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+---- Thread: cover me in kerosene (/showthread.php?tid=9820)
cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
If Charlie was an artist she'd spend most of her time in a brothel, especially one as nice as Molly's, so it only made sense to think she might find Mateo there. (Then again, Charlie would spend most of her time in a brothel regardless of what her profession was, but nevermind).
Having found her way into a wrap-around leather booth, the little ancient was admiring some of the purchases she'd made earlier that afternoon (nipple tassels, a glittery corded whip, and a pair of boots nearly as tall as she was), while people-watching. Brothels were the best for that, and though she'd received some attention from the staff, there wasn't anyone who'd properly caught her eye yet. Everyone was lovely of course, but having opted for a cocktail and a rolled cigarette filled with cloves and just a little snapdragon, the priestess was enjoying just watching the blur of colours and bodies as they paraded in front of her.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-16-2024
Luckily for Charlie, whilst Mateo is not an artist full-time, he's nonetheless a frequent visitor of Mother Molly's. Tonight he isn't even working (i.e. dutifully applying makeup to the finest ladies and gentlemen of the establishment) but has dropped by, rather, to pick up a jacket he'd left behind a day or so before. The White Hart and several other places in the Silk Houses have already received his custom this evening, and so he slinks in with all the overconfidence of the socially lubricated, leaning very easily indeed against the counter to corral one of the greeters.
With eyes lined with gold and kohl, an outfit that consists mostly of black netting and his curls left wild around his face, the botanist is akin to death's drunk little brother out for a rave. And whilst he doesn't see the little Ancient at first, he is very interested in the body that sidles up to press against his own, indulging in an impromptu makeout session as his coat is retrieved from the back rooms.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
With hazy whorls of smoke clouding the room between she and Mateo, at first Charlie doesn't recognize the botanist and merely eyes his choice of outfit appreciatively. It's only as he bends to greet the person at his side that the ancient recognizes his face if only because of the hands that tug his curls away from his eyes. With a gasp of delight, Charlie waits until the pair part for air before wriggling her way up onto the leather seat of her boothe and waving. [say]"Hey! Purrfetta!"[/say] She calls out, laughing, her voice a buoyant thing that cuts across the low music and hushed conversations with ease. [say]"Mateo!"[/say]
Not quite dressed to be dancing on the tops of tables—perhaps if Isla's suggestion had come more than just a few minutes before she'd boarded the skyship—Charlie is still clad in a characteristically short dress that hugs her curves everywhere that leaves very little to the imagination.
In a blink she's suddenly across the room, standing at his side and grinning up at him. [say]"Tada!"[/say] She declares, before flashing a warm smile to his friend. [say]"I told you I'd come visit!"[/say]
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-16-2024
Luckily for Charlie, Mateo's friend is soon forgotten, firstly by the arrival of his jacket - a bulky thing that honestly looks as if it's been created from some antique patterned carpet - and second by the Ancient herself. Accepting the garment, he turns at the sound of his voice (albeit a little slower than usual, but reflexes hey) and offers a bright and immediate smile, one that turns promptly into confusion when she disappears - and then reappears? - across the room.
Only now does true recognition bloom across his face, dimples appearing with the force of his grin, and he sets his jacket down on the counter so he can greet her properly, i.e. by almost drawing her off the ground in an embrace. [say]"Charlie, you made it!"[/say] he trills, kissing each of her cheeks and drawing back. [say]"And you found your way to the most exciting part of town, I see. Tell me you did not just come up here to visit me?"[/say] No, actually, say you did, his eyes seem to beg.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
Unlike some, Charlie doesn't mind at all being lifted off her feet, and so as Mateo bends down the little ancient wraps her arms around his neck and squeezes him tightly. Beaming such that the botanist will find her cheeks as round and plump as other parts of her physique as he kisses them, the blonde settles back onto her feet with a coquettish roll of her eyes. [say]"Of course I did!"[/say] She gushes. [say]"What else in this city could be better than seeing you?"[/say]
Glancing belatedly at the jacket, and then taking in his makeup properly, Charlie's expression grows a touch speculative even as she bats her eyelashes up at him. [say]"Are you just heading out? Or in? Or...up"[/say] Glancing toward one of the staircases where a gaggle of young men were tugging one another up the stairs, Charlie lifts her eyebrows expectantly as her blue gaze returns to Mateo.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-16-2024
[say]"Ah, you have not seen the inside of several of these rooms, then,"[/say] Mateo says with a wicked lilt to his smile, because whilst he is, yes, rather wonderful, Molly's could offer a great number of things worth Charlie coming to visit. [say]"Either way, I am very glad to be able to host you in this wonderful city."[/say] And whatever comes of their renewed meeting, more's the better for Mateo. The botanist follows her gaze to his coat and (after a second or two) he remembers the purpose of his visit.
