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Post by Gabriel on Jul 29, 2017 0:08:45 GMT
Gabriel's smile turned from slow and sleepy to wickedly suggestive.
"But that's how I like you best." He pulled her closer, fingertips brushing the ridge of her hipbone.
"You can call me Gabe. Don't encourage anyone else to, but you can." Sebastian had called him Gabe - the last person to regularly do so, but he didn't bother delving into that particular well of unpleasant memories. She was right, he'd been calling her Jara for years, and the concession seemed fair.
He hardly noticed the warm, familiar weight of Kurai now, but he felt the slight tug on his skin when Hadjara moved it and dried blood cracked. He wrinkled his nose and glanced down again.
"I don't scar that easy, but the ice might've done the job. You'll just have to wait and see." He could have sped the process up with healing fire if he wasn't trying to limit magic use, given it was a beacon for things that might try to eat him. A marker of his alienness here; the magic in Litharia was compatible with the magic of the Daemons, they were sister powers of sorts. Probably the reason the portal existed in the first place - some melding of the two, reaching for each other across space and time. In Litharia he was a curiosity, different but fitting. Here, the magic of this world, felt unfamiliar and malicious. It curled against him suspiciously, unable to figure him out, and the clash felt like the painful sting of electricity when he forced the issue too far. Which reminded him to turn off his lower abilities, coaxed back to life - their more natural state - by Hadjara and sex. He didn't like doing it, but he also didn't want to get eaten.
"You know this place is really fucking creepy right? Like, you don't think it's friendly and welcoming and normal, right?" He blinked at the swan head of the boat turning itself back around, eyes narrowing.
"Perve." It stayed facing forward again though, apparently chastised by Hadjara. Ridiculous. This whole world was ridiculous. Luckily, he was easily distracted by shiny things.
"It's pretty. Thank you." Gabriel held the armlet in one hand and brought it closer to his face to examine the pearl more closely. He didn't ordinarily wear gold, but the pearl was entrancing. He went to put it on his arm before stopping, nose wrinkling again.
"You made me bleed everywhere. I'll have to put this on later. You're not the only one whose a mess after all." Reaching over to retrieve his pants, he secreted the armband in a pocket and then examined himself more closely. He hadn't been exaggerating - both shoulders, both upper arms, his chest and his thigh were streaked with still-sticky blood.
Familiar magic was a long, long way out of his wheelhouse, but what Hadjara said made sense, enough to reassure him that while Faery had been disastrous, at least it wasn't permanent. Gabriel thought it was a shame - he truly did love Faery and would be going back as soon as he could - he needed to make amends for the damage he'd caused getting Hadjara out. It was sad that she'd never get to enjoy it, especially because it was Malak's fault.
"Okay, you. I was promised Shadows. How do we find them?"
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Jul 29, 2017 8:35:09 GMT
Hadjara pulled a face of mild disgust and she raised her chin a little to glare at him. “Hey, don't be fuckin' crude, you.” She raised her head a little before she leaned over him and snatched up a rather impressive chunk of wood one of them had knocked off the inside of the boat and power rippled out from her fingers and through the wood. Promptly she turned and stuck the now suddenly a splinter of dark chocolate between his lips. “Which I know ya can't do so eat this instead a talkin'.”
She snuggled up again, and buried her head against his stone carved chest.
“Y'all's coated in scars, what'd ya mean ya don't scar easy?” She ghosted a few fingers over the ugly scar on his shoulder. She didn't know the story of it but it stood out brighter than the others. “Do they all just fade over time or somethin'?” She kissed his collar bone and moved her hand to rest under her chin.
She sighed when he complained that the Shadow World was creepy, but this time she didn't bother to raise her head from his chest, so her lips brushed his skin with every word. “Ya said the same thing 'bout the swamps but I feel more comfortable there than anywhere else in Litharia. I think ya think things are creepy 'cause the ways ya usually try ta register threats don't work right no more so for you these gloomy places seem all unsettlin'. But I get how things work here, so why would they bother me? Gettin' stuck havin' ta deal with groups a people that expect me ta act a way I don't normally do – that's what unsettles me. Compared ta that this place is a breeze.”
