What the Heck is Ocher, Anyways?

Zulime sighed. When she told the staff that she wanted to have a meeting with the guy who did the graphics, the management was flabbergasted. It was not really that common when a wrestler was so damn particular that they brought their own videos with them. Hiring that editor was not cheap, but she felt that it was worth every penny. It seemed obvious to her that the brass at AFW would not want any videos of her making someone cum, like she did with Pierre, as part of their intro video, but she thought that it was probably acceptable to have her smothering a woman with her chest until Kim had passed out. After all, there was a fairly good chance that Zulime was going to try and do that during the match. And there was nothing more ridiculous to her than the AFW trying to clean up their act. No one came to the arena under the delusion that they were going to see something wholesome, after all.

That was precisely what the Riverboat Queen was explaining to the graphics guy. They were in the conference room, and Zulime had taken her place at the head of the table. When Zulime was doing business, she preferred to use her charm to get her way. But the designer was too thick to get it through his skull. Things might have been going better if she was wearing something more revealing, but Zulime didn't think that it would be this hard. And even if it were, wearing something low cut to impress someone like this was beneath her. The white blouse that she was wearing had a few too many frills and the black skirt that she was wearing probably had a few too many white polka dots to be fashionable here in Japan, but she really liked this get up. It reminded her of home. And at the end of the day, the only clothes that she would be wearing are what made her happy.

"Lookie here, how could someone in the crowd not be all hootin' and hollerin' when they see that?" Zulime was playing the clip where her foot stopped in front of Li-Mei's face, but she still fell over. It was somewhere between the 500th or the 5000th time that they had watched it together, but he still wasn't any more impressed. The cool veneer that she had put over her face was turning into a look of frustration. He insisted that it wasn't even that cool, that she really didn't even hit her. The Riverboat Queen was explaining to him, that it was precisely that which was the whole point.

He then had the temerity to suggest that the color was wrong. "How on earth is that color wrong?" Zulime did not like showing when she was perplexed, but the question was so baffling that she could not particularly help it. The main suggested that orange was not in the AFW's color scheme. Zulime's jaw hit the floor. She sat back in her chair a bit, weighing her words carefully.

"You call that orange?" Zulime's annoyance was clear in her voice. She took a moment to breathe, and to collect herself. The Riverboat Queen considered it far below her station to use violence to get what she wanted it, but a flash of glorious one sided violence passed through her mind's eye. She let that die down before she adjusted in her chair. "Honey, we call that color 'ocher'." Her Southern drawl was dripping with condescension.

”Hello, Zulime.”


There was no preamble to Saif’s appearance. She had not made her presence known upon entering the room, had not notified its occupants with a knock on the door or something so customary. For all intents and purposes, it was if she had merely materialized in the room, a spectre appearing out of the shadows. This was by design. Somewhat.

In truth, Saif had not intended to come across Zulime today. She had merely stopped by the Friction arena to spread the word to her fellow wrestlers, as she often did these days, trying to enlighten them of the truth that she had come to accept. Her Master was a busy man, righteous, and did not need to sully his feet in these filthy halls any more than necessary. Therefore, it felt to her and her alone to tell the people of the reality they had been missing, to make them aware of the light their lives so desperately needed, even if they themselves were not aware of it.

She had just been wandering about when she happened across Zulime as she turned a corner, and a flood of memories from her past life came rushing back. She - Kim - had taken on the American a long while ago, back when she was just starting in the AFW and trying to find her feet. It had been a humbling experience, as she recalled. The woman had done no wrong by her, but all the same, it was another step on a losing path, one that culminated with her finding Gilgamesh and being transformed under his guidance. Had it not been for Zulime, would Saif ever have been brought into this world? She did not dare dream of it.

But it hardly mattered. Saif knew fate when she happened upon , and she strongly suspected that was what brought her here, right now. She had stories to tell this woman. A truth worth sharing.

So Saif followed her, shadowed her, stayed close, and when the time was right, she presented herself. She stood there with a placid smile, looking her former opponent over with her hands folded in front of her lap. ”It does my heart well to see you. It has been a long while.”

Zulime turned. There was a voice emanating from somewhere in the room. The Riverboat Queen was surprised, shocked even. She had long considered herself a fairly observant person, one who could read someone sitting across from her at the card tables in order to wring every last penny out of them or determine the best way to act on stage, to yield the maximum amount of smiles and astonished impressions when she performed. It was entirely lost upon her that there was another person here. Wildly, she turned her head. Sure enough, another human being was in her presence. Part of her wondered if her cavorting in the backwoods with the spirits would lead to any long term negative consequences such as hearing voices, but that doubt that she had was quelled when a woman's form was there.

