The potentially-Solar kingdom isn't that big, as these things go. Two major cities, a good scattering of towns and smaller villages. But there are new watchtowers at the border, solidly constructed and manned by professional-looking guards. No effort is made to stop travelers, they are simply observed as they cross over onto what is perhaps a better marker of the borderline: broad, smooth roads. Not dirt or cobblestone, but some non-natural cross of tar and stone, wide enough for five wagons abreast.

Promising. 

Likely the schools aren't much bigger - but the area has a rhythm about it, a little pocket of the cultures at the center of Creation bubbling up. Not a culture she's usually fond of in isolation, but it sometimes produces interesting things in fusion. 

Small means it shouldn't be too hard to find out the local interesting people. She wanders through the cities first, a cheerful tourist - doesn't declare herself a Lunar, and her tells are under her clothes (mostly because she's wearing enough to reveal only her face and some hair), but she makes no secret about being from the somewhat mysterious Lunar territory to the southeast. An explorer, she calls herself when asked. A collector of tales.

Towards the end of her planned stay in the first city, a tall, beautiful woman slips into the seat opposite her at the outdoor cafe where Gleam is taking her breakfast. She wears a silk blouse with a gilded lamellar overlay that glints in the light. Embossed on the chest is an outline of a sun rising above a steep mountain peak. A tasseled skirt falling to her knees and high-strapped sandals complete the outfit.

"A good morning to you."

She takes Gleam's breath away, something spilling through her cracks - light, and airy, and, yes, beautiful - but so much more. 

Something sublime.

"A very lovely morning," she says, with a quick, bright grin, slightly too prominent canine teeth catching the light with a little glisten. She's sprawled in her chair with a predator's easy grace, already on her third pot of tea, her breakfast otherwise quite light. 

(Her own clothes are quite a bit different. More similar, perhaps, to the local dress, though suitably mildly foreign. A creamy blouse with a square neck and a tangle of knotwork in silver thread, a loose, flowing vest in a friendly goldish-orange fabric over it, under a dark red shawl and cloak - nearly gossamer, but layered enough times it doesn't matter. She has black trousers on, loose and gathered only at her waist and the tops of her dark boots. The fabric looks - more sturdy than fine, honestly, but the colors are deep enough she still looks more or less well off.)

Smile.

"Have you been enjoying your trip, o collector of tales?"

"Quite. This is an interesting little kingdom."

"One does what one can. Might I know your name?"

"You might - I'm Gleam of Liberation, right now."

"It is my most sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gleam. I am Elathea, called Brightspear."

"A lovely name for a lovely woman."

"Why, thank you. What brings you to this corner of Creation?"

"Curiosity, more or less. I'm in a bit of a discovering mood, and my usual corner's drifted rather close of late."

"Ah, the runaway nations' patron."

"The one and only."

"And, well, I've been told once or twice that it's polite to say hello to the neighbors."

"That is a good rule of thumb. Though I expect I will only be here five to ten years longer."

"It'll be a pity to lose such a pretty face, then. Where are you heading next?"

"Back to the Isle. I will need to ensure the geomantic energies of this location are integrating properly."

"Always a pain when you're working anywhere near the wyld."

"Indeed."

"I'd like to get to know you before you leave, if you have the time."

"I think I can set some aside for you."

She laughs. "Wonderful."

"Assuming, of course, I can persuade a wandering spirit such as yours to settle for a while."

"Hm... Well, five years seems reasonable for a pretty face." She flashes Elathea a rather toothy grin. "You'll have to put in actual effort for a longer while."

"Long-term projects," she smirks, "are my specialty."

Considering hum. "We'll see if you're up to the challenge, then."

She laughs. "We will."

"Care to take a walk with me?"

"I'd love to."

"Wonderful."

Elathea will take her on a tour of the city. She's already seen most of it, but Elathea has a better grasp of the history and purpose of the reforms she's enacted over the past few generations than anyone else Gleam has talked to. (She needed an educated workforce, and a polity stable enough to survive without her direct oversight that can also function as a guardian for her working.)

"You've done good work - efficient, too."

