[SE] mud free zone

Lily People love shit that’s exclusive. Throwing her head back a bit in conspiratorial laughter, Lily sighs and agrees. “That they do, my friend. That they do.” Anything that makes people feel chosen, special, wanted, often above others. It’s something she wants, too.   Then the conversation turns to her partners, and Lily’s energy downgrades a bit. “I did, yeah. He died right before LongNight, though, so I’ve been flying solo ever since.” It isn’t a sad confession, necessarily, but there are some definite emotions behind the words. She’s working on getting over it, and she knows Lucas probably wouldn’t have taken this long to move on, but Lily so rarely catches feelings. “You might have known him, actually. Lucas? He was an Ascended, too.” Once she thinks about it, Lily realizes that she’s actually quite close with the Ascended group. As a whole they’re good people and though she knows the Blight was perpetrated by their Goddess, she has a difficult time holding on to grudges. It happened. She didn’t die - no one died, except for Arduinna. Is she ever going to worship the Voice? No, not after that. But if the Christian God can send a flood to wipe out all of humanity and then have a singular family come back and repopulate the earth without any bitterness? Well, who is Lily to question the ways of the divine? Surely it was for a reason. Just the way that the gods and their heralds imprisoned the Grounders for three centuries. No one’s lookin’ like the good guys to this Outlander. women are like tricks by sleight of hand which, to admire, we should not understand

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

Amun smirked at Lily’s laughter. It slipped away when she mentioned her dead lover. "I'm sorry for your loss, hot stuff." His tone was serious, for once. When she brought up Lucas, however, the potter glanced away. "No, I didn't get a chance to...didn't know him." Watching the man die certainly didn't count as knowing him.

Wanting to take his mind off the sad sob love story, he grinned again, all traces of discomfort gone. "But hey, if you two were close, I'm sure he wouldn't begrudge you having a bit of fun." Winking at her, took a step closer, aiming to sling an arm across her shoulders. "Fiat Lux is coming up, and I heard it's an excellent time for finding new love. Maybe someone will catch your eye, hot stuff. And I have no doubt that you'll be turning heads yourself."

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

Lily Sob story? Yes. Love story? Not so much. Fuck buddies and with time, they might have been more, but it was never in either of their blood to settle down. Her regret mostly stems from treating him like shit while she was blighted! And letting that interaction be their last. Amun does manage to make her laugh a big with his quip about Lucas. “Oh, he would have insisted.” On an orgy, most likely, even though half their original party is now dead (RIP Edy, Ezra and Lucas), she imagines they could rustle up some more participants. With a not-so-sad sigh, the redhead takes hold of Amun’s hand as he slings it across her shoulder. “If it’s anything like last year, I’m sure I will. I’m a devil on the dance floor.” And as if to demonstrate, she twirls under the arm of the hand she’s holding and then steps back in to take a proper couple’s position for the start of a waltz or whatever the fuck they have here. “Hey weird question, but since you’re here - can you tell me about the Voice? Whats she like? And why did she do the blight stuff?” She’s genuinely curious, there’s no intent to attack either him or her, not while they stand in front of the Temple’s altar to the Gods. women are like tricks by sleight of hand which, to admire, we should not understand

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

Amun grinned at Lily’s comment. "Well, then, hot stuff. Since you want a new partner, and your old partner would want you to find a new partner, and I think you should have as many partners as you'd like, it seems to me you should go out there and reel some people in." As if the words weren't bad enough, his tone was positively sinful.

When she twirled away, the Ascended let out a delighted laugh. However, he kept turning her, sliding his hand around her back to rest between her shoulder blades while grasping her own in his other hand. A waltz was far too tame for his tastes, so instead he winked before he led her into a tango, his steps certain as he pressed their bodies together. They danced to music only he could hear, though before too long he started humming so she could follow along. Arriving at a wall, he dipped her, or tried to, before reversing direction.

He kept moving, though obviously the music cut off as he answered her questions. "I only arrived last season, so I can't really speak to the blight." Not at all apologetic about that fact, he tried to twirl her again, before pulling her back into him, pressing their bodies together. "The Voice, however, is fantastic. All she wants is for us to be our best selves, and to open the world to those who wish for their freedom." The awe in his voice was apparent.

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

Lily She lets the Ascended lead her in the moves, trained to follow a man’s direction on the dance floor - she may not know what a tango is, but under Amun’s firm hand, she hardly ever steps on his toes. And at some point, it’s almost as if she stops thinking and just moves, hearing the music in their hips and arms and in the imaginary heels she’s now wearing, elevating herself to adjust to the smaller steps and alternating staccato - smooth rhythm of the dance. A soft shriek of laughter slips out as he dips her, breaking the spell. “What kind of dance is this?” she demands, properly scandalized by the sexuality and loving it, knowing she probably would have been imprisoned or hanged or burnt at the stake (worst case scenario) for this at home. “Like a mother,” Lily muses after his description. “Does she really look like how Bastien painted her?” Her eyes glance to the depiction above the temple’s altar (screw timey wimeys).  It was a beautiful work of art, reminiscent of the religious paintings of their world, with The Voice as the Virgin Mary or Jesus, or a saint. And would he actually paint all the Gods? That, it seems to her, is what would make him a true artist. Dedication to beauty, to the things that must be felt and loved and need so much more expression than just words. women are like tricks by sleight of hand which, to admire, we should not understand

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

Lily was an excellent dance partner, and Amun found himself grinning as she responded easily and quickly to his lead. Pulling her up from the dip, he pressed his body against his (or tried), leaning forward to whisper wickedly in her ear. "It's a dance for lovers, hot stuff." Then he started up the dance again with a chuckle, the sound dark and low. "Or friends that are just hoping to have a little fun."

Altering their course so they were dancing straight towards the hanging portrait, the potter was quiet as he considered the redhead's description and the painting both. "Like a mother, yes. And while Bastien's work is a wonderfully accurate portrayal of her, even he can't quite capture her aura of power and benevolence." The awe in Amun's voice surprised even him.

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

Lily She lets the potter guide her, happy to play along in this little interlude of flirting and happiness. When they draw up to the altar, Lily signals that she’s ready to stop. Stepping away from the Ascended, she takes a moment to look up at the portrait, considering it with surprising seriousness. “That sounds nice. There’s a lot of shitty religion stuff going around here… I’m glad she’s good to the Ascended.” The Outlander may tend towards Frey, but she doesn’t want anyone getting hurt. War is bullshit, as far as she’s concerned. Which is why she sticks to loving. “Well. This was surprisingly fun. I’ll see you at Fiat Lux?” Giving Amun a squeeze on the shoulder, Lily heads for the door. {Fin for Lily!} women are like tricks by sleight of hand which, to admire, we should not understand

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

As soon as Lily signaled that she was ready to stop, Amun brought them to a halt and released the redhead. Stepping back, he swept into a shallow bow. "It was a pleasure dancing with you, hot stuff." Straightening, he smirked at her.

Following her gaze, the smirk morphed into a grin. "As long as the people like us outnumber the people who seem to want conflict, I think we'll be okay." At her question, he nodded, eyes mischievous. "See you at Fiat Lux. I'm looking forward to it, hot stuff." He winked at her. "And I can't wait to hear your performance. I'm sure it will be as gorgeous as you are." With that, he let her depart with a grin.

-FINISHED

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN