When The Sun Goes Down [Aurin]

[Hilana Chenzira]

88 Searing, Year 124

[Closed - Aurin]


Lia watched as Hilana groomed Hayima'el and got him tacked up before packing his saddle bags. "So you are going where again?" Her sister wanted to know. Hilana, being Hilana, could end up anywhere within the desolate desert of the Atraxian Expanse with the Ring of Traversion, and her knowledge of their homeland and how far she had travelled within it. It was, at least, only an overnight trip, and while neither of them liked to admit it, it was good for both of them. While they got along swimmingly, it was good to have some extra space, and if Hilana wanted to take her camel and go camp out, she was definitely not about to protest it.

"We're heading down to around Piscis Lacus," Hilana told her. "It's off of the Vasta, to the far southwest. Probably around three hundred miles from here. It's the oasis that we went to when we had that picnic a while back at the tail end of Frost, if you remember," she explained as she tucked a few more things into her saddlebags. A jar full of soup ingredients, a pot, a spoon... She didn't need anything fancy. She had naans that she had already baked, and fresh fruit and some smoked sausages that would travel just fine in the bags. "We'll probably ride for a few hours and then I'll take the Ring the rest of the way." As fast as Hayima'el could walk, 300 miles in one night was not happening it for a camel. They were not horses, not that horses endurance-raced in the sand like this here.

"And you'll be back tomorrow morning before work?" she leaned against the stall. "It's going to be very quiet without you. I may have to play some music," she was only teasing. But it was a bit funny how easily she had gotten used to Hilana's ability to talk at a million miles an hour on each and every possible topic. But odder still was the fact that she missed it when she wasn't around.

[Aurin]

At that, Aurin turned the corner, arms full of all the things Hilana had bade him carry outside. His hair was still wet from bathing, but he was game for an overnight adventure. While he had always been a shoe made for the city, there had been plenty of times where he had walked a lonely road between them. And sometimes, in some places, the roads disappeared. He had made a point of learning how to handle himself in the wilds, at least long enough to find civilization again.

There were supposedly deserts in Ailizane, but nowhere near anywhere he spent time. Because he was a pessimist, he thought it would be good to learn a thing or two about surviving in the Atraxian Expanse. He was so paranoid, he had contingency plans for his contingency plans, and had spent more time considering how he would extract Arry if the whole prince thing went south than Arry probably did thinking of Aurin anymore.

In any case, he might or might not have been considering the feasibility of and a strategy for getting both Chenzira sisters naked at the same time—it had been a while since he had scored siblings—but he was doing as she asked, anyway. His goal for the night was to learn how to fuck while in the saddle, and trying to fuck two women while on camelback might have been more ambitious than he ought to be.

After all, he didn't want the sun to come up on him somewhere in the desert, injured and cursing because the afterglow had worn off.

But he was also a night owl, and so this seemed a perfect opportunity. Fuck. Learn a bit about surviving in the desert. Return, sleep, and then go about his business in Solunarium. At least whatever they got up to in the desert wouldn't end up in a report on Arry's mother's desk in the morning.

Or would it? He cast a considering look at Hilana, wondering whether she reported on the foreign fucker's doings. But he shook it off, smiling.

"I do believe this is everything," he said in Vastian. He was getting the hang of it.

[Hilana Chenzira]

He was getting better at it, both sisters would agree with him. Hilana smiled at the redhead from where she was standing on a rather tall stool as she finished attaching the saddlebags, and jumped off of it. The young woman's camel was a beast. Aurin had seen them rather regularly since he had come to Solunarium, but whatever Hilana fed the piebald bull must have been why he outsized the others. He was tall enough that Lia, who stood a head shorter than her sister, could walk underneath him without needing to duck her head. He was tied by the cross ties in the hallway of the stable, though the ties on either side of his halter were pretty loose, and he turned his head sideways to eye Aurin as he came in. The large, well-padded wooden saddle had the sunshade up on it to protect them both from the sun - the season was coming to its end, but Searing was devastating when you weren't used to it, and going out into the sun without adequate shade would be tough, especially since she didn't intend to just take them by Ring the entire way.

There was no fun in that, after all.

"Don't even think about it," Hilana warned Hayima'el in Vastian. "He is a friend. You may not." She would hold her hands for the stuff that Aurin had brought down for them, and start packing it up onto the saddle and into the saddle bags, smiling brightly at him. The supplies seemed rather typical for going out of the city, but she packed quite a bit for contingencies. Both of them could get them back to the city in a hurry, but the whole point was to enjoy the desert for a night. "That is everything," she confirmed with the charming rogue. The best way to learn the language was speaking it, and listening to it.

