A Visit and a Chat

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I didn't really have any reason to visit Darien, other than for companionship, but I couldn't help but think that I owed him for the night he escorted me home.

And, well, I did want to sort everything out with him so that he could continue the work on my marque. He had such nice hands, and my current marquist was so rough.

I checked the name on the card he had given me before pushing open the door. "Hello? Darien?" For a moment, I felt a pang of fear that he would not remember me, even though my hair was bound up in the same loose braid as it was when I met him.

[Darien Kachine]

Hearing the door open and my name called, I stepped out from the back where I’d been tending to my instruments. The curtain was open so I could keep an eye on the front of the store, so it was immediately apparent who was there.

“Catherine,” I said, smiling with pleasure at seeing her again and looking far less lost this time. “Well met, please come in.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I felt a profound sense of relief come over me as he said my name, he did remember me! "Well met," I said, scanning the shop with wide eyes. "You have a lovely salon, Darien." I remarked, thinking that I could easily spend hours here while he applied the ink to my back.

[Darien Kachine]

“Thank you,” I said, smiling. “How have you been?”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"I'm quite fine, actually. Although, I would like it if I had more ducats to my name," I grinned. "I've come to see if I need to arrange anything with you so that you can continue work on my marque."

[Darien Kachine]

“Oh definitely,” I said, smiling and motioning her towards the back room I had just left. “If you want to come back to my workroom then I can see how much of your marque is already done and take measurements for when you do want to make an appointment for marquing.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Of course," I made my way into the back room, letting my hand trail across the table where, I assumed, his clients would lie still while he worked with the ink.

I pointed to the screen in the corner. "I suppose you want me to undress behind there?"

[Darien Kachine]

“If you’d like,” I replied. “There are robes back there as well if you’d like one.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I nodded and walked behind the screen, carefully removing every stich of clothing I wore. A small sigh escaped my lips as my breasts were freed from their bounds, I had paid little heed to their comfort in my haste to dress that morning.

I took up a robe and slipped it on, pulling my braid over my shoulder as I stepped out from behind the screen. The floor felt cold against my bare feet. "I'm afraid you won't be seeing much," I admitted as I settled into a comfortable position on the table, resting on my stomach, the robe falling to the floor. My marque was just starting to climb up my spine, and I wondered if it would ever be finished.

[Darien Kachine]

I chuckled as I turned from the little table where I’d set out the calibers and other measuring devices and my notebook.

“That’s alright, some done is better than none done, right?” I said, smiling as I stepped next to the table. I gently ran my hands down her back, feeling her skin.

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I jumped in surprise when he touched me, tensing the muscles in my back. I had to use all my willpower to relax. "Sorry," I apologized. "I'm a little jumpy at first..."
He did have very nice hands, though, and he wasn't trying to hurt me.

[Darien Kachine]

“Forgive me, I should have warned you,” I said. “I’m just feeling your skin so I can tell how it will take and hold the ink.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Oh, no, it's my fault, I assure you," I said. "You have such nice hands, Darien." He was much gentler than my other marquist had been. And, gods help me, I couldn't help but wonder what his touch would feel like on my other side...

I don't think I flushed at that thought, but I may have. "I appreciate your help, especially since you probably have more than half the adepts in the City as your clientele," I said, shifting slighty so that my breasts weren't squished against the table.

[Darien Kachine]

“As long as I can still work, I will take whatever adept wants to come to me,” I replied, letting my fingers slowly move up her spine, gauging the depth of her bones beneath her skin. “Besides, no adept should ever have to deal with a marquist who hurts them.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I drew in a sharp breath as his fingers travelled up my spine, not out of pain or pleasure, but because it tickled. "In that case, I hope that you live long and are always able to practice," I said, grinning. "And, I hope that if you ever are unable to work, than the one who comes after you will have hands as gentle as yours."

[Darien Kachine]

“Thank you, those are very kind wishes,” I said, smiling.

My fingers then went down to inspect the work she’d already had done. “How long has it been?”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Hm, I had some work on it done last year, most recently, it was....just shy of a month." I blushed. "I don't receive many patrons, I'm afraid. Why? It hasn't faded, has it?"

[Darien Kachine]

“No, not at all,” I assured her. “You heal well if it’s at this state after having work done a month ago.”

Smiling, I reached for the calibers and began measuring the work that was already done so I could adjust my work to mesh with it seamlessly.

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I sighed with relief when he told me that my marque hadn't faded, and that I appeared to have healed well. "I'm not sure if it was in exactly a month or not, but I suppose I am fortunate in that I heal so quickly. I don't think I could continue serving Naamah if I constantly had to deal with pain. Well, maybe if Valerian had claimed me, but I confess that I'm scared to death of whips and knives."

[Darien Kachine]

“Then it is a very good thing you didn’t end up at Valerian,” I said, chuckling. “That would have made for a hard life.”

With deft skill I measured her back, making notes as I did.

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Well, I don't think they would have put me in Valerian anyways," I said. "Not when my talents lay elsewhere. I have a feeling that Valerian adepts need something more than a quick-healing body."

[Darien Kachine]

“Oh yes, it’s more than that. I’ve learned that much from working on them,” I agreed. “So, where is it your talents lay?”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Where else?" I asked. "Dreams, visions...I had a vision of Naamah when I was ten years old, it was how I ended up in Gentian, but I'm also adept at interpreting a patron's dreams. Well, there was one patron who didn't seem very pleased with the things I told him, I thought he was going to strike me." I tensed at the memory, then remembered where I was and forced myself to relax. "I wonder what happens when I dream something that even I can't make sense of..."

[Darien Kachine]

“That is why there is a Second and a Dowayne, right?” I said, setting my tools aside. “I’ve worked on Octavier’s marque, he works with dreams.”

I stepped back and picked up her robe, laying it where she could reach it. “All done,” I said, turning my back to let her have her privacy.

[Catherine nó Gentian]

I nodded. "I suppose that is true, but I don't know if I would feel comfortable discussing my dreams with the Dowayne," I blushed as I slipped off the table and into the robe, pulling it shut. "I should trust that they would exercise discretion..."

I went behind the screen and started dressing. "I should think, if you worked on the Dowayne's marque, that I am in capable hands, Messire Kachine," I curtsyed to him, grinning. "I am in your debt."

[Darien Kachine]

How odd that she didn’t think her Dowayne would be discreet. I’d never heard that from an adept.

“It’s been a pleasure,” I said, smiling. “I look forward to when we can increase the length of your marque.”

[Catherine nó Gentian]

"Well, can you wait about a year, then?" I asked, only half joking. "To tell you the truth, I don't know if I'll ever finish it. I don't think I'm a bad adept, perhaps there's something the matter with my looks..."

I came closer to him and gazed into his eyes. "Please, you won't tell anyone from Gentian what I just said, will you?"

[Darien Kachine]

“Of course I won’t,” I said, holding back the emotion that arose at the implication that I might run and gossip about one of my clients.

[Catherine nó Gentian]

Well, now I felt like a fool for even mentioning my misgivings in the first place. "I'm sorry, I must be keeping you from your other clients," I said, craning my neck so that I could see into the front room. "Thank you, again, for that night as well, that was very kind of you to escort me home."

[Darien Kachine]

“it was my pleasure, really,” I said. I was confused by the sudden turn the conversation and emotions in the air had taken. We’d been having a nice talk and now she couldn’t seem to get out of here fast enough.

I held the curtain aside for her. “I hope I see you soon.”