Brianna leads Cliodhna downstairs and takes her to a booth in the corner that is relatively quieter than the rest of the place. Though it is only midmorning, the casino and bar are packed with wraiths desperate to put memories behind them.
Brianna watches Cliodhna for a few moments, then speaks.
"So, what is it you wished to speak to me about?" She asks, absently toying with the silverware on the table.
Cliodha clears her throat and holds her water glass in her hands, turning it around and around. "Oh...ye know...stuff that girls talk about when...you know, when it's just girls?" Cliodhna looks like she's out of her element, and she truly is. She's never engaged in what one would call "girl-talk" before in her life! "How does one do this?" she wonders to herself in a bit of a panic. "Brianna is Ahuru'a apprentice-- can I really talk to someone of that station about...personal things?" Then Cliodhna remembers Brianna asking her about what had happened between she and Memnon and giving her that look, so she decides to go for it and see what happens! Cliodhna clears her throat again. "So...what do ye think of Memnon? Does Ahuru talk about him much?" Cliodhna starts nervously twisting the glass faster in her hands.
Brianna lets out a little chuckle and smiles at Cliodhna. "We both approve, if that's what you're asking," she begins. "Memnon is a very good man." She smiles again. "He seems to have ruffled your feathers a bit though.. are you getting along ok?"
"Oh good, ye approve then! Ye know, I didn't appoint him my bodyguard-- he TOLD me he was my bodyguard-- but if you an' Ahuru approve that appointment, then I'll try ta do what Memnon says." Cliodhna responds naively, mistaking Brianna's meaning. "He IS a good man-- he won't tell me much about his life...I get the feelin' there's somethin' he's ashamed about, but don't we all have somethin' like that? Some o' us more than others!" Cliodhna smiles. "I don't know what got inta him-- I'm guessin' he's finally come outta his shell, or somethin'-- but ruffled feathers is definitely right!" Cliodhna leans in. "Bri-- how can ye tell if a man...well, what I mean ta say is..." Cliodhna taps her fingers together. "I can't tell if the man is laughin' AT me or tryin' ta be funny, so my first instinct is ta guess that he's laughin' AT me-- him bein' a Garou male, an' all." Cliodhna's brow furrows. "I keep tryin' ta make nice with him, an' then he goes an' says somethin' degradin' ta me!"
"Your bodyguard? Well now that's an interesting one. None of us told him to watch you, I think he's taken that upon himself!" Brianna flashes another smile at Cliodhna. "In fact, your recalcitrant manner towards him probably just makes it worse...some men like a challenge that way..." she trails off, musing on the subject just brought up. "I don't think that he's laughing at you.. have you noticed how he looks at you? I think he's invented this 'bodyguard' persona to have an excuse to keep you close!" Brianna chuckles.
"Ahuru hasn't said anything about it, but that's not too surprising...he is a quiet man." Brianna's eyes go soft as she speaks of her lover. "But I'm fairly sure he would have told me if he appointed Memnon your bodyguard...so I think that I'm right about Memnon's intentions!"
Cliodhna puts her fingertips over her mouth and...could she be...giggling?? She is! Her face flushes-- as normal-- and her eyes are shining. "Ye think he's...*more blushing* interested in me, Brianna?? I haven't noticed him lookin' at me except with some kind of deviousness..." Cliodhna thinks for a moment. "Ah no, he's probably very experienced with women. He's so forward with me-- he must be used ta makin' women blush an' carryin' on over him." Cliodhna's shoulders sag. "What if he's got lot's o' women after him, Bri?" Cliodhna waves to a barmaid who signals that she'll be right over. "Yer Ahuru-- he's a tall an' handsome man! Have ye had ta knock the women away from him??" The barmaid arrives and Cliodhna orders a double shot of whiskey.
"I haven't had a chance to even worry about that yet," Brianna responds. "Ahuru and I have not had much time together since we revealed our feelings for each other..." she trails off, remembering that day 10 years ago when Ahuru confronted her and drew out her confession of her love for him. She drops her head, flushing. "It has been over ten years since we spoke our feelings to each other, but in all that time, last night was the first that I have even had him to myself for more than an hour. To finally talk with him.." Brianna sighs. "This is a strange world we exist in."