Maybe that was some part of her desire to see everything there was to see. Compared to everywhere else she had been, the Shadow World seemed to hold the most mystery. The most intrigue. She didn't think she'd get tired of the dead world for thousands of years – and even then maybe not until she knew for certain how this place had died to begin with.
She stayed seated as he moved to get dressed, leaned against the side of the boat. “Red's a good color on ya,” she said dismissively before she paused and frowned. “Ya know, if ya wanna go meet people I need ta find ya a shirt. I don't know who do an' don't know my name. There ain't too many adumbrates, there bein' a new one is kind of a big deal so havin' the name of one of 'em cut in ya chest might not give the best impression.”
Ahhh, the city was so big, though! Most stores still had some stock, shadows tended to only take what they needed for the time being so that wasn't her biggest worry. What she was worried about was where the hell she would find a store that carried anything Gabriel could wear. “If ya don't mind gaudy an' hot pink the park's got a gift shop. Ya think I could pull off pink an' gaudy?” She hadn't had a body last time she was here and she kind of wanted to try wearing some shadow clothing.
“We can worry 'bout me getting ya some Shadows after ya don't look like a stripper who got in bar fight.”
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Post by Gabriel on Jul 30, 2017 7:39:53 GMT
Gabriel only smirked, completely unrepentant, and he was still smirking as he ate the chocolate and pulled her closer.
"It's deeply unfair that you can use magic here and I can't," he grumbled, but the complaint was half-hearted. Mainly because he was distracted by the chocolate, which he'd forgotten how much he enjoyed. Hadjara had figured out the exact type he preferred - pretty dark, with a strong tone of bitterness overlaying the sweetness - and possibly a better part of the post-coital bliss than a drink. One of those wouldn't go amiss either, but Gabriel doubted the Shadow world had any whiskey.
"Those were bad wounds, the ones that scarred. I come out of having sex with you looking like I wrestled a lion most of the time, and usually none of that scars. Damian just about ripped my arm off giving me that one." The sensations were still strange - the shoulder joint itself only slightly affected, the range of motion a little more restricted than his other shoulder, but the skin felt tight and lacked sensitivity. He could feel her touch, but it was dulled.
"And yes, they fade. Not all the way, don't think that shoulder scar is going anywhere. If I had to guess, you'll be able to see your name for good, though it'll be pretty faint. Hard to tell though, when it doesn't hurt."
He laughed at her description of her experience of the Shadow world, not because it was objectively funny but because it was so very different to his.
"You might be right. Sort of. I still maintain the possessed boat qualifies as creepy in anyone's world, though." Creepy was a better word for the Shadow world than the swamps, though it was true Gabriel didn't like the marshes as much as some other places in Litharia. All that water. He kissed her one more time, soft and affectionate rather than urgent or sexual, though he never could quite help but linger just a little, tease just a tiny bit, a promise of what the future held. Still, as was generally the case for him, once he was moving and his mind was fixed on something, he quickly focused on it and patience was no great virtue of his. Getting dressed was quick, but waiting for the boat to drift around to the right place for them to get off - painful. Gabriel gritted his teeth once he realised the glacial pace was entirely outside of his control, and the only recourse was to wait. Ugh. He loathed waiting, even when there was no real hurry.
"Clothes? Okay then. No I can't pull off pink and gaudy. Can anyone? I guess you'll have to take me whatever the Shadow world equivalent of shopping is then, since you got all claw happy and signed your murderous intent all over my chest." He was smiling though, sitting on the side of the boat with his legs crossed at the ankle and arms folded over said, still slightly bleeding chest, while waiting for what he now realised was the slowest boat in the known universe to make its way back to the platform.
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Jul 30, 2017 12:37:36 GMT
Hadjara turned her head to look at him before she reached up a hand to run a finger along the underside of his jaw and up to his chin. “Ya gotta be part of this place if ya wanna use magic here an' I know ya don't want that.” She blinked sleepily, a slow desire to just fall asleep beside him building in her. She almost wanted to make Gabriel lie still and sleep beside her rather than get up and look for prey items for him to form an alliance with.
