'Round about a year ago, I had the amusing opportunity to help Tiger top a friend of ours at the social that we were regularly going to. This turned out to be one of the last of the munches that we would attended together.
Afterwards another friend that was there walked up to me and was joking about how I was starting to wear more leather and act more "toppish". I think, at the time, I was wearing leather boots and a leather vest. My reply to him was that eventually, as time went on, I'd collect more leather and eventually be dressed head to foot in it. It gave me enough attitude that I'd *then* be able to top someone by myself because I'd have enough 'tude to pull it off.
For reasons surrounding a couple of events in the area and the press that it was drawing, the friends that I normally went to FLOG with decided that it would behoove everyone to keep a low profile for a while. And for the better part of a year, we didn't go.
Last September, Tiger moved back to Canada. Much to everyone's dismay. Including my own, which is why I've been out of contact with a lot of people since then. But, even caterpillars emerge from their cocoons eventually.
A week ago, apparently, was my time. Last Friday I was sitting at work trying to figure out what to do for the weekend when I got a message from UltraD0mme, telling me about her plans for the following evening and asked if I wanted to come watch. After much debating over whether I had time or not due to a test I had last week, I finally decided that I'd go. So, after work, I packed, piled the dog in the car and headed across the state for what would turn into a bigger adventure than I'd planned.
One completely closed off interstate later, I arrived (to the tune of an hour and a half later than I'd planned). Still, not too bad for a last minute decision to drive 4 hours with no prep time.
Now, I am *not* the most fashion conscious person in the world. Normally, I need to plan what I'm going to wear to these things and take extra stuff in case I'm given a fashion ticket by UltraD0mme and told to go change. For once, however, I was off the hook. I'd been shopping recently and bought a lot of what I called "frou-frou girly clothes"...something I almost never do. I was able to grab the bag and just make due with it. And, apparently, I've been learning because I didn't get *one* bad comment from any of them and several compliments.
I suspect, however, that I could have been wearing a bag and I would have gotten the same. You see, I'd gotten a new shirt to wear out to events like this. It's long and flowing with big bat wing sleeves like you see on medieval dresses. Black. And almost utterly sheer. Just enough material to cover. I'd gotten a black and red bra to go with it...only discovering when I put it on that it was also a push up bra. Enter, one woman with a shelf.
With a long black lace skirt and suede ankle boots with 3-inch heels, I looked right smart, I did.
So. Off we all go to the social.
I was surprised that people there remembered me, to be quite honest. It's a fairly large event, compared to what I'm used to, and it'd been almost exactly a year to the day since I'd been there. But, sure enough, people did. A couple came up and asked if I was from KC and where was the gentleman with the silver claws that I generally came with.
I told them that he'd had to move back to Canada, but was appropriately terrorizing vast new quantities of people with them, and much laughter was had by all. Now, I could say that I handled this all with grand style.
But, I didn't. You see, FLOG was one of those things that I've only ever gone to with Tiger. Everything about it has those memories attached. And having people ask about him was difficult. I'd known going in that eventually, if I wanted to go back to attending the social, I'd have to get around that somehow.
But I really hadn't expected it to be *quite* as hard as it was. Tiger'd told UltraD0mme that I wasn't allowed to sit in a corner and not talk to people...but for a while, I needed to just sit and try to collect myself. I came fairly close to getting up and going outside to try to bum a cigarette off of K and N (who I was also there with), and I don't smoke. They'd have looked at me like I'd grown three heads, but it seemed like a moderately good idea at the time.
But, before I could do it, kyl and nanon wander back in and start collecting stuff for the scene that they're doing with UltraD0mme...the one I'd come to watch. Before they all trundle up, though, UltraD0mme comes over and says that Bear was not feeling like helping her and did I want to come up and help.
Without thinking or asking what that entailed, I said sure. I've been the "Lovely Assistant George" enough to be able to handle it. But...I really *should* know better with this group of friends. There's no "lovely assistant" position that I've noticed. You're up in front and participating.
Whoops. Miscalculation on my part. And here I'd just been thinking I was going to get to watch the spectacle.
And, to be honest, spectacle is probably a fairly accurate word. Imagine, if you will...a darkened room, a frame to attach the victi....er...subjects to, one male and one female submissive, one female switch (who doesn't normally play in front of people), and one domme who is all about the spectacle and amusement. Add in one tarp, four toybags, and 150 roses. Oh. And a large room full of spectators.
