Sinful Nights ~ Juniper

The mansion stood proud deep in Ashen Wood forest and for the evening all the lights were turned on, the fire burning bright and illuminating the path that led to the door.
Behind the mansion was nothing but dense forest where you could easily disappear or get lost, one of the two more favorable than the other.
Even though then sun was barely kissing the edge of the horizon the weather was mellow, just a fair breeze in the evaporating spring warmth.
The different greenery around the mansion had bloomed clearly announcing that spring was here to stay before summer took over.

A few men stood near the entrance to the house, they were talking amongst themselves when they werent bussy letting people into the warm, orangy glow of the hallway. There had been a few arguments throughout the night, not all people were too keen on having to leave their weapons at the door but this was a party after all, not a dueling club and Alane did not want to take that oppurtunity. She knew a few people might still be after her since the failed assassination attemp years ago so when i came to swarays like this she choose to be carefull.
The mansion was beautiful! Made of mostly wood and some stone, the house was decorated with plants, skins, beautiful paintings hung upon the walls. It was clearly a very lavish home that also held the homey, savage feeling of the woods that surrounded the house.
This evening the house looked even more beautiful as it had been decorated for the party but it still held that same rough feeling to it, it was pretty but wild at the same time just like Alane herself.

The party was being held in the main area of the house, alot of the furniture had been moved to make room for people that wished to dance, but there was also maintained some space for people to sit and talk.. The main area held that same rough but cozy vibe as the rest of the house did. Well the parts that were open for the people, the back rooms had been locked and upstairs were off limits as well.
Alane had slung herself on one of the sofas near the lit fireplace, her long white waves feel neatly down her back except for that one strang that fell down her chest, caressing the bare skin that the dress did not cover. She wore a light green floorlenght dress that hugged her body in just the right way, a long slit went up the dress, exposing her leg where her [For at se dette link skal du være tilmeldt og logget ind.] sat. Some of it still covered by the dress leaving the imagination to finish the motive. .. Her full lips had been painted a deep alluring red color, just as dark as the wine in the glass she had in her hand.
Her fair skin glowed in the embers of the fire that roared across from her as her dark green eyes surveyed the party from where she sat, moving her glass to her lips to take a small sip of the deep bodied wine.

A small group of people was currently making their way through the sundown lit, spring smelling forest. A strange little company of four people, three of which seemed to be in either fear or awe of the fourth. At least the subservience was evident. Two women, dressed in long simple but tastefully cut gowns that would have been identical were it not for the fact, that one was purple, and the other was blue. Beside the two women rode a slender elderly man whose expression seemed to be one of perpetual sadness. The three did not speak among themselves. Perhaps they did not dare, or perhaps they were simply intent on their work. All three sets of eyes were fixed cleanly upon the figure who rode a little bit ahead of them on a little silvery grey mare whose every step gave way to the soft twinkling of the silver small silver bells tied to its harness. The figure on the horse rode side saddle, despite the slightly more precarious way of riding, she seemed to hold her seat as comfortably as though she had never done anything, but sit a horse.  The woman was dressed in a long gown of near silvery white fabric so sheer and delicate that it might as well have been woven from the light of the stars themselves and it was carefully embroidered with depictions of the moon in all its phases on the skirt and decorated with countless tiny gleaming diamonds.  The near transparent quality of the gown did not seem to bother the woman who wore it even the slightest bit. If she was bothered by the slight chill that nightfall brought with it, she made no mention of her discomfort. Her hair, which seemed to glow silvergold under the light of the dying sun was fixed in an elaborate updo and held carefully in place with delicate hairpins painstakingly carved from the gleaming horn of a unicorn.

