"Ha, flattery, my dear friend ~ Flatter will get you everywhere. See, a Tiefing's ego is as big as his horns, don'tcha know?" And Lucien's, while curled around behind his pointed ears, were long and thick. He really was quite remarkable, wasn't he? This Huaisang fella? For a moment then, Lucien felt he could very much get used to this sort of life. Sat in luxury, with guards and staff at your beck and call, dressed in only the finest, drinking and eating only the finest. Oh, what a life, indeed.
Lucien was up and at Huaisang's side faster than a pickpocket at the opera. Following them as they wandered closer to the spring, deciding to walk a tightrope tiptoe around the rim of the pool, the spade of his tail smoothing over the surface of the water, taking its temperature and letting out a pleased little hum of approval. He preferred it hot, after all.
Finishing his lap around the pool, Lucien perused the shelves and snatched a handful of bits and bobs, casting them aside on the ground beside the mouth of the spring before coming and standing in front of where his host sat. "Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth." He nodded as he started to unfasten the laces that held his black and purple pinstripes up. Once his trousers were open and hanging off his hips, just shy of shoving off the marvelously sculpted v-shape of his hips and pelvis, Lucien pirouetted around and peeled his tunic off, tossing it aside. With his back now to Huaisang, he let his tail do the rest of the work. Writhing and pushing his trousers down to reveal that muscular, lavender backside of his.
Lucien cupped his crotch to hide his cock as he turned back around, giving Huaisang a bow, the other arm outstretched as he stepped back and into the water with a mild splash.
Huaisang laughed as he watched this dramatic performance, clearly played up for comedic effect. He remained entirely unruffled by the nudity, even though the region was for the most part very prim, with only the poorest laborers ever willing to show any skin above the wrist or below the neck. A show like this was a lovely treat for Huaisang, from someone relatively shameless compared to local customs, though Huaisang was disappointed that he concealed his cock. Lovely though the rest of him was, Huaisang was immensely curious about whether this Tiefling's ego was also as big as his cock.
"I have another job for you," Huaisang said, leisurely, with no compunctions about talking business while one of them was naked. He sipped again, not bothering to conceal his mouth this time, and then leaned forward to set the bottle on the ground between them, within reach from the hot spring pool. "The real job. Though I'm debating whether I need another test job before we get to it. The other two jobs were tombs, where most of your threats were undead. There may be some of that in the defenses of where you're going, but there will also be many living people, most of whom are--presumably--relatively innocent. Do you do subtlety as well as comedy?"
There's a challenging lift to his brow with the question. As delightful as the Tiefling's theatrical performance has been, there's been nothing subtle about him since he walked into Huaisang's chambers, and Huaisang finds himself dreading the thought of sending a purple clown into the middle of the protocol-obsessed Jin sect. He wants to see what other facets Lucien can offer.
Lucien was indeed putting on a show, slipping back into the way he acted before forming the Tombtakers. His parents and siblings had belonged to a carnival, after all, and Lucien, much like his older brother, was a dancer. As for his cock, well... There would be time enough to see it yet and Lucien liked to keep a little mystery in such interactions, keep your host guessing and thinking about you, that way they'll call you back again and again.
Moving through the water, he plucked up the bottle, taking a swig of it straight from the mouth before swapping it for a bottle of scented oil and soap, tipping it on his hands and massaging it through all those wavy curls of purple hair. His body was covered in tattoos, works of art really! Peacocks and their feather, the sun, moon, and stars as well as nine-bloodred eyes. Listening as Huaisang spoke of another job. "I do indeed. I may not look it, but I can be as subtle as a mouse in church." Grinning a mouthful of sharp fangs and licked his lips with a forked tongue before he continued. "I have genetics and devices that help me pass without a trace and as for the innocent? Well... If the pay is good enough, they're as good as the guilty in my eyes." Lucien was a stone-cold killer, no matter how charming he may seem.
Washing his body as he closed his eyes, putting on a little show with the way he moved and touched himself. Slipping a hand under the water, he lavishly stroked himself with a little teasing moan. "Mmm the waters simply divine~ And these oils? Mmm~ Bliss."
