Do You Like Me? Y/N|Malagard, Khelek

[Darastrix]

It was Schuldig's turn to be surprised then, but he was far from disappointed. ~This isn't complicated,~ he murmured, sliding his hand up to caress the back of Mikasi's neck.

~I like you, you just said you've never been here for pleasure before, and I'm a Lustful. Very simple.~

[Kender Bard]

Mikasi resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he liked how things were going and leaned in to wrap his arms around the other man. ~That's not what I meant and you know i- wait.~

He pulled back, surprised. ~The way you emphasized that, Lustful... Sounds like the Soahcians do when talking about a sin of choice.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig blinked at Mikasi. "I am Soahcian. I thought you kne--" He stopped and shook his head. The timing back then....

"No, you wouldn't. Not unless Filly brought it up, and I guess she didn't. I converted right before that whole mess we only just now got straightened out a little."

[Kender Bard]

~Oh!~ Mikasi exclaimed, a little surprised. He hesitated, biting his lip. ~I, um... Okay don't take offense but I have to know... Does that make things awkward with Filly at all? I mean.. She's... and the Forces are a divine family...~ Certainly the various holy texts had made mentions of the Forces referring to each other as 'my brother, lord of death' or 'my celestial sister, the hand of fate' and other such things. Maybe it was wrong?

He'd tried not to talk too much about it with Filly, despite his gnawing curiosity. She seemed uncomfortable about the subject last time he saw her. Hopefully Schuldig would be a little more open.

[Darastrix]

Schuldig groaned a little and leaned forward to rest his head on Mikasi's shoulder. "I never was able to wrap my head around that all that well," he said and raised his head.

"The easy to understand bit is this. Filly is Filly. Efil is Efil. Even when they were still...connected, Filly thought about some things differently than Efil did. Efil was with the Forces, Filly was with me. Efil was living her life however the hell the Forces do it, Filly was living like she is now, with no divine knowledge. She knows she used to be Efil but she doesn't remember being a Force."

"So, no. It's not awkward. I think it's stranger for me than it is for her. Not because of who she is, but because I've met Forces and I know they fuck up. The whole reason I met Filly was because the Elements decided they'd all really fucked up. But on the other hand, I'm a priest of the one Force that embraces that kind of shit, so maybe it's not so strange. Ask me what I think of being a Soahcian priest every half hour, and I'll probably have a different answer every time."

[Kender Bard]

~I believe it~ Mikasi replied with a grin. ~Well. Thank you for telling me that. I honestly was curious but Filly avoided the topic when I last saw her and I didn't want to push the issue.~ He stood and stretched. ~And as... surprisingly pleasant as that kiss was, and I'm sure you wouldn't mind more, I'm starving. Why don't we take things a little more leisurely and then we'll see where it leads.~

He didn't even bother asking if Filly minded Schuldig kissing other men. He was pretty sure he knew the answer.

[Darastrix]

"I can be patient. Sometimes," Schuldig said as he slid off of the bed. "And you're not just a random templegoer seeking my services. We'll need to figure out what I can get away with and what you'll let me get away with."

"Speaking of pleasant surprises, I thought your tastes tended the other way, not that it's really ever come up."

[Kender Bard]

~A common assumption, and not entirely wrong~ Mikasi answered. ~I do very much like women.~ He grinned widely. ~How fortunate for me, eh?~ Going to his pack, he rummaged around for some fresh pair of clothes. ~Turn around please.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig gave Mikasi an exaggerated pout, but did as requested. "How is Sensatia about that kind of thing anyway?" he asked. "Soahc's temple wing and the brothel really aren't good for getting a feel for what's 'normal' in a place."

~We're fine,~ he sent to Filly. ~Kissed and made up and everything.~

[Kender Bard]

~Good~ Filly replied with relief.

~It's... Complicated~ Mikasi answered as he began to change. ~What a man does behind closed doors is his own business... But overall it is not much approved. In fact, it was all but outlawed for two men to be in a romantic entanglement. Pressure to continue populating the Minds... Things have been slowly getting better since the dragon blessing and we no longer need to be so concerned about such things, but it's still not something sanctioned by society. Of course being bisexual grants a little more leniency. After all, it means I still have the chance to knock someone up. But like I said, things are relaxing steadily.~

[Darastrix]

"Pressure to continue populating...?" Schuldig gave a derisive snort. "That has got to be one of, if not the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and I've heard some real bullshit. Contrasta managed to still have Minds without someone looking over our shoulders to make sure Minds were fucking other Minds of the opposite sex. Of course, in Morilanta, fucking with another man could get you killed, but then there, what won't?"

[Kender Bard]

Mikasi rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. ~Let's just say that the history for Minds in Naruta has been a very rough one and there's some extremely good reasons that when we finally came out of hiding we built a giant wall amongst many other things. The Minds have been exploited for some time and we've long had a problem with keeping our population up, at least, compared to all the other elements. Not to mention the Clear Wars devastated us. We easily lost half, if not more, of our numbers.~

He finished dressing. ~I could go on but I don't care to and I don't think you want to be given a lengthy history lesson. So I'll sum things up by just saying that there have been times when we needed to make lots of children very quickly and nobody wants to waste a perfectly good father or mother by letting them screw around with the same sex. Thank goodness that old animosity is going away.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig shook his head. He didn't really care why; it was still stupid. "Well, I'd hope so," he said, referring to Mikasi's last statement. "I haven't checked to see if he's still there, but last I heard, Zack Riel...Wintersong...Riel-Wintersong? Eh, I don't know how he changed his name or even if he did, but he's Anarlina's ambassador in Sensatia. His husband's a Mind."

[Kender Bard]

Mikasi gave a small smirk. ~Well. He's an ambassador; he doesn't have to be like us. He's there to help us understand him and for him to understand us. Or at least that's what I gather.~ He let himself out of the room and looked around, trying to remember which way the kitchens were. ~Speaking of embassies, I heard that Master Thelon is going to be sending his son here. Out of sheer curiosity, do you think that's a good idea?~

He was not a part of Thelon's council, of course, but word got around and given his late father's old position, Mikasi couldn't help but find himself reflecting on Sensatian politics now and then. ~And where are the kitchens?~

[Darastrix]

"This way," Schuldig said, beckoning with a finger. "And I dunno. I haven't really seen that much of him. His age could make it hard for him to be taken seriously by some of the locals, though, especially the older set. You can about say he's a man, but he's still not experienced. Taught, maybe, but not experienced."