Flirtlarping

[speakveryclearly]

For seasons Kanaya had agonized over how to handle her growing affections for the only other greenblooded troll on Earth. Well. Only other greenblooded town her age. She couldn't forget Di.

As she watched from a windowsill every night, she mourned the familiar futility of her position. In all likelihood, Nepeta would just disappear before anything of excessive expressiveness was ever said. Yet... yet she saw a faint air of innocence and peace hanging around her in spite of the bloodshed and maturation she knew Nepeta had endured. It was so attractive. Something she shouldn't disturb. What if, after all, she were the one who left? They were mercenaries, and their allowance was five hundred marques and an apartment, no matespritship allotted therein.

Eventually, though, it became clear to Kanaya that she couldn't undie this way - she couldn't perform the supernatural feat of restraint anymore. As a jadebloooded troll, perhaps she could make the nightly sacrifice of chastity; but dammit, she was a rainbow drinker.

Crafting her lair was a difficult task that took place over several weeks. The Earth sun being so much weaker than its Alternian counterpart, especially in Exsilium, she could not rely on burning beams bending sand into glass.

The outfits were easier. She had no idea what her own ancestor wore so she had to go for something straightforward without a jacket, but with Nepeta she fortunately had some guidelines with how to make her dress seem more adult. So it was that Nepeta would find on her doorstep one day a top which resembled the Disciple's in that the Leo symbol looped around the wearer's neck... and little else. This would be accompanied by a note written in pencil, though the cursive handwriting might not be entirely unfamiliar to Nepeta:

Should you follow the directions below
You will find yourself in a dangerous battle with a predator that poses a threat to your livelihood and happiness

Those would lead Nepeta through the outlands - not too far, but past a couple monsters, ones Kanaya was confident she could handle - into the oasis crafted meticulously out of sand and glass, where she would be waiting.

A flawless plan that had only cost a couple thousand marques in the end. She was so alone.

Comments

[moirailcompass]

In all honesty Nepeta had been genuinely alarmed when she first read the note. As it held nothing of Kanaya's quirk she couldn't tell who it had come from until she studied it further. Kanaya, she was certain that is who it belonged to, and once she saw the familiar clothing inside it further cemented the idea.

The young girl---young woman, really, at this point gently took the attire out to examine it. It looked exactly like Disciple's trademark outfit with some...very pointed differences. Doubtless Kanaya wanted her to wear this. Nepeta wasn't certain she had the bravery to--especially in front of someone she had long since begun to harbor flushed feelings for but she didn't want to ruin whatever plans Kanaya had. Kanaya had tapped into what was simultaneously one of her best and worst traits--her curiosity, and she couldn't turn away from such a mysterious invitation.

So after giving herself a good scrub in the shower, and carefully styling her now very long hair, Nepeta donned on the clothing and carried the note with her so that she may follow the directions. Much as Kanaya had expected, she had no trouble with any and all creatures she came across (though it did ruffle her hair out of the bun she had meticulously wrapped it up in).

She was beginning to wonder just what this was all about when she finished scaling a hill and caught her first glimpse of the lair that Kanaya had created. Her breath caught in her throat. What was this? Nepeta had traveled all throughout the outlands over the years and she had never seen this before.

For a moment she just stared in wonderment, a soft breeze blowing her hair back and began to descend towards it.

[speakveryclearly]

The wind bore an oliveblood's scent down to the rainbow drinker. Aha! Clearly curiosity had claimed the cat-raised girl. ...a cat-raised troll. There was a risk this could be the Disciple, but the closer her guest came, the more Kanaya doubted it; age brought the two closer together, but she could still sense whose form was closer in solar sweeps to her own. Certain her prey was approaching, she rose to make some last adjustments to her lair. Aesthetically this was a callback to the principles of her wigglerhood home, her respiteblock (before she didn't want to be in a white room if it would save her life). There were varying hues of red dominating the decoration (keyword hues - some ranged vermillion or magenta or russet, but no tints or shades) with stray accents of yellow, tan, army green... Wall hangings and floor coverings both. The most prominent divergence beyond composition out of translucent glass rather than white plastic was in that rounded shapes were too hard with her somewhat limited resources, so everything hard to the touch was rectangular in the end. That couldn't be helped. What could be helped was the furniture! A shelf, for........ assorted materials... She'd fretted a lot over what was and was not necessary here. One of the easy decisions had been a lush couch with mahogany legs, and onto this (fussing done) she quickly returned to wait. She could address any interloper from it like a throne... but there was also room for a companion to join her.

Which treatment would be used, Nepeta would decide. It couldn't be much longer...

