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Messages - Rhindeer

#41
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 04, 2024, 12:11:47 AM
Raizel left far too soon, off to "fight the squid" (Cadmus had to lift an eyebrow at that; the phrasing was weird as hell), but he supposed they couldn't be lazy forever. Scents only lingered so long; best to go while it was still fresh and get the whole nasty business over with as soon as possible.

It had been nice while it lasted, though, and her heat lingered even after she left. He was too awake to nap again now, but he still rolled over into the warm spot where she'd been laying like a cat curling up in a patch of sunlight. And then, after he'd mentally braced himself for the long night ahead, and after hearing muted voices outside the door, he decided it was probably time. He rose and pulled on one of the shirts she'd brought, smoothing it out and frowning thoughtfully as he examined it.

It was a pretty nice shirt. Be an awful shame if something happened to it, and knowing his luck it was existing on borrowed time, now.

Raizel returned, which explained the voices, and he sort of awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed as she went about picking up and packing. And when she asked if he was ready, he could only smile sheepishly.

"Oh, I have everything," he said, motioning up and down to himself. Wasn't like he needed all the human necessities. He could hunt what he needed, he could curl up in a tree to sleep, and his fur and feathers provided warmth and protection from the elements. His boots were next to hers by the door—all thanks to her and her heroics. 

Hm, wait. Actually... 

"Ah, mostly everything. Fuckers have the rest of my shit, but I'm only really interested in the sword. I left it with them and I wasn't going to make you buy some cheap new thing. It's fine, I'm my own weapon and I plan on getting it back, anyway."

Pushing up off the bed to stand, he scrubbed his hands through his hair, which had indeed dried all wrong and had a flat spot where he'd been laying on it. "I can carry everything, if you don't mind adding my clothes to your pack. Gods know I'll need the extras."
#42
Leave discreetly? 

That got Fang's attention and she craned her neck to look up at him hopefully. Sure, she knew he was right, no one knew them here, she knew on an objective level that it didn't matter and they'd never see these folks again, but the idea of making eye contact with anyone in that inn after everything was...

Quite mortifying.

"How would we do that?" she asked slowly, shifting a look toward the window. They were on the second floor, after all. Her eyebrows climbed. "You're not suggesting...?"
#43
Fang didn't really know what was so funny—it was just something she'd noticed! But Spike's laughter was contagious and no matter how she resisted it, she soon fell into a fit of giggles, laughing all the harder because she wasn't sure why she was laughing. She just felt...giddy, a little high and pleasantly tired after what they'd done with the sensations still lingering.

It was Spike's words that sobered her again. Maids?

Well. Of course. They couldn't just stay here forever and someone had to clean the rooms between stays. But...

The angry pounding on the walls. The sounds they'd made. The state of the bed. Fang glanced down at the sheets—white, of course they were white—and realized with slow-building horror just how messy they were, stained with a small smear of red she hadn't noticed before in the nighttime and—

Well, and her own current mess slowly leaking from between her legs.

With a groan, she buried her face against Spike, mumbling against his skin, "...everyone's gonna know."
#44
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 03, 2024, 09:38:30 AM
"You smell nice."

The whispered words and warm breath tickling his neck, sending a pleasant chill across his skin, didn't exactly jolt him awake since he had been lingering just on the cusp, but it did gently lift him out of it right as he had started to fade. Eyes cracking open, half-awake and not quite ready to be fully awake, Cadmus peered down at the familiar black-and-white head tucked under his chin—and he felt a familiar swell of warmth in his chest. A brief flash of nostalgia. 

With a tired smile, he shut his eyes again.

Gods, he had thought of that night more than he cared to admit, what he should have done, what he shouldn't have done, what could have gone differently or what could have been. He honestly didn't know why he cared so much, and yet...there it was again. Raizel cuddled in and it was like satisfying a craving for something he hadn't even realized he'd wanted, her scent enveloping him. Not a bad one. She hadn't washed yet, true, but beneath the sweat and faint, lingering smell of blood, there was that familiar scent that was just...her.

He would know her anywhere; scent was the most powerful vessel of memory. He'd noticed it when he tracked her. He had just...not wanted to accept it.

Her arm around him, her leg thrown over his hip, he let out a sleepy sigh as he was once more fully wrapped up in her warmth. Shifting a little, he slid his other arm under her so he could embrace her fully and pull her in tighter. "Mm. Sure this isn't the dream?" he murmured, and let out a yawn as he slid a hand up her back to play with her hair at the nape of her neck.

