[The smile surprises Lune. There doesn't seem to be much worth smiling about tonight, but something about this girl catches her off guard, charms her. There's something easy about it. Something that makes her almost want to smile in return.
She sits in the offered spot, opens the bottle, and sniffs. Oh, that's strong. She takes a sip and offers it to the other girl, trying – not quite succeeding – to smile back.]
My... parents.
[She tries to think of them, to recall their faces and not just the piles of books and charts and notes they left behind, but her mind rebels, starting to whir away of its own volition rather than face the feelings Lune was hoping to sit with tonight. She's had an idea about following Expedition Zero's trajectory, so she'll need to find any records she can on them, study what's known of the landscape of the Continent and how it may have changed, calculate their landing point...]
They were part of Expedition 46.
[The unspoken conclusion: and now I'm certain they're dead. And the unasked question: Who are you mourning?]
[ Sciel nods, averting her gaze so the other girl can have a little time, at least, to share her loss without such direct scrutiny. ]
Mine, too. ...It was my Dad, I mean: not that my parents were Expeditioners. They're both gone now...
[ Her voice is like a sigh on the wind: wistful, but fleeting. Sciel has space carved out in her heart for those she's lost, and she fits her father in there next to the place she'd already made for her mother. ]
They must have been really brave, [ She continues, now glancing back. ] to have gone out like that.
[ Sciel herself doesn't have a lot of thoughts to spare for the Expeditioners. When she does, they're positive, but...there's so much else to do and worry about day to day, what with the delicate chaos of farming. So...thinking too much about the group that regularly ships off for the Continent, never to return, doesn't get a lot of room.
There's a thoughtful sip or two before she offers it again to her companion. ]
[Lune accepts the bottle and takes another sip. Her eyes dart across the city laid out beneath them, her thoughts too tangled to really process what the other girl's said.
She'll need to talk to that boy, the one whose sister Sol is dating. Gérard? Gustave? Grégoire? Something like that. He's an engineer, and about her age she thinks. He might have some good ideas on how to maximise the efficiency of pictos, and if he's planning on joining an Expedition, like she is, maybe— ]
I...
[Right, her parents.]
They were brilliant researchers. Now that they're gone, I'll have to pick up where they left off. There's still so much we don't know about the Continent, the Nevrons, the Paintress and the Gommage, what happened during the Fracture, what caused it in the first place...
[So many questions, and now they fall to her to answer.
She passes the bottle back, and finally properly looks at the girl sitting next to her. Pretty, with a lively spark in her eyes – her eyes look kind – and the tanned glow of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. And pretty.
Not that she should be noticing that sort of thing. It's a distraction from what she needs to be focusing on.]
[ When the other girl talks about her parents, about all the work they left behind for their daughter to continue, Sciel reaches over and puts a hand on the other's shoulder, expression softening. ]
Easy. [ From some, it could come off as patronizing or dismissive, but Lune will see the intent plain in Sciel's face: comfort, understanding, true empathy. Everyone in Lumiére knows pain and loss, but not everyone is as quick or effective in easing the experience in others. ] That might be true, but it isn't true today. Right now, just...breathe. Remember them, but don't push past the loss. Otherwise, we're...forgetting them, in a way. Know what I mean?
[ To bottle up those feelings -- to compartmentalize so you can manage to move on with what needs to be done -- isn't giving them the honor due the dead, she thinks. There's no need to dwell, but... Everything in its time.
The other girl looks back at her and Sciel smiles again, nodding affirmingly. ...It isn't necessarily the most appropriate thought for this moment, but she has no choice but to notice how strikingly beautiful this stranger is, and how -- just from the little she'd said -- she seems to effuse a hungry curiosity that only adds to the overall effect. ]
Sure, I don't mind. [ She maintains the smile as she puts the bottle to her lips, considering what to say. ] My parents were both farmers. They...were some of the hardest-working people I've known. [ Maybe a little too much so, in her mom's case, but farming necessitates long, grueling days. Often times her mother had just been too exhausted by the end to spend as much time with her daughter.
Sciel understood. It'd just meant she'd been closer with her dad, who somehow managed to push through that fatigue after the day's end to talk, to laugh. ]
My mother Gommaged last year. And...I just lost my dad. [ The smile takes on a twinge of sadness, but it's with a fondness, too. ] We were really close. He was such an easygoing person. No matter what happened, he'd manage to go at it with this...calm. [ She exhales, looking up, before raising the bottle again to her lips. ] I learned a lot from him. A lot that...helps, on days like today.
[Her eyes are kind, and so is the hand on Lune's shoulder, warm and solid and gentle in a world that, all too often, is anything but. Her racing thoughts slow. Settle. At least for the moment.
Breathe.
She breathes. Her chest feels tight, despite the alcohol warming her from the inside, and her stomach is churning and there's is still an insurmountable road ahead of her, but she breathes. And, finally, she finds the wherewithal to return the stranger's smile, though hers is wan.
There aren't any platitudes she can offer. 'Sorry' or 'your parents sound like good people' are well-intentioned, but they feel... empty. Nothing like that is equal to the weight of the loss that they're sitting with today, and so Lune says nothing, just listens to the other girl describe her parents, selfishly wondering what it would be like to have a father who could be described as 'easygoing,' and feeling her mind start to hum away again. If she can do what her parents set out to do, if she can figure it all out, so many fewer people will have to grieve as they are now, so many fewer parents will be lost so young, it's all up to her now...
Breathe.
She starts to reach for the other girl's hand, but stops partway. It feels too forward, too vulnerable to offer that kind of comfort to someone she's only just met.]
Was it him you were talking to? [Some people say it helps to speak to the dead, that it keeps them alive in your memories. Lune's never tried.] When I was walking up here, I heard you talking to somebody.
[ The other young woman seems to settle, at least a little, and Sciel smiles. There's so much shit that they've all got to deal with, so being able to actually influence anything for the better is always...refreshing, however small the impact. She exhales herself, feeling some of the lingering tension drift off, allowing her more fully to focus on the warmth of the drink and the conversation. ]
Yeah, it was. [ Sciel notes the twitch of her new friend's hand but doesn't reach out herself -- at least, not yet. She'd been the one to make initial contact, after all, and she's hardly trying to scare the girl away when they're getting on so nicely. (She does shift, though, to make her hand a little more easily reachable, should Lune change her mind.) ] He used to tell me to share my thoughts with the stars, and...well, the stars may be up there somewhere, but so is he, now. Whether he's in some kind of afterlife with my mom, or they're both just gone...either way, I feel them up there, if only a little. And that's where I'll join them someday.
[ What may be overly morbid in another's words is strangely peaceful, even hopeful, in Sciel's. The young farmer rolls her head to smile at her companion again, idly kicking her shoe against the overhang of the tower. ]
Is it just you, now? [ Maybe this isn't something the other girl wants to talk about, but Sciel poses it with a gentle interest. ] Any other family, or...?
[There's a grim comfort in the idea of an afterlife, but Lune can't bring herself to indulge in it. It's the here and now that matters to her, what she can do to stop the Paintress and save Lumière. She can't bring herself to pin any hope on a hypothetical.
She can't find comfort in the possibility of an afterlife, the way her new acquaintance seems to, but maybe she can offer some comfort in the here and now. Her hand strays a little closer, fingertips brushing against the other girl's. It's tentative, careful, lacking the strength and steadiness of the hand that was laid on her own shoulder, but no less sincere.]
My brother and sister. Sol and Stella. I don't think they expected our parents to come back once they left on their Expedition, so... they've already done their mourning.
