jungle

aurelia was glad that he had agreed to take her to Aberdeen, if only for a little while. she was growing tired of frequenting ivarness so often that she knew this break would do her well. "thank you..." she said as she walked along beside him, her ears twitching at the sound of the waves. after a while, they stopped, and she looked out to sea curiously. she wondered just what the waves looked like, for they sounded majestic and beautiful.

"i wish i could make it on my own, that i wouldn't have to bother you or the girls for everything." she said. she hated being such a burden, but there was nothing to be done about it. she could either deal with it or... well, die. she huffed quietly and then sat down, drawing in a deep breath. their prior conversations had grown softer each time and she wondered why. had he grown to like her more than he let on or was she just imagining things? she knew the latter was more likely, if she were being honest with herself but she liked to pretend sometimes. after all, what was the harm in that?

Danya wandered, sand moving beneath his paws. He twitched an ear at Aurelia’s words, glancing over at her as he so often did. He found himself, admittedly, caring for her in more ways than in just what she could provide for him. In fact, he’d begun to care less and less about what she could provide in terms of their agreement. It would almost be safer to say that the agreement, at least in his mind, had faded to little more than a memory, something that had been but a thing of the past. Danya found himself attached to the blind woman, in ways he cared not to admit. Why he hated to admit it to himself was still one thing that was beyond him.

"There is no need to thank me. The change in scenery is nice, despite how much I enjoy the Iverness and its coldness.” Danya said, looking once more towards her, studying her features as she reacted – he assumed – to the sound of the waves against the shore. The salt in the air tickled his nostrils, clung to his fur, the mist coming from the ocean cooling, and comfortable in the slight heat of the day. The sun was lower in the sky than it had been, the evening slowly creeping up.

”I wish I could make it on my own, that I wouldn’t have to bother you or the girls for everything.” Aurelia said as she came to a stop, sitting down. She turned her gaze towards the waters as if seeing them. He moved to take a seat beside her, rolling his shoulders as he did so – the portion of his spine between his shoulder blades gave a satisfying crack at the movement, tension being released in a comfortable – albeit a little noisy – manner.

"It is not a burden for anyone. The girls enjoy your company, and I’ve come to enjoy it as well. You serve well – you have the right to say you are no burden.” Danya said, glancing towards her, watching as the breeze stirred the fur upon her neck.


@Aurelia

aurelia lifted her chin as she felt the warmth of the sun on her face. her smokey eyes narrowed slightly as danya spoke, telling her that she need not thank him, that she wasn't a burden... and she had to wonder just when did he become so kind? he used to tell her that she needed him but now it seemed almost as if it were the other way around. she hummed quietly, thoughtfully. "it was only fair that i earned my keep, i suppose." she said softly. it hadn't been the way she wanted to earn it but what was done was done.

she was the type to dwell on things often, but she tried her best not to. it would do no good and besides, she did not have to do it anymore... like danya had promised. now she led the other girls and that was her way of earning her keep in this twisted little family. she knew it could be worse, she knew it could always be worse. danya could be cruel, and harm her and the girls but he didn't. he ran things with more pride than that and for that she was thankful. she never thought she would be thankful for this life, but here she was. a small laugh escaped her and she sank to her haunches. the sand tickled her toes but the feeling was welcome. "perhaps we could frequent aberdeen's streets more often and expand our territory, so to speak." new clientele would be profitable for their little business, she was sure he would see that. she usually kept to the roads of ivarness but here, here there was an untapped well. surely he'd already thought of that? there was a whole wide world out there and it was just waiting for them.

Danya wasn’t sure when exactly things had changed between them - when he’d grown so soft toward the monochrome woman. But he was aware of the fact that things had indeed changed. Whether or not he was willing to admit it was another question entirely. Something of which he was not particularly ready to think about. He twitched an ear in Aurelia’s direction as she spoke.

”It was only fair that I earned my keep, I suppose.”

”You did well. You paid your dues. You do good in other ways now, which I am pleased about,” he said, accent thick upon his words, each syllable heavy with it.

It was true, he was pleased with the work she had done. She had earned her keep well enough, and now she earned it in a way that kept the burden from his shoulders in moderating the day to day of the brothel. He entrusted quite a bit to Aurelia, but still counted their earnings himself. He was always present for the exchange, and always ready to call someone on it if they hadn’t provided the full payment.

”Perhaps we could frequent aberdeen's streets more often and expand our territory, so to speak." Aurelia said. She brought up a good point. Danya tilted his head in thought, humming softly to himself.

”It is not a bad idea,” Danya commented. ”We could certainly give it a trial run. I feel as if we might be ready to expand, but shall never know if we do not try. Correct?” He glanced over at her, studying her for a moment. He smiled to himself, a tug at the corners of charcoal lips.

Aurelia didn’t know why she enjoyed his praise so much, but it had her feeling somewhat foolish when she thought about it. She allowed herself to revel in it only momentarily before moving onto talk of expansion. He seemed interested, to say in the least, and she nodded her head slowly. ”Right, and should we fail we always have Iverness.”

But honestly, she didn’t think they’d fail.

She was confident in the skills of their girls and even in her own by now, as much as she sometimes hated to admit it. She stood up and looked out over the water, her ears flicking as sun bore warmly down on her ashen coat. She turned her head, searching for Danya, but he was silent in the moment so she could not pinpoint his location. She drew a breath and quieted, unsure of what else to say. She was too used to taking his lead.

Danya watched her for a moment, wondering how exactly the praise made her feel. She seemed to lighten up in the light of it, her eyes seeming to glow with it, despite the fact that they looked out towards the water with what he knew to be sightlessness.

