Xander may have considered himself knowledgeable about women and how to spend private time with them … but he quickly found he was not prepared for time with a Kiriga. The first thing Xander learned that they really do treat everything as art and any act worth doing is worth savoring. Over two hours of savoring, as it turns out. The time was well spent in a gentle (and occasionally scary, given Umeko's very sharp teeth!) exploration of the many differences between their respective physiology. She's patient throughout, taking even the most embarrassing moments of learning about each other in stride with nothing worse that a playful smile of amusement. But as with as time, it does come to an end. Xander finds himself now curled up with the Kiriga near the fireplace, left to ponder over everything that just happened … and frankly, how being with someone with serpentine flexibility (enough to coil completely around him) makes one one interesting time.

"I hope that it was not too dull or strange," Umeko says softly, her chin resting lightly on top of his head, spreading his ears apart.

"Oh, there's nothing dull about you, Umeko," Xander notes! "I just hope I… well, I'm no Long-Shadow… but I hope I did you justice."

"You should not talk that way," Umeko comments as she carefully uncoils herself, mindful of her claws and other sharp bits. "You do not have to compare yourself to anyone, Xander," she adds as she play-bites one of his ears, "You honored me by spending time with me. When a Lapi doe finally claims you, she will be very lucky. You care about your companion."

The buck blushes, and then blinks. "I thought you had claimed me though?" he asks. "And… uh… this may sound silly… but… if were back in Jadai… well… " Xander waffles a bit, and finally asks, "Would there have been musicians playing for some of that stuff you were doing?"

"I have not forgotten that you some day wanted to have a family with children," Umeko points out, "Which is something I can't offer you. I would understand if you chose a Lapi some day because of that." The comment though, elicits an amused smile from the reptile. "Well, that would entirely depend on if it was a moment of passion or a formalized act meant to request that the ancestors bless us with a child. Formal matings are often more of a … social affair. A religious act, for lack of a better translation."

"Social affair?" Xander asks. "Well, uh… I'll be happy to witness if you find a nice dragon and want to have kids yourself… "

Umeko's brow ridge arches a bit. "You enjoy watching others?" she asks.

"I've never done it, so… I don't know!" Xander admits, and then smiles wide, showing his buck teeth. "But if you were involved, I'm sure it'll be something I'd regret missing out on!"

"We could include you," Umeko says with a perfectly serious expression. "I am certain a male would appreciate the warmth you generate as much as I do… "

"What? Who?" Xander asks. "You have someone in mind? And… uh… that might be weird… "

"Well, there were some handsome guards. Very muscular and sinewy," Umeko says as her lips draw back in a teasing smile, "But no, I was teasing. In truth, you probably have more … enthusiasm about it. Formality would take away what we did, I think. My only concern was that you have a truly memorable night. Whatever else that might happen here, I wanted you to know you were cared about."

"Wait… what about tomorrow night?" Xander asks, lying on his belly and wagging (or at least wiggling) his tail.

"Well, tomorrow night would mean we have to survive tonight," Umeko points out as she now stretches upward, her scaled form rippling like water as muscles contract and relax beneath her hide. "Plus, you may not be able to do more," she adds as her head tilts with a sidelong look to Xander. "May I ask you an odd question?"

"I can do more!" Xander promises. "And what about morning? Or after breakfast or… oh, go ahead and ask."

Umeko curls her long tail about herself. "Do you want me to treat you as if you were Kiriga?" she asks.

The Lapi perks his ears up. "Well," he says, drawing it out. "What… uh… what exactly would that entail? Would it be nicer than you already treat me?"

"It would entail treating tonight as an official courtship. It would add a little ritual to the act. In truth, just formality; but it might help with certain matters should you ever visit Jadai. I am not sure quite how to translate this other than you could argue that you have an official claim of my companionship by Jadian tradition," Umeko tries to explain, though she stumbles over several works as she tries to think of an approximate explanation.

"Oh! So… you mean like 'going steady'?" Xander asks, looking thoughtful. "But not engaged to be married, right?"

"I am not familiar with that term," Umeko admits, "And no, it is not the same as a marriage contract. It is more … well, a way to identify that you are not some… " There Umeko pauses as she thinks. The smile that follows is apologetic as she says, "I hope you do not take this badly, but the only way I can explain it is that it is a way to indicate that you are not just some exploration of … the perversion of seeing out physical enjoyment of one who is not of the people. That you have meaning to me."

