Having his sight proxied through Aurora's eyes had been a normal occurrence for Eternalis, having experienced it many times in battle, when Aurora's battle analysis allowed him to view enemy-ridden fields from a second perspective. This situation of being blinded himself and relying on her visual feed alone, however, was new to him. He could clearly hear Aurora giggling mischievously as the holographic display's viewport zoomed in slightly on Lyntael's midriff, where her piercing was, allowing a cropped, yet dangerously view of the underside of her very modestly sized chest, down to the elastic of her pajama bottoms.
The teasing view was broken quite fast, however, as Lyntael herself leaned forward into the display, causing Eternalis to fall over on his back to the side and Aurora to burst out in laughter. "Someone's getting a little too confident!" Aurora called out, poking Lyntael away on her forehead with the tip of her finger. She then cut off the visual feed, and crawled over to Eternalis, using the same pointed finger to gently tip up the brim on his cap. The slime Navi's surprised face greeted her, and she grinned impishly.
"You can just sit there and call out the game. Make sure to appreciate me, okay?" she said, turning around to flaunt her own body in a sensual sway to the background music. Was she still drunk? Even Aurora wasn't quite sure herself, as much fun as she was having, leading Eternalis around with her teasing.
When Lyntael expressed her uncertainty over her little tease earlier, something seemed to flip a switch inside of her. Perhaps it was the earlier alcohol, but she really wanted to see more of that reaction now. "Well, you sure don't look like you don't know what you're doing!" she said, shoving Lyntael on her arm, before turning to Eternalis. "Start it up!"
To the side, Eternalis seemed to be unsure as to where to where his hands should be; should he be going along with this, now that Aurora seemed to be even teasing him with something other than herself? Another part of him reasoned that the time to be hesitant about the entire thing had long since passed, and that he should simply go with the flow. His mental sync with Aurora was also much clearer now, indicating that she was perhaps even sobering up. Unfortunately, this also came with a clearer transmission of Aurora's current lustful state, a state which he did not particularly want to expose to Lyntael. Was it right to?
His thoughts went up in smoke as the spinner beeped loudly to indicate the start of the next round, and Aurora yelled over at him. "Come on, Eternalis!" Jolted into action, he scrambled over to take manual control of the spinner, and hesitatingly called out the first of the moves while the two girls got into position.
Now being a lot more detached from the increasingly physical party game, Eternalis watched with glassy eyes as the other two twisted and wrestled for dominance over the other. At some points, he somehow forgot that the spectacle before him was that of two half-dressed girls, before a yelp or a moan from either of the two caused him to be acutely aware once more.
Aurora herself was having some good fun taking some sneaky pot shots at her opponent, now that it was just the two of them. Her half-slimy midsection allowed her to get away with more than what she should have, until finally, one laughter-filled tickle exchange led her to triumph over Lyntael.
After the latter admitted her defeat, Aurora grinned widely at her. With her back facing Eternalis, she turned her head just enough to steal a glance at him. "Well, if it's the wrong way around, it's no skin off my back," she said, before she stood up, and began tracing lightly down the middle of the tear that she had made down her front with her fingers. When it caught on the bottom, she traced the tear back up along its edges up to her chest, and pulled it up to expose her top half, leaving the torn suit hanging around her shoulders.
She crossed her arms over each other and pulled the material off of her arms before seamlessly shifting to her hips, pulling open a gap with her thumbs around the edge. Aurora then bent over and slowly pulled down the thoroughly ripped suit down her legs, before peeling it off of her feet and stepping out of it. With the suit under her feet, she stood over Lyntael with her hands at her hips with a triumphant grin, though her face betrayed a slightly flushed expression.
At the side, Eternalis seemed to be clutching the spinner device tightly at the brazen display, unconsciously wrapping it in tendrils. Without his input, the device called out the next round, while he stared ahead at Aurora's bare figure. She mischievously giggled, before going back to the mat as instructed by the game.
The next round had Aurora's attacks focus more on garnering responses from Lyntael, rather than actually attempting to make her lose. She wasn't quite sure herself as to why, but each little moan Lyntael made was exciting her, she was chasing after it without really thinking about it, and her head seemed to be filling itself with clouds.
In the middle of it, she snapped out of her dreamy state, and abruptly lost her balance; her back found itself on the mat as Lyntael stuck out her tongue on top of her in victory. The sound of the spinner device declaring Lyntael's win was oddly muffled for some reason, gurgling as if it was in a pot of water. At the same time, she found herself stuck staring up at Lyntael's face, until Lyntael moved away on to the edge of the mat to extract her own piece of clothing.
She glanced over at Eternalis, and was surprised to find him rocking along by himself next to the wall, breathing heavily as he hugged himself with his silly jeans-wrapped arms. Wriggling blue slime tendrils were snaking in and out of the surface of his body, as if he was fighting the urge to have his body go out of control by redirecting the tentacles into himself. Inside his body, the spinner device flickered its lights erratically as his face showed a half-lidded spacey smile.
"Heh, heh, wow..." said Aurora, breathing heavily herself from exertion as she dragged herself over to his side. He seemed unresponsive, only looking ahead at Lyntael, which Aurora turned to as well, both being transfixed by the second half of her striptease. At the end of the show, both of them were silently leaning against the wall, with the only noise they made being the heavy breathing from Aurora.
"One more round, huh, heh heh. What do you think, Eternalis?" Aurora turned her head to her side towards Eternalis. The Navi seemed to at least have enough lucidity to turn to her. His right hand weakly reached over to her left, and gently grasped it. Her fingers felt the tendrils snake around them as he did so, and they felt as cold as he usually did, but for some reason, her hand began to warm up.
"I want... I want... want..." she could hear him breathe out, unable to complete his sentence as his smile earlier became more of a pleading expression. "Want to let go..."
Aurora giggled slightly, and she held up Eternalis's hand, pointing it towards Lyntael. "Sorry, Lyn, I think Eternalis got a bit too much out of that last bit. Might be best for him to go home. Unless you want to join in?" she teased.
A Space Reserved, and Forgotten.
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Lyntael's chest felt tight; she needed to breathe harder than she was, and at the same time felt the urge to control it so she wasn't visibly panting. Her head felt strangely light... not quite dizzy, but the roar of heat all over her face and skin was set against an almost cool shudder as she tried to work out exactly what was happening, and if it should. A part of her felt detached, disbelieving, questioning, wondering what was going to happen, and wondering if, or when, something would break and return them all to more stable ground.
Another part of her ached. Ached in a way she'd rarely felt before, and as she sat on the carpet opposite her companions, knees and thighs pulled together on one side in an effort at modesty, it took far more willpower than she felt like she really had to spare not to do something to take care of that need. Her mouth was parted slightly, breathing quick and shallow and making her chest rise and fall more notably as she stared back at where Aurora and Eternalis had watched her performance in seemingly rapt attention. They seemed as overcome as she felt... Had she caused that from them both? Lyntael swallowed, trying to work moisture into her mouth again; it had gone dry since she last spoke. A hum of current tingled across her skin and faint lines of light were growing visible all across the now thoroughly exposed pale expanse of her form.
Everything was too warm and none of it mattered. Her eyes moved back and forth between them as she tried to martial thoughts into an order that would let them move forward somehow. She was all too aware of muscles in her groin growing tense and then trying to relax again as her body made its borderline painful demands.
“I... Ah...” Her eyes were drawn more towards Eternalis as she fumbled for something to say that would break the tension of what she was feeling. She'd asked 'what next', but too many possibilities, wild and improbable, exciting and frightening all at once were filling her imagination. She had no answers, no idea how to answer if it any of those things were suggested. the visual of gooey tendrils and tentacles rising off him and sinking back again conjured another catalogue of thoughts and Lyntael clenched her teeth. A part of her wanted to think about it, and began doing so feverishly, while the rest of her tried to thrust those thoughts away. Eternalis... didn't look... well.
As her eyes lingered on the roiling tentacles, a thread of worry crept in amongst her other sensations. He barely seemed responsive now. Surely that wasn't just the way he... her mind flashed briefly on the fragments of memories she still had of her friends' more intimate moments. Sort of, but something or as well. Hesitant, Lyntael dropped forward onto her hands and knees and crawled forward across the distance until she was closer to the pair.
“Is.. Is he... A-are you okay?” Closer, she could see the way he was looking at Aurora, hear her breathing as well. There was a link they shared, she knew that, but while Aurora looked almost as turned on as her own body felt, this close, Eternalis looked... almost animal in his state. Like he was holding something aggressive and hungry back. As he gave a response, more to Aurora than her, Lyntael's eyes went wide and she felt another spike of adrenaline flood her. He really was... her thoughts jumped to half a dozen different words, some more tactful than others, some more terrifying than others, and she found herself sitting back on her heels again, oblivious to her pose as the realisation caught her by surprise. It was hard to really think of Eternalis... like that. Memories said he could be, but, she hadn't seen it, until now, and there it was, wild and hungry just beneath the surface. This was going too far... Like this, he wasn't really himself, was he...?
Her eyes darted across to Aurora as the other woman lifted their hands together and reached out to her; whether she'd intended it or not, Lyntael read a coy, drawing desire in the other woman's words. Less of a joke, and more of an eager invitation. Her eyes went back to their raised hands, the blue goo rippling with smaller tentacles that could potentially do any number of things to both of them. Now she did feel dizzy; a surreal, detached sense of wavering, on the edge of a decision. One hand rested down behind her for support, fingers curling in the soft carpet, as her other hand pressed against her emblem; just below she could feel her heart hammering.
“I... I-I um... Is... Should...” words fumbled as she felt... weak. Like her limbs had no strength. the play of light under her skin accompanied tiny cracks in her hair. “I... I don't think... Um... I mean... I-it's... it's not, um, not that I don't want... I... Eternalis, he's ah...” For a moment, she thought about how he seemed, trying to create the words she needed. Her mind flashed on images of him as a wild beast, monstrously hungry. He was holding it back, he wanted to let go... the mental image made her flinch suddenly, drawing back a bit, and her eyes squeezed shut as her shoulders hunched and she turned her face away.
“I'm sorry... I... I don't think I'm...” her shoulders shifted from side to side for a moment as she looked for a way to avoid the story-book cliche, and failed. “I'm not... not really, um... you know, ready for something this... ah... this... ah, um... f-full-on? You know?” She knew her body wasn't matching her words, flushed and panting as she was, with a dampness about her thighs all too obvious already, and she struggled to make another apology.
“I-I just... I think I want...” unthinking, her raised hand dropped down first to politely cover, then rest against the indecent heat at her groin. The contact alone was enough to force her to stifle a groan. “N-not, um, you know... so... so... I-I want it to be um, ah... gentle... slow... and, um... I mean...” She couldn't think of any way to delicately say that Eternalis seemed to be on the edge of ravishing whatever he touched. That wasn't what he was like, normally... Her cheeks were about to burst into flame, she was sure of it. There was no way she was trying to have this conversation, surely. Her hair sparked and cracked as she tried to find somewhere safe to look.
Another part of her ached. Ached in a way she'd rarely felt before, and as she sat on the carpet opposite her companions, knees and thighs pulled together on one side in an effort at modesty, it took far more willpower than she felt like she really had to spare not to do something to take care of that need. Her mouth was parted slightly, breathing quick and shallow and making her chest rise and fall more notably as she stared back at where Aurora and Eternalis had watched her performance in seemingly rapt attention. They seemed as overcome as she felt... Had she caused that from them both? Lyntael swallowed, trying to work moisture into her mouth again; it had gone dry since she last spoke. A hum of current tingled across her skin and faint lines of light were growing visible all across the now thoroughly exposed pale expanse of her form.
Everything was too warm and none of it mattered. Her eyes moved back and forth between them as she tried to martial thoughts into an order that would let them move forward somehow. She was all too aware of muscles in her groin growing tense and then trying to relax again as her body made its borderline painful demands.
“I... Ah...” Her eyes were drawn more towards Eternalis as she fumbled for something to say that would break the tension of what she was feeling. She'd asked 'what next', but too many possibilities, wild and improbable, exciting and frightening all at once were filling her imagination. She had no answers, no idea how to answer if it any of those things were suggested. the visual of gooey tendrils and tentacles rising off him and sinking back again conjured another catalogue of thoughts and Lyntael clenched her teeth. A part of her wanted to think about it, and began doing so feverishly, while the rest of her tried to thrust those thoughts away. Eternalis... didn't look... well.
As her eyes lingered on the roiling tentacles, a thread of worry crept in amongst her other sensations. He barely seemed responsive now. Surely that wasn't just the way he... her mind flashed briefly on the fragments of memories she still had of her friends' more intimate moments. Sort of, but something or as well. Hesitant, Lyntael dropped forward onto her hands and knees and crawled forward across the distance until she was closer to the pair.
“Is.. Is he... A-are you okay?” Closer, she could see the way he was looking at Aurora, hear her breathing as well. There was a link they shared, she knew that, but while Aurora looked almost as turned on as her own body felt, this close, Eternalis looked... almost animal in his state. Like he was holding something aggressive and hungry back. As he gave a response, more to Aurora than her, Lyntael's eyes went wide and she felt another spike of adrenaline flood her. He really was... her thoughts jumped to half a dozen different words, some more tactful than others, some more terrifying than others, and she found herself sitting back on her heels again, oblivious to her pose as the realisation caught her by surprise. It was hard to really think of Eternalis... like that. Memories said he could be, but, she hadn't seen it, until now, and there it was, wild and hungry just beneath the surface. This was going too far... Like this, he wasn't really himself, was he...?
Her eyes darted across to Aurora as the other woman lifted their hands together and reached out to her; whether she'd intended it or not, Lyntael read a coy, drawing desire in the other woman's words. Less of a joke, and more of an eager invitation. Her eyes went back to their raised hands, the blue goo rippling with smaller tentacles that could potentially do any number of things to both of them. Now she did feel dizzy; a surreal, detached sense of wavering, on the edge of a decision. One hand rested down behind her for support, fingers curling in the soft carpet, as her other hand pressed against her emblem; just below she could feel her heart hammering.
“I... I-I um... Is... Should...” words fumbled as she felt... weak. Like her limbs had no strength. the play of light under her skin accompanied tiny cracks in her hair. “I... I don't think... Um... I mean... I-it's... it's not, um, not that I don't want... I... Eternalis, he's ah...” For a moment, she thought about how he seemed, trying to create the words she needed. Her mind flashed on images of him as a wild beast, monstrously hungry. He was holding it back, he wanted to let go... the mental image made her flinch suddenly, drawing back a bit, and her eyes squeezed shut as her shoulders hunched and she turned her face away.
“I'm sorry... I... I don't think I'm...” her shoulders shifted from side to side for a moment as she looked for a way to avoid the story-book cliche, and failed. “I'm not... not really, um... you know, ready for something this... ah... this... ah, um... f-full-on? You know?” She knew her body wasn't matching her words, flushed and panting as she was, with a dampness about her thighs all too obvious already, and she struggled to make another apology.
“I-I just... I think I want...” unthinking, her raised hand dropped down first to politely cover, then rest against the indecent heat at her groin. The contact alone was enough to force her to stifle a groan. “N-not, um, you know... so... so... I-I want it to be um, ah... gentle... slow... and, um... I mean...” She couldn't think of any way to delicately say that Eternalis seemed to be on the edge of ravishing whatever he touched. That wasn't what he was like, normally... Her cheeks were about to burst into flame, she was sure of it. There was no way she was trying to have this conversation, surely. Her hair sparked and cracked as she tried to find somewhere safe to look.
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"I'll be... I'll be fine... Just need to... calm myself down," breathed out Eternalis, in response to Lyntael's worried query. His left arm was a little hard to define as looking like an arm for much longer, with its mass of tendrils and wild deformations, but at the end of it, his hand was clenching intermittently over his chest. He closed his eyes, and tried take some deeper breaths, but with every breath sounding more like a restrained grunt, it clearly didn't seem to be working.
Despite her own daring invitation, Aurora was somewhat confused with her own actions. Of course she knew what was going on with Eternalis, as she herself had been providing him with her own lurking desires, and she could somewhat tell how close he was to his boiling point. She was even toeing the line by taking hold of his hand and making physical contact; her hand sank further into Eternalis's liquefying arm with every moment. But besides that, she was also entranced by how Lyntael looked at that moment. The desperate look in Lyntael's eyes was mirrored by the other person in the room, and Aurora wanted more. So much so, that before she knew it, she had asked the question off-handedly.
She immediately started regretting it as the words left her mouth, and Lyntael began fumbling with her response, sparks under her skin looking like a rippling pool at this point. Part of her stuttered response made Aurora's eyes widen, however, as Lyntael teetered on the edge of actually accepting her sudden prompt, while also backtracking repeatedly every time. "Ah, well, you know, it's okay! It was just a thought, ha, haha. My bad!" she blurted out. At that point, both of them were stumbling about, while Aurora was getting more acutely aware of the increasing volume of Eternalis's breathing.
Aurora shot up to a standing pose, and clapped loudly in an attempt to break the awkward air. She then paused for a moment, before turning her head about, scanning the room. Her eyes stopped upon seeing her discarded suit in the middle of the room. "... Oh! Right," she exclaimed, before looking down at her bare self. She closed her eyes, and moments later, a brief shimmer went down her entire body, reapplying her suit and causing the discarded one on the floor to vanish in turn.
Opening her eyes again, she looked down and tugged slightly at her rear, as if to check the fit, before audibly sighing. As she did so, she spotted the beeping spinner device inside of Eternalis's wildly deforming body and winced. "Oh, dear, I didn't notice that..." she said, turning back to Lyntael with an apologetic smile, while scratching idly at her cheek. "Um, I guess it'd be a bit hard to pull that out right now without, uh, setting him off... Do you mind if I brought it back after this, at some point, maybe?" Then, clasping her hands together in front of her legs, she made a little bow. "I'm so sorry we cut this off so suddenly, on such an odd, uh, note, but I had a lot of fun. If you'll have us again, I'd really like to come again!" said Aurora, her smile a mix of apology, joy and slight sadness.
Despite her own daring invitation, Aurora was somewhat confused with her own actions. Of course she knew what was going on with Eternalis, as she herself had been providing him with her own lurking desires, and she could somewhat tell how close he was to his boiling point. She was even toeing the line by taking hold of his hand and making physical contact; her hand sank further into Eternalis's liquefying arm with every moment. But besides that, she was also entranced by how Lyntael looked at that moment. The desperate look in Lyntael's eyes was mirrored by the other person in the room, and Aurora wanted more. So much so, that before she knew it, she had asked the question off-handedly.
She immediately started regretting it as the words left her mouth, and Lyntael began fumbling with her response, sparks under her skin looking like a rippling pool at this point. Part of her stuttered response made Aurora's eyes widen, however, as Lyntael teetered on the edge of actually accepting her sudden prompt, while also backtracking repeatedly every time. "Ah, well, you know, it's okay! It was just a thought, ha, haha. My bad!" she blurted out. At that point, both of them were stumbling about, while Aurora was getting more acutely aware of the increasing volume of Eternalis's breathing.
Aurora shot up to a standing pose, and clapped loudly in an attempt to break the awkward air. She then paused for a moment, before turning her head about, scanning the room. Her eyes stopped upon seeing her discarded suit in the middle of the room. "... Oh! Right," she exclaimed, before looking down at her bare self. She closed her eyes, and moments later, a brief shimmer went down her entire body, reapplying her suit and causing the discarded one on the floor to vanish in turn.
Opening her eyes again, she looked down and tugged slightly at her rear, as if to check the fit, before audibly sighing. As she did so, she spotted the beeping spinner device inside of Eternalis's wildly deforming body and winced. "Oh, dear, I didn't notice that..." she said, turning back to Lyntael with an apologetic smile, while scratching idly at her cheek. "Um, I guess it'd be a bit hard to pull that out right now without, uh, setting him off... Do you mind if I brought it back after this, at some point, maybe?" Then, clasping her hands together in front of her legs, she made a little bow. "I'm so sorry we cut this off so suddenly, on such an odd, uh, note, but I had a lot of fun. If you'll have us again, I'd really like to come again!" said Aurora, her smile a mix of apology, joy and slight sadness.
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The moment twisted and frayed as they each fumbled on the edge of desire, caution,care and eagerness. Lyntael knew that if her friends pushed, she'd probably give in; another part thought she'd get scared; another said she'd enjoy it; another said she'd regret it in the end; another said it was just what she needed. Aurora pulled back more firmly as she tried to explain, and Lyntael found herself nodding along as her friend withdrew the offer and tried to move away from the tense crossroads.
Even as she nodded, and a sense of relief made her sink back on her heels, the danger passed, another part of her writhed and groaned internally. She couldn't keep the distressed conflict from her features as she nodded more firmly and looked own at the carpet, taking longer breaths herself as she tried to calm down. She wanted what was offered; she wanted it so badly right now that her body was aching for it. It was all right there for her to try, truly and properly for the first time... why hadn't she just said yes? It was too late now. The moment was gone. It was probably for the best. Eternalis wasn't himself. He'd regret it too. But if she'd just said yes... If she'd just been more assertive, wouldn't it have been fine? Light, she needed to take care of herself...
The war of thoughts was somewhat visible to Aurora and Eternalis as the smaller woman tried to visibly relax herself and breath more evenly. The play of light under her skin danced and her hands shook; the politely covering ward before her groin had balled into a fist and it was easy to see the twitches and shudders as the girl fought the urge to do something more inappropriate with the hand, rather than just covering herself. She rocked slightly, holding back a frustrated groan.
“Ah... Yeah... right... M-maybe later, some... some other time, um, when I'm... ah...yeah, maybe... some... some day...” She swallowed nervously, still panting and trying to even out her breath. “We shouldn't... do this... now.” This time the disappointed groan did manage to slip between her teeth before she could stop it, and she curled over on herself slightly in her efforts to quell the physical frustration that taking the offer off the table more firmly was causing her.
The matter decided, Aurora was swift to move on, though Lyntael just found herself nodding in a somewhat distracted daze as her friend perked up and tried to drag some normalcy back to the atmosphere. As Aurora dressed, Lyntael nodded to that idea as well, and turned about, back on her hands and knees as she retreated to her own bundle of clothes, and inadvertently giving her guests one last clear show of her behind and intimate areas as she shuffled her top back on and finally managed to pull her pyjamas back up as well.
The distressed spinner drew her attention as aurora pointed it out and Lyntael gave a rueful glance at the open box, then nodded as she carefully got to her feet as well. Her body still felt weak and lacking strength, and the strong physical sensation of need was drowning out most of her other tactile responses. She swayed slightly.
“'s okay... I... um... you can get it back... um... whenever...” she swallowed again, fingers flexing and twitching unconsciously as her eyes travelled the room. “I should, um... I need to... clean things up and put things away. It's okay. It was really fun. I... I hope we can hang out again soon!” Another couple of moments passed as they sorted out quick goodbyes and Lyntael watched Eternalis with a mild sense of apprehension and a small sliver of regret, before she moved to the panel near the main screen and made a few quick adjustments to it.
“I, um... I can monitor the out-link from this side, while I'm here, so, getting you guys home again should be a little smoother, hopefully... Sorry to be so abrupt...” The flush in her cheeks, and down her neck and chest hadn't faded at all, even though Lyntael herself seemed to be getting her breath back a little. “If you're just going right home, it should be fairly stable... I'll, um, I'll count you in, so you can brace for it... sorry he's so harsh about security... Ready...?” As she gave a count in to the transition with the fingers on one hand, Lyntael spared a last quick glance for each of them, smiling properly. “Thank you. Thank you both so much for all of this! Um... have fun!”
----
After the pair had gone, Lyntael leaned back against the wall and vented a long groan while sparks danced in her hair and she hugged herself tightly, thighs pressed tight together. It might have been the right choice, but that hardly made the growing feeling of discomfort as her arousal began to fade any less unbearable. For a short few moments she made an effort at starting to clean up, then growled in frustration again and darted from the living area, shoving the door to her bedroom mostly closed behind her. Within moments, the crack and flash of electricity started to creep around the crack in the door, and for the second time that evening, arcs of lightning began to fill one of the rooms in the small home.
Even as she nodded, and a sense of relief made her sink back on her heels, the danger passed, another part of her writhed and groaned internally. She couldn't keep the distressed conflict from her features as she nodded more firmly and looked own at the carpet, taking longer breaths herself as she tried to calm down. She wanted what was offered; she wanted it so badly right now that her body was aching for it. It was all right there for her to try, truly and properly for the first time... why hadn't she just said yes? It was too late now. The moment was gone. It was probably for the best. Eternalis wasn't himself. He'd regret it too. But if she'd just said yes... If she'd just been more assertive, wouldn't it have been fine? Light, she needed to take care of herself...
The war of thoughts was somewhat visible to Aurora and Eternalis as the smaller woman tried to visibly relax herself and breath more evenly. The play of light under her skin danced and her hands shook; the politely covering ward before her groin had balled into a fist and it was easy to see the twitches and shudders as the girl fought the urge to do something more inappropriate with the hand, rather than just covering herself. She rocked slightly, holding back a frustrated groan.