"Something to know about camels," Lia told Aurin helpfully in Common, since this part was important and was best not to be lost in translation, "is that they can kick from the front, behind, and the sides. More importantly, they have canine teeth. If they bite, they can get to the bone." Hers was far more accented than Hilana's, but still understandable, at least.

"It's fine. Hayima'el, down," Hilana unclipped the crossties, putting them back in the tackbox as the camel slowly lowered himself down to his stomach on the sandy floor of the stable. She motioned Aurin to come around the front. Even laying down, the beast was still fairly substantial. "Hayima'el, this is Aurin, Aurin, this is Hayima'el," she made the introductions, and the camel just eyed him. "No," she warned him. "No spitting. He is a friend, and he is coming with us." She turned her attention to the fox-faced man. "Shall we? Just climb up on here," she removed the rope siding on the left side of the saddle so that he could duck under the sunshade and get situated.

[Aurin]

Aurin was about to crack a joke, something about 'no speak Common, only Vastian' in broken Common, but Athalia was in earnest and he didn't want to have an enemy in such close proximity to his hookup in Solunarium. His smile was a little crooked, though, as he nodded, and then dropped a Cathena-style bow to her.

Hilana was ready to go, it seemed.

Face to face with Hayima'el, he used a trick he had learned long ago. He wasn't a mesmerizer, but he could exude certain thoughts and feelings through his aura, and he engaged that now, giving off friendly, chill vibes to the cantankerous creature.

"No problems us, correct?" he asked the camel in Vastian. "Good friends."

Aurin considered offering a loose fist for the camel to snuffle. That was how Korvaelis had taught him to give his scent to dogs and wolves, and it had worked well for him. That was dogs and wolves, however, and that might not translate to desert bastards.

"Yes. Off we go."

This was not his first time on a camel, but he was far from adept at it. He carefully made the transition from his own two feet to the the far side of the saddle, leaving room for Hilana. He was ready to help her up, but refrained, knowing she was quite capable and he would only get in her way. In the meantime, he pulled the scarf up from around his shoulders to cover his coppery hair and fair skin. Even with the shade, he knew that the sunlight would bounce up from the pale sands and burn him almost as easily as if he were naked under the solar eye.

Once that was settled, he smiled, only the wrinkling around his eyes visible to Hilana as she took her seat. But mostly, he was bracing himself for the inevitable lurch as Hayama'el got to his feet.

[Hilana Chenzira]

It more or less worked, though the whether it was the magic trick or Hilana's warning or the fact he'd decided not to reveal his hand just yet... It probably didn't hurt that he could smell Hilana on him.

The last thing Lia wanted was for Hayima'el to decide that Aurin was getting too handsy with Hilana and get defensive, and she knew, like any nomad, that a camel could be quite sudden when they were of a mind to be. Even one as big as the piebald bull. She knew her sister enjoyed the Cathenian's company, and Hayima'el biting or kicking would certainly put a damper on that, long term and at the present outing. "Have fun," she switched back to Vastian and stepped to the side as Hilana hiked her skirts and revealed those long legs Aurin enjoyed being and easily straddled the saddle in front of him, letting the many yards of brightly painted cotton settle down.

"We will," Hilana grinned at her sister and didn't bother with the side ropes on the saddle. Aurin had said it wasn't his first time on one, and if he wasn't, then she wasn't going to connect the side ropes to make sure he stayed in the carved and cushioned saddle. There was a padded back bar that he could lean against, at least, and the poles for the sunshade if he needed to... or, of course, her. "Ready?" she looked over her shoulder at Aurin, the scent of gooseberries and lilac that he'd gotten used to wafting in his nostrils. She made her own scent, and it was unmistakably hers - and she liked to use just enough.

When he was, Hilana nudged the camel lightly with her heels. "Up, Hayima'el," the camel did as she bid, lurching as he got up. It was not a smooth movement, but then again, it never was on one of them. The Vastiana took the opportunity to slide her shapely posterior against Aurin with the movement, and Lia would wave them off as Hilana left the reins draped over the front bar of the saddle and just guided him with her sandal-clad feet. Her Mask was packed, and once they got outside of the city proper, she would put it on and make them vanish from any sort of would-be predators. It was easier to teach someone about this place and what to look for when hunters that might have been on your tail weren't aware of you. Who knew, maybe they'd find a basilisk or something.

