Demesne Patron EX SS 24 – To Make It A Euphemism (Patreon)

After the blunt and very Binder Lori-like discussion during dinner the night before , Mikon had expected to become the subject of mockery. Well, more than she was already. What had originally been scorn at what people had thought of her attentions and sly comments that she should carry a bell had turned at some point into pity, and then a sort of almost good-natured commiseration of her perceived failures.

…not that they weren't objectively failures, but she liked to think she'd garnered some success. Erzebed didn't even react anymore when Mikon was affectionate, simply sighing indulgently. Umu had been letting Mikon comb her hair, and had been willing to return the favor. And ever since Erzebed and Rian had started going to River's Fork regularly, leaving her and Umu alone in the house, the latter had slowly been willing to sleep closer together both to keep warm. She'd even been letting Mikon hold her as they slept over the last few days, though she'd made it clear nuzzling her neck was still not allowed.

Yet, at least. Mikon was optimistic.

Thankfully, no such additional mockery arose. Either the exchange was brief and quiet enough that no one really heard the conversation, or people felt no need to make additional jabs at her. That was a relief. While there was little malice involved, being a convenient joke was an irritating existence.

She'd been surprised to learn yesterday that Binder Lori actually thought the three of them had been far more… successful… than they actually were. While she'd been blunt and very… Binder Lori about it, there had been no judgement on her part. In fact, she'd seen surprised that they hadn't been ringing bells with Rian.

Looking back, it put several things she had said before under different moonlight. She hadn't been subtly mocking them for their inability to properly bed Rian, she's simply assumed they'd already had.

Such a wonderful woman. Mikon still harbored some idle thoughts of approaching her later, despite her stated lack of interest—something that Umu and Erzebed had never actually told her…—but they were only idle thoughts. After nearly a full year of being in her company, Mikon was fairly certain that as lovely as the woman's face was, her off-putting manner wasn't something she'd liked to be married to.

Dinner tonight had been as it always was. Rian and Binder Lori had spent it talking to each other, seemingly completely oblivious of the spectacle they were making of themselves as they discussed the demesne and what more needed to be done, even though Mikon thought it was already doing pretty well. Little Yoshka had ignored them and thoroughly enjoyed her meal, while the young Lady Binder had eaten quietly and tended to her cousin so she didn't make a mess as she ate. Umu had eaten quietly, simply enjoying her place at Rian's side, and tonight Binder Lori had not seen fit to tease her about her tendency to volunteer to do things for Rian.

Mikon thought the woman would have been more anxious about Rian leaving—she remembered how their Dungeon Binder had been when Rian had left for Covehold two seasons ago—but perhaps she didn't think a separation of three days was worth worrying about.

When dinner had ended, Binder Lori had rose to leave with one last nod towards Rian and one of those indecipherable looks at the three of them, leaving her bowl, cup and utensils on the table as if she expected someone else to clean it up. And why wouldn't she? After all, someone didclean it up. Rian had always done so when it had been just the two of them eating together, in the days when Mikon and Umu had sat in the table behind him, and even now Rian would do it himself if the three of them hadn't insisted on taking turns with doing these chores. The Lady Binder, thankfully, cleaned up after herself, and made sure dear Yoshka did the same.

On most nights, Mikon would have gone straight home to Rian's and started readying the bed unless Erzebed had a shift at the Um, the name of which still made people snicker sometimes. Tonight, however, she only stopped there to pick up her bath bucket, soap and towel.

"I'm going to the baths," she announced, perhaps needlessly, as she hefted her bucket, confirming she still had soap. "Umu, Riz, do you want to join me?"

"I told you that you should have gone before dinner," Umu sighed, already getting the bedrolls and out.

"I know, I should have listened," Mikon said, "I'll be back soon. Don't do anything fun without me!"

Rian conspicuously kept his head bowed where he was putting some clothes into the pack he'd be bringing to River's Fork, but in the light of the glowing rock Binder Lori had given him his ears were clearly flushed. Umu and Erzebed, for their part gave her unamused looks.

Mikon made a show of rolling her eyes. "Oh, all right, start without me. Just don't tire yourselves out." She danced out the door and closed it behind her before anyone could reply.

Her steps were brisk as she headed for the women's baths. There were plenty of shelf space she could put her clothes on, with a little smoothed offcut of wood to help weigh it down and keep it in place. Those clothes were removed with swift, practiced moves. Her shawl, her skirt, her blouse, her chest wrappings and loincloth were put on the shelf, the latter two tucked in between the folds of the former three. Mikon left her towel on top for when she came back.

Now naked save for hair, her little bucket with her soap and scrubbing rock in hand, she entered the bath house proper.

It was filled with the usual after-dinner crowd, though thankfully not full. The little Lady Binder met her eye and nodded to her in greeting as she leaned back and relaxed in one of the pools of warm water. Other women were scattered around in various stages of bathing, while others sat in the pools and gossiped. Her cousin Vidts and Gutsi as well as their mutual aunt Taji were kneeling in front fo the water trough, in the middle of putting up their hair.

