Cosette swayed as she listened to the man. Her head tilted to one side. "I see." She mused, before snorting. "Of course we can all sing, but not everyone can sing well." She stated, fingers trailing through her tangled mahogany knots.
Then, he spoke, and she answered: "I wouldn't know when the sun rises. I dance all day whenever the bustle of the streets start." She stared straight ahead; despite not being able to see. "I came on a caravan. The man driving found me walking on the side of the road. Said he'd take me to the nearest town." She did not bother going into detail about what she had to do to pay the man back for the ride; after all that was a lie--the people who had dropped her off in town were her assassin family.
Cosette eventually settled on the ground, fingers tangled into her locks as she tried to detangle them, wincing beneath her cloth. "Will you tell me about you? Where do you come from?" She asked, as she tore her hands from her hair; a harsh tearing sound met her ears... She had torn a great deal of her hair by the roots.
He watched her carefully as she answered him, wondering why he was getting a certain vibe about her. Was it possible she was lying to him? Luuk supposed, since they had only just met, she had no real reason to tell him the truth, but he wondered what reasons she had to lie. He turned away. Someone had just picked her up, then. Then from where had she come before that? Luuk didn't bother asking. It didn't seem like Cosette wanted to talk about it. "I see," he repeated, emphasizing his second word. "That's... fair, I suppose."
She asked him a question, but Luuk was more interested in her hands. He winced for her at the sound of her hair being ripped out. "Please," he said, moving to place his hand over hers. "There are more effective combs than your fingers, pidge." He dug into his pocket, extracted his pocket knife, and used his shirt to wipe the blade clean. "You can get the knots with a knife, if you don't have a comb," he told her, demonstrating such by trying to remove the knots in her hair. It felt so coarse, so untreated. An idea formed in his mind, one he had to push away. He was not going to pity this woman, he swore it. So, after removing a couple of her knots, he put his blade away, apologized, and addressed her question again.
"I'm from a land you wouldn't know. A different country on a different continent, across the ocean. Many people say my accent still gives me away. I could hide it, if I wanted, but I see little point. I like my voice." He leaned against a tree again and busied himself with plucking her stray hairs from his hands. "My parents moves us here after my granddad died. I've been in this country ever since. I don't do much besides this whole Robin Hood thing, not since the parents died, but that's alright. A boring life, perhaps, but I get enjoyment out of it. I meet interesting people, yeah?" He looked back to her again. "I'm a boring lad, pigeon. You'd have more fun with other guys, I'd think. Maybe it's not my place to ask, but do you ever dream of a future? Dancing all the time, how long'll that last? What'll you do when your feet don't have the rhythm anymore?"
Cosette tensed as he brought the knife to her hair, to remove a few of the knots. Once he had put it away, she calmed. When he answered her question, she tipped her head to one side. "Your accent is nice." She stated, ignoring his question to turn her head to the right, before she moved to stand.
"Someone is coming," she whispered, breathlessly. Nothing audible could be heard, though, for a good few minutes--but Cosette had heard something; though being blind meant her hearing was absurdly fantastic. "Someone's coming," she murmured, and should Luuk allow her, she would reach out for his arm. "We should go." She whispered, furrowing her brow as she listened to the crunch of leaves come closer--eventually Luuk would be able to hear it as well.
She had to play defenseless; like she was not a trained killer. She shifted her weight, fingers clutching at Luuk's arm as she tried to find her barings--she did not know this area; just as she did not know the town. She was useless on her own; which is why she had been placed undercover as a sleeper agent--to go in for a long haul of a mission.
He noticed the way she did not answer his question, instead getting distracted by something. It was a while before Luuk heard it too, the unmistakable sound of the angry footfalls of their pursuers. He prepared to flee, but he had to look over Cosette again. He was going to head home; where did that leave for her to go? What was she to do now? Would the townspeople ask her about his whereabouts? Luuk didn't want her to go through that, but he could do no more for her. He hesitated, then looked to her outstretched hand. She was hopeless, and it was his fault she was in unfamiliar territory. He couldn't leave her, not like this.
