A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 14: Celebration

"Celeste - she showed me a couple of those odd collaborative dances. She was going to teach me, but..."

His face paled a little bit. That was still something of a regret to him. "I understand. I do still wonder about her. Violent deaths with lingering regrets like that will occasionally produce ghosts. Eventually, I should check that her spirit actually moved on."

"I... I think that she might be okay." She said quietly, thinking back on the dream she had. With valiant effort, Ashyr shook the sadness that overcame her for a moment. She missed Celeste, but she would not trade the dead girl for the live animate Caleldir in front of her. Ashyr simply wished she could have both. She rested her head for a moment on his chest during a particularly close part of the dance. When she moved away from him again, her expression was no longer so serious. The drow wanted to enjoy herself, not mourn a death she'd been quietly mourning for a week. Caleldir seemed concerned at first, but they shared a smile and the subject was dropped.

When the first song was over, and people turned to clap their appreciation for the band, Carlotta appeared beside them in all her drunken glory. One of each of her hands were on both their backs. Then both absently slid down to their assess. It was simply a more comfortable place to put her hand - at least the one on Cal since he was over a foot taller than her. It was, however, slightly suspect since it caused her hands to be on different levels. But it was worth it to see Caleldir jump and look rather awkward. "How did I do, Caleldir?" Lotta asked with the absent grin of the inebriated and a gesture towards Ashyr's outfit - she gestured with the hand already on the drow. "Doesn't she look... delicious with a dress on?"

"You did an exceptionally fine job." He told Carlotta. "The dress looks amazing." He sniffed her breath (he could smell it from here) suspiciously. He remembered that with inebriation her inhibitions were... inhibited.

Ashyr laughed aloud. "You're drunk again, Lotta." The drow accused.

"I am." She admitted freely. "And I would like to dance with one of you. I don't care which." She gave each of them a good-natured grin.

"Well..." He said slowly. "If Ashyr wants to take the first dance, I can accompany you on the second." Although he had to admit that she was beautiful, he really would rather not dance with her in her present state. But it was the height of impropriety to refuse a woman a dance: even the monks had drilled that into him.

"Fine." Carlotta said with a put-upon sigh. "I guess you can take turns." The the music started, Ashyr took her by the waist, and the two women spun away from Cal with Ashyr in the lead. The drow gave him a naughty wink just before disappearing into the crowd. Her hand had moved from the redhead's waist to return Carlotta's previous groping gesture, much to the redhead's apparent delight.

While the two women danced, Caleldir stood to the side and watched with mild bemusement. When he lost sight of them, he shrugged and returned to the table to pour himself a glass of juice. He was starting to feel a little bit buzzed, and that fuzzy feeling slowing his mind was not his favorite thing, even if it did make him feel a little happier.

When the next song was over, Ashyr and Carlotta broke from the crowd. Carlotta was giggling, and had a suspicious bruise-like mark on her neck. The drow looked like a pleased cat. Ashyr went straight for her table to sit and recover from being so crowded. She poured herself another glass of wine that she proceeded to take small sips from. Carlotta bounced toward wherever Caleldir had gotten off to.

"Your turn!" She told him in a sing-song voice.

Raising one of his eyebrows in response to the interesting spectacle that the two women presented when they returned, he stood up to greet them. "I suppose that it is." He responded gravely, but with a slight smile. Even if she was drunk and was not Ashyr, she was still quite pretty. If Ashyr did not mind (in social situations he had a tendency to inexplicably return to his traditional thought patterns in defiance of reason...) it would not be unpleasant to spend a dance with her. "It would be my pleasure to dance this dance with you." He said.

The band was gearing up to play a more organized dance this time, a fairly commonplace one for the lands. A singer stepped up to join the rest of the musical people and called out the name of the dance to avoid any confusion. People shuffled into a line separated by men and women. Ashyr sat forward a little to watch what was going on. These sorts of dances were fascinating to watch.

Caleldir sorted himself into the line opposite Carlotta. He had danced this variation before; it was merely a process of repeating memorized moves. Which was good, because memorizing things was what he was best at, after all. When the dancing itself began, he was a model partner, repeating the moves flawlessly, although without much flair. Since this sort of dance - back and forth, brief moments of contact, back into line, back with your partner - was generally considered a good place for conversation, he decided to strike up one with Carlotta. "Are you enjoying the evening?" He asked amiably, following up that with some equally non-committal questions about her profession and hobbies. Just to establish a baseline of acquaintanceship.

