<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/VjfvTWw.png)</div><strong>Taris Vannel</strong>(https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=293833.msg14533999#msg14533999)<br/><strong>HP:</strong>25 / 40<strong>AC:</strong>14<strong>CMD:</strong>20<strong>Arcane Pool:</strong>5 / 6<strong>Arrows:</strong>54<strong>Posts:</strong>30<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Guardhouse, Captain's Quarters<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Xara, Guardsman<hr/><em>"Oh look at the little slut, she's about to cry."</em>she heard Veronica coo, clearly taking pleasure in it as Taris tried to suck back a breath, her head popping up again as a small, singular drop landed between her shoulders, earning her a low wail as it pooled against her skin cupped by in the hollow created by her bonds.<br/><br/><em>Fuck</em>, this was exactly why she'd been trying so desperately to pack that thought back down.  They'd smell blood in the water now, an elf-girl about to crumble.  That'd make for a<em>real</em>show, something they could talk about for a week, and boost their faith in the superiority of Hawken's armed forces.  She'd just made the night harder on herself, but Xara was still close, she'd rein them in and keep them from getting<em>too</em>wild ... in theory ... unless she got a little too into it herself.<br/><br/>But things didn't go quite the way she'd expected.  Hands were brushed away, and with a rough jerk Taris found herself suddenly up and on wobbly legs.<em>Wait, what?</em>, she thought, a bit dizzy at the sudden movement,<em>No, you <span class="bbc_u">can't</span> stop them here!  Bad enough to take a toy away from the men, but interceding on behalf of some nameless elf slave?  So soon after her promotion no less!?</em><br/><br/>"Mm<em>f'nn</em>." she tried to protest through her gag, though she couldn't put much force behind it.  She wasn't sure if she'd have believed it herself though, not with her face red, her shoulders shaking, and her legs trembling like they might not support her.  She couldn't tell if Xara hadn't heard her, or hadn't cared to listen, but she could definitely tell that she was being moved swiftly.  The arm around her waist did everything short of lifting her off the ground.  Taris<em>definitely</em>took note of the fact that the Captain could apparently sweep her up with one arm.<br/><br/>She heard the angry burn in Xara's voice, but she knew that she was speaking to herself.  Taris had had a little time to get a sense of Xara's methods, if she was correcting a slave she'd be cutting into her over what she'd done, not growling about the consequences for herself.  This had the familiar bite of self-recrimination to it, at least as far as her pointed ears could tell, still, she worked her jaw around her gag, trying to figure out how to manage certain sounds around the rubber ball.  The best she could come up with was a muddled "Aw-ee", followed by a slight sniffle.<br/><br/>The hard slam of a door announced their arrival ...<em>somewhere</em>, the sudden shock of sound enough to cause Taris's shoulders to jump, before she was roughly pushed forward.  Taris made a game effort to try and keep upright, a few quick steps trying to arrest her forward momentum.  She hadn't expected the bed to be in her way though, banging her knee a tripping face first down into the mattress.  She winced a bit, but when she breathed in, she smelled the perfume of dried wild flowers that had been mixed in with the laundry by the staff to give them a more pleasant odor.  While she hadn't taken particular notice of it then, she'd become more aware of her sense of smell the longer she stayed in the blindfold ... she'd smelled this scent before.  She knew where she was, back in the Captain's quarters.  She rolled herself onto her back, even if it meant squeezing her arms under her weight and forcing her back to arch up from the mattress.  She could hear the sounds of armored footsteps behind her, closing the distance again, she wanted to be able to<em>face</em>Xara, even if she couldn't<em>see</em>her.<br/><br/>She could feel the hands comming down on her as she rolled over, the strap on her gag loosened and pulled away, not simply left loose around her neck like before.  Taris let her head sink back, drawing in deep breaths of the cool night air now that she could again  The blindfold followed, not untied, just pulled up and over her hair as a loop, running over the long hair of her wig.  There could be no denying that she'd definitely been crying there for a bit.  Even as she squinted and blinked, her elf eyes turning the intimate lighting into a glare to rival stepping into the noon day sun, wetness brimmed over in her red eyes.  The blindfold wasn't too damp, she'd barely had time to start before Xara had hauled her away, but even for Taris it wasn't as though she could stop the tears on willpower alone once they started going.  She'd sniffled and silently cursed her weakness the whole way back to the chamber.  