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[maisybergman]

Are they… public? The results?

[daevasgraye-blog]

Don’t worry... no identifying information is given out. It’s more... how successful each demonstration is, and the overall points earned, those kinds of general statistics.

[maisybergman]

Great for the Estate?

[daevasgraye-blog]

Yes, for the PR department.

[hawthornaubri-blog]

It is always interesting to see how people decide to handle them.

[daevasgraye-blog]

I haven’t been here long, but that’s been my experience thus far, too.

[msxxevanstoxyou-deactivated2019]

Oh, whoops. I’m a silly goose. Sorry, Sir.

[daevasgraye-blog]

Yes, you do seem to be a bit of a silly goose. What’s your name?

[msxxevanstoxyou-deactivated2019]

Are you leaving, Sir?

[daevasgraye-blog]

What?

No, I’m not leaving, I... OH. No, a departure. As in a way to get out of my own head for a little while.

[daevasgraye-blog]

It’s been interesting to see everyone’s demos. It’s been an excellent departure. And all of this looks great for the Estate, so keep up the good work, everyone.

[voyevoda-thejoy]

[daevasgraye-blog]

When demos go wrong. Back in my day...

[domme-ella]

Difficult decisions || Daevas/Ella

[domme-ella]

Ella shook her head as she came in. “No, you need someone to talk to and you shouldn’t have to deal with this alone.  This is what friends are for.”  She moved a step closer, giving him time to pull back if he wanted, then pulled him to her into a hug.  “You’ve got enough to deal with, don’t feel bad about talking to me about it on top of all of that.”  She pressed a little kiss to his cheek, small and chaste, standing on her tip toes to do it, then pulled away, looking up at him, waiting for him to speak at his own pace.

[daevasgraye-blog]

Ella came in to hug him, and Daevas leaned down to sink into the feeling of her arms, comforted deeply by them immediately. Her lips were sweet against his cheek, but he drank from them again, with his own, kissing her once, hard. He pulled back enough so he could look at her, then canted his head, and took her hand, leading her further in. “Hannah’s not... getting better. She’s getting worse. If I break the claim... I can move on, but...” Daevas sunk onto his sofa, arm flopping across the back of it. “...I also don’t have to make any other decisions. You know?”

[domme-ella]

Exploration || Ella/Daevas

[domme-ella]

Ella tipped her head fractionally, letting herself enjoy the feeling of Daevas’s hand, warm against her skin.  It felt like being held, like she didn’t have to think about it or be careful or take control.  Like for a second she didn’t have to try so hard to hold herself together. She shifted her weight closer to Daevas, her hand going to his waist.  “I think… I might like to try the kissing part.  With you.”

[daevasgraye-blog]

Daevas swallowed hard as Ella shifted, just a bit, and came closer. Even having her this much closer did something to Daevas, his stomach turning with near excitement, his waist lighting with the brush of her fingers. “I’d like that, too,” he said. He closed the space between them, head lowering, until he could brush his mouth against hers. It was a soft movement, a gentle press, only deepening once he knew it was okay. He reached up to cup her cheek, lips parting, urging hers to do the same. Desiring. Desperate to taste her.

[domme-ella]

Difficult decisions || Daevas/Ella

Ella made her way quickly to Daevas’ villa, trying to think of what to say to him the whole way there.  She knew he was going through so much right now.  They hadn’t talked about his Dominant much, but Ella knew she was in a coma.  The only other thing she knew was how much Daevas cared for her.  Giving up his claim, even with her comatose, wasn’t something he would do easily.  Ella had no idea how she could help, but she didn’t want him to be alone with this, and she knew he didn’t know many people on the island yet.  If nothing else, Ella wanted to be there to give him a hug and tell him it was okay to make the hard decisions.

She knocked on his door when she arrived, then waited, not wanting to intrude on his space.  The last thing he needed today was to worry about boundaries being crossed.

