<div class="floatleft">(http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5700000/Kingdom-Of-Heaven-kingdom-of-heaven-5751717-400-225.jpg)</div><hr/><strong>Name:</strong>Rashid<br/><strong>Race/Culture:</strong>Bedu<br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Crimson Palace (continued from The Thirteen Monkeys)<br/><strong>Day/Time:</strong>Yaus al-Niwt (Day of Houses), Amt (first month) of Alak Paret (Harvest Season), Late Morning<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Shazadi<br/><hr/><br/><br/>"My dearest Shazadi. Any man that has you naked and wet before him and claims not to have alternate goals than just getting you clean, is a terrible liar." Rashid said, laughter thick in his voice, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he savored the light caress of Shazadi's hand against his chest. Before Shazadi could slip away from him, he gripped her hand from his chest, and lifted it to his lips for a quick kiss. "It is a simple pilgrim's heart battered by the sands of time, and buffeted by the winds of ignorance, but at it's heart is an oasis of love, affection, and friendship. It is kept cultivated for those rare few who take the time to reach it. For you, there is always a place reserved next to the cleanest of loves waters."<br/><br/>He knew it sounded silly, and he hoped she didn't take his proclamation of love as something to be nervous about. He knew she was not a woman a man could posses, just as he was a man no woman could tie down. But she was one of his few dear and close friends, and he placed great value in the effect she had upon his battered heart and soul by her mere presence.<br/><br/>When she left, he lifted himself from his knees and sat upon the bench just moments before they had been using as a makeshift platform for their lovemaking. He gave her his arm without complaint, his smile saying his thanks for him, and breathed a satisfied sigh as her hands began to rub into his flesh, spreading the soap and water across his arm and shoulder.<br/><br/>"I am too used to having to rely upon a sweat tent to scrape myself clean. It works, and a good, hot sweat can be cleansing, but water is better." He commented. "Every time I come to the city I make a point of drinking more water than normal, and having a bucket on hand to use just for cleaning myself. I am looking forward to soaking in the waters as you've described. Few oasis I've seen have been deep enough to swim in, and none of them allowed you to dirty the waters by doing so. I've never been in water past my hips before, and that just for a short time. If being dirty and not luxuriating in water makes you no longer a Bedu, then be content not being  Bedu. Those are comforts I would love to carry with me into the howling sands."<br/><br/>He gave a pleased sound in the back of his throat as Shazadi dug her fingers into the muscles of his arm, easing over to his chest. His eyes were half lidded, just luxuriating in the feel of a beautiful woman touching him. His eyes were lazily watching her movements, soaking in the beauty of her face, the sway of her breasts as she moved her arms to massage him, the long, lean lines of her legs and hip, every element of her was intoxicating.<br/><br/>"I think we have to take whatever pleasures we can, wherever we can find them. You never know if today will be a day of frantic, passionate lovemaking with an old friend, or if you will turn the corner of the market and find a band of assassins waiting to cut you down." He mused, the hand she had released sliding over now to idly stroke the flesh of her thigh. "I remember one night, I was traveling through a particularly hot stretch of desert, and came upon an immense rocky cleft in the earth, as though one of the gods had taken their sword and sliced a stroke of the earth away. The rocks on the face of the cliff opposite me were a myriad of colors mixed in layers and swirling patterns of red, orange, white, and more. Even in the moonlight I could tell it was a beauty to behold. I had over half the night ahead of me to travel, but instead I sat there upon the top of that cliff. When the dawn sun rose behind me, and those first rays of light struck that rock face, it was as though the gods had painted a vision of beauty just for me. It is one of my favorite places I've ever discovered in my pilgrimages."<br/><br/>Rashid trailed off, his voice full of reverent pleasure at his memory.