Fate - First Reply Hubris

[Jane]

Unsinkable, they said. Safest vessel of the whole Cortosi Coast, they said. Captain Logrash was just so damn skilled, they said.

And you know what? Jane believed them. Hell, she loved to hear some good gloating from time to time; words that just oozed with confidence dripped into her ears like honey onto her tongue. And all that pompous talk gave her plenty of excuse to go below deck and sleep her ass off. Nothing quite rocked her to a cozy sleep than the motions and sounds of the sea.

She chose her spot well, turned out. Because the Rock Dodger, the name of this allegedly unsinkable ship she'd caught a ride on, didn't quite live up to its name. The cruel mistress of the sea had seen to it that the vessel would be impaled upon a particularly vicious jutting rock formation. Who was to say how it precisely happened? Not Jane. She was stirred from her nice little recurring dream (shoving her big toe down a big man's throat, one of her favorites) by the godsawful crash. She'd fallen right out of her bunk; which was good, because broken boards would have skewered her otherwise. A splash of cold water from the breached wall of the vessel woke her right the fuck up. This wasn't the warm Cortosi water she was more familiar with, but it had been a chilly day and, now, a more frigid night.

Jane had scrambled to her feet. All she had on were her undergarments: undershorts which liked to frequently vacation in the crack of her ass and a flimsy undershirt that didn't do anything to support her big girls. She didn't waste any time, not knowing how bad the crash of the Rock Dodger was; fuck all of her gear, if this ship was going down the sea could have it.

Hurrying in her bare feet through the darkened and broken hallway to above deck, she saw there in the moonlight a host of dead and dying sailors. The luckier sailors, seeing one among their number say "Screw it" and dive overboard, were all encouraged to do the same. Jane saw why: not too far off was the shore of an island. Land. Safety. It was time to abandon ship alright.

Jane took a running jump and plunged into the turbulent, chilling sea, leaving behind the impaled Rock Dodger. And, well, the sea—with plenty of help from fierce winds—was an especially cruel mistress tonight, because lining the approach to the shore were plenty more rocks, and the waves smashed helpless sailors against them one by one. What a mess.

But Astra (or some darker deity, she would have liked) was looking out for her. Jane made it safely to the shore, exhausted from having to fight against the current. She crawled onto the shore, crawled over the rocky sands until she went past the reach of the sea, and then just collapsed onto her belly, laying there shivering for a moment.

"Fuck," she said, willfully indulging in some choice profanity even if it would add to her otherwise clean self-flagellation tally. "I was having such a good dream."

She hoped Captain Logrash was still alive. Probably not, but she hoped anyway. She'd love to shove her big toe down his throat.

Somebody else was alive, though.

 

[Asa Renwyk]

Research trips down in the Cortosi Coast had a certain charm to them. So many factions with their boats vying for supremacy while pirates preyed on the stragglers. Trading vessels loaded down with all sorts of goods originating in one of the diverse biomes touching the sea. More pirates preying upon the unwary traders. It lead to interesting events and good ways to discover all sorts of new and unique specimens for his experiments and research.

But the College just had to interrupt. A need for him to be teaching classes once more. Cited reason being a lack of personnel. It wasn't bad enough his workshop there had been allowed to be destroyed before the rebuilding but now a need for him to do something as vain and pointless as teach students? It put a sour taste in his mouth.

Asa had to comply or it might make things even more inconvenient for him in the long run. A tie he wasn't yet willing to snip. So he did as requested and began to head home.... Only he decided to take the long way by arriving by boat instead of taking the far closer and swifter portal stone back. Call it his bit of protest while being compliant.

That was how he had found himself aboard the Rock Dodger. A private room so that he could go over his notes in peace before he would be bombarded by the inane chatter of hopeless students and "peers" alike. A fresh research trip interrupted so early he only had two journals worth of notes collected and a single satchel of materials gathered for further study.

It would have to do....

The crash came while he was looking over one of his specimens. A strange little creature sealed in a jar of clearish liquid. It presented the traits of both furry creatures and those of scales. A between if you will. Rather unusual.... Even now on the floor surrounded by broken glass as it was now.

The scholar darted out of his room in only a pair of sleeping shorts and his eyepatch on. Not his first shipwreck but certainly the most annoying. The Rock Dodger was named more tongue-in-cheek it seemed than literally. Frustrating. The ship was sinking rapidly. Even more frustrating.

Asa looked back to his cabin then let out a heavy sigh. No time....

He dove into the sea narrowly missing being impaled by part of the mast falling. Thankfully land seemed to be near so he made his way there. A crow trailing him from above cawing mockingly at him. What a big jest his ENTIRE TRIP had just come to utter ruin and sank to the inky depths.