"I want the innocent left untouched, as much as possible," Huaisang said, his own gaze cool and aloof, though his attention never strayed from Lucien's body as he put on his teasing show. "My enemy has killed enough of them already. Which is specifically the problem. I need proof of his crimes, leaked publicly in a way that doesn't implicate me, and definitive enough that the other sects will feel morally obligated to take action to prosecute him. I have some idea of where to look--I believe there should be some kind of treasure room or secret chamber accessible from his bedroom, but I don't know how to get in there or what to look for."
A ripple of rage flickered behind Huaisang's eyes as he spoke. Whatever his beef was with this enemy, it was extremely personal. "So you'll need to sneak into the palace complex of one of the most powerful sects, make your way into the sect leader's bedroom, and figure out how to access the items he keeps most thoroughly locked and warded."
"Then your wish is my command~" It meant nothing to Lucien, he didn't know these people, didn't care for them but if his employer said not to touch them, then he would be a good boy and do as he was told... Unless they touched him first. "Ah, I see, so it's a little public shaming you're after? Leave it to me." He was confident, in fact, this sounded easier in ways that some of the other jobs he'd sent him on. His Tombtakers were kitted out with skills and abilities that made finding hard to find things as easy as pie. Grinning as Huaisang mentioned getting into his enemy's bedroom.
"Oh, I'm sure I can find a way to get an invitation into his bedroom. After all~ I'm already getting plenty practice with you on how to seduce a nobel~" Winking as he lay back in the water, floating to the top, letting Huaisang get his first glimpse at the purple python between his thighs.
Listening to the rundown of his mission and smirking. Lucien had a trick up his sleeve that was his ace in the hole. All he needed to do to make this a cakewalk, was to get the sect leader read something, just a passage from a certain book the Tiefling kept on his person at all times. "Sounds like they really get under your skin, friend. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they sound like an old flame." Because in his experience, rage and anger of the likes he saw in his host's eyes right then, often stem from jealousy and envy.
Humor flickered across Huaisang's face at the proposed 'public shaming' and how blithely Lucien suggested it, and his amusement only warmed further at the talk of Lucien's planned seductions. His gaze trailed with interest between Lucien's legs, pale cheeks starting to flush.
But all that good humor drained away instantly at Lucien's guess. "If only it were that simple," Huaisang said, cool and scathing, as if Lucien had said something embarrassingly naive. "I would advise against the seduction. He's no easy mark. He's immensely subtle and insanely paranoid. A charming stranger turning up out of nowhere trying to seduce him is almost certain to trip his paranoia, and you'll find yourself making excellent progress with him right until he walks you into a trap. He'd happily cut you into pieces and feed those pieces to his dogs if you step a toe out of line. He's murdered ... dozens, probably? I'm only certain of about twenty, but four in particular of those were people who were dear to me."
Huaisang's own paranoia was rising quickly, making him rethink his plan to involve Lucien at all. He wasn't ready to bail yet, but there was terror in Huaisang's expression behind his cool demeanor and the vengeful fury. If Jin Guangyao ever had reason to suspect an enemy and happened to glance in Huaisang's direction ... he could crush Huaisang and his clan all too easily. "If Jin Guangyao's paranoia has anything to latch onto, no matter how slim or unreasonable, you'll be in grave danger. He's incredibly dangerous. I strongly recommend making it a mission of stealth rather than a seduction. I don't know him to ever have desired anyone unless he intended the seduction to be a weapon to use against them."
no subject
Lucien was up and at Huaisang's side faster than a pickpocket at the opera. Following them as they wandered closer to the spring, deciding to walk a tightrope tiptoe around the rim of the pool, the spade of his tail smoothing over the surface of the water, taking its temperature and letting out a pleased little hum of approval. He preferred it hot, after all.
Finishing his lap around the pool, Lucien perused the shelves and snatched a handful of bits and bobs, casting them aside on the ground beside the mouth of the spring before coming and standing in front of where his host sat. "Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth." He nodded as he started to unfasten the laces that held his black and purple pinstripes up. Once his trousers were open and hanging off his hips, just shy of shoving off the marvelously sculpted v-shape of his hips and pelvis, Lucien pirouetted around and peeled his tunic off, tossing it aside. With his back now to Huaisang, he let his tail do the rest of the work. Writhing and pushing his trousers down to reveal that muscular, lavender backside of his.