This woman´s name was Juniper Graceling and she would rather go naked, than she would be caught halfassing an outfit.
Another thing she would never do without the sufficient amount of glamour or at least mystique was arrive at a gathering (or perhaps arrive anywhere really) hence the elaborate way she had ensured all of this. Upon arrival at the destination, she fluidly dismounted her horse and handed the rains to her male companion, Castien, who had been her tutor in the elven language when she was a child and was now in charge of managing the general up keep of her house as well as her other slaves, without even as much as a glance or single word.
For a moment she simply stood surveying her surroundings and found them…perhaps impressive but not to her liking. Lady Graceling who has spent most of her life in elaborate estates of polished marble, shimmering crystal and gleaming stone stood there with the feeling of having arrived at what amounted to an over glorified log cabin. Fun for a short getaway sure, but the, albeit former, leader of the shapeshifters actually chose to live here? Passingly strange. She shook of her feelings of oddity and made her way inside followed by the silent women in their gowns of purple and blue. Juniper did not know their names, had not bothered to learn them, so she called them by their respective colours. Between them the women carried a chest of costly polished wood. The chest itself was nothing compared to its contents though. Spices and lots of them. A small fortune´s worth in fact. Her parents did not raise an imbecile, when invited anywhere bring a gift of thanks and show off the family wealth while doing it. The special Graceling brand generosity. Juniper made her way through the house, finding that its owner at least had fine taste in art even if the rest of the decor was a bit…rustic for her tastes and entered the main hall where the festivities were being held.
She scanned the area for a moment and found Lady Devanchez on a sofa. She made her way there and dropped into a polite courtly curtsy as Blue and Purple silently placed the chest by lady Devanchez´s feet before retreating.


“Lady Devanchez. Thank you very much for inviting into your home. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Juniper declared with a warm smile full of unspoken promises.

Her dark eyes came to rest upon a gruop of 3 women who had just entered the main area og her home, her hand bringing the wine glass to her lips yet again as she studied the women. It was clear that one of them had a higher standing than the other two, not only from the way she carried herself but also the was she was dressed.
As they came closer Alane gracefully put the glass down on the sidetable besides the couch before she sat more upright bringing one leg over the other, the green skilen dress revealing more of her slender yet toned leg and in the process revealing her bare feet. If she could walk around barefoot she would always do so, she felt more grounded and connected to the forrest.

As the woman stood before her her eyes raked over her from head to toe, not in a threatening way but more curious if anything. The pale skin, the silvery hair, the silvery gown.. Everything about her screamed wealth but then again she already knew who this woman was. Juniper Graceling, heir to some kind of spice emperium if she remember correctly.
Her eyes snapped back to her face as the woman began to speak, adressing her and expressing her gratitude for being invited to the party.
A beautiful smile slipped on her face before she spoke, "Miss Graceling, the pleasure is all mine, feel free to make yourself at home in my home as long as you are here", her voice was velvety but also held a bit of underlining gravel to it, underlining her not so gentle side.

"There are a few treats today, the buffet of course, a treat for your tastebuds but if your desire something a bit more carnal, i am sure that you will finde yourself greatly entertained in the adjecent room", her hand making a gesture towards the left side where a door was on the far wall".
Why pretend otherwise, Alane were no prude and some of the guests here were more carnal than others so she catered to those as well, besides who said that she herself should not partake if she wished as well.. Her eyes fell for the first time to the chest on the floor, a very beautiful one indeed and she had an idea on what the contents of it were already but she did not mention it, not untill Juniper would verbally confirm that it was for her but, just a well mannered move on her behalf.

Someone, the gods, the fates or whoever else oversaw things such as these, had granted Alane Devanchez all together rather agreeable features, Juniper thought to herself, as she studied the woman in front of her with an air of a connoisseur. Her face was a symmetrical one, her features fine and sharp. The whiteness of her hair might have caused others to marvel at her. The alluringly red shade of her lips had probably been chosen specifically to highlight the rest of her face. If so, it was chosen quite well. It only made the green of her eyes seem all the more striking. A bit catlike perhaps? No…something…lager….far more dangerous. Juniper wondered for a moment what the woman was able to change her shape into. Well, anything really, if what she had heard of skinwalkers was true, but what her original animal shape had been. Not that she had to wonder long. She spotted the tattoo on the woman´s leg, which gave quite a clear idea of the what the answer might be. A wolf huh? That seemed to happen often, in Juniper´s, albeit limited, experience with shapeshifters.

“Thank you, you are most kind,” Juniper declared smoothly before nodding towards the chest between the two of them.


“For you of course. It is only a small thing. A simple thank you for hosting, that is all.” Without waiting for further invite, she sat down in the sofa next to woman, nonchalantly kicked off her shoes and drew her legs up under her to sit comfortably.

