Elemental, my dear Watson. [rp for lapsedsaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

The wards Charlotte erected on John’s home in Massachusetts were the simplest she knew. They left soon after, so she only used enough energy to dissuade an intruder and to alert her if something persisted. Compared to what was around the flat in New York, it was little more than tin cans on string.

At home she decided more protection was needed and that she to build her own power. Sending a warning to that goon had been much more satisfying than she liked to admit. After using avoidance and a kind of protective coloration for protection, now she needed to be proactive. Doing that required tapping into energies she had largely ignored for years.

Leaving John asleep in their bed, she gathered her supplies, double locked the kittens in the living room and went onto the balcony. The blinds were closed in the bedroom so any light she generated wouldn’t wake her sleeping lover. Nothing she planned was dangerous, really, and she was taking John’s beliefs into consideration. That still left her trembling with anticipation. She hadn’t done anything like this since she started practicing again.

The circle she erected would be familiar to any serious magician. Symbols written at the four directions indicated primal elemental energies, the same energies that filled every thing on Earth. Even the cold steel and concrete of her balcony still held some of the power of their composite parts. She stripped down to a flimsy bra and panties set, one of her most revealing so more of her skin was available for the ritual. On the available canvas she echoed the symbols from the floor.

Some part of her knew the words she spoke mattered less than her intent, but the words were so familiar, so comfortable that they flowed like wine. Sweet, warming wine that spread through her and opened her to a swirl of color and sound normally invisible to most and to all beyond her home. Four tendrils reached out to her, some boldly, others with an almost comical coyness, until she was surrounded by them. They lifted her from her knees so she could open even more to them.

From another balcony all anyone would see is a mostly naked woman dancing in the cool fall air. The kittens, and John if he woke, could see how she held her arms open so the pale yellow fire could tickle her near the bottom of her breast bone. She went still for a moment so it could slowly enter her there. As the last of it disappeared, sparks flew like when a log fell in a roaring fire.

When the last spark faded, the green tendril found a spot over her heart. Its final farewell was a shower of tiny ivy leaves that vanished just before they hit the floor. After that the orange ribbon became a ball at her belly, rolling like waves in a stormy sea before crashing into her. The final tendril teased her, dancing over her breasts and over her inner thigh. She stood still for it to caress her, her head back so that her hair fell in golden waves.

The last tendril, glowing brilliant red, worked up her thigh and entered her between her legs, leaving nothing at all behind when it disappeared but a shaking, ecstatic woman who had fallen to her knees. Covered in sweat, panting as though she’d run a marathon, she knelt there until her tiny votive candles burned out. She stood slowly, cleared away the remaining supplies and prepared to go inside and face getting back into bed with the new found energy coursing through her.

She thought maybe a stiff drink was in order first.

Comments

[lapsedsaint]

John had woken up alone in the bed. He'd reached out to see how long ago she'd gotten up and found her side of the bed cold. He frowned and pulled himself to his feet to go looking for her.

He got as far as the living room and looking out on the balcony. He only watched for a moment before turning and heading back into the bedroom.

Laying back down, he closed his eyes. It had to be a dream. There was no way he had seen what he thought he'd seen. It just wasn't possible.

He ended up putting a pillow over his head in an attempt to convince himself. He went back to sleep like that.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She couldn't go directly to bed. If she even entered the bedroom at that point she'd bounce on the bed like a kid. So into the kitchen she went, looking heavy food and some booze. She fought the kittens for the last of the roast beef, eating her piece just with her fingers. She followed that with a full measure of the good whiskey before feeling like she could attempt bed.

She slunk in like a thief, staying on the outside of the room until she reached her side of the bed. There was no bounce, but the moment she was beside him, her hands were all over him. One on his back, massaging lightly and the other on his shoulder, pressing harder.

[lapsedsaint]

He was awake the moment she stepped into the room. Head trauma aside, he was on mental high alert. He didn't move when she got in the bed, didn't move when she started to touch him.