Still, through her bleary vision, she could see her sword drawn as she spoke with a tight voice.<br/><br/>"Hey now---" Taris tried to interject, swords and emotional turmoil were never the best of bed fellows in her experience.  She may as well have kept her mouth shut though, as a bare fist slammed home into the bed post with enough force to shake the bed frame under her.  Clearly, it was time for listening now.  As Xara groaned at her soar knuckles, Taris hooked her heel against the edge of the bed, pulling herself into an upright position, sitting in front of the Captain and looking up at her through the faux hair that had fallen in streamers over her face in the fall.  She felt a gentle touch at her cheek, drawing the hair a way to get a clearer view of her face as she spoke, let out her intentions, and her frustrations with heat.<br/><br/><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 8pt;">"Eep."</span></em>Taris murmured softly as the Captain gripped her collar again, pulling her close, firey eyes looking passionately and deeply into her own green pools as she tried desperately to make her<em>understand</em>.  The look alone made parts of Taris that she might usually consider rigid turn to a warm, comfortable goo inside of her.  The hurt, too, however was plain in her eyes as she looked away, letting Taris sink back to her seated position.  Or, at least, she tried to, it was barely a moment before an arm encircled her and drew her close, using the ropes around her for a handhold as she pressed her body up against her armor again.  Looking up into her face, Taris saw her bite her bottom lip, face etched with regrets as she offered to set her loose.<br/><br/>"Hey..." her voice came out, low, but steady, she half-lidded her eyes, the corner of her lips raising slightly, "Shut up for a second." she said, the timidness she'd been displaying since the ropes had come out taking a back seat for a moment.  Where she'd curled a leg under her for support, she pushed up, grinding her body up against Xara's for a moment so that she might press her lips firmly up against hers.<em>Throne</em>, she'd wanted to do that for at least half an hour now!  Her lips worked in slow, firm motions against hers, lightly guiding her lips to part, their breath to mingle in the night air.  Her tongue lightly traced the edge of her lips, until she pulled back, lightly suckling on Xara's bottom lip in gentle imitation of the bite that she'd received earlier.  She practically radiated warmth, another short kiss finding her jaw line, then the underside of her chin, and another to her throat above the armored collar of her breast plate.  The last one lightly grazed her flesh with her teeth, before she let out a sigh through her nose.<br/><br/>"I'm." she said, emphasizing the word, letting her lips draw it out so that she could see it as clearly as hear it, "Okay."<br/><br/>She let her warm breath spill out in a long sigh against her neck, pressing her cheek against her chest and closing her eyes.<br/><br/>"I had a freak out." she said, "I only lost my rank three days ago, and it just kinda<em>hit</em>me how far an elfblood can fall ... it's not your fault.  I should've better recognized my limits.  You didn't know." she sighed, adding lowly,<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 8pt;">"...It's just weakness leaving the body."</span><br/><br/>She tried to ignore the tear rolling over her cheek as she pulled her shoulders back again to look up at her, a low smoldering look in her eyes.<br/><br/>"Seriously though, I am wound so tight right now they can see it glowing in the Astral." she she said  with a wry smile, adding an enticing little wiggle for affect "If you let me out of this thing, I<em>am</em>going to fuck you into oblivion.  I have it on good authority that we elf-sluts can do that." she added the last bit with a wry tone, sticking her tongue out.<br/><br/>There were, of course, other things they should talk about.  She didn't mean to brush off the family talk, or Xara's confession either for that matter.  Those things, though, could wait a little bit.  What she needed to do right<em>now</em>was manage the fallout of her lapse of decorum.  Firstly, she had to stop this train of thought that Xara had somehow fucked everything up between them forever, and end those self-recriminations before they dug themselves in too deep.  Taris knew, perhaps better than most, how much easier it could be to blame one's self after having been discarded through no fault of one's own.<hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/WLVeGed.png)</div><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Memorized Spells</div><div class="spoiler_body">Cantrips:  Detect Magic, Light, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand<br/>1st Level:  <del>Magic Missile</del>, <del>Ray of Enfeeblement</del>, <del>Expeditious Retreat</del>, Obscuring Mist, Weaponwand<br/>2nd Level:  Force Sword, <del>Scorching Ray</del>, <del>Mirror Image</del></div></div>