(She's had a lot of pretty insightful questions over the tour, and clearly can follow legal minutiae well - and she often guesses the purpose or effect or, with a wry irony, obstacles Elathea hit in implementation of each reform before Elathea gets to explaining it. Though she doesn't always volunteer said guesses unless she's teasing the Solar - she's enjoying listening to Elathea talk, and a lot of her experience here shines through only in her expression at each new fact.)

Elathea makes a bit of a game of drawing Gleam's comments out into the open, and prods her to contribute comparisons to her own region.

She plays along - mixed between 'hard to get,' 'teasing,' and 'graciously conceding.'

Her area is a lot larger, for one, and very differently structured - and it's been thriving under her guidance, directly or indirectly, for centuries. Her magically controlled territory is a lot smaller than the broader region she influences at different removes, but has a very high population because of the 'magic' part. 

Mostly she doesn't tell her people to go any one direction, only enforcing directions they can't go - they must have freedom of movement (with only a few exceptions), and they must not war between themselves in a way that kills noncombatants. (She thinks it's funny when they solve wars by sending warriors to fight in carefully selected fields with no people around, or when they develop relatively bloodless ways of waging war, to avoid pissing her off.) (This level of influence is way easier in her direct territory; at the most indirect, she can basically only forcefully make slavery very inconvenient. Still, soft pressure is overall more effective - she's broadly worshiped.)

There's actually a pretty good number of distinct states with radically different governments - more creative, in some ways, than many of the places more directly controlled by most Exalts. They mostly universally ask her for advice at least sometimes, though. The system requires even less baby sitting than Elathea's, now that it's established. 

A rather interestingly nontraditional approach, all told.

"Don't know why it's not more common, honestly."

"The majority of the Exalted host prefers to directly control as much as possible, and many others take their cues from those."

"Inefficient," she says, with no small amount of scorn. "Even if you completely ignore mortal suffering under most current systems."

"Neither efficiency nor mortal suffering are popular topics of conversation at the Deliberative."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

"I don't believe I've seen you attend."

"I was mortal at the time," she says, flatly. 

"Ah."

"I haven't been back since Exalting."

"Understandable. Though they might benefit from your perspective."

"Possibly. But murdering the one I have a personal history with might get me in trouble."

"True. Though there are other potential avenues for revenge. And certain subtle methods by which one might arrange the direct result."

Small smile. "I wasn't the best at subtlety back when I was bothering thinking about all that without a reason."

"I can provide assistance, if you would like to revisit the matter further."

"Perhaps if you successfully tempt me to visit the Isle again."

"We shall see, then."

Small smile. 

"You imagine a lot of possibilities for the world," she teases. 

"Such is the duty," a shining golden disc flashes briefly on her forehead, "of those who are given eyes to see."

She laughs. 

"I don't care about 'given.' I opened my own eyes."

"A view of events I suspect Luna does not disagree with."

"It's why I'm her favorite."

"Did he tell you himself?"

"Once or twice. Of course, he might say that to everyone whose pants she wants to get in."

"Not having been blessed with such an experience, I cannot comment."

"Hm. Well, Luna does have fairly good taste - for someone as pretty as you, perhaps it's just a matter of crossing her path. If you want to be seduced, of course."

"The experience might be... academically interesting."

"Well then... I'll arrange an introduction, if I feel impressed enough."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Would you care to see my library next?"

"Ooo, yeah, definitely."

To the central palace then. Another flash of her caste mark opens a sealed wall leading to her private quarters, and the heart of her sorcerous working to harness the energies of the region. They are tastefully but luxuriously appointed, with the working parts woven smoothly into the overall design, enhancing the total effect.

The library is one of the larger single rooms, and the shelves are filled top to bottom. It is possibly the most extensive collection of rare and esoteric volumes in the Direction.

"I didn't bring everything all this way, of course. Just what I needed for reference and the ones I couldn't bear to part from."

She's fascinated. 

"This is amazing," she murmurs, mostly at the library. "I've never seen many of these..."

"I have been collecting for a very long time. Some I wrote myself, of course."

That gets her a very interested look. "Which ones?"

She pulls down a selection. "These in particular you may find interesting."

She goes to look through them. 

A meditation on various governmental forms, a cookbook, an ethnography of gods great and small local to the eastern quarter of the Blessed Isle, tomes of sorcery, a practical guide to working in moonsilver...