But after a second, that just raised more questions. The woman spoke as if she knew Zulime, and the Cajun girl had a terribly hard time placing exactly where she knew her. Her brown eyes closed halfway for a moment as she searched through the recesses of her memory trying to place where she knew this woman from. It was not coming to her, and she thought it was a bit impolite to stare that long so she turned to the design guy to see if there was any recognition on his face. He seemed just as lost as she was. When she turned back to the pretty woman, she knew that it was quite plain that they were not working in the design department of AFW together.

"Hey suga, ain't I just charmed to see you again as well," Zulime said. It wasn't a complete lie. The Cajun girl was pretty thrilled to see an attractive woman in such skimpy clothing, but it was eating her that she did not know where she recognized her from. That awkwardness was hidden as she whirled around in her chair and leaned back. Interweaving her hands behind her head was not necessary to show how relaxed she was, given the easygoing expression on her face, but it was a nice touch, she thought. "You been up to anythin' naughty?" The relaxed look turned into one that had a lot of sexy intent behind it.

Saif canted her head to the side as Zulime gave her the look. That look. It had been one she had grown accustomed to quite often since her conversion. While she was Kim anymore, she still had to deal with many things in Kim’s life - her taxes, her bills, her family. Whenever she came across those who had not seen her in a while, there was the initial confusion, as a person they did not recognize spoke to them as if they should. It was a strange state, but one that she had learned to navigate.

The woman spoke as if she did recognize Saif, however, likely not wanting to appear rude. It was appreciated. As she recalled the Cajun had been polite when they fought. As polite as one could be while fucking her opponent into submission and smothering them, at least.

”A great many things, as it turns out.” She brought her hands together behind her back and redirected her attention to the man in the room, looking at him from the side of her eyes, not turning her head his way. She examined him for a moment, disinterested, before returning her focus where it belonged.

Saif stepped to the side, her fingers running along the consoles as she made her way to Zulime’s flank. ”I am surprised you recognize me, Zulime...if you do recognize me, that is.” She had a small laugh. A short intake of breath. ”You need not worry about offending me, if that’s the case. It has been a short age since we parted ways, as I said, and the woman you briefly dueled is a new creature.”

Zulime was sinking further and further into a mire of her own making. Some people could remember names, and some people could remember faces. The Riverboat Queen usually had a knack for remembering both, but at the moment she was having a terrible time of it. The look askance to the design guy gave her a few precious moments to rack her brain and think about the woman in front of her. She had been given clues, clues that she was holding onto for dear life. Zulime had wrestled with her. That was something that she could point to. While the Cajun girl had a few matches so far, she had not had so many that she would not recognize one of them. It wasn't Li-Mei, Natasha or Patrice.

"Oh, and I hope you bounced right back after our little tryst," Zulime spoke. She was playing for time. "I remember it like it was yesterday." The lie was pretty convincing one, given that she said it with the confidence of someone who actually knew what she was talking about. Connections were being made in her brain, and that recall was evident in the look on her face. "Hope you don't mind that I gave you that little kiss after the match, suga. But you can hardly blame a little girl like myself when she is facin' a woman so cute. Ain't that right, Kim?" There it was. It had taken a lot longer than she had thought it would, but she had finally placed it. Sitting in front of her was the woman that she had faced in her debut, Kim Rhee.

"And don't I just see how you've changed?" Zulime was leaning forward now. Kim looked incredibly different. "Anythin' prompt that change? Have you met some cute girl?" The roguish smile conveyed more of her sentiment than her words ever could.

There it was. Saif could not be sure how hard it had been for Zulime, but the gears in her head had finally turned enough for her to be remembered. Indeed, she did recall that kiss, how sweet it had been, how lustful. The Cajun had been such a wily, energetic opponent, dominating her throughout the match. In truth, she regretted her performance that night, if only for the lost opportunity - she could have enjoyed a body like this for so long.

A thought occurred at that notion, but she stowed it away for the moment. Now was the time to present her light.

”Perceptive.” Saif stepped back to give Zulime the full look of her, from head to heel, eager to present her new self to the woman. She was fitter, slimmer, more taut, standing proud and confident. ”While I am flattered that you remember Kim, I’ll let that hollow shell wither away. I am Saif, now, a being reborn under the light of my new master: Gilgamesh.” She spoke his name with closed eyes and a whisper, full of reverence. It was rare for her to bless mortal ears with that name, but this was a special occasion.

”I am a more perfect being. Cleansed. Healed. Enlightened.” She opened her arms and stepped forward. ”I could share this gift with you. If you’re willing.”

