CHAPTER 376: UNITED IN CELEBRATION, PART FOUR

Melisa returned to Rakia’s workshop an hour later.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure if she was hoping Rakia would be done or if she wanted to catch a replay, but whatever the case, she was back and hopefully ready. She knocked again... though a bit more cautiously this time.

"Safe to come in?"

"Yep! Clothed and everything!"

Melisa pushed the door open.

Rakia sat cross-legged on a pile of cushions, wearing a silk robe that split at the middle, almost making it look like a particularly flowy coat. The nim woman from earlier, Rhamie, was gone.

"Sorry about earlier!" Rakia bounced to her feet. "I forgot to put up the ’busy’ sign!"

"You have a busy sign?"

"No, but I should get one!" Rakia grinned. "So! You came back! That means you must REALLY want to help with the festival!"

"Yeah, I figured we need to counter the Shadow Mage propaganda somehow."

"Exactly! Art defeats hate! Love conquers fear! Orgasms unite all races!"

Melisa blinked.

"That last one doesn’t fit the pattern."

"Sure it does! Everything’s better after a good orgasm. Wars would end if world leaders just fucked more."

Melisa blinked.

[Well, not the worst political theory I’ve ever heard.]

Rakia grabbed Melisa’s hand and pulled her toward a wall covered in sketches and fabric samples.

"Look! I’ve been planning this for WEEKS!"

The sketches showed various performance concepts. Nim and kitsune dancing together, magical illusions creating shared dreamscapes, aerial acrobatics that required perfect trust between partners.

"This is actually really elaborate."

"Of course it is! I don’t half-ass anything!" Rakia pointed to one sketch. "This one’s my favorite. A nim and kitsune creating magic together, showing how our abilities complement each other."

"But nim can’t use magic. Not traditionally."

Rakia’s eyes sparkled.

"But YOU can. The famous nim mage! Breaking all the rules!"

"I’m not that famous."

"Please. Every nim in the world probably knows your name by this point. Half of them want to fuck you, the other half want to BE you."

Melisa’s cheeks heated.

"Surely, that’s an exaggeration."

"Is it though?" Rakia flopped back onto her cushions. "You saved a king. You’re training at Syux Academy. You’ve got that whole mysterious dangerous vibe going on."

"I do not have a ’mysterious dangerous’ vibe."

"Oh honey, you have SO many vibes. Mysterious hero vibe. Awkward virgin vibe despite definitely not being a virgin. Even some ’I could kill you but I’d rather kiss you’ energy!"

"You’re making these up."

"Am I?" Rakia rolled onto her stomach, kicking her feet in the air. "Tell me about yourself then. Who’s the real Melisa Blackflame?"

Melisa sat down on a nearby chair.

"Eh, to be honest, there’s not much to tell."

"Bullshit. Everyone has a story." Rakia’s tail swayed. "Like me! I grew up in the theater district. My mom was a dancer, my other mom was a playwright. I was literally conceived during a performance of ’The Lonely Shepherdess.’"

Melisa nodded slowly. Then:

"Wait, during?"

"Mhm. Backstage," Rakia elaborated.

"Whoa."

"But yeah. Mom says I was born dramatic." Rakia grinned. "First word was ’encore.’ First steps were a dance. First kiss was with my best friend during rehearsal for a romance play."

"Sounds very... theatrical."

"Everything’s theater if you think about it. Life as we know it is just one big performance with rising actions, falling actions, tragedies, comedies, and catharsis." Rakia sat up. "But the best performances are the honest ones. The ones where you stop pretending and just BE."

As much as she may have felt it was crazy to admit it, Melisa was beginning to understand this tiny storm of a woman.

"Is that what drives you? Honest performance?"

"Not at all. What drives me is the REACTION." Rakia’s eyes lit up. "That moment when the audience gasps. When they forget they’re watching a show. When they feel something so real it changes them."

She jumped to her feet, spun in a circle, and flipped back like it was nothing.

"I want to make people FEEL things! Joy, lust, wonder, hope! I want them to leave my shows different than they came in!"

"Wow."

"Right? Plus I get to see lots of people naked during costume fittings."

Melisa laughed.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The real reason."

"Hey, I contain multitudes!" Rakia winked. "Noble artistic vision AND shameless horniness. They’re not mutually exclusive."

She grabbed a scroll from her desk.

"Speaking of which, I need your measurements. Real ones this time, not the ones I got from groping you."

"You were actually measuring?"

"Of course! I’m a professional! A horny professional, but still."

Melisa stood and let Rakia measure her properly this time. The kitsune was surprisingly focused, jotting down numbers and muttering about fabric choices.

"Your proportions are perfect for this routine I’m planning."

"What routine?"

"It’s a surprise! But it involves silk scarves, a little bit of illusion magic, and possibly some light bondage."

"WHAT?"

"Artistic bondage! Totally different thing!"

Before Melisa could protest further, someone knocked on the door.

"Rakia? Is Lady Blackflame with you?"

"Yeah! Come in!"

A palace servant entered, a young kitsune with golden fur on her tail. She bowed to Melisa.

"Lady Blackflame, the Matriarch requests your presence at the celestial springs."

"The what now?"

"The royal bathing chambers," Rakia explained. "Super exclusive. Natural hot springs enhanced with magic. The water literally sparkles."

The servant nodded.

"The Matriarch wishes to speak with you privately. She said to come at your earliest convenience."

[That sounds a little ominous.]

"Which means now," Rakia translated. "When the Matriarch says ’earliest convenience’ she means ’drop everything and hustle.’"

The servant maintained her professional expression but her tail twitched in agreement.

"I can escort you there, Lady Blackflame."

"I... sure. Okay."

Rakia squeezed her shoulder.

"Don’t worry! The Matriarch’s cool. She probably just wants to chat about nim-kitsune relations. Maybe feel you up a little."

"That’s not reassuring!"

"It’s not supposed to be! It’s honest!" Rakia pushed her toward the door. "Go! Bond with our leader! Try not to stare at her tails too much!"

The servant was already walking down the hall. Melisa hurried to catch up.

"So these celestial springs..."

"Are quite beautiful, my lady. The Matriarch often conducts informal meetings there."

"Informal meaning naked?"

"The springs are clothing optional."

[Of course they are.]

They walked through increasingly ornate corridors. The decorations grew more elaborate, the wood carvings more intricate. Finally, they stopped at a door marked with symbols that seemed to shimmer.

"The Matriarch awaits inside."

The servant bowed and left. Melisa stared at the door.

[Well, this should be interesting.]