+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: if i die because you made me melt, oh well (/showthread.php?tid=11328)
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Astaroth - 05-15-2025
Snorting to hear Flora’s response, Asta rolls his eyes playfully as his fingers work at a knot in Danta’s shoulder. “[say]I would always talk to you, darling.[/say]” He confirms as the Maverick mentions the other reality that would have occurred. And it’s true, snorting softly and lamenting the idea a touch, his chin drops for a moment as he clicks his tongue. “[say]If it were not your night, Flora, I would have had many things to say.[/say]” And do, likely, if the bloodlust edge from their rendezvous had anything to say about it.
But that’s beside the point. Instead, the butcher focuses on Jack along with Danta’s sentiments, his head nodding as he flashes a softer smile toward Flora in response. “[say]Or, perhaps you had so many of those around that care for you he realized it was a death wish?[/say]” He suggests, letting his honey gaze flit toward Flora with a small shrug. He didn’t know Jack well, but it’s the general vibe he got.
Flora’s gasp has his brows pinching briefly, suddenly wondering just what was happening when he realizes she’s more than willing to indulge in the trio of massages, so the butcher does as Flora tells him to, withdrawing enough to slip out of the waistcoat again, folding it and setting it on the arm of the couch before he settles at the edge of her seat so that she doesn’t have to reach too far. His hair is long enough these days to drape in a small V down his back, and no new scars sit on his back. The only thing of note is the bracelet on his wrist that remains, designed beautifully in corvid feathers and a sheen of lovely scarlet.
His head tilts over his shoulder toward her when she speaks next, almost chastising. At Danta’s answer, the butcher’s attention drifts toward him with a slight wrinkle of his nose, reaching out to continue the massage on his lover’s shoulder that’s closest to him. “[say]Alas I believe that may make the line thinner and shorter.[/say]” He admits with a slightly frustrated sigh, but the smile tugged on his face is apologetic all the same.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Flora - 05-15-2025
Flora exhales softly, laughter curling out like steam from her lips. [say]"Mmh, you’re probably right,"[/say] she agrees breezily, though there’s an edge of something quieter behind her smile. She can’t explain the ache that still lingers, or how sometimes just wanting to see someone feels embarrassing when they never show. So she doesn’t try. She just lets it roll off her shoulders like saltwater, flicking her gaze back to the pair lounging beside her.
As Asta settles in, Flora shifts smoothly to better reach his back. Her hands move with purpose, light and teasing at first—the barest trace of her nails dragging down his spine in a careful sweep, slow and tantalizing. She lets her fingertips skate down the ladder of his vertebrae before curling a strand of his hair around one finger and giving it a gentle tug the way she likes done to her own hair. Her nails drag down along his ribs next, gliding in a path designed to awaken every nerve, hoping that somewhere beneath the scarring, there's still some sensitivity that doesn't take claws to reach. She doesn’t press hard, not yet—just enough to let sensation bloom like heat in her wake.
At Danta’s remark, Flora glances over with a sharp, wicked gleam. Her gaze flicks to Asta, studying his expression, the soft pull of his mouth and the weight of something unspoken in the set of his shoulders. [say]"I was just about to ask,"[/say] she says slowly, tipping her head toward the Maverick with exaggerated curiosity. It seemed to her that not only was the butcher not one necessarily to sit back and let Danta have all the fun, but that he might find it extraordinarily difficult to abide, as well.
She flashes a smile, all teeth and temptation, before reaching past Asta to snatch a sip from Danta’s margarita. [say]"Either way,"[/say] she purrs, licking a drop of salt from her lip, [say]"I do hope you’ve both got energy left for at least one more round of something."[/say] Drinks, debauchery, more gossip...
Which, speaking of. [say]"Oh, heyyyy, you know Thal? The one you sent me about the guild?"[/say] Flora's fingertips flutter against Asta's skin. [say]"She's infected."[/say]
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Dantalion - 05-15-2025
There will be other nights, Danta decides - nights where Asta can have it out with Maea, where Jack might slink into the back of some seedy bar, sheepish and contrite and trying not to catch Flora's eye as she dazzles everyone around her. Nights for more of what happened between them earlier in the guildhall, and nights just like right now, when everything feels at ease, no matter the topic of conversation.
