::Tuesday, Eight Sixteen AM:: The bed sure was comfortable. Before Tira knew it, it was early the next morning, and someone was knocking rather viciously at her door. "What?!" She barked at the door. "Tira... sorry to get you up so early, but breakfast's ready." Talim's muffled voice came through. "Yea... okay. Gimme like, ten minutes. I'll be right down." "O... okay." She replied. Her footsteps walked off and down the stairs. Tira was never known as a heavy sleeper, so waking up was relatively easy for her. She sat up and yawned, rolling her neck around. She was the last one up. Everyone's door was open, and noises of general chatter were coming from downstairs. Still recovering from sleep's powerful spell, she meandered towards the noise. "Ah. It lives." Cassandra spoke from one of the chairs. "Why doesn't anyone ever tell me before ya'll are half done?" Tira muttered taking the empty seat next to Ivy. "You have to try these." Ivy spoke, passing a plate of pancakes to Tira. She took them and placed a few on her plate. "Setsuka's a good cook." "Yea, you wouldn't know it." Mi-Na smiled, continuing to eat. "About last night, everyone, I realize I never introduced myself." Tira spoke. Everyone nodded. "I'm Tira. Nice to meet you all." She went around the table, shaking everyone's hands. "So. Did everyone sleep as good as I did. I tell ya. Those beds sure are comfortable..." Sophitia muttered, finishing her food. "Ninja don't sleep. We wait." Taki replied, taking no prisoners with her plate of food. "Good morning, good morning everyone!" Valeria's voice came. Their attentions turned from the food to the woman who had just entered. "I trust you all felt at home last night? Slept well?" "Ninja don't sleep. We..." Taki started. "WE KNOW, TAKI!" Everyone growled. "Just making sure." "Excellent. I see you are all still here, which must mean you all still want to partake in my experiment. Most excellent. Now, here's what I didn't tell you last night. I will be doing periodic checks. Much like I am doing now. Nothing big, I just like to take a mental note of your current state of enjoyment." Valeria crouched down at the head of the table next to Xianghua and Sophitia. "We're fine, I think. It's not so bad here. Nice and quiet." Tira spoke. "Super. I'm glad you are all enjoying yourselves. Well, I shall leave you to finish your breakfast. Until we see each other again." She stood and went back through the door. Talim walked around and poked Tira's shoulder. "Yes?" She asked. Talim whispered in her ear. "Can I speak with you after breakfast? In private?" "Sure. Anything I did?" Tira joked. Talim only chuckled uneasyily. "Yes... and no. I'll explain later." Talim brushed the thought away and sat back down. Tira shrugged and continued. ::After Breakfast. Nine AM:: After the food had been devoured, everyone went off on their business, leaving the dishes to Ivy, who had volunteered. Tira met with Talim and showed her up to her room. "Okay, Talim. What's up?" Tira asked closing the door behind her. "It's about last night." "Okay... you can tell me. We're holed up here for three weeks, I suppose we could at least try to trust one another. Not that... I don't trust you, I trust you completely." Tira spoke. Talim inhaled deeply and paced in a circle slightly. It was a nervous kind of pace, one that made Tira slightly uncomfortable. "Talim?" She asked, making sure she wasn't going crazy on her. "If you can't find the words, just show me." Talim stopped pacing, inhaled once more and released it. In one motion, Talim turned around, wrapped her arms around Tira's waist and kissed her deeply. The action took Tira by complete surprise, but it was the enjoyable surprise. They simply stood there, Talim kissing Tira, for ten minutes before the former finally broke off. "Sorry. Shouldn't have done that..." Talim spoke after pulling away. Tira was too stunned to say anything, let alone move. "I'll... I'll just show myself out... sorry." Before Talim could make for the door, Tira regained her motor functions in time to pull her in for another, more meaningful kiss. Just as Talim had surprised Tira, it was now time for Tira to return the favor. This one was much longer, and concequently much more anticipated one. Talim was only stunned for several seconds before she could return her kiss back. Finally, after several minutes, they pulled away. "What was that for?" Talim asked. Tira just shrugged. "Dunno. Seemed like the right thing to do. That's all." Talim's cheeks lit up and she pulled her eyes away. "So... You're not mad?" "Mad? Na, if