"I am glad that you came. Did you put the sun ointment on?" Hilana asked him as she guided the camel beyond the walls and gates of the city and into the blazing sun. It would be good to help teach him Vastian - she had helped Finn learn, though he had had many teachers. She had offered some to Kala and her entourage when she could. There were others, and she was always happy to share her language with them. He could probably put a ward on the sunshade to help if he needed to; one of her old crewmates used to do that for when they had to make haste during the day.

[Aurin]

When she slid back against him, his hands came up to rest on her hips and his smile was hidden behind his the red and white cotton of his scarf.

"In the desert," he said in careful Vastian that he had obviously practiced to get right, "nobody can hear you scream." He laughed, mocking himself more than anything. "Yes. I put it on. And scarf. I am not that so much delicate flower."

His Vastian was improving, but he still made mistakes. It likely wouldn't be too terrible an issue; his coloring was quite rare among the Vastii from what he gathered. If they always thought of him as a peregrinus, then he could get away with a few mistakes. More people wanted to practice their Common with him than vice versa, but that didn't bother him overmuch.

In any case, were the situation dire, he could read between the lines much better with his sembling trick, and even project his meaning to contextualize his words, correct or incorrect. But he didn't anticipate that. If he could soothe the camel into accepting his presence, it would just be a nice break from his responsibilities, some sex, and then an easy journey back to comfort.

Squinting upward, he thought he could easily ward against the sunlight, but better to see if he could handle the trip with what the nomadic tribes had to work with. He could always cheat if it turned out to be necessary, but his skin was protected, and the scarf over his face would also prevent too much moisture from escaping as he breathed or, at least, he hoped so.

Once they were out on the street, he asked, "Do people think I am your pillow slave?"

[Hilana Chenzira]

“Or moan,” she laughed at his words. No one there, but there was wildlife if you knew what you were looking for. Or patrols. But with her Mask, no one was going to be bothering them.

“You have red hair, and no Vastian blood in you,” Hilana was smiling, “the suns over the Expanse can be harsh. Many are the Peregrine who say that they can manage just fine, and find out ” The canvas would help, of course. But there was the normal sun, and the massive orb of illuminite in the skies overhead. But Hilana’s sunscreen would help protect him, and he had his scarf, and eventually the suns would get over the horizon.

She knew he was a Masquer, but didn’t think he possessed Animus to reap the benefit of the Vastian birthright.

“Doubtful, and if Arvaelyn Princeps thought so, he would not be pleased,” the young woman laughed. Hilana seemed to know that Arry was as possessive as they came, and she didn’t know whether or not that possessiveness extended to past lovers. She hadn’t asked him, and she was not about to. “You wear no collar nor the proper clothing… nothing to mark you as a servus. Nearly all slaves here have something to show them for what they are. There are protections that they have and while most understand and respect them, their owners’ symbol can afford them more.” She easily guided Hayima’el with her feet, letting the big boy keep his head. Unless he got hostile, she was not too worried about the reins. “But it works in reverse, too. A slave that breaks laws causes problems for their owners.” And Aurin, she had a feeling, could be trouble if he wanted to be.

Hilana made no attempt to move herself forward on the saddle to give him some space, though. The motion of the camel under them rocked her against him, and it didn’t take long before they were passing the gates of the city. Hayima’el only had to growl at people twice, and now they were picking up speed. It wasn't the same as a horse, far from it, but the padded saddle did make for a fairly comfortable ride, and with the young woman pressing back against him... well. This jaunt was going to be hot and physically draining.

Fortunately, in more ways than one.

"Do you want to be?" she teased, looking over her shoulder at him, eyes glinting.

[Aurin]

Aurin figured the sunshade she had on the camel's saddle would protect from above, and the scarf and unguents would protect from whatever reflected up from the sands. He might still get a bit of color around his eyes, but so be it. The pretty poisoner had an ointment for that too.

From what he understood, there were a few potentates in Solunarium who kept harems and seraglios such as would make northern depictions in art entirely accurate or even conservative estimations. But he hadn't spent too much time among them. Being connected at all to Arry made him a person of interest to the Vigilia, and so it would be an uphill battle to set up a network, commercial or espionage, within the Expanse and so he often felt strangely at odds there.