[She knows they'd offer her a tight hug and probably an admonishment to take some time off, but it isn't they same for them. They've gone off and are living their lives while she's had to stay behind and continue the work. They can't really understand what it means for her to have confirmation that their parents aren't coming home.]
And Tristan. He was apprenticed to my parents, so we grew up together. He's a friend.
[Her easy tone makes it clear that there's nothing to read into the word 'friend.']
[ Interesting. The hand moves closer, ghosting across Sciel's own fingers. It's surprising, but not at all unwelcome, and though she doesn't draw attention to it by glancing down, she does close the gap by lacing their fingers together.
In the meantime: ] You're lucky to have them. [ There's a pause, then she chuckles. ] Now I know your siblings' and your friend's names, but not yours. [ The sideways smile continues as she cocks her head in the stranger's direction. ] I'm Sciel.
[ But, to her question. Sciel bobs her head in a nod, glancing back out over the city for a moment before she's turning again, as if drawn magnetically toward Lune. ]
No blood relatives left, but that's alright. I work at Aquafarm 3, and those people are family. [ Sophie, Gustave, and all the others. ] Some of them lost people today, too... I'll need to check up on them later.
[ Definitively 'later,' though. Because right now, the idea of leaving feels...unpleasant. Between the unexpected company and the warm contentedness of the drink on an empty stomach, it almost feels like she could stay up here forever. That all the pain of their lives might be contained below... ]
...How have I not seen you before? [ She asks wonderingly, searching Lune's face, as if they might have met once and forgot. ] I would remember someone like you. Beautiful, and... [ What's the word she's looking for? ] Fierce, somehow. [ In that easy, but bold way that she operates, Sciel lifts her free hand to brush aside an errant wisp of hair from the other's face. ] Have you been hiding?
Lune, [she says by way of introduction. Her fingers tighten around Sciel's, and she even leans in to the hand that brushes against the side of her face. It does surprise her, momentarily, to be so openly flirted with, but she finds herself unexpectedly craving connection. And she likes people who can surprise her, the exhilarating jolt of the expected that warms her insides even more than the drink has.]
I came here wanting to be alone. I spend a lot of time alone, with my books. There's always so much work to do.
[She doesn't look at Sciel as she speaks, her eyes fixed on the city below them, her hair falling in a curtain between them. Always so much work, no time for friends, or lovers. Her free hand rests on her leg, the heel of her hand digging hard into her thigh, betraying her exhaustion and frustration and grief and the complex web of feelings she has surrounding her parents even as her face remains impassive.]
The first time I ever went on a date, neither of my parents said anything, but I could feel how disappointed they were that I was wasting time on a girl instead of my studies.
[She looks back to Sciel.]
Despite how... overbearing they could be, I wish they were still here. I don't know if I can do all of this without them. And I... I'm glad I don't have to be alone tonight, after all.
[ It's no secret that what some choose to do during the Gommage is...well, a bit carnal. Those whose number is up may rather spend it lost in another's arms than facing the Monolith in those last moments. And for those who still have time left, the day is such a stark reminder of the harsh reality they face that they turn to something that evokes the intensity of life rather than dwelling on loss.
This isn't an option she's really considered before (even though she'd been flirting), but with her company's -- Lune's -- hands in hers, Sciel thinks idly that it might not be an awful idea... ]
If you came to be alone, I don't want to intrude. [ And she does mean it, though Lune will find her new friend very easily persuaded to stay, too. ] But...the work will still be there tomorrow. We've got time, Lune.
[ Whether she means 'time remaining in their lives to continue on with their respective duties' or 'time today to spend frivolously' is up for interpretation.
Sciel listens with an understanding, curious smile as Lune speaks, lowering the hand that had brushed the other's face. 'Wasting time on a girl,' is it? ]
You could have told them that collaboration's an important part of everything. That two minds together might make a breakthrough that one couldn't alone. [ It's the same for farming, getting a second opinion can push through previously-unbreachable problems. Though she's partially joking to be flirty, she's...really not joking.
Sometimes things can just be win-win. ]
But I understand. I didn't have a lot of time for it, myself. Or maybe...I just wasn't thinking about all that. Much, that is. There may have been a one-off or two between busy seasons, but they never went anywhere. [ Here she sighs, kicking her heel again against the Tower. ] There was one girl that-...well, I thought we'd had potential, but then I never heard from her again. [ Sciel grins, shrugging. ] Either I'm an awful kisser, or... I dunno.
[ Water off a duck's back. Her expression levels out a bit at the last piece Lune shares, and she squeezes the other's hand in return. ]
I know it feels impossible, but you can do it: I can tell. [ Here she leans in a little, studying Lune's face, adopting a knowing smile in spite of their having just met. ] I feel like you're the kind of person who can make it through just about anything.
[ Seems like that answers her question of whether or not Lune would prefer she scoot back down the Tower and leave her new acquaintance to her grief. It sends a little thrill of happiness through her chest to hear, and she reaches to cover their linked hands in her free one. ]
You don't have to be alone ever, after this. Meaning -- if you're ever working on your projects and you just want someone around to...bounce ideas off of? Say the word, and I'll come if I can. We've got to look out for each other, yeah?
[ It's true of everyone, with the population decreasing every year... All they have is each other, really. People, and moments like this. And that's why you hold on. ]
She's done the maths; who in Lumière hasn't? She knows that on this day in thirteen years, she's going to die. And she's got twelve years to prepare for the Expedition she plans on joining. Twelve years feels like a lifetime, and it feels like no time at all. She can practically hear her parents in her head, admonishing her for even considering the thing she's considering right now — it's a distraction, there is no time for distractions, the work is everything and she's the only one who can do it now – but Sciel is so warm and her smile is so bright, and, if Lune's honest with herself, it's lonely being her parents' daughter. Maybe, for tonight at least, she can make the time.
For Sciel, she wants to make the time.]
I thought you'd be fending off a whole host of suitors. [Sciel is warm, bright, kind. Just a short time with her, and Lune can already feel the tightness in her chest easing. And the more she looks at Sciel, the more details of her face she notices, and each of those details adds up to a prettier and prettier picture. She's genuinely surprised Sciel's single.] I could... offer you feedback, if you're worried your kissing is that bad.
[Forward, and oh so very vulnerable. Her eyes meet Sciel's, trying to gauge the other girl's response.]
[ What Lune says earns her a surprised -- but delighted -- laugh, and Sciel flashes her teeth in a grin. ]
The only thing I'm usually fending off is-...flies? [ There are a few chuckles as she shakes her head, heaving a sigh. ] Which is very sexy, I know. But...no, not really something I've been especially involved with.
[ Doesn't mean she'd never done anything, as she'd already admitted, and it doesn't mean she hadn't thought about it, either. But Sciel is the type of person to generally take life as it comes, and life hasn't really given her the chance for anything even close to romance.
...Yet. Which is why this moment -- so unexpectedly charged -- is so interesting.
What Lune says next: even more so. It manages to surprise her yet again, and Sciel's brows lift over a lopsided smile. ]
All of a sudden, it's my biggest concern. [ Those bright, playful eyes flit down to the other's lips before slowly traveling back up to meet Lune's eyes. ] And I'm very open...to feedback.
[ Really, is it so odd that two people who were suffering losses might try to fill that void together? It's absolutely not the first time. And, fortunately, Sciel doesn't over-analyze these things. They're both interested. What's the harm?
She leans in a little, offering parted lips, allowing Lune to close the distance and officially give the go-ahead. ]
[The warmth of the alcohol suddenly feels like a candle flame in comparison to the roaring inferno the unfurls in Lune's chest when Sciel leans towards her with her lips parted.]
