It was a rainy spring day in Kirkwall. All the winter's ice and snow melted slowly but surely under the consistent shower, making the rather ridiculous amount of stairs in the town dangerous to travel. None of this dampened the spirits of one rather brave soul, taking the steps down from Hightown to a secluded part of town. Pausing under an overhang of wood to catch her breath, Lacey Hawke pulled her cloak's hood back, looking around herself. The darkened shadows and rainfall made things hard to see in Lowtown, but she had to be getting close now...
Granted, even someone as hard to drag down as Lacey would rather be snug in her mansion, content to let the streets of Kirkwall take care of themselves for just one day. A woman of her notoriety- at least, according to the newest set of rumors making the rounds- deserved that much. But, *no*... she couldn't let this recent turn of events stay as they were. For the past few years, she worked hard to finally crack the tough exterior that belonged to Fenris, knowing somewhere inside was a soft and gooey elf. Okay, so she did feel for him, and was concerned for him when he had stormed off after killing Hadriana in a long-overdue fashion... which was why she was here, looking for just the right shop, and just the right gift to give her Mr. Broody Pants.
A squinted gaze found her goal: the sigil representing The Black Emporium on a rickety board, covering a hole in the ground that led to the entrance of the mysterious shop. Replacing her soaked hood over her head, she darted over to the covering, lifted it back, and clambered in, closing the cover back in place. It blocked most of the rain, but not nearly enough, as evidenced by her slippery grip on the ladder. Luckily, she landed on her feet; her hands, however, were going to be aching for a while, as unused to the strain as they were.
They were shaken out, warmth then being pressed into her fingers as she followed the memorized trail through the sewers, finding the shop once again. She strode in, her fur-lined boots clacking against the unevenly-set wooden bridge. "Thaddeus. Urchin. And Xenon," she announced, reaching the center of the room and looking around. "Looking good," she added, eyes quickly raking over the mass of gaunt skin and bones.
"Ah," Xenon slowly rasped, as Lacey puttered around his wares and odd sets of trinkets. "How kind... of you to... notice, my Lady..."
"I hear it's the humid air," she stated, peering into a random vase. "Helps prevent the skin from drying out." And Maker knew, the rather creepy proprietor could use it.
"Indeed, it doesss..." he hissed. "Money... also helps..." Xenon hacked a laugh, amused over his own joke.
"Alright, I can take a hint," Lacey demurred, kneeling in front of a large pile of merchandise. Her eyes quickly roamed over the weapons and armor, before she shook her head. It was all too flashy, too noticeable for Fenris, who wasn't a fan of large displays of affection... yet. Lacey smiled, sure he'd be be worked over in that area at the very least. That being said, she opened a chest containing various rings and belts. Maybe something small, but still meaningful, would extend as a peace offering to mend any hurtful memories.
She sifted through the collection, passing over items such as a necklace with entwined gold and silver snakes, a pin with an odd looking bird that held an arrow in its beak, and a ring with strange yet beautiful writing that glowed like fire around the band. None of these things looked promising. There had to be something she could give, or possibly use herself, to help sway his mind into the here and now.
She never thought she'd find it mixed with the potions, especially one that had no further instruction than "Drink Me". It wasn't one she had recognized in Elegant's tricks, but one she had to quickly pay for and leave with, seeing the decrepit owner becoming shifty. Whatever it was had to wait until she returned to her manor to see how it worked.
It was something she had mulled over into the night, the skies clearing enough to permit the half moon to shine into her window, illuminating the lightly tinted contents. Save for the occasional turn of the bottle, and a curious sniff from Tiny, her Mabari, it remained intact. For the price offered, it had to have something other than those two words on the tag... did she have to drink the whole thing? What did this drink do? How long would the unknown effect last?
"Well," Lacey decided aloud, pulling the stopper off. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there."
Tiny *whuffed* in reply, lowering his muzzle onto his paws.
"Don't bark at me in that tone of eye," she scolded gently, lifting the beaker to her lips. "I'll be fine..."
And probably have an aftertaste for hours! She lowered it to the floor beside her, barely managing to swallow the mouthful she took around the sour face. Once that was done, she took a deep breath, and waited.
And waited...
And made an exasperated noise. "Five sovereigns for vinegar water, by Andraste's dimpled butt cheeks," she muttered, beginning to rise-
Before shrieking at the top of her lungs. Where were her arms?! And her legs?! The mirror standing in the corner further showed her state: a floating shirt and pants, and no limbs where they should be! She patted herself all over in a test, determining she was still there... just invisible.
Amidst Bodahn's and Orana's concerned calls, a slow smile crept across her face. Perhaps this could be used to her advantage...
o0o0o
"So, that tax collector won't be bothering you again..."
