Bomilcar made his way to the Water Sellers' headquarters, wrapped in a cloak and wearing his stillsuit. He knew the way and his eyes told any that stood between him and his destination that they had be prepared for trouble.

He was actually let in without a word. A familiar face in a familiar pose greeted him.



"Ah, I am Emrys Jago, and you are who you are. Zenzi said you would return." He grinned. He seemed unperturbed by the water crisis. A relief from the tension Bomilar had experienced outside, walking amid people on the edge for anyone's water... He'd noticed that there were twice as many guards outside the building as before. The Sipwell seemed a beleaguered enclave. Perhaps leaving it would be harder than walking in...

"Where's the curly chef?"

Bomilcar nods in greeting to Emrys. "Frigate. Personal business," he replied and explained, suggesting he wasn't here primarily for CHOAM business.

He points towards the direction of Zenzi's office and heads back that way if given permission.

Emyr nodded dismissively.

"You're a special guest."

Moving to the office, he knocks on the door. "Zenzi. Bomilcar."

She opened the door herself and put a finger on his chest, looking up from underneath her thin face veil. She was dressed like before, though not in the same things as before.

In return, he puts a hand on her waist and steps in. Closing the door behind he looks directly in her eyes and they seem to ask her... business or pleasure.

He had come in thinking of business. But the scent... it caught him off guard.

"Coming to say goodbye, Bom?" She teased, leaning to whisper into his ear. "Your audit is soon to be over, and you'll be getting back to your frigid planet at the end of the galaxy, won't you?"

"Maybe longer," he admits. "Work on our deal."

He breathes in the scent of her hair.

"Complicated this end."

"Never enough water on Arrakis. And you promise so much. But are you sure you want to commit to it, Bom?" She played with his earlobe and the side of his neck, being gentler where the scar began.

It wasn't the first time his scar had been touched. For some reason most women that were attracted to him also felt their attention drawn to it. He did not understand why, but he also didn't discourage her because it didn't hurt. It was pretty thick scar tissue so the feeling there was somewhat dulled.

"It can help," he says firmly. Bom's voice conveys that he would go through with it even if it weren't her. It wasn't a desire for Zenzi that drove him to act on this idea.

Not that he didn't desire her. His hand sliding to her back to pull her against him said that much.

She was like a reed, yielding but firm. "Who do you want to help the most, Bom?"

"Too many," he admits, knowing that who he wants to help the most were those that couldn't help themselves. But if he can bring more water to the planet then he can help a great number of people indirectly. Supply and demand. "Helping Zenzi helps them. So you."

"And Zenzi wants?" he asks, as he slowly starts to shuffle them to the nearest cushion they can relax in together.

"I'd rather you didn't leave, Bom." She said, reclining with him, playing along his jaw with her fingers. "If you can oust the Harkonnen from here, I'd rather build a niche here that would exist no matter who comes next. I am my uncle's heir, but water business is at the nexus of everything on Arrakis. This water shortage is of not our doing..." She nipped him gently. "...but we may suffer the consequences. When your audit leaves, the one the Harkonnen can easily scapegoat to avoid a water riot is my family. I'd rather not lose everything uncle Lingar has built for me to forces we can't handle on our own."

She paused. "Those men who you've asked after, they were also caught by Harkonnen that night, but someone's bribe saved them. Money trail leads to the Guild Bank as far as my informants can tell. Those people don't seem to be among the living any more, but my guess is that attack was the way their were paying the fai back."

"Made strong impression?" he asks her, actually curious rather than cocky. His lips touch her shoulder gently, while he thinks on what she says.

"Visit Ipyr. Return with you after," he suggests. It would be an opportunity to see oceans and rivers, but to connect with his house, to speak with more politically savvy Thorvalds.

His own fingers move to slowly bury themselves in her hair.

"Strong and lasting." She purred, letting him lead. "I don't think I can leave, Bom. Not now at least."

"Find time, eventually," he says, not pushing or rushing it. "Show you oceans. Teach to swim."

He clears his throat. He'd been using more words and it was getting to him. To give himself a slight break from talking, he pulls her into a kiss.

"It sounds like you want to seduce me with strange, exotic words..." She giggled, leaning off slightly after the kiss to look into his eyes.

Bom gave a small smile, his eyes fixed on Zenzi's. "Working?"

His hands moved over her, the callouses rough against smooth skin, but the touch light.

"Can't you tell?" The touch was reciprocated in more ways than one.

/FtB

[FBi option if you want to continue the conversation.]

/fbi

Bomilcar rested in the bed, his mind clearing away the fog. "Will stay... don't know how long."

He held her to his chest and it reverberated with each word.

"Don't expect me to throw you out." She purred, playing with the hair on his chest. "It's less safe without you."

"No... Arrakis." He clarified and confirmed that he meant on planet. "But also now."

All the small sensations, her fingers on his chest, their sweat slick bodies pressed together, the way her breath tickled his skin when she spoke to him, the still present but fast fading euphoria, the strength of her legs gripping his... he enjoyed it all.

"Can I help? Make safe?" he asks, curious if she has any ideas on calming the populace.

"The water you've promised would certainly help in bringing things here to their fickle balance. Many water farms in the Arrakeen area have been lost to the water stealing vermin, and shortages cannot be addressed soon enough. There is pressure on uncle Lingar to increase production from the polar cap but this cannot be done in a day. Not that anyone would listen to the explanation, having angry mob behind them." She sighed, cuddling into him, as if she wanted to preserve some of the sweat they had shed before the planet's dry heat would completely take it away. "This is exactly the kind of opportunity 'Soo-Soo' Nejhre has been looking forward to, to destroy my family's autonomy and subject water operations on Arrakis to his personal control, with the Guild's blessing. There is a risk that when the audit leaves, we'll have no choice but to become his puppets."

"More reason to stay," he confirmed.

One strong open hand runs along her body until it finds a curve he can grip to pull her tightly against himself.

"Talk with someone later. Get through Harkonnen."