Cassius' Shop of Jeweled Wonders

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius finished rubbing the oil into his skin after Kota headed into the bedroom then put his robe on long enough to get into the bedroom and put on the pair of sleeping shorts he usually wore then hung the robe on a hook beside the door.

He headed downstairs to lock up the shop and put out most of the lights, closing the double doors that lead to the beach as well before sitting in the big chair he usually sat in to work. He opened the pouch of stones Kota had gathered and looked over the pieces, finding himself smiling softly as he remembered Kota's enthusiasm over the cavern and the swim.

He gave a soft sigh and considered the stones silently. The fluorite easily turned into a carving of himself in his mere form with Kota's owl form flying around him. The smaller pieces he carefully crafted into a necklace and bracelet holding spells that would enable Kota to breathe under water and block some of the effects of onyx. One last piece became a ring, the violet stone taking the shape nicely as well as another spell that wasn't as easy to work. That spell would enable Kota to call him if he was in trouble again, something he hoped the man didn't need to use.

He finally set all of the pieces aside, now wrapped together in a small box of the palest lavender with a dark blue ribbon around it, a small label carrying Kota's name on it.

He stood up and stretched, surprised to note that he'd been working for two and a half hours. He went upstairs and smiled at the sight of Kota curled up asleep with Orthius cuddled up in his hair. He retrieved a very soft small pillow and a super soft handmade blanket and arranged them on top of the bedside table then carefully scooped Orthius up and settled him into the nest he'd made.

Only then did he slide into the bed, moving up behind Kota to wrap one arm around his waist, snuggled up against him, then found himself falling asleep before he knew it.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius shifted towards the hand that Kota had taken away but settled before he'd moved too far, his hand still resting lightly over Kota's waist. After another moment, that hand shifted and pulled the man closer to him as he mumbled Kota's name then settled back down again.

After a few more peaceful moments, Cassius rolled onto his back and stretched slowly, managing to throw off the covers in the process. He still had his eyes closed and had no real idea that Kota could look his fill of him since he was only wearing a pair of very short shorts to sleep in.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius finally finished waking up and moved into the bathroom to rub a bit more of the special oil into his skin, noting that a few spots were getting itchy from drying out from too many shifts the day before. That done, he moved into his massive closet and laid out clothes for himself and for Kota, giving the latter several pieces to choose from.

Before he got dressed, though, he noted a wonderful smell coming from downstairs and headed down to investigate, smiling when he noticed Kota making him breakfast. He entered the kitchen and gave Kota a kiss on his cheek before preparing the coffee pot then setting it on the stove to brew.

"I don't usually use the kitchen for much beyond making drinks and preparing cold things to eat. I'm hopeless at cooking, after all. Whenever I want something hot to eat, I usually head into the village for it," he explained softly then gave Kota another kiss on his other cheek, "Thank you," he added in a soft whisper then started setting the table.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius had gotten a small pitcher of fresh cream, nicely flavored with a combination of hazelnuts and vanilla, and put that on the table with sugar for his coffee and butter for the toast then put salt and pepper on his eggs before he started to eat. The flavors were easy to combine for breakfast; fresh eggs, crispy bacon, nicely buttered bread.

He found himself delighted with the simplicity of having someone to eat with, something he rarely got to enjoy. He had no problem complimenting Kota on the food by eating it all then saying how good it was.

He finally leaned back in his chair to enjoy his coffee, noting the necklace and ring Kota was wearing with a pleased smile, "I hope you like them. The necklace will help shield you from onyx as well as enabling you to breathe underwater whenever you decide to swim with me. The ring allows you to call me for help if you need it, just place a kiss on the band and whisper my name. I hope you don't mind the pieces..." he explained, hoping that Kota would appreciate the spells as much as the jewelery and carved piece.

As much as he was vain and sure in his abilities, he'd rarely made gifts like these, something specifically for someone he cared about. So he was a little unsure of how Kota would react to the spells he'd put on them. He could easily take offense, though Cass hoped that he wouldn't.

