wasn't a life she had chosen; none here should play a role they didn't wish, whether or not Smokestep desired it.  She did not believe he was the type, but one never knew for sure until it was tested and proven.

She felt the tension she'd been carrying since the fight begin to relax under her workings, and the cool presses felt wonderful on the torn skin.

She closed her eyes, thinking a moment as she just enjoyed.  "Not this." She finally said, though she corrected quickly after.  "I admired them greatly, but I never had the skill for falsehood."  Erzulie maybe didn't need to lie; she had her freedom and therefore her choice.  But those Rosalyn knew had been wenches of the crew, and while they were prized, they were only worth as much as their deception and seduction.

"I chose to move up, and I did, if only for a time.  I don't mean to fail again, or let our captain make my mistakes."  She'd gone off, almost forgetting Erzulie was there.  Then she opened her eyes and laughed.  "Not that he would.  He's blessed with a nature few can dislike, I think."

be it the poppy or the harlot's effort over the wounds, erzulie was silently pleased to feel the first mate relax beneath her touches. it accompanied the blooming of words on rosalyn's tongue that revealed she had almost taken up the trade the swab now plied. remembering how brazenly the woman had told erzulie of her acquaintance with the fairer sex, the jezebel decided she could not be too surprised.
vaguely wistful was instead how erzulie found herself — she remained alongside rosalyn as the other went on, spiced ears cupping toward the talk of mistakes. "it is hard to believe you could misstep," the harlot mused wryly, glancing out of doors before returning her attention to the proud face. "smokestep is a fair god, but i often wundah what made him so hard."

Rosalyn laughed at that, and fixed an amused look on Erzulie.  "It's happened often enough I've ceased to be surprised," she said, truly amused and somewhat flattered it didn't appear that way to the other woman. She felt sometimes as if she was just the sum of a series of mistakes... not in a bad way.  "I've learned a lot that way.  I sometimes wonder if it isn't even more a pirate's rite of passage than the Captain's names."  It was a jest, but one that wasn't entirely untrue.  It still didn't sit well with her he considered any prior experiences moot aside from his own standards.

She wouldn't mention Tetsubo, though as Erzulie wondered, Rosalyn's mind went to the man and how he still would reside here, even after everything.  She needed to talk to their Captain; if his past was to come, and if it would be interfering, the crew deserved to know what was happening.  

"I imagine we all have our edges," she responded instead, looking away.  "But it's easy to forget sometimes how young he is."  And how old you are, she thought to herself, amused.  In a year or two there would be no hiding it... age would begin to show its signs upon her, doubtless.

erzulie glanced out of doors as rosalyn spoke, turning back when she felt the pressure of the first mate's eyes upon her own visage. the wounded creature was both gentle and firm in confirmation of her imperfection. the harlot's lips curved into a smile quite largely for herself — rosalyn was a humble creature. fierce, and yet without arrogance.
unlike smokestep, erzulie felt.
"dat is true," the spice-edged wolfess murmured, casting her two-toned gaze over the drying lines of herbs along rosalyn's wounds. "young men be de hardest when de do not know from where it comes." and she, young also, but with a trade cradled in her past that had aged her beyond the delicacy of her features. at times, it settled upon her, and erzulie felt the threat of it now. standing to her paws, the harlot cleared her throat and paced lightly to the entryway. "will a storm rise today, do you t'ink?" came her low trill, her mint-gaze sweeping back to rosalyn along the line of one creme shoulder.

Speaking with Erzulie, Rosalyn too sensed an age to the woman that did not appear physical, but of spirit.  At times it even seemed to be more than her own, and she wondered what it was that had brought it on her beautiful shoulders.  Likely nothing good, and likely nothing that was the first mate's business.