She knows about sorcery only in the broadest sense, and a quick skim of the first section reveals those are all well over her head - and makes her curious. Maybe she'll go bother one of the sorcerous Lunars next time she's bored... Or she could poke Elathea into a ramble, she bets, and then even if sorcery is still not as interesting as the difficulty demands, she'll get to listen to Elathea talk. So, win all around. 

Working with metal - or, honestly, any physical medium - is another thing she's not the best at, even if she's better than many mortals - still, art is the sort of pastime she wishes she did more of, and her mind's flinch reaction has gone down for physical art much faster than anything like dance or song. So... Perhaps it's time to learn. 

The governmental philosophy book is more centrally her focus recently, something they've already talked about - and it's something she's written her own works on, so comparing will be fun...

She picks up the cookbook, of course. Why be predictable? 

(And, anyways, the culinary arts are one of the best arguments for structured over anarchic models of civilization, as far as she's concerned.)

Recipes for everything from soup to dessert pastries, with notes in the margins about temperatures and pans and oven shapes and local ingredient substitutions.

She reads quickly, mentally noting a few especially delicious looking - or just weird - recipes.

"You have a kitchen up to all this here?"

"Of course."

"I'll have to stick around a bit just for that," she teases, "Though perhaps you should cook some of these for me first. Just so I know what the final product is."

"I can certainly do that. Would you like to select a menu?"

Hum, then: "I want to be surprised."

"Very well."

Grin.

"I should lure you over to my place sometime," she teases. "Show off my own library."

"Is that all you would have to show?"

"Of course not."

"What other wonders might I look forward to?"

She hums, thoughtful. 

"You know, I think I'll leave you in suspense," she says. 

"How exciting. But with that happy thought, I should start cooking if we are to eat at reasonable hour. If you wish to occupy yourself otherwise than observing my preparation," she taps the sorcery book. "You may find some of the workings described herein of especial interest."

"I'll start on it, then."

Elathea will show her to a comfortable spot to sit, and then disappear to make her preparations.

She smiles and starts on the book. 

It's... Interesting. On a more in depth reading - a lot of this is still definitely well past her level, but it seems to be mostly theoretical work, and Elathea's way of thinking here is... Not the way Gleam thinks, but she can follow it very easily, get an aesthetic sense of the problems even if she wouldn't be able to do the relevant math or whatever in detail. 

A lot of the spells described are things last used around the Primordial War that Elathea is trying to reconstruct, which, cool, and she apparently has access to at least one person's notes there...

There's one that's resting almost entirely on notes, with some further development and conjecture but not a lot of successfully new observations or experiments. It describes a method of stabilizing mate bonds - which break when one party to them dies - to last across hosts of the exaltations, extending between multiple lives. There's a more modern note, though - it doesn't consistently work, if it works at all, since Elathea is more or less sure at least one past host of her exaltation met the other involved exaltation's host at the time and didn't have the bond reform. But identifying exaltations across lives is hard, anyways...

Gleam squints. She thinks this working was to stabilize - not the bond across lives, but the 'across lives' part in normal reality, though also it was a major part of a complicated larger working, done by the bond's other half... It's entirely in the terminology of sorcery, which - is obfuscating it, and Gleam has to dig out her own paper and charcoal for a sketch - 

...Huh, she hadn't known you could get sorcery to interact with wyld shaping. Cool.

She makes a little triumphant noise, adding a few scribbles to her sketch then leaning back to shake out her hand. (She needs to stop gripping her charcoal so tight.)

Elathea opens the door, allowing a blend of enticing aromas to infiltrate.

"The food is nearly ready, if you are. Was your reading enlightening?"

"Yeah! Lemme note page I was on..." She scribbles that, then cleans her hands before standing. "So, did the notes you found mention the bond thing was half wyld shaping? Because I'm very sure it was."

"...No, but that- would make sense."

"Yeah! So - that bit with, hm," she waves a hand and squints, her caste mark very briefly shimmering, then recites a bit of a paragraph, "Anyways I think that's why it didn't work in that one life you found a record of, there's this thing that's really strong in the stuff out past Creation that it's hooking into, but that used to be suppressed in Creation itself, where - "

"...Annnd I'm going to need to think on a metaphor for the thing, I think I'm about to run afoul of that thing where it's impossible to both coherently and accurately describe anything far enough outside of Creation."