Good. Feedback strengthens collaboration. And collaboration, [she says, teasingly echoing Sciel's earlier words,] is an important part of everything.
[When their lips meet, it's a neat kiss that Lune gives her, by the book, a little rigid and careful. Maybe she's the one that that needs feedback.
She raises her free hand to touch Sciel's cheek, and she can't tell which of them is burning hot.
She tries to count the seconds – isn't it funny, how time seems to slow down in moments like these? – but quickly becomes so lost in Sciel that the time ceases to matter. For as long as she's kissing her, Lune's thoughts are quiet. There are no parents, no legacy, no siblings, no Expeditions and no Paintress, no books or charts or records. Her grief for her parents feels distant, her fear of failing them even moreso. No wonder some people choose to spend the day of the Gommage in a lover's embrace rather than at the harbour.
When she finally pulls away, face flush and a little out of breath – she's done this before, but it's never felt quite so intense – she has no idea how much time has passed. She smiles, curious and searching, as her gaze flicks from Sciel's lips up to her eyes.]
It's a good technique. [Enthusiastic, anyway. Whether it's technically good or not, Lune isn't in much of a position to judge. All she knows is she liked it. And she'd like to keep kissing Sciel, if Sciel would like the same.] But a little sloppy. You could use more practise.
[ Quick study, Sciel thinks, but doesn't say, because her lips are otherwise occupied. She instead smiles against the kiss, lifting the free hand again to cup Lune's cheek, thumbing along the jawline.
Yes, they're both a little by the book so far: still young in age and experience. Sciel has a slow ease to the motions that suggest she's savoring it, occasionally dragging her teeth along Lune's bottom lip in a light graze, sometimes seemingly just drinking up the moment without moving much at all, as if she might live in it.
Time is their constant enemy under the Paintress, but even she seems to have no power here. The moments are locked within their own little world: untouchable by death or grief or anything else. Sciel lifts her shoulder to bump against Lune's hand where it rests against her own cheek, if only to instigate that little extra bit of contact.
The kiss (or, kisses, really) comes to a pause as the two women break apart for the moment. Sciel's chest rises and falls with the missed breaths, lips and cheeks equally rosy. Between the bit she'd had to drink and...all this, there is a roiling boil in the pit of her stomach. ]
"A little sloppy?" [ That earns Lune a laugh, and Sciel leans back just a little to cross her arms (pretending to look offended is difficult when you can't wipe the grin from your face). ] ...Well, I did say I was open to feedback, so I can't blame you for giving it. [ As if drawn magnetically, her eyes find the other's lips again, and her smile softens into something more sensual. ] ...I defer to your judgment. More practice it is, then.
[ Maybe a little overeager, she closes the gap with a little more vigor this time, becoming increasingly hungry for the taste of her kiss, the touch of her skin... ]
[As blazing hot as Lune feels, she finds herself wanting more. More affection, more closeness, more heat. It's as though a dam is cracking inside of her, freeing desires she's been unknowingly holding at bay, and every kiss, every touch, every time Sciel smiles, only makes the dam's breaking more inevitable.
As their lips meet again, Lune shifts in an effort to pull Sciel closer. It's an awkward sort of attempt to realign their bodies, but in the moment the awkwardness doesn't matter as long as she can feel Sciel against her. She notes the strength in Sciel's hands, the callouses on her fingers; Lune's hands, by contrast, are quick, lithe, agile, the hands of someone who works with pens and fine tools and guitar strings. One hand dances across Sciel's cheek, down the side of her throat, feeling the pulse there, around the back of her head and finally slipping through her hair, while the other settling on her waist, thumb stroking along the hem of Sciel's shirt in the hopes of finding the warmth of bare skin.
Finally, Lune pulls away again. It's unfortunate, but she needs to breathe.]
Practise does make perfect. [The smile on her face is positively goofy.
Her hand leaves Sciel's hair to brush down the side of her throat again, until her palm comes to rest on Sciel's upper chest, her fingertips lightly touching the pulse point in her throat. Lune can't help but marvel at the pounding of Sciel's heart, echoed by her own heart straining against her ribs.]
You're beautiful. [It's meant as an observation more than a compliment. Just a scientist noting objective reality.]
[ The whole experience so far is...dream-like. A moment out of time, out of place on this day so choked with death. Yet they're both warm, aglow with desire and life. Sciel kisses Lune and can almost believe that they're just two young women living in a world where their biggest concerns could be whether or not the other wants to meet up again after this.
(She does hope very much that Lune wants to meet up again after this.)
The kiss is almost like it's her first time kissing anyone in that it blows any others out of the water in every way. The intensity of how her body is responding to Lune's advances is a surprise, but a good one, and she can only hope that she's able to do the same for her partner. Lune's hands roam a bit as their bodies come closer together, and Sciel takes it a step further and swings a leg over the other's lap without breaking contact. Now straddling her -- albeit with her hips lifted a bit -- she's able to grin down at Lune when they come up for air. ]
Happy to hear I've improved. [ Unconsciously, her tongue flits across her own lip as if she might still taste Lune there.
Sciel lifts a hand to lay it over the one at her chest, feeling her own pounding heart through the other woman's slender palm. ]
So are you. [ It's not an empty compliment for the sake of returning one; she isn't that kind of person. Sciel looks down at the near-stranger who'd happened to cross her path at the best-worst time and marvels at the way life can be funny, actually. How lucky she is, in these rare moments. ]
I... [ Sciel laughs breathily, searching Lune's face. The amount of desire she feels right now is overwhelming, but she's also trying to be careful. They both seem to be on the same page, but it is also an emotionally-fraught day, and they've both had a bit to drink. ] ...Want to see all of you, if you're open.
[ Though she'd also be more than content to keep all their clothes on, genuinely. Spending the rest of the day making out with, and talking to, this incredible woman would be far from a disappointment. ]
[In another life, maybe Lune could spend years memorising the placement of every freckle and the exact shade of green of Sciel's eyes. In another life, they would have forty, fifty, sixty years to get to know one another, to decide whether this would be a casual fling born of mutual grief or the start of a lifelong romance.
In another life...
In this life, they have this, tonight, and when Sciel laughs another crack in the dam inside her forms, wider than the rest. God, she wants...]
Hang on. I've been practising something of my own.
[She scooches out from under Sciel and moves a few feet away so she's got room to hold out her hand and summon a blanket from pictos. It appears out of sparkles of golden light, laid out on the floor, heavy and soft and long enough for them to lay down on.]
There. That'll be more comfortable.
[She sheds her jacket without fanfare. It doesn't even occur to her to be seductive about it; she just wants the thing off. And then she holds her hand out to Sciel as she sits on the blanket, hoping to pull the other girl back into her lap before guiding Sciel's hand to the buttons of her shirt.]
Oh? [ Her brows lift in question as Lune speaks, withdraws again. There's a little noise of discontent as the other woman moves out from under her, though she's hopeful it won't be for long, and that the diversion will have been worth it...
When the blanket appears, her lips part wonderingly. Yes, absolutely, this is worth it. ]
How did you...? [ Sciel runs a hand along it, chuckling. ] ...Just when I think you can't get more surprising. [ She looks pleased -- and obviously impressed -- as she returns her eyes to Lune and shifts back onto the blanket.
The jacket goes. Sciel follows suit, shrugging her own off without another thought. When the invitation is extended again, she returns to where she'd been earlier, albeit with her hips, where the heat of a growing want is smoldering, lowered down over the other's lap.