"Or...hm. Maybe it's not a dream. Maybe I didn't survive after all. I didn't know about the squid. But hey, this isn't half bad as far as 'nice things that flash behind your eyes as you get choked out and drown' goes." His arm was starting to go numb, so with a little stretch he rolled onto his back and brought her with him.

This time he wouldn't run, he vowed. No matter how rough things got. 
#45
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 02, 2024, 11:44:13 PM
Was she...blushing?

With her light skin it was easy to notice the subtle little changes in color, and it wasn't like her to trip over her words when she usually had such a quick wit. But her words were a little stilted, just for a second, before she recovered smoothly right back to her usual self. His eyes narrowed a little, puzzled. Huh. His first thought wasn't that it was the little kiss, because she'd kissed his hand, too. Instead he found himself backtracking over his words, wondering if he'd said something too weird—which also didn't make sense. If she wasn't put off by everything he'd said about shifting, then he couldn't imagine what could do it.

He also wasn't oblivious to her staring. But considering they were talking about shirts, he figured she was probably just sizing him up.

Odd.

But then she was off, and there was a brief, lingering moment of concern, that maybe he'd made the wrong call. Maybe he should have offered to go with her, or to go instead even if he'd be slower. It could be risky—but he quelled the thought.

No, she was a grown-ass woman who could likely kick his ass in a fistfight in human form. She knew how to handle herself. Why was he concerned about that now?

Well, no sense dwelling on it; they had a schedule to stick to, after all.

The bath was indeed wonderful, and though Cadmus felt a little guilty for it while Raizel was out working, he indulged a bit and took a little longer than he needed. 

Okay, maybe a little too long.

The night had been stressful to say the least; hunting Raizel, learning it was her, trying to save her and then the both of them, all the murder attempts, and then when all was said and done his sleep had been interrupted by a murder-kiss. He'd been exhausted but the coffee had worked its magic—for a time. 

As Cadmus soaked in the bath, the warm water soothing his sore muscles, he soon came back around the other side to something he'd never before experienced: the caffeine crash. He wasn't even aware of nodding off; he'd only leaned his head back against the rim and closed his eyes for a second. And yet some time later he came to again when the water got too cold and a twitch shook him, like falling in a dream and jerking awake just before the splat.

Sucking in a breath, heart racing, he looked around in confusion before it all came back. 

Ah, shit.

He was pruney.

How much time had even passed?!

He rushed through the rest of his bath and came out of it clean and smelling of soap, his black hair plastered to his head and dripping onto his shoulders. Throwing on his breeches before he rushed out, he was relieved to see it was at least still light out. Thank gods. Slipping back into the room, he shut the door behind him.

And the tension melted.

Raizel was back, so it had to have been a bit, but it seemed he wasn't the only one who got hit with the crash. Alright, good, he didn't have to feel too guilty then.

For a moment he just stood there, watching her sleep, debating if he should wake her. She looked so peaceful, her face relaxed, the pain of earlier smoothed away...and he just couldn't do it. Raizel had gotten as little sleep as he had but between her grief and being betrayed and hunted and roughed up and threatened...yeah, she absolutely had a worse night than he had. 

There was still a little light left. They could afford it. She deserved the rest, and it was probably better that they went in fresh; he could keep an eye on the time.

Settling down beside her facing the window, he stretched an arm across her middle, his face nestled against against her hair, and settled into his role as Light Watcher. He'd give her until dusk, he told himself. Enough time for the bath to have warm water again while giving her time to bathe. 

Solid plan.
#46
Spike followed close behind her while she was still in the throes of climax, and the sensation of his own release, the way he pulsed and spasmed and filled her with heat, the way he yelled her name at his peak, only helped to draw it out. He kissed her and her own mouth was hungry against his, one hand sliding to cup his cheek and keep him there as she breathed him in and tasted him—and even tasted herself still on his lips.

Nothing else mattered in that moment. Nothing else existed. Just the two of them and this room, sharing in each other and learning their bodies.

Carried to the bed once more, which seemed now to be a trend, Fang sprawled out as Spike laid her there, boneless and content. Her chest heaved as she gulped in air, her skin was deliciously sensitive all over, and soon Spike was collapsed against her. With a slow stretch like a lazy cat, Fang rolled onto her side and nestled into him.

