Private Tales Temptation

[Raziel]

Raziel's tail wrapped itself a little more tightly around her wrist, but he wore a disarming smile. There was no threat in his posture, only a little danger in his eyes. He draped his hand over hers on the bottle of wine. Now he had both of her hands, if only in a light grip.

He didn't say anything, bringing the neck of the bottle up to his lips without letting go of her hand. With a grin, he eyed the whip she carried out with her.

Now there was something that had gone underused today.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

It wasn't a no... but it wasn't a yes...

Not knowing made it all the more exciting. It was true the pact had said he couldn't hurt her but then turning her over to her fiance was hardly physically harming her directly. It would also see him with a tidy profit. But... the way he smiled made her think he wasn't quite finished with having her to himself just yet. The danger spoke to something... similar inside herself and she found her lips curving into an answering grin. Once he was done with having his sip she flex the grip of her hand still on the bottle to see if he would allow her enough force to move it to her own lips afterwards.

Then her gaze followed his to the whip and she laughed once she had finished her drink.

"Would you like a demonstration?"

 

[Raziel]

Raziel was finding her far too intriguing to hand over for something as simple as coin now.

His grin spread even wider and he slowly released her hands. White teeth n contrast to his scarlet skin and yellow eyes. His tail moved of its own accord, tracing down the outside of her thigh.

There could be only one answer to that question.

"Yes."

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Her laughter continued as he answered her question and she pushed herself to her feet when he released her wrist from his tails grip. It was a bit more awkward in the dress but she had done the moves in similar before. Lottie tugged the whip free with practised ease and twisted it through her hands this way and that to soften the leather. It didn't need it, she kept the weapon to a high standard but it was similar to how other fighters limbered up before a fight.

She glanced around the area to see what she could use to show off her skill on and then spied the apple hanging from the branches. Slowly she began to move the whip this way and that around her body to stretch her limbs before she brought the whip up and round over her head then flicked her wrist so it shot forward in a sharp line. The tip of the whip curled around the stem of the apple and tugged it. The movement caused the fruit to drop but Lottie wasn't done and her whip came down then back up through the apple six times before she stepped forward and caught it neatly in one hand. When she turned back around and presented it to him the fruit was cut perfectly into six segments.

She popped a piece in her mouth.

 

[Raziel]

Each crack send a jolt up his spine. Woth each one his eyes widened a fraction further. He reached out and took a slice, popping it into his own mouth. It was warm and held the scent of leather.

What a curious creature to have found on this very twisty day. He had been outraged at the start of it, looking for an outlet for everything he had felt. Raziel had found one and they had painted that hall in such glorious shades of crimson.

But the night was young. There was more crimson to be had. Raziel took the bottle of wine and downed the last third without a pause. He took the next that had been offered and drew another blade. He skimmed it down the glass and popped the entire neck off, leaving a smooth glass rim. Not as impressive as the whip, as party tricks went.

"Such a nest hand with the whip, so many possibilities..." the tiefling mused.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie flopped back down beside him causing her skirt to fluff up once again as she did so and forcing her to press the air from it.

"And you with a knife," she mused looking at the bottle he had opened before depositing the apple onto a shirt from the chest to keep it off the ground. "We would make a great set of childrens entertainers. We could tour all over Arethil," wouldn't that be a sight? She put a slice of apple in her mouth and chewed it before offering the handle of the whip to him. Probably not her brightest idea.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

 

[Raziel]

Raziel was all teeth again. Leaning forwards only accentuated the curve of his horns. He wrapped his fingers around the whip and stood up. He passed the wine back.

He let it fall from its loops in a ripple. It formed a wave in the air as he tested its weight. A quick snap and then his arm went back and forth.

Crack

He took a chunk of bark off a tree. Used correctly it could take a good piece out of a man too.

"Have you ever felt the hot kiss of leather on skin?" he asked.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

To Lottie the whip for wine was a fair trade and she took a sip as she reclined back on her elbows to watch him use her weapon. Both her sisters favoured the swords and whilst Lottie was deft at them there was something about the whip she just... preferred. Quietly she watched as he took a chunk off the tree and sipped again, this time a slow smile spread across her lips and she gave him a sinful look.