The one eyed man marched himself up the beach just enough no water was assaulting his feet any longer. He had no time to think much on his next move when he began to hear what sounded like a string of profanity.... Familiar, odd....

The doctor headed towards the sound. A fellow survivor and perhaps one with more at their disposal than he current had. But as he neared a smiled spread wide across his face.

"I believed myself living a tragic moment, but it would seem I am living a dream." Asa announced as he strolled up into view. "How do I have the great pleasure of sharing a beach with the most beautiful woman in existence, Jane?"

Jane

 

[Jane]

"Hey Asa," Jane said, tossing a hand up in a half-assed wave. Her face as well was still half-cradled in the sand of the rough beach. She didn't even bother asking what he was doing on the ship or remarking on the sheer chances of meeting up like this. Mostly because: she was tired, she was cold, and she wanted to chase that damn dream that Captain Logrash ruined by not living up to his gloating.

"I left all my stuff on the ship." As if such a gesture were necessary, she jerked a lazy thumb back toward the Rock Dodger. And, surprisingly, it seemed as though the ship's descent into the water had halted. Sure the vessel was at an odd angle, but the rock which impaled it through was by the grace of some amused god holding it mostly above the roiling sea. For now, anyway.

Not that Jane knew any of that yet. She was too busy curling up into a ball and shivering.

"Water's great in the summer, I swear by Astra on that."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

Jane never cared for how she might appear to others. Where other women might try to save some sense of grace and dignity Jane reveled in the moment and all that it might be bringing. One of the many things about her that drew his attention. She was a unique woman that always found a way to make things interesting.

His gaze trailed back off to the ship. Both their belongings were there it seemed. Tragic. At least the ship may have some form of salvage later if it remained how it was. Not that he was familiar enough with ships or shipwrecks to make a judgement on it one way or the other. More an idle, hopeful thought bound to prove fruitless given the turn of events for him currently.

At least he had Jane for company now.

Asa looked about them in search of wood. His darling Jane was shivering and cold. Couldn't have that now.

The doctor seemed to be unaffected by the temperature of the wind and waves. For all his movements he might as well be in a cozy cabin with a hearth pumping warmth all throughout. He smiled down to her.

"Hold on love. I will have you warmed up again soon."

Then he headed off to gather stones for a pit and fuel for a fire. All of which he gathered into a sheltered enough spot from the wind. Once done he snapped his finger and lit the tender. The most basic of magic spells used to light candle wicks. Rather useful and required little magical energy. A blessing given his trouble with that most of the time.

As Asa returned to Jane he had an impish grin on his face and playful look in his eye as he gazed upon her.

"Would you gather walk or be cared my dear?"

Jane

 

[Jane]

Of wood and tinder there was plenty, for past the rocky sands of the shore the island was densely forested—what might live amidst those trees, who could yet say? And of stones for the firepit, these were even more plentiful, littered all across the beach as they were; one could even be choosy and select only the finest stones to one's particular sensibilities.

Hold on love. I will have you warmed up again soon.

"You're a scholar and a saint, Asa," Jane said as she lay there, the dampness of the sea, the slicing winds of the coming storm, and her near complete lack of dress all combining to make her shivering and miserable. That was such a good blanket she'd had back on her bunk on the Rock Dodger! Metisa herself must have crafted it, because it wasn't that cheap, itchy linen most vessels saddled their crews with. Again Jane would just like to say a hearty Fuck you to Captain Logrash for interrupting her sublime nap time.

Longing for that wonderful blanket, Jane in her pitiful ball of warmth glanced back toward the wreckage of the Rock Dodger, silhouetted quite nicely by the glow of the moons. And, as it so happened, she spotted something washing up onto the shore. Something familiar.

Her whip.

Jane groaned. "Oh, of all the things..."

But, with the utmost begrudging movement, she crawled her near naked ass down over the sand and stones back to the waves' end and retrieved her stupid whip. Astra alllllllllways had her damn priorities straight, didn't she?

By this time, Asa returned, and Jane held up the whip that she now clutched, doing so as if it were the most disappointing trophy ever to grace Arethil.

"Look what I found. Also, have I told you today that Astra is a fucking c—"

The reset struck Jane's mind so hard that she spasmed a little. Then she blinked. Seemingly forgetting the profane track of commentary she had been on, she answered Asa's question with a little grin amidst teeth now chattering.

"Pick me up and throw me over your shoulder. I'm a bit of a lazy bitch right now."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

Asa looked at what Jane had mentioned before her quirk kicked in rather hard. Her whip. How fortunate. Certainly not for her or him but for that goddess she was in service to. He would say worshiped, but from his experience the busty knight was a worshiper of seeing others suffer. Too bad for them all his ritual supplies had gone down with the ship or they could reenact their first meeting.