Reality, and clarity, slowly crept back in. As she nuzzled her cheek against his chest, eyes closed, a thought occurred to her. Probably not the important one, but it was a start.

"I don't think I've ever heard you curse before," she murmured sleepily.
#47
It was wild how easily he moved her about, handling her like she was weightless. Fang barely had time to register him leaving her before the world spun and her back was to the wall, and suddenly he was hoisting her up, her arms around his neck and her legs over his arms. She yelped in surprise as she clung to him, blushing hotly, searching his face with wide eyes as she hung there for what felt like eternity...and felt incredibly exposed. In truth, he didn't keep her waiting long.

Soon he was slamming into her again, her screams turning into sobs of pleasure as he took her with an intensity that rode almost to the edge of pain, but never quite crossed it. She felt powerless in his arms, unable to move, unable to do anything but just take it, but goddess, she was surprised at how much she loved it. And even more—she trusted him. She trusted with her pleasure and her safety even as he took complete and utter control, and perhaps it was that trust that made her love the surrender.

And so she gave herself to him completely, meeting his eyes even though she shyly wanted to look away, lips parted as her cries blended with his and echoed off the walls. Something was, indeed, happening, that tight, heated pressure building between her legs as she clenched around his cock, legs stiffening, her breathing becoming more ragged. Her hands tangled in his hair like she was holding on for her life—and then he said those familiar words.

"M-me too," she gasped, and clutched him harder, desperately. "Stay," she whimpered. "Please stay. Inside me. Please, please...!"

But her pleading cut off with sobbing scream as she tipped over the edge, trembling uncontrollably—and she kept her eyes on his as she did.
#48
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 02, 2024, 05:14:13 PM
Cadmus Black-Gryphon—Slayer of Distracting Eyelashes.

The ridiculous name, and her Commanderly delivery of it, got a chuckle out of him—even if he did roll his eyes hard. "You know...maybe you were a General in your past life. Or a sergeant," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as though seriously considering it. "I could see you calling the green leafs maggots and making them cry. Anyway."

He peered up at her as she stood, sorry to see her go but knowing she was right, and offered up a small smile as her touch lingered on his skin. "I didn't think I'd magically cured all your trauma in the span of a conversation, but...I'm glad talking helped. Even if only a little."

Something to weather their edge, as she'd put it. He liked the sound of that.

Brushing imaginary dust off his breeches, he joined her, rising to his feet with a groan and a slight crackle of bone. Ugh, he'd forgotten how uncomfortable prolonged sitting on a hard floor was in this body. A bit stiff, he rolled his shoulders and popped his back, and then perked up at the mention of a bath.

She was speaking his language. If there was one thing he hated, it was feeling dirty, and gryphons were fairly meticulous about their grooming. Even if he was going to get sweaty and dirty all over again tonight. A magic bath, too? Not just cold water in a river? He considered the offer, hedging because it seemed more polite to let her go first—but perhaps this would be more efficient. He didn't know what supplies she needed, since he didn't particularly need any himself. She would probably be able to gather them faster than he could locate them.

"If you don't mind? Ah."

Pulling his coin purse from his pocket, he folded it into her hand. "I can at least help pay for everything," he said. "Besides, I need a shirt if you wouldn't mind? Maybe a couple extra since I'm cursed?"

He was trusting her, giving her all the money he carried like that. Maybe it was a stupid, naive move, but he hoped she could see it as the gesture of good will that it was. Money passed off, he turned her hand over and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss over her knuckles. 

"Be vigilant," he told her, releasing her hand. "They should have moved on by now but you're still a mark, and they don't all work at night."
#49
...Really?

Pulled to her feet, Fang peered curiously up at Spike, surprised—and touched—by his answer. He just wanted to make her feel good? That was it? It was such a sweet, selfless act that she felt herself melt with a strange fluttering in her belly. It didn't change the fact that she still really, really wanted him, but...

There would be other opportunities, right? They had come here with a goal, and they owed it to Maya to commit. They couldn't just stay in bed all day exploring each others' bodies. Responsibility! Diligence! She was a priestess, for Inima's sake, and she needed to pull herself together!

Ugh, but she supposed she could see why such things were discouraged. Spike had become very...distracting, she thought as she watched him turn to undress, her eyes wandering over the contours of his scarred back all the way down to his shapely rear...

Nope! She jerked her eyes away, turned, and went to dig into her bag for her clothes, sucking in a bracing breath. She would have to clean up a bit first for obvious reasons, but she could be fast. 

