in these trying times we're not trying

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

It had been months since Remi had last seen the Nightengale. He'd always assumed that Phoebe was merely keeping her head down and doing Frey's work; perhaps she'd finally been made a demigod and had been swept away. Only now did it occur to him, after all this time, that he owed her much more than mere assumptions of her wellbeing.

Dressed simply in a plain white t-shirt and tan pants, the alchemist pushes open the door to the brothel, looking as though he might be a regular customer given his familiarity with the place. True, he hadn't visited in seasons, but having helped construct and defend this building once upon a time, its layout was still quite firmly rooted in his mind. Not waiting to be assisted by one of the staff, instead, Remi immediately heads towards the ornate banister and up the stairs, the top of which would lead to a door, which in turn would lead to Phoebe's apartments.

Or, would have at one point in time.

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

At one point it was, in fact, Phoebe's apartment. That was no longer the case. The girls waited and waited and waited for any word from their Madame. There hadn't been a single letter, message, or any communication since she left. Which was some time ago. With Phoebe gone the upstairs apartment remained empty for some time. Until Maeve moved in. She was effectively acting as the Madame in every way but title. Why shouldn't she have the nice room?

As Remi approaches the door, there is nothing to be heard. This area is just as soundproof as the rest of the rooms within the brothel. Had there been sound to greet him, perhaps he would have hesitated before opening the door. Given that isn't the case, he's instead met with a cacophony of sounds. Moans, grunts, cursing, and skin against skin. They don't stop when the door opens. Whoever makes up this tangle of limbs on the bed clearly uncaring of their company. It isn't until the man makes a final thrust of his hips and the woman's moans dissolve into panting that they finally notice.

Maeve glances over her shoulder, brows knitting together before a slow smile spreads on her lips. "Well, I wasn't expecting any extra company, but I wouldn't turn it down." She shoves at Locke's hip, urging him off of her so she can climb from the bed. Maeve doesn't bother reaching for a robe as she approaches Remi, looking him over from head to toe. "Especially not from someone like you," Maeve coos, reaching out to finger at the collar of his shirt, smoothing a hand over his chest before it drops back to her side. "Unless you aren't here for that?"

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

Rather than entering a room occupied by scents of sweet tea and honeysuckle, as Remi pushes the door open, it's to find a woman who is decidedly not Phoebe. Witnessing sex in a brothel of all places shouldn't have surprised the alchemist as much as it did, but then again, despite the Nightengale being close to Frey, associating her with sex was one of the very last traits he'd have ascribed. "Oh." He mumbles lamely, the sway of Maeve's breasts and Locke's grunt making his thoughts a sudden haze. Blinking at them a moment longer than he likely should have, Remi steps back from the doorway, his eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

What?

Had Phoebe been inside? Was this...a...lesson? Was...she helping them..? Were they..?

But suddenly Maeve is before him, petite and smelling of sex, with her hand against his chest and her finger beneath his collar. She's met by confused green eyes and cheeks flushed with colour as Remi resists the urge to bashfully ruffle his fingers through his curls.

"I...was looking for Phoebe. Isn't this..?" He turns his head toward the door, meaning to communicate, isn't this her room?, before the sight of a naked Locke has him abruptly averting his eyes toward the ceiling.

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

Oh. Well that certainly explains it. Maeve sighs, turning away from him to reach for a robe that's hanging from a rack tucked next to the door. Thin arms slip into satin sleeves and she quickly belts it around her waist. Her attention turns to Locke who is still sprawling naked on her bed already slipping into a post coital nap when Remi clearly averts his gaze. Some people were so weird when it came to nudity. The small woman breezes over, tossing a spare blanket over his waist before finally fixing her eyes back on Remi.

"It was, but not anymore. Phoebe is..." She trails off, brows knitting together as she seems to chew on her words for a moment. "Gone. Has been for some time. Come in and have a seat." Maeve motions towards the small table nestled next to one of the windows. A small tea set already rests on the top, a gentle steam rising from the spout of the pot. She pads with bare feet over to the table, settling into one of the chairs and pouring herself a cup.

She carefully places two cubes of sugar into the soft amber liquid, stirring it gently, "I'm assuming you're a friend of hers?" Maeve takes a slow sip from her tea, letting the warm liquid soothe her. "Oh! Sorry, I'm Maeve. Forgive me. Post orgasm brain." She laughs, waving her hand dismissively.