“The green looks good on you by the way. It goes well with your eyes,” she stated it matter of factly, as if Lady Devanchez might as well have been a long lost friend. Juniper was good at this. A certain amount of brashness was often found charming, she had found in her years of mingling with stuffy tiresome rich people, all to focused on decorum.
And why not try and befriend a, at least once, powerful woman? Having been addressed as miss and not as lady, as Juniper was used to had been an insult, mind you, and Juniper Graceling rarely forgot and insult. But she might be inclined to forgive if Alane Devanchez proved useful or perhaps even just amusing.

Blue returned to her for a short moment carrying a plate of food and a glass of almost purple wine. Good. She had been getting hungry…was she not always? She sipped the wine and took a bite of food carefully lowering her expectations. Some of the people who shunned society to…live in forests cooked as though they did not know what spice was. But she found herself pleasantly surprised, even if the fare seemed to her a little bit simple.

“And do you often find yourself desiring something more carnal, lady Devanchez?” she asked airily, smiling teasingly at the other woman over the rim of her wineglass.
She had thought she felt something on the air. Not entirely a physical flavour or scent but something entirely of its own. Something that people other than her specific kind would never feel as she did. Something she had not been quite able to decide where it came from. Well, it was evident now. It was lust, and plenty of it, in the room adjacent to theirs.

Interesting.

Alane could feel the eyes of the woman on her, almost as if she was trying to see into her very core making an unnoticable shiver crawl her way up her spine and the small hairs on the back of her neck rise. But Alane held her mask, not making the woman see any of this, she had learned to play with her cards close to her chest and not so openly as she had before.
When Juniper refered to the chest at her feet she let her eyes drop to it, running over the very beautifully decorations that adorned it before her eyes yet again fell upon Juniper.
"Why thank you, a very nice gesture", as she spoke her tone was warm and mild. Her thoughts on the other hand knew that this was also a display of power on Junipers behalf or well she assumed it was and she could honestly not fault the woman. Alane adored powerful women, women who knew their worth and those who was absolutely not afraid too show it, wether it be wealth, power or any other thing.
She did not seem to mind that Juniper sat on the couch beside her, she welcomed the comapny with her warm nature but still upheld her raw powerful body language.
Alane had not grown up around the court, around nobility or any of that sort and the manners she had been taught was that of miss, mrs or mr but she could clearly sence that she had chosen the wrong formality here and she did feel a bit bad about insulting the woman next to her. "I am sorry if i somehow offended you, i am not well versed in formalities, but if would could you please tell me how to adress your or people of your status in the future?", it might have come as a surprise since all of a sudden the powerful aura that she had held was replaced by that of a curious girl that wanted to learn how to better herself.

Alane brought her drink to her lips again, this time taking a rather large sip of the deep red almost purple wine that was in her glass. Her green eyes wondered the party for a moment before she turned her attention to the woman beside her yet again as she spoke. A coy smile broke out on her luscious red lips before she answered "A woman don't kiss and tell but between us ladies.. I do and i have no shame in it, i indulge if i want to", as she spoke her eyes came to rest on the closed doors before finding Junipers yet again.

Was there…a slight tension in the air around Alane Devanchez perhaps? She hid it remarkably well. Suppose she had had to learn. You did not become the leader of anything by playing with your cards open. Juniper´s adoptive parents had taught her that much. Her father´s smiling face and always cordial manner and her mother´s mysterious grace hid many things from the common person´s eyes. No leader ever told the whole truth, least of all about themselves and what they felt. Luxuria, her older brother, would have been even more remarkable at sniffing out this woman´s secret wants of course, but Juniper was, if she had to say it herself, not inexperienced in such matters either. She smiled, her eyes wide and impossibly blue, a color often, perhaps incorrectly, associated heavily with innocence. Naivety. Gentleness. Had she been naïve once? Or gentle, innocent? Some said that all children were born innocent, but surely that did not count for the embodiments of sin? If they had ever been the necromancer had beaten it out of them quickly. Sometimes she still longed for the childhood with her siblings, that she had never been granted. Ah well, she could pretend, feign the innocence, when it pleased her to do so. It was a trick she more often took in hand when getting to know men. For some Gods forsaken reason, a lot of them liked to pretend that they were the first ones to even speak to a particular woman, to touch. Sometimes she let them keep that thought, until such time as she could show them otherwise. Sometimes more brutally so than others. Depending on how annoying they had been about it.
This was different. Simply playing around. She had no real interest in fooling Alane Devanchez with something as mundane as innocence, partially because she did not think that it would work. In fact, she hoped that it would not. Surely this woman was a brighter mind than that, no? She would have to be.


“Ah, but Alane, may I call you Alane? I think you will potentially find me a much nicer acquaintance, than even this will imply.” She tapped the precious chest with a dainty silvershoed foot.

So, the little forest dwelling savage did have the sense to apologize for her mistakes then? Good, Juniper Graceling had always found that a pleasant quality in her subordinates, which constituted basically everyone who were not either her siblings or her flesh and blood father (the last of whom she regarded with a mix of awe and impossible dread)


“Water under the bridge, Alane, but for future reference, I am not a miss, I am Lady Juniper Graceling,” she declared firmly, handing back an empty plate of food to one of her slaves who quickly went in search of a new one.

“Wise words, some people would really like to declare everything that makes life worth living bad and tell us not to do those things. Well to that I ask? If the Gods love us so much, why are they so desperate for us to be miserable?”

She had been young and naive once and what had thaught her about the brutality of the world you might ask? Love.. In the end it always came down to love, wether it be the romantic kind that swept you up like a hurricane, the familiar and calming love or something quite else, it always came to love.
Now she was more careful with the people around her, in the beginning after the multiple betrayals that had left her body physcially scarred it even went as far as her being careful around those whom she loved. And now the only person she truly trusted was herself.. And maybe one more person but she pushed that thought away quickly before her cheeks would become pink due to the thoughts of him.
Alane knew that veryone kept secrets and she was perfectly fine with that as long as those secrets did not hurt her or the ones she loved, she knew that most women were exceptionally good at keeping secrets and some of them would know how to use them as well. Many people thought of women as these innocent, docile creatures but she sure as hell was not one of them and she would never fall for the tricks that those women used, she had seen them all to often and quite franky it bored her. She herself was much more likely to show herself as a bold predator, she liked seeing people's reactions to that.

"Go right ahead!.., she had no problem with people using her name as it was her name and she liked it, "Oh how so, if you don't mind me being blunt?", he tone was playful but also held an edge to it to know that she was not one to be messed with if it came to that.
Alane had never been one to shy away from apologizing if it was needed or if she knew she had made a mistake that she wanted to correct and in this case she had not meant to offend the woman besides herbut she had done so due to her lack of knowledge.
"Well in that case, the pleasure is alle mine Lady Graceling", she spoke it in her warm og velvety voice as she looked her in the eyes.

"People are always too busy wanting to suffer, wanting to stay away from the joys of the world, i don't understand why, unless you enjoy the suffering ofcourse but otherwise i find i rather dumb to deny that we do infact all have carnal desires and that there is nothing wrong with them or indulging in those said desires.. Life is to short for it to only be doom and gloom and i don't think it is only the gods who want's us to suffer, most people do it to themselves.. Stupid", the last part was spoken under her breath as her eyes scanned the party infront of them and something made her body language change completely.

"Excuse me Lady Graceling.. I will be right back", as she rose from the chouch and stalked off, her body taught and her eyes that of the predator inside her, she looked fierce af she strode across the room only to place herself between a man and a woman. "You cannot be that daft or maybe you can.. But this woman is clearly not interested in the advances you are trying to make.. So either you take the hint or i can make sure that you find the door", he tone was sweet but it dripped with venom as her eyes stared up at the much bigger male infront of her, she did nothing to hide that she was sweetly threatening the man infront of her.. The man opened his mouth to say something but she only shushed him, staring him down like the scum of the earth that he was and before long her turned tail and disappeared into the crowd.
Alane turned to the woman, her hand smoothing over her hair quickly before she gave her a sweet smile, making sure she was okay before she made her way back to the couch where Juniper sat. As she sat down she grabbed her wine glass and took a big sip.
"Sorry for making you wait", she said as she turned to her yet again, a hand going up to run thorugh her white hair to fix it.

