• Mature • Thumb, Thumber, Thumbest

[Yanahalqah]

Zi'da 80 Arc 716
Blacksmith's Arms

During the dropping temperatures of Zi'da and the falling of snow that seemed to become more and more common the closer Cylus came, many had sought refuge in one of the pubs, inns, or taverns the city was rich. It was only logical; it was warm, you had company, and you could order food and drinks. The downside was, of course, that the places had become rather cramped. So to the Blacksmith's Arms, where Yana was sipping from a pint of ale to replenish the energy her asterism burned through because of the cold. The new clothes she'd bought for these seasons did help keep her warm of course, but nevertheless, the weather drained the heat from her body faster than usual.

The Yludih raised her tankard to her lips for another sip, looking past the mug at the man who'd joined her at her table. She wasn't too sure if he was only here by accident –due to lack of free tables and seats –or if he'd spotted her and had decided to approach. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was neither. Either way, the mercenary wasn't too bothered by it. She did not overlook the fact that he might be carrying a grudge, nor had she forgotten she'd extracted a substantial amount of coin from him. Well, it was a substantial amount to her. For a noble it probably was some leftover change.

“Lord Venora,” she spoke, mildly surprised, though quite relaxed and at ease, knowing that even if the man tried anything she could easily overpower him. Not only had she witnessed his combat prowess –or the lack thereof—on the Tallship to Ne'hear, but she'd also had him held hostage for a short time, having been able to guess his physique from that encounter. Well, not that his fancy tailored clothes did not already make it quite easy by just looking at him. She leaned back in her seat, steepling her fingers as she observed him with her ever-present mask of neutrality.

“I heard your play was quite a success. Congratulations. I haven't been able to see it, sadly. Work, you see.” She shrugged in a minimalist way. “How have you been?” She waited for a brief moment, allowing him to answer if he so desired. “And your brother and … er...what's-his-face?” She gave him a tiny smile, the kind that did not reach her eyes. The smalltalk was just a means to an end of course, a little facade to get him to relax if it was necessary, and to lull him in a sense of security. Make him more likely to just spill personal information. It was something she was testing. Smalltalk made people more open, or so she had heard. “Be more friendly to people”, Hannes told her all the time, “They'll be more willing to talk to a friendly guard than one who seems cold and distant.” Yana wasn't too sure if it worked on people she'd held at knife-point, but it was worth a shot, she supposed.

“How is your slave doing? How is Faith? I haven't seen her around in a while.” Eventually, seeing as the slave girl really was the one and only reason for this attempt at chitchat, and there really was no point in continuing after she'd been told what she'd wanted to know or if Tristan did not want to answer such things, the conversation –which may or may not have been pretty one-sided—ground to a halt. The Yludih brought her drink once again to her lips, and after a good gulp of ale she placed it back on the table. “I had not been expecting such noble company this trial, really. What's the occasion?”

► Show Spoiler

Boots -thigh (1gn) leather (*5) fur lined (+4gn) -->9gn
Shirt (1.2gn) wool (*2.2) brown (*0.8) -->2.11gn
Shirt (1.2gn) wool (*2.2) muted orange (*2.2) -->5.81gn
Trousers (5gn) wool (*2.2) beige (*0.2) -->2.2gn
Trousers (5gn) wool (*2.2) brown (*0.8) -->8.8gn
Cloak (5gn) wool (*2.2) brown (*0.8) Fur lined (+4gn) -->12.8gn
2*Socks (1gn) wool (*2.2) --> 4.4gn

==> Total: 45.12gn

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan wanted to visit his favourite tavern and drink a glass of Venora Rose (or two or three) in Ilaren’s name, just like every trial. All thoughts about having a quiet drink and playing a game of cards with his friends immediately disappeared from his mind though as he stepped through the door and laid eyes on her. He had only seen her once, but he had never forgotten her face. She had held him hostage. She had nearly emasculated him and done a number of other really unpleasant things to him. And she had stolen his absolute masterpiece. He stopped dead in his tracks for a moment and just stared at her wide-eyed, and then he decided to walk over to her. Faith would probably have tried to stop him if she knew and demanded that he call the guards instead, but Faith didn’t know and wasn’t there, and he had never been particularly fond of the guards.

