In the dark of the candlelight, Jaz saw Elk's whole body blush. She exhaled a quiet chuckle, her shoulders moving slightly. Still, she turned her head away from Elk, giving them some decency. She wasn't prepared to stare. A pink light added itself to the candlelight's yellow.
Elk didn't speak but hummed slightly, and Jaz closed her eyes, turning her head back toward the flame. She listened to them test the water, and she wondered if she should have heated it up in preparation. No, but the waiting--the slow work up toward the heat--that was part of the joy. She shivered pleasantly.
When Elk stopped humming, Jaz settled and inhaled deeply before she opened her eyes, looking at the ground first and then at Elk, their tattoos distinctly red and pink. Their was arousal plain now that they had disrobed.
"Is this to your liking, Jaz?" They asked gesturing past themselves and toward the water. She lifted an eyebrow. What were they trying to say?
She laughed airily, not sure what to make of the question. But then again, she was accustomed to the hubris of travelers. Jaz found herself withdrawing a little.
Or they could genuinely want to know about my life here, Jaz thought, prepared to offer a generous read on the question.
She had obviously chosen to be here. Here in the tell. Here with Elk. Here by the fire in the bath. With Gwen.
And she did love it. Loved it all. But it was not home.
Jaz wasn't sure she had found one yet.
She nodded at Elk, though her eyes were gently wet as she did so. Perhaps she could answer both their questions.
"Most of the time," Jaz said, turning to stare back into the fire. Then she tilted her head, a wry smirk on her face, and flicked Elk a glance. "Why? You interested, elder spirit of the sky mind?" She said the last bit playfully, aware she might be bruising an ego. Still, her time in the city had taught her not to give anything up to figures of authority. Not without compensation, at least.
She smiled serenely into the flames, contemplative.
Part 1
Re: Part 1
((OOC: I corrected my mistake. Thanks for the catch.))
“Yes,” Elk answered, although their tattoos quickly turned back to their more typical blue from their previous pink. “I’d like to hear more about why you’re here and what of this place speaks to you."
Huh. That wasn't where she thought they were going, but maybe they had heard the hesitance in her voice and pivoted accordingly.
They continued, "I am here for some degree of reason, presumably, and I’d like to know more about my companions on the journey.” They seemed genuine enough. Jaz shrugged where she still crouched at the fire.
She took her time responding--there wasn't exactly a question in their statement--and watched as they touched the water again. They looked at Jaz, gesturing to the water. It can't have been warm enough yet. Unless... they had done something to it.
Incredulous, Jaz stood and dipped her own fingers in. It was not as warm as she liked it, that was for sure, and she was content to wait in the warming sauna air. Still, her fingers did feel strange, loosened, relaxed.
Jaz looked at Elk. "Did you do something to the water?"
She was aware she was dodging their implied question, but she was just as happy to have more time to think about how to respond.
“Yes,” Elk answered, although their tattoos quickly turned back to their more typical blue from their previous pink. “I’d like to hear more about why you’re here and what of this place speaks to you."
Huh. That wasn't where she thought they were going, but maybe they had heard the hesitance in her voice and pivoted accordingly.
They continued, "I am here for some degree of reason, presumably, and I’d like to know more about my companions on the journey.” They seemed genuine enough. Jaz shrugged where she still crouched at the fire.
She took her time responding--there wasn't exactly a question in their statement--and watched as they touched the water again. They looked at Jaz, gesturing to the water. It can't have been warm enough yet. Unless... they had done something to it.
Incredulous, Jaz stood and dipped her own fingers in. It was not as warm as she liked it, that was for sure, and she was content to wait in the warming sauna air. Still, her fingers did feel strange, loosened, relaxed.
Jaz looked at Elk. "Did you do something to the water?"
She was aware she was dodging their implied question, but she was just as happy to have more time to think about how to respond.
Re: Part 1
As Elk smiled and nodded, their forehead sparked green and quickly formed into the shape of a moon, although the tips both pointed up. Jaz was unsure of what it meant and found herself gaping at it.
“Yes, a blessing. You did the work of warming the fire and the water--I did the work of reminding the water what it once was.” Jaz looked at the water, deeply uncertain of what that meant. Had the water once been relaxation?
“For someone who forgets as much as I do, I seem to have a strange ability to help others remember.”
They started to hum again, although not from their mouth. Their features softened, and their tattoos turned orange.
