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+--- Thread: Stavanger Bay than a breeze next to this night (/showthread.php?tid=28999)
than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 09, 2018
along a cliff overlooking the expanse of ocean, erzulie had brought a haunch of deer from a kill inland, and a bouquet snipped from various coastal flowering plants. dawnrise; sunset was for trysts, and it was no such thing she shared with @Rosalyn — not now.
she found it odd that the captain had not yet sought any vow of fidelity from her; that the woman had not pressured her to give up the trade. erzulie dealt in flesh, it was true, and prized her freedom; either of those things she did not wish to surrender, but that rosalyn had not asked of it perturbed erzulie on some level.
perhaps she was a warm companion, a giving lover, enough of one thing or another for the captain to regard her as worthwhile. and that was her lot; the chai-tea woman was a courtesan; how could she complain when she did well what marie had trained her to do? a low call for her lover; erzulie was left alone with the echo of its wavering notes and her own brief melancholy.
she found it odd that the captain had not yet sought any vow of fidelity from her; that the woman had not pressured her to give up the trade. erzulie dealt in flesh, it was true, and prized her freedom; either of those things she did not wish to surrender, but that rosalyn had not asked of it perturbed erzulie on some level.
perhaps she was a warm companion, a giving lover, enough of one thing or another for the captain to regard her as worthwhile. and that was her lot; the chai-tea woman was a courtesan; how could she complain when she did well what marie had trained her to do? a low call for her lover; erzulie was left alone with the echo of its wavering notes and her own brief melancholy.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 09, 2018
She'd been scouting - their numbers were few and their members scattered, but she did not mind. They had a core still, and a beautiful claim... whatever would come would come.
She smiled when her lover's voice beckoned, immediately turning to respond, and wondering what it was she needed. Just company, or to ask something? She hadn't been heavily in demand of late, and there were a few she needed to check in on.
She came without hesitation, openly showing her pleasure and not yet noting any off notes to Erzulie's own features yet. "You've been busy," she greeted appreciatively, noting the things the courtesan carried with her.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 09, 2018
"for you, kònèy mwen," erzulie murmured, stepping forward to grace her love's cheek with a kiss. turning, intending that rosalyn should follow, she led the captain to the overlook, where the sky was just beginning the grey along the horizon with dawnglow.
"good morning, rosalyn," she purled happily, and in that moment all distress was dispelled; she was enraptured, enthralled, and it shone from her gaze.
"good morning, rosalyn," she purled happily, and in that moment all distress was dispelled; she was enraptured, enthralled, and it shone from her gaze.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 10, 2018
She had wondered, but hadn't assumed it was for her... Erzulie was a woman of many companions, by trade and seemingly by choice, and it could have been for a later trip. But she was glad, and gratefully surprised, if a little thrown. "I don't have anything for you," she said, somewhat teasingly, though she felt a moment's hesitation. Gifts and signs of affection like that weren't in her nature, and up until now she'd had no reason to regret that. But now.... would Erzulie mind?
"It is a good morning, though, if quiet. Where did you find this?" She indicated the leg, moving closer to follow to where her companion led. It had been a slow morning; she'd seen no one before this, but the quiet of it was not disagreeable. She enjoyed the chance to enjoy her own company before needing to truly wake.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 11, 2018
a smile, a tilt of her head. "you do not need to be gettin' any'ting for me, rosalyn. dat i have you is enough. come and sit wid me," erzulie invited, settling along the ridgeline. when the captain had presumably joined her. "a kill inland," the harlot revealed, reaching to preen slowly the velvet hairs along rosalyn's collarbone.
"i thought it would be nice not to eat t'ings from de sea, for a change." her laugh was gentle, meant to perhaps draw rosalyn's own; relax, relax with me her mint-glow gaze begged of her lover.
"i thought it would be nice not to eat t'ings from de sea, for a change." her laugh was gentle, meant to perhaps draw rosalyn's own; relax, relax with me her mint-glow gaze begged of her lover.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 13, 2018
She was good. It did not seem like an act, but she couldn't be sure it wasn't either; she'd learned the hard way that you could not assume to have another caught, and those who made a living selling companionship knew the trade well.
But at least the friendship she knew to be genuine, and if the other wasn't, it still pleased her that Erzulie would prefer her company. All else, for now, could wait.
