Painting on a Smile

((early January))

Having never actually been to a brothel, much less a classy bar and grill one, Fatima was not sure what to expect when she entered the doors of Temptations. She was sure staring at the exterior was not going to prepare her for whatever she would find inside. At any rate, the thought of the decor was not what was making her hesitant. Taking a deep breath to brace herself, the young horseman walked in carefully. It couldn't be worse than some of the parties she had been to, right?

After the initial adjustment from the cold of outdoors to the warmth of the interior, the effect on her senses was actually fairly tolerable. The air was maybe slightly more charged with lust than at a party, but any hungry people were pretty much eating, and she suspected that the brothel part of the business was on different floors.

As she looked around and took in the decadent decor while trying to catch a glimpse of Matilda, Fatima was slightly nervous about learning etiquette in a place like this. She wasn't exactly very proper to begin with, though it did seem easier to fall into politeness when miss Matilda was around. The young horseman genuinely wanted to please the older woman. She hadn't really known any women aside from her nominal mother in the male-dominated cult and tended to look up to them rather quickly.

Fatima had been told to meet Matilda in the bar and grill section of the brothel at a specific time, but she couldn't see her anywhere. She wasn't sure if she was distracted enough that she was just missing her or if she had gotten here a bit too early. She suspected it was the latter, as she had purposely given herself way more time than needed to get to Temptations. After all, she was pretty sure showing up late to an appointment would be a definite breach of etiquette. After another glance around, the girl sat at an empty table to wait. She was pretty sure a seven-foot-tall redhead would be fairly easy to spot by anyone looking for her, even in this place.

@Kadakism

Fatima was actually a little nervous when the employee pulled her aside, thinking she had done something wrong for a moment, though she had no idea what. He was rather impressive, not much shorter than her, if he was shorter at all, and very big. But she followed him quietly anyways because it had only been a little bit of jitters and had passed quickly.

She smiled genuinely when she was led back to Matilda, but then paused, uncertain if she was supposed to curtsy as well. She had worn a dress and a fairly modest one at that, but then it was cold out and she usually dressed modestly in the winter. The only thing about it was that it was barely knee length, which was hardly unexpected given that she was so tall and hadn't had much opportunity to shop for clothes on the island yet. Also, she really had no idea how to curtsy in the first place. Fatima settled for nodding to the older woman with a quiet, "Hello."

She took the offered seat gracefully and considered the tea. On the one hand, it would give her something to occupy her hands and mouth. On the other hand, she would probably fidget with the cup way too much, or gulp down the tea, or spill it all over herself somehow. At least with the secludedness of the booth, she wasn't quite as on edge has she'd worried about being. "N-no, Miss. Thank you, though." She also resisted the urge to pocket some sugar cubes for later because she was fairly certain that would not be polite at all.

When Matilda questioned her seriousness, Fatima looked at her earnestly. She wasn't playing around, the older woman had made learning etiquette seem like a very right thing to do. At the moment, the young horseman really looked up to the fae and was eager to sort of live up to her expectations. She was also pretty certain she was going to fail at first, and that kind of worried her, but it also made it a challenge. "I am very serious, Miss Matilda. I do want to learn about etiquette. And I will try very hard. And I will do what you tell me."

Fatima may have admired the older woman, but that didn't make her direct, unblinking stare any less unnerving. The girl kept her hands clenched into her skirt to avoid fidgeting under Matilda's gaze. She felt uncomfortably examined and aware of her flaws. But when the fae spoke, her voice was not as intimidating.

A worried look crossed her face for a moment. She personally had no issue with hiring the fae but was worried about her own age being an issue. "I- I'm only 16. Am I even allowed? I mean I know there'll be nothing like that going on, and even if there was it's legal, but I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your boss... But if it is okay, then I'm fine with it."

The talk of punishment and reward wasn't exactly unexpected or at least it made sense to Fatima. Her "family" hadn't exactly punished her, or if they had it was more in the sense of seclusion and isolation from the rest of the world or increased training when she got out of line. The worst tortures had been in the name of training or just using her as a toy to satisfy their own needs. Basically, she didn't know what her limits were. And honestly, a fear of Matilda's disapproval would keep her in line more than anything physical, but she didn't know herself well enough to be able to say that. "I agree with you. Um, and you have my full permission. But - I don't know. I mean I'm pretty much - please don't chop off my limbs... but that sounds really silly."

Rewards were pretty much the same issue. She had no idea what motivated her, other than instinct. She didn't even know what she liked yet. She craved approval from someone who seemed to see her as more than just a slut and offered a chance of self-control or possibly a purpose in the future. She'd let people bite her for candy, and every time she went to open her mouth she felt like a frivolous child. "I feel stupid! I - no-one's offered to reward me before... I like food... I'm sorry, I'm not good at this."

She was glad Matilda was so polite and matter-of-fact and was just laughing at what she felt was her own childishness coming through. But then, the fae's maturity was what had drawn Fatima to her in the first place and gotten her to open up about her lack of purpose. Although the girl was aware that Matilda probably wouldn't lose control enough to laugh out loud at her foolishness, she completely believed the woman was being so kind and generous and wasn't aware that she actually was holding back laughter.

Matilda's smile made her uncertain whether or not the fae was joking about dismembering patrons. Would anyone actually ask... then again she supposed there were many people more properly masochistic than her and plenty of regenerators. She definitely knew what a crop felt like, but she suspected earning a punishment would hurt more than the instruments anyways. "I understand. That seems appropriate. And... thank you for letting me make a decision. I know that it's not necessary."

Fatima couldn't keep the woman's gaze for long. She wasn't very comfortable with eye contact to begin with and the lack of blinking was just incredibly unnerving. The wide smile could be passed off a part of being inhuman, although still a little unsettling, but the stare felt like it went through her. "The reward sounds fair too... and the consequences."

She nodded when Matilda reached her hand out, chewing her lower lip when the woman caressed her face. She certainly didn't feel brave, but she didn't want to contradict the fae comforting her. She still couldn't quite believe she was actually willing to teach her. And she was sure she was just going to fail so badly Matilda would just hate her. That was such a scary thought. "Thank you for everything, Miss."