Fenris hummed nonchalantly, taking another swig of his wine. A few days had passed in solitude, after the death of one of his biggest tormentors. There was something about that day bothering him... he should be relieved, because it was one less person from his past to worry about. Further, it was one less blood mage to feed Kirkwall's awful reputation. And good riddance to that... the only mage he could ever trust was one with his hand through their chest. Magic never did any good.
Revisiting that statement brought Lacey to mind. Coming from a family of mages, he was surprised to find a good friend in her... his feelings for her did grow into... something as time went on. He wasn't blind to see the feelings returned, both Isabela and Lacey teaming up with innuendos enough to fill his nights with a limitless imagination.
He also wasn't blind to see the rare look of hurt marring her lovely face when he questioned what good magic ever did for others. While she had always listened to him before, he was afraid this may have been one rant too much. He normally wasn't one to take back what he said about mages, but he wanted to do or say something to make up for his harsh words...
An empty bottle falling over broke him from his thoughts, searching for any surprise visitors joining Isabela. Finding none, his brows knit together. Just what he needed: another strange occurrence.
"Not that I'm complaining, since I've been in worse places before this, but maybe you wouldn't be so jumpy if you didn't give those pesky breezes an open invitation."
Fenris frowned at Isabela's statement. "I'm not that jumpy."
"And I'm the queen of Antiva," she countered.
Refusing to fall prey to her inane arguing, he set his wine back on the table, feeling the sudden need to be alert. Isabela had carried on about some ship or seedy tavern, and he was content to let her speak. Something was missing, and he had to figure out-
Another bodily jolt made her pause again. "Now *that* was a jump," she insisted.
And that was a mouth on his groin! Hopefully this was one of Isabela's friends, so he could give them both the boot and treat his... well, growing, now, problem in privacy. When a quick glance revealed nothing, but earned him even more attention, his mind blanked while his face warmed.
"Is that... a blush?" Isabela cooed.
Oh, this couldn't be happening... he had to fess up, since there was no way someone like her could fall for him claiming anything other than the truth. No, he shouldn't fess up; she may join in, in lieu of 'helping', and... ohhhh Maker, that was a tongue... "I... f-f-forgot to do... something."
An interested smirk met his stammered remark. "Did you, now. If it's making you this nervous, I'm afraid I'll have to ask what it is. Out of the concern for my friend, and all that wholesomeness."
With the ties to his pants being loosened, he was afraid of much more than just her asking. Scraping together what willpower he had left, he shook his head. "You can't... private things- *very*! Very private... issues..." And Isabela was merely waving him on, wanting him to continue. Fasta vaas... "Not sharing."
"Now you're just being rude," Isabela pouted. "You know I can always invent some, what was it? 'Issues'? And these issues of yours could wind up on, let's say, a certain dwarf's parchment?" As he seemed to close his expression off to her, she regretfully gave up and stood. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she playfully taunted, strutting away while keeping an ear open. Still nothing in reply... damn, but was that elf sexy. Confusing, yes, but still sexy.
She had just made it out of the front door before Fenris couldn't take anymore teasing, releasing the pent-up tension with a low growl. The mysterious mouth kept teasing him through his spasms, gentling their rhythm until sliding away. At the sensation, he leaned back in his chair, trying to catch a glimpse of the mysterious intruder; finding nothing, he fixed his clothes while rising, looking around the room.
A giggle rose by the doorway, and his ear twitched as he recognized it. "Hawke?" As expected, there was no reply. "Lacey, stop playing games." When his armor loosened from the back, he whirled and charged, finding nothing but air. "Lacey!"
"Yes, Fenris?"
*The fireplace*. Turning in that direction, and feeling ridiculous because he was talking to himself, he spoke again. "Come out of hiding, Hawke. It's too late to play games."
"Awww, I can't have a little fun?"
"How are you doing this?" he insisted, stepping forward and hearing her scoot off to the side. He kept his face impassive, not wanting to clue her in to his knowing. "There aren't too many places to hide here." Once again, he hear nothing. "... Lacey?"
Both hands clapped over her mouth, the woman in question was making a valiant effort to not breath. She had unknowingly gotten the best gift ever! Just how far could this go before he was driven crazy? It seemed not too much longer, as he suddenly flew into motion and caught her, making her squeak in surprise as his hands found her arms.
"Hawke?" Fenris asked. She really was invisible!
"Hey, Fenris. How's things?"
He gaped at her, before asking, "How?"
"You know, the Black Emporium has the greatest things. I bought this vial called 'Drink Me', and I took it home and drank it, and now here I am for the world to see!" After a brief pause, she added, "Or not see, in this case."
He released a slow breath before asking, "So you then decided to break into my manor and do things to me?"
"Do what?"
"Things," Fenris insisted, his ears growing hot.