“Lady One-Eye”, he greeted her because he didn’t know her real name and slid onto the chair opposite of her, smiling brightly as he did so. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? How have you been? Emasculated any men or cut their thumbs off lately? As for me …” He leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been good, mostly at least. I don’t have a slave anymore, but I’ve learned to cook, and I can also shoot things now! So be glad that I don’t have my crossbow with me!” He gave her his most threatening look which wasn’t very threatening at all before he decided to elaborate on what he had previously told her. “Faith fell in love with her tutor and left Andaris. As for my brother, I haven’t seen him recently either. He’s probably in Warrick, romancing Lazuli. He seems to be quite fond of her. Or did you mean Hart rather than Teddy? Hart’s probably seducing somebody as well. It seems to run in the family.”

He didn’t reply immediately as she asked him why he was here, but gestured for a waitress and told her to bring him his usual drink. There was no reason why he shouldn’t take care of business and wet his throat at the same time, he decided. Once he had his wine, he took a large gulp. “I’ve been wondering”, he admitted. “What exactly happened to my sculpture? You took it, didn’t you?” He paused for a moment to give her the opportunity to say something, and then he continued, “Anyway, I might have a job for you if you want more of my money. When we last met, you told me a couple of names of people that wanted something from me. One name especially stuck in my mind. Dora Duim. Remember her? She hired you to cut my thumbs off.”

“I would very much like to find her and have a word with her. I’ve been wondering just what she wanted to do with them and why it had to be my thumbs, of all the thumbs in Idalos. Can you help me?”

[Yanahalqah]

The Yludih had to admit, smart use of conversation could really help to extract information from unsuspecting targets. She wasn’t too sure on the science and psychology of it, but she did believe it had something to do with making them feel at ease. Perhaps idle chatter drew forth memories of friends and family which then gave the target the subconscious impression of talking to such a person. Perhaps. Probably not. It was speculation. Once she’d get into those psychology classes at the university she’d be able to know for sure.

Either way, it seemed to work well enough on this blabbermouth noble. He made some sort of attempt at a verbal jab at her, pointing out their last meeting, but he still answered her questions nonetheless. She raised an eyebrow at his halfhearted threat, looking as impressed as she would have if he’d told her he had finally learned how to count to ten on his fingers. She brought her hands together for a slow clap. “Bravo,” she spoke, just barely managing to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. If anything, he should have bought a dagger and gotten some training with that. A dagger could be hidden easily, and brought almost anywhere as a result. What was he going to do with a crossbow? Go fight in a war? This man was everything but a fighter, and he wasn’t even built like one either. Crossbows were notoriously easy to use, yes, but the trade-off was that they took long to reload, and because of their immense firepower, they took a lot of strength to cock. It only showed that his kind of fancy-ass nobles had absolutely no clue on how to best defend themselves.

That wasn’t the point though, the fact that he had said his slave had left Andaris with her tutor was news to her. Yana couldn’t quite see the slave running off, so either she had been freed –which would probably be the most stupid thing to do, though not unlikely, seeing as who her master was –or she’d been brainwashed by the tutor. More importantly though, why did all interesting people keep vanishing? First Paladin, now even Faith? So only Sintih was left, but he’d gone on a campaign. She sighed.

“A tutor?” Her tone was quite incredulous for Yana’s standards. The Yludih did not think Faith would have needed a tutor to improve her ability to serve. Which could only mean it was for her to learn other things. Study perhaps? Underneath the meek demeanor Yana had seen intelligence… and if she had never been allowed to study before, which was likely considering her background, it was plausible she’d developed a thirst for knowledge. Yana could understand that, at least. “Seems to me that you lost control. Were you fooled by her meekness? Her big, honest, silver eyes? Her porcelain skin? That girl might look soft, but she is harder than stone, and as stubborn as a rock. Not to mention wickedly clever. She probably manipulated you in such a way you never even noticed.” Yana shook her head, smirking. She had to applaud the slave on that, she did not fail to entertain. Hence Yana’s interest, of course. “You see, the problem with slaves is that –no matter how long and rigorously they have been trained –as soon as you give them too much freedom, if you let them develop and grow into the person they would have been, you are effectively undoing that very training.”