”Well Alane. Since you seem like a woman who appreciates honesty or as you put it, bluntness, I shall be blunt with you for a moment too, if you will allow me.” She paused for a moment to sip her wine and take a bite of food to quell the always screaming emptiness that was her insides, but did not in truth wait for a reply or a permission from tonight´s hostess. “It is no secret, that Fenrer has stepped down as the leader of the shapeshifters. While I have no personal stakes regarding who rules them, I have very little doubt that some…far less than capable men will soon be grabbing for the title of leader as though it itself were a crown of the purest most precious gold. A power vacuum needs to be felt and..perhaps I would rather see it in competent hands? In truth I´m tired of men being given leadership roles that don´t suit them simply because they were born with a little dangly bit between their legs, that most of them don´t even know how to use properly. Now, I´m not saying you should go amass an army and take over Sunfury.” She laughed gently, softly, a sound rather like a cat´s purr. To tell the truth she would much rather see what happened, when the empire that King Leidolf left behind crumbled to Dust without him. How long would his laws against slavery last for example? Not long, she supposed, no, that power vacuum was one she would be fine with watching stay empty for a while. But having a friend who was the leader of an entire race? Well, was that not if anything the Graceling way? Besides. The Necromancer had made her for war. As she grew older it became very plain that war was not simply battlefields and bloodshed. It could as well be a slow but deliberate destabilizing of the established other, and had she not become brilliant at exactly that? Worming her way into places and lives only to crush them and leave, when they no longer suited her mood or had nothing more to offer her. Depleting all they had ever been before doing so. Leaving them with nothing but the empty spaces where she had been once.
Now, she had no current intention of destroying or hurting Alane and she really was quite bored of stupid men thinking they were born to be rulers simply because their mommies never told them otherwise and everyone else was to be sorted neatly into categories of either ´potential wives´ or ´harlots´
So, for the time being why not be her friend? It might be amusing and while she was not quite…as enticed by the woman´s wilding ways as one might have hoped, Juniper did not find her altogether unpleasant.

“And of course, I would not come here to push you into anything, but…would I be wrong to suggest that the role of leader perhaps should go to someone who has proven capable before?
I think you could consider me a valuable friend if such events were to arise…if funding is needed or anything. And well if you decide to host a comeback galla I might help with the menu. I say this with love, but the seasoning on this lamb is dreadful.” She handed her plate back to the slave as though to underline her point.

“You do seem to focus a great deal on the carnal aspects of what society deems unfit.”
She smiled a little. Luxuria would have eaten this one alive.

“I was thinking more broadly, but who am I to deny people the right to follow their instincts?”

She tilted her head, studied Alane with curious eyes as she left to go yell at someone.

“See? that´s what I´m talking about, we need more woman to lead.

If the blood in her veins could freeze it would have. Was the woman infront of her suggesting that she take back the title as leader? Of course not everyone knew what had happened to her for her to step down, but some people did and if she were to persue the title again they would call her insane. But then again there had been a reason as to why she chose to become leader, her race had suffered under bad rulers and old ways that did not suit the world anymore or well to some it did suit them just fine but those exact men had been what she wanted to change og remove completely or as the bare minimum make sure they never had a say in anything political connecting to the shapeshifters again... Ever...
She did not interrupt and give her permission, she knew it was only a phrase she used and she did not acctually want an answer, she was going to say whatever she intended to wheter Alane protested or not but she had no plan in doing so.
Alanes eyes seemed a bit ampty but that was only because she was trying to hide the war going onm inside her. One one side there was nothing more she wanted than to regain her title and the responsiblities she had helt during her leadership but on the other side she was terrified of the idea and had no idea how she should respond to Juniper.

It was clear as day that she did not know how to answer that so instead she took a generous sip of the wine in her hand, trying to regain herself before she answered the woman. "To be honest there is nothing more i want than to regain my title, Fenrir i had nothing against as a leader but the one before me..." Her eyes became darker and a bit distant as if remembering something terrible. "And as far as i know no one had stepped ud since he stepped down or that might be my.. birds that have been missinforming me?".. A coy smile came to her lips as she studied Juniper. She did agree, she was tired of imcompetence, tired of how mostly every man felt that he deserved the world only because of the thing between his legs or because mommy dearest told him he deserved the world. "I do agress with you, i am tired of the old bastards or the young ones for that matter who think the world was made for them simply because no one told them otherwise or mommy dearest said they deserved the world... But what would you gain from me taking that position if you downt mind me asking?". She was sure that Juniper would never suggest such a thing if there was nothing in it for her or maybe she was mistaken but her gut told her otherwise.
Not that she anything against the woman beside her and she always admired strong women but she also knew that the world was not only black and white and people only played the cards that would get them something in return.
A laughter broke from her lips before being replaced with a beautiful smile, "I take no offense to that statement, most of the people that come here does not come for the food.. But yeah if i ever do host that event i will give you free reigns to choose the menu and the cooks for that matter".

