Royal Crown Commision: The Ladies Get Acquainted

[Jim Roberts]

[Jan 30 PM – The Briarpatch]

> Keshin, feeling like he should be a more active host, waved the trio
> to some seats. Arwen, however, simply laughed. “I think I’d be a sixth
> wheel. Have fun, you folks.”
>
> Siaye smiled appreciatively at the two wizards. “Oh, I think there is
> every chance we will.”

Once Arwen had made her exit, Keshin offered the guests a nightcap of
their choice. Various intoxicating and relaxing spirits were offered,
but nobody seemed inclined to indulge, and at Josie’s suggestion, Finfin
produced a small collection of the “sinfully dark roast” as an option.
For a variety of reasons, including everyone present wanting to remain
awake and fully in control of their facilities, this seemed a popular
and appropriate choice, and Siaye quickly set a basic percolator brewing
on the kitchen fire.

As Siaye getting the coffee brewing, Finfin was quietly concerned that
the next part of the evening was going to be just the slightest bit
awkward. The elf was aware that he was a product of a hybrid of
cultures. His parents were refugees of a now lost elven realm, and they
and their fellow refugees had brought with them their rather relaxed
elven sexual mores. However, Finfiin was a second generation immigrant,
raised among the rather more straightlaced middle class human values of
Minas Tel. As a result, he knew himself to be a mix of relaxed elven and
rather more repressed Telidorian social norms.

Accordingly, he found himself somewhat at a loss for how to handle his
current situation. The reason for their meeting tonight HAD to be clear
in everybody’s mind. Josie’s domestic partners, Keshin and Siaye both,
had been encouraging their Flying Tiger almost-wife to seek the loving
company of others while she was away from her family. And this Josie did
– frequently and enthusiastically. But only with her galpals and fellow
performers, be they her other Pussycat Pals or with Bard Tramma. Somehow
*those* seemed to be “safe” choices that somehow didn’t count as
“fooling around” behind the backs of her domestic partners back home.
But despite both Keshin’s and Siaye’s *active* encouragement, Josie had
not yet felt able to act out her very natural desires with a certain
elven gentleman, even though both Finfin and Mithi were clearly willing.

Quite where Josie had picked up this gender based bias was even now
somewhat of a mystery. Certainly not from her own Forest People peers in
general, nor from the elves, both of which societies were rather
egalitarian when it came to sexual relations. Sex was sex, both groups
broadly held; the only areas where *specific* combinations of genitalia
might matter was in terms of requiring prospective partners to avoid
unwanted pregnancy if procreation was not the object. Otherwise, as long
as all involved were consenting adults, the matter was left up to the
individuals to decide, and not the greater society as a whole.

It was only among certain human groupings that felt comfortable turning
a blind eye to “what girls might get up to”, somehow considering that
lesbian flings did not constitute adultery, while a heterosexual
encounter might. Certainly, this fundamentally unfair and perhaps self
serving distinction was common enough among the middle to upper class
members of Yelti society, many of which were well represented among the
recent Wagon Train immigrants to the Gelmir Vale. Though how Josie had
become “infected” by that particular hangup from a society that was not
her own was as of yet unexplored.

However, Finfin speculated that the lead singer of the Pussycats had
latched onto the solution that one Yelti had reached in a similar
situation. As a devout Bitani, Moon Priestess Alaelia *should* have been
able to insulate herself from the middle class mores of her home
country. Sadly, people *are* fallible, even High Priestesses, and some
of these Yelti attitudes had managed to burden the Moon Priestess. Until
she’d found a way to work through them.

Alaelia’s case had been marked with both similarities and differences.
The similarities were that the priestess was not *naturally* monogamous,
and had been developing an interest in getting to know some of her
closest friends considerably better. And like Josie, Alaelia had the
enthusiastic backing of her avowed mate to expand her horizons. However,
somewhat *unlike* Josie, however, Alaelia had “played fair” with *both*
genders, and had not carved out an exception for a girlfriend.

Instead, the Moon Priestess had settled upon a much more practical
solution – expand the circle of her lovers by inviting them to come
spend intimate time with Alaelia and her husband Hilat *both*. And for
couples, this did not require bisexuality, as long as a combination of
gender preferences could be worked out. Which it most certainly had for
the wizard couple, who were now part of Alaelia’s core circle of lovers
after a glorious evening in Symbala.