“Does everyone ya fuck cut ya up this much?” Her hand trailed down to the deep bite marks all over his shoulders. “Seems unlikely, not unless ya only ever go for daemons an' ya fucked me as a human pretty happily. Pretty sure I couldn't even bruise ya back then.” She propped up her chin and asked, “so what'd ya like more? Gettin' scratched up yaself or when it's just you doin' the scratchin'?” She knew relatively little about what he liked. She knew what he reacted best when it was with her but she didn't know where that ranked on his personal scale.
Hadjara was getting used to just absorbing information he gave her abut his past without pushing it, an adding it to the rather lacking patchwork of his personal history she had forming in her mind.
Why did he try to tear off your arm? She wanted to ask but he kept talking, breezing past that little detail.
“Well, guess it's good that my hands are pretty steady, huh? It'd be embarrassing ta see my name all lopsided for the next decade.” Instead the letters were neat and perfect even over the slope of his chest, it looked almost as if the claw marks had been stamped in place.
She pat the side of the boat when he complained, and the wood made a dull thump with every knock. “Oh, it ain't possessed. It's just lingering memories an' emotions. Maybe in a couple hundred years it'll start ta be able ta form thoughts but right now it still only just gathers surroundin' information. Probably just reacted strong ta us 'cause we're so much more alive than nuthin' else here.” She twirled a few of her curls around her fingers, acting aloof as she shifted her legs open so he could see everything. He said he liked her dripping, hadn't he? Might as well give him a nice sight to enjoy.
“You could pull off gaudy,” Hadjara assured him, “an' pink would really make ya eyes stand out.”
She didn't bother getting dressed as he finished and sat down, and when it took about ten seconds before he got bored she burst out laughing. “Okay, hold on,” she laughed, “lemme scope out where ta go next.”
That was all the warning he got before she was smoke and raced away up through a crack in the tunnel and far up into the air before she shot out into the surrounding area. She was only gone for about four minutes smoke returned to the ship and Hadjara reformed standing on the boat with her hands on her hips. “Okay,” she said as she scooped up her clothes and wiggled into them, “found a decent place 'bout a half hour walk from the park. Should be stuff ya like in there.” As soon as she was dressed Hadjara turned and stepped off the boat. But rather than sinking, the jelly-like water just held. There was some give, and it was like trying to walk on a particularly bouncy trampoline but it was doable and she held out a hand to Gabriel. “Ya feet might get a lil' wet but it'll hold.”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 1, 2017 6:46:14 GMT
True. He nodded.
"You're right, I don't want that. You might be coming here one day, but I'm going back home." Assuming he survived his tenure as Daemon Lord, of course, Gabriel's vague inclination that living forever might be something he wanted to do after all had coalesced into a plan, of sorts. Though it was a tenuous one at best - he had no intention of relinquishing his control, his power, for a very long time yet.
"Not everyone." Her brazenness amused him, and he glanced down at her as he spoke.
"Some. I like to experience...a range. Of people, of preferences. It's all about the context for me; the activity itself matters less than the person and whether they're into it." He brushed the thin scratch marks on her neck with a thumb as he answered - she wasn't as torn up as him, but she had her fair share of blood drawn by extended fangs and claws.
"You seemed to enjoy being in charge. Are you always so demanding when someone gives you the control?" His tone had turned teasing though, like her, the curiosity was genuine. And when he sat up and peered at his chest again, he could only shrug.
"I wouldn't know. For all I can tell you wrote something completely ridiculous. Or a filthy Shadow world curse word. It'd better not be embarrassing, now that I think of it." He was without a shirt enough that it kind of mattered - not that he saw Shadows, or anyone else who could read their language, very often in Litharia. That was half the reason he was so keen to take up Hadjara's offer - he'd never known such a collectively reclusive species.
Her casual display - well, apparently casual, he knew just how calculated it actually was but couldn't bring himself to care - did exactly what she knew it would and had him properly entranced. And seriously contemplating forgetting this whole Shadow idea after all, but before he could make up his mind she was suddenly gone and he was left bored, slightly uneasy, and now also vaguely turned on again. He was scowling by the time she came back and his expression did not improve when she tried to make him walk on the jelly river.
"I'm not standing on that! I'll wait." Literally tapping his foot with impatience, but he'd wait.