"One reason why I prefer to keep to the Isle."

"I might have to add some of the places I've wyld shaped to your tour, then. Convince you of the beauty of it."

"Interesting."

"I'll start you on the well behaved ones, don't worry."

"Very thoughtful." She flourishes a bow and gestures out the door. "If the lady would care to join me...?"

Giggle. "I would."

And: to food!

To food.

Elathea has created a spread of seven courses, including several of the dishes Gleam was eying earlier. Each is both artistically arranged and very, very tasty.

Mmmmmmm!

She spends a little bit just admiring the food before starting, and mostly takes small bites, savoring each one with little noises of pleasure. She isn't jumping around between dishes at all, unlike what many Lunars Elathea's met tend to do, instead starting on the first dish - colorful vegetables in a creamy, spicy sauce - and apparently deciding to eat all of each food before going to the next, down to eating the individual vegetables clustered together by kind. 

"This is so good," she says after a somewhat louder noise, leaning back and moving to her milk tea (to wash down some of the spice, but, also, she's doing the same one thing at a time thing with any non-water drinks). " - We were talking about something that wasn't delicious food, weren't we..."

"Theoretically."

She giggles. "The bond thing was very interesting, though I'll admit I've never gone into sorcery more than in passing, and some of the terms were a bit deeper than my current knowledge base."

"Would you like me to attempt to explain further?"

"I would."

Then Elathea can quite easily fill the remainder of the meal with sorcery chatter.

She catches on quickly, at least, and she's fully willing to admit when she doesn't know something - and motivated to poke it until she understands. 

"So, one of the parties to the bond was a past host of your exaltation?" she asks after a bit. 

"That's right. One of the earliest, as far as I can determine, during the first war."

She grins. "Having her notes must be fun."

"It is. The complete collection I left in my manse on the Isle, as I judged it too valuable."

"Absolutely," she says. And, with a hum - "Do you know who's exalted with the bond's other half, this time?"

"You are."

"Oh," she says, eyes wide a bit. "Oh - that - makes sense."

And she's blushing, now.

Elathea laughs. "Quite, my dear."

"Past me had very good taste."

"And a surfeit of generosity, to provide for the both of us into the future."

Giggle.

"Mmm, dunno I'd call 'keeping you forever' generosity so much as self interest."

"From an outside perspective, it looks much the same."

"Perhaps." Quick grin. "Of course, this doesn't mean I'll start playing easy to get..."

"I think it would be a little disappointing if you did."

"We match there, at least."

Smile.

She laughs and goes back to eating.

And, after some thought: "Do you have any notes from my past self?"

"Sadly, I do not have much material at all, other than a few sketches my counterpart saved."

She nods. "I'd like to see those sometime."

"Of course."

"Thanks."

Noms!

Then - "What's your place in the Blessed Isles like?"

"It's a cozy little place in a small mountain range on the eastern coast. I recently had the frontage redone in a beautiful blue jade striated marble I found up north. Quarried in the biggest blocks I could ship, and the joins are hidden so it looks all of one piece."

"Neat," she says with a grin. "Any neighbors?"

"A mortal kingdom under my influence in the immediate area. An Eclipse caste with a coterie of Dragonblooded adjuncts controls the upriver regions."

"More meant in terms of line of sight from the windows."

"Ah. No, I prefer a bit of privacy. And the walk ensures that any complaints brought to my attention are in fact deemed worthy of it."

She laughs.

"I have some places in cities - the energy is nice, sometimes - but, yeah, remote's often pleasant. Though my filter system is more 'please explain your complaint to the sapient tiger.'"

"That sounds effective in a different way."

"The tigers can handle most things themselves, anyways. So, adds a layer of delegation beyond 'inconvenient to get to me.'"

"Indeed."

Quick grin. "Of course, I'm still not convinced that's enough for a trip all the way to the center of Creation... Pretty architecture always has been the one redeeming feature of the Isle," she teases.

"I will continue to demonstrate the merits of the company. But it may interest you to know that my mode of travel across such a distance would be sorcerous. A travel time of a few hours only."

"Not a big commitment, then," she muses, "So long as I trust you to bring me back."