"Hey, cousin," Vidts said, grinning toothily. "How're the wives and husband?"

"I plan to have them tonight," Mikon said honestly, "so I'm getting clean so that I'm not smelly there." Rian liked the way they smelled after a bath, which was why they'd started bathing every night.

Gutsi rolled her eyes. "Good luck with that," she said with a smirk.

Aunt Taji smiled indulgently. "A little ripeness won't deter a man, Mikon. They just want to get in, they don't care what it smells like."

"Aren't you the only one of your sisters who didn't get married, auntie?" Mikon said, doing her best to mimic the flat tone Binder Lori used when saying something pointed. The common rumor in the village she'd grown up in was that half of her cousins were Aunt Taji's, which as she'd grown up started making more sense than Aunt Kasco having that many children so close together.

"Cheeky brat," Aunt Taji said, her smile indulgent but with a bit of an edge. Mikon didn't press any further. "Well, if you think it will help. You'd know best how to bed your man. And women, I suppose."

"When do we get a turn? I want my own house too," Vidts said.

"Go ahead," Mikon said fearlessly, "give it a try. Let's see how badly you do."

"Can't be any worse than you, Mimi," Vidts snapped back. "You had all winter. If you can't manage it during winter… or were you too busy trying to get to the wives?"

"All rights, that's enough of that," Aunt Taji said. "Get washing you too, and let Mimi so the same."

Mikon nodded in thanks to her aunt, but moved to have her bath somewhere else. Her cousins waved goodbye to her as she made for the other end of the water trough to wash in slightly more relative privacy.

She washed quickly, taking one of the many wooden dippers to splash warm on her shoulders and below. Even after a year, the warm wetness was still a wonderfully indulgent feeling. No having to get buckets of cold water from the well once a week and scrubbing with sap and rocks, squatting with a loincloth and having to throw rocks at the perverts who came by their house to peek.

Mikon rubbed the soap on her hands, and gave her limbs a quick pass. She paid more care to her torso, and as far up her back as she could reach by herself. Then she took her soap and, hoping no one thought she was doing anything inappropriate, and started cleaning between her legs. She made sure to scrub at her thighs as well, to deter people thinking she was being publicly obscene. She rinsed off, then did a second pass, just in case. It was the best she could do.

––––––––––––––––––

Mikon was a little chilly when she go back home, and was glad for the warmth of the fire as she closed the door behind her. "I'm home," she announced needlessly.

Rian turned from where he was sitting in front of the alter-like table, his plank and a charred stick in front of him. He did that sometimes, just sat there looking thoughtful and sometimes writing something on his plank. She wouldn't be surprised if he'd just sat there staring at it for most of the time she'd been in the bath. He was a very thoughtful man, sometimes too much so. "Hey, Mikon. Welcome back."

Umu looked up from where she was spinning ropeweed thread on the bed, the glowing rock Binder Lori had given Rian next to her to give her more light. "Finally," the blonde said. "Come on, help me lay out the blankets." Her hair had already been braided, a leather cord tied on the end like a ribbon. A part of Mikon was disappointed at not being here to help her with that, but Umu had no doubt enjoyed Rian doing it for her. It wasn't as neat as if Mikon had helped braid it, but Rian was surprisingly able. He said he'd helped his sister and sister-in-law braid their hair when he'd been younger.

"Just let me get changed," Mikon said as she put her bucket and towel on her part of the shelf. She began to undo the ties of her blouse as she started to get undressed. Her blouse came off, revealing her bare chest that she hadn't bound again after her bath. She folded it negligently and placed it on her shelf.

"Hurry up, Mikon," Erzebed said from where she' was on the bed, leaning back on the wall with her eyes closed, already wearing one of Mikon's skirts that she wore to bed after Rian had asked her not to go to bed with her legs bared. She always took any opportunity to nap, even when it was just before going to bed. Especially when it was just before going to bed. While they didn't lie with Rian in the way Binder Lori had assumed they had—she was the only one in the demesne who had assumed they had—they hadn't exactly been idle. They knew quite well the taste of Rian's lips…. "You know Rian won't stop staring at the wall until you put a blouse on."

Mikon didn't reply as she undid her skirt and let it fall before stepping out of it and folding that as well. Her skin was warm and gold, and she was suddenly conscious of the fact that she wasn't wearing her loin cloth. She was naked now, fully naked, her hips and groin bare…

She took a deep breath and calmly—well, slowly—placed her skirt on top of her blouse. They were still good, so she'd wear them tomorrow. She put on a smile that probably looked nothing like normal, but pressed on ahead as she turned and stepped towards the bed to start laying out the blankets. "All right, Erzebed, time to move," she said, trying to act like she wasn't suddenly feeling self-conscious about the fact her hips were bare to the wind. "Let Rian lie down."

"The colors?" Ah, Erzebed had opened her eyes.

