the princess

Luci. 21. Dancer. Lover. Damn.I'll rock your world~  "Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?"(a rp blog for Elendel United) 

[luluwardwick]

✘ imtristinanditscomplicated

Luci gave the man on the other side of the store a not so subtle once over. He was middle aged, probably old enough to be her father, but had matured more than gracefully. Luci liked older men, if only because they had had more time to build up some wealth to throw away on a sweet young thing like her. And usually they appreciated the attention of a younger woman. 

He was walking in her direction now. It was now or never: she had to make a move.

Luci wobbled on her four inch heels, pretending like she had lost her balance, and crashed directly into the man. "Oh, Harmony above!" She cried, trying to stand up straight. "I am so sorry, are you alright?"

[heartlikeiron-blog1]

      “All this, love, is what pays your salary. Are you certain you want to distract

   me from completing it?”  She passed the dancer a coy but knowing look    before letting out a sigh and plopping it beside her on the end table of the    couch.  She’d have time to work it out more tomorrow, anyway, and it was    bad to waste quiet nights like this on legitimate work.

      “Alright.”  She said finally, a mellow smile lingering on her face.  ”Let’s have     a drink.  But no nail painting for me, I’ve just had them done and I don’t trust     anyone but my darling Panetta do touch them, I’ve been going to her for so     long I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have her.”  She peered     briefly at the shimmering black varnish she’d chosen just yesterday before     shrugging.

       ”Why don’t don’t you go grab us one of the wine bottles from the mini-fridge      there and you can gossip to me all you want.  I’m not entirely certain I have      much to contribute that would interest you but I could always try.”

[luluwardwick]

Luci clapped her hands in excitement when Ferra put her work aside for her. She didn't even mind that there wouldn't be any nail painting, even though hers were currently in a sorry state. How Ferra managed to keep such a perfect image so effortlessly, she would probably never know. 

When her boss suggested she grab a bottle of wine, Luci didn't hesitate. She got up immediately and crossed to the other side of the room, crouching down to briefly examine the contents of the fridge. She ended up grabbing a bottle at random, though. Ferra Yomen was bound to have only the best in her personal stock.

Once she was reseated, she gave Ferra a sly sideways glance. "I find it hard to believe that you, of all people, would have nothing to contribute. You must know every little thing that goes on in your club." 

She looked around the room for a bottle opener, and scrunched up her nose in annoyance when one didn't automatically reveal itself to her. There was some high quality alcohol in her hand and she couldn't even get to it! 

[spannerboop]

Well, Luci was right about one thing. This place was ridiculously huge. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little bit worried about finding the place on her own with such a vague description, but she was pretty sure all three blind mice could find this place with ease. At the very least they’d run right into it. 

She waited patiently for Luci on the main floor, having arrived a few minutes early. She’d given herself far too much extra time for error. She grinned upon seeing the shorter girl exit the elevator, giving a little wave. 

Ema gave a little giggle at the (impressive) dance-shuffle Luci made toward her. She looked  Luci up and down with a little eyebrow raise, “Are you planning on swimming in your clothes?” Not that Ema could really talk, either, but she wasn’t about to drive around half of Elendel in a swim suit. 

[luluwardwick]

"Whaaaaaaat?" Luci asked, giving Ema an incredulous look. "You were with me when I bought this top, you should know how expensive it is! There's no way I'm ruining it with a chlorine bath." She said with a wave of her hand. But she didn't find it necessary to explain to Ema why she'd bother getting dressed for the short trip from her apartment to the pool. 

"This way!" She said, turning on her heel. She led Ema right past the Elevators to the stairs that led down to the pool level. A short flight of stairs later, Luci pushed open the door to reveal a lavish looking indoor pool. Big windows to the right and left brought in natural sun light and gave the residents a nice place to sit and sun. But best of all, they had the pool entirely to themselves. It helped that they were swimming at a time most normal people were at work or school. 

Without a word, Luci moved closer to the pool, stripping of her clothes and flinging them on a nearby pool chair as she did so. Underneath them was technically a one piece black swimsuit, but it was strategically cut in so many places that it was essentially a two piece. Luci prefered fashion over function, even for swimming.

"Last one in's a rotten pathian!" Luci called out. She was already jumping, in the air above the water, as she yelled it.