In the next minute Luuk was holding onto the woman's rough hand, guiding her away from the sounds at a quickened speed. They didn't have time to take things slowly, and though Luuk felt back about having the girl walk so quickly in unknown land, she seemed to be doing okay. The way she had offered her hand to him; was she so naive, so quick to trust? Luuk didn't know. It wasn't his concern. He was going to take her to the other side of town, and leave her there to perhaps meet again. However, when he got to town, he saw a group of people finally fed up with all he'd been doing, and he turned directions swiftly.
Though it pained him, Luuk turned and headed in an opposite direction. He continued in a jog for a while, making sure Cosette was okay. "Just a little further," he told her. "I'm... going to try to get you cleaned up, alright?" He was taking her home, against his better judgment. She was a little blind dancer girl; she was harmless. The town was surrounded, and Luuk wanted to properly remove those knots from her hair. Once he cleaned her up, maybe offered her a bed, then he would let her go. Tomorrow, surely, the town would be back to normal.
The house he walked up to seemed like every other house near it. It was nothing out of the ordinary; certainly not the house of the grandson of an esteemed nobleman. It, of course, was one of Luuk's numerous residences, but he was not about to admit that. "We're going to crash at one of my friends' place tonight," he told her, guiding her inside. "Well, maybe not friend. More like acquaintance. He'll be out of town for a bit. He won't mind if he doesn't know." The inside of the house was spacious, and filled with expensive-looking furnishings. Luuk had never paid much mind to them; they were the furniture pieces of his parents and grandparents, pieces he could not give away. Once inside, he shut the door behind him, and he motioned around. "I was thinking we could maybe hang out here. I know my buddy has a proper comb, and there's a river not far from here. You could bathe, if you wanted. I bet he'd even have a dress for you to wear that isn't so... holey. Ah, excuse me, are you alright?" He hadn't bothered asking her if she even wanted this, and suddenly he was aware of that. Luuk walked away from the front door, took a seat in a comfortable-looking chair, and propped his feet up on a low-lying table. "You can make yourself at home. Feel around. He won't mind. Or, I could take you somewhere? Town's just not a really good spot right now."
Cosette would follow the man eagerly--she had no way to really do otherwise. As the man told her where he was taking her, that it would be alright--that he would help her clean herself up, she accepted this all silently.
As he left her in the doorway of the house, she tipped her head to one side, studying the darkness around her, as if she could really see. Then, with slow, careful movements she began to walk, fingers slid across well-polished furniture as she walked, and she furrowed her brow quietly.
"Bath...?" Her face lit up at the idea, and she nodded quickly as she clutched a table. "Can you take me to take a bath?" He'd said the magic word. The girl had not bathed since the assassins had thrown her into the dungeons to prepare her for this assignment. She offered a soft, but excited smile.
"I want... a bath. Will your friend... are you sure they won't mind if I wear something clean?" She was worried about his so-called friend if she took something, a dress, or a bath. She was cautious. Fingers trailed over the table she had stumbled into.
Luuk shook his head before realizing Cosette wouldn't have been able to see the motion. "No, he won't mind," he said. He got up and walked up a set of creaky stairs. When he reappeared just a minute later, he was holding a satchel. "I have soaps and shampoos and perfumes of all sorts. I'm sure we'll find something that tickles your fancy. I've also brought a dress. I think it might fit you, though it perhaps may be a bit big. I will bring string to tie the excess. We will head to the river now, and return here. I--er, my friend has combs for your hair, so we will tame that when we return. I'll cook us something as well. I trust this is all satisfactory for you."
Luuk watched Cosette for a moment. She seemed quite elated at the concept of a bath, and he could see and smell why. A homeless dancer, a bath with proper soaps was probably something she'd only experienced a handful of times, if at all. Luuk opened the door again and looked around, making sure he had not been followed. He hesitated, then closed the door and wordlessly raced up the stairs again. When he returned, he held a bigger bag. "I thought I might benefit from a bath, as well," he explained. He took her hand, and then they were off towards the river.