All at once, it was all a little much for Jaz. The day had been a flurry of magical events she had no idea could even happen. Her stomach churned, and she turned away for moment. Maybe she needed some air. After a moment, she climbed onto the first and then the second step of the tub deck so she could reach the porthole window at the top of the room, letting some of the steam out.
She took some deep breaths of the rain-cleansed air before she came back down, leaving it open.
Looking back at Elk and their swirling tattoos, she wanted to be able to handle this. She wanted to learn more, to ask questions, to share her story, even, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was so far out of her depth.
She sat down on one of the benches, using the pump nearby to pour herself a cup of water. She drank some before pouring another for Elk and handing it to them.
Trying to gather some of her resolve, she crossed her legs and downed the rest of the water. Setting the cup down and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
"This is all quite new to me, you understand. I only learned about the sky mind today. I haven't even wrapped my head around what knowing about it means here." She opened her eyes, scanning Elk's tattoos. "It's all so beautiful, so why do I feel... scared?"
It was a rhetorical question, and she really wasn't sure she wanted an answer. Maybe it was a question only she could answer for herself.
She closed her eyes again, hugging her knees to herself. Memories of her childhood on the streets came quickly in the darkness.
Her mentor's voice...
She opened her eyes to banish the memory, blinking at Elk.
“Yes, a blessing. You did the work of warming the fire and the water--I did the work of reminding the water what it once was.” Jaz looked at the water, deeply uncertain of what that meant. Had the water once been relaxation?
“For someone who forgets as much as I do, I seem to have a strange ability to help others remember.”
They started to hum again, although not from their mouth. Their features softened, and their tattoos turned orange.
All at once, it was all a little much for Jaz. The day had been a flurry of magical events she had no idea could even happen. Her stomach churned, and she turned away for moment. Maybe she needed some air. After a moment, she climbed onto the first and then the second step of the tub deck so she could reach the porthole window at the top of the room, letting some of the steam out.
She took some deep breaths of the rain-cleansed air before she came back down, leaving it open.
Looking back at Elk and their swirling tattoos, she wanted to be able to handle this. She wanted to learn more, to ask questions, to share her story, even, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was so far out of her depth.
She sat down on one of the benches, using the pump nearby to pour herself a cup of water. She drank some before pouring another for Elk and handing it to them.
Trying to gather some of her resolve, she crossed her legs and downed the rest of the water. Setting the cup down and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
"This is all quite new to me, you understand. I only learned about the sky mind today. I haven't even wrapped my head around what knowing about it means here." She opened her eyes, scanning Elk's tattoos. "It's all so beautiful, so why do I feel... scared?"
It was a rhetorical question, and she really wasn't sure she wanted an answer. Maybe it was a question only she could answer for herself.
She closed her eyes again, hugging her knees to herself. Memories of her childhood on the streets came quickly in the darkness.
Her mentor's voice...
She opened her eyes to banish the memory, blinking at Elk.
Re: Part 1
Elk let some time pass before responding, stirring the water again with their finger and watching the ripples. More magic? Jaz wondered.
“Nature and the world are as beautiful as they are savage; I think it’s natural to feel fear in their wake.” Jaz looked down at her feet, barely visible in the dim candlelight. That made sense. As much as the people of the vows here used a certain kind of tamed magic--more visionary than material--that wasn't always the way it had been in the cities. In the cities, magic had been forced underground.
Jaz remembered one of the older street kids trying to teach her little tricks--how to conjure sparks between her fingers--but when she had shown her mentor after she thought she had perfected the gesture, she had gotten chastised and punished. "Don't go doing that just anywhere," she remembered him saying, "You want to get us all in trouble?"
She wasn't even really sure if she could do it anymore. In the underground, Jaz had done a trick or two--a risky way to attract the kind of interest that would pay her way. She knew magic to be a dark, alluring flavor, something to be hidden, out of sight like all the women in her work. And yet, here, the people of the vows kept it to themselves as some kind of holy sacrament. Perhaps whatever transportation magic Sage and Elk had used today was yet an entirely different flavor.
"Would you like to say more about the nature of your fear?” Elk said, their tattoos stagnating in a way that suggested to Jaz that perhaps she had put them off somehow. But, she wasn't afraid of Elk. Then again, she didn't know them--or what they could do--at all.
"Savage," Jaz finally said, "that much I understand." She looked back at Elk, wondering how much they might know about the brutality in the cities.