@daevasgraye

[daevasgraye-blog]

Daevas wasn’t quite sure what was happening. He’d been spending as much time with Hannah as possible since they came back from Amsterdam, but it was looking bleak. No brain activity for some time. Daevas knew what that meant, but it wasn’t something he was willing to face. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But he knew that she wasn’t in any sort of state to be anyone’s Mistress, and if Daevas was going to move on... well. He could either make the decision now, or the state could make the decision for him later. It was strange for him to call Ella, but he couldn’t help it. She was one of the only soft places to fall he had.

There was a knock on the door, and he answered it quickly. He looked weary, even though he’d had a relatively good night’s sleep, bags under his eyes, thick with the decision he had to make. “Hey,” he said, and stood out of the way so Ella could enter.” “I didn’t mean to put this on you.”

[domme-ella]

Exploration || Ella/Daevas

[domme-ella]

Ella had started to reach into her purse to pay for the fries, but stopped when Daevas pulled out his wallet.  She couldn’t help but smile.  Daevas had a way of treating her like a lady, and she was eating it up.  “Thank you,” she said, beaming up at him.  She hummed and closed her eyes for a moment as she ate the fries.  “Yep.  They do them well.  These are fabulous.”  When Daevas stopped, Ella turned to look at him curiously.  She wasn’t expecting quite that, and she blushed immediately.  “I.. I actually don’t know what to say.”  She laughed softly, clearly a little embarrassed, but smiling ear to ear.  She reached over her free hand and took Daevas’s lightly more playing with his fingers than holding his hand.  “Thank you.  It’s.. been a long time since someone looked at me the way you do.”  She looked away, thinking about Baby.  “I do have someone, but it’s…. complicated.”  She was hit then with a wave of longing.  She missed him so much.  Even with Daevas distracting her, she missed Baby.  Ella took a breath and looked back up at the the submissive.  “I wouldn’t call it an open relationship, exactly, I guess, but I don’t know what to call it instead.  Baby is Ace.  I’m not.  So maybe you could say that I’m open, but he’s not.”

[daevasgraye-blog]

Daevas grinned as he munched on the fries. She was right. Amsterdam did fries well. He didn’t even notice that she’d been reaching into her own purse: to Daevas, he paid for the dates. That was something he’d fought relentlessly with Hannah over. Hannah had been all about equality. But Daevas was all about being a gentleman. Not that it mattered, because telling her that he wanted to kiss her was not very gentlemanly. He was surprised that she took it as well as she did. His thumb ran over her fingers as she played with his, smiling just a bit. Daevas nodded at her statements. He could see her absence, like she was wishing Baby was there with them. “Baby is a lucky man,” Daevas said, and tossed the empty fries container in the trashcan next to them. He slipped his hand to the side of her face, smiling, just a little. “Say no more. if you’d like something, let me know. If not... I’m more than happy to spend time with you, as friends, and I’ll never try to kiss you again.”

[xavierxxnordis-deactivated20190]

I suppose I start by weighing the pros and the cons of the situation.

[daevasgraye-blog]

I’m not sure that there are any. Of either. That’s the problem. It’s just a gut instinct, but I don’t like where my gut is telling me to go.

[daevasgraye-blog]

Short of making a Venn diagram, because that just seems... counterproductive... how do you make difficult decisions?

[subsimeon]

Oh geez.

I went to sleep at 3, because I was so jet lagged I couldn’t stay awake.  I figured I’d take a nap, then get up and go to sleep again at a normal time.  I woke up seven hours later….  Good job, Sean, A+.

[daevasgraye-blog]

It’s taken me this long to get caught up on sleep. I understand you completely. I think it’s all I’ve done since I got back: sleep, and paperwork. Not exactly the most productive use of my time, but hey. Productivity can be overrated.

