tampered | (no subject)

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Location: Temple Hotsprings

(no subject)

When; January 25, Night, post-Kimimaro fight
Rating; PG-13, may change, given Greed's propensity for losing his clothes.
Characters; Greed

so_very_greed and Fran

not_a_bunny
Summary; Greed invites Fran over for a soak in the springs and talk about "Humes."
Log;

Greed was already at the bottom of the steps to the temple when Fran arrived, twirling the temple keys in his hands.

"Sup, babe! Nice to see ya' again! Glad you could come on over. Right this way, pretty lady."

He walked up to her, holding out his arm.

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Having been assured by others that her choice of wear was nothing to change, Fran hadn't bothered. Though, she had foregone her armour for something decidedly less violent, given the nature of the meeting, and had obtained something Vieran. It was casual enough, she hoped, smoothing down the sheer fabric that draped her hips, and slightly less revealing than her armour apparently was. Either way, Sir Greed didn't seem to care about the way she dressed, so she wouldn't put forth the effort to feel self-conscious. It wasn't within her, after all.

Mouth curving, expression surprisingly soft without her helmet obscuring her features, Fran curled a long-nailed hand lightly around the dark-haired Hume's arm, arms swiveling to catch his voice.

"It was kind of you to invite me," she responded lightly, accented voice gentle and serene, dark orange eyes curious as they flickered over his face. "Especially given your popular nature."

His eyes traced over her features, from the ears, to her soft face and exotic eyes, to her pert nose. He had briefly wondered about her strange accent, but assumed that it was a Vieran thing. Something that added to her charm.

He clasped her hand with his own and escorted her up the stairs, commented off-hand about the various plants and animals they saw along the way.

"What do you mean? You though I'd be busy? I'm never too busy for a woman. I never sleep, so it gives me a lot of time on my hands."

Violet, feral-slit pupils took in her body.

"That's a very nice outfit. Do all Vierans dress so elegantly?"

What a shameless flatterer he was. He was as bad as Balthier, surely, though Balthier had at least been around her long enough now that he was casual with her. --Still, it was sweet, and she couldn't help but feel pleased at the attention. He was.. solicitous, affectionate without being lewd. It was a pleasant change of pace from the Hume men she usually encountered.

But then, he wasn't Hume, was he?

"We do, yes," she said by way of response, heels clicking on the stone as her eyes flickered over the various things he had pointed out. "It gives us a greater range of movement. We normally do not prefer shoes, either, but they are necessary in cities." And without her shoes, like all Viera, she walked on the balls of her feet; it was simply the way they were built.

"You said that you don't sleep.. that you regenerate.." Her free hand lifted, nails tracing around the outer edge of one of his eyes delicately. "Your eyes are strange.. These are all properties of your species?"

He grasped the hand in his own and gently laid a kiss on top of her hand, then turned it to do the same to her palm.

"Homunculi aren't really a 'species' per say. We're more like an aberration of science. Superior to humans, or 'Humes' as you call them, but also less than them. We're stronger, faster, we regenerate, barely feel pain, and don't need food, air, sleep, or have to regain stamina. On the downside, we're just false people," he shrugged, "We can't do magic or alchemy, we don't have souls, we can't reproduce even though we have sex, and we tend to cause a generally 'off' feelin' in people who have a sensitivity to the unnatural."

They had happened upon the massive entrance doors while Greed was talking, after which he used the keys to let them both inside.

"Step in, please. Feel free to leave your shoes right here."

He kicked off his shoes and took a few more steps inside.

Hesitating only momentarily, Fran swiftly crouched and untied the laces on her heels, letting the thin strips of cloth slither down her calves as she stepped out of them. Her toenails were really more like claws, her feet as elegant as the rest of her, if ultimately foreign and unusual. More rabbit-like traits; she had never considered it before.

Padding forward, she glanced around at the interior of the building, breath soft and reverent in her throat. --To some, this entire area was a holy place, and she could feel the aura of it as strongly as if she were home in the Golmore Jungle.

She suddenly, fiercely, missed her home. Her sisters. Her people.