Lune's nimble hands find hers and bring them to the front of her shirt, and Sciel's pleased smile only grows as she obliges. Inclining her head slightly, she busies herself with undoing each one, though it's still slow. Deliberate. After all, why rush? Yes, they've both sort of been snowballing ahead, fueled by the unexpected need, but they have time. The delay only serves to sweeten the end result. That's her philosophy, anyway, as she works her way down until the garment comes free. Sciel then leans back just a little to pull her own top over her head, tossing it to the side unceremoniously. ]
Much more comfortable. [ Sciel agrees, drinking in the sight of more of the other's skin, gliding her fingertips across Lune's navel. ] You were right.
[ She imagines Lune is usually right: she seems the type to not act on a hunch. The wandering hand drifts up and along the other woman's side, dancing along her shoulder, all the while tracing the fabric of her bra. ]
Any other tricks up your former sleeves that I should know about? [ Sciel asks, as her fingers continue their exploration of newfound territory. ]
[Patience is important to every scientific discipline. A rushed experiment is a botched experiment, a hastily drawn conclusion is much more likely to be wrong. Lune imagines it's the same in farming; the seeds planted in spring can't be harvested til autumn, and there are months where you won't know whether your hard work will grow into something worthwhile or wither in the field. Right now, she feels right in the middle of one of those months, desperately waiting for something that she knows requires time to grow.
She waits patiently while Sciel unbuttons her shirt and slips it off, revealing the intricate gold lines of a tattoo curving over her shoulder and beginning to extend down her upper arm. She watches Sciel pull her own shirt off and toss it aside, revealing muscles rippling beneath sun-kissed skin. And she exerts a truly heroic amount of patience as Sciel's fingers start a tour of her body.]
I've been working on some elemental pictos. Starting fires, calling lightning, that sort of thing. It'll be useful, when I join an Expedition.
[Not something that feels particularly relevant just now. In this little pocket of time they've carved out for themselves, Sciel is the most important thing in the world.
Lune's hips twitch upwards of their own volition as Sciel settles fully into her lap, and she wraps an arm around Sciel's waist, hand sitting in the small of her back. All the heat in her is coiling tight and low in her belly, throbbing between her legs, and Sciel's light touch is nowhere near enough to sate her. She's only got so much patience.
She slips her other hand between them, brushing her fingers over Sciel's abs before dipping, with a curious, exploratory touch, beneath her waistband.]
[ Yes, patience is key. It's a critical component in both their livelihoods, and Sciel knows it has an important place in their time together on this particular day. ...But, Sciel is also a subscriber to a carpe diem sort of mindset. Everyone here knows their time is limited, and that they need to take some leaps to make it really count.
That's part of how they've gotten this far this fast. From meeting in mourning to throwing off their clothes on a summoned blanket, quickly desperate for the other's touch. ]
Impressive. [ Said on an exhale, low and hungry. She is very much listening -- Lune is an incredibly fascinating person far beyond just her physical appeal -- but she's also tracing the newly-exposed lines on the young woman's skin, aware (though not ashamed) of the callouses on her fingertips. ] And a future expeditioner. Just when I thought you couldn't get much more interesting.
[ Somehow, it's perfectly in line with her limited experience with Lune thus far that she would be able to surprise Sciel so much already. ]
I'd say you're already very good at starting fires. [ She murmurs, shifting her hips against the other's. It rapidly stokes the need that burns between her legs: a heat that Lune will unquestionably feel through the fabric of their pants.
(Distantly, Sciel wonders if she's ever wanted anyone so intensely. If she ever would again, after this.)
Lune asks permission and Sciel lays a hand over hers briefly before removing it, letting it again drift upward. ]
Please. [ It's still low, and just as needy as before. In the meantime, she reaches around to unclasp Lune's bra, letting it fall away (with some assistance from her partner) before moving to thumb a circle around the peak of her breast, taking it into her hand and massaging in ongoing exploration. ]
And this? [ She asks, leaning in with a playful glint in her eye. ]
[Lune shrugs out of her bra, helping Sciel to get it off of her.
An affirmative mmmmhm is her only response to Sciel's question, though she also can't help a husky laugh at the joke about starting fires.]
We're both guilty of starting fires tonight, I'd say.
[She wants to ask whether Sciel plans on joining an Expedition too, whether she's got any interest in pictos, how useful she thinks chroma might be in farming, whether she—
Her breath hitches when Sciel's hand cups her breast, and she impulsively leans in for another kiss, trying to close whatever distance remains between them. One hand remains firm against Sciel's lower back. The other finally dips into Sciel's trousers, beneath her waistband and then stroking further down, finding her achingly wet.
That dam inside Lune finally breaks. There's so much she's been holding back, so much desire she's never allowed herself to indulge; even when her parents weren't chiding her aloud she could hear their voices in her head every time she so much as glanced at an attractive person in the street. There are more important things than relationships. Don't get distracted, Lune. You need to focus, Lune. You won't be able to concentrate on the work if your head is full of pretty girls. Perhaps her parents were right, because right now Lune's head is entirely full of one pretty girl in particular, so full that there's no room left for thoughts of anything else and all Lune can focus on is how badly she wants to lose herself in Sciel's arms. Maybe permanently.
In one quick, decisive motion, she attempts to roll them both over so Sciel will be on her back beneath her. Her hands settle on Sciel's belt, but she doesn't start undoing it just yet.]
[ Sciel meets Lune's lips with a low, pleased hum, crashing back against her mouth with a renewed hunger. This time she's more bold, tongue pressing for permission to enter, to explore, to tangle with Lune's own. In the meantime, one of her hands cups the breast, thumb circling the nipple in intentional orbit.
It's difficult, but not impossible, to focus on pleasing her partner when the other woman's fingers are below Sciel's waistband, moving along the wet heat that waits there. There's a low, desperate moan from within the young farmer as she nearly bucks into the contact, mind wildly overcome with desire for those fingers to go farther, faster, deeper -- ]
Merde -- [ It feels as though her blood has ignited within her; when she breaks for air, she's heaving breaths. Even so, the break is brief, and she closes the distance again soon to get another taste.
Then she's on her back, chest rising and falling heavily, expression shifting gradually from ravenous to surprised to pleased. ]
Go on, then. [ Comes the encouragement. While Lune works off her bottom half, she quickly removes anything left on top, leaving her chest bare. There are already some tattoos there, lined in gold, but not nearly as many as there will be by the time they meet again.
In the meantime, Sciel seems unable (or unwilling) to leave her hands without the feeling of Lune, and so she lifts them to tangle in that raven hair, to drift across smooth shoulders: whatever she can reach. ]
Can't believe I almost spent today alone. Reminiscing. [ There's a faint, sardonic smile at that. ] Luckily, you've spared me that.
Would it be terribly corny of me to say I'd rather make new memories than dwell on old ones?
[Lune's focus has narrowed in on one singular goal: get Sciel's clothes off as quickly and efficiently as possible. Shoes are discarded, followed by a hurried manoeuvring of Sciel's legs to pull her trousers and underwear off. Every new inch of exposed skin is a thrilling new location to chart, and Lune wants to explore it all. She can't stop smiling giddily at the prospect of so much to discover.
And finally, finally, Lune is kneeling over a fully naked Sciel, Sciel's legs bracketing her hips, gazing down at a woman she'd called beautiful earlier without being able to truly appreciate just how beautiful she is. The sight of Sciel beneath her steals her breath away, if only for a moment, leaving her – possibly for the first time in her life – speechless.
The tattoos catch her eye and pique her curiosity, momentarily distracting her from how very naked the woman underneath her is. There's so much she wants to ask, so much she wants to learn about Sciel. She starts to trace the tattoos, her fingers mapping the lines with precision, though Sciel's hands on her make it difficult to concentrate and her own hands are uncharacteristically unsteady.]