“Ah... Yeah... right... M-maybe later, some... some other time, um, when I'm... ah...yeah, maybe... some... some day...” She swallowed nervously, still panting and trying to even out her breath. “We shouldn't... do this... now.” This time the disappointed groan did manage to slip between her teeth before she could stop it, and she curled over on herself slightly in her efforts to quell the physical frustration that taking the offer off the table more firmly was causing her.
The matter decided, Aurora was swift to move on, though Lyntael just found herself nodding in a somewhat distracted daze as her friend perked up and tried to drag some normalcy back to the atmosphere. As Aurora dressed, Lyntael nodded to that idea as well, and turned about, back on her hands and knees as she retreated to her own bundle of clothes, and inadvertently giving her guests one last clear show of her behind and intimate areas as she shuffled her top back on and finally managed to pull her pyjamas back up as well.
The distressed spinner drew her attention as aurora pointed it out and Lyntael gave a rueful glance at the open box, then nodded as she carefully got to her feet as well. Her body still felt weak and lacking strength, and the strong physical sensation of need was drowning out most of her other tactile responses. She swayed slightly.
“'s okay... I... um... you can get it back... um... whenever...” she swallowed again, fingers flexing and twitching unconsciously as her eyes travelled the room. “I should, um... I need to... clean things up and put things away. It's okay. It was really fun. I... I hope we can hang out again soon!” Another couple of moments passed as they sorted out quick goodbyes and Lyntael watched Eternalis with a mild sense of apprehension and a small sliver of regret, before she moved to the panel near the main screen and made a few quick adjustments to it.
“I, um... I can monitor the out-link from this side, while I'm here, so, getting you guys home again should be a little smoother, hopefully... Sorry to be so abrupt...” The flush in her cheeks, and down her neck and chest hadn't faded at all, even though Lyntael herself seemed to be getting her breath back a little. “If you're just going right home, it should be fairly stable... I'll, um, I'll count you in, so you can brace for it... sorry he's so harsh about security... Ready...?” As she gave a count in to the transition with the fingers on one hand, Lyntael spared a last quick glance for each of them, smiling properly. “Thank you. Thank you both so much for all of this! Um... have fun!”
----
After the pair had gone, Lyntael leaned back against the wall and vented a long groan while sparks danced in her hair and she hugged herself tightly, thighs pressed tight together. It might have been the right choice, but that hardly made the growing feeling of discomfort as her arousal began to fade any less unbearable. For a short few moments she made an effort at starting to clean up, then growled in frustration again and darted from the living area, shoving the door to her bedroom mostly closed behind her. Within moments, the crack and flash of electricity started to creep around the crack in the door, and for the second time that evening, arcs of lightning began to fill one of the rooms in the small home.
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Even with how much Aurora herself was fidgeting about, she noticed how much Lyntael was being hesitant about the entire thing. Part of her wished she had just pulled Lyntael along for the ride, but her own sense made her think better of it, especially since she had retracted the offer on her own already. In the middle of dressing, she had felt something familiar weakly wrap around her feet as well, causing her to sharply inhale in response. She had resisted the urge to turn back, and simply put her foot down on the insistent blue tendrils with a weak electrical charge, in order to dissuade Eternalis from going any further. Despite her efforts, the slime continued to wrap around her ankle, though it wasn't quite enough force to trip her over. I'm sorry, please hold on a little longer, her little heart thought.
As Lyntael went over to the administrative panel, she recalled the fact that their trip here hadn't been as smooth as a normal PET transfer, and that they were about to go through the static-filled emulation tunnel again. This time, however, she somewhat welcomed it; the pain could be a respite from the aching heat that seemed to be rising from inside her, and maybe briefly shock Eternalis out of the arousal feedback loop that she herself had started. "I-It's okay! We'll get through fine," said Aurora, giving Eternalis a quick glance; his body was steadily getting more out of control, and had already taken in her entire foot, working its way up her legs. She nodded quickly to Lyntael's query, before blurting out a final bit right as she vanished into the link. "You too!"
[>> Harke's Homepage - Homepages.]
As Lyntael went over to the administrative panel, she recalled the fact that their trip here hadn't been as smooth as a normal PET transfer, and that they were about to go through the static-filled emulation tunnel again. This time, however, she somewhat welcomed it; the pain could be a respite from the aching heat that seemed to be rising from inside her, and maybe briefly shock Eternalis out of the arousal feedback loop that she herself had started. "I-It's okay! We'll get through fine," said Aurora, giving Eternalis a quick glance; his body was steadily getting more out of control, and had already taken in her entire foot, working its way up her legs. She nodded quickly to Lyntael's query, before blurting out a final bit right as she vanished into the link. "You too!"
[>> Harke's Homepage - Homepages.]
last edited by Rogan
The days that followed saw Lyntael keeping to herself for the most part, but the discomfort that had lingered and the uncertainty, seemed lighter and more distant. She carefully stored the strange packet of chips that Eternalis had left behind on a shelf in the pantry. A part of her debated simply getting rid of them, but warmer, redder thoughts stayed her hands, so they ended up hidden away instead. She caught her thoughts lingering on the evening that she'd spent with Aurora and Eternalis; any time other important matters didn't take precedence, her mind drifted back to linger on the unexpectedly heated encounter.
She'd almost done it... She probably would have regretted it, at least a little, but she had almost gone all the way through with the idea. She didn't really think that she thought of Eternalis in that way, not when she was calm, and sober, and... not being influence by strange arousal-inducing chips. Aurora was very pretty as well, and it had been a surprise to find herself contemplating the other woman in similar ways. She'd never considered other women as a possible... interest. She'd never looked at another woman that way before, but being close to Aurora, and seeing her behave like that had been strangely comfortable. As she washed up her mug and turned it over on the draining board, Lyntael looked out the window and frowned to herself as she watched the river go by.
Evening thinking about it now... it didn't particularly stir any... responses, for her. Aurora was beautiful... sexy, if she was going to use adult words about it... and she didn't mind seeing her in an erotic state, and she thought she might be comfortable enough being in such a state herself in her company in future, even without alcohol or... chips... but even so, it didn't exactly 'do' anything for her, not in the way imagining how she wanted her first actual intimate encounter to be, usually did. It was strange. Her mind had dwelt on the thought often, since that evening, and she felt fairly sure that she'd be comfortable and even able to enjoy... being intimate, with Aurora, if the other woman still wanted to do something like that, but her thoughts always came back to the idea that she'd be 'okay' with it, that she'd be 'comfortable' with it... not that she desired it personally. She would want to do nice things for her friend, and make her friend feel nice, though. She could be certain of that much.
Eternalis was a more difficult series of thoughts. Mainly, after she calmed down and regained her senses, it was still very difficult for her to think of him in a directly erotic sense, despite everything they'd done and the memories she'd seen. She could imagine herself in Aurora's positing, in those memories, and enjoy those thoughts, but it was just thinking about what she might feel, not about the person, and that wasn't right at all... but Eternalis wasn't really... like that, at least, not in her mind...
Her musing continued as she wandered back to her bedroom and retrieved the book from her bedside, curling up on the living area couch to read, and soon enough her thoughts were lost in philosophical theory instead of confusing romance questions.
It was almost an hour later that outside sound cut through her reading, and Lyntael looked up at the sound of Rogan's voice, standing quickly and setting the book aside. Unthinking, she smoothed her skirt, even though she could see that the screen was still asleep on Rogan's side.
“Lyntael. We have work to do. I have acquired what I need to get what we came here for, and we have a few days to make preparations. There are several things I will need you to do, and much you will need to know to do it.” The screen lit up as Rogan picked the terminal up and she saw a spinning glimpse of the hotel room before it settled looking at a patch of ceiling; he'd likely placed it on his work desk. A sense of ominous dread crept over the girl as she took in his words, but she pushed it down. With a brief acknowledgement, she stepped up to the large screen and raised a hand to it, slipping out of the device to speak with her operator face to face.
----------
((Heading to => The Next Mission))
She'd almost done it... She probably would have regretted it, at least a little, but she had almost gone all the way through with the idea. She didn't really think that she thought of Eternalis in that way, not when she was calm, and sober, and... not being influence by strange arousal-inducing chips. Aurora was very pretty as well, and it had been a surprise to find herself contemplating the other woman in similar ways. She'd never considered other women as a possible... interest. She'd never looked at another woman that way before, but being close to Aurora, and seeing her behave like that had been strangely comfortable. As she washed up her mug and turned it over on the draining board, Lyntael looked out the window and frowned to herself as she watched the river go by.