"I'm very trustworthy," Elathea says innocently.

"We'll see."

Smirk.

Giggle.

And then, very cheerfully: "To be clear, if you try to actually trap me somewhere - soul bond or not, I'll rip your head off." Pause. "Though I suppose 'I have to walk back' would merely be cause to stop talking to you."

"That seems fair enough."

Grin. "Of course, not that it'll ever come up."

"Though getting my head ripped off by you wouldn't be so bad."

"Oh?" she purrs.

"I do enjoy engagements with a powerful woman. In either direction."

"Well then... Perhaps we can mix things up a little."

"Quite."

"Get our blood pumping."

"And how do you suggest we start?"

"Hm... Bit of a toss up between 'kissing' and 'fighting' for initial foreplay. And I do, of course, enjoy a hunt."

"The bedroom is closer than the weapons yard."

"Who needs weapons?"

"The weapons yard has been structurally hardened. I would prefer that you not wreck my manse before it is even fully completed."

Giggle. "Maybe you should invest in a structurally hardened bedroom."

"Perhaps I will have to."

"Not that I'm opposed to using the weapons yard for some bedroom purposes."

"Wherever you'd prefer to start, then."

Hum.

"Why not right here?"

"Come and get me, then."

She laughs and very politely sets aside her drink, before pouncing over the table at Elathea. 

She grabs Gleam and starts kissing her.

Very intense kissing!

Mm, excellent.

Rather the point. 

She tries to push Elathea down to the floor. (Without stopping kissing, of course.)

Elathea will cooperate to an extent.

"Hardly the most comfortable spot."

"There's no rocks or bugs!" Giggle kiss. "But you can be on top," kiss, "If your delicate skin can't handle a little tile..."

Kiss.

"I will hold you fully responsible for any new bruises my backside." She shimmies against Gleam.

Kiss!!! "Gonna get even?"

"Eventually..."

"I'll be waiting." Kiss. 

More kiss.

Mmmm tasty Solar.

(Gleam isn't pushing past kissing, though, not even moving her hands under Elathea's clothes. Seems content just to taste, right now.)

Elathea will make the first move in that direction, then.

She pulls back a little. "Ah-ah, I didn't say I was going to be that easy a lay, now did I?"

Pout.

But she backs off.

Giggle. 

She can have another kiss as a reward, right on her pretty pouty lips. 

Back to encouraging action through kiss and wiggle.

Gleam's got a stronger will than that. Nowhere past kissing, right now. 

Elathea can be very wigglesome and kissy, is Gleam sure?

Hmmm...

She's pretty sure. (Her very sharp teeth flash in a quick grin.)

Too bad. (Kiss.)

"You're getting me quite worked up, dear," she murmurs. "I'll have to do something about that myself if you are unwilling to aid me."

Kiss! "I certainly wouldn't refuse a show."

"Mmm. That," kiss, "I will insist on moving to the bedroom for."

She grins and hops off Elathea, offering her a hand. "Lead the way, then."

To the bedroom. Elathea indicates that Gleam should relax on the bed while she retrieves a selection of practical aids from a closet.

Then she begins a sultry, hip-swaying dance, slowly peeling off articles of clothing as she goes. As each one flutters to the floor, a golden phantasm coalesces from the ambient light. The afterimages mimic Elathea's form in outline and join in her dance, blowing kisses at Gleam and occasionally partnering with Elathea or each other for suggestive motions.

Mmmmmm.

Gleam sprawls herself at the head of the bed, one knee up and crossed over the other, elbows on the headboard, a pleased, hungry curl in her lips. 

Once Elathea is down to nothing, she moves on to her collection of toys, demonstrating how she extracts satisfaction from each. (The images also take up the implements after Elathea has finished with one, continuing the show with it.)

Her gaze prowls around, hot and heavy, but she doesn't give in to temptation to reach for Elathea or even herself. (Yet.)

That's a shame. Some of the ones she's keeping in reserve really work better with two people...

Hm, perhaps later. If Elathea impresses her now. 

She's certainly working very hard at it.

She's certainly got some talent. 

Good to know.

Giggle. 

Eventually, Elathea winds down her little show and saunters bedwards.

She stays where she is - but it's a very big bed. Elathea could find her own section to entertain herself on.