"It is!" She reclined in the offered spot, then closed her eyes briefly as the other began her attentions. "It has been a while since I've been out. Did you see anything interesting?" Meet anyone interesting? The second thought surprised her - it contained no jealousy. If she had, it had been temporary no doubt, without the longevity that crew provided. But she was curious, suddenly, what sort of traits her lover looked for in clientele. For once, her forward tongue stopped, and she left the question at what she asked.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 18, 2018
erzulie enjoyed the pressure leaching from her lover's muscular body, so much in fact that she did not first register the words. rosalyn's tone carried no territoriality — nothing to imply that she would be displeased with the chai-tea woman's trade. "non," the harlot replied easily, in truth, for she had met no one with whom engagement was of a particularly titillating nature.
a smile curved erzulie's lips into a bow; she drew her gaze toward that of the captain. "i have been hurtin' for lack of work," came her gentle murmur, teasing round the outskirts.
a smile curved erzulie's lips into a bow; she drew her gaze toward that of the captain. "i have been hurtin' for lack of work," came her gentle murmur, teasing round the outskirts.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 19, 2018
She cut to the subject Rosalyn was most curious about swiftly, but she still wasn't sure what she should ask. Erzulie was not the offending sort, it seemed to Rosalyn so far, but ruining this would be a shame, and she didn't want to upset her in any capacity.
"It's hard for me to believe they aren't lining up," she responded, meeting her gaze warmly. "I am curious, but... what is it you enjoy most? About your work?" This was the question that she had most wanted to ask, ever since she heard what Erzulie did. Even before, with the others she had known, she always wondered; why? Rosalyn had entered her own share of brief interludes, but mainly as a way to anchor herself and feel worth at a time when she'd had no home and few friends. She doubted her lover sought the same.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 21, 2018
in rosalyn's comportment was approval, something erzulie had not expected. thus it caught the jezebel off guard, and she softened beneath the more intimate question. a wistful smile swathed the woman's features in a gentle light; she looked out across the sea and gave a low sigh.
"women like me cannot afford to choose, not all of de time, rosalyn." the two-toned gaze returned to the captain; a moment passed. "but sometimes i come across a connection, a spark." on a daring whim, erzulie lifted her eyes further until they met those of her lover, the raven who had made the sands and the sea beautiful for the harlot. "sometimes it be more den de act itself."
but so rarely.
"women like me cannot afford to choose, not all of de time, rosalyn." the two-toned gaze returned to the captain; a moment passed. "but sometimes i come across a connection, a spark." on a daring whim, erzulie lifted her eyes further until they met those of her lover, the raven who had made the sands and the sea beautiful for the harlot. "sometimes it be more den de act itself."
but so rarely.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 21, 2018
The answer that came was definitely not what the russet captain expected, and she frowned. Did she not choose then? When Rosalyn had imagined Erzulie's craft, she'd done so with the impression that the woman was selective as she wished, taking only those worth attention and leaving the rest. Had any forced their way with her then? The thought sat far less than easily.
Hopefully she was mistaken, as the next statement was fair shift from the previous in tone. She met her gaze as well, and some of her troubled thoughts died down with Erzulie's seeming calm, but not all. She knew it likely showed.
"You can afford to choose now," she responded, somewhat quieter. She did not like the implication that the other woman did not see her own worth. Rosalyn hesitated just a moment, then looked up and continued. "I don't mind. I'd not look to be the only one, because this is enough. But I wouldn't be in company with those who aren't worthy of you, even if I happen to become one of them." She glanced away as she said this; she'd been down that painful road before, after all, and didn't mind walking it again. It was better than embracing a lie and finding out far later.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - August 28, 2018
somehow erzulie had conceptualized that it was difficult for rosalyn to discuss such matters. she swept forward with a low croon, fitting herself against her beloved's lithe form, drawing kisses across the aloof beauty of the captain's features. yes. now she was free to choose; she was free to leave. in rosalyn's rejoinder all she had wished to hear, that the woman would not seek to bind her wings —
— some hot seed unfurling within the fertile ground of the harlot's barren heart; she swallowed the surprise she felt at the touch of saltwater at the corners of her eyes. "i did not become a whore to fall in love, rosalyn," erzulie murmured in a voice gone broken with some bittersweet sorrow. "i became one to avoid it." and yet here she was, here the pair of them; she gave a sardonic laugh through the rivulets of tears that had by now wet her cheeks.
"qui n’avance pas, recule," she whispered, clearing her throat and seeking rosalyn's gaze. was she afraid? she did not know. "'what does not move forward, recedes.'" a snippet from the lessons she had been taught by marie. and for the first time, erzulie was unsure of taking another step further. her heart all but ached for rosalyn; the wariness that had been thrust bodily upon her now shone in her two-toned eyes. yet she had no words to loosen her tongue and ask of her lover that she not be hurt again.