Evening thinking about it now... it didn't particularly stir any... responses, for her. Aurora was beautiful... sexy, if she was going to use adult words about it... and she didn't mind seeing her in an erotic state, and she thought she might be comfortable enough being in such a state herself in her company in future, even without alcohol or... chips... but even so, it didn't exactly 'do' anything for her, not in the way imagining how she wanted her first actual intimate encounter to be, usually did. It was strange. Her mind had dwelt on the thought often, since that evening, and she felt fairly sure that she'd be comfortable and even able to enjoy... being intimate, with Aurora, if the other woman still wanted to do something like that, but her thoughts always came back to the idea that she'd be 'okay' with it, that she'd be 'comfortable' with it... not that she desired it personally. She would want to do nice things for her friend, and make her friend feel nice, though. She could be certain of that much.
Eternalis was a more difficult series of thoughts. Mainly, after she calmed down and regained her senses, it was still very difficult for her to think of him in a directly erotic sense, despite everything they'd done and the memories she'd seen. She could imagine herself in Aurora's positing, in those memories, and enjoy those thoughts, but it was just thinking about what she might feel, not about the person, and that wasn't right at all... but Eternalis wasn't really... like that, at least, not in her mind...
Her musing continued as she wandered back to her bedroom and retrieved the book from her bedside, curling up on the living area couch to read, and soon enough her thoughts were lost in philosophical theory instead of confusing romance questions.
It was almost an hour later that outside sound cut through her reading, and Lyntael looked up at the sound of Rogan's voice, standing quickly and setting the book aside. Unthinking, she smoothed her skirt, even though she could see that the screen was still asleep on Rogan's side.
“Lyntael. We have work to do. I have acquired what I need to get what we came here for, and we have a few days to make preparations. There are several things I will need you to do, and much you will need to know to do it.” The screen lit up as Rogan picked the terminal up and she saw a spinning glimpse of the hotel room before it settled looking at a patch of ceiling; he'd likely placed it on his work desk. A sense of ominous dread crept over the girl as she took in his words, but she pushed it down. With a brief acknowledgement, she stepped up to the large screen and raised a hand to it, slipping out of the device to speak with her operator face to face.
----------
((Heading to => The Next Mission))
last edited by Frelia
((Eternalis/Lyn get: 65 FXP, eeeeverything in this thread up to this point is graded))
[Frelia bookkeeping: 273 + 65 = 338 FXP]
[Frelia bookkeeping: 273 + 65 = 338 FXP]
last edited by
((From => Rogan's Room))
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Sparks scattered and danced across the various ground points in the otherwise cosy bedroom while a small figure screamed into her pillow. It lasted for a few long breaths before the dancing lights died down and the laboured breaths tapered into shuddering sobs instead. The girl seemed even smaller than she was, curled up in one corner of the bed with her knees drawn up and her head down while she hugged the pillow tighter. She certainly felt small.
She'd done it again. Just like every other time. She'd just gone and picked a fight, for no reason at all. What was wrong with her? It wasn't fair of Rogan to say those things... but... what had he really said, and why had she heard it differently? Her chest felt tight and she sniffled as she scrubbed her face against the fabric. It had felt cruel, and mean. And the look in his eyes – the pain, and the hurt, and the things he wouldn't say – and it just made her so mad, and he'd said that Aurora an Eternalis... Lyntael swallowed and stopped herself, sniffling again and taking a deeper breath. No. He hadn't. She'd heard it that way, but he hadn't. This was her fault, again.
Even acknowledging that didn't help as much as it should have. Even if he was just worried, even if he was just trying to look out for her... the anger and frustration still simmered inside her, twisted and uncomfortable. What as the point of him keeping her close, if he just hurt more every time he looked at her? Why try to lock her up and keep her on a chain... he'd treated her like a thing, before, but at least he'd trusted her to help him. Not wanting to put her in danger was no different from imprisoning her, if it meant she couldn't leave. She didn't want him to hurt, didn't want to upset him... but she was tired of crushing herself just to fit the shape he wanted. He thought he was being nice now – or as close as he could move himself to it – and he didn't understand that he wasn't.
Lyntael let her body roll over weakly, without uncurling, until she was lying on her bed instead of sitting. How could she stay here, when all they seemed to do, since the incident, was hurt each other more and more... but at the same time, she had to stay; wanted to stay. He did need her, and she wanted to be with him... just not like this. Was there even an answer? Eventually, exhausted, the girl's thoughts spaced out and she drifted to sleep.
----------
Sparks scattered and danced across the various ground points in the otherwise cosy bedroom while a small figure screamed into her pillow. It lasted for a few long breaths before the dancing lights died down and the laboured breaths tapered into shuddering sobs instead. The girl seemed even smaller than she was, curled up in one corner of the bed with her knees drawn up and her head down while she hugged the pillow tighter. She certainly felt small.
She'd done it again. Just like every other time. She'd just gone and picked a fight, for no reason at all. What was wrong with her? It wasn't fair of Rogan to say those things... but... what had he really said, and why had she heard it differently? Her chest felt tight and she sniffled as she scrubbed her face against the fabric. It had felt cruel, and mean. And the look in his eyes – the pain, and the hurt, and the things he wouldn't say – and it just made her so mad, and he'd said that Aurora an Eternalis... Lyntael swallowed and stopped herself, sniffling again and taking a deeper breath. No. He hadn't. She'd heard it that way, but he hadn't. This was her fault, again.
Even acknowledging that didn't help as much as it should have. Even if he was just worried, even if he was just trying to look out for her... the anger and frustration still simmered inside her, twisted and uncomfortable. What as the point of him keeping her close, if he just hurt more every time he looked at her? Why try to lock her up and keep her on a chain... he'd treated her like a thing, before, but at least he'd trusted her to help him. Not wanting to put her in danger was no different from imprisoning her, if it meant she couldn't leave. She didn't want him to hurt, didn't want to upset him... but she was tired of crushing herself just to fit the shape he wanted. He thought he was being nice now – or as close as he could move himself to it – and he didn't understand that he wasn't.
Lyntael let her body roll over weakly, without uncurling, until she was lying on her bed instead of sitting. How could she stay here, when all they seemed to do, since the incident, was hurt each other more and more... but at the same time, she had to stay; wanted to stay. He did need her, and she wanted to be with him... just not like this. Was there even an answer? Eventually, exhausted, the girl's thoughts spaced out and she drifted to sleep.
last edited by Rogan
For a little while, Lyntael didn't open her eyes. Morning had arrived, somehow, though she didn't recall falling asleep, or any of the time in between then and now. Somewhere along the way, she had unconsciously snuggled under the bedding, but her clothes felt scrunched up and uncomfortable. Soon enough she roused and sat up and scrubbed at her face. Falling asleep in her clothes had been a bad idea and now she felt grotty, rather than refreshed. She clambered out of bed and shuffled towards the bathroom.
A few minutes and a quick shower later, Lyntael emerged wrapped in a towel and feeling much better as she made her way towards the kitchen, and the kettle. She stretched as the appliance began to heat, and looked out the window to the river beyond. She did actually feel much better; some sleep and some distance made a lot of difference, in the end. A quick check told her that Rogan was already awake and working – he had found something important to focus on, and it seemed to be helping him get back to his normal self, somewhat... even if that meant he was back to keeping unnaturally long hours. Even amongst all the other problems, she was glad that he seemed to be coming back from the 'spending hours staring into space' place he'd been in a week previously.
Lyntael fixed herself a light breakfast in between making the tea and ate it just as quickly, mostly still at the kitchen counter so she could wash and drain everything she'd used at the same time. The process was mostly unconscious and soon the girl pulled the towel undone to slip it over her shoulders instead, heading for the newest door in her home. Now that she had a proper place to train and practice, finding time to do so as part of her morning routines had been easy, and it felt good to exercise early and get herself awake for the day.
As she descended the stairs, she wondered again if she would need to put a modesty screen on the back garden as well, or start wearing something – but a small half-smirk accompanied by only a very mild blush was the only real outward sign she gave to the thought – if Rogan was going to insist that she not leave unless It was with him, then he'd just have to deal with her using her own home as she pleased... and training with just a towel to hand was much simpler and made more sense, when there was a shower and pool to wash off in right there in the garden with her. At least, that was her reasoning... Lyntael wasn't entirely sure if she was trying to over-justify something that still felt a little bit naughty in reality. Oh well.
The mountain air was cool on her skin and bracingly fresh as she stepped out into the new space, and she threw the towel onto the porch railing and began her warm ups.