I was mad I'd tell you I was mad." Tira responded, laughing. She went to her closet and picked out one of her everyday wear outfits. "Now. I suggest you go get dressed. You'll feel better in something clean." Talim nodded and walked out, looking like a millionaire. Tira proceeded to pull off her current outfit, a green tunic which looked like it had seen much better days, with tears in several select locations. She discarded it on the bed and unzipped her pants, folding them nicely and placing them nicely on the bed. She stretched and cracked her neck and knuckles, loosening them up for the day ahead. The outfit she picked out was a long trenchcoat like jacket with a smaller jacket over it. The color was sunset yellow, one of her favorites. If she had the choice, she'd love nothing more then to go about all day in her birthday suit, but a some people may have a few things to say about that. The outfit she picked out fit perfectly. Somebody must have been doing some covert reconnaissance on her for them to get her sizes correct. She ran her fingers through her hair and went outside. Even through the wooden walls she could feel the chill of the morning air. It was a welcome smell. So crisp and clean. Nothing compared to the air of London, or even Paris. Too many people, all they smelt like was sweat. "Hey, Tira!" Xianghua called from the bottom of the stairs. She lifted her head and acknowledged. "Setsuka, Ivy and I were gonna look around the house! Wanna come?" "Sure. Why not. Where we starting?" "I thought we'd work bottom-up." Setsuka droned, her umbrella on her shoulder once more. "Is... uh... the umbrella really necessary? We're inside." Tira muttered, looking her over. Setsuka smiled. She took hold of the bottom and pulled, unsheathing a thin, rather sharp Katana from the handle. She gave a quick upstrike and sliced an insect in half. Tira and Xianghua just stared in disbelief. "Ah. Right then." Setsuka smiled at Tira's realization and sheathed her katana. "Let's go." Tira noticed that everyone had their weapons on them. "Are we expecting some kind of opposition?" She asked, walking to her door. Ivy looked back. "No not really, but it never hurts to be prepared." Tira reached into her room, grabbed her Ring Blade and pulled it from behind the door. "I suppose that holds some weight. Ready?" Everyone nodded and proceeded down the stairs. -Ten Minutes Later- Of the four who decended into the bowls of the house, only two emerged. "Did we loose people?" Tira asked, looking at Ivy. "I believe we did. But probably just recently." Ivy responded, looking down the stairs. Her sword was extended and wrapped around her waist like a belt. "I vote we go back." "Seconded." Tira responded, taking the stairs three at a time with her partner in tow. -Meanwhile- "We're lost, you do know that, right?" Xianghua asked Setsuka as the trudged through the depths of the massive mansion. "No we're not." Setsuka responded pulling one of the candles from the wall and holding it in front of her. She held her umbrella at a more relaxed position as they walked silently through the darkness. "How did we get separated again?" Xianghua continued, looking about. "We didn't get separated." Setsuka grinned. "As far as I'm concerned, everything's going according to plan." She continued. Xianghua, too busy looking around the dusty corridor, ran into something. "AAUGH!" She screamed, jumping back. When she realized it was only Setsuka, she stood up. "For the love of god, Setsuka! You scared the crap out of me!" She breathed in relief. "Why'd you stop?" "I was just preoccupied by your stunning beauty. That's all." The woman grinned, her teeth barely visable in the light. "Uh..." Xianghua's voice shook as she spoke. Her hands were planted firmly on the ground. "What do you mean?" "How old are you, persay?" Setsuka continued. Xianghua couldn't move from uncertainty. "T-Twenty two..." She started, her left hand scrabbling around on the ground looking for her sword. "Why?" Setsuka dropped to her knees quietly, her legs hardly making any sound as they hit the ground. Before we continue, allow me to elaborate on the current positions of everyone. Since Xianghua had ran into Setsuka, she was laying on the floor, her hands and feet on the floor, her head lifted slightly. Her legs were spread a medium distance apart, as if someone had fallen mid-stride. Setsuka was kneeling in front of Xianghua, her legs between Xianghua's. "Oh... No reason really..." Setsuka responded, dropping her umbrella to the ground. The woman in the elaborate