Varga was feeling pretty smug as she made her way through the city streets. She could see a lot of people giving her stares, but she just grinned and waved at them, and that tended to win over almost everyone, and for the rest—saa, they would be out of her sight and her life in moments. Who needs a common language when you can smile?

She sang a cheerful tune to herself as she skipped and danced past the slow, clumsy humans. If she wanted to sing louder and stood still, she could probably have some coins thrown at her feet, but she wanted to get her prizes stowed away. Lily Rose had offered to walk her back again, the sweetie, but Varga wanted to roam around town on her own a bit. Plus, some of her shopping was private.

Feeling mischievous, Varga did start singing louder, a bouncy little elven tune, one of her favorites. “Saa…I am singing in Elvish, and none of you understand, so I can use whatever words I want for…lyr-ics, I can tell a good joke or a bad one, say a sweet line or bawdy and lewd, and none of you know what I am say-ing, no, none of you know what I am say—ay—ing!”

A couple of bedraggled children were trotting along to keep up with her, shouting questions at her in their human language. Still moving down the street, Varga pulled out a couple of small copper coins, showed them to the little ones, then made them disappear and reappear.

“Saa…I am singing in Elvish, and none of you understand, because I'm wandering in a city of hu—mans, but small ones are still small, and tall ones are very tall, and round-ears aren't so very different, af—ter—all!” With a small leap, Varga landed in a crouch right in front of the small boy, grinning. The boy was startled and leaned back, but didn't panic. Varga made the copper disappear, reappear, disappear, gently left it on the boy's shoulder, then pointed at it with a look of huge surprise.

The little girl had watched all that with wide eyes, and grabbed at her own shoulder a couple of times before Varga left the other coin there. She patted the little girl on the head, waved goodbye to them both, and resumed her trip to the wagon. The children waved madly to her as she left them behind.

At the lot, she saw the same human she usually did guarding the exit. He stared at her in amusement as she spoke to him in rapid Elvish. “Bill! Varga again. Hi, how are you doing? Anybody try to steal our wagon today? No? Good, that's good. Thanks for watching it. How's your matriarch? Glad to hear it, glad to hear it. Yup, Tom Walker's wagon, same as always.” She pointed at Bill, herself, and the wagon as she mentioned each.

She expected that Bill would have given her some trouble if she tried to take anything out of the wagon, but since she was clearly just dropping things off, the two of them had a casual, unofficial little interspecies treaty going. This time, he watched as she carefully landed her backpack on the wagon bed, opened it, and hefted the small cask of wine she had bought. She looked at Bill and put two fingers to her lips with a smile, then pushed the cask up behind some of the other supplies that had already been loaded for the trip. She tucked away her other goodies beside it.

Then, as she had each time she visited, she showed Bill a large copper, waved it around, and offered him her two closed fists. He pointed at her left this time, and she made a big deal out of acting disappointed but amused when she opened her fist to reveal the coin. She tossed it to him and headed off with a wave, carefully hiding that she had also hidden a large copper in her right fist.

Varga was not quite as foolish as she presented herself. She knew that she was constantly surrounded by potentially hostile people in this city, but they were people. Smiling, joking, being friendly, giving to children, and “losing” friendly games with the adults were all ways she coped with her situation. Even mean folks were less likely to be nasty to someone who smiled at them and made them laugh.

Varga made her way back to the apartment building run by that adorable grouchy little person. She was careful not to tease Vinder Hall, though. She had a feeling he wouldn't take kindly to it. She bounded up the stairs, refusing to admit that it left her a bit winded—at least until she recalled that she had gotten some fun exercise earlier, and had earned the right to be tired, in her view.

“Varga,” Orvan called, “you missed weapons shopping.”

“What'd you get me?” She walked over to where Orvan and Tom were piling weapons in the room Orvan and Kervan shared.

“A spear and a net.”

“Oh.”

“If you wanted anything different you should have said so.”

“Nah, Orvan, I'm just messing with you. Those are perfect.”

Orvan simply sighed. Varga grinned, then looked closer. “Orvan, did you fall down?”

“I had help. Three men robbed Kervan and myself.”

Varga stiffened. “Is he all right?”

“Diavla's with him at the Temple getting Healing.”

“How bad was it?”

Orvan waved a hand. “Painful, but cosmetic. He's getting taken care of quickly enough that he probably won't even have a scar.”