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Aug 2, 2017 10:00:46 GMT
“So only I get ta use magic,” she said, as if that explained everything in a way he wouldn't find irritating and unfair. “Just think of it like when ya was a human! An' if ya feel like ya gettin' flattered, just think of it like you're the best thing 'round here an' everyone wants ya.” She gave him a wink and a cheeky grin. “Not shadows though, I don't think they cannibalize any. They're just sorta stuck as what they are forever.” It was like they were designed only to be prey for the things that could change – the things that were oh so much bigger.
She cocked her head a little as he talked about what he was into, not really getting it. She didn't really sleep around enough to know if she was into a wide range of kinks. But there was one thing she knew for certain, “dunno, ya never given me control the that before so I never really tried dominatin' like that. But I liked it.” She ran a hand through her hair almost thoughtfully and she bit her tongue. “I know for damn sure I don't like havin' stuff all gentle an' tender. I guess it's supposed ta be affectionate or whatever but it's just so boring! Ya tried that once an' I went along 'cause I was curious but I didn't really care all that much for it.” She wrinkled her nose a little at the memory as she added, “we ain't gonna do that again. I mean you can, but I ain't.”
She grinned at him then and laughed, “are ya implyin' that I ain't always demandin'? Ya want me ta step it up? I can do that, then.”
She shook her head dismissively at his complaint, brushing it off entirely. “Ya think I was thinkin' bout embarassin' ya when I wrote that? Like I said, that's my name. If ya don't believe me I can show ya how ta read the Shadow Language if ya like, so long as ya show me how ta write in the Daemon language. Or the common language. Really I can't read nuthin' in Litharia.”
And there he went back to being whiny as soon as she suggested getting into the river. “It ain't real water,” she said. Not like that would change his mind and Hadjara damn well knew that.
After a pause she sighed in defeat as she walked around the boat, making the water jiggle unevenly under her feet before she hopped back in and wedged herself into his arms. “If ya don't wanna fuck no more, wanna cuddle instead?”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 4, 2017 7:30:08 GMT
Gabriel shook his head, expression rueful.
"I prefer to pretend the whole Human nightmare never happened." Not entirely true, he'd kept the ring that had briefly acted as his artifact, but anyway now he was just being deliberately obtuse. He was never going to like this place; he was barely able to tolerate it, and while not using his magic was a part of that, there were many other elements of the Shadow world that he disliked. Malak had done nothing to endear it to him, either, with his threats to drag Hadjara here through sudden and questionably consented death in Litharia. So the conversations about the Shadow world were, as always, hopelessly circular. Not that he minded; they had time to kill.
"It takes trust," he shrugged, offering this brief explanation of his reticence to giving over control most of the time. But he was smiling at her description of her enjoyment, and from his own perspective he'd come to trust her enough to give her that much in record time. After all, he'd known Hadjara less than a decade - a significant proportion of her entire life, yes, but a fraction of his. As far as Gabriel was concerned, the waiting only added to the eventual pleasure, anyway.
"Boredom with anything romantic duly noted," he laughed, reaching out in an absentmindedly affectionate way to fix the strand of hair gone astray from her running her hand through it.
"No, no, I'm sure it's just your name," he added, still grinning. That came along with the trust; it had been obvious she'd been carving something specific, not just executing random gouges into his chest, while she was doing it.
"I believe you. I wouldn't mind learning a little of the Shadow language, enough to bolster any connection I make with the Shadows. I can teach you the Daemon language in return." A deal very casually struck - Gabriel was a terrible teacher. Far too impatient, better at weaving fantastical visuals from magic than the grind of repetitive practice needed to learn a language. He could teach her a little, though, the important things, especially now she was part of the leadership and more of the conversations she'd be present for would be in their tongue.
"Who said I didn't want to fuck anymore? I don't remember saying anything along those lines." Smiling again, light-hearted and playful, he pulled her close as instructed and kissed her slowly, a heated languid kiss like they had all day. Which rather contrasted with his next words.
"I don't want another round on this damn boat, though."
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Aug 4, 2017 10:51:09 GMT
“Well, if ya wanna do that then it's fine but ya still can't use magic,” Hadjara said with a shrug. “I don't know who's attention that'll get an' if ya can't teleport . . .” she left her thought unfinished. She wasn't all that powerful. Not here, anyway. Not compared to what else was out there. She was a crocodile swimming in the river but there were dragons further down, ones she couldn't detect and couldn't fight off of they decided to rise from the deep.
