Fire on the Water

[BlackAkuma]

On the surface, Asp maintained her cool demeanor, not wanting to ruin the subtle heat between the two of them with a giddy outburst. But underneath? She was roaring.

She had the ache of a performer who had gone too long without performing. As much as she loved wrestling and as close as it came combining combat with art, it was still a far cry from what she had made her living on beforehand, when she went from town to town to town with new faces every night. She had missed the practices, the choreography, the mesmerized eyes, the applause. Call it vanity, but it was real, all the same.

The chance to perform again, even for a single person, certainly appealed. Especially for a person like Beatrice - bright, beautiful, and skilled in her own right.

So generous with the compliments, too. ”Such flattery.” She playfully lashed out with her braid, whipping it her way. ”But by all means, don’t stop.”

Asp did a few breathing exercises - quick intakes, in and out and in and out - and finished her stretching as she prepared her body for what was to come, making sure all the muscles were ready to work in a way they had so little cause to, these days. She would’ve liked more time, but she didn’t want to spend minutes on the floor, pulling her limbs into various positions as she limbered up. Though, somehow, she doubted Beatrice would complain.

Soon enough, Beatrice found the

[media]]

she was looking, and by Asp’s opinion, she’d picked a good one. While she wasn’t familiar with the tune, she had come across enough music to know when there was something with genuine effort and when someone was whipped on a computer in less than ten minutes. The ululating vocals, the earthy beats, the steady drum…

Yes, this would do nicely.

Off came the shoes, kicked to the side with casual flicks of her feet. While Asp could do this with them on, she would much rather feel the floor beneath her feet, have those tactile sensations to work with. There was a reason she found the term ‘bellydancing’ so silly, though she would never correct anyone on it: It put far too much emphasis on the stomach. While that was important, this art called on the whole body. Asp intended to show Beatrice exactly what that entailed.

It started at the legs, which Beatrice seemed quite keen on before. A slow, rolling wave moving through them, her feet lightly gliding from step to step, gathering speed along with the music, until it inexorably came to her hips.

There she gained speed, picking up the pace and finding her rhythm. She moved now, her toes sliding along the floor as she shimmed from side to side, drawing closer to Beatrice by increments. Little by little, the gap was closing, but she was careful to never be too overt. Like a cautious predator, working towards her prey. Patience. Playful.

The stomach, the ‘belly’. The wave made is way higher, and here it was truly like water. She let it flow through like a living thing, as if the muscles at her midsection were a creature all by themselves, a living thing that could move on its own will. Undulating, morphing along her ribs, forcing her upper body to bend and twist along with it.

Asp bent back, back, back, pulling her body to an angle that would’ve made most women scream for mercy, if they could find the breath to scream at all, her arms raised high as the twisted above her, before she threw herself forward and spun about. Her braid sliced through the air like fiery whip, and she twisted along with it, avoiding the coil about her neck, until she came a stop

Just in front of Beatrice. Close now, resuming her dance less than a foot away. Close enough for her to touch, if she wished.

As she went on, Asp extended her leg, planted her foot, raised her heel, and presented her full leg, well within her reach. Slim, taut, hardened, brimming with muscle, she practically put it on display as she looked down on her with heavy, half-lidded eyes and the smallest hint of a pout. Daring her. Tempting her.

[Liesmith]

Head bent over her phone, Tris’ attention was chiefly devoted to hunting down the track she’d decided on. She’d danced to it herself once or twice and she was curious to see what Aspasia and her style of dance would make of it.

That didn’t mean she was blind to the gorgeous woman warming up only a few feet away. Breathing, stretching… And she did notice but chiefly in a practical sense; after spending so much time in changing rooms with naked or nearly-naked women, the basic physicality of a dancer getting herself ready lost its eroticism.

Not that she’d ever object and she certainly appreciated the opportunity to see the effect the differing positions had on the other redhead’s mesmerising body.

But she was much more interested in the show to come.

The wait was short though. Aspasia readied herself. Tris cued up the music, absently nodding her head to the backing beat as she settled herself comfortably.