The space itself had been designed to look like a moderately-sized garden, formed of a flat shelf of rock and land naturally worn out of what looks almost to be a mountainside. The view, all around, fell away into mountain slopes at the edge of the garden, looking out over a wild, natural space; mountainous, with green forests cladding the valleys below the rocky, misted peaks. The actual limits of the space only went about a dozen feet down the mountainside, unfortunately, but the scenery was nice all the same. To one side, the river from the higher front garden fed by waterfall into a gravel-bottomed pool that then flowed out further and away down the mountainside. The pool itself had a small section of wooden decking set around the near side that ran under the waterfall as well, but otherwise had been left natural and untouched.
The main area of the training space was occupied by a large, flat space covered in fine, smooth gravel that now held a variety of abstract targets and stands, intended for several different styles of martial training and each reinforced with a metallic core and heavy-duty earths to disperse her charge as she trained. A small console in one corner let her change the settings on the equipment easily. At the outer edge of the ring, the gravel gave way to soft moss that continued out to the edge of the garden before it fell away to mountainside. There was usually a cold breeze circling around the high peaks, which the setting of the upper garden was spared, and it was perfect for working up a sweat.
Lyntael was mostly done with the morning's practice when she stopped suddenly and winced. She hadn't written back to Aurora and Eternalis when she'd gotten home last night – she'd said she was going to do that. Still panting and sweating, her eyes flicked over to the small terminal control that she used to change the settings on the training equipment – it was connected to the main terminal in her room that she used for everything else. Her eyes wandered around the training garden, and then briefly down over her own body and a playful thought crept its way into her mind. Once it was there, it wouldn't leave and Lyntael finished her drills quickly before activating a small recording camera from the terminal and setting it hovering about her person. Small gestures controlled where it flew and she checked the zoom and scope of its view carefully to make sure she wasn't being too racy, then set about composing a message.
Later, once the email was sent, Lyntael splashed back into the pool and lay on her back for a moment, looking up at the morning sky. She'd mostly cooled down but her cheeks were still very pink. That might have been a little bit too much. Oh well. It was far easier to do playful things like that, when it was just to a camera, rather than in person anyway.
“Lyntael,” Rogan's voice made her start, and she splashed upright, sinking to her neck in the flowing water just in case.
“H- Here, sir. Good morning!” Her heart thundered, only partially from the sudden shock, but she didn't dare climb out or dart for her towel right away. She heard Rogan change what he had been about to say after her greeting.
“Yes... good morning, Lyntael. Before you ask, I took a break and had some food a few hours ago. I'm fine.” His voice had softened somewhat after the initial serious call, and he got back to business almost right away, but she still appreciated that he was making an effort now. “Now... I have not heard back from Varda yet, though I don't suspect she'll leave this hanging for too long. Long enough to try to make me worry about whether they're going to bother with giving me work any more, though we both know that's no danger. Either way, we have an opportunity to pursue something else of importance. Or at least, to prepare for it. Properly this time, using our own intelligence, not Varda's. There's a excursion I intend to make, and it would be easier if I could rely on you working with me, network side. It's...” she heard the pause draw out for an extra second before he pushed one. “Not entirely necessary. It would make things smoother and faster, but it's well within my normal skill set to handle. You do not need to assist in his case.” The statement caught her off guard and Lyntael frowned to herself. Lately, it had been easier to have sensible conversations with Rogan when they weren't directly looking at one another, as much as she didn't like doing that. She glanced to her towel again and slipped from the pool to retrieve it.
“So, where are we going then? I said I wanted to help you, Rogan, and I do.”
“I know... It's not far, I just need-” his voice cut off suddenly and Lyntael froze first, before instinct made her dash the rest of the way to her towel and wrap it around herself in a hurry. Sure enough, Rogan's next words came to her as an exasperated exclamation.
“Lyntael! Are you aware that there's no censor on that room? Why are you...” He didn't finish the question but instead she practically hear him pausing to look away. He would have chosen that exact moment to look in, wouldn't he? Seemed like her usual luck with such matters was back in strength. Oh well.
“I was training! There's no point getting my clothes all sweaty first thing in the morning.”
“You can just... refresh them, in a second. Ah... can't you?” His exasperation was tinged with a moment of uncertainty. Truthfully, Lyntael hadn't really thought about that herself, all things considered. She couldn't elsewhere, but at home, when she had access to all of her outfits, she certainly could, technically speaking.
“I know... It's the principle. Anyway, I'm going to my room to dress. No peeking.” The warning, she knew, was entirely unnecessary with Rogan and at least a small part of her wished that wasn't the case. She pushed the thought aside as she headed back inside.
“As I was saying... It's not far from here. The work shouldn't be too hard, just a bit of masking to make sure everything goes as seamlessly as possible. I'll have you jacked in normally, I suspect. I'll be leaving in... about twelve minutes.” Lyntael nodded once as she finished drying off and started to retrieve fresh clothes, then remembered to answer verbally as well, though her thoughts had already drifted back to wondering if she'd over done the email.
----------
((To => Covert Reconnaissance))
((Lyntael Branch To => Shopping))
A few minutes and a quick shower later, Lyntael emerged wrapped in a towel and feeling much better as she made her way towards the kitchen, and the kettle. She stretched as the appliance began to heat, and looked out the window to the river beyond. She did actually feel much better; some sleep and some distance made a lot of difference, in the end. A quick check told her that Rogan was already awake and working – he had found something important to focus on, and it seemed to be helping him get back to his normal self, somewhat... even if that meant he was back to keeping unnaturally long hours. Even amongst all the other problems, she was glad that he seemed to be coming back from the 'spending hours staring into space' place he'd been in a week previously.
Lyntael fixed herself a light breakfast in between making the tea and ate it just as quickly, mostly still at the kitchen counter so she could wash and drain everything she'd used at the same time. The process was mostly unconscious and soon the girl pulled the towel undone to slip it over her shoulders instead, heading for the newest door in her home. Now that she had a proper place to train and practice, finding time to do so as part of her morning routines had been easy, and it felt good to exercise early and get herself awake for the day.
As she descended the stairs, she wondered again if she would need to put a modesty screen on the back garden as well, or start wearing something – but a small half-smirk accompanied by only a very mild blush was the only real outward sign she gave to the thought – if Rogan was going to insist that she not leave unless It was with him, then he'd just have to deal with her using her own home as she pleased... and training with just a towel to hand was much simpler and made more sense, when there was a shower and pool to wash off in right there in the garden with her. At least, that was her reasoning... Lyntael wasn't entirely sure if she was trying to over-justify something that still felt a little bit naughty in reality. Oh well.
The mountain air was cool on her skin and bracingly fresh as she stepped out into the new space, and she threw the towel onto the porch railing and began her warm ups.
The space itself had been designed to look like a moderately-sized garden, formed of a flat shelf of rock and land naturally worn out of what looks almost to be a mountainside. The view, all around, fell away into mountain slopes at the edge of the garden, looking out over a wild, natural space; mountainous, with green forests cladding the valleys below the rocky, misted peaks. The actual limits of the space only went about a dozen feet down the mountainside, unfortunately, but the scenery was nice all the same. To one side, the river from the higher front garden fed by waterfall into a gravel-bottomed pool that then flowed out further and away down the mountainside. The pool itself had a small section of wooden decking set around the near side that ran under the waterfall as well, but otherwise had been left natural and untouched.
The main area of the training space was occupied by a large, flat space covered in fine, smooth gravel that now held a variety of abstract targets and stands, intended for several different styles of martial training and each reinforced with a metallic core and heavy-duty earths to disperse her charge as she trained. A small console in one corner let her change the settings on the equipment easily. At the outer edge of the ring, the gravel gave way to soft moss that continued out to the edge of the garden before it fell away to mountainside. There was usually a cold breeze circling around the high peaks, which the setting of the upper garden was spared, and it was perfect for working up a sweat.
Lyntael was mostly done with the morning's practice when she stopped suddenly and winced. She hadn't written back to Aurora and Eternalis when she'd gotten home last night – she'd said she was going to do that. Still panting and sweating, her eyes flicked over to the small terminal control that she used to change the settings on the training equipment – it was connected to the main terminal in her room that she used for everything else. Her eyes wandered around the training garden, and then briefly down over her own body and a playful thought crept its way into her mind. Once it was there, it wouldn't leave and Lyntael finished her drills quickly before activating a small recording camera from the terminal and setting it hovering about her person. Small gestures controlled where it flew and she checked the zoom and scope of its view carefully to make sure she wasn't being too racy, then set about composing a message.
Later, once the email was sent, Lyntael splashed back into the pool and lay on her back for a moment, looking up at the morning sky. She'd mostly cooled down but her cheeks were still very pink. That might have been a little bit too much. Oh well. It was far easier to do playful things like that, when it was just to a camera, rather than in person anyway.