“That's good. Oh, I bet Kervan was pissed to get money stolen from him.”

“That would be a safe bet.”

“At any rate,” Eubexa called from her room, “Master doesn't want any of us going out unescorted again while we're in town.”

“Aww. Careful, Tom, you're going to make me think you care about me.”

Tom looked at Varga after hearing her teasing translated to Western. “I'm serious, Varga. I don't want you getting hurt or worse. We should be leaving town tomorrow.”

“What about Dee and Kervan?”

“Master is going to go get them soon.”

Varga nodded, then paused. Wait. Tom's here and Diavla isn't. This is an opportunity. Varga grinned. She already knew what she wanted to do, but took a moment to think about other options. No, this is the best plan.

“Eubexa, could you translate a private conversation between me and Tom? Oh, and could he take my collar off?”

The elf set down the book she held. “Certainly. Master, Varga wants to talk (something). She (something) wants (something) collar.”

“Oh, of course.” They went through the tedious process of finding the right token for her collar, and then Varga was free.

“Great. Now we can talk.” Eubexa translated.

Tom looked at her, a little surprised maybe, and curious. “All right.” He came inside Eubexa's room and started to close the door.

“Hold up for two beats,” Varga called. She hurried into her room, grabbed the chair, and pulled it across the hall. “We both need to sit down for this—don't translate that,” she warned Eubexa. She took one chair and gestured for Tom to take the other, facing her. He hesitated, so she did her best cuddle-cat expression. “Please?” she asked him in his language.

Looking a bit wary, Tom sat down across from her. “All right, good. Translate me now, Eubexa.”

“Go ahead.”

Varga twisted her mouth a moment, trying to think of how to begin. She took a breath. Gotta try something. “Tom, Diavla and I have sex.”

Judging by the hint of color on his cheeks, Tom understood that without Eubexa's help, but she still translated.

“Yes?” Tom didn't know where she was going with this yet, and seemed wary.

“Diavla and I do a lot of kissing.”

When Tom got the translation of that, he looked even more nervous.

“I know how Diavla likes to be kissed. I want to tell you how to kiss her the way she likes.”

When he heard that translated, he started to get up. Varga reached out her hands but didn't touch him.

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“Please, Tom? Please wait.” She didn't know the word for “wait” but Eubexa supplied it. “Tom, you are a good man. Diavla likes you. Diavla wants to kiss you. I think you like Diavla. I think you want to kiss Diavla, but…” Varga paused a moment. “I think you need…I think you could use some…I want to practice with you.”

Eubexa only translated the end of her stammering sentence, spirits bless her. Tom sat there and stared at Varga, and his face went through something like half a dozen expressions in a beat or two. Then, Eubexa apparently decided to add her own opinion. It sounded as if Eubexa was telling him that it was a good plan.

The poor, stunned human stared at the translator, who spread her hands, gesturing encouragement, and talked some more. When Tom looked disinclined to move for the moment, Eubexa switched to Elvish.

“I told him that this is a great idea. He's nervous about doing it in front of me, and I was explaining that he should just think of me as a tool to translate. The idea of being watched is …somewhat foreign to most humans. Not completely, but it is uncommon. A combination of social pacts and fetishes, I think.”

“I need to you translate, though! Otherwise, the first time he gets anything wrong, he's going to bolt.”

“I agree. Thank you for suggesting this, Varga.”

“Well, he needs it,” Varga answered with a shrug. “And I want Diavla to be happy.”

Again, Tom seemed to catch her meaning at the end before Eubexa translated. That seemed to settle him more than anything else. Then that busy soul of his started to worry at some other thought, but Eubexa apparently hunted it successfully. The two of them spoke Western for a bit.

“I think he's worried about hurting your feelings,” Eubexa explained.

“HA! No. No,” she told Tom. “I am fine.” She waved a hand dismissively with a smile.

A tiny little corner of her soul seemed to hesitate at that, but she resolutely ignored it. Not the time, soul. We have a kissing lesson right now. Reel in the fish. She waited, watching Tom closely.

Very hesitantly, he gave a jerky nod.

“All right. Good.” Varga was careful not to sound too eager. “Now, for the first one, I want him to just hold still and not do anything, please.” Eubexa translated, and Tom gave a slightly firmer nod.