A small smile played on her lips as she swirled the wine in the glass... "I used to be one of those people denying themselves any pleasures in life or honestly every really wanting anything for myself.. But i changed", her eyes stayed on the swirling wine as she spoke.

A grin spread across her lips before she responded, "True and we also need less pigs like him in the world"


//Undskyld den lange svartid men april måned har bare lagt mig ned grundet arbejde, grundet påsken og så ja forberedelsen til morsdag som er en kæmpe ting for os men jeg er tilbage nu!

“I must confess, that I know very little of what Fenrer was like as a leader.” Except he kept slaves and thereby my household out of Sunfury, what a bother of a man, whoever takes the city next best remedy this.
“But I have not heard of anyone stepping up to take the leading position either so…unless the birds are keeping silent for both of us, you should be good to go.” She punctuated her sentence with a little cheerful wink of one glittering blue eye. Was she flirting a little bit? It was seldom entirely clear with her. The lines between what was business and pleasure, what was normal friendly banter and a proposition for more often blurred with her. In particular when she was dealing with someone beautiful. Or powerful. Well, a place in the ruler of the shapeshifters´ bed really wouldn´t be all bad if it came to that, she supposed.
She noticed the sudden darkness in her eyes, put a comforting hand on Alane´s shoulder. In reality though, she was more curious than anything, and a little bit annoyed, that she was not better brushed up on history and politics, because what exactly was this? What sort of awful things had this previous leader done and how had Alane disposed of him? Assassins in the night? Poison? A fight to death? Had she eaten him afterwards like some animals did? She masked her excitement behind a look of sweet concern, but on the inside she grew almost a little giddy at the thought. She might be dangerous. In a thrilling way. She´d gotten a bit of that impression even from the first glance, there was a predatory sort of grace to her, but how much? What was she willing to do to regain her former position if it came down to it? Would she have rained blood and death upon those who stood in her way? She somehow found it hard to think that Alane would sit down with her competition for tea and cakes at least.

And then, that darkness was all gone, replaced by a glittering smile. Curious. Clearly a woman containing much that no one ever saw, by the look of it.
And there was a little blooming urge somewhere inside of Juniper Graceling, that wanted to see more. Moreover, she wanted to be important to this woman, if not adored then at least valued, perhaps desired. She was not quite sure what she wanted. As it often happened, the screaming empty always hungry void inside her just wanted…something, rarely with specifications as to what until she had it, at which point it often become dull to her.

“Well to be frank with you. I was always taught that a powerful friend is a good thing to have. And my family are traders and spice….farmers? I´m sure you are well aware. So if we should need to expand into territory that rightfully belongs to you I would hope for your support. Besides, who is to say that I may not need help some day. And we can be friends.” Something dawned on her, something old and terrible.

War allies, for our great and terrible purpose. Will you pet my head if I bring you a horde of bloodthirsty shifters, father? Or will you kick me away as you used to? Suddenly overcome by nausea, she only got ripped out of her swirling mix of memories and awful premonitions, when she heard the sound of shattering glass.
Only then did she realise that her hand had been shaken so badly that she had dropped her wineglass.
She smiled apologetically, it would have been heartbreakingly smooth perhaps, had it not been for the shaken vulnerable almost suddenly childlike look on her face.

“I really am terribly sorry. It seems I forgot myself for a moment,” she said, her voice just slightly brittle before she regained her composure.

"I only met the man once.. And well it was a interesting meeting to put it frankly". as she talked a playful smile spread across her lips and her eyes glistened in a almost ganferous way before she turned her gaze back to the woman beside her with a beautiful smile on her lips. Fenrer and her had met on Minotauris, it had been during Alanes rather insane face was the best way to describe it. She had participated in the cage fights where only one would emerge alive. Fenrer had been impressed with her and they had hit off from the get go.
As the memories swirled in her head she took a sip of her wine, emtying the glass but it did not stay empty for long as one of the servers came to refill it. The bottle he brought looked diffferent from the rest that the servers served at the party since it was from her personal collection or rather her fathers collection. Some bottles had withstood the neglect of the house.
Alane turned her alluring green eyes to the woman beside her as she spoke yet again. She could return the flirtatious intentions, wether it was only friendly, just the way she was or that she truly wanted a place in Alanes bed this evening she did not mind, flirting was always exciting even if it did not lead to enything. "Well atleast both of our birds would have been well informed or just as incompetent" she laughed as she said it before she turned her body further towards Juniper, her knee slightly gracing hers as she did so but only for a second or so as she gave her breathtaking smile that still held the same underlying predatory note to it.
Even though Alane did enjoy tea she only enjoyed it with the people she loved.