[say]"Mm, you just made him a little hungry is all,"[/say] he purrs in response to Flora's question, tipping her a wink and surrendering his margarita to another set of lips, leaning into the knot in his shoulder that Asta's firm fingers have just managed to release. [say]"I can't say I blame him, in truth."[/say] Blowing a kiss to them both and letting out a grateful sigh, the Maverick scoots back to grab the still half-full jug of margarita mix so he can refill any glass in sight.
[say]"I've got energy left for anything you might want to do, whether Asta's line gets thinner and shorter, or longer and harder,"[/say] he quips. Oh, and then Flora goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like THAL'S INFECTED.
[say]"Sorry, what?"[/say] Danta blurts.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Astaroth - 05-15-2025
He focuses on the massage to Danta’s shoulder and the way he subtly shifts into it to help him work at that knot he’s found, all while he feels Flora’s hands, a gentle pressure with little feeling as it strokes down his spine gently. All things not felt very deeply, so far, because when she lightly tugs his hair he does feel that and its with a light shiver down his spine that greets Flora’s hands as they drag along his ribs. This portion of his skin, the lesser scarred of the rest is far more sensitive, and the work of her nails sparks goosebumps to pebble onto his skin.
It's distracting in a way that he’s belated when he answers them, a low hum of agreement with Danta. “[say]My bloodlust is closer than I had anticipated.[/say]” Comes the additional explanation, head tilting to peer over his shoulder toward Flora again with an apologetic smile. “[say]I managed well, I believe.[/say]” He touts a touch, reaching for the margarita to take a sip of it while Danta aims to refill the glasses.
It's precisely at this point that he sips from it that the butcher chokes with the revelation, sputtering a touch as Danta blurts out the question blaring in his mind. “[say]Infected?![/say]” The butcher chokes out through a throat burning from alcohol and choking, twisting to look at Flora with his brows pinched, a sudden pit in the butcher’s stomach yawning open and leaving him a bit pale. Aside from the two here (and Charlie, of course), the butcher considered Thal one of his best friends. How could he have missed it?
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Flora - 05-15-2025
Flora lifts her glass with a soft clink, wordlessly presenting it toward Danta like a queen demanding tribute. [say]"Top me up, babes,"[/say] she hums, even as her other foot stretches languidly toward him again, toes wiggling in smug demand for his continued worship. Her smile turns feline—indulgent and victorious—as Asta shivers beneath her fingertips. Her touch shifts from teasing to intent, massaging slow and firm into the scarred expanse of his back. She knows he can’t feel all of it, but that’s fine. She’s not doing it just for sensation, but to show that even the parts of him dulled by damage still matter and deserve attention
But then, of course, comes the part where the room shifts.
Their choked outbursts don’t faze her at first. She just hums, the sound low and steady as if she’s telling them the weather rather than dropping a grenade on their evening. [say]"Mmhm,"[/say] she confirms, nodding slowly as she traces another slow path down Asta’s spine. [say]"Ever since I was cured, I can see who's infected."[/say] Her mouth tightens at the corners. [say]"She’s been infected since at least the turn of the season. That’s the last time I saw her, and it was already there."[/say] Her fingers pause just slightly.
[say]"Sorry to kill the mood."[/say]
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Dantalion - 05-15-2025
[say]"With pleasure,"[/say] Danta croons, indeed topping off Flora's margarita glass - and Asta's, even if it had formerly belonged to him, before he takes a long and necessary, as it happens sip directly from the jug. [say]"Fuck,"[/say] he says, riding the word out on a sigh and setting the jug down beside him to reach back out for the Doubletake's wiggling toes, kneeding his fingers into all the places that would have been the most under pressure from her heels.
[say]"Well that's not fucking good,"[/say] he mutters, glancing up at Asta with an apologetic smile. [say]"I'm sorry - I know the two of you are close. I don't suppose there's any spare lilies or roses going that we don't know about? Not that I imagine Thal is going to be easy to cure."[/say] The pirate captain is like a fucking honey badger in his experience.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Astaroth - 05-16-2025
As Danta tops Flora off and continues the massage, the butcher works at his lover’s shoulder all while he feels Flora’s touch grow more intense. It’s a slow and firm pressure that blooms through him, loosening a touch of tension and sparking a bit of burning pain beneath it — but he knows it’ll be worth it, if he hopes to regain some amount of feeling in it.