Cliodhna watches Brianna with a surprised and concerned expression on her face. "Ye're serious?? An' I thought all this time that ye'd been together fer years an' years! Ah Brianna! This is tragic! How are ye able ta handle it? I'm so sorry we came an' disturbed ye-- especially considerin' Amon's still awake an' we have ta wait ta do my plan, anyhow!" Cliodhna thinks for a second, and then puts her hand on top of Brianna's. "Ah Brianna, my grandfather and grandmother were the same way. He's the leader of our cairn, an' Gran found herself takin' care o' the pub alone most o' my growin' up years on account o' Grandfather always bein' away on some sorta cairn business or another. But ye know? They're together all the time now-- now that his fightin' days are over an' he's more of a wiseman an' elder. I think once yer fightin's over, ye an' Ahuru will be able ta settle down like ye've always wished." Cliodhna smiles a warm smile at Brianna and squeezes her hand.
Brianna squeezes Cliodhna's hand in return. "I hope so...sometimes that thought is all that keeps me going! It has been so hard..." Brianna's face softens. "But the few times we have been together have been worth everything."
The barmaid brings Cliodhna her drink, and Cliodhna takes a large gulp of the whiskey and sets the glass back down with a loud clink. "Phew! I haven't had this strong a drink in many years!" Cliodhna blinks the tears back and whistles. Then she smiles at Brianna and leans in again. "Bri-- if ye don't mind me askin'-- what is Ahuru like when it's just ye an' he? Is he always so intimidatin' an' serious an'...well, ye know!" Cliodhna props up her chin in her hands with her elbows on the table and looks intently at Brianna.
"He is Ahuru -- he is always serious and indimitating!" Brianna laughs. "But not intentionally, it is just how he is. He is very protective, and kind, and gentle.. when I speak, I know that he is really listening to me..do you know what I mean? When I have his attention, I have his complete attention.." Brianna sighs again. "I am very lucky to have him."
Brianna straightens in her chair. "All these questions about my relationship...am I right in thinking that you might be considering getting into one yourself?"
"Brianna, I don't know the first thing about gettin' inta a relationship! I don't know...I thought maybe hearin' about yers would...well, give me some direction, maybe, in what it's like..." Cliodhna takes another swallow of her drink and then grins at Brianna. "Come on, then! What's Ahuru like when yer alone?" Cliodhna leans in so that her chest's almost on the table. "Does he kiss ye? Yer almost as bad as he is with avoidin' answerin' questions as he is, ye know??"
Now Brianna really does blush. "Um.. well yes he kisses me.." she starts looking around for a distraction and hurridly waves the waiter over. "I'll have what she just had," she says, then when the waiter leaves she asks Cliodhna, "What is that stuff anyway? Is it any good? I'm not very experienced with alcohol, I've really only tried wine..."
Cliodhna laughs-- her cheeks starting to turn a pink-color. "Oh Brianna, ye don't want ta start with whiskey-- whiskey is where ye end, not start!" Cliodhna jumps up and runs over to the waiter and tells him to make that a whiskey sour, and then returns grinning, and resumes her previous position of elbows on the table, chin in her hands. "Aaah-- that's so nice ta hear..." Cliodhna gets a faraway look on her face as she smiles, thinking how romantic it is that Ahuru kisses Brianna. Then she looks down at her drink and pushes it to the side. "Now ye see why I don't drink, normally-- I must sound like a fool!" Cliodhna rubs her finger lightly around the rim of her glass. "Brianna...can I ask ye a personal question? I mean, REALLY personal?" Cliodhna glances up at Brianna's face.
Brianna nods, realizing that if Cliodhna and Memnon are going to get together, she needs to sound more encouraging. "Certainly, anything."
"Maybe I'm gettin' ahead o' myself...let me ask this first." Cliodhna takes a breath. "In the Shadowlands..." Cliodhna looks at the ceiling. "Wraiths...can they, um, well, have-- you know-- a physical relationship?" Cliodhna leans in so her face is inches from Brianna's and whispers, "sex?" Then she hurriedly sits back, almost knocking over her drink.