She had just grabbed out a top and long sarong when she felt Spike's hands in her shoulders. She startled, opening her mouth to ask what he was doing, but soon she had her answer. Pushed up against the wall, she braced herself so her forearms were rested against it—and then drew in a sharp breath when she felt his cock sliding against her sex. Oh. Oh. Wait. Like this?! 

Desire, need, and a little embarrassment swept through her in a breathless rush as she pressed her cheek against the wall to peek back at him in question.

And then he gave her exactly what she wanted.

The first thrust took her breath away, and she didn't think she caught it again after that. The position had him sliding deeper than before, hitting sensitive spots and new spots altogether at brand new angles. Goddess, she had thought he'd taken her roughly that first time but here she felt truly claimed. Perhaps it was the fierceness, the primal urgency, or perhaps it was that she felt truly at his mercy pinned like this and barely able to see him. Yet through it all, with a strange thrill, she realized she liked the sound of being his, of belonging to him—which were all thoughts to deconstruct later.

Fang's screams of pleasure echoed through the room, and someone banged on the wall from the other side, but their shouts were drowned out by her cries and for the moment, at least, she just didn't care. She arched back into his pounding and clawed at the wall for purchase, for as his body slapped against hers, rocking her forward, she started to feel herself slipping. It didn't help, either, that between the primal rutting and the exploration of his hands and lips, she felt that aching pressure begin to build anew—and her legs were going weak. It was getting harder and harder to keep upright, and she gasped out to Spike, "I-I'm gonna fall!"
#50
Did that feel good, he asked.

Face flushed, lips parted, chest heaving with gasping breaths, Fang peered at Spike through her lashes, slightly incredulous. She was still shivering and she had cried out loud enough to wake the dead and he asks if it felt good?

She nodded weakly, swallowing hard. "I think you can tell? Maybe?" she ventured with a sheepish laugh, scrubbing a hand over her hot face. "Sweet goddess, where did you even learn that?"

And yet, even though her body was awash with heat and pleasure and tingling to her toes, that strange, deep ache remained, a need for something more despite the satisfaction. If anything, her release only made her more hyper aware of it, made her craving more intense—and she realized it was him. He was the missing piece. She wanted to feel that again, but she wanted him filling her while she did, wanted to feel him plunging in deep until she could take no more with his body hot against her own.

But. There was no way she could say that. Despite their intimacy, the idea of initiating or asking something so...so dirty...was intimidating beyond belief. And besides, it wasn't fair after he had made her feel so amazing. She wanted him to feel that good, too.

Lifting up onto her elbows, she took a deep breath. "It was so good, I can't even...no, not good—it was amazing, Spike," she said softly, and lowered her eyes, biting her lip. "But, ah...what about you? Is there, um, anything I can...?" She trailed off, losing the nerve.
#51
"Wh-what?!" Fang managed to gasp out, still half trying to process that this was happening. Because while she had definitely read some things, enough to know some of the basics and even a few different ones mentioned in the scandalous poetry she'd read, quite a few were still a mystery to her. This was one of them. Well, up until that moment.

It was difficult to think; did he expect a coherent answer out of her?! Crying out, she squeezed his hand tightly and arched into him, her other hand grabbing at the sheets so she didn't pull at his hair; she didn't want to hurt him, and oh goddess it was intense. His arms around her legs, tense and trembling with pleasure, controlled some of her wild squirming and kept her in place. Which was probably a good thing, because she felt herself rapidly losing control.

"I-I...I slept..." She cut off with a moan and clapped the hand that had been clutching the sheets to her mouth, biting her finger. "I slept...oh goddess, Spike, I don't know!" she cried out, the sound edging close to a sob as she threw her head back. "Spike, oh goddess, please!"
#52
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 02, 2024, 12:16:07 PM
Raizel didn't need his protection, but he wanted to give it to her—and gods, did he regret ever making her feel hunted and afraid. She was a perfectly capable woman. She was fierce and formidable in her own right, brave to the point of recklessness. She was no dainty waif; there was toned muscle beneath his embrace and she was nearly as tall as he was. 

And yet, right then she felt so small.

She kissed his palm and then leaned into it, and it was such a sweet, tender gesture that he felt his chest tighten inexplicably. It felt, in a way, like acceptance, like maybe she didn't hate him so much after all—and like maybe he was stupid for thinking she ever did. Even when she was angry she'd never stopped seeking out these little points of contact.