She took a sip of her ale, leaning back in her seat. “When a caged bird is given freedom it will fly away. Therefore you need to clip its wings.” She paused then, having noted some negativity in his voice when he’d told her about Faith. It seemed he wasn’t too happy with the way things had gone. Well, he shouldn’t have let her escape then. A slave was a slave, a servant a servant, and a wife was a wife. Mistaking either of those for another usually had unfortunate consequences. She couldn’t be sure on Tristan’s opinion on the slave, nor his actual relationship with her, but the fact that he’d let her be tutored spoke of a certain fondness. And that was the root of the problem. Not that it had anything to do with the Yludih. The same could be said for Teddy apparently being fond of one or other Lazuli, whom Yana assumed was a Warrick. It was a nice bit of trivia though, and maybe it would come in handy in the future.

Tristan received a glass of wine –Venora Red, he’d ordered –and got to the crux of the matter. The sculpture, of course. His “masterpiece”. “I might have. I might have even had help from your brother and his boyfriend. But you already know that, I am sure.” However, Tristan Venora wished to discuss another matter, it seemed, as he mentioned a certain person. Yana did recognize the name, though she had to fish her notebook out of a pocket and leaf through it to jog her memory. “I can help you, yes,” she said after having read the information written down on the page. “Do you just want her address, or do you want me to come with you for protection?” She paused for a moment, then adding: “I charge ten gold nel for information. In this case, the address. Thirty for that and protection.” Though she did not give it away, there was a little room for negotiation, but she’d rather not bother with it, hence the finality with which she’d named her price. She made a small gesture with her hand, signaling he could think about it for a brief while. It wasn’t like Yana was planning to go anywhere anyway.

[Tristan Venora]

“A tutor, yes”, he replied. She sounded quite incredulous which confused him beyond measure. He didn’t understand what was so strange about a slave having a tutor. Slaves were people too and had a right to learn, and since they weren’t allowed to go to university, university had to go to them. Although, he decided, he should have picked her tutor more carefully. If he had hired a woman none of those things would ever have happened – unless Faith liked both men and women. He considered that possibility for a moment, but then decided that it was highly unlikely that Faith had any lesbian tendencies.

“Manipulated? Me?” Tristan sounded quite indignant, but indignation quickly made way to thoughtfulness. He’d considered that possibility when Faith had showed up with Padraig in tow and they had had that terrible argument during which he had almost hit the terrible tutor with one of his terrible sculptures. But he’d be damned if he told Yana that she might be right! “Do I look as if I’m easy to manipulate? What do you know about slavery anyway? Have you ever owned any slaves?”

He looked at her challengingly. And then she started talking about clipping Faith’s wings. He knew exactly what she meant with that, but he decided to pretend that he had misunderstood her words completely. There was just something about that one-eyed woman that irriated him to no end. “Well, Faith doesn’t have any wings, and I’d rather not cut her arms off. Although I did buy her a nice silver slave collar …”

A bit belatedly he realized that he probably shouldn’t have mentioned the collar because Faith might not have liked it, but what was done, was done, so he just grinned at her and took a large gulp. Wine always helped. “I thought so”, he replied in a somewhat dry tone as she revealed that she might have had help from Hart and Quio. “Hart probably thought that stealing from his own brother would be fun.”

“You know”, he continued and looked directly at her. “I could just demand that you return the sculpture. Had I met you a couple of trials ago, I would have, but Lord Andaris’ father wrote to me. I’m going to make a new sculpture of him, and it’s going to be even better than the old one. Just tell me, did you find a good new home for it?”

He wasn’t sure why he cared about that sculpture and what had happened to it so much. It wasn’t as if he was in love with Peake. He was in love with Faith even though she had left him for her tutor which was almost as bizarre as being in love with one of the most dangerous men in Andaris would have been.

“I’d like you to come with me”, he replied. This, he realized, was probably the moment when Faith would have had a heart attack or fallen unconscious. “Two people are more intimidating than one. Besides, you’ve met her before. If I showed up at her house alone, she could just claim to be somebody else and tell me that Dora isn’t home, and I wouldn’t be able to prove the contrary.”