Hadjara sat up straighter and grinned at Gabriel. “Awww, ya trust me?” She teased, “that's pretty cheesy.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead before she leaned back against the side of the boat. “I trust ya too, though I think most people do. I've seen ya convince strangers they was ya lifelong friends ta get free stuff off 'em, ya know.”
She did laugh at his comment on romance. “It's a damn waste a time,” she said. “I mean, I guess it's ta set the mood? But I like kissin' an' undressin' more. Or am I missin' something?” She leaned back and smiled flirtatiously, “you've tried everything, right? What's the appeal?”
She turned her head into his touch as a faint purr started in her chest once more.
“Though, if ya wanna meet Shadows ya should know how ta say 'howdy' an' 'I come in peace'. Those phrases are pretty easy. Sorta. The Shadow Language has a lotta words ta say the same thing, an' how ya say stuff changes the meanin' too.” She tended to use more aggressive language, words laced with threats and arrogance, not fit for any sort of real diplomacy.
“Lessee . . . 'Za'ijye faar, zrae Litharia ha ek za'jal-Daemon' is 'hello, I'm the Daemon Lord of Litharia'. If ya run inta a Shadow that don't know Litharia they're gonna think ya a madman but if they are familiar they should be willin' ta switch over ta common. Especially if ya mangle that as bad as I mangle the Daemon language. Just try ta widen the back of ya tongue an speak through the roof of ya mouth ya should sound 'bout right.”
But coaching him was boring, even if that was technically her official job now. It was much more interesting to lean up into his gentle kiss as she trailed her fingers under his jaw. She pouted when he pulled back and she pointed an accusatory finger at his collarbone. “See! Ya don't wanna fuck again. Well, that's on you then. I still wanna cuddle.” She adjusted herself in his arms and wedged a knee around his legs as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “Don't wake me up 'til we get outta here.”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 6, 2017 6:50:12 GMT
"I know, I know." Very definitely grumbling now, but Gabriel thought he was within his rights to hate not using magic. He relied on it so heavily that he felt uncomfortably vulnerable without it, and the very fact that it was flipped on its head and the thing that usually made him powerful would actually put him in danger was doubly unpleasant. He was working to overcome instinct all the time here and it was exhausting, given how much he trusted and relied on his instincts normally.
"That's not trust, that's just magic. Very good magic. Fun magic, that I'm not allowed to use, which is wildly inconvenient since I'm shortly to try and broker an alliance with hell's shy, retiring recluses." A little magically enhanced charm never went amiss during delicate political conversations. He'd just have to settle for the old-fashioned kind of charm, and while he was supremely confident in his abilities there too, it was a shame to be deprived of his usual arsenal.
"I don't think I've tried everything," he laughed, glancing around as he did so. Where was the damn platform? If the boat was going any slower it'd be stopped.
"You're just impatient. No appreciation for the slow burn. But hey, people like what they like. Embrace it, we have plenty of fun doing it your way after all. Right?" His smile was amused, salacious. And the question was rhetorical. He knew perfectly well they had fun; they'd only finished having fun a few minutes ago.
"Look, that swamp slang is adorable when you use it, but when have you ever heard me say 'howdy'? Make sure you give me the translation for 'hello' and not 'howdy' or they're going to think I'm insane." He was grinning now, thoughts shifting easily to the practicalities of Hadjara's plan but his mood still relaxed and cheerful. Which was rare, in the Shadow world, so he hoped Hadjara appreciated it. He was still basking in the afterglow of sex; nothing else could have achieved a long-lasting upswing in his temper. He repeated the phrase she gave him, lingering on and repeating syllables that gave him more trouble, but the Shadow language was closer to the Daemon tongue than the common language was to either, so he had less trouble than he thought he might. More guttural, it reminded him a little of the way people spoke in the Boil. He had no natural aptitude for languages, but he'd learned the common tongue when he came to Litharia, so the process of playing with the words until they sounded right was a familiar one.
"There is a difference between not wanting to fuck and not wanting to get stuck on this boat for another loop. Why is it so slow? It literally couldn't be any slower. Oh, the platform, there!" Gabriel acquiesced to Hadjara's request for about three seconds, until the boat finally drifted around to the start of the ride again. Hooking his arm under her knees so he was literally carrying her - something that took some figuring out, with her wings, but at least she wasn't heavy - he stepped on the side of the boat and then out, supremely relieved to have escaped the molasses-speed river, and then put her back down.