[tessalinden-blog]

      Tessa looked over her shoulder at the other voice, originally having been speaking       to one of the women at the stand with her, and almost immediately she felt what        cheerful thoughts she had fly from her mind. With a sigh, she handed over the        doxings owed for the fruit in her hands, and turned towards Luci, willing herself to       be, at the very least, cordial to the young woman. “ Well that’s your job, isn’t it?       Wouldn’t be very satisfying to be a dancer that doesn’t like dancing. ”

[luluwardwick]

"I dunno~!" Luci said, really playing up the ditziness if only because it was fun. "With the amount of doxxings you can make in one night, I'm pretty sure any girl would be satisfied dancing, even if they didn't like it." 

She paused, taking a moment to look the nurse up and down. "Especially a girl with a body like yours. Survivor above, have you ever considered picking up a few shifts for some extra cash?"

[tessalinden-blog]

open

[tessalinden-blog]

      “ Do you ever feel like spontaneously dancing through a farmer’s market?”

[luluwardwick]

"Yes, but I feel like spontaneously dancing all the time!"

The nurse clearly hadn't been talking to her, but Luci thought it would be fun to respond to her anyway. 

[luluwardwick]

Got a figure like a pin up Got a figure like a doll Don't care if you think I'm dumb I don't care at all.

[spannerboop]

Emalyn hadn’t expected…this. Maybe some pouting, and maybe some coaxing, but not…an invitation to swim. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face at the idea of swimming. Hell yeah she wanted to swim. 

She’s already distracted from her thoughts, thinking of all the things that can be done in water. Things. Not people. Her smile slowly turned into a grin, “Yeah! Just let me drop by my place and grab a suit.” She had so many swim suits. Unfortunately for Luci, a vast majority were the kind worn in World Series swim.  She’d need to really hunt for something more…casual. 

[luluwardwick]

Success! A smile! That was what she wanted to see. Emotional avoidance through distraction at it's finest. Things had gone form fun, to sexy, to serious so quickly, she almost had whiplash. But now things were back in her comfort zone and the two of them could continue on their date day out without any further issue. 

"Okay! You go ahead and get changed, we can meet at my place in about an hour?" She didn't wait for Ema to respond. "I'll text you my address! I live in the 6th in this huuuuuge building. It's super easy to find. Just call me when you get there and I'll come down and get you!" 

Without further ado, Luci gave Ema a little wave and then spun on her heel to strut off in the opposite direction.                                     ~*~Probably more than an hour later ~*~

Luci was late going to get Ema. She had called about 10 minutes ago, but Luci needed to find the right thing to wear over her new bathing suit. Yes, it would be on the floor of the swimming pool deck in less than 10 minutes, but appearances are important, Survivor damn it! Appearances were what Luci was all about. If she had the right appearance down, she could get anything she wanted. And she wanted Ema.

A short elevator ride later, Luci stepped out into the lobby, spotted Ema, and headed over to her. "Are you ready. To swim. In the best damn pool. On this side of Elendel?" She pretty much sang to Ema as she danced towards her. Things were about to get wet and wild (most likely not in the way Luci preferred, but...close enough)!

[ithyunas]

[elianecasuana]

✘ luluwardwick

    Eliane wasn’t about to admit how she’d gotten ahold of Luci’s schedule but she’d been sure to pick a day when the girl had the afternoon off. She’d gotten to the club, staying outside rather than trying to get to the door, with about twenty minutes before Luci’s morning shift was supposed to end. She was half scared she might run into her brother, but through Harmony’s grace, Dier was nowhere to be found.

    As Luci exited from the back employee entrance, Eliane quickly waved to get her attention, and walked up. She forced herself not to run a hand nervously through her hair, despite how awkward she felt in doing this.

    “Hey. M— er, Luci,” she said, only slightly stumbling over using the girl’s first name. “I… think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I’d like to talk with you, if that’s okay. Can I buy you lunch?”

[luluwardwick]

Luci hated morning shifts. Not only did she had to get up early, but she had to deal with the skeeziest of skeez balls. One would think those types would come out at odd hours of the night, but no. They were the ones who had nothing better to do at 10am on a work day. 

At least she had the rest of the day to relax and do whatever she wanted. And that probably meant she was going to go home, sleep for a few hours, and then go out to a club or something. Nothing all that special or interesting; she just needed to recover from the horrors of the morning shift.

