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Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien chuckled at Faolan's response, quite enjoying getting to see his tired, sleepy expression. It was nice to see him so relaxed. "Not this time." He joked as Faolan grabbed hold of the sheet to wrap around his lower body as he rose to his feet. There was a small moment of unsteadiness there, which lead the Frenchman to place his arm around his waist, even if he knew the Irishman could steady himself well on his own.

"I thought I was the one who was supposed to be all shaky in the legs?" He couldn't help but joke, giving Faolan a small kiss on the cheek before letting him go. He was well aware that he didn't need the assistance to get to the table.

"I tried to get as many as your favorites as I could." He added as he made his way over to the table. He had moved more of books out of the way to make more space, and had moved his chair closer to Faolan's, instead of having it across the table.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane couldn't help but let out a small giggle at his comment. "Only a couple, but don't tell anyone~" She told him, her smile changing to that of amusement. Honestly it was a bit curious that he hadn't actually asked her about them. Perhaps he already knew what she was? If he didn't, she couldn't help but wonder how much the man had seen in his life to not question something like this.

She was glad that her words had seemingly helped Geralt. She wanted nothing more than for everyone to get along, but she knew with Ivory that would take time. If Geralt was genuinely a nice person, she figured it would only be a matter of time before Ivory realized it, and maybe went a little easier on him. It was then that they arrived at the mess area, and the kitsune took her seat next to Cora once more, glad to be able to hear a bit more of her and Lucien's practice.

The ringleader glanced up from his sheet of music as Geralt arrived at the table. He didn't say anything to Geralt's compliments of Cora, at this point he couldn't expect the magician not to say anything, and he couldn't really disagree with him either. Cora's voice was extremely calming, even to him, though he made sure to block a little of it out if he felt it would be too distracting to continue with his notes. During their journey he had finished composing the song that they would be performing this time around, and he had found this a good time to practice. Sometimes Lucien alternated between using existing songs, or deciding to put together his own music if he had the time and inspiration. Considering the circumstances.. he thought maybe their next theme should be a little more.. hopeful, to people.

"That pitch you just used was perfect, let's try that again but with a little less accent going into the next verse, it will make the transition a lot more smooth." He told her. The sheet of music he had against his clipboard was filled with notes, areas of the song where he could afford to play a higher pitch because Cora's voice range had no limits. He was trying to maintain a good balance in this song between it being upbeat but also calming. He didn't want one to overpower the other too much, so he was adding his edits as they went.

For a moment, he paused, taking a glance in Illyana's direction. "Illy, please don't be so distracted by your reading that you forget to finish your food." He added. By now the lot of them had finished, but Illyana was nowhere near being done even though they had all sat down around the same time. While he knew she tended to be a slow eater, he wanted to make sure that she got more food in her system if she was going to be doing more readings today.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane was relieved to hear practice was going well. It would be unfortunate if they hadn't gotten along to the point that nothing was getting done but.. it did seem like Geralt was as worried as he was expressing.

"Well.. I know that Ivory's a little hard to read, but I can at least tell you this. If you are worried that you may have offended her.. then it's very likely that you didn't do so. She would have made it known." She told him. There had been many times in the past where she had seen this happen, usually in their visits to town. Some men didn't take being turned down well, and Ivory never hesitated before putting them in their place. She didn't feel like it would be any different here, if Geralt had truly managed to offend her.

There was a small pause before she spoke again, as she considered whether she should, but decided to go for it anyway, placing a small reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. The moment she did, that same sensation, a shudder, almost shot up her spine, but she kept it much more contained this time around. How ever it was much harder to stop some of the fur on her tail from standing on end, luckily the majority of them was hidden beneath her dress. Part of her had wanted to know if the first time was a fluke.. it seemed that it wasn't, still she didn't remove her smile, and let her arm fall back to the side. What a curious man Geralt was.

"You aren't making me uncomfortable at all, if you need someone to talk to about these things I'll gladly lend an ear or two." She said with a smile.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane looked on amusingly. "Hmm, I suppose I'll keep that in mind to make sure you don't miss your lunch time either." She responded.

"She will, we do have a show tonight." She said simply, not commenting on the last thing she said. While she knew Ivory would be reluctant to stop if she hadn't gotten it right, she knew that the dhampir would stop at least a couple hours before showtime, to give herself enough time to regain energy. She would not risk a mistake during a show because of lack of rest.

His next comment broke the fox out of her thoughts, making her ears twitch. She looked up at the man. He sounded a little worried.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Has practice not been going well?" She had taken not of a bit of Ivory's irritation upon going inside but.. had it really been going that bad?