She could, but she's in the mood for cuddles now.

Gleam has plenty of time to move or express a dissenting opinion if she'd rather not.

Cuddles sound very, very excellent, actually. 

Oh good.

Elathea snuggles up.

Hair pets!

"You're very lovely," she says. 

Pleased hum. "I'm glad you think so," she says softly.

She kisses the top of Elathea's head. "Though I'm sure you've heard it plenty."

"One can always stand to hear things of that nature more often."

Soft giggle. "Though I bet there's other compliments you don't get nearly enough."

"Perhaps you will find some, if you think on it."

Hair scritch. "I've been told I'm good at that." Smirk. "And there must be something to you that not every solar could be complimented on."

"Aside from my exquisite choice in soulbonds?"

"Oh, everyone knows I'm a catch."

"That you are." Hugs.

Giggle hugs. 

Mm, Elathea is feeling very cozy right now. She might drop off to sleep soon.

Gleam doesn't have anywhere to be soon. 

Good.

Snugglezzz.

She's really adorable, actually.

Gleam had expected passion and talent and very intense flirting when she followed a solar home. Not... Anything cozy. 

She's still watching Elathea when the other woman wakes up. 

"Mm. Morning," she yawns.

"Morning, cutie."

Grin.

"Did you sleep at all?"

"Watching you was restful enough."

Smirk.

Soft kiss. 

"I am bit surprised you stayed."

"Here's a lovely place to be."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely." She kisses Elathea's temple.

Can it be proper kisses instead?

It can be! 

Yay!

Giggle. 

Probably they should get up and have breakfast at some point. 

Eventually! Just a bit more...

Okay, they can get up now.

Heee.

Does Elathea want Gleam to cook her breakfast? 

That would be nice, if she's up for it.

"I am, yeah."

"Then, please."

Grin.

To breakfast, then! Gleam doesn't cook nearly so elaborate a meal, instead focusing on a single, light course, with spicy and milk-sweet and savory flavors layered together very well.

Elathea is very appreciative.

Excellent.

(Gleam really likes cooking; it's soothing, and seeing people enjoy her food makes her feel warm and fuzzy inside.)

She's good at it.

Small blush.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it."

"Perhaps we'll have to switch off meal duties."

"That'd be nice. Though I should warn you that my normal food schedule's a bit weird compared to most people I've met."

"How so?"

"When I've actually slept, I don't usually eat within like, six to eight hours of waking up? And I'll usually eat one very small, light meal first - lots of times just fruit - then I'll eat like one big meal over a few hours later in the day. That dinner you cooked was great for that, by the way."

"Also my sleep cycle sometimes starts drifting really weirdly..."

"Hm, that is odd."

Smile. "I'm a big, lazy cat, and I eat like one."

Laugh.

Giggle kiss.

"I should show you my heart's form."

"Let me try to guess, first."

"Oh? What's your best guess, then?"

"Feline, obviously. Larger than a housecat." Hum. "Not a runner, not a trapper... A stalker." She purses her lips judiciously. "Of the jungle, not the plain."

Innocent look. 

Firm nod. "Yes, it would have to be... tiger."

"Brilliant deduction," she says teasingly.

"Am I right?"

Stretch!

And tiger! 

She was right!

Will the tiger accept headpats?

Yes! She even will push her head into Elathea's hand. 

Hee. Scritches!

"You make an excellent tiger."

Purr! Also, tigers are very good at looking smug.

Seems like Elathea is going to need both hands to apply the proper quantity of pets.

Oh definitely.

(Purr!!!)

Fluffy rumbly girl.

Fluffy rumbly lap girl? 

As much of her as will fit. She's a touch bigger than Elathea's lap.

She's fully willing to sprawl out on all sides not occupied by Elathea's head. Tiger blanket. 

And self-heated, too.

Definitely worth packing on any trip up North. 

Surely.

Nuzzle!

Cozy kitty.

Hmmm... She didn't sleep when Elathea did, and this is very cozy... Snoozy kitty? 

If Elathea can readjust her position a smidge so she can quietly work, sure.

Hmm... Lap tiger will magnanimously permit that. 

A very generous feline overlord.

So long as her subjects pay the scritches tax.

No problems there.

Wonderful. 