Then she changed the subject, and Rosalyn acquiesced with a knowing smile.  "Aye, least I hope it does.  I always welcome a good storm."  It cleansed the air and the bay, and broke the humid warmth of the afternoon.  Rosalyn glanced out the entrance, "so long as it doesn't come from the sea."  The ocean's storms could sometimes be far nastier in nature.  She had never seen one herself, but she'd heard tell of them.

she had returned to rosalyn's side beneath the aware light of the other's gaze; she settled herself, softly pressing their pelts together in a show of goodwilled intimacy. "tell me about de storms from de sea," the wanton murmured, intrigued by what it was pirates saw in the brine's wrath. when both ocean and sky moved upon the land, she knew horrible things could and did occur. 
but the electricity in the very hum of the air was not something erzulie could ignore; she was curious at it, for she had no reason yet to fear such things. perhaps rosalyn would see fit to educate her; she could not help the lure of rosalyn's gaze, and soon found it for a moment as she waited.

alcohooool post

Erzulie's closeness was highly welcome, and Rosalyn leaned against it some, hoping to indicate this fact.  Despite the casual nature of their intimacy, she enjoyed the woman's attentions more than she could express through words.

"My mother used to tell of them, long ago," she said somewhat quietly, the distant past not a time she was accustomed to speaking on.  "At times they could bring waves that would destroy a beach and a good portion of land, or winds that could tear even trees from the ground". She shook her head.  "Guess it isn't overly surprising... the sea tends to take what it wants." Storms could not change that.[/b]

erzulie smiled as she felt rosalyn settle against her, stealing forward with her spice-dusted muzzle to preen just beneath of the first mate's sable ears. "da sea takes what it wants," she hummed, wanting to say aloud the understated pierce of rosalyn's words. for a moment she was silent, content to touch the other and coexist while the violence of the sea only showed itself in the dull roar.
"and what has da sea taken from you, kònèy mwen?" the harlot mused, shifting so that she might find the other woman's gaze. perhaps now the quiet wolfess would share a word of her past; erzulie was still, having long wondered what lurked beyond rosalyn's guarded tones.

Oooh, that felt nice.  Rosalyn allowed Erzulie's preening to spoil her, closing her eyes and simply enjoying it.  And when she stopped, they let the silence stretch, without any air of awkwardness to it.  Until her companion broke it again, with words unfamiliar.

She did not know what the name meant, but she was sure it could not be as bad as half of those she'd been assigned (and doubted it to be negative at all).  So she let it pass as a curiosity, answering rather than asking.  "Surprisingly, nothing." Others had taken, but the ocean had spared her.  "She could have had me, once.  But the waves threw me back."  Rosalyn smiled.  "Maybe she found me lacking. I somehow can't be sorry for that."

erzulie shook her head with a smile, delivering a final bevy of slow licks to rosalyn's cheek before unfurling herself to cross 'round and check on the dried herbs along the woman's wounds. "no one and no'ting could evah find you wanting," came her purr, accompanied by a soft wink from within the nutmeg mask. a pause followed; the healer wet her lips with a shyness that was unlike herself and glanced into the darker shadows toward the back of the den; the shape of a low pallet strewn with furs took form there.
"perhaps you could rest heah for a while," erzulie suggested, though some undercurrent of feeling shone through despite her best efforts; she wished for rosalyn to stay.

It was almost alarming how quickly Erzulie had slid into the First Mate's confidences, and the trust and affection she had for her almost made her balk.  But she didn't.  Instead she took the proffered compliment and let it warm her, and she nodded to the invitation.

When she moved over to it, she left a good portion free, a clear invitation that Erzulie could join her if she had the time.  She didn't know yet why the woman's words struck such a chord in her, but in the next month or two, it would become starkly clear.

"Thank you," she simply responded for now, settling in on the furs and feeling an ineffable gratitude for her insisted, if lighthearted, statement.

i thought this was a good place to fade <3 feel free to reply again or archive!

the first mate accepted erzulie's offer; the mint-glow gaze followed rosalyn's trajectory as she settled, clearly intending for the harlot to recline alongside her. the sensation of shyness was not one erzulie had experienced many times in her life, and yet she felt it move into a blush beneath her spiced fur.
she curled against rosalyn gratefully, for once not feeling spurred to pursue some transaction or another. rosalyn was wounded was what she told herself, but it was the warmth and grace of the other woman that relaxed her; it was not long before she fell into a light but trusting slumber alongside the first mate.