Through A Glass, Darkly (mature)

[Philomel]

And now Shinsou was on the floor, flat on his back, little Amari on top of him, riding like a horse.

With despair, Philomel shook her head. Reversing to commenting in her mind to keep her voice from uttering their intoned irritations she continued to comment.

Oh come on darling. You do it as if you are doing dressage, not galloping all over the place!

She remembered her own lessons, when she had first begun to learn at the age of eleven the finer points of the mounted positions. It was in their upper level home, where Philomel lived with her mother, Lacey, now deceased, and her father Enna, now deceased (at Philomel's own hand). Despite not being fully employed as a whore at their local brothel, the Crouching Tiger, Lacey still solicited some private clients when Enna was not at home, and had been a former one herself. Thus, she had taught her daughter all she knew, and that most particularly included sexual positions. Including the mount.

Taking a tray of eggs, at the very least six by six, then a small blown up bladder and a cushion atop this, Lacey would have Philomel sit upon the cushion. It was the young faun's task to roll the bladder around the tray of eggs, so that the bladder had a smooth and easy transitional journey of a circular kind, but without breaking the eggs. The trick was to be firm enough to cause the motion to continue for possible endless time, but soft enough never to cause a crack.

Very unlike the grinding that Amari was currently doing. If she had been on the cushion, bladder and eggs, yolks would be staining the carpet already.

I may need to teach her some, Philomel sighed, If she is to-

And then there it was. Suddenly Shinsou was on the ground, his body back. Though he was still there was an amount of pain in his eyes as the pupils flickered anxiously around. Drifting in and out of range they seemed to focus on nothing but empty air, sliding back and forth back and forth, back and - were they now looking at her?

Philomel ducked back, her heart hammering. Was he even okay? Yes, she had given up all hope at this point of ever having a relationship with anyone. Shinsou had perhaps been the first to make her believe ... but then, as she had always said 'love is just an illusion'. But her recent adventures, her strifes and hardships had made her accept that love did exist. For others, certainly. Just not for her. Never for her. She was the Matriarch after all, and it was her duty to give all whores and other downtrodden women back their livelihoods. Back their existences. It was her life to be on the outside always watching. This evening was making that very clear.

She rolled back her shoulders as she heard shouts. And looked back. Amari was over Shinsou begging him to wake up. Concern flittered back into Philomel's heart as she tried to rid herself of her selfish thoughts.

Get up you idiot, she hissed, Get up, you have a lover ... a girlfriend even to keep satisfied.

Moments passed and he was up. Philomel watched him squirm and murmur and shudder as he spoke in quiet whispers that she could not hear. Against her Veridian pressed himself, concerned for her wellbeing.

Oh shut up, she told him, It was a fleeting fancy, nothing more. I could never manage the Gilded Lily and have any chance at a relationship. She raised her chin, keeping an eye as Amari gently helped Shinsou up, Besides. I am a mother. And I would have to tell Shinsou that. Something I will not do unless my life is in danger.