[say]"I am, in fact, going out,"[/say] he tells her with an overbright grin. [say]"And I insist that you come along and join me. You will be able to see all the best parts of the Silk Houses from the comfort of this."[/say] So saying, he grabs up his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders. [say]"How does that sound? Please say it sounds good, or I worry that you will break my heart."[/say]
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
[say]"I haven't, though I've been tempted quite a few times since I've been here."[/say] The blonde whispers a touch conspiratorily before the laughter seems to fall from her lips. Of course he was going out; though it was already good luck to have run into him on her first day in Stormbreak, Charlie was still a little disappointed. But, oh! Not for long! Parting her cherry-red lips in a loud gasp of surprise, the blonde nearly bounces in place such is her enthusiasm, pausing only as he draped the jacket over her shoulders.
[say]"Oh, one second!"[/say] Bouncing up to press a quick kiss on his mouth, Charlie blinked! across the room, back to her booth. Lifting her glass she drained the liquid that was inside and, after a moment's consideration, donned all the items in her shopping bags rather than carrying them. With shoes that put her about six inches taller than she had been and nipple tassels applied beneath her dress, Charlie reappeared at Mateo's side with her new whip in hand and the black cigarette tucked in the corner of her mouth.
[say]"No broken hearts on my watch! Let's go!"[/say]
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-16-2024
[say]"You ought to allow yourself to be more than tempted before you return to the Grounds,"[/say] Mateo trills, grinning. [say]"Ah, but you did manage to get to the Grounds in the end, yes?"[/say] He assumes so, or the package of snapdragon oil he'd sent to her is likely to have been used by some very bemused priests in the Temple. (Gods, he kind of hopes it has been now, for the image alone).
[say]"For you, I will give a thousand seconds,"[/say] he assures her, watching her blink across the room again as if still unsure whether he's actually seen it. Given the amount of booze and drugs in his system, who knows? Either way, she returns soon enough and, having sort of missed it the first time, he presses another kiss to her mouth, cigarette and all. [say]"Bellissima,"[/say] he purrs his approval at her outfit.
[say]"Let us go, then!"[/say] As if he hadn't walked in alone, Mateo slips an arm around her and marches them back out of Molly's and into the bustling lanes of the Silk Houses as if he ought to have an entourage. He probably did at one point too, to be fair.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
[say]"I will."[/say] Charlie vows, her voice a feigned whine as if Mateo was asking her to eat her vegetables rather than to sample Stormbreak's delicacies. [say]"And I did! There's so many other ancients there, it's really wonderful. I've been doing a bunch of work on the Temple."[/say] She explains in a breath. [say]"That's why it's taken me so long to come up here and find you."[/say]
But then she's gone and back again, and Mateo will find that her lips taste vaguely of narcotics and unrefined sugar and that her eyes light up every time he speaks to her. [say]"Bellyseammaaa."[/say] Charlie parrots, poorly, though the garbled attempt is immediately smothered by laughter as she wraps an arm around him in turn.
Having to take several steps just to match one of his, Charlie nevertheless glides along at the botanist's side. [say]"So where're going?"[/say] She wonders, playfully snapping the length of the whip against her new boots.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-16-2024
[say]"Mmm, that you are,"[/say] Mateo purrs as she mimics him, grinning and ambling out onto the streets with Charlie tucked beneath his arm. [say]"Work, you say? Is Charlie of the Hollowed Grounds an architect of some sort?"[/say] He'd never thought to ask, honestly, when she'd come across him on the Rainbow Road. In his defence, his lips had been rather busy elsewhere for the majority of their encounter.