Lucien cupped his crotch to hide his cock as he turned back around, giving Huaisang a bow, the other arm outstretched as he stepped back and into the water with a mild splash.
no subject
"I have another job for you," Huaisang said, leisurely, with no compunctions about talking business while one of them was naked. He sipped again, not bothering to conceal his mouth this time, and then leaned forward to set the bottle on the ground between them, within reach from the hot spring pool. "The real job. Though I'm debating whether I need another test job before we get to it. The other two jobs were tombs, where most of your threats were undead. There may be some of that in the defenses of where you're going, but there will also be many living people, most of whom are--presumably--relatively innocent. Do you do subtlety as well as comedy?"
There's a challenging lift to his brow with the question. As delightful as the Tiefling's theatrical performance has been, there's been nothing subtle about him since he walked into Huaisang's chambers, and Huaisang finds himself dreading the thought of sending a purple clown into the middle of the protocol-obsessed Jin sect. He wants to see what other facets Lucien can offer.
no subject
Moving through the water, he plucked up the bottle, taking a swig of it straight from the mouth before swapping it for a bottle of scented oil and soap, tipping it on his hands and massaging it through all those wavy curls of purple hair. His body was covered in tattoos, works of art really! Peacocks and their feather, the sun, moon, and stars as well as nine-bloodred eyes. Listening as Huaisang spoke of another job. "I do indeed. I may not look it, but I can be as subtle as a mouse in church." Grinning a mouthful of sharp fangs and licked his lips with a forked tongue before he continued. "I have genetics and devices that help me pass without a trace and as for the innocent? Well... If the pay is good enough, they're as good as the guilty in my eyes." Lucien was a stone-cold killer, no matter how charming he may seem.
Washing his body as he closed his eyes, putting on a little show with the way he moved and touched himself. Slipping a hand under the water, he lavishly stroked himself with a little teasing moan. "Mmm the waters simply divine~ And these oils? Mmm~ Bliss."
no subject
A ripple of rage flickered behind Huaisang's eyes as he spoke. Whatever his beef was with this enemy, it was extremely personal. "So you'll need to sneak into the palace complex of one of the most powerful sects, make your way into the sect leader's bedroom, and figure out how to access the items he keeps most thoroughly locked and warded."
no subject
"Oh, I'm sure I can find a way to get an invitation into his bedroom. After all~ I'm already getting plenty practice with you on how to seduce a nobel~" Winking as he lay back in the water, floating to the top, letting Huaisang get his first glimpse at the purple python between his thighs.
Listening to the rundown of his mission and smirking. Lucien had a trick up his sleeve that was his ace in the hole. All he needed to do to make this a cakewalk, was to get the sect leader read something, just a passage from a certain book the Tiefling kept on his person at all times. "Sounds like they really get under your skin, friend. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they sound like an old flame." Because in his experience, rage and anger of the likes he saw in his host's eyes right then, often stem from jealousy and envy.
no subject
But all that good humor drained away instantly at Lucien's guess. "If only it were that simple," Huaisang said, cool and scathing, as if Lucien had said something embarrassingly naive. "I would advise against the seduction. He's no easy mark. He's immensely subtle and insanely paranoid. A charming stranger turning up out of nowhere trying to seduce him is almost certain to trip his paranoia, and you'll find yourself making excellent progress with him right until he walks you into a trap. He'd happily cut you into pieces and feed those pieces to his dogs if you step a toe out of line. He's murdered ... dozens, probably? I'm only certain of about twenty, but four in particular of those were people who were dear to me."
Huaisang's own paranoia was rising quickly, making him rethink his plan to involve Lucien at all. He wasn't ready to bail yet, but there was terror in Huaisang's expression behind his cool demeanor and the vengeful fury. If Jin Guangyao ever had reason to suspect an enemy and happened to glance in Huaisang's direction ... he could crush Huaisang and his clan all too easily. "If Jin Guangyao's paranoia has anything to latch onto, no matter how slim or unreasonable, you'll be in grave danger. He's incredibly dangerous. I strongly recommend making it a mission of stealth rather than a seduction. I don't know him to ever have desired anyone unless he intended the seduction to be a weapon to use against them."