And the performance more than measured up to her expectations. It was not any part in particular that Tris found herself focused on. It was the display of muscle control that drew her in.

Her control of her own body was impressive, she knew. She was no lightweight but she could support her weight upside down with just the grip of her adductors or twist herself into positions that seemed to defy anatomy.

Aspasia on the other hand was doing things Tris hadn’t even imagined. While slinking closer, oh, she hadn’t failed to spot that. But that was impressive in itself. Aspasia was stalking her almost, two steps closer then a step back so as to deceive the eye.

Tris liked it. She was pinching that trick for later (not the only one either).

And suddenly Aspasia was very close. Within reach, even, towering over her like a goddess as she continued her dance. Hips writhing, twisting. A leg came up, offered to her like a boon to a worshipper.

Leaning back on her braced arms, Tris let her hooded gaze rake slowly upwards, taking in first every inch of the proffered leg before playing over the rippling plane of Aspasia’s abdomen and on up until her pale blue gaze met warm amber.

Playfully, she cocked her head to the side, her full lips quirking in a challenging smirk. Clearly appreciating the display the other woman was putting on but equally showing no signs of going to touch.

Because this play? It was cute, really cute. But Tris knew this script by heart and Aspasia was going to have to do a little better if she wanted to tempt this temptress.

Even if that was a very attractive leg.

[BlackAkuma]

Asp had never done exotic dancing herself, not in the way that Beatrice had, but she wasn’t unfamiliar with the style, having studied - yes, studied - it more than a few times, both for her amusement and education. She found more in common with belly dancing than many would expect, aside from both being dances meant to entice and allure the watcher. Chiefly, both were like jazz - spontaneous, reactionary. Moves and moments would be practiced, but the best of both styles worked with their audience, read them to fit the moment, and went where the eyes took them.

Beatrice’s beautiful, ocean-blue eyes went to some of the most wonderful places, too.

There were the more analytical looks. Asp recognized them straight away, as she had given them to the woman herself a moment ago, and she was happy to see them returned. Beatrice wasn’t simply enjoying the show, but taking in the mechanics of it, breaking down the technique, storing it for future use. She knew when someone was looking at her and when someone was watching.

But there was hunger there, too. Desire. As Asp brought her leg forward - lean, taut, pleasing - she baited the woman, curious to see what she could tease out of her.

Oh, the fish was close. Consider the hook. Closer and closer. Thinking of it, but…no. It wasn’t mere hesitation. Beatrice was more than bold enough to take what she wanted. She simply chose not to.

“Hmhm.” Asp hummed a laugh as she slid the leg away, making sure to give Beatrice the full view as it passed. You had your chance, it said. She turned away from the woman, spun about and whipped her neck about, as she prepared to bring things up a level.

Her braid, long and flaming, was a tool she loved to integrate into her style, and she put it to work. More spin came into play, her body a whirlwind of movement, and the fiery serpent flew around her like a living thing. Wide arcs, curling like the coils of a whip. Once or twice it would even lash out at Beatrice, as if it sought to sink its fangs into her succulent flesh, but Asp would pull it back every single time. It was hers and hers alone to command.

A final twirl brought her to her knees, with the braids slithering around her outstretched arm, hugging it tightly as the limb flowed within its grip. Asp looked over her shoulder, keeping a single lazy eye on the woman, watching her through dreamy eyes.

Truly watching.

[Liesmith]

Tris wasn’t used to being on this side of the experience. Sure, she’d watched plenty of tape, had spotted other dancers or because they wanted a second opinion on something. That sort of thing.

But it was always a clinical experience, either parsed through the medium of a screen or broken down for criticism.

And Part of her had been wondering if she’d… y’know… feel anything watching Aspasia perform. Or if her knowledge would make the whole thing a bit clinical. Not that she meant bored, because she’d known Aspasia for five minutes but already felt the other woman would never be ‘boring’.

But if she’d feel detached. Cynically watching a performance without being really affected by it.