The answers came fairly quickly. Carlotta was enjoying the evening. Very much so. So wasn't quite as drunk as she had been the night before; she hinted memories of being sick were behind such... prudence. She had a family in town: a mother and sister. Carlotta had a room at their house, but she preferred to spend her nights at the inn, since it had a distillery that she worked in when she came of age (about three years ago). The wine of the evening had been made by her, in fact. She also made potions on the side when the people of the town needed them. The redhead also flirted casually, though compared to Ashyr's downright forward remarks, she was simply being friendly. She smiled a lot, too. It was a brilliant, friendly expression. Lotta danced without having to think about the moves. She'd danced this dance since she could walk. Her focus was entirely on the conversation, and she continued to visibly enjoy herself.

Caleldir quickly realized that his partner, despite mild inebriation (likely no more than a slight buzz, really), was a much more skilled dancer than he, not having to consider each step the way he did. She was a surprisingly good conversationalist as well. He left the dance with a much higher opinion of the woman than the one he had entered with.

When they returned to the table, Ashyr gave them an amused smile. "Have fun?" She asked, then pulled Carlotta in her lap.

The other woman sat with a sort of pleased squeak that the drow quite frankly found adorable. "Yes." Lotta answered amicably. "I like him." Then she realized that Cal could still hear her. She turned to him, and announced, "I like you, Caleldir." The redhead grabbed Ashyr's half-full glass of wine and drank until there was a quarter of it left. Dancing was thirsty work.

"I'm inclined to agree." She said with a wink towards the person in question.

Caleldir sat across from the two women and began sipping some water. He was too full to eat or drink anything more but he felt he needed to consume something. The ladies' conversation was... interesting. A confused expression came over his face for a moment, before he returned a typically dazzling smile. If a little of his true appearance leaked its way into the expression, well, that was probably because he was slightly tipsy. "And I also enjoy your company, Ms. Carlotta." He responded. "You are a lovely and amiable young woman." He did not notice Ashyr's wink. The alcohol was beginning to dull his suspicions, and he was back to being hopelessly naive.

An idea almost visibly flashed across the dark elf's eyes when she saw Caleldir's dazzling smile. Ashyr's lips narrowed in the attempt to keep a particularly mischievous smile from her lips. She had a plan that couldn't possibly go wrong whatever happened because of it. Either she got to play a joke, or she would have a very full bed that night. The drow leaned forward slightly and whispered something in Carlotta's ear.

The redhead had seen Caleldir's brilliant, strangely attractive smile (it was almost like it was unnatural) and was now paying slightly more attention to the pale elf than she was to the dark one. Upon hearing Ashyr's whispered words, the redhead smiled, blushed, and bit her lower lip in a way Ashyr found quite pleasing. Then she got up, traveled around the table to where Caleldir was, and sat herself down on his lap sideways. The drow, in the meantime, stretched herself out and watched with a catlike expression.

If Carlotta was small enough to fit in Ashyr's lap, she was practically doll-like in Caleldir's. Almost. Caleldir stifled something of a jump when Carlotta plopped herself down, and something of a hunted expression appeared on his face for a moment. Mostly because it would not be long before Carlotta noticed that her proximity was making him hard. He quickly replaced that brief expression with his signature smile, however.

"Ashyr tells me that you're very good a kissing. I've never kissed a man before." Carlotta declared. She bit her lip again, very purposefully this time, and fluttered her eyes up at the elf.

The grin that spread across the drow's lips almost split her face in two as she waited for her... lover's response.

Caleldir's smile faded. "I... suppose that Ashyr would be a better judge of that than I would be." He said somewhat uncertainly. Meeting Carlotta's sultry gaze made refusing her very difficult. "I have only kissed her so far, after all. My own first kiss was with her just a few days ago."

"Wait, really?" Carlotta said with some surprise. Her experience was... complicated. This would not be her first kiss. This wouldn't even be her first kiss today. But it was a first.