Brianna's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Well.. yes, of course they can.. as long as they haven't moliated themselves to make it impossible..sensation isn't the same here as in the skinlands, but we can do anything the living do.." she guestures to the drink in front of Cliodhna. "I'm sure that doesn't taste the same as you remember from being alive, but the semblance is much the same."
Cliodhna looks down at the drink for a moment, and a look of relief seems to come over her face. "I'll assume ye had sex when ye were alive-- is it better or worse as a Wraith?" Cliodhna holds her glass in both hands tightly. "Bri? Did YOU enjoy sex at all when ye were livin'?" Cliodhna glances up at Brianna and then back down at her drink.
Brianna frowns. "I don't like to think about that," she finally admits. "You have heard of the stories of the spectre Scar? He is who I was with, when I was living... he was very selfish, I didn't like it, or him, but I was alone and I didn't know what else to do but stay with him.." she trails off. "Anyway that is all in the past.. Ahuru is wonderful.." she smiles, and blushes again. "So I'd have to say, it is MUCH better!"
Cliodhna laughs when she sees Brianna blush-- feeling better about her own self-consciousness with love-topics-- and then pats Brianna's hand a couple time and smiles. Then her face grows serious and she puts her hands back on her glass. "Bri-- I know exactly what ye mean about not knowin' what else ta do...bein' alone." She suddenly take the glass and swigs back the rest of its contents in three big gulps. She slams the glass down and looks around for the waitor while blinking back tears and exhaling, but she doesn't see him. She turns back to look at Brianna and her eyes are starting to look a littl bloodshot. "I've only been with one man...MAN! HA!" she lets out a loud laugh. "Not much of a man when the cairn got through with him! Stupid, selfish men! Stupid Garou men! Stupid...STUPID..." the drink is having a sudden strong affect on Cliodhna, and Brianna can see that it's Cliodhna's temper that's becoming uninhibited as she grows angrier and angrier, continuing to mutter about men more loudly.
Brianna watches Cliodhna's temper flare up, coupled with her increased drunkenness, and is very glad when the waiter finally arrives with her drink. Unbidden, memories of Connor start flowing to the surface and she angrily pushes them back down as she concentrates on Cliodhna.
"Cliodhna, it's okay.. do you want to talk about it?" Brianna puts her hand over Cliodhna's. "What's wrong with Garou men?" she asks curiously.
Cliodhna grabs the waitor's sleeve and asks for another double whiskey. He gives her a disapproving look after taking in her mood, but murmurs that he'll be right back with that and hurries off. "Garou men..." Cliodhna says in a low hiss, "...are as incapable of pleasin' a woman as a blind man with no arms or legs!" Cliodhna scowls at her empty glass. "I may not be speakin' from much experience, but the experience I had..." Cliodhna laughs bitterly and shakes her head. "...I'll be thinkin' twice before I try that again, that's all I'm sayin'!" The waitor returns with the glass and Cliodhna grabs it away from him greedily and takes a large gulp. "That bastard...he almost left me barren after what he did, Bri! Not that it woulda mattered..." Cliodhna is starting to slur a little when she talks. She stares off into space and her face is a mask of agony as she relives that time when she was 19. "Such pain...so much blood..." Cliodhna puts her face in her hands, then remembers her drink and takes a quick sip before holding her head again. "Bastard...bastard..." she trails off in a sad voice.
"Oh Cliodhna...I'm sorry..." Brianna moves over in the booth until she's sitting next to her friend and puts her arms around her. "Did he....change?" She asks hesitantly, wishing she knew more about werewolves. "Does that happen to all of them?"
Cliodhna suddenly feels all the emotion of years of anger, sadness, and secrecy well up within her, and it rushes out unbidden like a damn bursting. Her body wracks with sobs, and she turns quickly and throws her arms around Brianna-- face pressed against her shoulder-- and cries for a while. The sobbing finally dies down to quiet crying, and then to sniffles, and finally Cliodhna brings her face up-- wiping at her cheeks and eyes hastily. "Oh God, Bri-- I didna mean ta do that! Jesus-- ye must think the army's lead by an emotional wreck! I read once-- before I died-- that the longer ye hold things in, the bigger the scene when they come out." Cliodhna sniffles and wipes at her eyes again.