"Freedom. Right, clothes?" The idea of having sex again escaped his mind completely. Task-oriented, his focus was now on other things - political things, which he loved almost as much.
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Aug 6, 2017 10:10:05 GMT
Hadjara laughed, “for 'bout the first year I knew ya I couldn't use no magic. Not 'til I cut my eye outta my face. Remember that one?” She still had fresh wounds on her face from when she had tried to gouge her eyes out in the Faery, and she ran a finger on the ugly scabs under the eye that, for a brief period, had been blind. “Glad I can see again, though. Not havin' depth perception made it hard ta throw my spear.”
She perked up as a thought occurred to her and she suddenly asked, “Hey, how come ya don't use no weapons? Like, I get ya got claws an' teeths an' magic but if ya had a weapon here wouldn't that make up for not havin' no magic here?” Hadjara loved her spear and net, they felt like they were a part of who she was.
“Oh yeah? What ain't 'cha tried then, Gabe?” She leaned forward conspiratorially, but her expression betrayed there was curiosity behind her teasing. “I mean, I know ya get weird when it's public so I'm guessin' ya ain't done that much but ya seem down for everything else. 'Cept other men.” She pressed her tongue into her cheek thoughtfully. Pity he wasn't into guys too, she would have liked to fool around with him and another man at the same time.
Not that he was ever going to find that out.
One eyebrow went up when he commented on her accent before she shook her head. “Naw, I drop the accent in this language. Ya may not like it, but essentially everything Mal knows I know so I assimilated how ta speak from him an' he uses the formal-aggressive dialect. That ain't gonna work for you though, since ya wanna befriend them so I gotta just switch it to a semi-formal-neutral dialect. So instead a what I gave ya, I'd use 'z'iyai faar, ziyraeh Litharia niikhth za'jal-Daemon'. Unless ya wanna sound friendly? 'Cause that'd be 'zii'jye faar, zhreae Litharia ha ni ek za'jal-Daemon.” She sighed and stretched a little. “The dialect I use indicates – essentially – that I consider myself dangerous an' it warns others off. Usually I'm bluffin' but since I look like a pretty nasty adumbrate most ain't willin' ta test that. You just look like dinner, though, so if ya talk the way I do then whoever you was talkin' to would probably find it hilarious. Then they'd try ta eat'cha.”
She rested her chin on his chest and felt him speak more than listened to him. She kissed his collar bone before wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled closer.
Hadjara was almost disappointed when they docked so she stayed cuddled, keeping her face against his chest with her eyes lightly closed. What she didn't expect was for him to pick her up and she squeaked in surprise but otherwise didn't protest until he set her down again. “Alright!” She clapped her hands. “Let's go! Outta the park, I found a place you'd like so c'mon.”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 15, 2017 7:41:38 GMT
Gabriel nodded - he remembered. He'd felt guilty about Hadjara losing her eye for weeks, and supremely relieved when a benevolent God had restored it, new and improved.
"I tried, over the years. But I never could break away from my early training, which emphasised magic first and claws and fangs second. It was so ingrained, repeated over and over throughout my adolescence, that even now trying to use weapons feels unnatural." The knife that one of the Litharian Gods had given him didn't count, because although it could be a physical object if he wanted it to be, Gabriel had never once even held it. It was as much a magical force as his bardic abilities, and equally inaccessible while he was here.
"I can manage, passably, with most one-handed weapons. Swords, maces, axes. But it never felt worthwhile to pursue when I could be honing my real strengths further instead." Because, early though his training had started, Gabriel's magic was ever-evolving. His older abilities became more ingrained, more instinctive, more a part of him that took effort to even peel away. They strengthened, solidified, defined. And new abilities came along to add to the arsenal, to work into his daily life, to mould and shape everything from his movements to the way he communicated, and to interact with older abilities in new and fascinating ways. Next to that, physical weapons - never a part of him, never more than an unwieldy extension of his body - were strange and couldn't be learned in the way he learned himself.