(Purr snooze.)

(Cute kitty.)

Elathea catches up on some paperwork while scritching Gleam as she sleeps.

Gleam only sleeps about six hours, stirring a bit slowly. 

Wakeful pets for the sleepy kitty.

She flows into a sleepy lap human after a few minutes. 

"Hey," she murmurs. 

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah. You're cozy."

Pet pet.

"Now that's a compliment I don't often receive."

"Good. I'll be sure to let you know about it a lot."

"How thoughtful."

She laughs and kisses Elathea.

Kiss.

Heeee.

"Any schedule for today?"

"I'll need to get back into the workshop at some point, and my weekly inspection of the bureaucracy is due tomorrow or the next day."

"I won't get in your way on those."

"What's your project in the workshop?"

"Currently, a length of sorcerous conduit."

"I'd like to watch you some, if it wouldn't be disruptive..."

"It would not, though the work involves quite a bit of meditative silence before action on my part. You may find it somewhat boring."

"Fair. I might use that opportunity to wander more, then. Or really dig into your library more."

"You are welcome to whatever you can find to spark your interest, of course."

"Thanks."

"If you're ready to bestir yourself, then, I should get to work."

"Okay." She rolls off Elathea's lap and stretches.

"Do you require any direction before I begin my work?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"Very well. I will be interruptible, if you need me."

"Okay. Thanks."

Off to the workshop for Elathea, then.

She wanders around until she finds a good place to exercise, where she proceeds to tire herself out.

After that: the library! Come here, you lovely lovely books, Gleam wants to read you all. (She continues reading some of Elathea's works, this time turning to the governance one first.)

(She does other things interspersed with reading - mostly wandering around, stretching and finding people to be sociable at - but there's a very good chance she'll have her nose buried still when Elathea finishes up.)

And indeed, she does.

Elathea lingers at the door, a soft smile on her lips.

She finishes the section before looking up, slipping a fabric bookmark between the pages. 

"Hey. Project go well?"

"Reasonably so. I am satisfied with my progress."

"That's good." Smile. "I've been enjoying your books."

"So I see."

Grin. "You make some pretty interesting points, you know." She gestures to the governments book. 

"With all the research I've done on the subject, I'd be disappointed if I hadn't."

Heh.

"The research shows."

"I think my peoples might be doing some stuff you haven't really covered, though - I think a big difference is I'm interfering enough to obviate a lot of the constraints that've produced some of the near-universals you're seeing, without direct command interference like most of the other societies that have Exalts messing with their environment get. Of course, we're doing some odd other things... Especially the wyld's nearness, plus the relative isolation once people enter - but frequent new blood from a biased sampling of a huge range of other societies."

"Yes, not exactly a comparison to make straight across- but the people involved will be mostly the same, once the wyld effect is controlled for."

"There's other societies near the wyld, too - including a good number of other Lunar territories."

"That would be where one looks, yes."

Grin. "I'll be interested in seeing your thoughts on them."

"Perhaps a tour is in order after I finish my current project."

"Definitely."

She smiles, and walks over to Gleam.

"How about an end-of-day kiss?" she murmurs.

"I think I can budget time for one."

Kiss!

Kiss!!! Very hungry and insistent one; Gleam's been kiss-deprived all day. 

Poor girl. Elathea can fix that.

A very excellent service. 

Excellence is her stock in trade, after all.

It shows! (Kiss.) Excellent beauty, and intelligence, and insightfulness, and kissing, and snuggling, and cuteness...

All of that, yes.

Giggle.

And excellent smiles, and creative thoughts, and reasoning, and cooking, and sexiness, and hugging, and architecture...

Laugh. Gleam knows her so well already!

"It'd be disappointing if that was all there was excellent about you, though," she teases. 

"Oh, I'm sure there's more for you to discover. You've hardly," grin, "scratched my surface."

She catches Elathea's lip in her teeth, giving a light nip, then - lets go before she can draw more than a hint of blood. 

"I'm sure we can fix that somehow."

She licks her lip clean. "Mm. Promises, promises."

"You up for heading to the weapons yard, then?"

"Of course."

"Lead the way."

To the yard, then.

It's a wide, circular space with a smooth floor and blank walls.