“All right. Here we go.” Varga started to lean forward.

“Start on the cheek,” Eubexa suggested. Good idea. Tiny steps. Reel in the fish, Varga reminded herself. She gave Tom a light kiss on the cheek and made it last a few heartbeats. Then she pulled back.

“Very small moves,” she explained. “Slow.” She waited for Eubexa, then added, “Watch how I kiss you. Just watch. I'm not going to do much.” Eubexa rattled off the Western.

Varga leaned forward again and kissed him on the cheek, closer to his lips that time. Moving very slowly, she shifted closer and kissed him again. And again. Just slightly firmer each time, just slightly closer to his mouth. Finally, she leaned in and gave him the barest, faintest kiss on the lips, and held it for a few heartbeats. Then she leaned back.

“You see how that feels? Don't rush a kiss. Take your time. Now. You kiss me the way I just kissed you.” She sat and waited. It seemed to take a few beats for the man to work up his nerve, but he finally leaned in and planted a faint kiss on her cheek. It took him too long, and he was awkward, but he jerkily planted a few more kisses, then mashed his lips against hers clumsily and pulled back.

“Good,” she lied encouragingly. “Slower, though. Don't rush. Try again.”

Tom kissed her cheek once more, this time a fair bit too slowly. He really hasn't got the rhythm of this.

“That's good,” she praised. “Now, just a tiny bit faster, and try to be a bit smoother. Go ahead.”

His next kisses were better. He was getting a little less stiff and awkward.

“All right. Now, you hold still again, and I'll kiss you. When I kiss your lips, I want you to kiss me back, but not any harder or faster than I do, understand?” She waited for the translation and the nod. “Good.”

Varga worked at pacing. Slow enough to tempt, but not so slow that he gets bored. Her own instinct was to speed up and she had to fight herself on that. He's not ready for faster, yet.

Eubexa started murmuring encouragement as well, when neither of them were speaking.

They continued their practice. Tom tried to draw an analogy to the precision of sword practice and Varga shut that right down. “That's a terrible analogy. This isn't combat. Kissing is kissing. It's supposed to be a joy, not a chore.”

Eubexa was also getting more and more active with her advice, but she had a delicate touch, so Varga approved. She's got to be an expert on kissing, especially bad kissing, given her old situation.

They took a break to drink a little water, and Varga nodded. “Good. You're definitely improving. Let's do that again. Try to feel for the moments to slow down or speed up. If you're not sure, slow down.”

Another round of kissing on the cheek and the lips. “All right, you're getting there. Now, I want you to slowly, slowly, turn up the heat on this next kiss. Actually, I'll go first, then you.”

Varga leaned in to kiss him. She put a hand on his shoulder, and let out just a little passion. It was actually a tease, going this slowly, and Varga felt a bit warm. After breaking the kiss, she took a moment to breathe, then nodded. “Now, you.”

Slow. Firm, but soft. Varga felt the gentle waves of his kiss like the ocean on the beach, and responded in rhythm. His hand was on her back, hers on his cheek. Varga felt the stirrings of desire, and let it out a little more. Then Tom got a bit too hard and sloppy, and she signaled a break.

Making it methodical seemed to help Tom accept what was happening. Varga kept giving him encouragement with her corrections. “All right, now hold still. I'm going to kiss you the way you were trying to kiss Lily Rose.” Varga deliberately gave Tom a sloppy and awkward and forceful kiss. Then she pulled back to see his reaction.

He looked mortally embarrassed. “Was I that bad?”

“An hour ago, you were. You're doing much better already, though. Can you tell?”

Red-faced, Tom nodded.

“Excellent. Now, let's do a few different kinds of kiss.” Tom looked curious at the translation. Varga explained. “You can kiss someone like…they're a friend, you care, and a kiss feels right, just then. Or, you can kiss them like you want them to be tolanor with you. Or, you can kiss someone like you want to stoke their heat. Understand?”

Eubexa translated at length. Eventually, Tom gave a slow nod.

“The first kiss, you're kissing me. Now, give me a kiss to tell me, ‘Thank you for the lesson, Varga. You're a good friend.’ All right?”

That kiss was warm, firm, and deeply satisfying. Oh, he's much better at this, now. She was smiling naturally after that. “Thank you, Tom. That was really nice.”

“It was nice. Thank you.”

