Dragoncrest Cliffs some say an army of horsemen,

the headaches had not returned. erzulie felt herself warm, for though the land remained blanketed with snow, and more this year, sapphique went on. they thrived. they had become what resilience embodied.
she was proud. a great light had marked some days ago; she had stared after it and in her heart thoughts of the days to come swelled.
it was dusk and she searched for @Merlin as she meandered half-heartedly after the scent of seabirds coming to roost along the stone.

Merlin had observed that the weather was milder by the ocean than out in the plains and he wondered, whether this meant that this was the place, where the change of seasons first began. This thought did not linger in his mind for long - as many abstract ideas and questions he was unable to figure out on his own, they were entertaining for a brief moment, but then were quickly discarded. Thus on most days Merlin's thinking process was pretty basic and dull, because that's, what ensured his survival, while he was on his own.

He was absent-mindedly nosing through some debris that the ocean had washed ashore, looking for edible morsels, when he caught sight of Erzulie in the distance. His boyish heart fluttered in anticipation and anxiety and he was torn between the wish to call out to her and embarrassment that dictated him to lie lower than the ground and not draw any attention.

unfortunately for the ruddy boy he had been spotted despite the crouch. erzulie purled lowly within her throat as she came to his side, tail wisping airily behind her. "it be a good day." 
the sun had come out, and while snow remained, and ice still clung to the face of the sea, the obsidian knew spring would soon arrive. she watched his frame wonderingly. "have you found any'ting wort' showing?" merlin she had only begun to puzzle out; a breath fluttered along her flanks, something curious.

Merlin misheard Erzulie's "good day" for "good boy" and he felt puzzled, why the weird praise, because his embarrassing near-death experience, he had not achieved anything remarkable within Sappique's ranks. Just survived. He also felt a little uncomfortable of her close proximity, therefore, when she asked, if he had found anything useful, he took this as a good excuse to hop over to the other side of the pile of sea-weeds he had been inspecting previously.

"Uh, no, not exactly," he shook his head in denial. "How are you?" he asked her.

she watched merlin avoid her nearness, for that was how she took it. but erzulie was not offended. she bore all in stride. and so she commented not upon his movement, only turned her gaze upon the leaves.
perhaps she had made of herself a figure rather unapproachable.
curiosity flickered in her, but the obsidian tamped it down for now.
"dese be good for bindin' woun's," erzulie told merlin with a quiet air. "i will take some of dem back to de herb cache." she sniffed at the salt clinging to them. "i am well. spring is coming. de lan' feels settled."

"Moss is good too," Merlin replied relfexively - one of those pearl's of wisdom he happened to know, but had no idea where from and why. "I'll help you," he added hastily, fearing that Erzulie would be inclined to ask him something else and he did not want to appear as a complete fool, because "moss" and those funky-berries that had cured his upset gastrointestinal tract were the extent of his knowledge in medicine.

He chose and picked up, what he thought was the best looking weeds and with his mouth full he looked at the alphess expectantly, silently asking her to lead the way.

there was some aspect to merlin's readiness toward aid that flickered an odd desire in erzulie. she recognized it only as the beginning tendrils of her season beginning to steal reason.
and yet beyond her usual rolling step there was a sway to her hips the obsidian saw no reason to veil. she, having grabbed a mouthful of the stuff as well, led him to where she had decided to keep sapphique's supplies in the abandoned owl's nest. it was a large low oval set too low upon the bole of a sea-pine tree, and it was here she chose to place the kelp, stepping back with a glance to merlin.

Whatever was going on in Erzulie's mind - Merlin was oblivious to it and good thing too. He focussed on three other important things - not letting sea-weeds slip from his jaw, not stumble and fall and not lose sight of, where the leader was taking him to. The first was a true challenge, because he retched at the taste of them and on more than one occasion he closed his eyes, gulped and tried to pretend that he was carrying something pleasant. The second was closely bound to first, because there was a trail of sea-weed dragging along the ground too. He did not want to step on it. Third... staring at Erzulie's hindquarters made him feel a bit embarrassed for some reason (butts usually did not stir any emotions in him) and he tried to avert his gaze politely time from time. He was well aware that no fight had ever broken out by someone having a too-long and intense eye-contact with the pretty end, but then... yeah... 

So, finally he was released from his inner turmoil and he stored the knot of weeds at the designated place. "Do you need more of these?" he asked her, enjoying to have a chance to be helpful.