dress got on her hands and literally crawled towards Xianghua. "Answer me a question, would you?" Sweat was now pouring down Xianghua's forehead. She couldn't seem to figure out what Setsuka was doing, or why for that matter. All she could do was nod. "Is it hard being so... attractive?" She continued, placing a hand on the front of her shoulder. She bent down and kissed the younger woman on her neck. "Wha... What are you doing?!" Xianghua couldn't hold herself back anymore. She tried to find her weapon to fend Setsuka off. "Oh... Don't deny it..." Setsuak cooed, licking her neck. "You like it. Say it..." "Mmm..." She groaned, shutting her eyes, trying to pretend that whatever was happening, wasn't. The woman's tongue was wet and cold, the kind of cold that's unbearably pleasurable. When you don't want it to be cold, but you're glad it is. "Do you always look this hurt when you're enjoying yourself?" Setsuka asked between passes over Xianghua's neck with her tongue. "S-stop it!" "Aw...." Setsuka frowned. "But we're just getting to the good part... you can't quit now..." Rolling her sleeve up, the elder of the two slipped her hand up Xianghua's shirt. Chinese silk, very expensive. "You do like your comfort, don't you?" Setsuka worked her way up Xianghua's stomach and up to her chest. She rubbed her hand across her partner's breasts and felt her nipples. They were as silky as her shirt. "HELP!" Xianghua shouted at the top of her lungs. "HELP! RAPE!" She called hoping someone would hear. "Shhh... shhh... Don't scream... you'll ruin the moment." She ran her hands across her mouth to silence her. "Shhh..." She kept hushing. With her hand still covering Xianghua's mouth, her own mouth migrated to her lower waist. With amazing dexterity, Setsuka managed to pull the drawstring off of Xianghua's pants with nothing more then her teeth. Thankfully for Xianghua, Ivy and Tira weren't far away, and could hear her cries for help. The two of them managed to round the corner before Setsuka got too far. "What in the HELL are you DOING?!" Ivy asked as she came to a stop. Setsuka sat on her knees and smiled. "Xianghua and I were just playing a little game, that's all." She smiled Xianghua got up very fast and went right for Tira. She wrapped her arms around her and held tight, steadily eying Setsuka cautiously. Tira took Xianghua back, leaving Setsuka to Ivy. "I don't think any games I know of involve your hands on her mouth and down her pants..." Ivy growled, her eyes narrowing. "You don't get around much then, do you?" Setsuka smiled. "Just watch yourself around me, woman. I'm watching you. -Much Later That Night- The day had begun to wind to a close, and everyone within the house was feeling some tension. Setsuka had tried to avoid Xianghua and Ivy as much as possible, and neither of them would say why. Tira was quite exhasted from letting Xianghua cry on her shoulder for three hours, and she managed to fall asleep almost instantly. Something in the back of her mind, however, woke her up an hour later. "Tira..." A small voice whispered in her ear. She opened an eye and looked about. There was a dark figure standing by her bed. "Mmmph..." Tira muttered, half awake. "Whaddaya want..." She continued. "Sorry... did I wake you?" The figure asked. Tira, through great struggling against her own fatigue, recognized the voice as Talim. "Not really. What's wrong?" Tira asked, fighting her own better judgement and sitting up. "Nothing's wrong, actually. Something's right. But... I just wanted to ask a question... make a statement, really... Uh... I don't suppose I could... spend the night... sleep with you tonight, could I?" Tira fought the urge to laugh, then to gag, then to laugh again, and asked. "Well... why? Your room haunted, or something?" "No... but I'm right next door to Setsuka... and Xianghua told me what happened... I don't feel safe..." "Certainly. Safety in numbers, I suppose." Tira responded, scooting over rather painfully to allow Talim in. Tira caught a glancing feel of her shoulder. "You're not wearing what I think you're not wearing, right?" She asked. Talim took her time to answer. "That depends. What do you think I'm not wearing?" Her voice was a little more solid by this, but she still had that young, uncertainly in her tone. "Clothes, maybe." Tira responded. Sure enough, Talim was completely naked under the blankets. Whether or not Talim was really scared of Setsuka was up for debate, but one thing was certain, Talim certainly wasn't afraid of Tira...
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