Caleldir looked towards Ashyr. It seemed like the Dark Elf put Carlotta up to this. Well, the human was not so drunk that she could no longer control herself, so what the hell? Why not give her a kiss? It was just a kiss, after all. "So." He said cheerfully and slyly. "Would you like me to do something about your kissing inexperience?"

Carlotta returned her attention toward the elf whose lap she sat upon. "Ashyr tells me that new experiences are good for a person." She told him with a nod and a slight upward quirk of one corner of her mouth. She was doing a lot better at hiding her amusement - probably because she was less amused and more interested by the beautiful man in front of her. The redhead did not attempt to make the first move. She was not used to being dominant. Carlotta merely fluttered her eyes shut, leaned up towards his face, and parted her lips slightly.

Not being able to help himself, Caleldir stole another glance at Ashyr, who seemed to be having trouble keeping her amusement down. Not surprising. His assumptions of jealousy were utterly ill-founded: she appeared to delight in teasing this way. If teasing it was...

Not sure where that line of thinking was leading him, Caleldir turned back towards Carlotta. She had put on the most obvious 'please kiss me now' face that he had ever seen. As dense as he could be, even Caleldir could not help but see that. Taking a breath and steeling himself (against what, he was not sure...) Caleldir gently put his arms around Carlotta and lowered his lips down to hers.

The drow watched with continued amusement as the little redhead melted into Caleldir's lips. The amusement, however, was quickly falling into arousal until each emotion had equal shares in her expression. The faces of people who casually glanced over to them, however, seemed mostly confused. Ashyr had to stifle laughter when one person from Artur's troop did a double-take, elbowed his companion, and looked to ask them a baffled question. The other person quirked one eyebrow and looked to the kissing couple and then to Ashyr with bemusement. The drow waggled her eyebrows at the both of them before she turned back to watch.

Carlotta seemed intent on letting herself be thoroughly kissed. Her blushing face grew slightly redder. The redhead turned into him, and would have straddled his lap if she wasn't wearing a dress. Instead, she sat sort of side-saddled. Both her arms rose to rest on his shoulders. When she finally broke away, she looked up at him with slightly lidded eyes and quickened breath. "Ashyr was right." She breathed.

While kissing Carlotta was certainly not unpleasant, quite the opposite, really, when it finally ended a wave of self-consciousness washed over Caleldir. He was dimly aware of others in the caravan watching in confusion. Ashyr did appear to care what her reputation was, but he certainly did. He did not want to get a reputation as a playboy. Still, when he met Carlotta's eyes again, and heard her almost seductive voice, his heart melted again. He really was way too vulnerable to womanly wiles.

Ashyr couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't just sit there and not get involved somehow. Just after Lotta and Cal broke their kiss, she rose and stalked forward towards them. The drow came close enough in time to hear Carlotta's soft words. A self-satisfied smirk flashed across her features. Then Ashyr leaned forward herself and captured the redhead's lips. Obviously a comparison had to be made.

However Caleldir had intended to respond was cut off in surprise. Some small part of him did not think that was exactly fair; she had more than a hundred years of practice, and he only had a week. And powerful charm magic, but that was cheating. Most of him was just surprised though, and more aroused than he wanted to admit. Carlotta at least had to know, given that the lap she was sitting on had a hard part that was not there when she had first sat down. Caleldir privately resolved to bolt for bed once Carlotta vacated his lap before this situation got any more perverse.

Carlotta and Ashyr kissed with similar length and passion as Carlotta's initial kiss with Caleldir. Their hands, however, got just a little bit more... bold. By the end of it, Ashyr had a hand on the redhead's breast and Lotta was doing absolutely nothing to stop it. The redhead seemed a little preoccupied with Ashyr's lips to notice much about the lap she was sitting on. The lust in both the women's eyes was palpable when they finally separated. Lotta shifted slightly, then her eyes widened a bit as she finally noticed the bulge in Caleldir's pants. She shot him a calculating look - which was met with a slightly sheepish and apologetic smile - before turning back to the beautifully dark woman whose lips were still wet from their kissing.

"I think it might be time for us to retire for the night." Ashyr said. There were more people staring than before. Far too many eyes were upon them for even Ashyr to be all that comfortable. The drow still looked quite pleased with herself.