As for where they are going, Mateo grins and gestures around at the lights and music of the Silk Houses in full swing. [say]"There is a bar I like to frequent for cocktails and dancing,"[/say] he says, [say]"and a very lovely little den where you can sample the finest Dreamdust. Oh, and a casino that looks like a Ludo shrine."[/say] Pick your poison, or something entirely different, his smile seems to say.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-16-2024
[say]"Mmhmm!"[/say] The blonde confirms brightly. [say]"Ha! No!"[/say] She laughs. [say]"I'm their priestess!"[/say] Glancing up at Mateo like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Charlie scrunches her nose. [say]"It's what I was before. I've been asleep for centuries, did I tell you that?"[/say] She couldn't remember. [say]"Seems like almost everyone has forgotten the old ways, so I guess it's good that someone found me and warmed me up, huh?"[/say]
Tickling her fingernails up his side as she considered her options, Charlie twirls the whip a few times. [say]"Well...those all sound amazing, but...I know I've just put these boots on and I'll probably regret it, but I haven't been dancing in so long. Can we do that? You won't mind too terribly?"[/say]
Flashing the botanist a fanged smile that very much seemed to suggest she'd happily make up for any inconvenience it caused him, the blonde prettily fluttered her lashes as she let her lips fall into the fullest poutiest pout you ever did see.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-20-2024
[say]"Their priestess?"[/say] Grinning hard enough to put his dimples on full show, Mateo lets his free hand flutter to his chest. [say]"Gods, now I feel as though I ought to have been much more delicate with you when we first met."[/say] The mirth in his voice is enough to show how few regrets about it he has, and Charlie had given as good as she'd gotten besides. He supposes all the Dygra talk makes much more sense now, too.
[say]"You may have,"[/say] he admits, because Mateo absolutely can't remember either. [say]"And I would consider it a very good thing, bella. Otherwise we would never have met, no?"[/say]
Given that the botanist has had zero direction or preference even as he'd listed the options to the petite priestess beside him, he lights up readily enough at her decision, giving her a gentle squeeze against his side. [say]"Lovely as your pout is, I would never dream of keeping it on your face for longer than necessary. Dancing it is - follow me!"[/say]
Turning on heel to walk them down a skinny lane between Molly's and the neighbouring establishment, Mateo takes them on a brief but interesting tour of the Silk Houses, where Charlie will be able to see everything from writhing bodies to street performers to secluded little wine bars. He eventually ducks them through an archway and in through some double doors where the music is loud and the lights are set to magically change, and the bass can be felt in one's bones. [say]"How is this?"[/say] He grins.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Charlie - 07-25-2024
[say]"Mmmhmmmm."[/say] The ancient confirms, her cheeks swollen with pride before her smile crumples with her laughter. [say]"Oh hardly. One day you should come with me to the Temple and I can talk you through the ways I normally worship."[/say] The bounce of her eyebrows suggests that yes, sex absolutely is involved.
Despite the newness of her shoes or the way her strides are necessarily short and choppy given the length of her legs, Charlie easily keeps stride with Mateo as they wander down the darkening corridors of the Silk Houses. Several times she parts from Mateo to use her whip to slap a particularly round looking ass, or to put her fingers into her mouth and wolf-whistle her approval at a performer, but otherwise, she remains cheerfully glued to his side.
[say]"Ahh!"[/say] Letting her head tilt back as the music envelops them both, Charlie places a hand over her chest where the bass beat has her bones humming. [say]"This is perfect!"[/say] Having to yell over the music though not seeming to mind at all, the ancient reaches for one of Mateo's hands that she might tug him immediately into the heart of the throbbing mob of dancers.
RE: cover me in kerosene - Mateo - 07-25-2024
[say]"Only if you allow me to worship in turn, in my own way."[/say] Mateo grins back at Charlie. [say]"I do not put much stake in any of the gods, but I imagine I could bend at your altar all night."[/say] A line that only becomes increasingly true as they glide through the Silk Houses together, and it's lucky that Mateo isn't a particularly tall man, such that the priestess beside him might not have to hurry quite as much as if she were matching someone with longer strides.
They enter the rave as though they were meant to be there, and through the glare of lights and the deep thrum of the music, Mateo accepts Charlie's hand instantly, and he snags a couple of shots of something as she draws him into the thick of it. Offering her a glass before smoothly knocking back his own, the botanist is already moving his body to the beat and reaching out to tilt up Charlie's chin towards his waiting lips.
What's better than dancing, after all, if not dancing and making out?