"Ye guessed right, Bri. Sean..." Cliodhna pauses, the name causing her to shiver, "...was very drunk...very drunk." Cliodhna pushes her drink away. "Our caern had been sent ta the east coast ta rid a town of a leech-problem they were havin'. The leeches were comin' over across the sea from England," Cliodhna's eyes narrow, "an' the smaller groups we sent over ta scout never came back, so finally all the warriors o' the caern went-- joined with another caern-- seein' as how the town couldna defend itself. We were victorious, an' that night there was a big...big celebration. All the Garou and kinfold were drinkin' and dancin' an' laughin'. I had gotten the feelin' fer years that Sean had an interest in me, but I was too caught up in what I was doin' an' wanted ta stay focused so I could gain respect with the caern. So that night he came over ta where I was sittin' with the leaders o' the caern an' asked me ta dance. One o' the leaders-- Siobhan was her name-- started smilin' an' pushin' at me, tellin' me ta stop bein' such a stick in the mud all the time an' dance with the man, so I finally did."
Cliodhna starts reaching for her glass without thinking, but then quickly pulls her hand back as if there were a scorpion in the glass instead of whiskey. "Well I'm ramblin' on!" she laughs. "We danced, an' he asked if he could kiss me, an', well, I was 19 an' had never been kissed, so naturally I was curious, an' so I told him yes. Gaia, but his breath stank-- his mouth sticky with the beer-- slobberin' all over me out o' control! Then he asked if I'd like ta go fer a walk with him, an' I agreed-- I was curious!" Cliodhna says, as if trying to convince Brianna that she made the right decision. "We passed other couples off by theirselves in the foliage and bushes, an' I started feelin' like it wasn't fair that I was 19 an' so inexperienced compared ta the rest o' the caern! So when Sean pulled my behind a tree an' started kissin' me again, it made me feel...well, desireable, ye know? Well, one thing led ta another, an'..." Cliodhna pauses, staring off into space again. This time the pause is rather long, but finally Cliodhna starts speaking again in a hushed tone.
"He bein' very drunk, he was quite clumsy. I tried ta follow his lead-- to know what ta do-- but his hands were everywhere. By the time we were unclothed he was quiet desperate, an' I got pushed face-first onto the ground," Cliodhna crosses her arms protectively over her chest, squeezing her shoulders as she continues. "Sean..." Cliodhna flinches, and her eyes stay closed as she continues, "took me in the wrong place fer a time-- he didna hear my shouts, an' I suppose he thought my struggles were part o' the fun-- but finally my rage broke an' I was able ta push myself away from him an' start backin' up while facin' him. He lunged at me an' grabbed me, an' I punched him in the face an' told him ta settle down. That seemed ta sober him enough that he stopped an' apologized, an' started beggin' fer a second chance. I finally gave in, an' layed facin' the sky."
"Losin' my maidenhood was painful, an' as Sean continued, I didna feel any pleasure-- I felt numb." Cliodhna looks at Brianna intently. "Why do people enjoy sex? Why are all the nations o' the world so obsessed by this singular act! Ye see it everywhere! Ye hear about it everywhere! An' why? WHY? It's completely overrated-- that's what I think!" Cliodhna says, her jaw tight. "In any case, after a time I finally told Sean that I was gettin' no pleasure outta this, an' when would he be done, then? So he started goin' faster an' all that, but still nothin'. I let out a sigh of disappointment, an' I think he thought I was yawnin', or somethin', ta insult him..." Cliodhna's face starts clenching up again and she quickly looks down. Squeezing her arms tighter, she starts rocking a little. Her voice is higher and shuddering. "He got this look on his face, an' told me he'd 'give it ta me, then,' an' I rolled my eyes, an' that's when he started ta Change. I clung ta him with my hands, tellin' him ta stop...that I was sorry an' didna mean it...but he couldna be stopped. An' then the pain started-- oh such intense pain!! He was outta control! I felt his nails tear the skin on my back an chest an arms, an' I started screamin' fer him ta stop. This only made him crazier, an' finally when he reached Crinos, I felt something..." Cliodhna's voice catches. "...inside o' me tear," her eyes are shut tightly now, "an' then the blood started comin' an' comin' outta me, an' the Garou who pulled him off o' me said that they thought there was a banshee loose in the woods by my screams."