Mikon ignored the way the other two women were staring at her as she unfurled the blankets and arranged them at the foot of the bed so that they could be pulled up once everyone had lain down. Usually, she pulled them up for the others before she got into bed herself so that the blankets were evenly distributed. It was the role she'd fallen into, making sure that her man and her women were taken care of, even as they took it for granted.

"All right," she said with some forced nonchalance and cheer. "Come on everyone, let's get into bed." There was a sound behind her. She supposed Rian had seen her naked back and had immediately turned around again. "You can stare at the wall from the bed, Rian. It's not going anywhere. Umu, can you put the rock on the shelf?"

Umu picked up the rock and did so, her eyes not leaving Mikon. "What do you think you're doing?" the blonde demanded. "Put some clothes on!"

"No," Mikon said placidly, even as she felt her face redden as she wondered if anyone outside had heard that exclamation. "I'd rather not soil them. They're still good to wear tomorrow as they are. So I'll sleep like this tonight. Riz, do you mind if I sleep next to Rian?" She forced herself to smile wider and wink. "We can switch back after he's done with me."

"Doesn't sound like you plan to sleep," Erzebed said as Rian made another sound.

"Don't you remember what Binder Lori said? It's a euphemism. It means—"

"I know what it means!"

"Do I have a say in this?" Rian said from behind her. His voice sounded… strained.

Mikon turned and stepped up behind Rian, pressing against his back. Her arms came up and wrapped around his shoulders. "Of course you do, Rian," she said, making sure she breathed into his ear even as she took care to speak gently yet loudly enough that that Erzebed and Umu still heard her. "You know her Bindership would be very upset with us if you didn't. It's completely up to you. If you just want to lie down and sleep, you can. Though if you wished to…"  She swallowed, but forced the words out, "to fill me, you may. As much as you want. Or you can fill Erzebed. She has quite lovely hips, supple and firm. Or you can fill Umu. Her hips are lovely too, and she probably feels wonderful to hold in your arms as you fill her again and again…"

She took a deep breath and stepped back. "Or not. We can all just do what we do every night. Your lips feel wonderful, and I'd like to taste it more, if you'd let me. Or we could all just lie down and go to sleep. You no doubt have a long day tomorrow, dealing with River's Fork again."

"Don't stare at my hips," Umu muttered.

Erzebed, however, was looking between Mikon and Rian, her face conflicted. Finally she let out a sigh, reached down, and started undoing the ties that held up the skirt, letting them fall and pool on the floor. "If you want to fill anyone, Rian, I'm willing."

Mikon sighed and walked towards her. She watched Mikon warily, but Mikon only bent down to pick up the skirt, shaking it to get the dust off and folding it before putting it on the shelf between her and Erzebed's parts. "Be more careful with that," she chided. "You're not doing any laundry, so don't get them dirty."

The militiawoman looked guilty for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Yes, mother,"

Mikon reached over and began to undo the buttons on Erzebed's shirt. "Unless you sleep naked with your mother," she said, handling the buttons softly lest Erzebed slap her hands away, "don't call me that." She undid the last button and drew back her hands. "Or would it put you in the mood? Don't worry, I won't tell her."

A mildly disgusted look came over Erzebed's face. "That's perverse."

"You're the one who started calling her mother," Rian's voice pointed out.

Mikon glanced over her shoulder. Rian had turned around, but he was staring down at the floor. His arousal was obvious as always, however, more so since it didn't have a blanket over it…

Erzebed took off her shirt, just tossing it atop the skirt and making Mikon want to sigh. Well, at least it wasn't on the floor. The militiawoman tugged at the ends of her chest wraps, before beginning to unwrap them. On the other side of the bed, Umu, looking pained was in the midst of taking off her blouse as well, glancing between Mikon, Erzebed and Rian as she did so.

"You don't need to undress too, Umu," Mikon said gently.

"Well, I want to!" she said, though her flushed features and shallow breathing gave away the lie.

Turning away to give the embarrassed but determined blonde a semblance of privacy—next to her, Erzebed was taking off her loincloth with determination—Mikon faced Rian again, who was still staring down at the floor. She could see his eyes flicking about, almost rising up to meet them. She walked forward, entering his field of view, and his head and eyes instantly snapped upward, lips pressing together in what seemed to be embarrassment as he stared up at the corner of the ceiling.

"Rian," she said gently, "come to bed? You need to rest for tomorrow, when you go back to River's Fork."

Something changed in Rian's eyes at her words. He seemed to grow tired at the very thought. His gaze lowered, until he was meeting her eyes. "Mikon…" he said hesitantly.

She leaned forward, and kissed him. She did so softly, gently, knowing he'd draw back if she was too forceful. She wanted to press up against him, to feel his shirt on her chest, his arousal pressing against her…

Mikon drew back reluctantly, opening her eyes to meet his again. "Come to bed, Rian," she repeated gently. "You don't have to do anything. But… you can if you want to. And we'd really like it if you did." She reached down and took his hold of his hands as she stepped back towards the bed.

Rian followed.