What do your tattoos mean? Are they pictos, or just body art? If they're pictos, what do they do? Do they help you with your work? [Lune struggles to imagine a reason for anything that isn't to do with work.]
No, you're absolutely right. [ The less said about their losses and the Gommage, the better.
Lune's seen to swiftly liberating her from her clothes and Sciel shifts beneath her, stretching up a little, arcing her back. ]
That's better. [ She murmurs, lifting a hand to the other woman's own waistband. ] Though I think we've still got some work to do, no?
[ It isn't just Lune who wants to see all of her partner, after all.
The questions elicit another endeared laugh, and she covers the wandering hand with her own as it presses to the lines in her skin. ]
Pictos. [ She confirms, corners of her lips quirking further upward. ] Some of them help with my work. Some of them don't.
[ Eventually, she'll swap them out for those that would help on the Expedition, which augment the fighting style she'll adopt. For now, though, there's a bit of a crackle and a flurry of light and shadow and she's got a tarot card between two raised fingers. ]
Your card, mademoiselle? [ It's "The Lovers," because of course it is. ]
[Lune grins, delighted, and plucks the card from Sciel's hand. Of course it's The Lovers.]
I didn't know there was a lot of card play involved in farming. [Still struggling to wrap her mind around the concept of using pictos purely for fun.
Still smiling, she leans down for another kiss. It's amazing that she's found anything to smile about today, but every time her mind starts to drift back to the Gommage, her parents, the Paintress, Sciel is there with her bright eyes and infectious laugh, inviting Lune to lose herself entirely.
She does need to get her trousers off, but instead of doing anything about that, the hand on Sciel's chest starts to drift, finding Sciel's breast, cupping it, running a thumb in a slow circle over her nipple. Maybe she's inspired by Sciel's pictos, maybe she just wants to try something new with one of her own, she couldn't say; either way, she conjures a little cloud of ice crystals in the palm of her hand. It's only enough to tickle, really, not enough to freeze, but it stands in sharp contrast to the raging heat between them. She holds the ice over Sciel's breast, feeling her nipple stiffen as her other hand slips down to Sciel's thigh.]
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She sits in the offered spot, opens the bottle, and sniffs. Oh, that's strong. She takes a sip and offers it to the other girl, trying – not quite succeeding – to smile back.]
My... parents.
[She tries to think of them, to recall their faces and not just the piles of books and charts and notes they left behind, but her mind rebels, starting to whir away of its own volition rather than face the feelings Lune was hoping to sit with tonight. She's had an idea about following Expedition Zero's trajectory, so she'll need to find any records she can on them, study what's known of the landscape of the Continent and how it may have changed, calculate their landing point...]
They were part of Expedition 46.
[The unspoken conclusion: and now I'm certain they're dead. And the unasked question: Who are you mourning?]
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Mine, too. ...It was my Dad, I mean: not that my parents were Expeditioners. They're both gone now...
[ Her voice is like a sigh on the wind: wistful, but fleeting. Sciel has space carved out in her heart for those she's lost, and she fits her father in there next to the place she'd already made for her mother. ]
They must have been really brave, [ She continues, now glancing back. ] to have gone out like that.
[ Sciel herself doesn't have a lot of thoughts to spare for the Expeditioners. When she does, they're positive, but...there's so much else to do and worry about day to day, what with the delicate chaos of farming. So...thinking too much about the group that regularly ships off for the Continent, never to return, doesn't get a lot of room.
There's a thoughtful sip or two before she offers it again to her companion. ]
Do you want to talk about them?
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She'll need to talk to that boy, the one whose sister Sol is dating. Gérard? Gustave? Grégoire? Something like that. He's an engineer, and about her age she thinks. He might have some good ideas on how to maximise the efficiency of pictos, and if he's planning on joining an Expedition, like she is, maybe— ]
I...
[Right, her parents.]
They were brilliant researchers. Now that they're gone, I'll have to pick up where they left off. There's still so much we don't know about the Continent, the Nevrons, the Paintress and the Gommage, what happened during the Fracture, what caused it in the first place...
[So many questions, and now they fall to her to answer.
She passes the bottle back, and finally properly looks at the girl sitting next to her. Pretty, with a lively spark in her eyes – her eyes look kind – and the tanned glow of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. And pretty.
Not that she should be noticing that sort of thing. It's a distraction from what she needs to be focusing on.]
Do you want to talk about yours?
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Easy. [ From some, it could come off as patronizing or dismissive, but Lune will see the intent plain in Sciel's face: comfort, understanding, true empathy. Everyone in Lumiére knows pain and loss, but not everyone is as quick or effective in easing the experience in others. ] That might be true, but it isn't true today. Right now, just...breathe. Remember them, but don't push past the loss. Otherwise, we're...forgetting them, in a way. Know what I mean?
[ To bottle up those feelings -- to compartmentalize so you can manage to move on with what needs to be done -- isn't giving them the honor due the dead, she thinks. There's no need to dwell, but... Everything in its time.
The other girl looks back at her and Sciel smiles again, nodding affirmingly. ...It isn't necessarily the most appropriate thought for this moment, but she has no choice but to notice how strikingly beautiful this stranger is, and how -- just from the little she'd said -- she seems to effuse a hungry curiosity that only adds to the overall effect. ]
Sure, I don't mind. [ She maintains the smile as she puts the bottle to her lips, considering what to say. ] My parents were both farmers. They...were some of the hardest-working people I've known. [ Maybe a little too much so, in her mom's case, but farming necessitates long, grueling days. Often times her mother had just been too exhausted by the end to spend as much time with her daughter.
Sciel understood. It'd just meant she'd been closer with her dad, who somehow managed to push through that fatigue after the day's end to talk, to laugh. ]
My mother Gommaged last year. And...I just lost my dad. [ The smile takes on a twinge of sadness, but it's with a fondness, too. ] We were really close. He was such an easygoing person. No matter what happened, he'd manage to go at it with this...calm. [ She exhales, looking up, before raising the bottle again to her lips. ] I learned a lot from him. A lot that...helps, on days like today.
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Breathe.
She breathes. Her chest feels tight, despite the alcohol warming her from the inside, and her stomach is churning and there's is still an insurmountable road ahead of her, but she breathes. And, finally, she finds the wherewithal to return the stranger's smile, though hers is wan.
There aren't any platitudes she can offer. 'Sorry' or 'your parents sound like good people' are well-intentioned, but they feel... empty. Nothing like that is equal to the weight of the loss that they're sitting with today, and so Lune says nothing, just listens to the other girl describe her parents, selfishly wondering what it would be like to have a father who could be described as 'easygoing,' and feeling her mind start to hum away again. If she can do what her parents set out to do, if she can figure it all out, so many fewer people will have to grieve as they are now, so many fewer parents will be lost so young, it's all up to her now...
Breathe.
She starts to reach for the other girl's hand, but stops partway. It feels too forward, too vulnerable to offer that kind of comfort to someone she's only just met.]
Was it him you were talking to? [Some people say it helps to speak to the dead, that it keeps them alive in your memories. Lune's never tried.] When I was walking up here, I heard you talking to somebody.
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Yeah, it was. [ Sciel notes the twitch of her new friend's hand but doesn't reach out herself -- at least, not yet. She'd been the one to make initial contact, after all, and she's hardly trying to scare the girl away when they're getting on so nicely. (She does shift, though, to make her hand a little more easily reachable, should Lune change her mind.) ] He used to tell me to share my thoughts with the stars, and...well, the stars may be up there somewhere, but so is he, now. Whether he's in some kind of afterlife with my mom, or they're both just gone...either way, I feel them up there, if only a little. And that's where I'll join them someday.