"I want to be in love with the mystery, but..." Jaz said, her eyes flicking up to Elk again. Finally, resolved, she stood up, approaching the tub. Jaz thought of how the water had relaxed her fingers, how her joints had eased, their worries fading. How would it feel to immerse her whole body in that sensation? Would she lose sight of herself entirely, becoming so relaxed as though irretrievably drugged? She thought that was unlikely. Elk hadn't made any indication that they aimed to harm anyone--quite the opposite. But, then again, what if their magic was more potent than what would be acceptable for humans, being an elder spirit?
Tilting her head, Jaz looked at Elk and asked, "Do you always remind the water what it is before you bathe?" That's what it was, she suddenly realized. She could have gotten in the water first, not knowing the blessing had been there in the first place--not until it started affecting her. Then she wouldn't have gotten to choose. That's what scared her about magic--it had an ability to strip someone of their agency, as she knew that all too well. And, certainly, Jaz had not consented to be transported, either. What else might she be opting into unwittingly?
And yet... if she knew everything ahead of time, what would be the point of existing at all? She craved the mystery and the surprise. Why else had she left the city she knew every dark corner of?
She drew her hand gently through the quickly warming water once most of Elk's ripples had stilled, contemplating the water's effects.
“Nature and the world are as beautiful as they are savage; I think it’s natural to feel fear in their wake.” Jaz looked down at her feet, barely visible in the dim candlelight. That made sense. As much as the people of the vows here used a certain kind of tamed magic--more visionary than material--that wasn't always the way it had been in the cities. In the cities, magic had been forced underground.
Jaz remembered one of the older street kids trying to teach her little tricks--how to conjure sparks between her fingers--but when she had shown her mentor after she thought she had perfected the gesture, she had gotten chastised and punished. "Don't go doing that just anywhere," she remembered him saying, "You want to get us all in trouble?"
She wasn't even really sure if she could do it anymore. In the underground, Jaz had done a trick or two--a risky way to attract the kind of interest that would pay her way. She knew magic to be a dark, alluring flavor, something to be hidden, out of sight like all the women in her work. And yet, here, the people of the vows kept it to themselves as some kind of holy sacrament. Perhaps whatever transportation magic Sage and Elk had used today was yet an entirely different flavor.
"Would you like to say more about the nature of your fear?” Elk said, their tattoos stagnating in a way that suggested to Jaz that perhaps she had put them off somehow. But, she wasn't afraid of Elk. Then again, she didn't know them--or what they could do--at all.
"Savage," Jaz finally said, "that much I understand." She looked back at Elk, wondering how much they might know about the brutality in the cities.
"I want to be in love with the mystery, but..." Jaz said, her eyes flicking up to Elk again. Finally, resolved, she stood up, approaching the tub. Jaz thought of how the water had relaxed her fingers, how her joints had eased, their worries fading. How would it feel to immerse her whole body in that sensation? Would she lose sight of herself entirely, becoming so relaxed as though irretrievably drugged? She thought that was unlikely. Elk hadn't made any indication that they aimed to harm anyone--quite the opposite. But, then again, what if their magic was more potent than what would be acceptable for humans, being an elder spirit?
Tilting her head, Jaz looked at Elk and asked, "Do you always remind the water what it is before you bathe?" That's what it was, she suddenly realized. She could have gotten in the water first, not knowing the blessing had been there in the first place--not until it started affecting her. Then she wouldn't have gotten to choose. That's what scared her about magic--it had an ability to strip someone of their agency, as she knew that all too well. And, certainly, Jaz had not consented to be transported, either. What else might she be opting into unwittingly?
And yet... if she knew everything ahead of time, what would be the point of existing at all? She craved the mystery and the surprise. Why else had she left the city she knew every dark corner of?
She drew her hand gently through the quickly warming water once most of Elk's ripples had stilled, contemplating the water's effects.
Re: Part 1
It was not hard to guess that Elk had become more reserved--less light from their tattoos and a darker expression, even noticeable in the dim light. She wasn't pulling them closer to her, that was for sure. But Jaz wasn't going to force anything, either, Elder Spirit or no.
“Sometimes I do so intentionally, and sometimes a thing simply remembers by way of me being proximal to magic,” Elk said with a sigh. Jaz nodded. That made some intuitive sense to her, though she didn't fully understand why. “What people forget about the world is that it is fundamentally magical. It is inherently so, because that’s the way it was designed to be…..destined to be.” Jaz wanted that to be true, felt like it could be true.