How oblivious was he, he thought as she settled against him, her head against his shoulder as she idly played with his hand.

Cadmus bit the inside of his cheek, swallowing as something poked at the edges of his mind, thoughts he had kept locked away and for a damned good reason. He shoved them back. Not now. Right now, he was content to hold her quietly, letting her have her thoughts and process what she needed to at her own speed.

Soon enough, she was off again, and he let out a little laugh against her hair as she spoke of her reputation, and then was going off about meals and payment and warmth. He blinked at her, meeting her eyes when she looked at him with that familiar playfulness. 

"Bad deal? For me? Are you kidding?" He cracked a smile, equally teasing. "You're free entertainment, Raizel. The things that come out of your mouth? That and..."

He trailed off, because as he had been watching her face as he spoke, subtly studying her with her so close to him: the flush in her cheeks, the brilliant blue of her eyes, the fullness of her lips...

He wanted to kiss her.

The thought blindsided him even though it had been hovering at the edges for a while, his throat tightening and pulse quickening. He jerked his eyes up from her lips to her eyes with a rush of guilt. What the fuck, Cadmus? What the actual fuck? She was hurt and vulnerable with her heart raw and bloody before him, and his first impulse was to kiss her? Now? Of all fucking moments? Oh, yes, how very sensitive, Cadmus. Because that was definitely what every woman wanted when she was picking up the pieces of her trauma strewn all about her feet—

Ah. Shit

He wanted to kiss her.

It wasn't like it was an unusual thought. She was gorgeous.

But it was her. Raizel. Not a random fling at a tavern you had a go at and then never saw again.

Realizing he had left his sentence hanging for far too long, he reached out and brushed at her cheek, just below her eye. "Sorry. Got distracted," he said. "You had an eyelash just..." He pretended to flick it away. "Got it. It's gone now."
#53
Fang's sleep had been deep and dreamless, the sleep of sheer and utter exhaustion—if a pleasant sort of exhaustion. The stress of many long days of travel followed by their bout of vigorous exercise didn't really leave much energy left over for thoughts, even unconscious ones, and it was the first time in days that they'd slept in a real bed. Needless to say, she was out for the count, and she barely stirred when he rose.

The kiss on the neck got a soft murmur from her, her head tilting to the side, but she still didn't wake. And though her body responded to his slow descent beneath the covers, she barely responded at all. Her nipples rose to taut peaks beneath his caresses, her skin shivered subtly, and a soft sigh left her as he moved ever lower, belly sucking in when it tickled. The veil of sleep began to lift but it still felt like dreaming to her sleep-addled mind.

This...was nice, she thought. These kisses and caresses were lovely. It had been a while since she'd had a dream that wasn't the violent one, but this...this was the complete opposite. Her breath came out a shivery sigh as she sleepily spread her legs to let him in because oh goddess, already that familiar hot, needy ache was growing—and not because she was sore. Would he take her again?

But then she felt something different moving against her, hot and wet, caressing over that part of her that made her body light up, and her eyes fluttered open with a little whimper. She stared up at the blurry ceiling as her vision adjusted, mind struggling to process everything, and realized only after several disorienting seconds that she was not dreaming.

Gasping, her hands shot down and curled in Spike's hair, her thighs closing against his head in surprise, and her face flooded with heat. "S-Spike?! W...what...what are you—?"

Ohmygoddessohmygoddessohmygoddess! Was that..if she was gripping his head, was he—?! Was that his mouth?! There?!

Her skin burned hotter with embarrassment, but then his tongue moved against that small, sensitive spot just right and she let out a sharp moan, her hips involuntarily jerking up against his mouth. "Spike!"

She was wide awake now.
#54
Goddess, he was so...

Cute?

Maybe that was a strange thing to think about a grown man and former assassin, a man who had taken out three men for her without breaking a sweat, a man who made her tremble all over until she couldn't breathe, but...he was. He was sweet, awkward, and surprisingly candid and vulnerable despite what he'd been through. Some people protected their hearts with stone when they'd been hurt as he had, but it seemed the layers had been thin and crumbly.

Fang smiled at that, eyes still closed, leaning her head into his hand. "That's okay," she murmured. "It can be our thing alone. Our secret. We're the only ones who need to know."

Well, them and the entire inn, but she wasn't thinking about that right then as her body grew heavier, her breathing soft and even. She was fighting sleep and failing—and it wasn't long before she lost the battle entirely.