"What kind of things?" The smile could be heard in her voice as she asked.
"Hawke," he growled. "Isabela was in the room!"
"Oh, like she's stopped me before when I was doing 'things' to your manly virtue."
Fenris was ready to scold her when he stopped. If he wanted to get back in her good graces, yelling at her for something... that he could see her doing on a normal day, now that he was thinking about it, wasn't the best way to do it. "Hawke... I want to apologize." As silence met his admission, he continued. "I spoke out of turn back in the caverns, and it wasn't-"
"Fenris, it's alright," she interrupted.
"I was out of line when I took my anger out on you." Sliding a hand up to cup her cheek, he asked, "Can you forgive me?"
"Of course I can," Lacey easily replied. "We both have things to work on: you and your prickly nature, me and my inability to easily get you naked..."
He smirked at her at that. "Is that right?"
"Yes, and it's awful. I mean, I drive you crazy with just my mouth, *and* I've been naked this whole time, but nothing. I must be losing my touch."
He shook his head in denial. "I doubt even you would run the streets of Kirkwall wearing nothing."
"Wanna bet?" When Fenris arched a brow in reply, he felt her slim fingers encircle his wrists, pulling them down her body. He watched his fingertips skim across an invisible form, searching for a scrap of material on her. Yet he found himself made speechless again once his palms were pressed against budding nipples.
She watched him in silence before softly clearing her throat. "While I would normally tell you that my eyes are up here, you can't really see them, so I'll just enjoy your adorably confused look."
"You may enjoy this more," he stated, lowering his mouth to where his palms rested. He took his time, warming her chilled skin with slow passes, feeling her fingers dragging through his hair. The difficult part came when he started removing his armor, and she moved to help out; having to dodge limbs he couldn't see made him frustrated enough to bodily move her to his bed, raising up enough to remove the pieces himself.
Once naked, light brushes of her fingers across his hips, he spoke again. "This... may be a problem."
"Hmm?" Hawke asked, her lips following her fingers.
"I can't see where you are."
She laughed deep in her throat, before prompting him into changing places with her. "Think of this... as an adventure!" Lacey suggested.
He had laughed and begun to reply before his breath shuddered from him, wanting to follow the teasing lick she gave to his erection. He felt her teasing touch all over him- the slide of fingertips over sensitive spots, warm breaths across his skin, soft lips on his own. She had allowed his hands to travel as well, and travel they did. Little did he know that under those loose clothes and leathered suits of armor were curves enough to make a man hungry. As he held her to him, exploring her soft skin, her teasing turned to giving as she gave him parts of her body to kiss, to worship.
Starting with the delicate slope of her neck, he trailed aross the curve of her throat, making her sigh and hum with delight as he left no inch of her unexplored. She guided him to her breasts, then ceded control as he repeated the same treatment, learning what made her gasp and moan. She had nearly forgot about his hands until she felt his strong fingers testing her wetness, making her moans louder.
"It seems you're right," Fenris mused. "This *is* an adventure."
Lacey laughed aloud, squeaking as she found herself pinned under him, his fingers still teasing her intimately. Keeping a hold of her trembling form, he pressed his body close to her, tasting and feeling what he couldn't see. "Fenris," she finally gasped, needing to feel him in her, now!
He had the same thought, resting between her legs and letting her help him fill her. The first few thrusts were very selfish ones, making his mind spin as he soaked in the feel of her surrounding him completely. Once that was finished, he resumed his earlier play of feeling her reactions to him. Like a finely tuned instrument he was slowly learning to master, her being invisible forced him to use all his other senses to learn what made her feel good, drive her crazy with want, by the Void, just to learn *her*.
By the time she finally stiffened and cried her release, the intimacy of the act was heady and intoxicating. It was enough to fully drag him in, submerge him with feeling and want, before shooting him skyward. The feelings stayed with him as he came back into himself, finally knowing the woman in his arms... those feelings of intimacy, of a bone-deep familiarity...
Lacey sighed happily, her limbs lax around Fenris. "Being invisible is great. I should do this more often..."
He shifted onto his side, taking her with him. "I doubt Kirkwall is ready for you to wreak invisible havoc on them."
"Oh, come on. Look how well it worked with you!" As he only sighed in reply, she settled in for a long night's sleep... "Spoilsport."
"You weren't complaining minutes ago."
"Don't distract me with facts."
Cracking an eye open at her, he stated, "Then I guess you don't want to hear that blindfolds are easier to acquire, do you." Having said his piece, his jade eye closed once again.
Lacey was all too interested as she finally replied. "You don't say?"
In a move denying his sleepiness, Fenris quickly lifted his hand from her back and spanked her firmly. "Good night," he groused.
Giggling, she echoed his words before falling silent with thought. Blindfolds... that wasn't too bad an idea...