"Oh!" Xander says, blushing a bit. "Well, that makes sense. Umm… does it involve marking me somehow? Do I get a collar like Lilac?"

"Do you want one?" Umeko asks as she covers her mouth to muffle a giggle. "Do you think that Lilac and I have shared intimacy?"

"Oh no, I don't think you have, I've only fantasized about it!" Xander says. "But it does mark her as being under your protection, or whatever."

"Is it normal for mammalian males to have fantasies about women … enjoying each other?" Umeko asks as her brow arches again.

"Well, it wasn't just you two, I was there too!" Xander notes. "And… uh… it might just be Lapis. And Eeee. And Jupani. And… yeah, okay, all mammalian males, pretty much."

"I see," Umeko says as she covers her mouth again. "I will remember that for later."

Lapi ears perk up again. "I don't think Lilac would be interested though, honestly… " he notes.

"We have family servants in Jadai that tend to the needs of the family," Umeko half-explains. "But to answer your question, no, it is not marking you. It is more symbolic than that; a giving of each other."

"Giving of each other?" Xander asks, and grins. "Does that mean more sex? I'm totally ready to go again!"

"Ah, I see I need to teach you patience," Umeko says as she actually rolls her eyes slightly. "No, it does not, and I am not sure we have time enough for another joining. Just … consider the thought of that as motivation to stay alive."

"I'll be with Anisa. What sort of trouble could two fluffy little bunnies get into?" Xander asks with mock innocence. "I'm more worried about you and tall-dark-and-antlered."

"You two could end up in the throes of passion," Umeko points out. "As for Vandringar, he is a generally handsome fellow and smooth of tongue. He moves like a hunter, though, and the world is his prey. I do not think he will stab me in the back, not so long as I remain useful."

"Or… you know… you could stab him first?" Xander suggests. "And as for me and Anisa… ha! That… uh… that isn't going to happen. And evil guys are very charismatic! That's how they get you to be evil. I mean, if evil guys were all soft and pudgy and smelled funny then they'd never recruit anyone."

"Are you afraid he will seduce me to join him and serve him?" Umeko has to ask, "Hakuu never managed that, so why would he be able to?"

"No, I'm worried about what he'll do when he figures out that he can't seduce you!" Xander squeaks.

"And what do you think he might do?" Umeko asks as she half-pushes, half slides, back to Xander until she's nose-to-nose with him. "Hmm?"

Licking his nose first, Xander asks, "What was the question? Oh, uh… he'd try to get you killed… or take me hostage or something."

"You hardly look like a princess to be kidnapped," Umeko says and licks Xander's nose tip with the tip of her slightly forked tongue.

Xander shivers at the lick, and asks, "Well… anyway… about this ceremony?"

"Are you, I believe the word is … squeamish?" Umeko asks oddly.

"I'm a Fire Mage!" Xander insists. "I've seem people explode. Unexpectedly."

"Then you will not mind bleeding a little," Umeko says and nods at that as she sits back. She actually coils her tail, then uses it to push herself upright. Where it puts Xander's eye level at, well… "Excuse me for a moment?" she asks.

"You're going to bite me?" Xander asks, without sounding upset. He might be a bit distracted.

"Given my condition that would be unwise. I would poison you," Umeko points out as she slinks way, "I will use my sword." Wow, boy does her rump and tail sway side to side…

"Mmmm, yeah, sword… " Xander says dreamily. Then he blinks. "Wait… sword?"

Umeko returns after several minutes of Xander getting to mull that over. In her arms is a tray with a brazier and a teapot. Sylvanian style, of course, but who would expect to find Jadaian style ceramics here anyway. She's also carrying her shorter sword on the tray. She coils her tail and actually lowers herself with it (and probably makes one wonder how strong the muscles are in her back to be able to do that).

"So, we share the tea then, and… give ourselves tattoos?" Xander asks, sitting up and scooting forward on his rear.

"No, we both donate a few drops of blood to the tea," Umeko says as she draws out the crude flint tool. After several strikes, the coal fragments in the brazier alight. She glances up, then asks, "Do you want a physical mark, Xander?"

"Oh, no, I'm good with the blood!" Xander notes quickly, especially after the 'few drops' clarification.

"I could try to tattoo your ear with a stylized Kiriga image if you wish," Umeko comments as she stirs the coals, coaxing them to a dull white and eerie red.