"Yeah." The redhead agreed with heavier breath than before. She hadn't much time to breathe properly between kisses. "I'm tired of the feast."

Both Ashyr and Carlotta exchanged a meaningful look. To an observant person, the way they looked at each other suggested that they had planned something like this all along, and both knew exactly what the other was thinking. The drow doubted that Caleldir would catch on quite yet. Lotta shifted and slid off of his lap, using Ashyr's offered hand to steady herself. "You going to stay here?" The drow asked him with a sly smile. "Or are you done for the night as well?"

Caleldir, naive as ever, was relieved that the two of them were ready to retire. If they were going to bed, he would not have to. Then again, it had been somewhat of a tiring day. Another night with Ashyr, in which the two of them did some actual sleeping together instead of the more figurative sleeping together (although a little of that would be nice too...)would really refresh him. Tomorrow the two of them would have to start plotting about the future.

"I see no need to stay here much longer." Caleldir stated. "Goodnight, Carlotta. It was good to make your acquaintanceship. The kiss was decidedly not unpleasant as well." He turned towards Ashyr. "I will be right behind you. Just going to sample a bit more of the juice before it goes out of season." So saying, he poured himself a small cup. It really was good juice.

Ashyr and Carlotta began to head off towards the inn. Lotta paused for a moment, then ran back to grab the rest of Ashyr's wine. It wouldn't be suspect that the dark elf and human would go back to the inn together. Carlotta had told Caleldir that she spent most of her time there, and technically she had her own bed. The two women, of course, were going back to the same room. Ashyr would have run there if she wasn't wearing that damned dress. All that kissing had driven the poor drow crazy. Lotta didn't seem nearly as desperate, but was otherwise pretty excited.

The drow practically yanked the other woman into the room she and Caleldir shared. She pressed the human against the wall right beside the door. If Caleldir was to enter the room, the door would temporarily block his view from what happened within. Ashyr hoped that it would give her enough time to try to talk him in to not leaving immediately. She was prepared for him run anyway, but a woman could only try and hope for the best.

While they waited, they devoured each other's mouths. The drow almost immediately hiked up the other woman's dress to run her fingers through Carlotta's wetness. Lotta, of course, was wearing just as much under her dress as Ashyr - which was to say: nothing. Both woman, on unspoken agreement, tried their best to remain as quiet as possible. Lotta also knew that convincing Caleldir to do what they had in mind was not going to be easy. Ashyr made that extremely clear. He might not even enter the room if he heard moaning.

--

Finishing up his juice, Caleldir lingered a few minutes longer to talk with a few random acquaintances. Most of them wanted to make knowing remarks about his new love life, coming up with some extravagant situations that he found highly implausible. One older man known for being somewhat of a creep suggested that perhaps he would return to his room to find two women waiting for him there. Caleldir dismissed him. He was a creep, after all. One Ashyr was enough for him, until such a time as she bored of him. Until then, he would stay by her side.

With such cheerful thoughts as this, Caleldir returned to his and Ashyr's room. Opening the door, he did not notice anything unusual except that Ashyr was not in bed. Hmm... Odd. Perhaps she had gone to Carlotta's room instead. A tragedy. It was fun being with her while it lasted. Then again, perhaps she would be back again in the morning. Shrugging, he entered the room fully, closing the door behind him. Then, he saw the two of them. What little color there was in his face drained from it. "Err..." He said uncertainly. "I apologize. I will leave the two of you alone now." With that, he began to open the door again.

Carlotta was already shuddering against the drow when the door finally opened to admit Cal. Ashyr grinned triumphantly and watched with fascination and arousal the redhead's flushed face go through her various stages of pleasure. Lotta couldn't help the gasp of exultation that escaped her lips. When Caleldir noticed them, however, she knew she needed to move quickly. The drow slid between him and the door before he could get it open. She stared up at him with hungry eyes and heavy breath. "You don't have to leave." Ashyr told him as she lightly caressed his arm. Her body pressed forward against his sinuously. "Come on. Stay with us. You can just watch if you want." A crooked grin spread across her face before she said her next words, "Or you can play too. Whatever you want."