The Wing Masseuse

The Massage

They landed on the balcony, Loraina laughed as he commented how they had the whole house to themselves. "We only need 1 room!" Cassian laughed and snapped his wings in. She followed suit and they made their way through the corridors. It was dimly lit by glowing flames, giving the walkways a warming light. Loraina's brain was working so fast you could nearly hear the cogs turning, she held her hands out in front of her and tapped her fingers upon each other.

"Do you have much stiffness in your back? Or your wings?"

"Well... I guess my back sometimes is sore after a long day of flying, but that's expected right..." He seemed slightly off-put by how quickly she wanted to talk about her work, she realised he didn't really expect her massage to effect him, he thought it was purely sexual.

"Do you warmup before strenuous usage?"

"Uh.... no?" She sighed at him and rolled her eyes. They arrived at a door and he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as he opened the door and whispered in her ear. "Welcome..."

She giggled and stepped from his embrace into the room. It was huge, and a bed dominated the room, silk black sheets covered the bed. and the walls were painted different shades of red with painted flames dancing over the walls. Loraina spotted a bathing chamber leading off the room and made her way over, planning to wash her hands before beginning.

"Just lie on your front and stretch your wings out, I'll wash my hands then check where the knots are."

He smirked again and strode to the bed, "Do I need my shirt or...?"

"You don't!" she called through to him as she ran her hands under the warm water. She then dried them off and strode back in the main chamber spying him lying flat out, head resting on his broad hands, smirking at her.

AN: I can't do a scene like this justice so I'm not going to try ):

Loraina slid out of the room, ensuring no light crept in to bother the now sleeping figure. Cassian was laying atop the sheets on his back, his entire back and wings loose from the last few hours under her hands. It had been difficult for her, he really had not taken care of his muscles and so nearly every touch hurt him. As much as he had tried to hide it.

The general had not been too pleased to realise she really had been talking about a massage, although there had been a few teasing touches mixed in. A chuckle escaped her as she thought of the warrior currently collapsed, his muscles finally unknotted and loose. 

Loraina crept through the corridors hoping to find the same balcony they had arrived on a few hours earlier. It took her a few minutes and she paused on the edge, staring out at the bright night sky sparkling above Velaris. She admired the stars and the mountains around her, smiling softly at the calm darkness enveloping the House of Wind. 

Then she stepped off the edge and free fell for a moment before opening her wings against the wind. She was so happy that she had managed to escape the camp, that she could still fly and would never have to return to the Illyrian mountains. She swept over the city like a silent bird, not even having to think about how to get back to the apartment. It had only been 3 months, but it was now her home.

Her eyes focussed upon the apartment nestled within the streets. Any drapes had been closed so Loraina couldn't work out if Azriel was still awake. She hoped he wasn't, it was midnight and he really should be asleep, otherwise he would be in an awful mood tomorrow. Although she suspected he may already be annoyed with her for going off with Cassian. Her dark wings closed nearer to her back as she ducked between pillars to lightly land on her feet on the threshold of the house. A little too fast, she thought, as she stumbled slightly and nearly landed face first into the door.

She chuckled lightly to herself, she was used to drinking but she didn't usually have to fly home after. Her hand moved her hair as she reached for the door handle and fumbled it open. Light flooded her face, Azriel was awake, as she stepped into the warm apartment. The door closed near silently behind her as she locked her eyes onto the shadowed form resting on the chair in the living area. He didn't seem to notice her, just raised his glass to his lips and took yet another swig from the strong alcohol he had obviously been chugging since he had gotten home. 

She immediately felt bad for going with Cassian, yes she had been doing her job, and no he did have no say over what she did so long as she completed her work around the house, but she still felt bad for the shadow singer. She stood silently just inside the door and stared at him. Finally, he spoke, "How did it go?"

"I learned a lot."

"That's good." His tone was colder than it usually was with her, she hoped it was just the drink talking and she wasn't going to have to make it up to him.

"His back was even worse than yours."

She regretted it almost straight away, she shouldn't compare them to each other, that was definitely not going to help cheer him up.

"He's always been irresponsible about warming up, even with just sparring."

"I could tell. I told him that actually."

"I doubt he will listen to you. Although he did seem quite captivated by you." 

Loraina moved into the room and stood next to where he sat on the chair. He continued to drink steadily as they interacted. She tilted her head slightly and stared inquiringly at him. "How much have you had?"

"Doesn't matter."

She frowned at him, then reached out and took his half full glass straight from his hand. His neck snapped to look at her and she chugged the remnants before slamming it down on the wooden side table. Her hand slapped him on the shoulder as she laughed at his shocked expression and stumbled away down the corridor. "Good night!"

"Good night..." Azriel mumbled back. Then he continued to stare at the wall with a hopeless expression on his face. It was about an hour later before he finally made his own way to bed. It was certainly going to be a late start for him.