Cliodhna slumps back against the booth, her fingertips pressed against her eyelids. "The healers worked on me all night, an' they said they were able ta repair...ta repair my female organs, but I was lucky. I didna stop bleedin' fer quite a time-- I don't even remember bein' carried from the woods ta the small house, but I must have made quite a sight. The next mornin' Sean was tried by the caern. His sentence was given quickly-- he was to be immasculated, an' then torn limb from limb. I was standin' pale an' weak by the elders throughout the trial, but they gave me the honor," Cliodhna pauses for a quick second. "...the honor a bein' the one ta severe the cursed manhood from his body. Then the rest o' the caern lept in an' it was all over in seconds." Cliodhna suddenly feels exhausted and slumps against Brianna. "So ta answer yer question, it is against Garou law ta change inta Crinos EVER while engaged in intercourse, whether ye be Lupus or Homid." Cliodhna lets out a big breath.
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Brianna listens, horrified, as Cliodhna's tale unfolds. "Oh, gods.." she says, keeping her arm around the woman as she cries. Brianna's mind is racing around in circles as Cliodhna sniffles beside her, and finally her thoughts are formulated so she speaks.
"I never knew why people made such a fuss about it either," Brianna begins. "I thought maybe it was just something men enjoyed..Connor would get very angry if I tried to tell him no, so I learned to just close my eyes and wait for it to be over. He didn't like me to tell him no over anything, not just sex, so I stopped trying. Sometimes he hurt me...sometimes he didn't.. but I never learned why women would want it." She frowns a bit, taking another sip of her drink and continuing.
"After I first appeared here in the Shadowlands, all I could think about was finding Connor, getting back with him.. everything was twisted in my mind, he had emotionally beaten me down to believe that without him I was nothing. I forgot the bad things and just remembered the good.. but then as I was here longer the true memories began to surface. I vowed I'd never be with another man again, I was beginning to discover, with Ahuru's help, (who was my teacher at the time) that I was strong on my own, that I was a good person and I didn't need him anymore. Then we discovered that he had appeared here as a Spectre, and was intent on capturing me for Markova..." Brianna shakes her head.
"Anyhow.. somewhere in the course of being Ahuru's student, I realized that I was in love with him..completely, intensely..more emotion that I'd ever felt at one time bubbled up to the surface every time I saw him. But I was afraid, remembering what my only other relationship was like, and knowing how old and powerful Ahuru was.. if he hadn't confronted me, and revealed his own feelings for me when he did, I would never have told him, and he would have died before I ever had a chance to say that I loved him. He knew that would happen..which is why he took me aside when he did.. and showed me the painting he did when he was still living, all those thousands of years ago.." Brianna trails off again, lost in her thoughts.
She turns and looks at Cliodhna with an intense expression. "Being with Ahuru was magical. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. He is kind and gentle and giving, and even here with our dulled sensations it was the most wonderful thing that ever could have happened between us. Do not write off that part of life just yet, Cliodhna. I promise you, when you find the right man, and give your heart to him, he will show you what it truely means to be a woman." She gives Cliodhna a squeeze, finally letting her go, hoping that she had found the right words to say to start Cliodhna on the path to healing her scarred soul.
Cliodhna watches Brianna intently while she speaks. "Oh Bri-- ye DO understand!" She impulsively throws her arms around Brianna and hugs her tight for a few seconds. "I was takin' a real chance there, sharin' that story. I made the caern swear to keep everythin' a secret from the people back in Limerick-- especially my grandparents and mother. I was ashamed of what had happened-- I didn't want Mother ta know that I'd...had sex...ye know. I just didn't want anyone else ta know what had happened. The elders who stayed with me all along the journey home were wonderful-- they told Sean's family that he'd been killed in the battle." Cliodhna smiles at Brianna. "Ye're so wonderful, Brianna! I burdened ye with my terrible past, an' instead o' starin' at me with pity, thinkin' I was a freak-- like most women would, I'm sure-- ye share yer own similar pain with me, an' give me hope!" Cliodhna puts her arm around Brianna's shoulders and gives her a squeeze. "I'm GLAD that bastard Connor is dead!! If I'd only know what he'd done ta ye, I woulda chopped that tree in Central park ta pieces with my sword single-handed!!" Cliodhna brings her fist down on the table in emphasis. "Rotten bastard!"
