8341/Back to the tiger's den.

Back to the tiger's den.
Date of Scene:	20 October 2021
Location:	The Griffin
Synopsis:	Mairin got a lesson in how to relax from Saeko and Thomas. But will she actually do it??
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Saeko, Thomas Blake

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    She never really intended to come back to the Griffin. After her last visit, she swore she wouldn't. It was dangerous. And it was foolish. THere really wasn't anything for her here. So why is she standing on the walk staring at the door? Mairin doesn't know. True, there's the excuse of checking on Demona's identity. She does need to arrange the transfer of money and all those details. But she could have checked on that at the station. No... there's some other reason she came back. And there's some other reason she walks up to ring the bell. Some pull she doesn't quite understand, but just as surely can't resist.

    Could it be... fun?

Saeko has posed:
Saeko did get out, honestly! Truth be told she probably travelled more than the other two denizens of the Griffin put together, but magics that could carry her across the world did tend to help. That was probably why she was 'home' and currently relaxing, once more lounging in her prefered attire and absently humming to herself as she beckoned with a finger, one of the strawberries that had been left as an offering floating to her hand and being lifted to her mouth for a slow, luxurious bite...

Then there was a knock at the door and Saeko blinked...then the door was simply opened, Saeko standing behind it with the bitten berry still held in her fingers.

"Oh! Maririn! Welcome back doctor!"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    It's not who she was expecting... but not who she feared... and maybe even exactly who she hoped, that opens the door, and Mairin can't help the smile and slight blush as she see Saeko.

    "Hello Saeko. I..." And then she realizes she really doesn't have a reason to give for being here. She can't exactly just say.. Hey I missed the thrill and danger of being here. Can she?

    "I was wondering if I could talk. To you. Actually." She peers through the door a bit. "Is... She home?"

Saeko has posed:
"Satana is...well, I think she's at her 'other home' as it were, but for the moment I do not believe she is home." Of course, teleportation wasn't much more difficult for the daughter of hell, but she doesn't mention that. Instead the kitsune steps sideways, her concealment of her more literally foxy features when she opened the door fading away as her tails unfurled into reality once more.

Only after Mairin entered would she step back, happily moving back to one of the couches in the lounge and seeming to practically float down onto it smoothly.

"What were you wishing to talk about?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin takes a deep breath, looks around at the door as though it were some portal to another, more dangerous dimension, then steps through. There.. the hardest part is done. She takes a deep breath and follows Saeko to the lounge, doing her best to focus on the kitsune's back and not... elsewhere.

    "A few things, actually..." She says as she sits down, properly, on the edge of a couch. "I..." She stops, takes a deep breath, lets it out, and forces herself to sit back on the couch and relax. At least as much as she's able to.

    "You're a kitsune aren't you? I... I did some research after the other night."

Saeko has posed:
She smiles at that, ever radiant as she nods and folds her hand at her lap, her knees brought together in some semblance of modesty given the apparently deliberate revealing nature of that red yukata she wore. "I am a Kitsune, a Tenko if your research leads you to understand what that term means. I am a servant of Inari, but I have chosen to take a more...direct route in aiding prosperity."

Mairin Moran has posed:
     "Yes, it did." She smiles a bit, the first even slightly relaxed smile she's given Saeko. "I.. I'm pleased to have met you. Not many can say they've met the servent of a god." She shifts slightly, placing her bag to one side of her on the couch. "I'm... sorry if I was rude the other night. I didn't mean to be."

    She keeps her gaze focussed on Saeko's face, her eyes. She's pretty sure she could get lost there, but it's still so much safer than looking anywhere else. And besides... They're comforting. Relaxing. Perhaps not exactly calming, but Mairin can feel a warm glow deep in her chest as she looks into them, that helps to set her at ease.

Saeko has posed:
"I appreciate your apology," Saeko offers, perhaps a note of formality behind her tones before she smiles and reaches in a long, slow drawn out movement to the small box of strawberries sitting on the table nearby, remnants of an offering. One is plucked by her delicate fingertips, held aloft as if considered for a moment before she offers it out to the doctor with a smile. "But you are certainly forgiven, I can appreciate your discomfort and your nerves."

Taken or not, the Tenko leans forward ever so slightly, her other hand resting under her chin as her eyes focus intently on meeting Mairin's gaze.

"But there was more you wished to speak of, no?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "Ummm..." Mairin is all kinds of flustered at the gift. After all, one doesn't just refuse a gift from a divine messenger. But the whole movement just makes her embaressed for reasons she doesn't even know and could never explain. "Thank you," she finally manages, taking the strawberry and holding it for just a second before taking a bite. Which, since these are obviously only the best strawberries, results in juice dripping down her chin and Mairin trying desperatly to wipe it off. But there's no real way to do so except with her fingers. And then her fingers have juice on them and the last thing she wants to do is lick her fingers in front of Saeko... All while her face approuches a matching color to the strawberry itself.