As the back door shut behind her, a blur of motion caught her eye. Luci almost did a double take when she saw who was waiting for her. While she resisted that urge, she couldn't quiet keep an initial look of surprise off her face. Eliane.

This was the woman she Soothed twice, maliciously and without consent. And the second time she did it knowing full well that Eliane had an aversion to emotional allomancy. For the survivor's sake, they'd exchanged near death threats not that long ago. And now the other woman was approaching her thinking they could be friends or something? Luci didn't realize her reaction to Dier's little show had been so impressive, but apparently it'd put her in a new and exciting position (which she was totally willing to exploit).

"Hm." Luci hummed, fixing a curious smile on her face. "Yeah sure. That sounds...nice." Externally, she maintained the look of pleasant surprise. On the inside, however, she was beyond excited. Part of her had been disappointed that she'd made an enemy out of Eliane so quickly in her twisted version of fun. But now - out of the blue - was another chance to make something out of her relationship with Eliane. She could play the good friend if it meant she got something good out of it.

"Anywhere you have in mind?" Luci asked as she shrugged her oversized bag up onto her shoulder. "I am starved." It looked like sleeping and relaxing would have to wait. 

[favorxte]

"Larelle." She ignored the offered hand, motioning instead for two drinks. Larelle Favreux was not a hand-shaker. She was a drink-buyer, and this was how she showed politeness. "So, Luci. What do you want from me?"

Out of courtesy, she decided not to tap her metalminds tonight. Let the girl deal with her in her most natural form. Of course, she would still be better than the girl by a landslide—it was how things progressed.

As Larelle was older, she had more experience. Not that the girl was naïve, exactly. More like overconfident. But she was also holding back, so she could recognize when she was dealing with someone knowledgable. 

[luluwardwick]

Larelle. The name buzzed in Luci's head. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Still, the way the other women held herself told Luci that she was important in some way. That and she acted like her shit didn't stink or something.

"Well, at first I just wanted to rescue you from boredom," Luci started, retracting her hand smoothly and laying it to rest on her lap. "Now I'd just like to have a nice conversation with you."

That was probably easier said than done. So far, Larelle didn't seem to be that enthusiastic about her as a conversation partner. Or fellow human being, for that matter. Luci would have to try her best to be aloof but interesting to keep the other woman around long enough to find out what her story was. But...

"If you don't mind my saying, it doesn't look like this place is you ah...cup of tea. Any reason in particular you came out tonight?" ...Luci couldn't help it. She was curious. 

[askinwalkerscorned]

         ( I could eat that rat in two bites. )

     If it’s any consolation, Pookie, Ajax looks pretty unimpressed too.   His jowls pull back in a bit of a half growl half snarl, but he makes no move beyond that. Even if it’s tempting. 

[luluwardwick]

"Hey! Bad dog!" Luci scolded as she lifted her little dog up over her head. Though, it probably didn't matter much: the other dog was so big it could easily jump up and snatch Pookie anyway. But hey, it was the thought that counted. "You be nice to Pookie, you mean old grump! Hasn't anyone ever taught you any manners?!"

All the while, Pookie hung limply in the air, like a sack of potatoes. 

[diercasuana-blog]

    Dier nodded slowly, in part for himself, and in part to acknowledge the slight break in the façade. He’d had a feeling this one wasn’t as airheaded as she’d seemed, though truth be told, very few of the girls here were. They were smart enough to realize that the clintele was looking for a fantasy that was good looking and stupid enough to be easily swayed into anything these men might suggest.

    Honestly, Dier almost pitied the poor fools who were taken in by the ruse. Ferra and her girls played them for all they were worth. There was something incredibly attractive to him about these dancers, though he’d always found it to be their cunning, rather than any physical assets they might posses. There was just something alluring about a woman who knew exactly what she was doing and had complete control of her situation.

    And he’d already been taken by the pinnacle of that archetype.

    “Well, Ms. Luci, I have a feeling you’re going to fit in here nicely. You’ve seen most of the establishment now, and if you don’t have any more questions for me, I have a bit of an idea. I don’t know if you spend much time over in the Second Octant, but there’s an intriguing little coffee shop over there I would love to show you.”