"I said I was unmarried not a maid," she took another sip. "Do you prefer to peel the skin off people when you torture them with a knife or something more..." she waved her hands to the whip.

 

[Raziel]

There was a very large difference between a maid and someone who like to play with leather. One eyebrow made a very sharp journey upwards. The way she looked at him made him wonder who was playing with who here.

"Well that very much depends. A whip cuts deep. Flaying skin from a man's body is definitely not a place to start torture either. Have you ever wondered just how much damage you could do with your illusions? Before tonight?"

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

"Not really," Lottie wrung her hands around the wine bottle. "Well. I've done it once or twice I suppose. We tend to use it for staging things on the roads that make people stop. I had a tutor when I was little but all they would let me do was conjure little butterflies," as if on cue the little delicate creatures fluttered about his horns and one landed on his nose. "Or birds that sung pretty songs - it is frowned upon for women to use magic so I've just been trying to figure out the rest myself. Tonight was the first time I have used it so much."

It still made her a little uncomfortable talking about it, even though she had lived for years now in the forest and her sisters had encouraged her to practise. There was just some things about being told since the day you first used magic that you were evil for doing so that stayed with you.

She shook her head.

"So what is the best way to torture someone?"

 

[Raziel]

"You have an exceptional talent for it," he said in genuine wonder. "Holding such an illusion for so long is wel beyond any master of the arts I have ever crossed."

He let the birds flutter past, even if they did entirely ruin his image. Everything was always carefully placed. Every expression even inflection. He projected the image of himself he wanted others to see without using a hint of magic.

"There is no one best way. You ever have one of those southern puzzle boxes as a child? A person is like those. You have to unlock them just a little bit at a time. Imagine finding a man's darkest fear. I can make that happen once. You could make it happen over and over and over. "

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Raziel didn't strike her as a person who complimented someone unnecessarily so she did allow herself to feel for a moment a little proud of what she had been able to achieve. She had pushed herself unnecessarily hard but she had enjoyed it today and learned a lot of what she could do it seemed. The image of him surrounded by little canaries and butterflies did however amuse her but after a while they vanished into dust; her power reserves were low now.

"Thank you," Lottie said after a moment of quiet and there was genuine feeling to it. "I guess I have never really thought about how I could use them asides from robbing from people," she took a sip from the wine bottle then ran her eyes down him and the whip still in his hands. "Well if you ever find yourself in Oban and you need a hand with your interrogations..."

 

[Raziel]

"I don't think I will be back this way for some time," he laughed, "but that is something I would definitely want to see. Maybe when you get your hands on someone whose pain you truly need to drag out."

Raziel folded the whip over in his hands. He adored the way it creaked when it was manipulated. The corner of his lips turned upwards. He had promised not to torture her. They had an entire night to fill with something and his blood was already up.

"Your dress is covered in blood. You should take it off."

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

"Well, when you hear we're heading for a revolution..." Lottie left the end of the sentence hanging. Nobody else was going to take the Prince's life but her; she was determined for it to be so. Another sip of the bottle and she raised both brows at him then glanced to the whip. Slowly her tongue ran across her lower lip to catch a bead of wine before it ran down her chin. The petticoats were annoying her though, she would prefer her breeches again.

"So is your unfashionable jacket. Will you get the buttons for me?" she stood and turned.

 

[Raziel]

"You didn't need this dress for a disguise again did you?" Raziel asked. His voice was filled with amusement.

He had shown that he could do almost anything silently. That suggested that the soft rasp of a blade being drawn behind her was entirely deliberate.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

"No..." Lottie half turned to look over her shoulder at his query and the soft sound of metal being drawn. She raised a brow. "But I do like the dress," it was only half a protest, her curiosity on what exactly he had in mind was overriding her desire to keep the pretty grey silk dress. She was sure there was another merchants coach she could rob for something similar in the future.

 

[Raziel]

Raziel deferentially stroked the nape of her neck, pulling some strands of hair aside. Then came the cold kiss of a blade to her neck. Just the flat. In one sharp motion she would feel it run the length of her spine.

A series of thuds on the ground and the dress went slack. Almost the same trick he had used to free the wine.

