→ sweet dreams are made of this.

[thedominatrix]

Who: Irene Adler and YOU YES YOU
What: Uh- work, shopping, drinking, seeing the sights, picking up chicks, going to dinner, anything you like.
Where: The Vault, various boutiques, restaurants, gay clubs, out on the street, anywhere at all. If you can think of somewhere to be, Irene is quite possibly there.
When: Here all week, baby.
Notes: Just pick where you're setting it and say when/where they are in the header. It needn't be somewhere mentioned here! If you think they could run into each other elsewhere, then go ahead- and if you think it ought to be an arranged meeting rather than a chance one, then that's probably fine too.
Warnings: Sex, drinking, kink, the Vault...and Irene.

Irene's life has changed since coming to Baedal.

Technically, superficially, her life has improved, which she doubts happens to many people once are magically transported against their will to a place where you oughtn't to look too closely at, say, shadows, because there's almost always something that's going to lurk there- but since when was back home safe, exactly?

Here, at least, she can work properly. She likes the Vault, even if she's used to being her own boss. It's enormous and extravagant, dirty and debauched and full of people she likes, whether they're her coworkers or her clients- it feels like a home away from home.

Her job, of course, doesn't stop and start with brandishing a whip. No, she'd get bored too easily that way. It's fun, but it's only what happens on the surface. What she does is single out people who interest her, who can give her something- whether that's money or influence or just fun. She knows how to spot public figures afraid of being noticed, tugging at their suits and sweating- she knows which people don't want her and which want her so much they have to pretend that she's the last thing on their minds. She knows whose CiD she wants to look through while they're distracted (panting, eyes closed, unconscious, sobbing, drugged, drunk- whatever, as long as they trust her and she trusts herself). She enjoys her time at the Vault, and watches a number of acts between working, but never forgets that she's there to do her job.

When she's free in the evenings she can go out, a strange feeling for someone who is so used to being on the run. There is, of course, Mycroft Holmes to contend with, but she really can't imagine him sampling the nightlife. She's careful not to become a regular anywhere just in case, though more often than not she's found in gay clubs. She doesn't often go home alone; in the mornings, she's polite and kind but ensures that the women in her bed aren't in her bed for too long, and doesn't make use of any CiD numbers they might leave.

And then there's money, fashion, food, exploration, a whole new world. Irene loves to travel, and it's not really travelling when you're running. Baedal changes daily and she's barely seen half of the city, or that's what it feels like. She dines out often, alone or with some of the connections (friends?) she's made, and she thanks her stars that her job pays well, because she has a whole new wardrobe to build up.

Irene Adler, therefore, is living again. And if she sometimes finds herself alone, with no distractions, and feels claustrophobic, knowing that she is in the middle of the city and there is no world outside of it, knowing that she can't hop on a plane with a faked passport and be someone else somewhere else, knowing that she is trapped-

-then that is a very minor detail.

Comments

[whattigerscanchange]

There's a moment when Odessa flashes back to someone in her life that she would not hesitate to refer to as The Woman. The Woman who made her see beyond a drive for power. The Woman who made her care for someone else without expecting anything in return. The Woman who... made her question everything, not the least of which being her sexuality.

This Woman isn't her, but Odessa's decided already that Miss Adler is a lovely approximation.

Everything is a straight-forward enough demand for information, and not unexpected. Everything is so much more dangerous in this realm, but that's what makes it exciting. She follows the movement of Irene's hand with her eye, the ghost of a smile curving her lips at the contact. "Not to this," Odessa admits, "but the setting's new."

As to what she can take, the perverse desire exists to murmur something sharp like, I've a prosthetic eye and a face full of scars. How much do you think I can take? But that... That's not something to be flaunted as a challenge, a gauntlet to be thrown. "I believe in this case I take what you feel I deserve, Miss Adler."

[thedominatrix]

"Good answer," Irene shoots back. There's something pleased but vicious in her voice, with an undertone that suggests she could easily say good girl instead.

She leans in close, mouth at Odessa's ear; "Though I think you might regret it." There's a sudden temptation to nip at her ear lobe, but that's a little familiar. Still, Irene enjoys the moment of proximity and warmth, the smell of her client's skin. It's nice to have a woman avail of her services, and an attractive one at that. "I'll ruin you, dear."

It's a threat and a promise all at once.

[whattigerscanchange]

The praise would cause her to glow under normal circumstances, but Irene is decidedly extraordinary. "Thank you, Miss Adler." It suffices for now.

And when her breath washes over her ear, Odessa's eyes slide shut heavily and her body relaxes in tandem with a sharp exhale. She gives the impression of melting, like her knees might buckle, though she does not waver.

I'll ruin you, dear. "You're most welcome to try."

[thedominatrix]

Irene closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying how Odessa melts slightly, and yet- even better- keeps an element of challenge in her voice and in her words...

"Mind your manners," she reprimands, her voice low and deep, almost rumbling- she doesn't have to sound angry. In fact, she finds that that lessens the effect. She just sounds like she expects to be obeyed.

She likes how they've managed to create a bubble of privacy in the middle of the pressing crowds, but they're going to have to move at some point. She wants a private room.

"Come with me," she says simply, leaning back a little to look Odessa in the eye, raising her eyebrows. It's not quite phrased like a command or a suggestion. Instead, she says it as if she's offering a solution to a tough problem.

She hasn't mentioned a price yet, she reminds herself. And she needs to work out what Odessa wants. She needs to establish and safeword and seek out limits.

She can't get carried away, no matter how much fun that might be in the short term- it never really pays off.

[whattigerscanchange]

That she can't decide between instant compliance or her instinctual need to rebel against everything, even in small ways, bothers her some. She knows she needs to commit to one role if this is going to work. But then she questions why she needs this to work. The only solution is to follow Irene, or to walk away now.

But walking away from Irene Adler was an option taken off the table a while ago.

And so she nods, "Certainly, Miss Adler." As though they're on their way to some conference room to discuss last quarter's numbers and what they mean for the future. In some ways, that's not far off.