    "Um... yes... I did.." she manages, while looking utterly mortified and trying desperatly not to *look*.

Saeko has posed:
Of course the strawberries had been a gift left at the modest shrine hidden away in the park here in New York, one worshiper of Inari who'd made the offering on a whim had found fortune smiling on him thanks to the treat. It truely did help that it seemed Saeko was permitted to enjoy the treat herself even if whatever was draw from it flowed to Inari.

And she'd given one to Mairin.

Clearly aware of the embarassment, yet obviously not one to offer mercy for it, the vixen moves closer, leaning forwards as she moves up the small space on the couch with a ligth slinking crawl that trails her tails behind her before sitting herself down close enough that her leg rested against the other woman's. "By all means, do not keep me in suspense..."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "I... Excuse me," she finally manages and turns to rifle through her bag for a tissue which she uses to wipe herself off. She then carefully places the remains of the strawberry into the tissue and places that into her bag. All of this done at a frantic pace as Saeko is *right* there.

    "Sorry.." she says as she turns to look at the kitsune who'se face is now *so* much closer. She clears her throat and once again focusses on the eyes. But that's really not much better at this range than looking anywhere else. "I was reading that Tenko can grant prayers. Not, wishes exactly, but prayers, in exchange for a gift? I don't want to... offend you by getting it wrong." She swollows, as she notices just how the light plays in Saeko's eyes, shining and reflecting.. "Sometimes books can get it.... wrong."

Saeko has posed:
"A blessing," she nods, a soft almost-giggle crossing her lips. "Bestowed by a Tenko such as myself through Inari's boon. The offering passes to them, it is theirs, I am...well, a lot of things. Magic and chance, prosperity and luck manifest..." she trails off, one hand coming to rest her finger tapping lightly at the corner of her mouth, "but to keep it simple, imagine we were the one brokering and rewarding what you ask of Inari."

A beat, Saeko's eyes carry that same mix of friendly and flirtatious, the intensity of the near impossible vixen as she speaks once more. "Just what is it you are praying for Mairin...?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin makes the mistake of glancing down at Saeko's mouth as her finger taps the edge of it, and finds it impossible to answer for what feels like several minutes. Because what she's praying for right then, isn't what she came here to ask.

    "I..." She refocusses on Saeko's eyes with an effort. "You remember my friend? The Jiangshi?" She desperatly tries to fill her mind with an image of Demona, but it keeps flickering, replaced by those eyes... And everything attatched to them."

Saeko has posed:
"I recall you speaking of her," Saeko nods, still close, still listening and both conveying interest in the other woman's words and mere presence making Mairin wonder if she was entirely aware of the effect she was having on the poor Doctor. The fox lowers that hand from her cheek to fold both in her lap, a little quirk of her lips.

"If you seek something on her behalf...she should be the one making the offering. If you want something for yourself..."

She trails off, shrugging those mostly bare shoulders.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Her expression falls a little, obviously disappointed. She looks to one side, easier to think that way even if the effort it takes is tremendous, and furrows her brow in thought.

    "I don't suppose it would matter that what I'd ask for would benifit me as well?" she asks, looking back up to Saeko. "I just..." She considers for a moment then seems to make a decision and looks back up, even shifting closer and reaching out a hand to touch Saeko's knee, though she doesn't even realize she's doing it.

    "I want you to make her human again. To take away the curse. It would make things easier for her, but it would make them much easier for me as well. The rift between myself and Nettie would be healed... It'd be much easier to set her up with an identity so she could help with my work..." She bites her lip, trying to think of any other way this request that so obviously is for Demona, could be said to be for her.

Saeko has posed:
A little giggle to her lips, Saeko shrugs lifting a hand now to lazily stroke the fingertip down Mairin's cheek.

"Doesn't work like that," she murmers lightly, offering a wink to the other woman. "After all, such a curse requires more than a trifling offering...a dedication from someone who would recieve a blessing of great size, they must make an offering of appropriate size."

She draws back, the fingertip gives a little flick over the other woman's lips before leaning back. "Only for yourself..."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin actually closes her eyes slightly at Saeko's touch, and she leans forward as the finger is pulled away, as if desperate for it to stay.

    But once it's gone, she opens her eyes and simple looks down at her hand on the Kitsune's knee. There's a long silence as she thinks, but her thoughts are becoming more jumbled the longer she stays. Desires of her own flooding in to mix with her determnation to help someone else.