He laughed at her teasing, pointed question, mood still buoyant.
"I mean, I could sit down and write you out a list, but isn't it much more fun finding out over time, by actually trying it out with me?" His fingers trailed lightly over her lower back as he spoke - she was still entwined around him, true to the habitual way she sought out closeness whenever they were together. He wondered idly if she was this affectionate with others - Gabriel enjoyed being the recipient of it, but didn't typically initiate closeness except during intimacy, and was less overtly cuddly as a rule. But his attention was quickly captured by the discussion of the Shadow language and the vague rules governing this place, expression becoming serious and gaze more focused, sharper. These details were important - not only because successful deals relied on him knowing them, but also because he really, really didn't want to get eaten.
"A place I'd like, huh? Lead the way then." When they emerged from the Tunnel ride it was momentarily blinding, the brightness making him blink after the ride washed everything out in pink. In reality, though, it was perpetually overcast, the sky a sullen, moody grey from high clouds tumbling over one another high above them. A faint haze hung over the park, like something distant was burning, but it didn't smell like smoke.
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Aug 18, 2017 8:36:24 GMT
Hadjara puffed out her cheeks in a pout as she poked the cleft of his chin. “Weapons are real strength too. Just think of it like an extension of ya own body, I mean it's your hands holdin' them ain't it? Even with the magic I got my net 'n' spear is part a who I am. I still use those ta hunt an' for day – ta – day stuff even if I got magic now. An' my claws an' teeth ain't for fighting, they're made for swimmin' an' eatin' . . . an' fuckin' too.” She slid a few fingers under his waist band along his hip bone without actually reaching down far enough to get her hand around his dick.
She pressed her forehead into the crook of his neck and made a faint sort of cooing purr.
“There's weapons here, y'know. Ain't ya curious ta see how this world killed itself? Ya wouldn't believe how brutal it got near the end, makes the shit I seen ya do look like pullin' legs off of spiders.” There were abandoned battlefields some of the ore hateful monsters had been birthed from. Ones with ugly, bitter memories that seared through healthy minds like streaks of burning decay.
Gabriel would think they were neat.
“Oh? I dunno, I think that's just called talkin' dirty,” Hadjara said teasingly, although at the suggestion of trying things out her tail stuck straight up like an enthralled cat. If he wanted to put ideas in her head he did a damn good job because gods if she didn't want to see what she could get away with. Especially since she had taken full control and she liked that feeling a lot.
Hadjara curled her legs around his and ground her hips in little circles against his hip.
“I really like that sexy lingerie shit – all that silk an' lace an' sheer? Feels even better 'n' bein' naked. Have you ever worn that stuff?” Who wouldn't look good in sheer thigh highs, though? She actually had no idea, she was the only person she had ever seen wearing lingerie. But she was still a big fan!
She grinned, drawing her lips back over a mouthful of thick fangs. “Gabe, ya don't really change ya style up too much, I just looked for somethin' close ta how ya like ta dress already. C'mon!”
Hadjara left the park, pausing only to wave at the wrath in the teacups ride once more before they were out. She didn't hesitate as she picked a direction and strode as fast as her short little legs could carry her. But it was only fifteen minutes of walking before she finally hissed in frustration. “This takes so much longer in body!” She turned her head to pout up at him. “Wanna try takin' a car?”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 19, 2017 9:42:48 GMT
Gabriel smiled.
"An extension of your body isn't the same as your body itself, or the magic inside it. But you were raised using the spear and net. Formative experiences count for more, I guess." He tensed at the movement of her fingers over his skin, over the ridge of his hip bone.
"The end of this world? I'm curious, yes. Will we have time to see?" It was one of the mysteries of the Shadow world that genuinely intrigued him - the other worlds he could travel to were still alive, had never suffered an apocalypse that left everything grey and anything left behind shadowed, twisted. He wanted to know how it had happened. He wanted to know if it could happen to his worlds.
Hadjara, though, seemed to be doing her best to try and distract him. He didn't even think she did it on purpose but if she kept moving the way she was there wouldn't be time for anything - meeting Shadows, finding something to wear, or exploring ancient battlefields. Her comment about lingerie, though, brought him back to earth and he let out a sharp bark of laughter.