“You can have your thirty nels”, he added. He’d expected her to demand much more so he was quite happy with her price.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana wisely decided not to react to the Lord's less than subtle way of taking her words literally. He knew exactly what she meant, she was sure, after all, he'd owned a slave and had no doubt been given the same advice upon his purchase. “I doubt he found it very fun. He was trying to protect you, you know. He and his boyfriend would help me steal the statue on the condition that you would not be harmed. Which is exactly how it went.”She smiled like a shark. “Though they don't seem to see it that way.”

She rolled her one eye as he asked about the new home of his masterpiece and his claim that he'd be making one that was even better. Was she supposed to respond in any other way? “Good for you.” She drank of her ale, letting the alcohol nourish her. “Do I look like someone who would just steal a statue out of the blue? An admirer or Lord Andaris--” quite the understatement there “--contacted me. They paid quite well for it.”

As to be expected, Tristan wanted to have her come with him, which was fine with the Yludih. There weren't any negotiations necessary as Lord Venora simply accepted her price without question or complaint. “Twenty up front,” she said, tapping the table with a finger, “the rest afterwards.” She then emptied her tankard with a big swig, pouring the rest of her drink down her throat. “Ready when you are,” she declared, leaning back in her chair.

Once Tristan was ready and had paid her the twenty nels, Yana would lead him out of the tavern and into the streets, confidently guiding the noble through alleys and across streets. Slowly but surely the drab locations of lowtown made place for the more clean and stately buildings of midtown. The streets were less of a mess, the people were friendlier and better dressed. Houses were of a better quality, and here and there a more stately residence stood planted in between the more standard buildings. Every so often Yana had to stop to check her notebook, where she'd written down the location of the homes of her clients. Picturing her position in regards to the residence of Dora was not as easy as she had expected, but it did not really matter; she managed eventually. All in all it took perhaps fifteen bits for the duo to reach their destination, which was a surprisingly ordinary house in an ordinary though small and quiet street. It was one of a dozen of the same houses, with the only difference being the number on the door.

Yana stepped up the porch and knocked on the door a couple times, her knuckles producing a rhythmic rapping. Cluttering could be heard coming from inside, and within thirty trills a key was turned and the door opened only slightly. A small chain prevented it from being opened more than just a crack. The face of Dora Duim appeared within it.
“Yes? Who's the--” she spoke, her voice sweet and soft and feminine. “Oh. It's you. Have you come to give me my money back? No? Go away.”
The door was being slammed shut, but Yana just about managed to put her foot between it and the frame. She winced as it was being squished.
“What do you want?” Dora sounded quite annoyed despite her sweet voice.
Yana pulled her foot back, looked for Tristan and pulled him closer so the woman could see him.
“I brought someone who wants to see you.”

There was a gasp coming from behind the door, and it slammed shut instantly, causing Yana to call out in protest.
“Give me a trill!” Dora called loud enough for the both of them to hear, sounding oddly excited. A softer, more panic-y “I wasn't prepared for this!” could be heard as she stormed away from the door. Then there was more cluttering to be heard from inside, a cluttering that continued for a solid five bits. When it died down though, it would take twenty more bits before the door opened once again. In that time Yana had plenty of time to shrug and give Tristan a bored glance.
“She probably wasn't expecting you,” she commented, having noticed the woman had been wearing a bathrobe when she'd answered the door, a towel wrapped around her head like a turban.

Eventually though, twenty bits later, the telltale sound of high-heeled shoes clopping on the floor could be heard approaching, followed by some noise as the chain was removed from the door. Finally it swung open then, revealing Dora Duim herself.

She was quite tall --though a lot of height was added by her shoes-- with fair skin and beautiful red hair. It approached the color of the wine Tristan liked to drink, and it fell past her shoulders in waves. Her eyes were big and brown, with long and thick lashes. Thin eyebrows that were obviously cared for curved gently above them. Her nose was small and tip-tilted, and her lips were full. She wore some light make-up, enough to hide any blemishes and faults, and to enhance her beauty, but not too much of it, so it gave an “au naturel” kind of look. Dora wore a rich burgundy dress that went well with her hair. It was tight, showed off all her bountiful and enticing curves. The neckline went too low to be called conservative, but stopped too high to be called slutty. Her high heels were also red. It was immediately obvious where she'd been all that time and what she'd been doing.

