Metellan

I met Virosa again at the Tendora's Tit paga den, thinking to perhaps beseech her into letting me stay in her small hovel down in the basement there. I don't much care for the cramped quarters, nor the serpents that are housed in a small cage. And yet it is preferable to returning home again to the Magician's house, where I fear to meet the lady Scribe all in black again. For I am ill at ease in her presence of late, and I believe she has no good intentions toward me anymore.

Virosa was with a man I have not seen before in these parts, making preparations to leave.. Ar, I think. I was bereaved over this small fact, as if someone I loved were about to die. Virosa did not wish for me to call her by that name anymore. "Call me Amanita now," she said. Virosa does not even exist, and yet my mind played tricks on me as I stood before this same woman and spoke with her face to face.

She promised to return for me soon. I shall be counting the nights til then, as Temis, I'm quite sure, has innumerable plans for my subsequent days.

Caustic Words

The lady all in black has spent about a month with me in the Magician's home, and still there has been no sign of Xarika all this while. More and more she has become aggitated with me, to the point that I have begun to fear for my life. She is curious to find out what I know about Agamemnon Sarce, though I dare not utter one peep of what I have seen. I know nothing of the man he slew, other than that he was some general of Ar who'd come to arrest Agamemnon. And I dread every new day that comes, suspecting that the black Scribe means to see me hanged.

Virosa came home with me one eve after I ran into her at the Stadium of Blades. I had accompanied the Lady all in black there, but she hurried off to tend to some business and left me stranded for several ahn in the stands. Near the end of the night, when she had failed to return for me, I decided to head home on my own. And that is when I ran into Virosa a second time.. literally so.

Outside the Arena, we hid ourselves in the shadows 'neath the parapets. It was then that Virosa laid open her plans of leaving Ar very soon, and I in my frantic desire not to lose her, begged her to kiss me again, the way she had kissed me before.

In the end she had kissed me with such a passion that she swallowed down every last drop of my desire for her. And I truly think that my fragile heart shall break into a million pieces, should she leave me behind.

Later at home, I had planned to sleep the night in Virosa's arms. And yet Fate had her own different agenda, for as Virosa began releasing me gently back into the mainstream of my life.. the black Scribe suddenly returned. Too, she was not pleased to find me in tears; distraught. Virosa was chased out of the house with several threats of retaliation should she choose to disobey. And I myself was chastised, as only a woman scorned might lash out. She threatened to put me on a leash and expose me to the world for what I am.

Strangely, the black Scribe's caustic words served only once again to dredge up regret for all the wrongs I have committed against Marius. This too, shall be yet another straw that perhaps finally breaks the proverbial kaiila's back.

My Homesick Heart

In the months that have passed since the Magician brought me to Ar, I find my increasing lonliness leaves me wanting for my old life. I miss Marius. And just as often I think of Jade, and I wonder how she fares. Has she forgotten me by now?

Penitence is a strange thing. For as part of me wishes I'd never partaken in theft, another part of me could never fathom the eternal loss of Jade. And though I did not ultimately get to keep her, the thought that she is with my Master does bring me some relief from my own misery. I shall never cease to wish upon the stars at night. For in them I might obtain the mercy I desire. And Marius' open arms, welcoming me home once again.

Virosa

From nowhere she came, threatening to upend my constitution. And yet she claimed to know a thing or two of Fate, coercing me with a constant tug to my hand to enter with her, this paga den known as Tendora's Tit. Right into her web.. "Come in and stick around awhile," said the Spider to the Fly.

I cannot say that I have frequented many paga taverns in my lifetime, for Marius is none too fond of them. I do not think any of my former Mistresses thought much of such iniquitous dens either, though I never outrightly heard any speak of them. And yet once I crossed the threshold of Tendora's Tit, there was a certain magic that filled the air. Heady and like an aphrodisiac.

I followed Virosa to the raised platform at the fore of the tavern, where she led me by the hand. And this in of itself seemed to draw several jeers from the many patrons, their faces flushed red with sweat from too much paga. It is said that men love kajirae with spirit and tenacity. If they loved Virosa, I can see why.

Upon the platform, I raised my Kalika and bow and began a new melody that came to mind upon a lark, for I was both beguiled and inspired by the Ost Charmer. Her hips moved in grinding gyrations, and she danced in such a way as I have never before seen a woman dance. It made me almost sick with fever as I succumbed to lust. And I am sure I was not alone in my sentiment, for several times the men in the crowd rose up collectively to beat their fists into their left shoulders in ovations as we gave them our all.

In the end, I stayed the night with her down in the storage room beneath Tendora's Tit. And while at first I had been paralyzed with fear the snakes she kept in a cage, as well as the small cramped space of her personal niche.. I did my best to overcome my acute sense of claustrophobia, long enough to spend the night in her arms and joined at the hip as lovers.