“Good. Now, for the second one, I'm standing in for Diavla, here. Kiss me like you want to take Diavla's breath away, like you want to convince her to be with you always. I'll start.”

Varga took a moment to close her eyes and orient her soul. Be with me always, Tom, she recited, pretending. You are my tolanor, and I am yours. Spirits, I should just imagine that I'm kissing Diavla, here.

You don't know what you want, Dee. You want me. Whoever else you also want, you want me.

She started kissing Tom/Diavla, feeling the uncertainty her two imagined partners shared, the banked passion they shared, the kindness they shared. Stay with me, Tom. Stay with me, Diavla. Always. I want to grow old with you, Diavla. Tom, I want all the decades you have. You are so amazing. I will be amazing, too—for you. Being with you makes me happy. You are so…

Varga lost herself in the kiss, until the faintest of whispers came from Eubexa. “Ease up, Varga,” the sick elf urged, so quietly that it was possible Tom hadn't heard a thing. Varga gently disengaged. Tom's eyes were still closed, as hers had been. Quickly, she wiped her cheeks before Tom could see. Eubexa distracted Tom with conversation for a few moments.

Varga cleared her throat. “That was good, Tom. Diavla will like that.” She had to take a couple of deep breaths, but so did Tom, so that was all right. What was I saying, again? Oh. Yes.

“One more kind of kiss, Tom. A sexy kiss will usually grow out of a different kind, unless you are already sex partners with them. So, for example, you could start to give me a ‘thank you’ kiss like earlier. And, suppose there weren't any issues with it becoming more. You might want to deepen the kiss and start focusing on giving me physical pleasure. For this, you need to pay attention, because everyone is different. I like a fun tease, so surprising me with pleasure is good. It's always rooted in friendship, though.

“Diavla is different. She's more…” She paused. “You can approach erotalsh through tolanor.” Eubexa filled in a Western word: “romantic”.

Varga calmed Tom by giving him half a dozen rules to follow in her own case, with an implication that she would be grading his performance. Not too fast. Not too sloppy. Always mindful of her soul. More rules. With rules, Tom could pretend that they weren't really doing this, and Varga knew how important that was.

She shared several friendly kisses with Tom, until they were both comfortable and smiling. Then she smirked and challenged him. “Now—kiss me and mean it. Try to get me to want to take my clothes off for you.” She winked. “A silver says you can't do it.”

“If one of you crumbles, the one who is willing to have sex at the end pays a silver to the one who tells them no,” Eubexa proposed.

Tom snorted, but rose to the challenge in just the way Varga had hoped. “I may lose, but I'll make you think about it, at least, troublemaker.”

“Try it.”

Tom kissed her.

At first, one or the other of them was usually laughing a little, breaking the tensions. Varga tapped Tom on the nose when he made a clumsy move, and now he could take it in stride. They paused, and Varga could sense the moment they both got serious.

She leaned in and hugged him firmly, letting her hands slide over his muscular arms and back as she did her best to heat his blood. Both of them had slightly ragged breathing when they came up for air that time. “Take off your pants,” she told him.

“Not yet,” the big human told her, giving her a little shiver.

“Then seduce me, Tom. Seduce me with a kiss. Make me want you.”

“Be careful what you wish for.”

They kissed some more. Varga imagined Tom getting sweaty, his huge muscles… I bet he'd be considerate in bed. Oh, is that passion I sense coming off of you in waves, human? Varga intensified her efforts.

Spirits, he's strong! This could be a lot of fun…I wonder how far I can get him to go with me right now? Come on, big boy, show me what you've got. Never mind, I'll find out for myself…oh, my. Varga kissed Tom with wild intensity, until suddenly Tom was breaking the kiss.

He was pushing her shoulders back. This was made a little more difficult because her legs were now wrapped tight around his waist, and she could feel his heat, his excitement, rivaling hers. “Ugh, don't stop now…” she complained, as Tom gently, but firmly, pried her off of him.

Eubexa spoke to him for a moment, then explained, “I told him that he won the bet.”

Bet. Right. We were just playing. But spirits, now I really want some more of that.

Varga pushed some hair out of her face and said, “Tell him he has mastered the art. I will take payment for the lesson in kisses, now and then.” She thought about what was likely to happen later that night, and felt a pang of envy. Patience, she told herself. It's only a matter of time, now.

Reel in the fish.