And let’s be honest, he doesn’t care much about pain these days.
It’s during the sip of the margarita that the butcher chokes, the burning in his throat sharper than the way Flora regains feeling in the hard branches of his scar tissue. “[say]I am unsure about the roses or lilies. I do believe that if anyone could confine her it would be me.[/say]” Which would mean a lot of pretending, something the butcher excels at. He looks back over his shoulder to Flora with the tug of a small and grateful smile, because while it had killed the mood, it was for an important reason. “[say]Thank you for telling us, darling.[/say]” He shifts to lean back into her touch again as if to prove it hadn’t ruined the full mood, before his gaze flits to Danta. “[say]Do you think Dygra might have something that could help?[/say]” Since she had her own version of protection Danta was currently working toward, perhaps she had her own version that could help their fellow Ancient.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Flora - 05-16-2025
Flora hums softly in reply, her fingertips beginning to sweep up and down the length of Asta’s back again in long, languid arcs. Her nails whisper over his skin, light and steady, the motion equal parts reassurance and indulgence as the tension in the room slowly begins to settle around the truth she’s dropped like a stone in still water. [say]"Last time I saw Maea,"[/say] she murmurs, her voice smooth and thoughtful, [say]"I told her that if she really wanted to make things right with the two of you... that giving you any roses she found might be a good start."[/say] Her fingers curl lightly at the base of Asta’s neck before continuing their rhythmic path, her gaze flicking between the two Ancients.
[say]"I don’t know if she's found any since giving me one,"[/say] Flora admits with a shrug, [say]"buttttttttttt...honestly these days if anyone has any, it's probably her."[/say] Her lips curve wryly, but there’s a flicker of real hope there, small, but sincere. Of course the queen had no idea that since that conversation with Maea flowers had been found, and not a one had been sent to the Grounds.
She reaches for her glass again, tipping it toward Danta in silent thanks before taking a sip and letting the chill slide down her throat. [say]"I'm sorry, I didn't know you too were that close. Lemme know if I can do anything."[/say]
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Dantalion - 05-16-2025
Danta wrinkles his nose at the idea of liaising with Maea, offering little more than a thorny shrug of his shoulder into the butcher's fingers. [say]"At this point, if it's anything to do with her, I take Asta's lead."[/say] If he thinks he'd be able to treat the pale Ancient with civility in exchange for a rose or a lily to heal Thalassa of her infection, then that's a conversation for later. Not while they're out here on vacation, preferably.
[say]"Mm, bringing things back into peace and harmony isn't exactly our dark lady's deal,"[/say] he admits with a furrowed brow, carefully smoothing his hands across Flora's feet before they finally come to a gentle still. [say]"I imagine the chaos of an infection is something she'd let be, providing that Thal didn't want it gone."[/say] Which, ironically enough, is exactly why Thal should be cured.
Sighing and sitting back, he retrieves the margarita jug again and raises it to his lips.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Astaroth - 05-16-2025
The mention of Maea again has the butcher tensing beneath Flora’s touch, the butcher’s chin dipping down toward his chest as the tip of his spaded tail flits as the only indicator of the feelings that war within him. It’s a certain kind of bitterness, to be reliant on the one person in Caido the butcher would prefer not to have to deal with ever again. So he’s grateful for when Danta leaves it up to him - a quiet sentiment of too complicated and big to talk about on vacation.
Heaving a sigh that he’s sure Flora can feel beneath her hands, with the flex of the butcher’s back and chest with the exhale, the butcher withdraws to run his fingers across the bracelet on his wrist, not uncharacteristically quiet, just thoughtful.
Turning slightly toward Flora, so that he can give her his full attention, her dark gaze scans her face before having to ask a question he’s not sure he wants to know the answer to. “[say]Did you?[/say]” He asks, before he clarifies. “[say]Wish to be cured when you were infected.[/say]” Because it would only make it that much harder, wouldn’t it? A non consenting cleansing.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Flora - 05-16-2025
Feeling Asta’s body stiffen beneath her fingers, Flora slows her touch instinctively, her teasing edge retreating as something softer takes its place. She leans forward without ceremony, slipping her arms around him from behind. Her reach barely gets halfway, her cheek pressed to the plane of his back, warm skin against old scars. She doesn’t try to fill the silence too quickly, doesn’t try to make it less heavy because where the void was concerned, some things just sucked.