Luuk was a boy used to indoor bathing. Only the rich had such luxuries, which meant he had grown up knowing of lavish soaps and tranquil perfumes. Still, he didn't mind bathing in rivers. Luuk liked living like he wasn't made of money, and he had often bathed in rivers and lakes since his parents had passed. It would be nothing new to him. He led her towards the river, a few minutes of a walk away from his house. When he got there, Luuk let go of her and crouched down beside the water. No one was around. "Here we are," Luuk announced with a wave of his hand. He looked over to Cosette and shifted. Would she be comfortable undressing in front of him? Would he be comfortable helping her? Suddenly, he was glad she could not see the red meeting his cheeks. "Ah, I trust you can take it from here? I will place the soaps here, beside the stream." He shifted again. "Will you be alright?"
Cosette tipped her head to one side as the man led her toward the river. She tipped her head to one side, fingers trailing along her dress, until she slowly began to peel it off, uncaring that the man was near. At his question, she murmured, "I don't... I don't know what soaps are for what." While she had not had a bath in a long time, she was very aware there were skin oils and soaps, hair soaps, and other such things.
"Why don't you stay? You can help me. I don't mind." She offered, cooly, as she slowly moved to find where the shore tapered off into the river, stepping down into the water slowly, her hands crisscrossing over her chest as she turned a circle, before slowly lowering herself to settle onto her knees in the water.
"I don't... think I've had a proper bath since I was young." She murmured. She was quite young, still, which meant it had been years if not longer. When it came to her hair, Luuk would find out quickly that it would be easier to cut the knots out entirely, and then cut her hair evenly. Her fingers toyed with the rocks beneath the waters surface, and quietly she breathed, "It feels so nice."
Luuk immediately looked away when the dress began to fall away. He wanted to offer Cosette the privacy he felt she needed, even if she wouldn't be able to tell whether he was looking or not. He did it, in part, to help himself too; even if she couldn't feel it, Luuk was sure if he came close enough Cosette would be able to feel the warmth coming from his face. He shook his head, and with it the sight of her naked body from his mind. "The soaps," he murmured, concentrating on his words. "Well, the green one is for--ah." He hesitated then, realizing this poor girl didn't even know what green looked like. He sighed and moved towards the soaps. "Uh, aye, I will help you. Give me... One second."
Did it matter what he did in front of this girl? Luuk slid out of his tunic, then his boots and trousers. He paused before removing the small cloth that served as his underwear. There he was, before a woman in nothing at all. He wondered, if she could see him now, what would he think? Luuk wasn't embarrassed of his body, and he certainly had no reason to be, but he couldn't remember the last time he had undressed for a woman before. He had done it, in jest, for some of the assassins before, but this was different. This was... What was this? He shook his head. Overthinking would do him no good. Luuk nodded softly, and he stepped into the water. He moved towards Cosette, soaps in hand, making sure they had no chances of touching.
"This one is for your skin." He motioned towards it, then gently tapped the perfumed bar to her shoulder. "And this one is for your hair. Ah, shall I just...?" He stayed for a minute, then poured the shampoo into her hair. Gentle fingers started massaging her scalp, trying to soothe a head that hadn't been washed in ages. It broke Luuk's heart; he often went without hygiene to mimic the homeless, but to actually be unable to clean one's self... He sighed. "Your hair is very... messy. It might be easier for me to give you a haircut than to remove the tangles from it. I don't know. Let's see what happens when I get a comb for you." He looked to the soap in her hands. "Use as much as you'd like. My friend really is rich, so he can easily replace it. Are you... Are you okay?" Perhaps he was asking because he most clearly was not. His discomfort was clear in his tone, though he was trying to force one of concern, of gentleness. It wasn't going well.
Cosette was unaware for the most part, that Luuk had undressed. She felt the soaps as he tapped each bar, each distinct feel of the soap to the body part it corresponded with. She tipped her head to one side, and then she froze as he poured the shampoo into her hair. She'd never had anyone do this before! With a soft sound, she straightened, fingers pressing against her chest and a blush rising to her cheeks--heated; red hot.