[ What may be overly morbid in another's words is strangely peaceful, even hopeful, in Sciel's. The young farmer rolls her head to smile at her companion again, idly kicking her shoe against the overhang of the tower. ]
Is it just you, now? [ Maybe this isn't something the other girl wants to talk about, but Sciel poses it with a gentle interest. ] Any other family, or...?
[ A partner, maybe? ]
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She can't find comfort in the possibility of an afterlife, the way her new acquaintance seems to, but maybe she can offer some comfort in the here and now. Her hand strays a little closer, fingertips brushing against the other girl's. It's tentative, careful, lacking the strength and steadiness of the hand that was laid on her own shoulder, but no less sincere.]
My brother and sister. Sol and Stella. I don't think they expected our parents to come back once they left on their Expedition, so... they've already done their mourning.
[She knows they'd offer her a tight hug and probably an admonishment to take some time off, but it isn't they same for them. They've gone off and are living their lives while she's had to stay behind and continue the work. They can't really understand what it means for her to have confirmation that their parents aren't coming home.]
And Tristan. He was apprenticed to my parents, so we grew up together. He's a friend.
[Her easy tone makes it clear that there's nothing to read into the word 'friend.']
Have you got anybody else?
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In the meantime: ] You're lucky to have them. [ There's a pause, then she chuckles. ] Now I know your siblings' and your friend's names, but not yours. [ The sideways smile continues as she cocks her head in the stranger's direction. ] I'm Sciel.
[ But, to her question. Sciel bobs her head in a nod, glancing back out over the city for a moment before she's turning again, as if drawn magnetically toward Lune. ]
No blood relatives left, but that's alright. I work at Aquafarm 3, and those people are family. [ Sophie, Gustave, and all the others. ] Some of them lost people today, too... I'll need to check up on them later.
[ Definitively 'later,' though. Because right now, the idea of leaving feels...unpleasant. Between the unexpected company and the warm contentedness of the drink on an empty stomach, it almost feels like she could stay up here forever. That all the pain of their lives might be contained below... ]
...How have I not seen you before? [ She asks wonderingly, searching Lune's face, as if they might have met once and forgot. ] I would remember someone like you. Beautiful, and... [ What's the word she's looking for? ] Fierce, somehow. [ In that easy, but bold way that she operates, Sciel lifts her free hand to brush aside an errant wisp of hair from the other's face. ] Have you been hiding?
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I came here wanting to be alone. I spend a lot of time alone, with my books. There's always so much work to do.
[She doesn't look at Sciel as she speaks, her eyes fixed on the city below them, her hair falling in a curtain between them. Always so much work, no time for friends, or lovers. Her free hand rests on her leg, the heel of her hand digging hard into her thigh, betraying her exhaustion and frustration and grief and the complex web of feelings she has surrounding her parents even as her face remains impassive.]
The first time I ever went on a date, neither of my parents said anything, but I could feel how disappointed they were that I was wasting time on a girl instead of my studies.
[She looks back to Sciel.]
Despite how... overbearing they could be, I wish they were still here. I don't know if I can do all of this without them. And I... I'm glad I don't have to be alone tonight, after all.
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This isn't an option she's really considered before (even though she'd been flirting), but with her company's -- Lune's -- hands in hers, Sciel thinks idly that it might not be an awful idea... ]
If you came to be alone, I don't want to intrude. [ And she does mean it, though Lune will find her new friend very easily persuaded to stay, too. ] But...the work will still be there tomorrow. We've got time, Lune.
[ Whether she means 'time remaining in their lives to continue on with their respective duties' or 'time today to spend frivolously' is up for interpretation.
Sciel listens with an understanding, curious smile as Lune speaks, lowering the hand that had brushed the other's face. 'Wasting time on a girl,' is it? ]
You could have told them that collaboration's an important part of everything. That two minds together might make a breakthrough that one couldn't alone. [ It's the same for farming, getting a second opinion can push through previously-unbreachable problems. Though she's partially joking to be flirty, she's...really not joking.
Sometimes things can just be win-win. ]
But I understand. I didn't have a lot of time for it, myself. Or maybe...I just wasn't thinking about all that. Much, that is. There may have been a one-off or two between busy seasons, but they never went anywhere. [ Here she sighs, kicking her heel again against the Tower. ] There was one girl that-...well, I thought we'd had potential, but then I never heard from her again. [ Sciel grins, shrugging. ] Either I'm an awful kisser, or... I dunno.
[ Water off a duck's back. Her expression levels out a bit at the last piece Lune shares, and she squeezes the other's hand in return. ]
I know it feels impossible, but you can do it: I can tell. [ Here she leans in a little, studying Lune's face, adopting a knowing smile in spite of their having just met. ] I feel like you're the kind of person who can make it through just about anything.
[ Seems like that answers her question of whether or not Lune would prefer she scoot back down the Tower and leave her new acquaintance to her grief. It sends a little thrill of happiness through her chest to hear, and she reaches to cover their linked hands in her free one. ]
You don't have to be alone ever, after this. Meaning -- if you're ever working on your projects and you just want someone around to...bounce ideas off of? Say the word, and I'll come if I can. We've got to look out for each other, yeah?
[ It's true of everyone, with the population decreasing every year... All they have is each other, really. People, and moments like this. And that's why you hold on. ]
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She's done the maths; who in Lumière hasn't? She knows that on this day in thirteen years, she's going to die. And she's got twelve years to prepare for the Expedition she plans on joining. Twelve years feels like a lifetime, and it feels like no time at all. She can practically hear her parents in her head, admonishing her for even considering the thing she's considering right now — it's a distraction, there is no time for distractions, the work is everything and she's the only one who can do it now – but Sciel is so warm and her smile is so bright, and, if Lune's honest with herself, it's lonely being her parents' daughter. Maybe, for tonight at least, she can make the time.
For Sciel, she wants to make the time.]
I thought you'd be fending off a whole host of suitors. [Sciel is warm, bright, kind. Just a short time with her, and Lune can already feel the tightness in her chest easing. And the more she looks at Sciel, the more details of her face she notices, and each of those details adds up to a prettier and prettier picture. She's genuinely surprised Sciel's single.] I could... offer you feedback, if you're worried your kissing is that bad.
[Forward, and oh so very vulnerable. Her eyes meet Sciel's, trying to gauge the other girl's response.]
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The only thing I'm usually fending off is-...flies? [ There are a few chuckles as she shakes her head, heaving a sigh. ] Which is very sexy, I know. But...no, not really something I've been especially involved with.
[ Doesn't mean she'd never done anything, as she'd already admitted, and it doesn't mean she hadn't thought about it, either. But Sciel is the type of person to generally take life as it comes, and life hasn't really given her the chance for anything even close to romance.
...Yet. Which is why this moment -- so unexpectedly charged -- is so interesting.
What Lune says next: even more so. It manages to surprise her yet again, and Sciel's brows lift over a lopsided smile. ]
All of a sudden, it's my biggest concern. [ Those bright, playful eyes flit down to the other's lips before slowly traveling back up to meet Lune's eyes. ] And I'm very open...to feedback.
[ Really, is it so odd that two people who were suffering losses might try to fill that void together? It's absolutely not the first time. And, fortunately, Sciel doesn't over-analyze these things. They're both interested. What's the harm?