[luluwardwick]

Luci was glad that Dier thought she'd fit in. But hopefully she'd do more than that. If all went according to plan, she'd excel and be in a position to boss Dier around someday. It was just a shame that he was already fucking their boss. Talk about unfair advantage...

"Oh! That sounds delicious!" Luci practically squealed as she smacked her hands together in excitement. Her little facade was back and in full force; she just felt more comfortable that way. "Lead the way!"

                                                         [ ~ E N D ~ ]

[spannerboop]

Emalyn knew she hecked up the second that gaze hit her. What did she give away? She knew how to read people. Luci had just found something to pick at.  She didn’t quite trust Luci’s words. If she’d really won, Luci wouldn’t be looking at her like that.

And  then the rest of Luci’s sentence came. She knew, Ema realised. She knew she’d liked it more than she was letting on. Involuntarily, she shuddered under the breath. For a second, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even convince herself to glow a brighter red.

It’d be so easy to throw Luci against the wall, give her exactly what she was asking for. It’d be so easy to just give in, let the natural high wash away everything she was feeling. It wasn’t even just her confusion over what was happening between her and Luci. It was everything from her father’s death, to both Sin and Eliane’s revelations. All of it still hurt, and none of her knew how to react to any of it still. She’s been faking through all this so well, she wonders if it’s worth breaking that illusion for a few seconds of a high. After all, fake it until you make it was a very true statement, wasn’t it? If she kept at it, it was bound to ease up to something she could manage.

It’d also be easy to throw Luci off and pretend everything was still okay. She didn’t think Luci knew enough to tell when she was going to be out of character. For all Luci knew, Ema might just secretly be into the whole friends with benefits thing. That made everything all the more tempting. Unconsciously, her fingers started trailing up Luci’s sides. Lightly, barely skimming the skin. What were the chances anyone would know, anyways?

She would. And after all was said and done, she’d be left alone with the guilt. She’d just be using Luci, and that was something she couldn’t bring herself to do. Maybe that was what the whole idea behind (closet) friends with benefits was, but…it wasn’t her. 

Maybe with some regret, her hands finally settled, and she lightly made to push Luci away. She avoided looking Luci in the eye, despite the inner Soother in her saying that was a tell-tale sign of something not quite fitting what was being said and done. 

"I don’t think I need any help today," it came out a little quiet than she would have liked, but it was the best she could manage.  

[luluwardwick]

Ema's scent filled her nose as Luci waited for her to make a move. It was so tempting to just be the one to make the move (especially with the way Ema's fingers wandering up her sides). Luci arched her back at the touch but otherwise restrained herself. As far as she was concerned, matters of the sexual matter were like emotional allomancy: she couldn't force herself onto the other person, they had to be willing participants. They had to want it. 

And it seemed like there were signs that Ema wanted it. Survivor, there were a lot of signs! Even the reluctance in Ema's gentle push told her that there was something there. But Luci was fine with being told no for now: she enjoyed the seduction game. No, what concerned her was the tone of voice Ema used. There was something else beyond Luci's simple actions that had gotten to her. Luci wasn't quite sure what, and she was sure she didn't know how to handle that.

"Hmm. Well that's fine." Luci murmured (with only a hint of disappointment in her voice). She needed to do something - anything - to get things back to normal. Something to distract Emalyn from her confusion or whatever else she was feeling at that moment. Luckily, Luci happened to be an expert at using fun things as a distraction from emotions and problems. With a sudden upbeat bust of energy, Luci asked, "Hey! Wanna go swimming? I got this great new bathing suit and my apartment building has an amazing indoor pool! You would totes love it, I just know!"  It was coincidental that this plan would get them both half naked.

[elianecasuana]

    Eliane felt the pulses start just seconds before the Soothing hit. This wasn’t a single manipulation, barely felt; this was a pulse attack, hitting all emotions at once. A less potent form of the Nicroburst Soothing.

    She stiffened, feeling for once, not panic, but anger. This girl comes into her store and tries to pull something like this? Extorts her for intel and slaps her with Allomancy on the way out? How dare she. How dare she.

    It wasn’t the kind of treatment Eliane was planning on letting her get away with.

“Ms. Wardwick,” she said with a voice as cold and hard as ice. “The next time I catch you Soothing anyone in my shop, whether I am your target or not, I will ruin you. Allow me to be very clear, now that I don’t have any reason to keep the secret. I have contacts all over this city. I could pull a few strings and make sure you don’t find work in the underworld for the rest of your life.”