    "I... I don't want anything," she lies softly.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Incoming male energy. Not so fresh from the gym. Thomas enters the Griffin. He waves to Saeko... and Mairin. Oh this is good. He drops his gym bag on a couple of imps who bear it away. Then he walks over to the pair and trying not to get in the way, gives Saeko a kiss on the side of her mouth, squeezing one luscious shoulder. He looks in those deep eyes for a few moments.

"Heyah kiddo," he offers Mairin, patting her on the head. "I'm just getting cleaned up don't mind me." Behind Mairin he doffs his clothes, as an imp picks up each item, and ascends the stairs.

The male energy drops. But still lurks.

Saeko has posed:
"Well then," Saeko exhales a slow breath, a little smile on her lips before she giggles, Thomas arrival and parting, doing nothing to reduce the air about her that almost certainly leads creedence to the stories of kitsune being insatiable vixens.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin jumps when Thomas comes in, jerking her hand back from Saeko's knee and pulling back, but only just slightly. She watches him with wary but not unfriendly eyes as he kisses Saeko and then around until he dissapears behind her.

    God, what is she doing! Why is she even here? There's no reason to it, no logical sense to it. And yet, she can't make herself stand and leave. She wants to be here. Wants... Her gaze goes back to Saeko, flicking quickly down then up, and she blushes. She hasn't felt this way since her first crush in middle school... And she is just starting to realize... she likes it.

    And, just like then, she is struck simply mute by the feeling.

Saeko has posed:
For all the turmoil of poor Mairin's mind, Saeko seems quite happy to remain where she is, a divine being willing to offer aid and kindness, but offering torment by her very presence. It might almost seem mean as she simply waits, watches, maybe even enjoys the deep blushing she invokes before finally there's mercy.

"Perhaps, if your friend is willing, she can meet and judge for herself. If not here, there is a modest little altar within the city to Inari. An offering with meaning there is...well, I can 'feel' it."

Her hand lowers to the one on her lap right as the word 'feel' is vocalized.

"Of course, there are magics to summon beings such as myself too but...I do prefer an invitation more than something tying me up...magically speaking, of course."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "Of course..." Yes! Right! Demona. That's why she's here after all. Isn't it? Right? "I'll... tell her."

    Mairin clears her throat, takes a deep breath, and leans sideways a bit on the couch to get more comfortable, resting her leg more fully against Saeko's even though it makes her heart race to do it.

    "Do you mind if I ask you something else?"

Saeko has posed:
That smile, ever-present, still remains as she nods. With their contact remaining, Saeko's tails offer a lazy comfortable waver through the air.

A little twitch, a light silken contact of one furred tail against the woman's leg.

"Of course, please ask whatever you like..."

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake waits at the top of the stairs, in the shadows silently. Bloord creeps iup and almost says something but gets gabbed around his scaly neck and shushed. Thomas merely points at Saeko. Bloord silently ahs and lies down, the better to seek pointers on temptation. He grins at Thomas.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin smiles wide, letting that feeling, that intoxicating mix of trepidation and excitment wash through her before speaking.

    "I don't want to be rude... So please don't take it as such... But, I can't help but wonder why you stay... Here, of all places." Her hand waves about the room vaguely even as her eyes just soak Saeko in.

    Wait.. is she... is she enjoying herself?

Saeko has posed:
That brings a little grin, a little less flirtatious laugh and a tilt of her head to the other side. "Why so you?" she teases back.

A little lazy lounging against the couch she lifts her free hand, gesturing around. "I travel many places, to say I 'live' here isn't accurate. But Satana and Thomas both...they allow me to be what I am without deception, appreciate it even. It is refreshing when most do not know Kitsune exist, or at best view us poorly."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin can't help laughing as well. She takes a deep breath in, "I.. I guess I never thought about it that way. It must be... nice, to be able to just relax and be yourself. Without anyone judging or expecting you to be anything else." She glances down at where her leg rests against Saeko's. "I've... never really had that I guess. I've always had to be... something. When I was a kid, I had to be the grown up. And when I was older I had to be..." she frowns slightly. "I don't know. The one with the answers? The smart one?" She laughs a little and looks up to Saeko's eyes. "Do you know, I didn't even go out anywhere with friends until I moved here? I didn't even really *have* friends. And the one person I loved--" she stops short and just looks back down.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake merely watches. In the wild he often spent hours waiting for a victim to come within his kill. Back home, he could still adopt a comfortable spot and just watch. Now, however, he rises, clad in a controversial bathrobe. Old habits die hard. He walks down the steps as soundlessly as the fog rolling along. In a similar situation, the hand that reaches out often held a blade. Now it stops before touching the small woman and instead he retreats a step and says, "We treat her as an adult. She wants to see how this turns out. She thinks Mairin's an adult based on her denying herself every pleasure. But Mairin is more like a child frightened of the high diving board." Two large hands drop lightly on Mairin's shoulders. They start kneading her muscles gently. Surprisingly gentle. Sort of... consoling. "Lose your fear." Hard fingers give her hair a light stroke.

