Keeping cool

The sun had dipped a few inches in the sky since Shi Sen had entered the Green Dragon, which made it rather obvious she'd been there fore a while. She was asked via written message to meet Kon Ro here in the late afternoon. Kon Ro, one of her most valuable and less frequent clients, had a tenancy to be late, then get upset when she couldn't stay longer.

So, she waited. Thankfully the Green Dragon staff were no strangers to her (or her professions) and had already established a kind of tab to be payed by her escort at a time when he would arrive. However, if he didn't arrive by the end of the week, they'd have to charge her for the stay. An ill-received little joke posed by the master of the tavern. She'd already wracked-up two pots of tea, a half-bottle of sake and a small bowl of sweet rice in the time she'd spent on the green cushion that blended seamlessly with the colors of her kimono.

Shi Sen smiled, finding the sudden attention welcome, but jarring. She'd been sitting alone with her thoughts for so long that she'd forgotten there were others here. She looked up at the woman who'd seated herself on the other side of the table.

"Oh, well I was waiting for a... uh... a gentleman friend to arrive, but I suppose he isn't coming." This wasn't the first time she'd come to this conclusion, but it was the first time she was willing to say it outloud. Shi Sen supposed that was the final step in convincing herself it was worth leaving, despite what Kon Jo might think. She wondered if it was worth keeping him on as a client any longer.

Before she could take all the business thoughts and organize them, she remembered she was now with someone and continued. "I'm Shi Sen. A pleasure to meet you." She always found herself speaking very formally, even in casual conversation. A side-effect of her occupation.

Shi Sen couldn't help a giggle penetrating her smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind some evening company." She chuckled and leaned in. "Between you and I, other than my missed funds, I'm glad I don't have to see him tonight. He's a real bore and... well I shouldn't say this about such a valuable client but... he's kind of disgusting to be around. I think I'd much rather spend the evening with you."

Shi Sen could return anyone's flirtation, usually with no harm done. But this woman was a little harder to read. Perhaps because this was her first conversation with her. It made it difficult to decipher whether she was serious or not.

A kind of gleeful, electric shock spread over her body. She willingly suspended the disbelief filling her like a balloon with a hole in it; in one big burst, then out in a slow stream. "If you're serious," She began slowly. "Then the rates are a little steep. However, I think I can forget about that if you'd be willing to cover this last bottle of Sake." She'd thought about asking for more, but decided against it. She was about to go on an adventure and she didn't want to wast feelings talking about money.

There had only been a few times Shi Sen had ever been with a girl, and it was usually some waif who'd only do it for a man's attention. A little tease who just needed a good thrashing and used her to get it. Of course, that was before she'd gotten her name out there as an actress. Before she'd understood what it meant to be a courtesan and all the signs that accompanied a bad deal.

The grin on Shi Sen's face was at maximum volume. She touched her fingertip to her lips in a kind of instinctual sign of intrigue. "Alright then. I propose we just leave the money here on the table and find some place more comfertable to wile away the hours. What do you think?"

Shi Sen could tell that this would be fun. This Shanza was frank in speech. She liked that. Most of the people around her were so tongue and cheek, including herself. It was refreshing to just hear someone speak their mind. If she was from out of town, Shi Sen wouldn't mind bringing her back to her place. It didn't happen much, but when it did, it was usually for more secretive affairs. The kind her lovers didn't want to share with their significant others. Those were the ones Shi Sen dreaded.

Shi Sen did indeed stand, brushing the wrinkles out of the fine silk of her kimono and straightening her obi. She tilted her head invitingly for a moment and went to retrieve her shoes from the mat by the door. Without stooping, she pushed her feet into the shoes and tapped them to make sure they were on completely. The master of the tavern was either in the back or had left from somewhere else. Normally she would have bid him goodbye, but with the tab looming over her head, she decided it would be best to just go.

Her shoes clacked on the rock and dirt pavilion outside the string of shops and inns in the bustling city. Though the bustle had slowed with the evening's arrival. She started off in a northerly direction and made her way down a few blocks, checking back to see if her companion was following. A few more blocks passed and they finally reached their destination. A little flat made of rock with holes for windows covered by curtains. It was, thankfully, a little ways from her neighbors. Not far enough for her to be considered rural or stand-alone, but far enough that she could come and go as she pleased without anyone spying her.