Now, Josie clearly wanted that same development to happen here and now
at Camp Keshin; an evening of shared intimacy between her family and the
wizards would, she hoped, let her give *herself* permission to enjoy the
wizards’ company in the future. Including the very near future when
Finfin and Mithi were treating all three Pussycats and Tramma to a night
on the town in a mythical Stone House City called Spindrift. With an
anticipated “thank you” session that was likely to last most of that night.

So everyone around the table sipping coffee was all apparently agreed on
the overall goal of just WHAT would happen tonight. The question in
Finfin’s mind was HOW. Or rather, given his imagination and experience,
recently expanded, he had some very strong guesses at HOW the assembled
five people could all enjoy a shared evening of intimacy together. The
question in the elf’s mind was rather how were they going to make the
transition from congenially sipping coffee to rather more intimate
activities.

Now, the elf was not sufficiently naive to consider that an easy
transition HAD to happen. They could simply announce that “it was time
for bed”, and let nature take over. To be sure, Finfin knew that he was
sufficiently enamoured of Mithi that he would most certainly be able to
rise to the occasion. And Josie and Siaye *were* both quite attractive,
possessing both engaging personalities and the hallmarks of feminine
beauty that the elf found *very* attractive. But he rather doubted that
such a simple mechanical coupling, as satisfying as it might be
physically, would provide Josie with the *emotional* release needed to
give herself permission to be a return guest to the wizards’ bedroll.
Somehow tonight had to result in everyone being at the very *least”
“friends with benefits”, and not simply “passing acquaintances with
benefits”.

Mithi, sitting next to the elf, had no such concerns. Her working class
background had not had the luxury of silly middle class pretensions. She
was all for the idea, and was cheerfully optimistic. Everyone, including
herself, wanted the night to work out well. With that unanimity of
purpose, she was confident that they would all figure out a way to make
it happen.

Vaguely, she could sense her lover and mentor’s unease. Silently, she
chided herself at thinking it funny. For all that Finfin was a great and
powerful elflord – and her main squeeze – he *was* still a lad. This had
been proven to her time and time again, and hopefully would be again
tonight. And like lads everywhere, he sometimes needed a lady’s help. He
could not help his middle class upbringing, but this could be one of
their many occasions where mentor and student could exchange roles.

Fortunately, the collected group had some potent allies for their
collected venture. All three of Josie, Keshin, and Siaye were bright and
personable individuals. And Siaye, as it turned out, was a natural
diplomat, able to gently guide and steer the conversation in a direction
and mood that she wished, aided by her guests having no language
difficulties thanks to their Arcane magics. Her first effort was as
subtle as it was effective, carefully seeking out a topic that all five
would enjoy discussing.

That turned out to be relatively easy. All present, most especially
including the visiting wizards, were fascinated by Siaye’s artwork. And
all shared the firm conviction that it WAS Art, and not simply an
elaborate form of craft. And all were receptive to Siaye’s belief that
the very impermanence of her medium was an essential part of the
artistry. This notion particularly resonated with Josie, whose artistic
medium was by its very nature transitory. While music as an artform
could be preserved with the proper writing and notation, it could only
grow into its own when *performed*, and not just read.

However, Siaye seemed just as fascinated at what to her was a novel
concept – art designed to be enjoyed for entire generations of time. Her
eyes grew misty as she tried to envision the elf’s description of “art
museums” in the far away Stone House cities, and at Mithi’s mention of
something called “sculpture gardens”, something the working class
shopgirl had certainly heard of in some Yelti cities, but had never had
either the time or money to see. But would certainly enjoy doing so now.

Finfin did not need the subtle kick under the table from Josie to make
the obvious suggestion. He and Mithi would be taking the three Flying
Tiger Pussycats to the Yelti city of Spindrift for the first time ever
in three days. If Siaye would like, when their schedule allowed, Finfin
would be happy to try to arrange a similar tour for the Honeyskin
artist, perhaps once again working with Tramma to scout out where best
to visit. Siaye warmly thanked the wizard for his consideration. The
smile and the nod she sent to her husband and almost co-wife might have
been too subtle for Finfin’s grasp, but her fellow domestic partners
understood.

Just as they understood as Siaye gently steered the conversation in a
different direction, now cheerfully enquiring about everyone’s diverse
backgrounds. A more eclectic set of origins would be hard to find, one
lady adopted from the neighbouring Bruin Confederation, another a Flying
Tiger of the Forest People, and the third an apprentice Witch Doctor and
“shopkeeper” from a far away Stone House City. Similarly, the
backgrounds of the two men could hardly be more divergent, one a hunter
and craftsman among the Honeyskins, and the other a warrior of the Fair
Folk from an even further away land. Everyone found the contrasts
fascinating.

