Mara blushed slightly and shook her head,<strong>"No mast.... No Nirael.  I am not feeling bad at all.  In fact, I'm feeling rather..."</strong>Her blush deepened,<strong>"Rather pleased this morning."</strong><br/><br/>She moved the skillet off the fire and turned to look at him,<strong> "If I may speak plainly sir?"</strong><br/><br/>Nirael nodded giving her permission, and she continued,<strong> "I was married for a very short time to a man who I'd been betrothed too as a child.  He died only a few months into our marriage, leaving me ... tainted.  Nothing horrible of course, but a woman who is a widow is far less desirable than a 'pure' woman.  I find myself pleasing to the eye, and still young enough to attract a good man were that my desire.  But because I was 'the widow' I found the only offers ones of older men, or sickly, or poor.  My skills as a hunter are as good as many others, while not the best, so I rejected all and moved to this area to start over.  But it seems my reputation followed me and somehow grew in the telling.  The rumor is that I am a witch, a monster who poisoned her husband and ate his heart."</strong><br/><br/>She snorted derisively and rolled her eyes,<strong> "Foolishness of course, my man died in service to the king, on the battlefield against goblins, leagues from our home.  But rumor needs no logic, and once whispered clings to you like moss on a tree.  So now I've made my own way and when mercenaries showed up offering quite a tidy sum of money for a hunter to track a fugitive, I joined them.  I'll admit that I accepted extra coin at night to warm their bedrolls, for had I not, likely I would have done so with a knife to my throat."</strong><br/><br/>She smiled at Nirael then, "<strong>Though their pleasure they saught at nights was for themselves alone.  Quick thrusts, finished in a span of seconds, not minutes, and then I would leave their bedroll to clean myself and drink 'night tea' while they slumbered.  Only once did I find my own bliss with those men, and it was when they all decided to take me at once.  While they were still quick and unconcerned with my pleasure, the wantoness of the act was enough for me to enjoy it, for a moment.  But other than that, I've found myself longing for such pleasure, such sensations, as you provided me last night."</strong><br/><br/>She turned, scraping some eggs and bacon onto a small tin travel plate and handed it to him,<strong> "What made it more enjoyable was that even though I was your enemy, you still treated me... well... not nicely exactly but certainly not overly cruel.  My lusts were fanned from a small flame to a roaring forge fire.  A fire you were kind enough to quench."</strong><br/><br/>The sound of Lunari returning caused the two of them to turn their heads, seeing her striding back through the woods not far away, and Mara quickly whispered,<strong> "A forge that burns even hotter in your elven woman there by the way.  Take care not to let the fires burn so hot that they burn themselves out or rage out of control and consume the both of you."</strong>