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was quite alright with handing over power to Faolan in these circumstances, but he had found himself enjoying it when he was allowed to do the same. The Irishman was an incredibly strong person, who would normally not bend to anyone's will. Being given that power over him was a completely different feeling.

It made him feel special, that he was the only person who could make Faolan feel like this, the only one who could make him react in this way, and it was that desire to see more that brought him to his current position, unable to hold back a smile upon his lips as he heard Faolan's sounds of pleasure.

He found himself stopping however when Faolan placed a hand on his shoulder. His expression softened as he saw the anxiety that was reflected in his green eyes. He reached out and placed his hand on top of Faolan's and gave it a small reassuring squeeze, a more gentle smile upon his lips now.

"I know." He said, running his thumb over the man's hand. "But I want to." His tone was soft, still tinged with his previous desire, but it was genuine. He wanted to make sure Faolan knew he was alright with this. His words seemed to put Faolan at ease and allowed him to continue.

Lucien did not regret the choice he had made. The pleasurable sounds that escaped Faolan through this endeavor had only invigorated the Frenchman further, and after the deed was done, the two men could stop themselves from embracing each other once more, relishing in the bliss of each other's bodies until they were both satisfied.

-

The two had eventually tired each other out. Lucien laid with his head on Faolan's chest, arm resting over the man's abdomen as they had pulled the blanket over themselves. A lot more time had passed than Lucien had thought. Faolan was half asleep, and his heartbeat was slow and calm, which Lucien found it quite peaceful to listen to. As much as he didn't want to move, he knew he still had to go make that phone call. Once that was out of the way.. well.. they could enjoy each other's company for the rest of the day.

He forced himself to sit up, and shifted slightly to press his lips against Faolan's cheek. "I'll be right back." He said quietly, before reluctantly slipping out of the bed. He decided to get himself cleaned up in the bath and changed into something simple, before leaving the room and heading downstairs to ask the landlord to use his telephone.

It took the Bookstore owner a few rings to answer.

"Mr. Bernard, it's Lucien. I apologize for not calling earlier, but I was hoping it would be alright if I took a day off today?" He asked.

"Lucien? Yes, of course. I was wondering where you were since you usually show up early. Feel free, you work too much if you ask me." He said.

At this, Lucien chuckled. "So I've heard. Thank you, Mr. Bernard." He added, before hanging up the phone. He was going to head back, but decided to give Marcel a phone call as well. He wasn't really inclined to leaving Faolan to go to work today. He did enjoy all this time he had spent with him today so far, but he still had a lot of things he wanted to talk to him about, and wanted to spend more of the day doing that. Marcel had been just as understanding, and with that done Lucien went to get the both of them breakfast. Luckily they weren't completely out yet.

Lucien returned to their room with their food and placed it on the table, before he walked back to the bed and reached out to place a hand gently on Faolan's cheek.

"Are you up for some breakfast? Or did I tire you out again?" He asked softly, a hint of amusement in his tone.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"I'm quite aware." Ivory snapped back, clearly irritated by the whole situation. She wouldn't be surprised if the man was looking down on her, but she'd show him. The only reason this hadn't been perfected was because his presence was too overbearing to ignore. She did nothing to stop their departure, and was quite glad for it.

With Geralt gone, Ivory was finally able to relax. She felt like her space was.. her own again. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled, before taking hold of the silks again.

"Alright.. let's try this again." She said to herself, finally able to fully focus on her task.

-

Akane glanced up at Ivory and then at Geralt. She wondered how the practice was going, but decided not to ask. Having practiced with Ivory herself for their transition, she knew how much the dhampir dedicated to her work, but it had been very easy for them to work together. It was likely that this was not the case here, as Ivory wasn't incredibly fond of Geralt.

They walked out of the large tent, and began heading to the mess area. As Geralt broke the silence, Akane looked up at him. She knew perfectly well how little Ivory tended to eat. She used to eat a lot more back when things were.. better off here, but since their financial struggle had started, she had refrained for the sake of everyone else, even if she had insisted it was simply because she didn't want it. Ivory was nice in her own way, even if she didn't like to be obvious about it.

Despite his question, she knew better than to say too much in regards to the situation. Akane did not mind when it came to revealing things about herself, but she respected the dhampir's privacy, and considering her disdain for Geralt, she knew the woman wouldn't appreciate her revealing anything about her to him.