"i do not." voice warm, eyes watching him. this time erzulie kept her silence, thought at length her spicewitch features smoothed into a cunning smile. she drew closer to him. "merlin," and her voice had dropped an octave, a skilled courtesan plying a trade she had not meant to use in a long while.
perhaps the edges of her skill held rust, but erzulie herself did not.
his coat was a shimmering shadowed red; she thought of the bayou-heat.
"i be havin' a bold question for you."

If only Merlin could read the signs. But so inexperienced he was with women in general, that he did not pick up change in Erzulie's demeanour or, if he did, did not take it as something that referred to him. Her being so close did make him feel awkward and a bit uncomfortable, not that he did not like her, but that he did not quite understand, what she had on mind. Especially now that she had told there was nothing she needed for him at the moment.

"Er... yeah?" he side-glanced at the older woman not sure, whether he really wanted to know (or answer), but wishing very dearly now that he possessed at least a bit of Njord's self-confidence and know-how. It was very easy to throw around witty remarks and pretend to be smart and knowledgable at a distance. Up close... quite frankly... intimidating.

erzulie was bemused when there was no outward reaction of merlin's to signify his understanding. it meant she already had the answer she sought, but shifted her weight to one hip while she asked directly: "have you ever been wid a woman?"
she suspected that merlin would not lie; the viridian gems in his head had the tendency to show multiple thoughts he might have, an open spread of emotion. 
but this time he could not hop away; she meant to snare him with her voice and draw him closer with her gaze. she would not choose outside sapphique; she would not have an unknown suitor scheming into their innermost circle.
her stare remained gentle; erzulie pulled it away to look out upon their sights, the scent of kelp and the bite of sea shifting haughtily into the air.

Erzulie may not know this yet, but Merlin might be the most difficult conquest she would face. Not because he was entirely immune to her charms (hence the crippling embarrassment and confusion he felt in her presence), but that, unless he was told quite literally, what to do and what was expected of him, he was unable to read subtle cues. Therefore no wonder that the boy grew pale beneath his fur, when she asked her 1 million dollar question, and yet again he had not the slightest idea, what she was implying. 

"I... what do you mean?" he murmured. "I am with you now?" he added, feeling very unsure and sensing that this might not be the answer Erzulie had wanted to hear.

erzulie laughed richly, delighted by his unsure footing. "yes. you are wid me." she had encountered the more shaking culls before: inexperienced and dispassionate until they were roused. 
"i will show you what i mean. you tell me if it be somet'ing enjoyable." he was discomforted by her presence, her nearness; the obsidian relished that perhaps she was overwhelming, but for this purpose she slid back her spice-dark ears and extended her muzzle seekingly. 
toward his shoulder first, gentle presses of her lips upward to the side of his throat, the bulb of his ear. if he did not understand the weight in her words, perhaps merlin might understand a different language. erzulie was patient enough to discover him slowly.

Merlin froze, when Erzulie reached out to touch him. He did not know, where to look, and his first instinct was to bolt. Yet he remained, torn between being a loyal subject to his leader and a wish to prove himself being something better than just a moron. He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing and allowed her to do the magic called "being with her". 

It occurred to him that it had been a very, very long time, since anyone had touched him in an affectionate way. He did not recall any such instance in the memories he still had, and whatever was happening now felt foreign and strange. He realized that he was expected to respond in any way to this and he did not know how and why. Eventually the realization that there was more heavy rock bottoms for him to hit than there had been already, more ways to feel alien to, what was considered normal, he sighed and gently pushed Erzulie away.

"I am sorry..." he murmured, his head hanging low, him overridden by shame and embarrassment. "I... I... can't..."

the harlot did not bid for him again, acceptant of the space that he put between them. she did not think it was lack of desire; she knew the affect she could have upon men. and so erzulie decided it was another thing altogether. 
what bound him? held him back from taking what she offered glinting and mutual. did he not know what was meant of him? but she would not pry; she did not want merlin to believe she could not observe a boundary line.
"it is an offer dat stands," erzulie told the red-furred man softly, not yet unfurling from along him. she wished to catch his eyes, to endear and assure him.