With an ease that few would have predicted, Siaye then proceeded to
gently guide the conversation along lines more conducive to the
evening’s anticipated activities. Would her guests be willing to share
any stories of their own backgrounds in matters of physical love? For
some, it would have been an awkward conversational leap, but Siaye
gently eased the conversation so it flowed naturally over any perceived
gap, particularly as she opened up with a series of amusing
coming-of-age stories about herself, the comedy of errors involving
herself, Keshin, and Josie who she wished she could consider co-wife.

Mithi happily went next, cheerfully narrating her own explorations with
the help of a number of the local lads and a bold sailor or two whose
eagerness and enthusiasm often outstripped their ability. Fully aware
that the joke was on herself, she happily narrated just how clever she
had thought she was being, keeping these frequent trysts hidden from
first her mother, and later her employer, Seaweth. Only much later did
Mithi come to understand that both knew full well what their daughter or
apprentice was up to, and had been certain to lay out the tools Mithi
needed to be able to explore her developing sexuality in relative safety.

After that, Finfin took his turn, drawing giggles when he described how
many Telidorian ladies *liked* to feel like they were being seduced,
when in reality they were often equal partners to the mutual seduction.
All usually in a backdrop of pretending that what they were doing was
illicit, and liable to be discovered by an outraged husband. Something
that was more often than not fictitious, at least as Finfin tried to
steer such encounters. While he was not opposed to dallying where he was
wanted, he didn’t actually *try* to create strife between couples, and
instead preferred to avoid it wherever possible. Not least of which
because such strife between a genuinely outraged husband and illicit
partner was in general settled in Telidor with steel. Such a
confrontation and the resulting fatal duel *was* Finfin’s ultimate
reason for leaving his original homeland, but it had been over a matter
of politics, and not actually an aggrieved husband.

Keshin and Josie both had amusing “romantic” coming-of-age tales of
their own. With Siaye’s active encouragement, Keshin elaborated at how
he and Siaye had neither of them been the most experienced of lovers
when they first began their explorations together. However, with
enthusiasm, no little amount of patience, and an often needed sense of
humour, they had grown to learn how to please each other. And added to
that collected experience as they from time to time brought an
additional guest to their bed. And Josie’s tales predictably had
everyone at the table practically in tears from laughing so hard at the
redhead singer’s early exploits.

Finally, when the laughter finally died down to just giggles, Siaye
shared another subtle glance at her fellow partners, and exchanged both
smiles and nods. Rising to her feet, she reached one hand out for Josie,
and another to Mithi. “It is time for we girls to retire,” she announced
grandly. “And get to know each other better. If things go well, we *may*
invite you boys in later.”

“There’s a fine set of furpiles in the guest wigwam,” Josie pointed out
perkily, “if you boys want to get started without us.”

Siaye smiled at her husband. “Alas, Keshin is rather settled in his
preferences, choosing only ladies.”

“Fin’s the same way,” Mithi added.

“Poor boys,” Siaye lamented. “They don’t know what they’re missing, do
they girls?” Two cheerful nods greeted the artist’s observation as she
led her two lady guests off through a curtain to what was obviously the
“sleeping area” beyond. A quick glimpse through the momentarily opened
curtain revealed a *quite* large and comfortable furpile that now looked
like it might very well become the focus of the night’s activities.
Though perhaps only for the ladies. Or perhaps not.

But regardless of what might or might not happen later, just now the two
gentlemen were left still seated across from each other at the table.
Now, very much on their own. Without Siaye there, the moment could have
become very awkward indeed. However, Finfin had been briefed on how to
prepare for this moment, and pulled a small package out from a
beltpouch, unwrapping a brand new game board and deck of cards.

“Cribbage?” he asked casually, further elaborating that regardless of
what transpired that evening, the set was a gift from the two wizards.
They had been informed that this age old game was remarkably popular
among those who had associated with the Ice Station crew, and that
Keshin and Siaye could use a new deck. And a game of cribbage made for
an excellent distraction while the two men valiantly tried to make
smalltalk while trying not to admit that they were also keenly listening
to any clues from the “sleeping” chamber where sleep was not likely to
be happening any time soon.