But... where was the line between letting the world impose its will on you and imposing your will on the world?
And what if you didn't want imposition at all? Was it possible to be outside the world? Would Jaz even want that?
She shook her head--that was all too cerebral for her liking. She wasn't one for philosophy. She felt into her body instead, just as Elk said, “You still have not answered my question. Can you say more about the nature of your fear?” Though their tone was gentle, the words themselves were more insistent. Jaz's eyebrows furrowed before fluttering back into place and relaxing. How did her body feel?
Not as amorous as she would have liked, getting into a bath with an Elder Spirit. But, beyond that. Beyond her urge to flirt, to externalize, to anticipate.
She wanted to weave with magic. Treat magic like a collaborator. Treat every living being as a collaborator.
How could you do that if you influenced the world just by sake of being? Jaz didn't know, but she wanted to find out. If she had to make a decision right in that moment, she might have elected to take vows and let Sage mentor her. She wanted to know how to interact with all this better.
And yet, there was the temptation to jump headfirst into it all. Take the little bit of magic she had learned in the underground and run with it and with Elk. Jump in the bath, bask in the possibilities.
"It's a tool, magic," Jaz finally said by way of explanation, opening her eyes to look at her hand. "I suppose it's actually the people wielding it I'm afraid of. Their motives. Their ability to navigate consent." She sighed, wondering if she was letting on to some of her history here, incidentally.
"I should probably trust you more, given that you're a being of the mystery itself, but I don't yet know how we are different." She flashed a crooked, ironic smile. "Sometimes my assumptions get me into trouble."
She paused another moment, then, wondering if she could really just treat Elk like another human. And why not? They might genuinely be as nervous and uncomfortable in this moment as she was.
"I might just need to ask a lot of questions first," Jaz said, bravely dipping her arm into the water up to her shoulder and closing her eyes.
((OOC: It might be help to include some of the extra sensations Jaz might feel as she does this. Maybe you could put it in an OOC note for my next post. Thanks! Grateful to do this with you.))
“Sometimes I do so intentionally, and sometimes a thing simply remembers by way of me being proximal to magic,” Elk said with a sigh. Jaz nodded. That made some intuitive sense to her, though she didn't fully understand why. “What people forget about the world is that it is fundamentally magical. It is inherently so, because that’s the way it was designed to be…..destined to be.” Jaz wanted that to be true, felt like it could be true.
But... where was the line between letting the world impose its will on you and imposing your will on the world?
And what if you didn't want imposition at all? Was it possible to be outside the world? Would Jaz even want that?
She shook her head--that was all too cerebral for her liking. She wasn't one for philosophy. She felt into her body instead, just as Elk said, “You still have not answered my question. Can you say more about the nature of your fear?” Though their tone was gentle, the words themselves were more insistent. Jaz's eyebrows furrowed before fluttering back into place and relaxing. How did her body feel?
Not as amorous as she would have liked, getting into a bath with an Elder Spirit. But, beyond that. Beyond her urge to flirt, to externalize, to anticipate.
She wanted to weave with magic. Treat magic like a collaborator. Treat every living being as a collaborator.
How could you do that if you influenced the world just by sake of being? Jaz didn't know, but she wanted to find out. If she had to make a decision right in that moment, she might have elected to take vows and let Sage mentor her. She wanted to know how to interact with all this better.
And yet, there was the temptation to jump headfirst into it all. Take the little bit of magic she had learned in the underground and run with it and with Elk. Jump in the bath, bask in the possibilities.
"It's a tool, magic," Jaz finally said by way of explanation, opening her eyes to look at her hand. "I suppose it's actually the people wielding it I'm afraid of. Their motives. Their ability to navigate consent." She sighed, wondering if she was letting on to some of her history here, incidentally.
"I should probably trust you more, given that you're a being of the mystery itself, but I don't yet know how we are different." She flashed a crooked, ironic smile. "Sometimes my assumptions get me into trouble."
She paused another moment, then, wondering if she could really just treat Elk like another human. And why not? They might genuinely be as nervous and uncomfortable in this moment as she was.
"I might just need to ask a lot of questions first," Jaz said, bravely dipping her arm into the water up to her shoulder and closing her eyes.
((OOC: It might be help to include some of the extra sensations Jaz might feel as she does this. Maybe you could put it in an OOC note for my next post. Thanks! Grateful to do this with you.))