[say]"No,"[/say] she says finally, her voice low and steady, the word pressing against his skin like a confession. [say]"I absolutely did not want to be cured."[/say]
Her fingers tighten gently where they rest. [say]"When Hadama tried, I was ready to fight him. I was ready to kill him. Or teleport out. It was only because of some demigod voodoo that he was able to prick me before I could get away."[/say] She lets out a soft exhale—half bitter laugh, half memory catching in her throat.
She’s quiet for a second, then continues, voice muffled slightly against his back. [say]"It took two demigods and Deimos to cure Sunjata. And yeah, Thal’s not the Flood, but she’s not weak, either. She’s fast and smart which won’t make it easy, especially if she sees you coming with a flower."[/say] Her arms loosen slightly, her cheek turning so she can meet Danta’s gaze too.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Dantalion - 05-16-2025
[say]"Sounds like a delightful time for the two of us, if and when we ever get hold of a flower,"[/say] Danta mutters, lowering the (mostly empty) margarita jug and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Considering the vibe well and truly killed - likely a combination of the extra cocktails and the sudden heavy subject matter - the Maverick sits back and rakes his fingers through his hair.
[say]"Well, wonderful as it is to think about having to fight a raging pirate captain and using another flower on a cure rather than on the island, you'll excuse me if I decide to clean up and pass out."[/say] He totters to his feet rather than rolling with anything like grace, tossing them a lazy salute and padding away to the bathroom so he can scrub away the facemask still plastered to his skin.
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Astaroth - 05-16-2025
She hugs him and Asta leans into the touch gently, knowing it’s meant to comfort even if her following answers are anything but. It’s exactly the type of thing that the butcher dreads, even when he hears how difficult it had been to get Flora and Sunjata healed (even if the latter makes his lips curl in distaste). “[say]Well. I don’t imagine I will have luck any time soon, so perhaps I can outmatch her in strength when the time comes.[/say]”
Because it will. He’ll make sure of it. Whether Thalassa wanted it or not. But for now, he tucks the information away, having not wanted to ruin the night but feeling as though he had with the intensity of clinging to the information - especially as his dark gaze flits to Danta as he both offers his help with the future attempt, but also slinks away to clean up his face.
And that’s really the crux of it, isn’t it? That maybe, just maybe, it would be safe enough to focus on clearing Starfall so that if the Family was no longer a threat, perhaps she would no longer be infected - as well as the multitudes of others out and about. So he nods to his lover, before he tilts toward Flora, flashing a small smile. “[say]Thank you for telling us. I should also take this off.[/say]” Pointing toward his face still coated in green, the butcher untangles himself from Flora to stand, tail still whipping a touch at the spaded tip before he trails after Danta toward the bathroom, and rather than immediately step up beside him to start clearing his face, he wraps him in a warm hug from behind. "[say]Would you be so kind as to share some of the soap?[/say]"
RE: if i die because you made me melt, oh well - Flora - 05-16-2025
With both Ancients peeling themselves away and Danta already slinking off to the bathroom, Flora leans back with a little sigh. Her face still coated in the remnants of green luxury as well, that were it not for Danta's remarks, she might have forgotten about completely.
Padding barefoot down the hallway, she slows just long enough to peek past the door of the bathroom, catching sight of Asta wrapping his arms around Danta, the pair of them tangled together like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Her lips twitch, fondness curling in her chest, but she doesn’t interrupt.
Instead, she tiptoes past and heads upstairs, the cool tiles of the upper bathroom floor making her hum indulgently. She splashes water over her face, wiping away the mask and patting her cheeks dry with a towel, her reflection in the mirror slightly flushed but no longer streaked in green.
Leaning out of the doorway, voice lazily echoing down the stairs, she calls, [say]"You two coming to bed, or are you planning a bathroom sleepover?"[/say] Her tone is light, suggesting that should they need a moment to themselves after the bomb she'd dropped on them, that she'd be happy to wait (or just to head off to bed on her own). Reaching for a jar of moisturizer that smelled of citrus and lilac, Flora smeared it across her cheeks and beneath her eyes, trying very hard not to think about how this was the last night she'd be spending in this house for what would likely be quite a while.