Not that she'd fought very hard.
#55
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 02, 2024, 09:35:23 AM
Oh gods, oh gods. She was crying. 

Mild panic set in as hot tears dripped onto his arm and he felt the catches in her breathing, and it only rose higher with the words that followed. They were so full of raw pain, and so full of questions that he just didn't have answers for, that he froze. What could he even say to that that wouldn't sound placating and insincere? Because the truth was...what if she was right? What if she had been tossed aside like trash? He could reassure her and tell her that wasn't true, but what if she found her people again—and they didn't want her? It would be an asshole thing to do—because neither of them knew.

He'd meant every word he said about how he viewed her: that he saw her as a good person, that she didn't deserve it, that she deserved happiness. But he didn't have it in him to potentially lie about it, not when he'd already lied so much, and fuck, he was horrible at navigating delicate situations. He was great at hunting and hurting, violence and intimidation, but this?

She deserved someone so much better. Someone who could soothe away the hurts and knew what to say and do. But here he was instead, holding her at her weakest and feeling utterly powerless to help her—because this wasn't something you just "fixed".

So he listened, and held her, and let her cry, nuzzling lightly against her hair and breathing her in. It hurt to see her hurt, deep in his chest—what was that about? And when she mentioned she'd looked for him...

Gods.

"I missed you," he admitted, reaching up to gently wipe at her tears with a thumb. "I didn't want to leave, I just...panicked. Selfishly. I guess I was ashamed and it didn't feel right, like I was taking advantage of you." He winced, closing his eyes. 

"As fucked up as it is, I was...happy to see you again. I mean, I was also bloody horrified, but..."

Another deep breath. Translating thoughts into words was hard, and Raizel had such an honest, colorful way with them. "You'd be missed, Raizel. I'd miss you. Who else is going to call me a frog? Or was it toad? Ah...sorry, that was lame, I'm really bad at this."

Letting his hand cup her chin, he turned her head toward him just a little, leaning so he could look at her. "I know that probably doesn't mean much because I haven't known you long. But...I'd like to. Know you longer, I mean. The 'you' that's right in front of me, and the 'you' you may or may not uncover one day." 

Another pause and he shifted his eyes away, suddenly awkward, hand trailing away from her face. "I'm not sure if I'm being helpful or not. And you can tell me to shut up anytime. What you're going through—what you've been through—is fucked up and unfair, Raizel. And maybe it is meaningless. Maybe it was a random act of senseless violence. But that doesn't mean you lack value."
#56
His quick agreement and total about-face got a laugh out of Fang, and she gave him another warm squeeze. 

"A wise choice," she said with a nod even as that familiar guilt tapped at her brain, but she pushed it away stubbornly. Her limbs felt heavy and relaxed, and while she had stopped feeling trembly and wobbly in the bath, goodness was she sore. And tired. Who knew  "making love" could be such a workout?

Nuzzling against him, eyes closed, she let out a quiet sigh. "It'll be fine. I'm here now, so I'll just do as the Serenians do, same as we expect of travelers to my country. If there's anyone you'd want to introduce me to, if that's your custom and your preference, I'm okay with that. Obviously you can't tell them my station, but I doubt anyone would recognize me. Fang's not an uncommon Thanati name, unless you give my full name. And I'm not really, um..." She shrugged. "Talked about, I suppose?"
#57
"Oh." Fang blinked owlishly at that. That made significantly more sense and sounded way less creepy and invasive than the original version. With a relieved sigh, she nodded at his explanation. "That makes more sense, I think. Especially with what I understand of this country."

Scooting a little closer to him, she cuddled against his side with an arm thrown over him, her head resting against his shoulder. "You're fine, Spike. I'm sorry if I...if I was insensitive. I'm not very good at this, either...like at all. Not even a little bit," she said with a soft laugh. "So you're not alone there. It's just..."

Hmm. How to explain.

"Back home, it's different. We don't introduce our partner to our parents because they already know them—because they were the ones that arranged the betrothal in the first place and vetted everyone. I understand it's mostly nobility that does that here? That everyone else just...somehow...finds someone on their own?" Her brow furrowed a little, hoping she got it right; for her it was a foreign concept.