"Maybe if we get back to civilization," Xander notes, rubbing his ear in reflex. "This is not the sort of place I'd want to risk getting an infection in… "

Umeko quirks a small smile. "I believe you have … ah, I believe the word is fetish, about being owned," she teases as she sets the teapot on the hot brazier. As it warms she lifts the lid and stirs its contents with a long spoon. "I am not sure how their tea will taste, but the idea is that by mixing of blood, we confirming dedication to each other. I think other cultures have similar traditions, a blood pact, perhaps it is called?"

"Yes, and even spitting on the palms and shaking hands for lesser relationships," Xander notes. "Children do it a lot, too."

"I believe it because traditions view blood as the fluid of life," Umeko says as she leans over to sniff the steam that issues from the spout of the pot. Her snout skews up oddly at the scent briefly. "So the mixing and sharing of it symbolizes the intertwining of two lives."

"Well, it's really useful in lots of magic rituals too," Xander points out. "And what Spirit Mages can do with it… woo. Spooky stuff! Like, there was this guy who would conjure his own sister's spirit from a drop of blood. While she was still alive! She hated that."

"You didn't play pranks like that in school, did you, Xander?" Umeko asks as she sets down the spoon and now draws the sword sword from its scabbard.

"I was a Fire Mage," Xander points out. "Our pranks… well, really, it was too dangerous for us to play pranks."

"I remember you blowing up Spring Meadow's butt at the gym," Umeko notes as she gives Xander a look.

"That wasn't a prank though!" Xander points out. "It's not a prank if they can grab you afterward."

Umeko holds out her hand to Xander. "You are fortunate she did not grab you. I remember that she was threatening to snip off some parts," the Kiriga dead pans.

Licking his nose again, Xander offers his hand to Umeko.

Umeko very carefully moves Xander's hand over to the tip of her sword. She lightly presses down the tip of his index finger to the blade and moves it along the edge only a hair. Yes, Xander recognizes the feeling that bites the tip of his finger; he's all too familiar with how paper cuts feel and as sharp as the sword is … it just made a thin-line nick in his fingertip. She lifts his hand away and holds that fingertip over the top of the teapot. There she squeezes it gently and two small drops of blood fall into the water.

Xander grits his teeth through the whole thing while waiting for it to end so can suck on his finger.

There was a flaw in that plan. Umeko puts Xander's finger in her mouth and sucks on it. She did at least make sure the cut part is far away from those hooked and grooved fangs in the front, at least. He could also swear Umeko was giving him a rather suggestive look.

"Mmmm," Xander says, melting a bit. "I could get used to this, you know," he comments.

Umeko's answer to that is to playfully bite his finger. It certainly wasn't hard enough to actually hurt. When she lets his finger go, she comments, "You had a similar look earlier, too." It's now her turn to nick her own finger and she does so and squeezes out a couple drops of blood into the teapot.

"I shouldn't suck on your cut," Xander notes. "But if you have a non-cut part you want me to suck on… "

"Are all Lapis so incorrigible?" Umeko asks in a teasing tone.

"Mmmm… well, none are as charming about it as I am!" Xander replies.

Umeko resumes stirring the pot. "I am afraid this will not taste quite as it would if we were on Jadai … but we make do with what we have on hand," she comments. There's a pause, then she asks, "May I ask you something personal?"

"Sure! I mean, at this point I don't have anything to hide from you," Xander points out.

"With everything that has happened since we met, do you feel better about yourself?" Umeko asks, "You used to put yourself down a lot."

"I feel more accomplished," Xander notes. "Battle tested and all. Much more so than when I was a fire-fighter."

"Good," Umeko says, nodding. She sets the spoon aside and goes about pouring two cups of a very dark looking tea. "I finally feel like I have a future," she says.

"You mean, a future you made yourself?" Xander asks.

"That is one way to put it," Umeko says with a nod, "I control the direction of my life now."

"And you don't have to worry about what your father thinks about it either," Xander notes with a grin.

"Well, I do and I don't," Umeko says with a small shrug, "But I have proven myself and the family is safe. I am certain he will still offer his opinions on matters and will likely still try to find me a proper Kiriga husband. But this time all he can do is suggest."

"Uh, you're sure that's all he can do?" Xander asks, sounding suddenly nervous. "There isn't some Jadaian custom that lets him challenge your boyfriends or devour ones he doesn't approve of, right?"