"I prefer the natural look. No adornments. I don't think I'd look nearly as good in lace as you do." Sometimes he was abruptly reminded that, although Hadjara's life had changed dramatically, it had only been a few short years since she was Human, and in many ways she was still unexpectedly naive.
After wavering on the issue of sex or not again for a long while, finally they were striding out of the park, away from the eeriness of a place clearly meant to be cheerful and failing, and into the ordinary eeriness of a crumbling world. Having no concept of distance in this place meant Gabriel could only follow and wonder abstractly about how long it might take, but Hadjara's frustration was obvious in her body language even before she turned to him and asked a question.
"Metal carriage thing? As long as it's unlikely to get me killed, whatever. Let's do it?"
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Post by Hadjara Astaeldr Er on Aug 20, 2017 4:36:10 GMT
Hadjara stuck out her pale tongue between her teeth and pouted. “They're useful,” she pointed out as she turned one clawed finger in a small circle before her grin turned playfully sinister. “We got as much time as ya wanna have but I can promise ya – no one could ever describe the battlefield in a way that'll do it justice. Not without the context of the settin' an' the memories.” She rested her chin on the back of her hand and added, “y'ain't ever gonna get the chance ta see what real evil can do on a grand scale, not unless ya live long enough ta see it.”
And wasn't that thought so deliciously wicked?
She did laugh at his comment before she rolled so she was closer to lying on top of him. “Awww, don't'cha think I could decide who looks better for myself?”
As fun as sex was, she was eager to shunt him off in the direction of so she could go get something proper to eat. But the city was just as vast as it was dead and the more apparent it became the more she twitched the end of her tail in agitation. “It'll be less likely ta kill ya than boredom, c'mon.” The street was ragged, and half of the cars had been smashed into the store fronts on the left half of the street like some giant child had swiped them away. It wasn't like those cars that remained were very high quality, they were all splotched with thick patches of rust and all of them had been opened up and ransacked eons ago.
She picked the one that looked the best, a giant truck that had once been some shade of red and steered Gabriel over to it. “Okay, sit in the back or sit next ta me but I gotta take this one,” Hadjara said as she swung up and sat herself in the driver's seat. She felt around the the controls for a moment before she turned her arm into smoke and let it seep into the ignition. For a second nothing happened before the car groaned and tried to turn over before it stopped. Then it turned over again. Then again. Then it came to life with a mechanical roar as the headlights blazed on and cast real light across the foggy street. “Hell yeah! Get in, let's see how fast I can make this girl go!”
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Post by Gabriel on Aug 25, 2017 8:27:04 GMT
Gabriel raised one shoulder in a careless shrug - the unscarred one, as even all these centuries later he still favoured the one that had been injured ever so slightly.
"A God gave me a shied that can repel magical attacks, once. I forgot it somewhere and lost it." Point being, unless he could wear it or it was a part of him, he found it very hard to value physical objects anywhere near the level that they sometimes deserved. Jewellery got a pass because he found pretty things entrancing, and loved symbolism, but wearing something was different to weapons you had to lug around. To him, anyway.
"We have to see the battlefield before we leave," he decided, emphatic. Nothing that Hadjara loved about the Shadow world appealed to him, but ancient places of war, destruction, utter devastation, now that appealed. It appealed to his adoration for stories and respect for history. It appealed to his darker side, the part of him that as drawn to death and horror. And it appealed to his creative side, the talent he had for creating things - images, thoughts, emotions, whole worlds - from magic. He drew inspiration from the world around him, and this was a world unlike any other. Imagine the things he could create from something like that...
His mind was occupied with these possibilities as they walked, and he only half paid attention to Hadjara's quickly growing frustration. It was hard not to put his full focus onto the "car" Hadjara chose though - a monstrosity twice, three times, his height, that he had to crane his neck at to observe once he was standing next to it. And the noise - nothing in Litharia made that noise and, had he been of a more retiring disposition, he might have flinched when the thing roared to life. And life it really did appear to have, to Gabriel - shuddering, growling, groaning, a metallic beast hunched and waiting to lumber down the road. He climbed in reluctantly, next to Hadjara, and glanced over at her.
"Remember I can't turn into smoke if you smash into a wall. And I will be pissed if I survive getting eaten in this wasteland only to end up smeared on the side of a building."
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