"Well, if you can wash out the blood I'm sure you can sew some new buttons," he chuckled. Raziel stated behind her, helping her free of the formal clothes.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

A small shiver then thrill ran down her spine as she felt the flat of the blade and quietly, not for the first time that night, she wondered whether she had an uncomfortable relationship with living life dangerously. As the buttons fell to the floor the dress slumped a little and she caught it about her waist before it fell straight to the floor.

"Yes, I'll just tell my maid to add it to her list of chores," pulling her arms free she then let the dress bunch around her waist before tugging it down with the petticoats she wore underneath. Once free and back down to her corset and undergarments she stepped out of the pile of fabric, scooped it up and walked back over to the chest to bundle them back up inside and find her breeches and shirt.

"Here," she threw his jacket at him when she came across it.

 

[Raziel]

The grin seemed to have been permanently etched into his features now. Most would have turned tail and fled at the sight of him like this, but he'd noticed that Lottie seemed to be flirting with the danger he presented.

It made her far more interesting. Raziel didn't look at a situation and chose the course to make it more comfortable, more natural. He wasn't a herd animal, seeking the safety of mundanity. He was a predator.

He caught his jacket with one hand. He would have discarded it immediately, but he really did adore this jacket. He folded it nearly and set it down on a root.

"Who said we were getting dressed again?"

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie's hand froze on her breeches which she had finally found under the heaps of expensive silks and twisted at the waist to look at him. The same shiver of exhilaration ran through her and she seized the clothes in defiance before standing up with them swinging from one finger.

"If you want me to stay like this," she ran a hand down herself slowly though her gaze never left him. "You will need to supply more wine and," she gestured now to his own clothes. "It's only fair those come off too."

 

[Raziel]

His petulent disappointment at her gathering her clothes was soon chased away. His gaze left hers and very predictably followed her hand all the way down.

There were many ways to bring chaos into a situation. Lottie clearly had a self confidence and awareness of her looks. Now he had to draw her far, far away from that comfort zone without crossing the line of their blood pact.

"I am not doing a shopping trip back to the city in my undergarments, so I am afraid we will have to make do with what we have."

His undershirt joined his coat. Raziel was all smooth and scarlet, no tattoos or significant marks across his chest. There were lots of pale little lines along his forearms from the times he had needed to draw deep for his blood magic.

"So you were quite significant nobility?" he asked.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie twisted her wrist so that the clothing was pinched between her fingers and then let them fall dramatically back into the chest when he obligingly removed his shirt to make them more even. She was a little disappointed he didn't feel up to the challenge of walking back into town in his under dressed state for more wine but perhaps he had a more entertaining game in mind.

There was an electric energy running through her and to try and get rid of some of it she jumped, caught the branch above her and swung herself up into it. The last time she had seen that look on his face he had been trying to kill her and whilst that might have been against their pack she had no doubts he would come up with other ways. Perhaps emotion, she thought as her eyes narrowed a little at him and she swung her legs back and forth.

"Yes. Do you know much about Delriada? If you do we can play a game," her eyes lit up with mischief.

 

[Raziel]

"A little," he admitted, "Though I am just passing through."

She had leapt up and out of his immediate reach, but then he still did have her whip. Raziel picked another bottle of wine from the case and held it aloft for her take take.

"You want the wine and then you prance up there without it," he laughed. "So what is this game?"

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

This was more like it, being waited on rather than tortured. She accepted the bottle with a lofty expression and held out a hand in a gesture for him to wait before she took a long drink from the bottle and then set it down between her thighs on the branch.

She caught a drop that ran across her lips and then licked it from her finger before finally speaking.

"You have three guesses and I will answer five questions. My family are famous enough, let's see if you can guess who my daddy dearest is. If you win," she shrugged a little. "Well then I'll play one of your games."

 

[Raziel]

"A house worthy of the attention of the crown Prince, as little as it turned out to be wanted."

Raziel felt a rare flash of sympathy for the girl. It was exceptionally rare in fact.

"Your family, has it fallen from favour since you left the city?" That would tell him if this game was even worth playing. He only knew the ones currently in fashion.