The doctor grinned impishly when she told him to throw her over his shoulder. Something the woman just drew his less professional side out of him.

"Wet and wanting to get tossed about. Truly the purest example of a woman."

Asa picked her up and did indeed throw her over his shoulder so her hips rested on his shoulder and rump was next to his face. A swift slap of it was made as his grin shifted into a smirk. "Your wiggling rump in my face, whatever will I do Jane?"

Then he began to head towards the fire.

When he arrived with his not so delicate treasure, Asa contemplated if he should put Jane down gently like a lady or not. Less than a second past before he idly tossed her onto the sand next to the fire. She enjoyed some rough handling if he remembered correctly. Another thing about her he rather enjoyed. Interesting and unique as any he had met so far.

The doctor looked at her for a bit studying her over before he had to force his gaze away. A certain essence was getting stirred up when it need not be right now. There was more pressing matters to address before giving into any demands of his boiling blood.

His gaze went out towards the trees to determine what kinds there might be and if it meant easy access to food. Then it went out towards the ship. Would swimming out there be possible and worth it? Better to do so now or wait till the warmth of morning? He could tolerate more than humans but even he had limits and already was on his way towards them.

After a bit he said looking to Jane, "What do you think? Ship, trees, or sleep?"

She was a clever girl. She would get his meaning.

Jane

 

[Jane]

Up she went onto Asa's shoulder. And then she sniffed sharply with surprise after he had the temerity to smack her butt.

"Careful," she said, "a bold hand like that will get you in trouble."

Which was just the sort of thing Jane enjoyed. See, with Astra and company lurking over her shoulder, she just didn't have the ease of forcing herself on captured men anymore, she didn't have the simplicity of just taking what she wanted anymore. Like what happened in Yarrick, Jane had to play...differently. She had to entice. She had to be invited in, just like those funny stories about vampires. And when she got and kept consent, Astra might disapprove of all the depravity with which it was done, but she couldn't say shit.

Being tossed down onto the sand with all the grace of the shipwreck itself, however, was less fun—and less useful. Smacks on the ass invited her in. Being dropped like a sack of potatoes just resulted in a hard landing.

"Oh now you're really asking for it," she growled. Now she was thinking less about Captain Logrash and more about Asa, means of payback for that. She couldn't just go whipping him though. All that horseshit about forbearance, restraint, and appropriate violence.

She didn't linger on it long. She sat up, cozying up nice and close to the fire, holding out her hands and her feet, wiggling her toes with satisfaction from the warmth. "Nice nook you've found." A big jutting rock formation not unlike its bigger cousin out there that skewered the Rock Dodger; something that blocked the wind and gave them a roof of rock over their heads in case of a sudden midnight shower.

Ship, trees, or sleep?

"Definitely not the ship," she said. "I say we can go scrounging for our things tomorrow in the light. Maybe the sea will have calmed down by then too."

She liked to think she had a sixth-sense for the unbound wiles of the sea, yeah.

She let out a bark of a laugh. "See if you can't find another boat in those trees. Or a bed. With a blanket. A nice smooth blanket. That I can hog all for myself."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The growl following the tossing told Asa that the act was viewed less playfully than intended. Jane seemed to have a bit of a temper. Another thing he enjoyed about the woman. Certainly his tastes could be questioned by many but they couldn't deny they were boring. But he didn't linger on the thought more than acknowledging it. If she wanted to be upset she could sit by the fire and contemplate what she wanted to do to him next.

Perhaps unknown to her, or she might very well know, was that she had Asa's consent more or less all the time. He was no masochist but he held little fear for his life either. Killing him or harming him too permanently would only bring an end to the fun for her. His dealings with his own mother had taught him how much you could trust in prolonging their pleasures from women with such refined appetites.

Jane informed him that the ship was better saved and he deferred to her expertise in the subject. Then came her follow up about finding a boat in the trees and a bed for her to confine all to herself. A smile crossed his lips at that.

"And what about that rule of those finding things getting to keep them?" His smile became more impish. "Or am I not allowed to keep you after finding you? I can toss you back out onto the beach if you wish."

There was only one thing he wanted to do to her and it involved keeping her as close to him as one could possibly be.

After a bit he straightened his stance up a bit. "I will see if I can find anything to eat and drink then in the trees.... Care to join me or is your state of attire more suited for warming by the fire?"

Asa moved his eye up and down her very slowly. Deliberately slow so that he could drink in every single inch of her yet again. His control might be slipping up a bit.