— some hot seed unfurling within the fertile ground of the harlot's barren heart; she swallowed the surprise she felt at the touch of saltwater at the corners of her eyes. "i did not become a whore to fall in love, rosalyn," erzulie murmured in a voice gone broken with some bittersweet sorrow. "i became one to avoid it." and yet here she was, here the pair of them; she gave a sardonic laugh through the rivulets of tears that had by now wet her cheeks.
"qui n’avance pas, recule," she whispered, clearing her throat and seeking rosalyn's gaze. was she afraid? she did not know. "'what does not move forward, recedes.'" a snippet from the lessons she had been taught by marie. and for the first time, erzulie was unsure of taking another step further. her heart all but ached for rosalyn; the wariness that had been thrust bodily upon her now shone in her two-toned eyes. yet she had no words to loosen her tongue and ask of her lover that she not be hurt again.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - August 28, 2018
She couldn't tell what Erzulie's relief was for - her assurance that this was enough or her offer to part ways should the harlot deign it necessary. But Rosalyn had a way of being, and it was one she'd had a good many years; enjoy what you had while it lasted, because it never lasted long.
But she would not call herself broken; she didn't close herself off from the world, nor did she harden her heart against entrance. Her crew always gained a place there, no matter how small, and the family she'd accepted over the years had been a revolving line of entrances and exits. First her own mother, then Sarai and the others of her first crew. Kitten, Vlad, Red, Smokestep, Daikini, Raptor. The last of them was still fresh.
Hearing Erzulie's soft words, though, showed her just how different the two of them were. Again, they weren't words she liked hearing, and she stayed quiet a minute, touching her nose to the tears that ran down her lover's cheeks. "I've learned to take what love I can, when I can." she finally said, "else you might never get any. And that's worse, to me." She might not have loved all of them, but she'd definitely given pieces of herself she wouldn't get back. And she'd continue to do so, over and over again, willing to make the trade to even feel like she belonged for a while. "And to give it too, whether or not it's returned."
She gave the other a long look then, wonder what she would make of that. What she had with Erzulie had surpassed the simplicity of former affairs a good while ago. It was waters she hadn't seen herself navigating back into, and it made her nervous, sure. But she was a pirate.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Erzulie - September 03, 2018
so simple the pirate's words, so earnest. erzulie felt her wariness fading; she closed her eyes at rosalyn's touch and told her heart it must find trust at least one time. and though she knew unfairly she could not simply give the corsair such confidence yet, the ironsea leader had spent each day humbly earning the jezebel's respect.
take love where you find it. she did not truly understand the words, but the concept did not escape her.
they were pacing around the edges of something that neither of them had directly yet said, and somehow this soothed erzulie further. this was no mere tryst; this was not a game to be played until one of them grew tired of the other. and the pair of them held their own trepidations, and she knew in this was a mutual and loving caution. for some short length of time she held the resolute gaze of the woman with her own, and seeing there what trembled in her own heart compelled erzulie to soften.
"i do love you, rosalyn," she murmured with a tentativeness unlike her, "and i know it is returned." there; and there, and there — the words spoken. lowering her head, erzulie lay her cheek against her captain's chest, seeking the quickening beat there that matched her own.
take love where you find it. she did not truly understand the words, but the concept did not escape her.
they were pacing around the edges of something that neither of them had directly yet said, and somehow this soothed erzulie further. this was no mere tryst; this was not a game to be played until one of them grew tired of the other. and the pair of them held their own trepidations, and she knew in this was a mutual and loving caution. for some short length of time she held the resolute gaze of the woman with her own, and seeing there what trembled in her own heart compelled erzulie to soften.
"i do love you, rosalyn," she murmured with a tentativeness unlike her, "and i know it is returned." there; and there, and there — the words spoken. lowering her head, erzulie lay her cheek against her captain's chest, seeking the quickening beat there that matched her own.
RE: than a breeze next to this night - Rosalyn - September 04, 2018
There was a beat of silence; honestly, Rosalyn wasn't expecting a response. She was in no hurry to rush Erzulie for words she might not mean, and it wouldn't have bothered her to learn her affection was not returned. The very nature of the harlot was to ignite without falling themselves, and as Erzulie had said, it was this she preferred.
Instead, she was surprised with even more forwardness than she had offered. "It is," she confirmed, probably unnecessarily. But Erzulie had spoken it, so she felt she needed to as well. She rested her own head across the nape of the other, relishing it. This would not change much; she too was slow to trust, and even with this, she would not allow for jealousy. But it changed something. Finally, she could begin to hope that, at least for a while, Erzulie would remain a feature in her life. And that was worth everything so far as well as everything to come.