So, after laying everything out, I stand back and look at the leather display and turn to UltraD0mme to say, "You know...we could take over a small third-world country with all this." The response of which is to get a grin and a cuff handed to me.
After getting kyl and nanon hooked up to the frame, I backed off and was trying to figure out where I'd be out of the way enough to still be useful at helping whenever UltraD0mme needed something. I quickly discovered, however, that this wasn't part of the plan. UltraD0mme told me to pick up a flogger to warm one of them up with.
Now...I will admit that I know the business end of a flogger from the handle and that I have some ability to wield one since I've been playing with them for quite a while. I am not, however, used to applying them to actual living targets. (Usually *I* am the target.) I tried to make some noise about how it probably wasn't a good idea for me to actually *hit* someone with it since I'd probably do it badly and hurt them.
UltraD0mme's response was to hand me a flogger made of deer hide. Ok. I got the point. I'm not *that* dense. Usually. Really. Why are you all looking at me like that?
And, during the warmup with a variety of different floggers, I really didn't do that badly. Once I got my sleeve out of the way. I really don't recommend bat wing sleeves and floggers if you're planning on playing. They're a problem.
I did have a moment's panic when there *was* a badly placed stroke. That was always my biggest fear in getting up and topping someone, regardless of whether it was public or private. But, you know...it's survivable. Check in, find out what happened, that they're ok...move on. I may have even made it look like I knew what I was doing.
There was a scene going on behind us, I know. But what surprised me later was the fact that after a certain point, I didn't notice everyone standing around and watching. I'm not sure how many people were there...but the place was pretty full since it was the Mardi Gras party.
Once kyl and nanon were warmed up, UltraD0mme and I started pulling roses out of the bucket beside the frame. I don't know how many people there had seen UltraDomme do this before, but for me it was a first. Did you know that roses can explode?
I mean...not like a mine explode...but if you let them open for a day or so, when you hit someone with them the blossoms just fly apart with a sort of thudpop sound? I'm not sure *what* I thought would happen when I hit someone with them, but it wasn't that. Petals were falling everywhere.
How often is it that you get to make a *HUGE* mess at a social? I'd thought that the thorns on the stems would leave horrible punctures and scratches, too...but they don't. I mean, I'm * very* sure it hurt after a while, from the sounds that N was making. And there were welts and scratches, too.
I also discovered that I have a somewhat cruel side. I stopped in the middle at one point and tapped kyl in the nose with a rose long enough to ask him if this counted as stopping and smelling the roses.
He had the grace to mostly not laugh. Though that would have been ok too.
Of course, UltraDomme had to get in a couple comments about my style. *SHE* had a leather glove on. Me, I just had double layered latex to try to avoid some of the thorns that had been missed when the bottom couple of inches got stripped.
I ask you...is it *fair* to tell someone they hit like a girl? What else *could* I do but show UltraD0mme that I can hit hard? Wouldn't you? Apparently I improved after that. Well, til we switched subs again. nanon had been making quite a bit of noise so maybe I *was* slacking off on her just a little bit. I'm a wimp, really. Not at all sadistic. (You're all looking at me strangely again...)
Well, when UltraD0mme told me I was hitting like a girl again, nanon ended up making the cutest yowling noise. Really.
We ended up keeping two roses out for later. Though, before we were done, kyl and nanon both had roses that hadn't exploded (the heads had popped off instead) stuck into the backs of their thongs.
I hadn't understood, before this started, why such a large tarp had been needed. After looking around at the wreckage, though, it became clear. There were rose petals *everywhere*.
And, after we got everything cleaned up, aftercared, sprayed with New Skin, and generally back to some semblance of normal, we gave nanon and kyl each a rose.
In their teeth.
To be carried around that way until they were told they could remove them.
*Heh*
After stepping outside, I ran into my friend that I'd spoken with from the year before. He asked me if I'd remembered the conversation we'd had about more leather being needed to actually get up and top. I said yes, I did and asked why.
He just grinned, looked me up and down, and told me that he didn't see any hide nor hair of leather to be had tonight. I asked if the shoes counted, but he told me no since I'd not been wearing them during the scene itself.
And I guess he was right.
Evolution in action.
moonlight - with many thanks to UltraD0mme, kyl, and nanon for letting her play too...