Zulime saw that Kim was presenting herself, and she would have found it rude not to oblige. The changes were immense. She had not followed Kim's career that closely after their match if she was being honest with herself, and from all the changes that she was seeing she kinda wished she had. Because the woman standing in front of her now was radically different from the woman that she kissed so long ago. That was even before she heard what Saif was saying. Saif, Saif, not Kim. Zulime tried to file that away in her memory as best she could for later, because she didn't want to be rude a second time.

"Ah," she said, not quite sure how to respond to what Saif, not Kim, was saying. The Cajun girl was not above cavorting with the backwoods spirits of the great Louisiana bayous but she always thought it would be far more decent to keep that to herself. At least, mostly. She was not above sharing it, but that was a process that was incredibly selective. The fact that she was whispering the name with her eyes closed also struck her. Back among the pines, there were wild ululating yells of something that might be construed as a name of one of the loas. That was something that was announced widely, shouted to reverberate around the swamp, hollered at the top of her lungs.

So Zulime had a hard time relating. "Say, suga, tell me a little more about this Gilgamesh fella. He have a hard time bookin' a flight from Babylon?" The Riverboat Queen had no intention of being cleansed nor healed nor enlightened as she reckoned that she already was all of those things. But she didn't see the harm in letting Saif indulge herself a bit. "And sorry for callin' you Kim earlier, didn't know about the name change."

Saif waved off the apology and gave Zulime a small bow, one that she had earned. She had to concede, she was surprised to this sort of reaction from an unbeliever. The usual response to her overtures was derision and mockery, but there was none of that from the Cajun. Curiosity? Perhaps. It was certainly something she could work with it, and it gave her a glimmering glimpse of potential. Now, to press further.

”A trifle. I was not offended.” She threw another glance towards the man in the room, who was looking at her with a more traditional glare. After a moment, he seemed to take the hint and began to slide away, going back to whatever his business was.

”My master taught me. Enhanced me. Helped me see my true potential and gave me an environment to grow.” She ran her hands down her side, tracing the tattoos with her fingertips. ”And in return, all he asks of me is obedience and service. In that servitude, I grow stronger, still.”

She sighed wrapped her arms around her chest as she stepped away. ”It is a hard thing to explain, like trying to explain color to the blind. Some things must be experienced to be understood.”

Zulime noticed the bow. It would be hard not to notice, all things considered. It seemed more apropos of the easygoing nature of New Orleans than it did an AFW conference room, but here they were. The Riverboat Queen's perfectly manicured eyebrow arched upwards. A nod of the head was her response to such a gesture, and that seemed more than enough given how bewildered she was feeling. Because it wasn't just the bow that piqued her curiosity, it was what she was saying as well. When she traced her fingertips, that was interesting. But what she was saying was so out there it seemed like her eyebrows, already so high, were likely to finally meet her long dark hair.

"Well, suga, ain't I just familiar with such a concept." Zulime had a few thoughts when she said that. Her first notion was the deep pine forests of her native state, where wild bacchanals took place with some regularity. When she was still on the riverboat, she had heard of them, but once she was out there it became much more real, much more supernatural. Then there was wrestling. There was a small ring on the boat, and Zulime always loved to watch people go at it. When she finally got an opportunity to make it into the ring, she took that opportunity with both hands.

The exact opposite of how she was feeling now. "I am not sure if all that obedience stuff is right for me. Never been much to serve, unless it is alcohol. And in that there is a chance of making some decent change, you get me?" Zulime said, doing what she could to steer the conversation away from where it was going. She had no interest in serving Gilgamesh, in whatever form that took. And she really didn't want to discuss it that long.

Ah, there it was. The doubt. The trepidation. The lack of understanding. While it had taken longer to come out that Saif had thought, it was an inevitable route for these conversations to take, and sure enough, they had arrived. The fault lied with her, she supposed - her Master was so radiant, so enthralling, such an otherworldly presence, and she lacked the fine words to describe him, to even hint at him. What could she do to press upon Zulime the opportunity before her? How could she demonstrate such brilliance?

”A match.”

The idea came to her like a thunderbolt, sudden and clear. What better way to show Zulime how much she had changed than by a measure of skill, the area that they were familiar with the most? It was the perfect way to demonstrate how much her Master’s influence had evolved her, how she was a far greater being than Kim could ever have dared.

”The two of us should have another match. You do not understand how His light can help you yet. You see me as a slave, when, in truth, I am no more a slave to him than a bird is slave to the wind.” She placed her hands together and bowed to Zulime. ”Let me show you what I have transformed into. Grace me with that honor, Zulime.”