[moirailcompass]

Over the years Nepeta had certainly come to appreciate the aesthetics more and more. She had come a long way from the girl who always wore baggy clothing and lived in a cave where the walls were smeared with blood. Not to say that she was fully invested in clothing, but Kanaya had rubbed off on her and so when she finally entered the strange lair she couldn't help but looked around with wide-eyed appreciation.

Curious as she was Nepeta took her time to drink in all the sights. It was beautiful--much like most of what Kanaya had some hand in. There was also some level of understanding that whatever this was--this strange game--Kanaya had gone through great lengths to set it up and the young woman couldn't help but be slightly touched (and slightly embarrassed).

At last she entered the respiteblock where Kanaya awaited to see her seated in a lush and dark couch. The flush in her cheeks increased and she raised her eyes towards the jadeblood, feeling a knot form in her throat.

[speakveryclearly]

There the object of her affections was in all her glory. In spite of herself she developed a nervous, eager sort of glitter. This was the moment - after all her sweeps of false starts and miscues and infidelities, here she was about to make a genuine confession of her feelings, and one that she had reason to suspect (though hope would be going too far) might be returned.

No pressure, Maryam.

"It's... a pity I've become such a danger to you, Nepeta." That was a solid opener. Ambiguously leading into the roundabout language of affection endemic to the Alternian people. Kanaya steepled her fingers.

[moirailcompass]

It wounded her pride as a self-proclaimed that for a moment she just stared, before recalling that this was in fact a scene that Kanaya had carefully crafted.

She caught on quick enough and inclined her head. Confused as she still was, and distracted as she happened to be Nepeta wasn't about to ruin Kanaya's hard work by puttering around like a fool.

"A danger? I do not see why you would call yourself so. Regardless, you are dear to me, and so I will take any danger you speak of gladly."

[speakveryclearly]

Dear to me - that sounded extremely promising. The gift of courage granted Kanaya a degree of momentum as she moved into the more confident parts, which she had to some extent rehearsed.

"I know you could, sweetheart. That's exactly what I was so afraid you would say. It only increases the temptation.... the risk I pose to your livelihood."

She raised her left hand, with the index and middle fingers tightly crossed.

"That is, for a longer time than I'd care to acknowledge... I've wanted to lay formal claim to your affections and intermingle your life with my own venomous unholy approximation of existence."

[moirailcompass]

There had been an inkling in the back of her mind that this might have been what it was leading to, and yet Nepeta still found herself shocked to find the words coming out of Kanaya's mouth. Roleplay scenario or no it was clear that this came from somewhere genuine...and so of course she would give a genuine answer in return.

After wiping the shock from her face (or at the very least, as best as she could. Her eyes were still wide and there was a definite blush in her cheeks and quiver in her lips) she began to approach Kanaya at her throne.

"You speak of yourself as a taint, whereas I only see joy in everything that you are, and everything that you have brought into mine own life."

Her hands gently cupped Kanaya's left hand.

"What you speak of...it is something I too, have longed fur." Crap. "For."

[speakveryclearly]

Cat puns. Leijon I Wish I Knew How To Quit You. This was exactly the sort of thing Kanaya adored about her; no matter how earnestly she might commit to a mode of discourse much less natural for her than a supernatural being, her endearing eccentricities would still shine through. Kanaya wouldn't deny that she had been dismissive of Nepeta back when she viewed her as nothing but a freaky forest-dweller, but as she had gradually grown closer to her, she began to view even these traits as part of her charm.

With her free hand she reached up into Nepeta's hair to gently pull her closer by the head.

"I'm not glowing to hold that one against you." Her voice was lower, a little less pretentious, to fit their increased proximity.

[moirailcompass]

A rainbow drinker pun. Nepeta couldn't help a small giggle and her eyes crinkled in joy.

"That is very benign of you."

Nepeta did not mind the teasing. In fact, she rather liked it. When Kanaya drew her head closer the jittery feeling she felt in her chest increased, but from somewhere she drew the courage to continue bridging that gap between them.

Her lips found Kanaya's in a gentle kiss, that soon turned into the cat troll nuzzling her entire face.

[speakveryclearly]

The cat troll was so warm. It had been sweeps since Kanaya had enjoyed the Alternian delicacy of hot cocoa, so long ago, back when she called the occasion on which it was typically enjoyed Twelfth Perigee's Eve instead of Christmas. This likewise filled her with a sensation of euphoric buoyancy radiating from her pumpbiscuit outward. With cultural context - nothing caliginous or corpse involved - it was easy to be confident she had never felt this way before.

So of course Kanaya returned the kiss - still softly, for now; she had genuine, albeit perhaps neurotic, concerns that without a degree of hesitance she would devour Nepeta then and there.