Marduk’s Mark [5]
Morning
Thomas felt the warm rays of the sun hitting his face and though his eyes were closed, he could perceive the light of the day as it made its way into the living room. He felt the rough stone floor on his back and for a moment wished they had made it to the bed. He extended a leg and felt one of the couch’s wooden supports with his foot. He opened his eyes slowly, raising a hand to shield them from the strong light when he felt the soft lips of the waitress kiss him on the neck. Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to be aware that he was waking up.
He tried to move slowly to avoid disturbing her, but she felt him moving around and cuddled closer to him. He placed his left hand on the floor and straightened his torso little by little. She readjusted accordingly, resting her head on his lap. He looked at her face, and though she looked a little rough after their encounter a few hours ago, he thought she had attractive features. It surprised him. He was certainly smitten by her while she served their drinks, but he hadn’t noticed her high cheekbones, full lips, and lustrous dark hair. She also had delicate eyebrows and a thin, pointy nose. The only feature of hers he had really noticed were her breasts while in the tavern’s low light. Maybe his luck had taken a turn for the better, after all, he thought to himself.
While admiring her features, the waitress opened her eyes and spoke in a tinny, tired voice. “You don’t have to leave so soon, right,” she asked as she nuzzled against him. Thomas looked around and realized all the windows were open and none of the curtains were set up to block the rays of the sun, which startled him somewhat.
“Anybody that walks by — ” he started to say but didn’t finish the sentence. The waitress grinned.
“Could have peered in and seen us naked on the floor?” The unshaken tone of her voice as she remarked this possibility took him by surprise.
“Come on Thomas,” she told him. “When was the last time someone peered into a window in a Deelz district?” she asked.
“You have a point,” Thomas nodded at her. When, indeed, he thought to himself. “Still,” he continued, “I’m surprised this doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”
The waitress stretched her body on the floor, outstretching her limbs. She felt an itch on her skin from the rough stone. She then sat on her knees and grabbed some sheets from a nearby table and wrapped herself in them as she got up. Thomas looked at her as she extended her arms and grabbed the curtains, spreading them over the windows and covering them up.
“There,” she told him. “All covered up now,” she said and then let the sheets drop to the floor. Thomas just remained seated and admired her body for a moment.
She had slightly tanned skin, pretty common on someone who lived close to the pier in Incantirl. She wasn’t particularly tall, but her short legs were more muscle than fat, and she had a healthy, trim waist with decadent hips. Her top was the star of the show though, and Thomas couldn’t get enough of it. She knew he was all over her, and she couldn’t hide her excitement towards him.
“That’s enough of a show,” she told him as she turned around and walked away from the living room. “You can follow me if you want to wash up,” she yelled at him from the corridor further inside the house.
“Wash up? You have running water?” Thomas asked as he stood up and replied
She stopped and turned back to look at him. “Of course. It’s fairly common in this kind of house.”
“Of course it is,” he said as he looked at her and nodded, trying to hide his surprise. He was so caught up in sating his sexual urges with her that he hadn’t really taken the time to realize that Deelamn district or not, she did live in a spacious house that was fairly close to the pier. Before carrying the conversation any further, he took a good look around him.
The furniture in the entrance hall was sparse, consisting only of a single couch. However, the walls were decorated with many wonderful paintings full of bright, vivid colors. While some paintings depicted flowers and forest scenes, he noticed that most of them were paintings about the ocean. Multiple waves, foaming at the edge of a beach, seagulls flying in the distance. He could have sworn that was a real scene rather than a painting. He couldn’t help but stare at the works of art in awe. Even someone as gruff as him could admire the colors and shapes in those canvasses, he thought to himself.
“So,” he started to say, looking for the right words as he eyed the paintings. “How did you end up living here?” he asked.
She seemed to ignore the question, opening a white door by pushing it. She went into the room, and Thomas soon heard a mechanical sound as she turned a valve. This was followed by the groaning of pipes, and the sound of water rushing into a tub.
He walked into the corridor and towards the washroom she had entered. The floor was made up of small blocks of uneven tiles that resembled colored glass. They seemed to be arranged in random shapes, though further inspection revealed a spiral-like pattern about them. There were solid blocks of glass in the upper half of the wall that let light through, but the glass was rough enough that you couldn’t actually see through it. He thought if he couldn’t see outside, the people outside wouldn’t be able to peer inside.
As he expected, he found her lying in a tub, relaxing as the water filled it little by little. “So you finally cared to join me,” she cooed. He crouched next to the tub, facing her at eye level.
“You’re not just a waitress,” he told her. She smiled and stretched her right leg up high, washing it thoroughly, paying a lot of attention to her calf.
“No, I’m not,” was her simple reply.
“Those paintings,” he asked her. “Where did you get them?” he asked. She frowned at him immediately.
“You think I bought them? Nay,” she replied. “I painted them myself.” Thomas couldn’t hide the surprised expression on his face.
“Oh, don’t be so surprised. You’ve barely met me to judge me so!” she protested.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. That’s true, he thought to himself. He barely knew her, yet they’d already shared much in the way of intimacy.
“So,” he proceeded. “Changing the topic,” he smiled smugly. “Why did you ask me to follow you home?” She was taken by surprise, though not by the question itself.
“Honestly,” she said, “I am not quite sure.” She closed her eyes, thinking deeply about her words. “I am somewhat, should we say, capricious. I just knew I wanted to have you then and there,” she remarked rather coldly, almost with no emotion. The coldness of her words stung Thomas’ pride somewhat.
“That was it,” he asked her. “As simple and cold as that? You wanted a toy, and I was there, easy to choose and abuse?” He was genuinely disappointed at the turn the conversation had taken. She simply shrugged.
“What is there for you to complain about? You had as much fun as I did last night. I must also confess that I heard your friends making fun of you, remarking how a Deelz had her way with you and left you without a single coin on your purse. That made you immediately appealing to me,” she laughed after the short confession, then she lowered her right leg and raised her left, repeating the same washing motions on it as she did on her right leg previously. “Oh, please close the valve. I forget to do so and don’t want to make too much of a mess this time,” she said.
The order caught Thomas by surprise. “Close the valve?” He looked around but had trouble identifying where it could be.
“It’s underneath the pipes,” she told him. He checked the water spout as it kept pouring water on the tub and followed it, locating the pipes and the valve underneath them. He turned it counter-clockwise and the water spout stopped. The tub was nearly full, the waitresses’ body adding a considerable volume to the water in it.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I just thought I’d show you that we humans are much better. Besides; I noticed your friend’s purse,” she laughed. “Those were some good tips!” Thomas couldn’t help but laugh.
“Speaking of them,” he said, “I need to join them soon. It’s our first week in town and we haven’t had luck finding a job.” She looked at him, paying special attention to the scars on his chest.
“Are you soldiers or something?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “Ever since the Judicator system was implemented, there hasn’t been much work for mercs,” she said.
“Yes, you mentioned them during our walk,” he told her. She shrugged. Thomas sat down for a moment to think about it. “My friends and I arrived four days ago,” he told her. “We hoped to make some fair coin, but things have been slow.” She splashed some water on his face. “Hey,” he protested, “that’s not fair!” She laughed.
“I suppose that’s how you got had by the Deelz right?” She got up from the tub and sat on top of him, drenching him with the cold, soapy water from her body. “Young, strong man, nothing to do in the big city,” she continued, “Idle hands, an open mind, and unable to keep control of the head with the mind when the head with the lascivious urges wants to have fun.” Before he knew it, she was seducing him once more.