Cliodhna takes a small sip of her drink to calm herself down a little. "Ye're SO lucky ta have a man such as Ahuru! A man ye know would never harm ye! Ye deserved that all along, Bri." Cliodhna grins. "I'm goin' ta tell Ahuru just how lucky he is, if he doesn't already know! Just ye watch!" Cliodhna laughs and takes another tiny sip. "So...ahem...ye said that ye do enjoy sex now." Cliodhna thinks for a moment. "It is because yer in love with Ahuru-- truely in love this time, not like with that bastard Connor? Or because he handles ye so differently? Gently?" Cliodhna watches Brianna curiously.
"I think it's both reasons, truthfully..being with him is such an incredible spiritual and physical bonding.. if I didn't love him, half of that would be missing and it wouldn't be the same. I don't understand people that use sex solely for physical gratification.. I think that they are missing the bigger experience.. tainting it with baser things.." Brianna answers.
Cliodhna watches Brianna closely as she speaks, nodding her head in agreement with everything Brianna's saying. "Ye're exactly right, Bri...exactly right. An' that makes complete sense about ye an' Ahuru, an' things bein' so much better with him." Cliodhna sighs. "OK, I'll admit somethin' ta ye. I...like Memnon very much." Cliodna blushes a little. "I've never felt this way before-- his very touch...just his very words, even, make me get flushed an' shivery, an' my heart starts beatin' faster. When he looks at me, I find I can't speak-- or when I DO speak I sound like a fool! I look at his body an' I want him...I WANT him ta be 2 steps behind me!" Cliodhna's voice gets stronger as she speaks-- feeling passionate about her words, and finally not being too shy to say them. "He's the most gorgeous, funny, intelligent, strong man I've ever known!" Cliodhna suddenly looks around the bar nervously, as if the men could be standing right behind her, and she lowers her voice. "He's a Garou-male, an' that's caused me a lot o' fear an' apprehension, but I've known him since I was a very small, an' I think...no, I hope...there's somethin' different about him." Cliodhna sips her drink and lowers her eyes in thought.
"Well you know, he isn't garou anymore.." Brianna offers helpfully, still inwardly shuddering at Cliodhna's description of what happened when Sean Changed. "And I can tell he has feelings for you...however strange he may be about showing it.." Brianna shakes her head. "Why exactly was he trying to *spank* you? You don't seem too upset about that..do you need me to ask Ahuru to speak to him about treating you that way? That is certainly not the right way to go about showing your feelings for someone.." Brianna actually giggles, then looks surpised she did so and glances accusingly at the half-empty glass in front of her.
Cliodhna looks at Brianna in surprise when she giggles, and then starts giggling, herself! Then the giggles turns into loud laughter! "Brianna, I don't even know why I'm laughing, but I am!" Cliodhna laughs hard again. "I take it ye like yer drink then! Would ye like another?" Cliodhna starts giggling again, waves to the waiter, and finally after a time she's able to get control of herself. "So ye really think Mem likes me? Yer right-- he DOES have a strange way a' showin' it, an' I'd be the last one ta catch on!" Cliodhna shakes her head.
"About the spankin'..." Cliodhna looks a little embarrassed again. "We got inta a yellin'-match when he tried ta boss me around-- he thought me a fool fer callin' Mother ta talk ta me with no protection around, even though he was right outside! Then he threatened ta spank me..." Cliodhna sighs. "O' course I had ta show him up, an' I zipped ta one o' my fetters fer the rest o' the night. He was here waitin' when I came ta talk ta ye an' Ahuru, an' he caught me tryin' ta make a run fer yer room, an' ye saw the rest. Maybe next time I'll just let him spank me ta get it outta his system!" Cliodhna grins and giggles again when she thinks about what she just said. "Maybe...maybe ye SHOULD tell Ahuru about what happened ta me...maybe he WOULD be the better person ta talk ta Mem, because Mem doesn't take anythin' I say seriously! I'll give that some thought-- thank ye, Bri." The waitor finally re-appears and asks Brianna if she'd like another drink.