"Of course not. It is the competing suitors that have the right to devour the other should they best him in combat," Umeko comments as she lifts up one of the teacups and offers it to Xander.

The Lapi's hands try not to shake as they take the cup. "Really?" he squeaks. "Wow… I'm… going to end up killing a lot of guys, aren't I?"

"I'm joking, Xander," Umeko says with a smile, "There is no such tradition. As for me having a lot of suitors … I am not sure that would ever come to pass; by their standards I may be considered a poor choice. I lack the expected deference."

"Warlords may have different standards," Xander points out, but does steady his hands.

"Do you expect a Naga to court me, then?" Umeko asks as she lifts her cup.

"You're the regional governor, so… yes," Xander notes. "Political marriages have always been a pastime of the nobility, right?"

"True enough," Umeko has to agree as she holds out her cup to his lips. "I suppose if it came down to it, I could use the orb to make me more Naga-like again… "

"Err, I don't think you should consider that," Xander notes, and tries a sip of the tea.

The taste would best be described as funky and slightly metallic (probably from the blood. Umeko at least waits for Xander to finish before she says, "But it would bring a whole new meaning to devouring you… " Boy can she grin fangily.

Xander nearly chokes then, and pounds on his chest to make sure everything stays down. "If you must use it… make your suitors grow legs instead."

Umeko looks expectantly at Xander. Her eyes flick to the cup he still has.

The Lapi goes back to sipping the remainder.

"You were supposed to serve me as I did you," Umeko comments with a smile and a shake of her head, "I should have explained." She lifts her cup to her lips now and takes a drink. "The tea in this land is terrible," she comments afterward.

"Oops?" Xander says. "Should we start over?"

"No, it isn't necessary," Umeko says with a small shrug, "Starting over would mean another mating and I don't want to burden you with that."

"It's no burden!" Xander insists.

"I don't know, I worry for your endurance. It is a very physical activity," Umeko says, sounding unsure.

"I'm hot blooded!" Xander notes. "And a Lapi! We have lots of stamina and enthusiasm, you know."

"I think you messed up on purpose," Umeko teases as she reaches over and taps the buck on his nose.

"I was kind of distracted by the thought of having to fight off warlords," Xander admits.

"Mmmhmm," Umeko muses, "And how do you intend to make that up to me?"

"I could use my warm fingers technique on you?" Xander offers, with perked ears.

"That is a possibility," Umeko agrees as she sets her cup down. She actually looks a bit hesitant when she asks, "I am really not too strange for you? Was it … at least passable when compared to your other experiences?"

"It was mind blowing!" Xander enthuses. "I mean… where did you learn that stuff? Or should I really be asking that? Please, if Master Long Tooth was involved in any way I probably would rather not know… "

"Well, we are given lessens on such acts so that we make a good, serving, wife," Umeko explains with a roll of her shoulders, "And no, he was not. My mother instructed me in the concepts. The rest was from reading required scrolls."

"Well… the girls I've been with before either couldn't read or were mages who read very different sorts of books," Xander admits.

"Do you think Anisa would like to learn? Perhaps she has not had the chance to read the proper books and would explain her temperament. I have heard that mammals get … frustrated," Umeko offers.

"I'm sure… that I'm not the one to suggest such a thing to her," Xander notes. "Anisa might accept advice from you though, even if you're a lot younger than she is."

"Ah, of course. You fear her as if she were a warlord," Umeko says knowingly.

"I fear my cousin, who likes her," Xander notes.

Umeko glances towards the windows just over Xander's shoulders. "Mm, I must go meet Vandringar soon," she says.

The buck twitches at the mention of the stag. "I don't trust him," Xander notes. "So if something bad happens, I won't feel at all disappointed if you use him as a decoy or a shield."

"That would not be honorable," Umeko points out, "We have a truce."

Xander sighs. "Yeah, until we get out of here," he notes. "I hate it when evil people are so civil. It's just not right."

"We only have a short time left, do you still wish to share again?" Umeko asks.

The Lapi looks into his cup. "More tea, you mean?" he asks.

"Well, if you wish tea, yes. I had thought you wanted to enjoy each other again," Umeko says. She reaches out and takes the teapot to check the level of water and tea that remains.

Xander eyes the teapot, and wonders if Umeko would be upset if he 'accidentally' knocked it over…