It was like a switch flipping, her expressions changed that quickly as she went from the dark parts of her minds back to the party and the people around her. Her green eyes rested on Junipers hand on her should. A sweet smile spread across her lips, it was nice gesture or atleast it seemed so wether it was sincere she did not like but she like the sentiment of it none the less.
Alane had no idea of what Juniper really was and honestly if she did she could not care less, to her it did not really matter, it was the person and their actions she got her impressions from, but she would sure as hell beshocked that she was sitting across from one of the sins incarnated into a human body.

Alane enjoyed her honesty or as she had called it before her bluntness. Even if the woman sure as hell stille kept her secrects from her which Alane also did inreturn she enjoyed that she did not try to play any games and honestly stated what her intentions were. She quite enjoyed that about Juniper so far.
"Even though i was never thaught that i will agree on that with you.. It always good to know some powerful people that will have your back or atleast support you. Right now the only territory i have is the one that we sit on right now but who is to say that that is not going to change? And i would like for us to be friends", the idea that Juniper had put in her head about taking back her title seemed more and more appealing to her.

As Juniper was consumed with her own inner conflicts Alane scooted a bit closer to the woman, her thigh pressed against hers as her hand came to rest upon her shoulder, trying to give her some kind of comfort. If she was overstepping a line Juniper had done the same thing for her earlier so she would have to deal with it, besides it was against Alanes nature to not do what she was currently doing for her. She squeezed her shoulder in a comforting way as she dropped the glass not even flinching as the glass shattered.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. Someone will clean it up and you shall get a new glass", she said it in such a warm and comforting tone as her eyes went to one of the servers who quickly came to clean the glass and wine before another one came with a new glass full of the same wine that Alane drank for her.

“And do you frequently meet with the leaders of our nation?” she asked with a little smile. Juniper, who usually slept with people high up, and destroyed their lives in the process more often than not, she had nver gotten as far as meeting a king or a lord. So this woman might be fascinating in a number of more ways than firstly anticipated. A way to more effortlessly worm her way in to the even higher parts of society, the ones who did not work in the shadows that was, her parents would be very cross, should anyone insinuate that they were below anybody, would always be appreciated. The fact of the matter was that Alane´s perceived potential value to her as a toy, a very pretty and not at all unamusing one, but a toy non the less for it, was rising exponentially as she talked.


“Incompetent birds become stew at my house, so for their sake I hope not,” she declared, with a little laugh as soft as a cat´s purr. She noted the ways their knees touched, had played the game too long herself to think it a coincidence. For a brief moment Juniper wondered, what Alane stood to gain from this game, doing this old song and dance with her, that they both seemed to know the steps and tunes to, at least to some degree. Did she earnestly feel attracted to her in some way or another or was it merely a game, that the lady of the house engaged in to pass her time, perhaps to avoid the advances of more unsavoury types? Or was there yet more to it? Something as of yet unknown to Juniper, that Alane hoped to obtain from her? Either way, Juniper leant slightly forward for a fraction of a second, smiling as wide and innocent as lost lamb in the face of Alane´s open predator grin. Not even a hint of the rotten core, that the sin hid underneath it all.

She felt the way Alane´s muscles seemed to relax just slightly underneath her and was rewarded with the smallest flash of a feeling of power, that she had been able to evoke some semblance of a reaction just with her mere touch in such a short moment.

“Splendid, friends it is then,” Juniper purred.

It took her a moment to regain herself. Drag herself out of the river of memories. Quickly figuring out, that Alane´s reaction was one of comforting care, she seized the opportunity and leaned into her. Kept up the air of vulnerable fragility. Told herself that it was only to further endear herself to Alane, but the truth was perhaps, that she needed a hug and would take it by force, if she had to.
She was a breath away from demanding that the other woman pet her hair, but no.