Nocturne Summit (m) This is why we can't have nice things, darling.

It had not occurred to her that Penn was so young she would need to teach him; she knew he was a boy, but thought he was already wise in these things. He certainly acted with the bravado to support her claim. That was all it was, though — a boyish charm with staunch limits. She would not pressure him to do anything against his nature — which was perhaps one of the draws of encountering him here.

It had been different with the others, but they had each been men already. This took patience she did not possess, communication she did not want to express, and a small measure of fumbling to get things rolling. The only blessing of this union - and Penn's youth - was his stamina, which Ibis would take full advantage of.

In the end her body was tired but satisfied. They were piled together in the grass and weeds, having torn up a patch of lambs herb in the process; Ibis being her greedy, tactile self. She stretched out her still twitching limbs and felt quite pleased with the events that had unfolded.