She leans in a little, offering parted lips, allowing Lune to close the distance and officially give the go-ahead. ]
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Good. Feedback strengthens collaboration. And collaboration, [she says, teasingly echoing Sciel's earlier words,] is an important part of everything.
[When their lips meet, it's a neat kiss that Lune gives her, by the book, a little rigid and careful. Maybe she's the one that that needs feedback.
She raises her free hand to touch Sciel's cheek, and she can't tell which of them is burning hot.
She tries to count the seconds – isn't it funny, how time seems to slow down in moments like these? – but quickly becomes so lost in Sciel that the time ceases to matter. For as long as she's kissing her, Lune's thoughts are quiet. There are no parents, no legacy, no siblings, no Expeditions and no Paintress, no books or charts or records. Her grief for her parents feels distant, her fear of failing them even moreso. No wonder some people choose to spend the day of the Gommage in a lover's embrace rather than at the harbour.
When she finally pulls away, face flush and a little out of breath – she's done this before, but it's never felt quite so intense – she has no idea how much time has passed. She smiles, curious and searching, as her gaze flicks from Sciel's lips up to her eyes.]
It's a good technique. [Enthusiastic, anyway. Whether it's technically good or not, Lune isn't in much of a position to judge. All she knows is she liked it. And she'd like to keep kissing Sciel, if Sciel would like the same.] But a little sloppy. You could use more practise.
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Yes, they're both a little by the book so far: still young in age and experience. Sciel has a slow ease to the motions that suggest she's savoring it, occasionally dragging her teeth along Lune's bottom lip in a light graze, sometimes seemingly just drinking up the moment without moving much at all, as if she might live in it.
Time is their constant enemy under the Paintress, but even she seems to have no power here. The moments are locked within their own little world: untouchable by death or grief or anything else. Sciel lifts her shoulder to bump against Lune's hand where it rests against her own cheek, if only to instigate that little extra bit of contact.
The kiss (or, kisses, really) comes to a pause as the two women break apart for the moment. Sciel's chest rises and falls with the missed breaths, lips and cheeks equally rosy. Between the bit she'd had to drink and...all this, there is a roiling boil in the pit of her stomach. ]
"A little sloppy?" [ That earns Lune a laugh, and Sciel leans back just a little to cross her arms (pretending to look offended is difficult when you can't wipe the grin from your face). ] ...Well, I did say I was open to feedback, so I can't blame you for giving it. [ As if drawn magnetically, her eyes find the other's lips again, and her smile softens into something more sensual. ] ...I defer to your judgment. More practice it is, then.
[ Maybe a little overeager, she closes the gap with a little more vigor this time, becoming increasingly hungry for the taste of her kiss, the touch of her skin... ]
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As their lips meet again, Lune shifts in an effort to pull Sciel closer. It's an awkward sort of attempt to realign their bodies, but in the moment the awkwardness doesn't matter as long as she can feel Sciel against her. She notes the strength in Sciel's hands, the callouses on her fingers; Lune's hands, by contrast, are quick, lithe, agile, the hands of someone who works with pens and fine tools and guitar strings. One hand dances across Sciel's cheek, down the side of her throat, feeling the pulse there, around the back of her head and finally slipping through her hair, while the other settling on her waist, thumb stroking along the hem of Sciel's shirt in the hopes of finding the warmth of bare skin.
Finally, Lune pulls away again. It's unfortunate, but she needs to breathe.]
Practise does make perfect. [The smile on her face is positively goofy.
Her hand leaves Sciel's hair to brush down the side of her throat again, until her palm comes to rest on Sciel's upper chest, her fingertips lightly touching the pulse point in her throat. Lune can't help but marvel at the pounding of Sciel's heart, echoed by her own heart straining against her ribs.]
You're beautiful. [It's meant as an observation more than a compliment. Just a scientist noting objective reality.]
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(She does hope very much that Lune wants to meet up again after this.)
The kiss is almost like it's her first time kissing anyone in that it blows any others out of the water in every way. The intensity of how her body is responding to Lune's advances is a surprise, but a good one, and she can only hope that she's able to do the same for her partner. Lune's hands roam a bit as their bodies come closer together, and Sciel takes it a step further and swings a leg over the other's lap without breaking contact. Now straddling her -- albeit with her hips lifted a bit -- she's able to grin down at Lune when they come up for air. ]
Happy to hear I've improved. [ Unconsciously, her tongue flits across her own lip as if she might still taste Lune there.
Sciel lifts a hand to lay it over the one at her chest, feeling her own pounding heart through the other woman's slender palm. ]
So are you. [ It's not an empty compliment for the sake of returning one; she isn't that kind of person. Sciel looks down at the near-stranger who'd happened to cross her path at the best-worst time and marvels at the way life can be funny, actually. How lucky she is, in these rare moments. ]
I... [ Sciel laughs breathily, searching Lune's face. The amount of desire she feels right now is overwhelming, but she's also trying to be careful. They both seem to be on the same page, but it is also an emotionally-fraught day, and they've both had a bit to drink. ] ...Want to see all of you, if you're open.
[ Though she'd also be more than content to keep all their clothes on, genuinely. Spending the rest of the day making out with, and talking to, this incredible woman would be far from a disappointment. ]
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In another life...
In this life, they have this, tonight, and when Sciel laughs another crack in the dam inside her forms, wider than the rest. God, she wants...]
Hang on. I've been practising something of my own.
[She scooches out from under Sciel and moves a few feet away so she's got room to hold out her hand and summon a blanket from pictos. It appears out of sparkles of golden light, laid out on the floor, heavy and soft and long enough for them to lay down on.]
There. That'll be more comfortable.
[She sheds her jacket without fanfare. It doesn't even occur to her to be seductive about it; she just wants the thing off. And then she holds her hand out to Sciel as she sits on the blanket, hoping to pull the other girl back into her lap before guiding Sciel's hand to the buttons of her shirt.]
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When the blanket appears, her lips part wonderingly. Yes, absolutely, this is worth it. ]
How did you...? [ Sciel runs a hand along it, chuckling. ] ...Just when I think you can't get more surprising. [ She looks pleased -- and obviously impressed -- as she returns her eyes to Lune and shifts back onto the blanket.
The jacket goes. Sciel follows suit, shrugging her own off without another thought. When the invitation is extended again, she returns to where she'd been earlier, albeit with her hips, where the heat of a growing want is smoldering, lowered down over the other's lap.
Lune's nimble hands find hers and bring them to the front of her shirt, and Sciel's pleased smile only grows as she obliges. Inclining her head slightly, she busies herself with undoing each one, though it's still slow. Deliberate. After all, why rush? Yes, they've both sort of been snowballing ahead, fueled by the unexpected need, but they have time. The delay only serves to sweeten the end result. That's her philosophy, anyway, as she works her way down until the garment comes free. Sciel then leans back just a little to pull her own top over her head, tossing it to the side unceremoniously. ]
Much more comfortable. [ Sciel agrees, drinking in the sight of more of the other's skin, gliding her fingertips across Lune's navel. ] You were right.
[ She imagines Lune is usually right: she seems the type to not act on a hunch. The wandering hand drifts up and along the other woman's side, dancing along her shoulder, all the while tracing the fabric of her bra. ]
Any other tricks up your former sleeves that I should know about? [ Sciel asks, as her fingers continue their exploration of newfound territory. ]
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She waits patiently while Sciel unbuttons her shirt and slips it off, revealing the intricate gold lines of a tattoo curving over her shoulder and beginning to extend down her upper arm. She watches Sciel pull her own shirt off and toss it aside, revealing muscles rippling beneath sun-kissed skin. And she exerts a truly heroic amount of patience as Sciel's fingers start a tour of her body.]