Jane

 

[Jane]

I can toss you back out onto the beach if you wish.

"You know what I like about insolence?" Jane said, her lips pressed together in the pause, a smile that raised her cheeks instead of an outright grin. She had to be careful with this, not to enjoy it (and the memories of insolent and defiant sacrifices being crushed) too much—didn't want another reset, now did she? "It demands punishment."

But that was something which would have to be scheduled rather than attended to right now. More obvious and pressing concerns were at hand.

"Ahhhhhhhh, fuck it, I'll come with you. I'm up. I'm awake. I need to get tired again." It sucked when exhaustion and tiredness just weren't in alignment with each other. A little traipsing through the coastal woods ought to fix that.

"But first..."

And without further preamble Jane slipped out of her undergarments, both her shorts and her undersized and overworked shirt. She laid them both near the fire to dry.

She stood and looked at Asa, started to brush sand off of her body, and said casually, "Sometimes clothes are just a nuisance, huh?"

Now she really had to stave off enjoyable memories from her time with the Sisters of the Citadel.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The woman was a true temptress and knew just how to rile him up. His blood was on fire right now. A deep seated need rising to the surface threatening to consume him. To give in and find out just what kind of punishment she had in mind was nearly too seductive an option.... Then she rid herself of her unnecessary attire....

A lusty growl escaped his lips.

But the doctor managed to regain some sense of control. Enough at least to focus on the more important tasks at hand even if he could not remove his gaze from her voluptuous figure....

Asa removed his clothing as well to dry it. A smart idea, but not the reason for why. He simply was matching her act with the same one. A little dance to see who would give in first. Certainly it would be him, but he wished to see how long she was willing to play and how long he could actually last.

"Indeed love. Indeed...." Asa replied with his eye roaming her still. "Ladies first."

He made a motion with a little bow so that she might lead if she wished. One might think they were going out for a casual evening stroll before dinner through the public park the way he spoke. He was going to have a hard time controlling himself. A very hard time....

Jane

 

[Jane]

And there they went, his clothes too. Invitation sent and accepted. Sure, the more prudently-minded might say, "Oh, but of course you both had to do that, you've got to dry your clothes somehow" but Jane had a foot she could use to shut the prudently-minded right up. All she wanted to do was have an excuse to go frolicking through the woods bare as the day some probably dead-by-now prostitute squirted her out. Just like that one time, with the Sisters, yeah, that was great. Except this time she wouldn't be covered in occult designs painted on her fair flesh in the blood of fresh sacrifices, but you know you just couldn't have everything in life (yet) could you?

She cut off that line of thought before it progressed too far and too dangerously.

Ladies first.

On her way passing Asa she smacked his ass, saying casually with a little flick of a gaze back over her shoulder, "Oops. Forgive me. My hand slipped."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

A low growl was Asa's immediate response to the smack of his ass. A grin was on his face and a gleam in his eye like that of a predator being poked by some poor idiot thinking the frail bars of a cage meant they were safe. Emotions were never high for him but this woman always found a way to draw them out of him when they interacted. Dangerous, but perhaps in the way she wanted.

Plans on paying her back were already running through his mind. His gaze was not focused on her own at all as she gave him a false apology and excuse. He just smiled back in a barely contained (although truly not at all) lusty way.

"I understand completely love. Accidents do happen."

Then on their way to go frolicking in the woods he went. Hopefully there was something to eat and drink out there. He was feeling rather thirsty now and could tell the need to devour something was coming upon him.

Jane

 

[Jane]

The wind cutting across the beach was whipping up with strong gusts here and there, but the trees of the island's interior at least provided some semblance of shelter against it. Above the branches and the leaves swayed and rustled with their ceaseless din, sounding almost like the rushing of water to the closed eye and imaginative mind. Jane was at least glad to be dried off from the fire; it was chilly enough with the night and the wind being stark naked, and the girls were feeling perky because of it. Also, heh, little thing she took for granted these days: having shorter hair made less of a mess from being tossed around by the wind. She smoothed it out as she walked among the trees, thinking how frazzled the longer hair she once had in the cult would be.

Jane couldn't see very well in the dark, and, frankly, she was just a bit too lazy right now to activate her Aura of Light—what scant moon and star-light which came through the canopy was poor, but good enough.

"Ow, fuck," Jane said (another for the tally) as she stepped on something not to her liking. She lifted up her leg and brushed her foot and stepped with greater care. "You know, my feet used to be a lot tougher. Then I started wearing shoes." Her throat rumbled first for consideration, then a hint of delight. "I preferred it that way. Being barefoot."

Asa Renwyk