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

Flushed and awkward about nudity indeed, the tension in Remi's shoulders relaxes only marginally once both Locke and Maeve are covered. He deflates more still to hear that not only are these not Phoebe's rooms, but that the madame (former, apparently) is gone.

Glancing into the room, the alchemist does as he's told with a boyish shuffle to his step despite his broad frame. Slumping into the chair and offering the woman across from him a bashful smile—his eyes decidedly staying away from the snoozing figure on the bed—Remi ruffles a hand through his curls. "Sorry, I'm.." ..not having sex with my husband? Have had sex with a woman for what might as well have been the first time just the other day? Can very clearly still smell sex in the air? "..intruding.' He manages at last with an apologetic wince.

Shaking his head, her apology entirely unnecessary given it was he who barged in, Remi does his best to get his thoughts in some semblance of order. "I'm Remi. And yes, Phoebe and I are friends. We haven't spoken in some time, but I assumed she was just busy with all of this." He frowns, for the first time looking something other than boyishly awkward as he gazes out the window. "Do you know if she left on her own?"

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

There is something awkward about walking in on a couple during the throws of passion. Nothing for it, really. Just something that comes with it. Being in her line of work, she just wasn't as prone to that awkwardness anymore. The corners of her lips tug up into an amused smile as she regards him over the rim of her teacup. It's adorable how boyish he seems with his curls and the way he hunches himself to become smaller in the chair that clearly doesn't fit him.

"Intruding? Nonsense, love. We were just finishing." Literally. She chuckles at her own choice of words, delicately plucking a biscuit from an ornate crystal plate that rests between them on the table. Maeve takes a bite from the buttery confection, chewing slowly as she listens to him speak. Seems that Phoebe didn't really inform anyone of where she was going. Curious. The Madame was always a bit flighty in her opinion. Prancing in and out of the Halenani on various tasks or visits with Frey.

The worry is evident in the way he frowns, staring out into the distance. Maeve sets her tea down, placing the biscuit back onto the plate, "As far as I'm aware, yes. She did leave on her own. She was always in and out of here. It's been... months? We haven't gotten any letters or communication from her. I don't even know where she went. She didn't tell us anything before she left." Besides that she was in charge until stated otherwise. That didn't seem like pressing information to share at the moment so Maeve kept it to herself.

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

Maeve has an easiness about her, a disarming sort of comfort in her own skin that's as endearing as it is intimidating. Remi can't help but watch her with a conflicted predatory interest, noting (unintentionally) just how slender and lacking in muscle she is. It makes more latent and hungry parts of him think she'd be easy prey, and yet it is a very different sort of person who can sit with such a casual authoritative air in circumstances such as these.

'Ah.' Remi's smile is appreciative even if it quickly falls away into a shape that more closely resembles dismay. "She...can be a bit like that." He offers, rubbing at the back of his neck as if it was his responsibility to provide some sort of defence, or explanation at least.

"Does that mean you're in charge then? If you're in this room, I assume you must be." None of the other working-staff would allow for such a thing if they didn't have to, and though the naked-man on the bed might have been Phoebe's predecessor, everything about Maeve whisper-screamed dominion.

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

The feeling of eyes on her skin isn't new. Even when people think they're being subtle, they never are. The hairs on the back of her neck prickle and she flicks her eyes to his, peeking at him from beneath her lashes in a way that would seem demure. She reaches up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, leaning her chin into her palm as she crosses the other arm over her middle lightly. The woman lounges easily, foot bobbing as her lip catches between her teeth in thought. Unfortunately she was lacking in information on the woman. Not something that happened often, but Phoebe was private about her outside life.

Maeve nods, preening a little at her unspoken title being acknowledge. Even if other people thought she could be more, the courtesan turned Madame was happywith what she was doing. "That's right. I was training under her before she left. I've been working here almost since the beginning." She reaches forward to take up her cup, bringing it carefully take a sip.

The woman wrinkles her nose, "I wasn't planning on coming up here, but when two months turned into three..." Her slender shoulders lift towards her ears in a shrug as the cup clatters gently onto the saucer when she places it back onto the table. "It just seemed like it was time. I'm sorry I don't have more I can tell you about Phoebe."

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

'Ahh. I'm surprised I hadn't run into you sooner." What with Remi having been the governor of Torchline and all, but shhhhh, we'll say he was busy. 'My apologies for that.' He adds with a crooked smile; any amount of charm he's picked up over the years is all Ronin's doing, but at least he isn't being as awkward as he had been when first he'd opened Maeve's door.