Dora blushed slightly as she dropped a curtsy.
“Lord Venora,” she said, “a pleasure to meet you. Please forgive my rudeness, I wasn't really expecting anyone to visit... least of all you.” Tristan might notice that Dora's eyes occasionally left his face and dropped to his hands before returning.
“Please, please, do come in!” she then added after a brief moment, and she led the both of them to her salon, which looked as if it had just been cleaned. “Do forgive my manners, Lord Venora, it is not every trial I get visited by such wonderful company! I must admit I am quite shocked and nervous –ah, but in a good way!” There was indeed a slight tremble in her voice that might have been caused by nerves.

“Please, have a seat. Make yourself at home.” She gestured to a large and comfortable looking sofa. As her eyes found Yana --it seemed Dora just now remembered the mercenary existed-- it was clear that everything she had said only applied to Tristan. Yana only got a stare that could drill holes in solid rock. The mercenary said nothing however, and sat herself down next to Tristan, apparently at ease, but ready to take action if necessary. Dora had been eying that position however, and shot the Yludih another dirty glance.
“Can I get you something, Lord Venora? Tea? Wine? I happen to have some bottles of Venora Red laying around.” She smiled at him as he told her what he wanted to drink –if he wanted to drink anything at all-- and then dove into the kitchen to get it. When she returned, she would have Tristan's drink with her, along with a glass of Venora Red for herself, and a platter of biscuits. She placed all items carefully on the small table and sat herself down in a couch opposite to Tristan.

“So, Lord Venora --can I call you Tristan?-- what brings you to my humble abode? How did you know where I live anyway? I don't recall telling her --” there was a vague gesture in Yana's general direction “--at all.”

[Tristan Venora]

“He was trying to protect me?“ Tristan asked. “That was nice of him.” As he said that he wondered why Hart and Ruq had never told him what had really happened. He would have understood. It wasn’t as if they had had a choice, judging by what Yana said. “I wonder if that’s why he hasn’t visited me recently. Maybe he’s feeling guilty because you threatened me and took my money. If I only knew where exactly he is! Say, you wouldn’t happen to be interested in helping me track my brother down as well, would you?”

Probably not, he answered the question himself. She didn’t exactly look like a nice and helpful person. In fact she looked like the opposite of that. He’d have to visit all the taverns in Rynmere. Chances were that his brother was in one of them, getting drunk and quite possibly also high and enjoying the company of the men and women there far too much. Maybe they could get drunk together before they had that serious talk.

“Well, yes”, he replied in a very matter-of-fact tone as she asked him if she looked like someone who would just steal a statue out of the blue. “You look exactly like that. I hope you don’t mind.” He gave her his brightest, most charming and innocent smile even though he wasn’t at all sure if it would have any effect on her. She was different from the women that he usually spent his time with.

“If that admirer had contacted me rather than hiring a thief”, he informed her. “I would gladly have made them a sculpture.” Of course, he secretly thought, it would probably not have been as beautiful as his masterpiece, but it would still have been pretty good. He couldn’t remember ever making a bad sculpture. He was the best sculptor in Rynmere!

“Here you are”, he replied as she asked him for twenty up front and handed her the money. Having done that, he drank the rest of his wine because it would be a shame to waste it, and he didn’t want Ilaren to be mad at him either. “Let’s go. Lead the way!”

<><><>

He had thought that a thumb-stealing pervert would live in a miserable hovel in Lowtown, but the area where Yana took him actually looked pretty nice. Apparently Dora Duim was not only a pervert, but also had money! Maybe that was it, he thought. Maybe she was a rich lady that indulged in forbidden pleasures, kind of like him, only that his pleasures didn’t involve cutting body parts off. He was more curious about her than ever.

He stayed a step behind Yana as she knocked and tried his best to look normal and harmless enough for the two of them because his companion was clearly failing in that regard. She looked as threatening as ever so it was no surprise that Dora refused to let them in at first. Fortunately Yana put her foot between the door and the doorframe before she could close it and lock it again. He appreciated her quick thinking. What he appreciated a lot less was that she pulled him close without a warning. “Hey!” he complained.

He’d expected a thumb-stealing pervert to have an unpleasant, scratchy voice, but the voice that could be heard from the other side of the door now was soft and sweet and feminine.