But he did speak. "All better?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"Better?" She leaned down and gave him a sloppy kiss on his neck. "Did I need to be better? I guess I am, yes." She gave him another kiss, then moved down to kiss his shoulder. She slid closer to him, purring softly. "Wonderful better."

[lapsedsaint]

He didn't take the pillow off his head for another few moments, then he sighed softly and looked at her. "That's good."

[aesthetic_mojo]

With his head exposed, she went in for the kill, nibbling on the back of his ear. "I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all.

[lapsedsaint]

He wanted to be mad at her for leaving him alone in the bed. He wanted to be mad at her for cavorting with whatever she was cavorting with on the balcony. Then she got his ear and all he could do was groan. He sagged against the bed and gave a fainter whimper.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She actually clapped in victory and shifted until she was on his hip, still nibbling at him. She knew she was giddy from the ritual, that she hadn't grounded well enough because she was out of practice. Grinding her hips against him reminded her of another, much nicer way to ground the energy.

"Want to feel better, too? Feel all better wonderful good?"

[lapsedsaint]

He turned his head and looked at her like she'd gone crazy. Perhaps she had. He grunted softly, an eyebrow raised. "What, exactly, do you have in mind?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She rubbed his shoulders, the touch more clumsy than usual. "I feel really, really good." She licked the back of his ear. "Want to make you feel really, really good."

She sat up some and laughed brightly. "Man, I sound like a two dollar whore!"

[lapsedsaint]

That did get her a laugh and he rolled onto his back to smile at her. "Yes, you do. You should at least be sounding like a ten dollar whore."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"Well thank you very much." She put her hand out. "Gimme ten dollars, then." She made it clear she was absolutely serious. Kind of.

[lapsedsaint]

He shrugged and rolled away from her and out of the bed. His wallet was on the dresser and he walked slowly over to get it. He looked inside it and sighed, then glanced at her. "Do you have change for a $20?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She watched him go in complete astonishment. When he got to his wallet she clapped her hand over her mouth. She answered him from behind her fingers. "What do you expect for twenty?"

[lapsedsaint]

He raised an eyebrow and answered her completely deadpan. "Ten bucks backs."

[aesthetic_mojo]

Her jaw dropped, amplifying her squeak of outrage. An instant later a pillow went flying at his head. "You BRUTE!"

[lapsedsaint]

He dodged the pillow and smirked. "If I'm not getting my ten bucks change, we don't have a deal."

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I see how it is. Don't want a girl to earn a living." She flopped back on the bed, one leg bent. Watching him, she ran her hand up the inside of her thigh. She moaned deeply, more from how she imagined it would be soon than from her fingers.

[lapsedsaint]

Watching her, he just shook his head. "What were you doing outside?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She didn't think about what he'd asked, she was already a couple steps ahead. "Outside? Just recharging my batteries." She licked her lips. "Dancing with some friends."

[lapsedsaint]

He nodded slightly, then sighed and looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure what to think or feel about that. "Who? What?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She chanted softly, the words a modern hymn that could never carry the power of what she'd done, but it got the idea across. And it sounded nice. "Earth my body, Water my blood, Air my breath and fire my spirit..." Her hand still moved in lazy patterns on her thigh. "I've been putting out so much energy, I had no idea until I started taking it in again."

[lapsedsaint]

He nodded again and sighed. "I think I need a drink." He made sure his wallet was back on the dresser before heading for the kitchen.

[aesthetic_mojo]

"Mmm, a drink." She scrambled after him, not bothering to grab any more clothes than she already had. On the way she scooped up Vivianne who struggled a little in her arms before popping away for a safer place. "Poor me one, too, darling?"

[lapsedsaint]

When he got to the kitchen, he poured two drinks and handed her one of them. His own, he down quickly and poured another. For all the things they had gotten through, this just stuck in his craw.