new kid on the block

lily from what i’ve tasted of desire i hold with those who favor fire A few days - a week? - have given her time to adjust, explore, and (somewhat) acclimate. Though truth be told, Lily’s doing a rotten job of accepting some of the possibilities of her new reality. Bastien’s been kind, of course, but she can’t stay with him forever. Her ‘survival’ skills are all based on civilized trade; tit(s) for tat, one favor for another, entertainment for food - a patriarchal system of female enslavement -  but she tried not to think of it and manipulated those oh so pliable men well enough. Though her fingers and toes are cold far more often than she’d like, and though her hair is greasy, her eyes unlined, and her curves hidden by warm but shapeless clothing, Lily is still alive. It seems to be a small miracle to her. She’d like to start over and make a mark in this world - but how? How can she put her old skills to use? Is there even a market for what she does? Her musings take her off course; luckily for Lily the sun is bright and the weather is fine, wandering will not put her in any danger (yet). Not until this thing called LongNight…? Which apparently they must prepare for. Personally, she’s still wondering where she will stay, but, ah, first things first. When her pretty little bright red head surfaces from her thoughts, she finds herself in the middle of a series of stone circles. Head tilts to one side as she regards them with curiosity. What could they mean - what could this place be?

Gently a warm wind rushes around the head-bowed woman. It encircles her as lovingly as a hug and as completely as a woolen blanket. Do not lose hope it whispers into her mind, her thoughts, her soul. We are here with you now. Sleep and be refreshed. Lily would find herself inexorably pulled towards sleep. The ground beneath her would rise and lose its snowy texture, instead offering a bed of moss as fine and comforting as any feathered bed the entertainer might once have slept in. Sleep will envelope her, and her dreams will be of a faraway place of laughter and lights, music and dancing. She will awake feeling restored and energized, ready to take this place at face value and triumph over it.

lily from what i’ve tasted of desire i hold with those who favor fire Do not lose hope! Almost as quickly as if she’d smoked opium, Lily finds herself overwhelmed with a pleasant drowsiness, neither cold nor wet snow impeding her decision to just take a nap right here, right now. In fact, she feels as if she were wrapped in a thick woolen blanket, so far away is Deepfrost and the troubles of this strange new world. How strange it must look, to see a woman on a pile of moss, dreaming of something that undoubtedly makes her happy! A faint smile stretches across her lips as a ball whirls through her head (entirely different from Bastien’s Masquerade), complete with lords and ladies in resplendent garb, a full string quartet, and a mouth-watering buffet of everything Lily’s only ever heard of. She twirls the night away, captures their hearts, and leaves at the end of the night full of the guests’ adoration. She is loved, and purely for being herself. Green eyes slowly blink open and she finds herself in a small clearing amidst the show. Not much time has passed, but she somehow feels as if she’s slept for a full eight - nay, ten! - hours. And there’s still time to get some tasks done! Lily picks a few clumps of moss off before heading back to The Settlement. Upbeat. Optimistic. Ready to become the singing sensation Caido never knew they needed.