As Dora finally let them in after what seemed like an eternity, his worldview was shattered for good. She was absolutely gorgeous! She looked like the woman of his dreams! She had red hair, just like his beloved Ilaren, big brown eyes and curves in all the right places – and a lot of them. For a moment he just stared at her open-mouthed and completely forgot who he was dealing with. “There’s nothing to forgive”, he finally said and smiled at her. “I should have announced my visit. But I didn’t know that I would be coming either.”

He laughed and followed her into the salon, without taking as much as a look at Yana. He only had eyes for the red-haired beauty in front of him now. “Venora Red would be great”, he told her and sat down, draping his arm over the back of the sofa. He was completely at ease now. His seat was comfortable, there was wine, and there was a beautiful woman. What else could he want?

As Dora asked them what had brought them here, he abruptly remembered what else he wanted again. Answers. He wanted answers. The woman in front of him, this beautiful, beautiful woman that reminded him so much of his immortal crush was quite possibly a dangerous pervert. He was on high alert now.

For a moment he just looked at her as he wondered how to best approach that matter, and then replied in an almost overly casual tone, “Thumbs.” He took a sip from his glass before he elaborated, “My thumbs. I heard that you wanted them. Why did you want my thumbs when there are so many other people with thumbs that don’t really need them and what did you want to do with them?”

“As for how we found you, I don’t know”, he admitted. “You have to ask her.” He pointed at Yana.

[Yanahalqah]

Though his Venora charms might not have any effect on Yana, they definitely did on Dora. She practically melted when he smiled, blushing slightly and giving him a most charming smile of her own in return. Though Dora had been wanting to take place next to Tristan, she seemed to be quite content with her spot opposite to him, which enabled her to watch him constantly. Her brown eyes were focused on him and him alone. It was as if sipping wine while staring at Tristan was more than enough to please her.

However, her smile froze for a moment when the Venoran Lord mentioned his purpose. The corners of her mouth drooped a little, and she sighed deeply.
“I thought it might be that,” she muttered, setting her wineglass on the table. “I hoped it wouldn’t be, though.” She shifted her gaze to Yana then, who coolly stared back, arms crossed.
“You tailed me didn’t you?”
The Yludih just shrugged.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She sighed again, turning back to Tristan with a pleading look in her eyes.

“Please, don’t judge me for this,” she began, taking a deep breath in. “I have an uncommon attraction to thumbs. A… a fetish.” She seemed somewhat drained by the confession, and it appeared she was expecting Tristan to start cussing in disgust. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, only occasionally rising to see his reaction, though never for long, and never making eye contact. Her hands were balled into tight fists that laid in her lap. Despite this, she continued talking, “I- I am well aware that most people don’t really understand. They think it is weird and disgusting. That I am some kind of freak. But I can’t help it. Thumbs are just so… so…”

“And when I saw yours, a season or so ago, I was just… captivated. The most beautiful pair of thumbs I have ever seen. Perfect shape, perfect size. Cared for… But I did not dare to approach you. I thought that you—I feared you would--” Dora suppressed a sob, somehow managing to keep her eyes from overflowing. “But I couldn’t help it. I wanted your thumbs, I needed them. Other thumbs did not satisfy me anymore. I tried to suppress the desires, but I couldn’t. I tried to forget... One of my… partners told me about some magic he could use. He could change into people, but he needed a small part of their body first. I gave in. I still couldn’t bear facing you, telling you about me. But I needed your thumbs. So I resorted to something I had never done before and I hired her to get them for me.”

She sighed again, falling silent. She kept her head down, trembling slightly, waiting for Tristan’s reaction.

► Show Spoiler

I thought I’d end my post here to give Tris some room to respond and react before I go make too much assumptions. Hence the short length.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan noticed the looks that Dora gave him. He quite enjoyed them despite the fact that she was a pervert. Or maybe he enjoyed them because she was a pervert. He didn’t know and didn’t care. He also noticed that she looked disappointed when he revealed the purpose of his visit. He didn’t want her to be disappointed, so he quickly informed her, “If I had known how beautiful you were, I would have come because of that. But nobody ever told me what you look like!”

He cast a glance at Yana as he said that. As the Yludih admitted that she had tailed Dora, he remarked, “You have to teach me how you do it. That skill would come in really handy!” He could already see himself following people through Andaris and finding out all of their deepest darkest secrets.

And then Dora admitted to having a fetish, and he abruptly looked back at her. He wasn’t disgusted, he didn’t start to insult her, on the contrary, both Yana and Dora would be able to notice that he suddenly looked very interested. “I know a lot of people with fetishes”, he informed the two women quite eagerly. “You wouldn’t believe what some of the men and women that visit the House of Roses are into!”

“I know”, he remarked as she told him that his were the most beautiful thumbs she had ever seen. “They are great, aren’t they?” She seemed rather obsessed, he noticed, and she spoke of her desires that she’d tried in vain to suppress. He wondered what kind of desires she had. What exactly had she wanted to do with his thumbs? Pickle them and put them into a jar? Put them on a chain around her neck? Use them for …

No, he didn’t even want to think about that!

“I know somebody who can change into other people as well!” he blurted out when she told him about her partner. He found the whole story quite fascinating even though she’d wanted to steal his thumbs. “He’s an Yludih. I had no idea that he needed body parts for his shapeshifting magic though.” Quio had always seemed like such a nice and harmless person. He was beginning to see his brother’s boyfriend in a whole new light.

It was then that something occurred to him. He furrowed his brow for a bit, and then he asked Dora, “Would your partner be able to use other parts of my body for his shapeshifting magic as well? I’m afraid I still need my fingers – I’m an artist – but I’d gladly give you a lock of my hair or a nail. Why did you want your partner to change into me anyway?”

He looked at her intently as he said that. She hadn’t really answered that question yet. “If it was because you are secretly in love with me, you could just have come to me instead. I would gladly have slept with you and used my thumbs on you!” he informed her and gave her his most charming smile. Secretly though he began to wonder what he was supposed to do if it turned out that it wasn’t just sex that she was interested in. He hoped Yana would protect him then!

[Yanahalqah]

Dora seemed to blush as Tristan complimented her, and she shifted in her seat to grab her glass of wine from the small table, leaning over so the noble had a great view on her assets. To Yana, it appeared she was doing it on purpose, it was quite obvious. Even Tristan might notice, though it was doubtful he’d mind. Yana did not really mind either, if she had to be honest. To say she was enjoying it was a bridge too far, but she certainly wasn’t annoyed by the woman’s behavior. Lord Venora was just a client, and if he wanted to have a look at a pervert with a subjectively perfect body, then he did not have to hold back.

When he said he wanted her to teach him how to tail people though, Yana was slightly irritated, mostly due to the Lord’s enthusiasm. As per usual she hid it beneath her mask of carefully applied stoicism. “It’ll cost you,” she replied calmly, crossing her arms.

Fortunately, Tristan did not have a lot of time to react to it, or to start haggling –which would be even more annoying. Dora revealed her dark desires, her fetish, as she called it. The young Lord took it quite well, it seemed. Yes, he looked surprised, but more than anything, he appeared fascinated. Yana suspected it was mostly that silent encouragement, as well as his enthused claim of knowing people with stranger fetishes which allowed for Dora to continue. The redheaded pervert had a hit of a smile tugging at her lips for a moment, a twinkle of something in her brown eyes, and leaned back in her couch. She twirled the wine in her glass around for a moment before taking a sip.

“They are extraordinary,” Dora agreed with Tristan’s boast, licking her lips. Yana couldn’t tell if it was to rid herself of some wine, or… Well, it probably did not matter. The woman continued her story, managing to captivate Yana as well, at last. All that talk of changing forms was interesting to say the least. Tristan seemed to think the woman’s partner was a Yludih, since he had an acquaintance who was one. It evoked several thoughts in the actual Yludih in the room. First of all, she was quite pissed at that Yludih for managing to be found out by fleshlings. Secondly, she was glad that Tristan seemed to misunderstand the Yludih shapeshifting ability. At least the crystal disgrace had not disclosed any sensitive information.

It did make her think though; she did not really know how her own shapeshifting worked. The Ancients had said it had something to do with the crystals of their body, but she wasn’t too sure if it was completely true. There probably was more to it than that. But it wasn’t magic… or was it? Either way, they did not need body parts to transform, so it was more than likely that what Dora was talking about was a completely different ability. The woman had called it magic, and it possibly was exactly that.