Still, he made sure that none of that showed on his face as he enjoyed his coffee and the little bit of peace he always had before opening up the shop. Of course, he never opened it before noon, so the villagers had come to accept the fact that he was not a morning person. But he thought he could get used to mornings if he got to wake up to Kota being here....  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius finished the rest of his coffee watching Kota. He loved the way the man's body moved and couldn't help but imagine it moving in other ways. He finished his cup and poured himself a second, adding his cream and sugar to it before standing and moving up behind Kota to place a light teasing kiss on the back of his neck.

"I'm going to head up to get dressed, lover. You're welcome to rummage through my closet at your will. I've certainly got enough clothes in there to clothe half the village. I've got only one commission I've got to finish today but it shouldn't take me long. Someone is coming to pick it up later today. Other than that, I was considering closing the shop today..." he said in a soft whisper as he moved one arm around Kota's waist, finding himself lost in the man's scent for just a bit.

Then he remembered the cup in his hand and that he shouldn't really try anything in the kitchen. Not only was it not sanitary, but he had the feeling that Kota still wasn't ready for anything beyond kissing. So he simply gave the back of Kota's neck another small kiss and made himself move away from him, sipping his coffee as he moved up the stairs to get dressed.

He moved into the bathroom to brush his hair out first. Taking down the braid then brushing through it all managed to occupy his hands but not his imagination, so many images of Kota running through his mind... Of course, none of the images had anything to do with clothing, several of them were certainly enough to get him slapped or worse if Kota ever knew.

He shook his head to get rid of the images so he'd be able to concentrate and moved into the bedroom to change his clothes.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius dressed in a pair of dark purple tights and a lighter purple tunic that was still darker than his lavender eyes, black knee-boots that laced up his calves finishing off the outfit. With the upper half of his hair pulled back with a bone clip, an outfit that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else looked stunning on him.

He moved downstairs and finished setting the spells on the commission from Ash then saw it sent up to the castle via one of the younger boys always hanging around the marketplace for just that kind of job. That done, he stood in the shop, debating whether to open it up today or not.

He usually left it open, the spells on the shop itself set up to tell him when he had a customer and to prevent any thefts from occurring. While he wanted to spend the day with Kota, he knew that temptation was starting to get to him. If he spent much more time alone with him, Cass was going to wind up pushing things too far too fast.

He knew how that would wind up: as a complete disaster. Which meant that he was going to have to open the shop up anyway and try to figure out something to keep himself busy. Otherwise he'd have a hard time keeping his hands off of Kota...  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius had no problem with that suggestion, knowing full well that a little distance would probably do himself good, "It's no problem at all, Kota. Just be careful on your way," he said softly, unable to stop himself from running his hands through the shorter hair.

He found that he liked the new look on the man, and that he couldn't resist those lips this time. He leaned in slowly then smiled against his lips, "I like the hair, Kota..." he whispered, then gave him a deep kiss that actually left Cass a bit breathless when he finally came up for air.

As he pulled back, he gave a breathy chuckle, "You'd better go while my good intentions are intact, dear heart... Otherwise, I give you no promises on my good behavior," he said with that chuckle, though his lavender eyes showed that he was absolutely serious.  

[Red Gypsy]

Vihata

Cassius gave a soft sigh as Kota left, taking a moment to simply enjoy the scent he'd left behind him. Then he gave into work.

He opened the store, rearranged a few items, worked on a few jewelery pieces. He had a few customers, but mostly villagers with simple needs easily supplied with items he already had made.

But his day practically flew by while he was keeping himself busy and finally gave a heavy sigh as he locked up for the night and leaned against the door.

He considered staying the night here, giving Kota a little more time. But he'd promised to bring the owl piece to him and knew he was going to do it. So he readied a small pack that he could take with him easily, glad it was waterproof considering his faster mode of transportation, and left by the back door, taking to the water instead of walking.