"Priests and priestesses don't do that. Our service is to Inima and the people we serve. We don't have betrothals, we don't marry, we don't have relationships like that. They're distractions. I...suppose I can see the truth in that." She squeezed him tighter. "What I'm saying is, my mother would be rightfully livid if she knew, and it would reflect badly on her. And...it would just be bad. Really bad." She swallowed, looking away. "Considering she's the Maharani."
#58
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 01, 2024, 09:56:10 PM
This could have gone badly, and Cadmus was prepared for it when she froze up. Prepared for her to shove him away or punch him—and it was fine if she did, that was her right and he was the one invading her space. Perhaps he should have used his brain and thought it out a little more before just going for it, he thought with a knot of anxiety in his gut. But then he felt her relax and lean into him, and he let himself relax again, too, with a soft breath that made her hair flutter.

A hand covering his arm, fingers tracing along his skin...she was doing it again, just as she had that one night back before he'd fucked everything up. Or at least back before she knew he'd fucked everything up. Before he'd panicked and left so she could remember him like that and not as he truly was. He closed his eyes as he listened to her, the hairs along his arm rising along the path her fingers took, little goosebumps springing up, but despite the magic her fingers were working, he soon found himself tensing again at her words.

They were familiar.

Not because he'd heard them from her before, but because he'd thought them himself.

But she was wrong.

She didn't deserve that. 

And for her to think she might deserve this—that she deserved whatever happened to her, whatever made her tremble and lash out in her sleep...? His jaw tightened, because he wanted nothing more than to have a nice meeting with whoever had done it and whoever had made her feel like less.

"That's blatantly untrue," he said as he squeezed her a little tighter, leaning down so his mouth was near her ear. "Listen to me. You do deserve happiness. You do have a place in these fantasies you dream up, if you'd just let yourself have one. And...I don't know who told you that you could possibly deserve this, but I'd love to have ten minutes alone with them, just to chat. Unless it's you. In which case...no, Raizel."

On an impulse, he pressed his lips her temple. "Believe me when I say you're one the strongest, kindest, bravest people I've met—not to mention funniest. And weirdest." He paused. "And scariest," he added wryly, giving her another squeeze. "I can't imagine you'd be so different in your past, either. All your strange analogies have to come from somewhere."

He sighed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "But honestly, I don't think forgetting your past would change who you are at your core. What could you have possibly done to make what happened to you okay in any world?"
#59
Fang rolled over onto her side to face him, propping herself up onto an elbow. No way he'd already forgotten after all that! 

"You know, that stuff you were talking about," she gently prompted, lifting her eyebrows meaningfully.

"The, um...customary things?" She cleared her throat and looked away, fidgeting with the covers as she spoke. "I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly. It's customary in Serendipity to let your parents know when you've...had intercourse?"
#60
Seaside Town of Cerenis / Re: Simple Solutions [Rhi!] [M]
February 01, 2024, 06:14:51 PM
Conk him on the head and then bonk foreheads? How violent. Cadmus snorted and rolled his eyes, about to remark that it was interesting how he was the only one getting smashed in the head with a rock in that scenario—but then he paused. Something...wasn't quite right, here. Her voice was playful, but her body told a different story. She'd gone too still, but at the same time not still at all; he could feel a light vibration against his side and beneath his hand. 

Was she shivering?

But the room wasn't cold, and she'd just drank hot coffee and stew—hell, he would notice a drop in temperature before anyone, shirtless as he was thanks to his streak of ruining every shirt he looked at. Her hand squeezed against him but she continued on, acting okay even though she clearly wasn't, and while he had no idea what had triggered it...

He didn't need to.

Something had gotten to her. Something she didn't want to say. Something horrible enough to make her tremble even in warm daylight among company. That was all he needed to know.

She turned her face into his shoulder, words muffled as she said something about making new memories and gryphon beaks, about learning to be happy. It was innocent, light-hearted, but something about it wasn't right; there was a detail there—or rather, not there—that got under his skin, poking at his brain in a way he didn't like. And he tried to ignore it, tried to brush it aside—

Ah, fuck it.

"C'mere," he murmured, but he didn't give her a chance to respond before he was pulling her into him, turning the half-hug into a full hug as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. His chest against her back, his legs on either side of her, he just held her like that in a loose embrace that she could break whenever she wanted. He didn't know what compelled him to do it—no, he did. There was something vulnerable there, in her words and her body—and he wanted to protect her, even though there was nothing external to protect her from.

That was the frustrating part.

"I've noticed something about you," he said quietly, resting his chin atop her head. "I've noticed that when you talk about things like this, about happiness, you're never part of your own scenario. You leave yourself out. Why is that?"