“Lyntael,” Rogan's voice made her start, and she splashed upright, sinking to her neck in the flowing water just in case.
“H- Here, sir. Good morning!” Her heart thundered, only partially from the sudden shock, but she didn't dare climb out or dart for her towel right away. She heard Rogan change what he had been about to say after her greeting.
“Yes... good morning, Lyntael. Before you ask, I took a break and had some food a few hours ago. I'm fine.” His voice had softened somewhat after the initial serious call, and he got back to business almost right away, but she still appreciated that he was making an effort now. “Now... I have not heard back from Varda yet, though I don't suspect she'll leave this hanging for too long. Long enough to try to make me worry about whether they're going to bother with giving me work any more, though we both know that's no danger. Either way, we have an opportunity to pursue something else of importance. Or at least, to prepare for it. Properly this time, using our own intelligence, not Varda's. There's a excursion I intend to make, and it would be easier if I could rely on you working with me, network side. It's...” she heard the pause draw out for an extra second before he pushed one. “Not entirely necessary. It would make things smoother and faster, but it's well within my normal skill set to handle. You do not need to assist in his case.” The statement caught her off guard and Lyntael frowned to herself. Lately, it had been easier to have sensible conversations with Rogan when they weren't directly looking at one another, as much as she didn't like doing that. She glanced to her towel again and slipped from the pool to retrieve it.
“So, where are we going then? I said I wanted to help you, Rogan, and I do.”
“I know... It's not far, I just need-” his voice cut off suddenly and Lyntael froze first, before instinct made her dash the rest of the way to her towel and wrap it around herself in a hurry. Sure enough, Rogan's next words came to her as an exasperated exclamation.
“Lyntael! Are you aware that there's no censor on that room? Why are you...” He didn't finish the question but instead she practically hear him pausing to look away. He would have chosen that exact moment to look in, wouldn't he? Seemed like her usual luck with such matters was back in strength. Oh well.
“I was training! There's no point getting my clothes all sweaty first thing in the morning.”
“You can just... refresh them, in a second. Ah... can't you?” His exasperation was tinged with a moment of uncertainty. Truthfully, Lyntael hadn't really thought about that herself, all things considered. She couldn't elsewhere, but at home, when she had access to all of her outfits, she certainly could, technically speaking.
“I know... It's the principle. Anyway, I'm going to my room to dress. No peeking.” The warning, she knew, was entirely unnecessary with Rogan and at least a small part of her wished that wasn't the case. She pushed the thought aside as she headed back inside.
“As I was saying... It's not far from here. The work shouldn't be too hard, just a bit of masking to make sure everything goes as seamlessly as possible. I'll have you jacked in normally, I suspect. I'll be leaving in... about twelve minutes.” Lyntael nodded once as she finished drying off and started to retrieve fresh clothes, then remembered to answer verbally as well, though her thoughts had already drifted back to wondering if she'd over done the email.
----------
((To => Covert Reconnaissance))
((Lyntael Branch To => Shopping))
last edited by Rogan
((From => Covert Reconnaissance))
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Steam drifted in small eddying puffs from around the crack in the en suite bathroom door, while the sound of running water muffled and hid any other sounds in the comfortable little home. Flickers of erratic yellow light danced and crackled from beyond the doorway in pulsing, repeating waves until they slowly settled. Eventually, the rush of water shut off, leaving only the low hum of a fan swiftly clearing the remaining steam from the room.
Lyntael emerged from the doorway, scrubbing a small towel through her hair roughly with one hand as she gripped a much larger one around her form and stepped onto the carpet. A few light steps across the bedroom became a slightly less graceful unravelling tumble as she let herself roll out onto her bed, casting her main towel open while keeping it under her and settling the small one beneath her head to keep any errant drips of water off her bedding. She took a long breath and let it out slowly again, eyes closed as she relaxed into the softness and felt the cool air across skin that was flushed pink with heat. It was good to be home again.
After another few moments, she shifted and resettled slightly, spreading out a bit more and lifting her hands behind her head. Her eyes opened to play across the patterns on her ceiling.
There was too much to make sense of. Too much, and too little at the same time. It was getting hard to brush off, or ignore, and every now and then she was starting to notice thoughts, feelings and memories that some part of her mind was avoiding. It had been unconscious at first – even in the middle of her confusion and frustration about the things she knew she couldn't remember... there were other things. Things she hadn't noticed because that silent, determined part of her had avoided them. It was easy to miss, but she knew she'd felt this before. Something told her that, before, she'd known what it was about and just hadn't wanted to face it. She'd found friends to help, but her recollection was sketchy; her head rolled to the side and looked across the room to where her terminal rested on one side of her workspace. Still no message from them. She brushed the thought away.
She was different. There was no avoiding it. Ever since that day, and that mission, and that fight... She didn't feel different, didn't think she was, but there were too many things that weren't lining up, and now, she was starting to realise, too many things that some part of her mind was purposely glossing over. It wasn't just the missing memories – it was something deeper, but it felt like scrabbling at the edges of something smooth and flat on a counter – she couldn't get at it, no matter how she tried. Lyntael took a longer breath in and held it, then lifted on hand up into her line of sight. She clenched the fist and focused on the warm pulsing glow of her charge, drawing it up until her hand began to crackle and glow with energy. The feeling was there – something that could easily become pain, if it grew too strong, but something that felt good to release as well. Before... Before she had been afraid of it, of the pain it brought, but those times seemed like strangely warped recollections; she wasn't afraid of it – cautious, excited, nervous at times; a tool to be grappled, a power to be used, dangerous as it was – not not afraid. She didn't... feel... like she ever had been, and yet, she remembered all the days and nights where Rogan's requests had paralysed and terrified her, and the fear of what this power could do to her had driven her to tears. She let the charge fade away again, and her body shed a small cascade of dancing sparks about her room as she exhaled and relaxed once more.
Then there was the anger... that rebellious, challenging feeling that she felt sure had always been a part of who she was – that determination not to be bested, that grit that drove her to strive and push through the hard moments. It had always been with her, or so it felt... but she could look back, and feel her mind trying to slip away from the comparison; her memories said she had never been so quick to ire, as she was after that mission. She'd barely ever gotten angry at anyone ever, before, or so she recalled when she really focused on thinking about it.
Her hand dropped to rest lightly on her midsection, where her fingers began to pluck and play absently at the small sunburst charm that pierced her navel. So much felt frustrating, and sad, but there was no focus to those feelings, and she always got distracted when she tried to pull the thread taught. Little things – little things that weren't right, or that had been right and were somehow off now, in a way they hadn't been before... and yet, she knew, knew, that the things themselves hadn't changed.
Slowly, Lyntael sat up, then stood from the bed and reclaimed the towels, hanging them up in her bathroom again before returning to the middle of her room. The carpet felt soft and welcoming under her toes. She began to stretch slowly, and then, between one pose and the next, to let her body dance.
The way she'd behaved, in the mission just gone. That had been... crazy. Not wrong, she didn't think, but wild. Driven by personal excitement and lust, to the point of compromise. She'd never been so eager to act like that before, as nervous as she'd been. She hadn't been that excited about the risks before. Graceful turns guided her slowly through the open floor space, arms raising and stretching without thought to compliment each shift in ways that felt right. What were her thoughts avoiding? What was related to this, that it was all too easy not to think about? Her steps faltered and she paused, holding still for a moment on the ball of one foot as she stilled her balance and drew a careful breath. Something dark, but it was missing. Something horrible, perhaps... but there wasn't anything to tie the sense to. She tried to focus and relax, and gradually began to move again.
What was the core of it; the thing she wasn't seeing? For the longest time, it felt like, thought of intimacy had become mixed and tainted in her mind; excitement and eagerness, fantasy and desire to explore it... but also, fear, discomfort, memory of... violence and threats, she thought, but, nothing distinct. It was just there, in her memories; the fear and trauma, but without a cause... and now, after that mission, and that missing space, whatever had scared her certainly wasn't looming now; it didn't seem real – just a construction of memories before that gap.
Her slow dancing fell into a softer, gliding movement and Lyntael made her way out into the living area of a home that felt like it should have been perfect, but just so subtly... wasn't. Absently, she turned back to a control panel and activated the privacy screen on the main living area; she'd had more than enough fun at others' expenses today. The movements of her slow dancing exercise became more broad and expansive as she shifted into the wider open space, picking up more rhythm as she did; not enough to raise her heart rate or break a sweat, but a little more energetic.
