[ CLOSED ] I'm in here, can anybody see me?

[ombranera]

WHO: Cade, Nerva, Zevran
WHAT: Discussing some delicate details
WHEN: After Zevran Returns from Antiva
WHERE: Cade's Room
NOTES: Self flagellation, flogging as therapy (kind of), vaguely BDSM lifestyle related setup.

Nerva's idea, truly, to meet Cade in his room. To discuss this where he would either feel his most safe or his most Vulnerable- Zevran honestly could not say. He kept to the shadows out of habit and followed along behind her as she made her way to the door, as she knocked and was given leave to enter by the Tranquil that tended Cade night and day.

Zevran slipped in afterward, standing off to the side, silent and unobtrusive.

Comments

[onlyhymns]

This time, Cade didn't push him. He took a sip from the vial, then several more: exactly as many as he'd been instructed, his hands shaking. He then rested his elbows on his knees, hands cupped around his mouth, and took a deep breath as the potion began to work.
"...all right," he said, offering a weak smirk, "...um. It hurts." He shuddered as some of the pain ebbed away, though the constant burn of it remained.

The reassurance made him feel a bit better, despite the pain-- it was over now, he had taken it well. As long as he could believe that the practice had cleansed him, even temporarily, he would be able to put his worries to rest for a while.

[ombranera]

"Give the potion a moment to do it's work and let me know if you want the salve." Zevran himself sat in his chair after setting the cat aside, taking a few pulls from the waterskin. Whipping was hard work, after all. But hard work that was worthwhile if only for the peace that seemed to sink into Cade afterward.

The matter was shut. No more meetings would be missed.

"You will likely still be bruised tomorrow, differently than you were last time. As such I recommend you take it easy and perhaps sleep on your side tonight to spare yourself soreness you are unaccustomed to."

[onlyhymns]

Cade nodded to express his understanding, but shook his head to the salve. Too much touching, too much soothing. He wanted to be reminded for a while.
He nodded again to Zevran's suggestions, and, remembering the apple, took it off the table to bite into it again. After chewing thoughtfully for several moments, he glanced up at Zevran and murmured, "thank you."

[ombranera]

"You are welcome, Cade." What he took away from this was quite different than he might have were the situation different- but that was not the point of this. Cade was reminded, minded, and cared for in a way he could find acceptable.