Taking a shuddering breath, she slid a hand over Greed's shoulder, his solid, steady presence grounding her again. His unusual nature was enough to incite her curiousity at any time, even when she was at her most distracted.

He was a handsome creature; even she, who cared little for Hume males, could see and appreciate that. The teeth, rather than frightening, were intriguing, and she couldn't help but be amused by his rather.. flirtatious manner. Not as gallant and chivalrous as Balthier, certainly, but charming nonetheless.

And he couldn't die.

She prayed that he would become an ally in the city she'd found herself in. She had precious few.

"Talk to me," she begged, keeping her voice steady only barely. "Tell me something---something about yourself. You said that you're a homunculus. Are there many of you? You don't seem 'false' to me.."

[ooc: SOKAYDON'TWORRY! XD]

He led her through the interior, passing different rooms, training halls, and storage rooms. He took a moment to peruse the different ancient weapons lining the walls before answering her.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned, "Ya' seem kinda' nervous."

Taking a chance, he put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her a bit closer.

"Don't worry about a thing, okay? I can take care of problems pretty well."

After rubbing her shoulder, he led her around the corner and into a large kitchen where many types of foods could be seen cooking, along with some tea and sake bubbling nearby. The smell was positively mouthwatering.

"We're rare. We're not even a species. It's like we can have sex but we can't really breed. Entirely sterile. A little trade off for our power, I guess. Humans CREATE us with forbidden alchemy, though I only know of the Old Man as being the only one to really do it. It's a tricky business."

He made up a steaming jug of sake and another of tea, then hoisted them over his shoulder.

"We're false because we ain't natural, Fran. We don't have souls. When we die, we just disappear. As in, gone. Luckily, that's hard to do, because of the regeneration."

They stopped in front of a large sliding glass door with a doorway across from them on either side.

"Ah! The hot springs! Grab a towel from the girls locker and I'll do the same. We can meet out there at the first pool."

Pondering over that as she slithered out of her clothing and wrapped herself in a towel, Fran twisted her long hair up into a loose pile on the top of her head, securing it with a couple of pins she usually used for stray wisps. And then she was moving out to meet Greed, long legs carrying her across the short distance with graceful ease.

To most people, she was probably somewhat intimidating with her height and cool expression, even dressed in so little as a towel. However, she'd seemed to soften somewhat to Greed, and had no problem at all offering him a brief, affectionate smile as her ears swiveled forward again.

"You know," she said as she watched him, fingers loose against the towel, other hand smoothing down her hip lightly, "I think you have rather more of a soul than some Humes I have met. And that, to me, is all that matters."

His eyes traced her body as he gave an appreciative whistle.

"Damn Fran, you are absolutely stunning! That towel suits you nicely," he said, extending his hand to her to lead her outside. Once there, he set down the sake and tea jugs on a floating tray, which he anchored in the steaming pool of spring water.

He quickly doffed his clothes and draped his towel over his shoulder, then smacked himself in the forward when he realized he had to put it around his waist.

"Care to come in? Water's very nice."

Mouth quirking at Greed's 'slip', Fran slid fluidly into the spring, eyes sliding shut at the water's temperature. It was honestly just perfect. And it had been so long since she'd just been able to indulge like this. Granted, Balthier tended to spoil her when he had the chance, but they could never just relax.

Sliding wet hands through her hair and over her ears, she gave a tiny, pleasured sigh, gaze flickering toward Greed in grateful affection.

"Thank you for this," she said, sliding a hand over his forearm lightly. "I believe that I needed it. You do not really realise how tense you are until you can be leisurely." It was really no wonder he was so popular with the other women if he treated them so nicely; not that she was quite so silly as some of them, but still. Perhaps she could see why some of them loved their men so much.

Greed slid closer to her and picked up the hand that had previously been on his arm. He pressed his lips to the top of it, then against her palm on the underside.

"It's my utmost duty to help women. I adore them," he said, massaging her arm, "Anything I can do to make you feel more at ease is fine with me. Care to turn your back to me? It's hard to reach your shoulders like this."

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