"No, no of course. And...from what I've seen—"—which so far was just the stairs, and then the Madame getting fucked on the bed just a few feet away—"—it all looks like it's running as well as it ever has."

It hasn't escaped his attention that while Maeve sips tea, she hasn't offered him any. Whether this is a powerplay or simply a non-verbal way of suggesting that he needn't stay any longer than he needed to, Remi doesn't know. 'Well..' Rising, his eyes unintentionally glancing toward the sleeping figure on the bed before shooting away, he clears his throat quietly. "..I appreciate it just the same. It was nice to meet you."

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

She flashes a smile back. It's sweet and utterly disarming with the way it lights up her face. The girl wasn't lacking in charm, that much was clear. "Oh no need to apologize. I spent most of my time hiding away. The sun and I don't usually agree, you see." After the words leave her mouth, she seems to realize just how that sounds and her brows knit together.

"I'm not Ascended. Obviously. Just... pale," the word is punctuated with a giggle and she shakes her head. Soft snores mingle with the sound of waves and birdsong that lays just outside her window and Maeve grows quiet for a moment as he pays her the compliment. "Thank you... I like to think I'm doing well. I haven't changed anything really. Just doing things the way Phoebe did." Which is true. The woman hasn't made any changes. There wasn't much need to. Not with the way they established things in the first place.

It's only when he starts to stand that she remembers herself. Her eyes go wide and she stands quickly, reaching for his hand to keep him from going. "Gods... I'm really not on it today. I don't host like this much. Please, sit. You don't need to rush off." She doesn't wait for his answer, already turning to making him a cup of tea, placing it in front of him. Small lavender buds float on top of the amber liquid, swirling gently from the steam. "He'll likely sleep for some time, anyway. I wore him out."

Maeve motions towards where Locke still rest on the bed, chest rising and falling slowly with his breathing. Of course she caught the look that Remi gave Locke. Whether he meant her to or not. "Is that your preference, then? Men?"

With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean
She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene

REMI

the lullaby

& i feel like i'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

Remi's smile is instant as he shakes his head. "No, I.." He laughs. "..I don't have anything against the ascended." But he very much ought to. "I think probably just having someone like you here has helped." Realizing how that sounded, Remi's brows shoot up. "I only meant..well, you've met Phoebe. It was because Frey asked her that she started this place. And for a want to protect those in this industry, but not because she had any—" Ugh, sorry Phoebe. "—skill in this area."

Her hand against his, has the alchemist halting, noting how soft her fingertips felt against his. Watching as the tea was poured and now feeling utterly bound by its presence, Remi's lips stretch out into a quick smile that is replaced by flushed cheeks and a rather flustered flutter of his lashes.

"I thought so." He mumbles as he sits, feeling suddenly like man he once was, bashful and closeted and uncomfortable in his own skin. "Or..well.." Really, it was only the fact that Maeve seemed effortlessly content in this setting that Remi can untie his tongue enough to answer, as if her natural ease was contageous. "Until a week or so ago, had you asked, it would have been an unequivocal yes. But now...I had slept with women before, when I was younger, but only because I had to. The society I came from..." He shakes his head, waving a hand slightly to indicate both how terrible it was, but also that it didn't need further explanation. "..and I never enjoyed it. Recently though, there was a woman. I just...it's complicated."

& i know that you'll use them, however you want to

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Maeve

Oh. She likes that. His smile is just as boyish as all the others, but it's cute the way he tries to keep it contained when he laughs. "Someone like me, huh?" Maeve coos, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth as a smirk curls onto her lips. Her fingers drum against the top of the table, the tapping of her nails somehow in time with the crashing of the waves outside. She is well aware of the fact that Phoebe lacked in this area of expertise. Not that it was the other woman's fault really. She was very sweet and took care of all of them. They had a safe place thanks to her, but she definitely didn't drip sex.

She giggles, reaching forward for his free hand and taking it, giving his fingers a soft squeeze, "Oh stop worrying, love. You aren't going to offend me. Saying that I have skill in my line of work is a compliment more than anything." The Madame doesn't hold his fingers captive for long. Instead she releases them in favor of taking up her tea when he speaks again. Green eyes level on him, seeming to see right through him and into his soul with her keen gaze. It isn't intrusive, the way she looks at him, but soft. Understanding. Like nothing he says could phase her or change her opinion on him. He will find only acceptance there.