Saeko has posed:
"To become a Tenko is the journey of a thousand years," Saeko muses, a little pause to let the length of her lifetime sink in.

"Yet even I have had my own...amusing experiences in my childhood. I have had romances, mischiefs, trials and great obsessions. I believe there is even a poem about one of them somewhere...but it gets most of the details wrong..."

Trailing off, she laughs, leaning forwards lightly. "My point is, of course, that I have learned in my 'divine knowledge' to enjoy what loves I find, to make the most of it. I have all of time, so I can make the most of all eternity has to offer, loves included."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin jumps a little when Thomas touches her, turning her head to look, and seems about to yell at him. The thought is deffinitly there... but only for a second, before she just sighs deeply and turns back to Saeko, even closing her eyes briefly. Because if anyone ever needed a massage, it's her.

    "I don't have a thousand years, she murmers. And, I can't just..." She sighs again, the sound turning a bit into a grunt as Thomas' hands find a really good spot. "If I don't stay focussed. If I don't do what I have to do.. I wont be able to help people."

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake realizes that if anyone ever needed a massage, it is Mairin. "Here is the fallacy you and so many others subscribe to. That people are all good or all bad. that yu have to be one or another all the time. That is you're good and selfless 99% of the time, this is unacceptable. Jeeze Louise, will you please relax. Oh, here's a spot. How's that?" He puts his palm on a certain spot and begins rubbing, gradually applying more force. "Absolutes suck."

Saeko has posed:
A little shift, perhaps another touch of tail that intended to sooth the doctor before she chuckles.

"Nor do you need it. One can help someone every chance, one can enjoy themselves every chance...usually both. It may be my task, but I enjoy what I do, especially since I have chosen to be more direct."

She leans in now, close, close enough that the thought of contact from those lips pulled into a smile would be an easy leap of thought.

Only then she draws back, flowing to her feet once more. "If you wish for a blessing, you can make an offering...and if you simply desire to spend more time? Well...one doesn't need to be quite as formal."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Her eyes watch, Saeko, her whole body leaning towards her slightly, and for just a moment the urge to just throw herself at the kitsune and give in to what she wants is almost unbearable. But she doesn't, and the moment is gone when Saeko stands

    Instead, Mairin watches Saeko go with the same expression countless others have had. And once she's gone, Mairin just leans back aginst the chair with a dissapointed sigh. Not in being unable to have what she wanted, but in herself for not even trying.

    She stays like that for a long moment, sullen, but enjoying Thomas' hands. "I don't think I'm perfect, you know," she finally mutters.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake keeps rubbing, enjoying her enjoyment as odd as it seems. The muscles do relax under his hands but it seems more despair and depression.Then he slides over onto the arm of Mairin's chair and hugs her with one arm. "Who said you think you're perfect? No one is perfect. No one has to be perfect. I'm a thief, assailant, and hedonist with a cat complex. However, I give good massage. Now your scalp." He flicks the scrunchie out of her hair. "Now the scalp." He begins rubbing her temples, occipitals and scalp.

"You have nice hair. You should do something more with it. There are a lot of styles that are low maintenance."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin just sits there, her eyes closed. "You said I thought I had to be good all the time," she mutters. "I don't.. I mean how could I? I just..." She sighs, an enormous thing from down deep. "I have responsibilities. And I want to help people. I don't want people to have to go through what they did then. And I want to help other people. I want to help Demona. What I want doesn't matter." One hand reaches down to touch her leg where it had touched Saeko.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake chuckles. "Darling... if what you wanted didn't matter, we would be making love right now. Demona will keep. She's fucking immortal. But if you don't indulge yourself, give yourself a break, you will give out and no one gets helped. I think you're going to go to sleep again which is fine. You're safe. If Satana still had an issue with you... you'd be laid up. She certainly wouldn't bother you while you sleep. You just go right on the sofa and sleep for a bit. Trust me. Nothing is going to hurt you here. This is my house contrary to what you may think." He attempts to get her up and move her towards the sofa, still gently.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin actually laughs. A real, sincere laugh. "You're impossible," she mutters. "And a liar. But I appreciate it." Another deep breath and she shakes her head. "I do need to go. I have a project that *has* to get finished." It's only a half-protest though.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake bends close to Mairin, pushing her hair back. "Take an hour," he says. He sweeps her up and lays her gently down. A pillow is slipped under her head. A comforter is thrown over her. "You like that I find you attractive," he accuses. He strokes her back. "Sleep."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    She rolls over and... smells the couch. Because, yes, she can still smell Saeko on it. She smiles a content smile, her eyes closed. "No you don't. But you're nice."