He couldn't work. He couldn't didn't really fit in there. Arry only had so much time and—honestly, patience—for him. Hilana was fun, and he could learn a thing or two on these little adventures, but it all sort of felt like an alternate reality.

Collar or no, it was sort of like he was Arry's slave here: he could drop the royal name and get into places he oughtn't, but whatever he did would probably blow back on the pretty sovereign. That rather spoiled the fun.

But even if the scarf hid his smirk, she could hear it in his voice.

"Not as much as you want me to be."

Because sex was a competition.

[Hilana Chenzira]

"You are not wrong," Hilana chuckled, flexing her muscles from where she was pressed against him, knowing that through the fabrics that clothed both of them, he would definitely feel her. Sex may have been a competition, but it was friendly and it was fun. There were no strings for the two of them, no expectations. And even if she could tether him, he'd hate it, and it would take all of the fun out of what they had been developing since they had met at the royal wedding some seasons back. It was his nature. And they had that in common. Being tied down was what she had fought against, what he would fight against, and there was no need of it.

She steered the camel towards a cactus, leaving the marked road as they southwest. They could follow the Vasta a while, but eventually she would bring them much further out to the oasis that she intended for them to camp at. "This is the prickly-pear cactus," Hilana told him. "It's edible, all of it. The paddles and the fruit. You just have to cut the spines off." She cut a few paddles off and some of the fruit, putting them in a bag. Even if Aurin wasn't interested in them, she would take them home and prepare them later. Hayima'el would definitely like them as well. "They are prolific here." He likely remembered having prickly pear syrup from things that Hilana had made - shaved ice, cocktails, salad dressings, and as a meat marinade. There were types of kelp in the bottom of the Vasta that might be helpful, but considering how many crocodilians hung out there... that was perhaps the less wise option. It would be better to make sure he had fresh water places to portal himself to where he could be hydrated.

Considering how the kelp could go from being toxic to lifesaving, and it was the faintest differences... she might be better off giving him some to keep on his person, or tucked away in slipspace where he could access it. She didn't know if he figured to just use it as a safe spot in case he needed it out here; or if he knew that the government carefully monitored access to the kingdom... but if he felt confident enough in it, then she believed in him.

When she leaned forward to collect some of the cactus, her skirts shifted, drawing up and presenting him with an opportunity if he was of a mind to take it. With Hayima'el in motion again, she explained to him how to find his direction by the sun. It was made somewhat more complicated by the Sceptre of Avaerys, but it was a matter of watching a shadow and being able to track the sun's movement. Practice would make perfect with time, and it was still an applicable lesson elsewhere, too. Not just in the desert sands. There were too many stars to explain, but she could show him some of them when they came out, especially once they stopped for the night. It was normal for the tribes to navigate at night by the stars in the heat of Searing rather than having the sun bearing down on them all day long.

The two of them would be pretty active tonight, too. Right now, they were just getting started.

[Aurin]

The hidden smirk remained as she finessed his crotch.

Theirs was a more-than-friendly competition, and he had gathered that she might have similar inclinations to his. They competed in the boudoir, though they were somehow in competition while also being on the same side. He wondered if she would have a collection of men and women loosely tied to her belt as he did. Arry had 'gotten away,' but that was his secret hope for all those he took under his wing.

Arry if he ever needed the aid of a prince. Torin, his golden parachute. Castor, Ashoka, Rivin, his information-gatherers. Mists, he even looked out for Elwes, though her most recent trouble had been on his account.

He hummed to indicate he was listening as she educated him on a particular cactus. There had certainly been ample opportunities to try them in various dishes on his visits to Solunarium. They were particular to the desert, so he refused to sample them if they showed up in some bourgeois restaurant in Kalzasi.

Rather than grope lasciviously, his hands were sure on her hips to steady her as she moved to harvest. A little teasing along the route would be exciting, but if he pulled her back against his chest and plunged his fingers betwixt her thighs while they traveled into the desert, the camel might turn around and bite him.

As the journey continued, he found himself in an almost trance-like state. Between the heat, the steady rhythm of the camel below him and the woman in front of him, and the steady sounds of the desert, he was dangerously close to introspection. Instead, he focused on the invisible latticework of threads that made up the slipspace. On the morrow, he would be able to retrace their journey perfectly if she were to test him.

Instead, the tests would come when the sun gave way and body heat would have to make up for its loss.