I've been working on some elemental pictos. Starting fires, calling lightning, that sort of thing. It'll be useful, when I join an Expedition.
[Not something that feels particularly relevant just now. In this little pocket of time they've carved out for themselves, Sciel is the most important thing in the world.
Lune's hips twitch upwards of their own volition as Sciel settles fully into her lap, and she wraps an arm around Sciel's waist, hand sitting in the small of her back. All the heat in her is coiling tight and low in her belly, throbbing between her legs, and Sciel's light touch is nowhere near enough to sate her. She's only got so much patience.
She slips her other hand between them, brushing her fingers over Sciel's abs before dipping, with a curious, exploratory touch, beneath her waistband.]
Is this alright?
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That's part of how they've gotten this far this fast. From meeting in mourning to throwing off their clothes on a summoned blanket, quickly desperate for the other's touch. ]
Impressive. [ Said on an exhale, low and hungry. She is very much listening -- Lune is an incredibly fascinating person far beyond just her physical appeal -- but she's also tracing the newly-exposed lines on the young woman's skin, aware (though not ashamed) of the callouses on her fingertips. ] And a future expeditioner. Just when I thought you couldn't get much more interesting.
[ Somehow, it's perfectly in line with her limited experience with Lune thus far that she would be able to surprise Sciel so much already. ]
I'd say you're already very good at starting fires. [ She murmurs, shifting her hips against the other's. It rapidly stokes the need that burns between her legs: a heat that Lune will unquestionably feel through the fabric of their pants.
(Distantly, Sciel wonders if she's ever wanted anyone so intensely. If she ever would again, after this.)
Lune asks permission and Sciel lays a hand over hers briefly before removing it, letting it again drift upward. ]
Please. [ It's still low, and just as needy as before. In the meantime, she reaches around to unclasp Lune's bra, letting it fall away (with some assistance from her partner) before moving to thumb a circle around the peak of her breast, taking it into her hand and massaging in ongoing exploration. ]
And this? [ She asks, leaning in with a playful glint in her eye. ]
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An affirmative mmmmhm is her only response to Sciel's question, though she also can't help a husky laugh at the joke about starting fires.]
We're both guilty of starting fires tonight, I'd say.
[She wants to ask whether Sciel plans on joining an Expedition too, whether she's got any interest in pictos, how useful she thinks chroma might be in farming, whether she—
Her breath hitches when Sciel's hand cups her breast, and she impulsively leans in for another kiss, trying to close whatever distance remains between them. One hand remains firm against Sciel's lower back. The other finally dips into Sciel's trousers, beneath her waistband and then stroking further down, finding her achingly wet.
That dam inside Lune finally breaks. There's so much she's been holding back, so much desire she's never allowed herself to indulge; even when her parents weren't chiding her aloud she could hear their voices in her head every time she so much as glanced at an attractive person in the street. There are more important things than relationships. Don't get distracted, Lune. You need to focus, Lune. You won't be able to concentrate on the work if your head is full of pretty girls. Perhaps her parents were right, because right now Lune's head is entirely full of one pretty girl in particular, so full that there's no room left for thoughts of anything else and all Lune can focus on is how badly she wants to lose herself in Sciel's arms. Maybe permanently.
In one quick, decisive motion, she attempts to roll them both over so Sciel will be on her back beneath her. Her hands settle on Sciel's belt, but she doesn't start undoing it just yet.]
I'd like to see all of you, too.
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It's difficult, but not impossible, to focus on pleasing her partner when the other woman's fingers are below Sciel's waistband, moving along the wet heat that waits there. There's a low, desperate moan from within the young farmer as she nearly bucks into the contact, mind wildly overcome with desire for those fingers to go farther, faster, deeper -- ]
Merde -- [ It feels as though her blood has ignited within her; when she breaks for air, she's heaving breaths. Even so, the break is brief, and she closes the distance again soon to get another taste.
Then she's on her back, chest rising and falling heavily, expression shifting gradually from ravenous to surprised to pleased. ]
Go on, then. [ Comes the encouragement. While Lune works off her bottom half, she quickly removes anything left on top, leaving her chest bare. There are already some tattoos there, lined in gold, but not nearly as many as there will be by the time they meet again.
In the meantime, Sciel seems unable (or unwilling) to leave her hands without the feeling of Lune, and so she lifts them to tangle in that raven hair, to drift across smooth shoulders: whatever she can reach. ]
Can't believe I almost spent today alone. Reminiscing. [ There's a faint, sardonic smile at that. ] Luckily, you've spared me that.
[ And done much, much more, already... ]
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[Lune's focus has narrowed in on one singular goal: get Sciel's clothes off as quickly and efficiently as possible. Shoes are discarded, followed by a hurried manoeuvring of Sciel's legs to pull her trousers and underwear off. Every new inch of exposed skin is a thrilling new location to chart, and Lune wants to explore it all. She can't stop smiling giddily at the prospect of so much to discover.
And finally, finally, Lune is kneeling over a fully naked Sciel, Sciel's legs bracketing her hips, gazing down at a woman she'd called beautiful earlier without being able to truly appreciate just how beautiful she is. The sight of Sciel beneath her steals her breath away, if only for a moment, leaving her – possibly for the first time in her life – speechless.
The tattoos catch her eye and pique her curiosity, momentarily distracting her from how very naked the woman underneath her is. There's so much she wants to ask, so much she wants to learn about Sciel. She starts to trace the tattoos, her fingers mapping the lines with precision, though Sciel's hands on her make it difficult to concentrate and her own hands are uncharacteristically unsteady.]
What do your tattoos mean? Are they pictos, or just body art? If they're pictos, what do they do? Do they help you with your work? [Lune struggles to imagine a reason for anything that isn't to do with work.]
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No, you're absolutely right. [ The less said about their losses and the Gommage, the better.
Lune's seen to swiftly liberating her from her clothes and Sciel shifts beneath her, stretching up a little, arcing her back. ]
That's better. [ She murmurs, lifting a hand to the other woman's own waistband. ] Though I think we've still got some work to do, no?
[ It isn't just Lune who wants to see all of her partner, after all.
The questions elicit another endeared laugh, and she covers the wandering hand with her own as it presses to the lines in her skin. ]
Pictos. [ She confirms, corners of her lips quirking further upward. ] Some of them help with my work. Some of them don't.
[ Eventually, she'll swap them out for those that would help on the Expedition, which augment the fighting style she'll adopt. For now, though, there's a bit of a crackle and a flurry of light and shadow and she's got a tarot card between two raised fingers. ]
Your card, mademoiselle? [ It's "The Lovers," because of course it is. ]
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I didn't know there was a lot of card play involved in farming. [Still struggling to wrap her mind around the concept of using pictos purely for fun.
Still smiling, she leans down for another kiss. It's amazing that she's found anything to smile about today, but every time her mind starts to drift back to the Gommage, her parents, the Paintress, Sciel is there with her bright eyes and infectious laugh, inviting Lune to lose herself entirely.
She does need to get her trousers off, but instead of doing anything about that, the hand on Sciel's chest starts to drift, finding Sciel's breast, cupping it, running a thumb in a slow circle over her nipple. Maybe she's inspired by Sciel's pictos, maybe she just wants to try something new with one of her own, she couldn't say; either way, she conjures a little cloud of ice crystals in the palm of her hand. It's only enough to tickle, really, not enough to freeze, but it stands in sharp contrast to the raging heat between them. She holds the ice over Sciel's breast, feeling her nipple stiffen as her other hand slips down to Sciel's thigh.]
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