"Here we are." She pressed her hand to the door and bent the stone holding it in place. The closest thing to a lock she could get, but it kept non-benders and people who couldn't figure out how to bend their way in without destroying the door.

Although very simple on the outside, the house was ornate and well-decorated on the inside. Several tapestries of embroidered silk hung from the doorways in place of internal doors. The main sitting room and kitchen were one large room with a fire pit on one side and a circle of cushions surrounding a hexagonal marble table on the other side. There was a door on both sides of the far wall, one near the table and another fairly close to the fire pit. The tapestry near the fire pit depicted a man-like figure made of roots holding up the earth. The whole thing was encircled by vines. The other, near the table, was of a light green dragon on a dark green background, also encircled by vines.
The whole room was full of plants and flowers, aromatic and full of muted colors like a forest.

"Well, I suppose it depends on whether or not you want to get right to the action or ease into it." Shi Sen tugged at the shoulders of her kimono, revealing peachy shoulders and the blended line of her face makeup.

Ripples like someone dropping a penny in a wishing-well gluided through Shi Sen's body. She swooned a little on her feet, the first time she'd been off-balance all night. The scent of the flowers and plants mixed with Shanza's natural scent to create a kind of heavy perfume. The kind of perfume that could excite the young woman to do just about anything. This perfume was not a new feature or a specialty in the case of her new guest. But somehow Shanza's smell seemed to compliment the flora of her home rather than combat it.

"I'm always game for a little playing around." She purred, her eyes shut as she craned her neck to one side, exposing the soft, tender divide between her public face and private flesh.

An ecstatic gasp lept from her throat at being kissed in just the right spot. The dancing fingers seemed to re-direct the blood in her veins. The strong hands were comforting in the sense of knowing what they were doing. It was nice to have a sort of break from being the leader and instigating the play. When clients didn't want to play, they certainly didn't need a leader. They just went for it.
Being the follower and getting to play was a double bonus.

With a slip of the wrist, Shi Sen pulled the kimono from her upper body completely, exposing the tops of her breasts. This gave Shanza more canvas to work with while Shi Sen worked at the drooping bow in front of her.

The large, drooping bow that hung over her abdomin came undone without a great deal of effort. The obi fell to the floor and coiled around her feet like an enormous, flat snake. She raised her shoulders carefully so as not to disrupt the gentle kisses. Thi silken robe fell even further until it was draped only around her fore-arms. It pooled beneath them like a puddle or small pond of dreen and gold. Finally, she let it fall completely. The only thing covering her now was a white cotton slip wrapped around her waist.

Shi Sen leaned upward, attempting to make up the difference of her hight. She bore her breasts and grasped at Shanza's shoulders, working her fingers over the fabric and skin. She kissed the small indenture where the neck ends and the chest begins and playfully rubbed her cheek against the flesh of that spot.

Shi Sen's make up did indeed rub off a little, mostly just the lipstick. The white paint, which had been on her face most of the day, had dried and wouldn't go anywhere without moisture and/or vigorous scrubbing. Shi continued to kiss the little canyon between her breasts and brush her little up-tilted nose along her collar bone. Her hands followed the rolling curves of her body from her upper thighs near her hips to the tops of her lucious breasts. Through the fabric of her blouse, Shi Sen rolled Shanza's breasts back and forth, massaging them in her hands.

From her breasts, Shi Sen trailed her hands up the sides of Shanza's neck and gentley fondled her shoulders, curling and uncurling the ebony hair in her fingers. "Come with me." She whispered, stroking the hair she'd collected. In short little bursts, she gingerly pulled Shanza back toward the doorway with the tapestry near the fire pit. She didn't feel the need to explain that this was her bedroom. There, they could find a more comfertable position to explore themselves in.

Shi wiggled away from the embraces, but only briefly.  The room was exceptionally dark and she wanted to brighten it up a little, mostly for the benifit of her partner.  It didn't really matter to Shi whether there was light considering her vision was fairly poor.  She did most of her viewing by touch and through sound.  But it seemed to be a common occurence with her lovers to ask for light.  If it was to see her, or a kind of calming mechanism, she didn't know.  She just knew that most of them tended to appreciate it more.  

She lit the small set of candles by her bedside, giving the room a dull light that didn't quite reach the corners of the room.  With that task done, she returned to the warmth of Shanza's hands.  The room was barely visable, but just as well decorated as the rest of the house.