She needn’t have worried. Sure, she was learning a lot here. Things she could immediately jack into her own dance style. Things she was going to take away and ponder, maybe watch some more footage and see if she could reverse engineer them.

Some she fully intended to have Aspasia show her again but slower.

But chiefly she was just enjoying the performance, a performance given that little extra bit of spice because it was all for her. Her alone. Tris knew the trick well but it was still more than a little thrilling to know she was the sole focus of every glance from those burning amber eyes.

Not thrilling enough for her to fall for the other dancer’s tricks; Tris wondered how close she’d have gotten before the leg had been whipped away. But enough that she could feel the slow pulse of the heat building in her belly with every beat of the drums and every twist of that lithe body.

Not that it showed in her face or body, the redhead refusing to flinch as that long braid licked out like a living flame, coming perilously close to striking her as though it had a mind of its own. But Aspasia pulled it back into her whirling motion every time, making it seem as though she was enveloped in a web of fire as she danced.

Damn, Tris thought with a touch of envy, she was good. Really good – at some point, the redhead had shifted from lounging back to sitting up without any conscious thought.

But Aspasia’s exposed back gave her ideas.

A sinuous slither covered the short distance between them, until Tris’ arms slipped loose around the other redhead’s waist. The heavy weight of her ample chest pressing lightly but undeniably against her shoulder blades as the Britishwoman nuzzled in close.

“Mmm,” The sound was more a rumbling purr than anything else, “ Delightful.”

Meant entirely sincerely.

[BlackAkuma]

Asp could already tell that she liked Beatrice. Not just liked, mind you - liked.

She was affable, for the most part, and making friends came easily. She had even managed to befriend a woman whom the rest of the LAW roster feared, though at least some of that friendship revolved around her willingness to let said woman use her as a squeeze toy. It was deliberate on her part, simply the way she was brought up, with courtesy in mind and manners at the fore.

But as she whipped about and Beatrice kept her cool and calm, resisting her temptations and defying her tricks, she saw something in the woman that she could more than enjoy. There was something to admire here. Respected.

What a curious little woman fate had dropped in her lap.

She hid her desires well, better than anyone Asp could remember. But the body had a way of seeking out what the heart wanted, even when the head disapproved. She drew closer, as if pulled by a magnetism between them. And closer. And closer.

Asp welcomed the arms around her and the light touch of skin against her back. Now she was the one who had to resist - her instincts, her nerves, her hunger all cried out for more of Beatrice, already driven wild by her scent, the touch of her, the taste of her, the purring voice in her ear.

But no. Not here.

Asp smiled - the smallest, fading hint of a smile - with her heavy eyelids, and threw her hair back just enough to make her braid fall over Tris’ shoulders. She slid back, back, back, letting her shoulders press along Tris’ chest, making her hair slither along the woman’s spine, until she had freed herself from the woman’s grasp by going practically horizontal on the floor. Her knees bent, looking up at her from below, while her stomach continued to ripple like a pool of water in a storm.

Asp reached out and ran a finger along the curve of Beatrice’s jaw, her nail gently scraping the skin...

As the music reached its crescendo, she slipped away, rolled on her side, and came out with her elbows planted on the floor. Her legs rose up, lifting to the ceiling, and her palms pressed flat - a perfect handstand, her braid pooling beneath her head. Her form was every bit as immaculate as when she stood on her feet, and she kept the poise and balance as her leg went in the opposite direction

For a glorious moment, she held that pose. Every visible muscle working in tandem, every pound of her mastered and accounted for, a level of control that took years to learn and years beyond to perfect. She winked at Beatrice as the music reached what seemed to be its final note, then threw her legs back and came down on her feet, daintily setting them down on the floor.

Asp rolled her shoulder and took a second to still her beating heart before she slowly spun about on her heel and took a lazy bow. ”I might have gotten a touch carried away.” She wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead, then finally broke her facade with a chuckle as she looked Beatrice’s way. ”Are we impressed?”