She glances around. "Not much decor." And then, teasingly: "Are you trying to avoid distracting from any blood splatters?"

"It helps for focusing on pure form."

Hum. "Especially of your enemy, I bet."

"Indeed."

Grin.

"So, rules for a spar, or just have fun?"

"We're not trying to kill each other. Other than that, have fun."

Giggle. 

And pounce! 

Elathea pulls a spear tipped with a glowing orichalcum head and blocks Gleam's pounce with its banded haft.

She laughs, twisting around Elathea's spear - she's fast, enough a mortal would be having trouble tracking her, and her fingers are melding into claws, her eyes growing a bit larger - she's trying to get too close for Elathea's spear, probably, swiping her claws at the other Exalt. 

She pulls it in, spinning it rapidly to fend Gleam off.

Swoop!

Into a wolf spider! She's even faster like this - and tiny. Not just a miniscule target - but she can feel the air from Elathea's movements, dodging and jumping with ease. 

She tries to get inside Elathea's guard, of course, sprinting for the other woman's ankle.

"It won't be that easy," she says. Her spear glows brighter for a moment as she bangs the end firmly on the ground. The shine spreads to entirely blank her out-

-and then there are three Elatheas, each indistinguishable.

The world slows down, twists, glows around her - the hidden currents of reality visible -

She almost spots the difference, can tell there should be one...

But Elathea's technique is better than her sight, right now. 

Still, she attacks, swirling into a nearly fully tiger form, just enough of her human shape kept to give her an edge on her attack as she swipes her claws for Elathea's leg. 

The one she attacked pops like a soap bubble into a shower of golden sparks.

The remaining two split up to flank Gleam, jabbing at her in a syncopated one-two attack.

She snarls - and flicks back to spider size, bouncing towards another Elathea.

The one she attacks swings her spear, batting Gleam away with the butt of it.

Well, Gleam isn't injured, but she is annoyed. Bad Elathea! More spider for you!

Both Elatheas windmill their spears to attempt to hit the jumping spider, the brightness of the blade steadily increasing.

She gets through, weaving past the edge of the spears - close in enough for another attack.

She strikes in synchrony with herself again, and as she does so, dazzling light bursts out of the spearheads to blind Gleam.

Another shape change - into a small, blind bat, cave dwelling and fast, spiraling past the spears and just behind Elathea - a snake, now, lashing more on reflex than sight, fangs venom-ladden as they sink into another clone's leg. 

It pops into sparkles again, as the remaining Elathea brings her spear at the snake.

She weaves - and doesn't fully dodge. Her scales harden and shift into a dull iron, preventing the blow she lets through from sinking too deeply, as she lashes out and up the spear, fangs aimed for Elathea's wrist.

The spear disappears into thin air, and Elathea flips backwards, away from Gleam. A solid gold disc coalesces on her brow as she calls her weapon back into her hands.

She shifts, again. 

Into a woman this time, melded perfectly - beautifully - with her tiger form, muscles sleek and powerful, fur rippling down her back - 

And she jumps, flipping impossibly through the air, straight over Elathea's head - hovering for a moment - 

And then diving down in a blur, at the most awkward angle possible for Elathea bringing her spear to bear. 

She tries to duck out, but she's not going to make it-

Gleam slams into her knees first, pushing her onto her back, hands landing on her upper arms as her knees slide out to either side of Elathea's torso. 

Oof.

She's slammed to the ground, breath huffing out of her.

Elathea doesn't have a chance to catch her breath before Gleam's lips are meeting hers. 

Oh, all right then.

The blood from Elathea's blow earlier begins to seep through her shirt - she moans a bit, and then a silver light ripples over it, tracing filigree designs - that it splits along, falling from her body and dissolving into glittering sparkles. 

Gleam is very, very beautiful, black hair blending into the stripes curling around to her front, a dusting of white fur between them, blood trailing from a gash along her ribs, cutting through a tattooed design of starkly black floral knotwork. Her skin is crossed with scars great and small, and softly glowing tattoos whirl across her skin in a dizzying array of patterns, curling around and highlighting each scar and feature. Some of the designs are clearly imbued with moonsilver, but many are simply pretty, vibrant inks in a rainbow of colors for the sole purpose of painting art across her body.

"You're gorgeous."