[domme-ella]

Exploration || Ella/Daevas

[domme-ella]

Ella took note of the title, mostly because it was the first time Daevas had used one.  Ella wasn’t a stickler for titles, but she wasn’t uncomfortable with them either.  She understood why other dominants had preferences, but she had always been more concerned with making the submissive she was with comfortable.  Almost as a rule, she never mentioned titles unless someone asked her preference.  It was clear that Daevas had used it intentionally, though, so she sent him a sunny smile, wanting to let him know it was a perfectly okay thing to say.  She squeezed his hand slightly, glad of the connection between them, especially on the crowded street, and bumped his arm with her shoulder playfully.  “Me, too, probably.  I’m not sure how much I would have explored, but I would have regretted it after, you know?”  She stopped at a cart that had its signs in both Dutch and English, declaring that it sold fish and chips, and asked for two orders of fries.

[daevasgraye-blog]

“That’s exactly where I am,” Daevas chimed in, agreeing with her. “I would probably still be stuck in my room right now.” He was worried about Hannah. He did hope she was okay. But he was able to put that aside for a few minutes now, and that was more than he’d ever been able to do before. He could have Ella to thank for that. Daevas pulled out his wallet, only dropping her hand to do so, and paid for the friends Ella had ordered. He took a bite as he picked back up the stroll, noise of contentment falling from his lips. “Oh my God. Best thing I’ve tasted, probably.” He hesitated to turn towards her, mischief obvious in his eyes. “I’m going to get to the point,” he said, grinning. “I think you’re absolutely beautiful. I’ve wanted to kiss you since I saw you. I know you’re... I know you have someone, so if it’s not an open thing, just... say the word, and I’ll never mention it again. But at least, you should know how absolutely stunning you are.”

[domme-ella]

Exploration || Ella/Daevas

[domme-ella]

Ella wrapped her arms around the man in a brief hug and smiled at the compliment.  She loved the way he talked about her, like she was desirable.  It wasn’t that she didn’t feel desirable normally, it was just that, well… It had been a very, very long time since someone had flirted with her.  She and Baby loved each other deeply, but their relationship wasn’t like that.  It had been almost a year since someone had wanted to have sex with her, and in a place like Orenda, sometimes that was hard to ignore.  And maybe it was just that she was so lonely lately, without Baby.  Either way, she found herself wanting to latch on to Daevas.  He’s in a claim, she reminded herself.  He’s just a friend, no room for anything more.  Ella smiled up at him and nodded, heading outside.  “Apparently they have really good fries at every cafe.  Want something greasy?”  She headed out into the cool spring air of the city, bustling with people walking and biking and beyond, a canal full of boats, many of them occupied.  “This place is gorgeous.”

[daevasgraye-blog]

Ella was, at the very minimum, desirable. Maybe it was her hair, maybe her confidence. Or maybe it was none of those things, and she just had some kind of magic hold that she exercised without much effort at all. Hannah would love her. Daevas took Ella’s had as they began to walk, falling into an easy walk with her along the canal. He nodded with her suggestion. “I always want something greasy,” he answered with a smile. He glanced at the tattoo on her arm, the open circle, and then at his own, closed. Though not the type to ascribe to titles easily, Daevas respected the status, until he was forced otherwise. So when he started he told her, “I’m glad we get to check it out together, Ma’am,” the Ma’am didn’t come lightly, nor did it come arbitrarily. “It’s good, getting out of the room, too. I would have stayed in bed all day if you hadn’t found me.”

[domme-ella]

Exploration || Ella/Daevas

Ella was looking forward to spending more time with Daevas.  He was fun, easy going, and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she wasn’t under any pressure when she was with him.  She got down to the lobby and spotted him already waiting for her.  “Hey,” she greeted, smiling.  “Ready? I’m starving.  Let’s find somewhere with a view of a canal.”

@daevasgraye

[daevasgraye-blog]

Daevas had been sleeping off his jetlag, and barely had time to pull himself together. He’d spent the time he should have spent getting ready on the phone with Hannah’s doctors, so when he looked at the clock and realized how little time he had, he acted quickly. He tamed his hair with a little water, threw on a t-shirt and loose jeans, and a leather jacket, and went to the lobby to wait for Ella. She was the bright spot for him recently, and he couldn’t help but smile when she came down. He brought her in for a small hug, pressing a soft kiss of greeting to the side of her face. “You look great. I’m sure there’s a food truck or something somewhere. We can walk and eat.”