    She wasn’t bluffing either. She’d done a cursory search into ‘Lucilla Wardwick’ and hadn’t turned up much, but with the connections she knew Luci had, she would have absolutely no problem framing Luci for something devastating.

    “I’ve got intel on the Yomen family,” Eliane said with a slight shrug, though her expression was every bit as threatening as before. “I wonder what would happen if I cited one of Ferra’s new dancers as my source? I could protect the identity of my real contacts and take you out in one fell swoop. You think my brother would protect you if he thought you were a threat to Ferra? I wonder how she treats snitches in her operation…”

[luluwardwick]

Luci wasn't phased by Eliane's words. A part of her - the rational part - knew that Eliane meant what she said. And that a genuine threat mixed with the ability to do actual damage to her and her reputation should have had her running scared. But the fact of the matter was, she was already quite secure in her relationship with Ferra. It wasn't airtight, but secure enough to not worry about being framed for spreading rumors.

"Oh, I don't doubt that you're capable of doing that, sweetie." Actually, the fact that Eliane could do something like that told Luci a lot more about this particular Casuana. Today had ended up being so informative! "You can do what you want. Just know that I'll make sure you reap what you sow ten times over." 

Luci met Eliane's eye and held it for a second, face serious and deadly. But before she turned to leave she broke out into a ditzy smile. With a flick of her hair, she turned around and strutted right out the door. It seemed like every time she went into that shop something fun ended up happening. Must've been something extra special in that coffee of theirs~                                                           [ ~ E N D ~ ]

[luluwardwick]

♣ askinwalkerscorned

"Aww! Pookie, look! A new puppy friend!" Luci dangled her freshly groomed pup above the bigger dog. It looked like he could eat her Pookie in about 3 bites, but Pookie seemed to be unimpressed.

[luluwardwick]

[misteranalyst-blog]

Alarm bells were ringing in his head. Abort, abort, abort, abort. There had been a critical failure, somewhere, somehow along the lines of this conversation. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

(“Oh dear oh dear” was actually a highly edited version of what was going on in his head right now. There was a lot of strong language for starters. There were also some sexual thoughts going on but he was trying to quash those. Problem was, that was a little more difficult when one was tipsy.)

Grandma would not be proud of you, he admonished himself. This was actually a very effective way to throw cold water on the problem since a) grandmothers were lovely and not sexy and b) who wanted to disappoint their grandma anyway?

"I’m sorry- that is I don’t think- I just- I don’t think I can afford you." Rust. Rustrustrust. "That is, I do not believe an artist like yourself can be bought." There. That was better wasn’t it? She was very talented and very pretty and everyone always said one couldn’t buy talent. Of course, she is offering it for free… I could see a master up close…

Wait. Where was he going with this? It was very hard to remember when she was right in front of him and behaving in a way that would disappoint his grandma.

(There. He was good again.)

(Thanks Grandma.)

He took a deep breath and said very calmly, “If you want to get frisky you are going to at least going to have to get to know me first because I am not that kind of boy.”

[luluwardwick]

Luci stood frozen in her provocative pose for a few moments, watching as the guy her butt was currently aimed at processed her words. Based on the expressions on his face, it seemed like a moral battle was playing out in his head. When he managed to find some words, Luci once again could not contain her laughter. She unfroze and slipped back into the seat next to him, clapping her hands in amusement. 

"Oh, Survivor above! You are killing me!" Luci finally managed to say as she reigned in her laughter. "But okay. Let's get to know each other, then. My name is Lucilla. Here, they call me Lulu and my friends call me Luci, but you can call me whatever you want."  She drained the rest of her drink and looked him up and down. It already seemed like she knew a bit about him: respectful, caring, smart, pretty cute, if not a bit conservative for her tastes. All around, he seemed like he was a guy she could actually enjoy sitting around and talking with. It was always a drag when she had to pretend to be interested in terrible guys and their terrible and boring lives. "So, what's you're name sweetheart? And what is it that you do for a living?" She looked past him for a moment to wave down the bartender before she asked one last question: "And what is it you're drinking? This one's on me." As far as she was concerned, a little more alcohol in his system would only make him even more fun to talk with.