Erzulie did not seem to feel offended by Merlin's ton of lacks (lack of knowledge, experience, confidence, interest etc., etc.), but - frankly speaking - the boy would have felt a lot better, had there been less patience with him and more telling, what was that he was expected to do. But - given the dead-end circumstances he found himself currently in - he might as well ask. And stop pretending that he knew, what was going on, a lie, which gave him a lot more trouble than he needed right now.

"What... what is that you offer?" he asked her, mustering up the courage to look her in the eyes. "I don't understand, what you want from me," he added, apologetically, because he felt as if he should have known. It should have been obvious. And apparently it was to everyone else, except him.

ah. so she had been correct, and the guilt of it sparkled along her awareness. poor boy. erzulie spoke in allusions and touch; he needed the word of it. "merlin," the obsidian said softly, watching the way that the light lifted the deep viridian of his eyes. 
and then erzulie leaned forward, lips warm against his ear, and in no uncertain terms spoke the truth of it, l'acte unto la petite mort. illustrative, genuine, breathy.
"there then," she grinned, a bit surprised that he had no knowledge of this thing. but she did not mean it to judge. "it is better demonstrated," the woman added despite herself, paws plying the earth as she waited for merlin to digest what she had explained.

"Oh... okay..." Merlin nodded in response, digesting, what he had just been told and trying to put himself in that picture, but not having much luck with it. Even less, when there was an Erzulie present. Apparently, facing an imaginary version of hers was just as difficult as the real life version here and now with him. 

"And... why do you offer it to me?" he asked, trying to figure out, what this femme fatale saw in his scrawny ass here, when there was such a fine specimen like Njord or... Haunt, no, wait she was a girl. She could not... or? But then Rosalyn and Erzulie? They had kids together... why not her? So many questions and none of them made him feel any better. 

"I mean... you have a mate and all?" he added and praised himself for the clever way of asking one question in order to answer another that was on is mind. "Won't... won't she be upset?"  But, what had been that she had told him earlier - be yourself and love whoever you want? Boy, did people have a way of complicating things. Merlin decided, that if he was to get out of this alive, he would never... whatever, who cared.

And that's, when he felt that the capacity of his brain drive was about to exceed its limit and he simply shut it off and paid close attention to, what Erzulie told him.

erzulie saw him burgeon with questions; amusement glimmered in her, warm and truthful. "each year my wife an' i have chosen fat'ers for dat year's young. it be our way; dere is not jealousy in it. dis time, only i will be making dat choice." she responded with a softness to her mismatched gaze. "dis year, you be de chosen. you have been loyal to sapphique, merlin. you committed to de sea even t'ough she was unkind dat day."
the obsidian rolled her shoulders, softly. "an' i am interested." an arch of her burnished gold brow, a delighted smirk. for her, that was reason enough. the gold and green of her eyes watched him, wondering if below her gaze he might reach a new understanding and inquire more.

Well, I can't say that Erzulie's replies made Merlin at ease. If we dissect and look up closely, what he had found out, he should have felt a little more optimistic. First, to answer his earlier question, just because two girls loved each other and lived the way they wanted, did not mean that they could have kids with one another. Second, Rosalyn turned a blind eye, while Erzulie went around and did some deeds with people outside her relationship. He was in no danger being ripped apart by a crazy-jealous, scarred and fearsome looking pirate lass. Third - it did sound as if him being called "the chosen one" was a compliment, but ever since that misfortune at the sea, Merlin had lost all faith in any good that could come out of this status. Plain and simple.

But the Fourth was the big one. Erzulie was interested. Which meant that he did not have much choice, did he? You as a loyal subject did the bidding of your leaders, right? Even if it did not sit very well with you. Made you anxious. Despite the fact that this woman was the most gorgeous creature he had seen in his life. She was offering herself to him and any normal dude should not be deliberating too much. They would jump at the opportunity. And this was, what finally pushed him towards the decision. Tired of failing constantly to be like everyone else, he decided not to mess this opportunity up. "I... uh... okay," he nodded. "You'll find me, when it's time," he asked/stated.

it did not feel as though merlin were intent upon her invitation. erzulie was unused to this sort of rejection: not a direct characterization of looks or response, but more aversion. perhaps he was one who did not tend toward women. perhaps he simply did not tend toward anyone, and so explained how tensely he reacted when she drew near.
"i will," the harlot purred all the same, rising to brush him once more and then step away. "my pleasure to show you." a knowing glance, and then, if merlin did not stop her, erzulie would melt away and into the seabrush, seeking solace and her own thoughts.