"She's quite the hard worker isn't she?" She commented as they walked. "I'm sure she'll have whatever you two are working on perfected by the time you return, and then she'll take her break. It might not look it, but she does know her limits." She added, figuring this was the best way to indirectly respond to his question.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

There was something about this position that Lucien really enjoyed. Being able to look down at Faolan.. and see everything, from his flushed expression, those beautiful emerald eyes.. to the redness that tinged his body, he couldn't get enough of it. His own excitement only grew at the contact between them, with each kiss Lucien found himself wanting more, and as his golden eyes met Faolan's, he pressed himself closer to him, letting out a small moan at the contact of their bodies as he felt Faolan's lips at his neck. He enjoyed the feeling of his hot breath against his cool skin, but eventually pulled away, with plans to give Faolan a little pleasure of his own.

In his time at the bookstore he had ran across some of the more considered.. unsavory titles, but that hadn't really stopped Lucien from reading some of them. There were some that he believed should not be kept hidden away from the public, but what people considered appropriate was really varied. Either way, he was curious to see how Faolan would react to what he had in mind. It was.. exciting to think about.

"I'm not going anywhere.." He reassured.

Lustfully, his eyes trailed over the Irishman's body, before he leaned down to press his lips against Faolan's neck, placing a kiss there before he began to trail down to his collarbone, his hands sliding down the man's built form as he shifted his body to accommodate his new position. As he did so, Lucien lifted his gaze to meet Faolan's once more, his desire clearly reflected in his eyes.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

"Hm." Ivory acknowledged his words, and turned away from him to hide her disdain. She was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to these things, and she wanted to get it right as fast as possible, but she knew she could not allow her impatience to get this over with to impact progress. She had to clear her mind, be calm, and simply hear the music, while keeping in mind the things she had to fix, but that ended up being harder than she thought.

With each practice, Ivory grew a little more irritated. She wasn't used to people pointing out her mistakes like this. Usually the dhampir only showed the others a finished performance. Sometimes Lucien came in to see, but he was not nearly as critical, and his presence didn't really distract her in the least, Geralt was a different story. Now that she knew what they were going to do, she wished nothing more than to be able to practice this by herself, and just call Geralt in for the end of it, just so she could stop hearing him correcting her mistakes.

Ivory got her wish, as right before she began their next set, she heard someone come inside.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Akane said as she entered. "I came to let you guys know its lunch time." She said.

"No, you're fine." She said, before glancing at Geralt. "I'm good, but you should go." She told him, finding this to be a good chance for her to get some peace and quiet to herself.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien chuckled. "Quite sure. The wings don't lie." He joked. Granted if someone asked him for any other form proof, he'd have no way of doing so, considering he had never met his father. The relic of his could be viewed as some other form of magic to someone who couldn't feel its divinity.

He could not deny that Faolan was bringing out a bit of.. mischievousness within him that he had never considered showing in the past. While the nephilim had been willing to joke around, he had never been this much of a tease until now.

"I guess you bring out a bit of mischief in me." He said, eyes sparkling with excitement. After all, Lucien was not only half angel, he was also half human. He didn't have to be virtuous all the time. Either way, the word was relative. The rest of his thoughts escaped him as Faolan pulled him into a kiss, he could not help but return the smile, kissing him back with equal gentleness, which very slowly increased in intensity. He pushed forward, with his left hand, aiming to push the Irishman onto his back. There was some initial playful resistance, but he felt Faolan give in, and he was then allowed to hover over the Irishman.

"I don't think you'll have to try very hard, I didn't actually want to leave." He added, before leaning down and closing the distance between their lips, and their bodies, once more.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Ivory could feel Geralt's gaze on her, but she easily ignored it, considering it was something she was used to. She wasn't about to let it bother her.

"M'hm. I'm sure your type knows all about that." She said a little sarcastically, breaking eye contact as she was not interested in maintaining it. Most men indeed.

Geralt raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, smiling amusedly as he took his seat once more and crossed his legs, "Oh? And what 'type' is that?"

At this, the dhampir paused, glancing over her shoulder as she looked down at the Magician who had taken his seat. "Philanderers." She said, clear disdain in her tone. With that, she turned around and returned to the task at hand.

"Play the music." She said, before wrapping her hands around the silks and hoisting herself up into the same shorter distance to perform the drop. As she flipped to her feet, her other hand smoothly grabbed hold of her skirt and swiftly reattached it as she began to perform a similar dance as before, but with a few alterations, making sure to incorporate the amount of silk she needed to extend to cover all of the radius of her skirt, while keeping in mind to attempt to cover more of the parts that had stuck out in her previous run.

"What was off that time?" She asked once finished, cutting to the point.