Brianna looks at her half full drink and declines, deciding that she'd better not get any more tipsy this morning. The alcohol certainly went to her head quicker than she'd imagined it would!
"I don't have to tell Ahuru everything if you don't want me to.." Brianna says. "Though who knows how much he already knows.." She shrugs her shoulders. "But I'm sure he'd be able to talk to Memnon for you, he was Memnon's leader for awhile, and Memnon left to help us protect Atepa while he was amnesiac, so I'm sure that he will listen to anything Ahuru tells him, he seems to really respect him a lot." Brianna smiles again, thinking of Ahuru and feeling a warm glow spread through her, not entirely due to the alcohol. "He shouldn't be trying to humiliate you like that, he's lucky you didn't give him a black eye!!"
Cliodhna laughs and looks at her knuckles. "Well...hopefully a bruised rib, anyhow!" she grins. "On second thought, only tell Ahuru if he asks. It really does grieve me ta think about people knowin' what happened ta me. I want people ta respect an' admire me-- not think that I can be dominated and hurt. I think that's why I was so incredibly pissed at Memnon fer treatin' me the way he did. If it gets out what happened this mornin'...I mean, ye didn't see any anecerons or rankin' officials in the bar, did ye??" Cliodhna's face seems to grow more pale.
Brianna shakes her head. "No, not at this time in the morning.. they've all been terribly busy with the war going on, they would all be back to their posts by now." Brianna sighs. "Speaking of which, how long do we have off before Paul needs us again? I must admit, I am glad for any time we have to ourselves, now that Ahuru has returned. Last night was the first chance I've had to really talk to him since before he passed on."
She shakes her head. "I still can't believe Memnon humiliated you like that. I was so angry when I saw you two! It was terrible of him to put you through that, especially now after hearing how you'd been treated in the past. Some men let their pride come before common sense, we'll just have to make sure this one learns the right way to treat a woman! Or he'll have both me and Ahuru to answer to!!" Brianna smiles at Cliodhna, feeling a lot closer to her than before. It feels good to have someone to talk to.. she hasn't felt this close to a woman since her grandmother was alive. A familiar ache surfaces at the thought of the kindly old woman who raised her, and she again prays that she has gone on to a better place.
"So, are you feeling better then? We'd best not let the men alone together too long..who knows what they are talking about without us around to keep them in line!!" She grins and giggles a bit to show that she is joking, and finishes the last of her drink.
Cliodhna laughs, too-- maybe a bit too loudly, pondering what the men could be talking about! "Thank ye so much fer lookin' out fer me, Bri. Sometimes I try ta think that I should be the only one lookin' out fer myself, but it feels so much better to have...a friend." Cliodhna smiles warmly at Brianna. "Especially one who fights better than I do!" she laughs and hits Brianna's upper arm in friendly respect. Cliodhna peers at the sunlight-- or the equivelent of sunlight in this place. "Ah yes, we need ta try ta contact Amon again, an' then Paul asked that we come speak with him, as well." Cliodhna signals for the waitor to come back over. She smiles warmly at him when he arrives-- he's looking rather apprehensive due to all the random emotional outbursts that have come from this table, but the apprehension start to fade away when Cliodhna pays him for the drinks and leaves him a generous tip. He thanks her, bows to the both of them, and departs-- walking backwards and continuing to bow until he reaches the bar. Cliodhna laughs and smiles at Brianna again. "Shall we see what the men are up ta, then?" Cliodhna slides out of the booth and smoothes down her long jacket. "Does my face look OK?" She touches her cheeks self-consciously.
"You look beautiful," Brianna tells Cliodhna. "And thank you, for listening to me as well.. it's been a long time since I had a friend I could really talk to about things.." She impulsively hugs Cliodhna. "You can come to me anytime, ok?"
She leads Cliodhna back upstairs to her room and knocks on the door before entering.