Tristan asked some more questions, fairly intelligent ones too actually, and for a brief moment, Dora’s eyes flicked somewhere else than Tristan and his hands. “I’m not sure,” she began, hesitantly, leaning over once more, this time to reach for the bottle of wine. She continued while refilling her own and Tristan’s glasses. “But I think I heard him say he would need the thumbs.” She retreated back into the couch, glass of wine in hand.

Yana frowned slightly, biting her index finger lightly. Something was off about this whole thing. As a professional liar, she thought herself to be quite adept at spotting lies in others, depending on their control over their face and body language. Dora had not been lying at first, Yana was fairly sure of that. Now however? She wasn’t meeting Tristan’s eyes, she had chosen not to even face him, hiding behind the action of pouring wine. It was to distract Tristan with her cleavage, most likely, and to appear casual while lying. Though, Yana had been wrong before.

As the young Lord provided the lady in red with an excuse, Dora’s eyes did shift back to Tristan’s hands. Her face lit up, her eyes sparkled. “Really?” she said enthusiastically. “That lifts a weight off of my shoulders.” She beamed at him. “I would if I had had the courage to, but…” An apologetic smile. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but your handsomeness is quite intimidating to those who don’t know you. I did not even dare dream of approaching you.”

She stood up then, placing down her glass with care, then she slowly sashayed over, targeting the small space between Yana and Tristan. Maybe she expected Yana to move over, but the Yludih did not such thing unless explicitly asked, and in the end, whether Tristan said anything or not, Dora inserted herself in between mercenary and client. There was not enough space for the three of them, and in the end Yana did stand up, and placed herself in the seat Dora had vacated. She was not really one to enjoy invasions of her personal space.

“May I?” Dora asked coyly, biting her lower lip. She reached gingerly for his hand, and if he did not pull away she’d lift it to her face, rubbing his thumb sensually with her fingers, caressing the curves of the appendage. Her breathing became heavy, and after a nervous glance at the Lord’s face, she rubbed her cheek against his thumb, looking extremely content doing so. A moan escaped her lips, though she did not seem to notice.

Off Topic

Wondering why this was labeled mature? Here’s your answer.

It’s begun.

[Tristan Venora]

“I have money“, Tristan retorted in much the same tone that Yana had used as she informed him that it would cost him and crossed his arms as well. That was all that he said on that matter though. On any other trial he would have been almost overly excited at the prospect of learning how to tail people, but there was currently a beautiful red-headed pervert sitting in front of him - a beautiful red-headed pervert that seemed to be quite willing to grant him a perfect view of her assets.

“They are the best thumbs in Idalos”, he said as Dora called them extraordinary. Humility had never been his forte, not even where his fingers were concerned. For a moment he thought that he saw the flash of something strange in her eyes, something that he didn’t like at all, but then she refilled his glass, and he decided that he had probably just been imagining things. He took a sip, thoroughly enjoying the taste. There could never be enough wine in his opinion.

She wasn’t meeting his eyes, he noticed. He found that quite endearing and just a little bit amusing. Who would have thought that Dora Duim, a pervert with a thumb fetish who associated with shapeshifting mages would be shy? “I’m not that scary”, he informed her as she confirmed his suspicion that she had been intimidated by his astonishingly good looks and laughed.

While Yana immediately stood up as Dora sat down between them on the couch, Tristan did of course do no such thing, but moved a little closer to Dora instead. He cast a glance at the Yludih and smiled at her, hoping that she would enjoy the show before he focused his entire attention on Dora again.

“You may”, he said and extended his hand. As she rubbed her cheek against his thumb and almost immediately started to moan he raised an eyebrow. Of course his thumbs were amazing, but still, he hadn’t expected her to be quite as enamored with them. He didn’t mind at all though. In fact he quite enjoyed the way she reacted. He let her play with his thumb for a while because it was clearly what she was into before he withdrew his hand again.

A moment later he cupped her face with both hands and caressed it with both thumbs which she would hopefully enjoy twice as much as one thumb, and then he pulled her closer, attempting to kiss her. She really was an extraordinarily beautiful woman, and her fetish only made her more interesting in his opinion.