If she had still felt that fear and trauma, she would never have felt excited by what she had done today; maybe she would have always been a little bit excited by the risk and the exposure, but that worry and fear would have prevented her recognising it. That was one big difference between the times before, and the times after; it was hard to focus on, but she could see that now – see that it was. Where had it gone, or had it been real in the first place? If there were gaps in her memories, did that mean the things she did remember might be wrong as well? Her brow furrowed. Something had changed, but underneath it all, she was still herself – still here, still healthy; she still felt the same as she always had, even if some of the things she remembered didn't seem to line up. Only... her thoughts hung and wavered around the uncomfortable possibility. Only... how reliable were her feelings?
“Lyntael,” Rogan's voice cut into the air nearby and Lyntael stopped mid step. She moved to cover herself on instinct, then relaxed; the screen was up. “...Lyntael, if you're still trying to make me uncomfortable, you should probably know that the censor is active, so your efforts aren't achieving anything.” Whatever he had been about to say was replaced by a tone of wry amusement and Lyntael glanced towards the view screen, hands on her hips. The screen still showed a streamed view of a misty netopian coastline, but it was somewhere to look.
“I thought you didn't want to see me like this?” Despite the chastisement, she shrugged to herself and darted quickly towards her own room to begin getting dressed. Rogan coughed softly.
“Indeed. Regardless, you may wish to get yourself presentable... I've assessed what we retrieved, and I think you should know our next moves.” Lyntael nodded as she pulled on her vest and opened her drawers to pick out fresh undergarments.
“Yes, sir. I'll be out in a minute.”
----------
((To => Offensive Plans))
----------
Steam drifted in small eddying puffs from around the crack in the en suite bathroom door, while the sound of running water muffled and hid any other sounds in the comfortable little home. Flickers of erratic yellow light danced and crackled from beyond the doorway in pulsing, repeating waves until they slowly settled. Eventually, the rush of water shut off, leaving only the low hum of a fan swiftly clearing the remaining steam from the room.
Lyntael emerged from the doorway, scrubbing a small towel through her hair roughly with one hand as she gripped a much larger one around her form and stepped onto the carpet. A few light steps across the bedroom became a slightly less graceful unravelling tumble as she let herself roll out onto her bed, casting her main towel open while keeping it under her and settling the small one beneath her head to keep any errant drips of water off her bedding. She took a long breath and let it out slowly again, eyes closed as she relaxed into the softness and felt the cool air across skin that was flushed pink with heat. It was good to be home again.
After another few moments, she shifted and resettled slightly, spreading out a bit more and lifting her hands behind her head. Her eyes opened to play across the patterns on her ceiling.
There was too much to make sense of. Too much, and too little at the same time. It was getting hard to brush off, or ignore, and every now and then she was starting to notice thoughts, feelings and memories that some part of her mind was avoiding. It had been unconscious at first – even in the middle of her confusion and frustration about the things she knew she couldn't remember... there were other things. Things she hadn't noticed because that silent, determined part of her had avoided them. It was easy to miss, but she knew she'd felt this before. Something told her that, before, she'd known what it was about and just hadn't wanted to face it. She'd found friends to help, but her recollection was sketchy; her head rolled to the side and looked across the room to where her terminal rested on one side of her workspace. Still no message from them. She brushed the thought away.
She was different. There was no avoiding it. Ever since that day, and that mission, and that fight... She didn't feel different, didn't think she was, but there were too many things that weren't lining up, and now, she was starting to realise, too many things that some part of her mind was purposely glossing over. It wasn't just the missing memories – it was something deeper, but it felt like scrabbling at the edges of something smooth and flat on a counter – she couldn't get at it, no matter how she tried. Lyntael took a longer breath in and held it, then lifted on hand up into her line of sight. She clenched the fist and focused on the warm pulsing glow of her charge, drawing it up until her hand began to crackle and glow with energy. The feeling was there – something that could easily become pain, if it grew too strong, but something that felt good to release as well. Before... Before she had been afraid of it, of the pain it brought, but those times seemed like strangely warped recollections; she wasn't afraid of it – cautious, excited, nervous at times; a tool to be grappled, a power to be used, dangerous as it was – not not afraid. She didn't... feel... like she ever had been, and yet, she remembered all the days and nights where Rogan's requests had paralysed and terrified her, and the fear of what this power could do to her had driven her to tears. She let the charge fade away again, and her body shed a small cascade of dancing sparks about her room as she exhaled and relaxed once more.
Then there was the anger... that rebellious, challenging feeling that she felt sure had always been a part of who she was – that determination not to be bested, that grit that drove her to strive and push through the hard moments. It had always been with her, or so it felt... but she could look back, and feel her mind trying to slip away from the comparison; her memories said she had never been so quick to ire, as she was after that mission. She'd barely ever gotten angry at anyone ever, before, or so she recalled when she really focused on thinking about it.
Her hand dropped to rest lightly on her midsection, where her fingers began to pluck and play absently at the small sunburst charm that pierced her navel. So much felt frustrating, and sad, but there was no focus to those feelings, and she always got distracted when she tried to pull the thread taught. Little things – little things that weren't right, or that had been right and were somehow off now, in a way they hadn't been before... and yet, she knew, knew, that the things themselves hadn't changed.
Slowly, Lyntael sat up, then stood from the bed and reclaimed the towels, hanging them up in her bathroom again before returning to the middle of her room. The carpet felt soft and welcoming under her toes. She began to stretch slowly, and then, between one pose and the next, to let her body dance.
The way she'd behaved, in the mission just gone. That had been... crazy. Not wrong, she didn't think, but wild. Driven by personal excitement and lust, to the point of compromise. She'd never been so eager to act like that before, as nervous as she'd been. She hadn't been that excited about the risks before. Graceful turns guided her slowly through the open floor space, arms raising and stretching without thought to compliment each shift in ways that felt right. What were her thoughts avoiding? What was related to this, that it was all too easy not to think about? Her steps faltered and she paused, holding still for a moment on the ball of one foot as she stilled her balance and drew a careful breath. Something dark, but it was missing. Something horrible, perhaps... but there wasn't anything to tie the sense to. She tried to focus and relax, and gradually began to move again.
What was the core of it; the thing she wasn't seeing? For the longest time, it felt like, thought of intimacy had become mixed and tainted in her mind; excitement and eagerness, fantasy and desire to explore it... but also, fear, discomfort, memory of... violence and threats, she thought, but, nothing distinct. It was just there, in her memories; the fear and trauma, but without a cause... and now, after that mission, and that missing space, whatever had scared her certainly wasn't looming now; it didn't seem real – just a construction of memories before that gap.
Her slow dancing fell into a softer, gliding movement and Lyntael made her way out into the living area of a home that felt like it should have been perfect, but just so subtly... wasn't. Absently, she turned back to a control panel and activated the privacy screen on the main living area; she'd had more than enough fun at others' expenses today. The movements of her slow dancing exercise became more broad and expansive as she shifted into the wider open space, picking up more rhythm as she did; not enough to raise her heart rate or break a sweat, but a little more energetic.
If she had still felt that fear and trauma, she would never have felt excited by what she had done today; maybe she would have always been a little bit excited by the risk and the exposure, but that worry and fear would have prevented her recognising it. That was one big difference between the times before, and the times after; it was hard to focus on, but she could see that now – see that it was. Where had it gone, or had it been real in the first place? If there were gaps in her memories, did that mean the things she did remember might be wrong as well? Her brow furrowed. Something had changed, but underneath it all, she was still herself – still here, still healthy; she still felt the same as she always had, even if some of the things she remembered didn't seem to line up. Only... her thoughts hung and wavered around the uncomfortable possibility. Only... how reliable were her feelings?
“Lyntael,” Rogan's voice cut into the air nearby and Lyntael stopped mid step. She moved to cover herself on instinct, then relaxed; the screen was up. “...Lyntael, if you're still trying to make me uncomfortable, you should probably know that the censor is active, so your efforts aren't achieving anything.” Whatever he had been about to say was replaced by a tone of wry amusement and Lyntael glanced towards the view screen, hands on her hips. The screen still showed a streamed view of a misty netopian coastline, but it was somewhere to look.
“I thought you didn't want to see me like this?” Despite the chastisement, she shrugged to herself and darted quickly towards her own room to begin getting dressed. Rogan coughed softly.
“Indeed. Regardless, you may wish to get yourself presentable... I've assessed what we retrieved, and I think you should know our next moves.” Lyntael nodded as she pulled on her vest and opened her drawers to pick out fresh undergarments.
“Yes, sir. I'll be out in a minute.”
----------
((To => Offensive Plans))