”Right, and should we fail we always have Iverness.” Aure said. Danya smiled slightly, nodding.

”We have been successful in Iverness. More so than I could have ever truly hoped – I feel we’ve garnered a certain reputation for ourselves, and that I am proud of. I agree. We will always have that, but the expansion would be good. Great, perhaps,” Danya said, his tail flicking slowly in thought. He loved the idea more than he could ever truly admit, and in truth, he felt like giving her a reward for having it. He would have to think of something.

He watched as she stood, studying her for a moment. His head tilted to the side slightly as he looked out towards the water.

”Would you like to feel the water?” He asked her, glancing over towards her. The sun made her pelt shine like the silver things he’d seen before, a couple of the silver items he’d found in the cottage that they had claimed for both their home and business.

Aurelia knew Danya would like the idea of expanding his business... anything for profit, she thought idly. Her ears twitched as he questioned her and for a moment the words did not meet her ears. A few seconds passed and she blinked, tilting her head slightly. "Oh, yes, actually." she said. She could go in the water by herself, but not far. She didn't want to lose her way to the shore and get swept out to sea, after all.

The girl stood up and moved towards the water, ears flicking as she followed the sound. Her paws touched the lapping waves and she smiled, glancing towards Danya. "Are you so hot you'd like to take a dip, then?" she asked as she lifted her chin to the warmth of the sun. It was a breath of fresh air after all the rain they'd been having but not quite as bad as the summer heat they'd endured. A good day, perhaps even a perfect one. "Come on in, the water's fine." she beckoned as she waded in deeper, stopping once the water touched her stomach. She was too afraid to go any further without him.

Danya watched as Aurelia seemed to be in her own world for a moment. She, however, after a moment accepted his offer to go to the water. He followed slowly, feeling the way the wet sand moved beneath his toes. He’d never been in the water, although he had seen oceans before. Knew well enough to not drink the water, at least, but in terms of hunting or surviving along the coast, he knew very little.

”Are you so hot you’d like to take a dip, then?” Aurelia asked. Danya chuckled softly.

”It is quite hot today – the sun does not quite agree with the darkness of my coat. It holds it, and does not let go.” He explained absently as he watched her wade in.

”Come on in, the water’s fine.” She offered. Danya shrugged, wading in deeper. It had not yet begun to lap his belly fur by the time he reached her. The way the sand shifted beneath his paws, the way the water wrapped around him, it was different than the river’s edge he was so used to. For a moment, he felt some apprehension but quickly shrugged it off. He reached out to nudge her shoulder slightly, before padding past her, going until the water finally touched his stomach before he submerged himself.

He stayed under for a moment, the saltwater stinging in his nose and eyes. He looked around, ignoring the sting. The water was tinted, but clear otherwise. He could see fish darting about in the shallows, see some crabs crawling around on the sand’s surface beneath the water. Danya stood again, sucking in a breath, shaking his head slightly clearing the water from his ears.

”The water is fine,” he observed, with a quiet laugh. He padded closer to Aurelia before an idea struck him. He lifted a paw quietly, before flicking some water gently towards her, aiming to hit her neck with it.

Aurelia's ears flicked as she listened to the sounds of the water, assuming Danya was making his way to her. She could hear a splash, and she turned her head just in time to have flecks of water spray her. A small smile touched her lips and she let out a soft laugh. "No fair," she said, lifting a paw to splash back blindly at him. She slapped at the water gently with her paw, enjoying this moment that was so rare between them. Danya was often all business and no play, at least with her, so to see him loosen up was a treat, even if it was just a little splashing.

The silver woman backed up a tad, her ears flicking back and forth as her paws slipped on some stones beneath the waves. She stumbled, looking alarmed for a moment, before regaining her footing. "Oh, be careful over here there are rocks!" she warned. She wondered, vaugly, if she'd reached the 'edge' of the shore and a sudden terror gripped her. Her ears flattened and she took a few slow steps forward until she felt the water dip from her belly. Thankfully, she was headed in the right direction and not out to sea.

As he splashed her, Danya could see a smile touch Aurelia’s features. It was a rare moment between them, where they seemed friendly, close like their relationship was something more than just business. Danya knew he was guilty of having things be mostly business between them, but such was the way of things. He knew that there was something more between them, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He relied on Aurelia almost as much as she relied on him. With her status within the Brothel, she held power, held sway, and he did value her opinion and input on things, despite her sex.

”No fair,” she said, splashing water towards him. It hit him in the chest, bringing a smile to his charcoal lips. He watched with curiosity as she splashed at the water, seeming to enjoy the moment. He watched as she took a few steps back, alarm crossing her features. She seemed to have slipped on something beneath the surface.

”Oh, be careful over here there are rocks!” She said. Fear seemed to touch her as she slowly took a few steps forward, getting away from whatever it was that she had felt. Danya tilted his head slowly to the side, watching her for a moment. He padded over to the area that she had been at, feeling the rocks beneath his paws, felt them shift beneath his weight.

He took another step or two forward, having found either an edge of a hole – a hole seeming like the more likely option. He stepped down into it, the water coming up to lap at his throat. His paws could touch the bottom, but just barely. He felt out with a paw, seeking another side. It was a hole, for sure, but a deep one nonetheless.

”It’s just a hole,” he stated. ”Water scares you, doesn’t it?” He asked Aurelia, glancing back towards her as he allowed himself to treat water, feeling the swell and withdrawal of the water as it moved – breathed – around him. It was comfortable for him, but he could see how it could be a fearful experience for someone who could not see, who could not tell just where they were within the water. The more time he spent with her, the more he had begun to understand her situation, and understand things the way that she understood them.