Maeve stands slowly, moving towards a screen that divides the room into two. She pushes it back carefully, revealing a steaming tub. What was the point of being the Madame if you didn't get perks like this? Her fingers dip into the water, swirling through the heat slowly before she reaches for a vial of something, pouring a slow stream into the bath. "You know, my first time I ever had sex was with a man. Before I came here and Phoebe took me under her care, I worked at a place similar to this. One that didn't care too much about whether or not its workers were being treated right." She swirls her hand through the water, mixing up the oil she added as she perches on the edge of the tub.

Her eyes move back to him and it's the first time he sees her smile dim, "The Madame I worked for before... I came to her very young. I was only sixteen at the time. Never been with anyone. Too busy trying to survive. She knew this..." Maeve takes a breath, lips pressing together in a thin line as she recalls that night. The night she turned eighteen and the night the Madame auctioned her virginity off like it meant nothing. Like Maeve was just a thing to be used. "My first time went to the highest bidder, if you can believe it. For the longest time, I thought that was how sex was. How it worked. That it wasn't meant to be pleasant. It wasn't until I had my first woman that I learned that not to be true. I didn't like either of them before. Men or women. Didn't know I was able to."

She shrugs, pushing up from the edge of the tub and moving back over to him. One hand finds his shoulder, curling there lightly while the other lifts his chin to meet her eyes. "There is nothing wrong with not knowing or with changing your mind about what you like. Sexuality is a fluid thing. Our desires are fluid." Maeve murmurs as her thumb brushes across his bottom lip, head tilting to the side as she regards him. "I could help you uncomplicate things... At least, I could help you figure out if it was just her or if that desire extends beyond her..." The offer is unassuming. Just an offer. One he can take or refuse. Her feelings wouldn't be hurt either way.

Poor little girl
still waiting for her happy ending

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

He is worrying of course, her fingers tightening around his own doing little to assuage his guilt. Perhaps it's because this place reminds him so much of the ones he spent the majority of his evenings and mornings in as a boy that has Remi reverting back to such an easily-flustered idiot. He doesn't know, but he wishes he could find a way to untie both his stomach and his tongue from the knots that they both find themselves bound by.

Watching her as she rises and reveals a pre-drawn bath, Remi reaches for his tea, taking a sip that's far too ambitious and burning his tongue in the process. With a wince he sets the cup back down as quietly as he can as soon as Maeve begins to speak, not wanting to interrupt. His smile is soft and sad, but surprisingly understanding. "I can believe it." Remi replies, and despite everything thus far, he's able to meet her stare with an unwavering one of his own, if only for a few seconds.

"Growing up after my mother died, my father spent a lot of time in places like this. Well," Remi shakes his head with a hollow laugh. "-much worse places. The woman were so kind to me, even though it was my own father who left many of the bruises they carried with them down the stairs in the morning." He looks down, his eyes resting somewhere near Maeve's knees perhaps, as he sighs. "I never understood that." He never understood how there could be such kindness in places of such cruelty.

"Where I came from...there was a big emphasis on reproduction. We were building a new society, and so...being gay was punishable by death." His cheeks are flushed now, but it's more out of anger and resentment, the colour climbing into his curls. "Every woman I had ever been with was..." But the words slip away as she draws near, leaning over him and drawing his chin up. For as strong as he is, Remi is easily lead, and it's with a naive curiosity that he blinks up at her.

'How?' The word is no more than a breath as if Remi's lips are paralyzed by the fingertip brushed against them. The how is obvious, but in Remi's mind he's stupidly envisioned some magical device that might just tell him the answer.

THE LULLABY

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Maeve

The story is touching. Of course he didn't understand. How can you when you don't live that life? Maeve looks down at the man before her, a soft smile on her lips, "It's never the children's fault. They're just innocents who were dealt a shit hand. How could we treat you poorly too? It's just not in us." The us she's referring to isn't clear. Whether she means other prostitutes or just women.  Not that it really matters.

There is a certain thrill that comes with having control over another person. Their trust and willingness to give in to her whims. Her desires. Remi might not realize it, but he's already falling into her. Maeve laughs, the sound quiet and almost breathy, as she cradles his face between her hands. "Oh, you sweet thing... The how is easy. All you have to do it trust me a little bit." She murmurs, barely having to bend so she's closer to him. His height does most of the work for her and she's easily able to dip her head down so her nose nudges his.

"Think you can do that, Remi?" It's clear he can leave at any point. Her hold on him isn't tight and it would take nothing for him to break away. He can choose to stay or go. She won't be hurt one way or another.

Poor little girl
still waiting for her happy ending