The soaps were soft against her skin, as she clutched them against her chest; digging her dirty, torn nails into the waxen texture. She listened to him as he spoke--stating he might have to cut her hair. She tilted her head back, against his chest if he did not take a step back from her, and inquired, "Will you cut my hair?" She wasn't looking at the longterm--she expected to be out on the streets; but maybe the stranger could make her look nice enough that someone would let her live with them--take her from the streets.
One could hope... right?
Cosette shifted, and she finally began to run the soap over her torso, taking her time, as if it was the most foreign thing in the world. Her head tipped back again as she drew her lathered hands across her neck, her breasts. Her breasts were supple, well-formed. One would see, that as she slowly worked away the grime covering her body, that her skin was a very well-toned olive color. Her nipples were a few shades darker than the rest of her skin, and as she ran her hands across them, and add in the cooled air due to the creek they were bathing in, they hardened rather swiftly. This only caused her cheeks to flush more.
Eventually her fingers would lower, as she thought she had gotten most of the grime off of her breasts and upper body. She worked slowly, however. As she leaned over, to start on her legs, her hands glided a bit slower. She'd eventually move to take a step forward, to settle into the water to rinse--however her foot would catch, and she'd tumble with a quiet huff as water splashed her face. Her knees were skinned from the rocks, and bleeding, though she didn't know that--or think she'd hurt herself enough to draw blood.
As she stood again, she'd lean to search for the soap once more, fingers grazing rock after rock before she simply dropped onto the side of the creek with a huff, bottom settling gently on wet moss. "I'm sorry. I think I lost it." She mumbled, cheeks flaming. Even without the visual stimulation of being naked in front of a man, she found ways to blush--reasons to flair.
"I'm sorry." She'd whisper again, silent tears pricking the corners of her eyes.
She was so graceful, and so well-formed, that Luuk really couldn't help but steal glances towards her. Eventually he stopped sneaking them and stared plainly at her, at the curve of her neck and the bulge of her breasts. He had no reason to look away; Cosette couldn't see him staring, and besides, he found the female interesting. She was so very bony, malnutrition working its way into the patterns of her skin. Even with the grime wiped away her skin was too cracked. He wanted to help her, take her into his care for a while and feed and clothe her, but he knew it was not to be. She was a stranger, someone he could not bother with. Once she found out he had money, the first thing she'd do was go after that, just like everyone else.
He hesitated when he saw her start to fall, and instinctively reached out to steady her. In doing so he could feel her chest press against his, sending a gentle red throughout his face. He was glad she could not see how excited a certain part of him was getting, and he swiftly looked away in embarrassment of the thought. "No, you're okay," he said once she was on her own feet again. "A bit klutzy for a dancer, maybe." It was a joke, and he said it as such. He looked back at her a few moments later and found that she was searching for something. She sounded all too sad when she did speak. "Lost what, the soap? Here, let me look."
Luuk got down and began to run his fingers over the bottom of the river as well. He located the soap easily enough, its mint green color standing out against the rocks and mosses at the bottom of the river. "See?" he said, producing the bar again. "It's alright. You don't have to--ah, pigeon, you're bleeding." It was only then that he noticed the blood trickling down her legs. He moved towards her, wiping at her new wounds and rubbing the soap over them. "I'm sorry if this stings," he said, and did not move until her blood stopped flowing. When it did, he sighed and only then did he realize he was between her legs. A darker red raced to his face and he swiftly backed away. Luuk then slipped as well, landing on his tailbone with a wince. "Ah, sorry," he was mumbling. "I just, I, erm, I'm fine."
Certainly not his smoothest interaction. Luuk gained his footing again and turned away from Cosette, not wanting to look at her again for fear his erection would somehow be felt from the distance between them. He silently cursed himself. It was just a homeless girl, just someone he was helping, and they were only bathing. And yet, she was a naked woman, completely oblivious and ready to heed to his every call. Briefly he wondered what he might get away with, but he forced himself to stop that train of thought. He took up his soaps and washed himself quickly, then turned in her general direction. "Are you finished? My fingers are turning to prunes already."
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