sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

[flirtations]

Who: Jae-ha and various
When: March 17-19
Where: Airy, and a job thread downtown
What: Assorted Airy threads (and a job thread)
Rating: Accidental drug use... tasteless cruising for chicks with Setsuna? Will add warnings to thread headers if necessary.


[ I will be writing different starters for people, so that we can have a unique scenario. If you'd like one, please respond with a blank toplevel and I'll surprise you with something. Or, feel free to leave me a random prompt, instead.

If you'd like to plot something please hit me up at baklava or PM! ]

Comments

[flirtations]

Eh?

[ Jae-ha's eyes widen. He didn't think of it as flattery, not really. It's just an honest observation, because well, red did suit him. But, he can still answer. ]

I like to appreciate beauty wherever I can find it, that's all.

[ Lightly, he begins to comb a bit of the pomade along Adra's scalp, lightly massaging the skin with the tips of his fingers. ]

Truthfully, though... I don't find beauty such as yours in men very often.

[ In fact, before meeting his dragon brothers, he had never found any man worthy of visual admiration. ]

[hymnals]

[ Much as he'd like to be, Adra is not immune to compliments. He tries to brush them off--classifying them as meaningless flattery helps. But Jae-ha insists, and as a result, he feels scarlet color warming the length of his ears. ]

Visit Silvermoon. You can't turn your head without seeing someone just like me.

[ He mutters, sinking a little into the chair, shoulders hunched. ]

Except taller.

[flirtations]

[ Jae-ha's fingers are in Adra's hair, but he can practically feel the heat radiating off those ears. It's immensely cute, but given that Adra seems to have had enough embarrassment for one day (it's probably still a trying notion to stay where he is, given how uncomfortable he looked), he doesn't remark on it. Instead, he separates his hair into sections. ]

And yet, the gods of this world decided to summon you, and from the looks of things, [ He hasn't seen another elf among their ranks ] Only you. There has to be some reason for that, don't you think?

[ Perhaps Adra was special in ways beyond superficial beauty, but even if they were summoned here completely by random chance, he's already seen the care the other man extends to complete strangers, to people crying out for help. Beauty wasn't limited to nice hair and well-defined features.

Adra may be slinking down in his chair, but Jae-ha feels at peace, doing this favor for him. He opens a drawer-- here, the women keep all sorts of colorful accessories. There are feathers, and beads, and even fully adorned tiaras (wouldn't that be a sight to behold?), but his eyes are drawn to the flowers.

Red orchids, and perhaps something else, later. He sets a few aside and begins to slowly braid, shifting each section with care not to accidentally pull or tangle. ]

Silvermoon. Is that the name of your country, your kingdom? What is it like?

[hymnals]

Bad luck of the draw.

[ He's grumbling, but his ears are perked upright and forward as Jae-ha continues to work. Vanity is frivolity, but Adrasteius maintains himself. He brushes out his long hair, keeps his nails trimmed, bathes daily. The delicate scent of lavender oil, daubed on his wrists, clings to him.

He is not immune to the kind of attention Jae-ha's offering him, and he shuts his eyes as the other man's fingers work gently through Adra's hair. It's such a light, careful touch. He exhales, slowly, and then he catches the perfume of the orchids, the feel of them as Jae-ha braids them into his hair. Color rises to his cheeks. What does it look like? Is it beautiful?

But wait. A question. ]

The country is Quel'thalas. Silvermoon is our capital city.

[ He sighs, opening both eyes now, glancing up at the ceiling. ]

It's a wondrous place. Everything built and sustained by magic. Clean, sparkling streets, swept by animated brooms. Floating topiary. Golden spires that gleam under a constant autumn sun, cream white walls inlaid with enormous rubies. My people strut about, casting flashy spells, sparring one another, trading in the bazaar.

It is elegant, magnificent ... and deeply corrupt. A glittering surface with a rotten underbelly.

[flirtations]

[ He laughs at that. ]

I won't argue with you there, actually. I don't feel particularly lucky to be here, myself, despite all the fanfare. [ Largely because he didn't choose to be here and he was expected to fight for a cause that wasn't his own.

He keeps quiet as Adra continues, working diligently and silently at dotting areas of that voluminous, loose braid with hints of red. Initially, he isn't surprised by the description. Adra seemed very comfortable around magic (it seemed like one of the few things he was comfortable around, actually...), so it makes sense that he should hail from such a whimsical, wondrous land.

Then, his hands pause where they stand, lightly rested against the edge of Adra's scalp, for just a second while he takes that second part in.

He may be reading too much into it, but in that moment, he thinks he may understand why Adra was so apprehensive about entering the shop, about accepting a little bit of vanity. ]

Beautiful, but only on the surface. It sounds like such a trait doesn't just apply to the land itself, either.

[hymnals]

Of course. You have things to do, no doubt. People to look after.

[ Because--who doesn't? Everyone's got people. Adra mostly just has the one, but he's pretty important all the same.

He wants to reach back and touch the flowers, feel the petals, maybe pluck one for himself--but he folds his hands steadfastly in his lap. Looks straight ahead. ]

No. We rid ourselves of our traitor prince, but still too many of my people are arrogant, scheming. Obsessed with power in any form. They are faithless and decadent.

[ He sets his jaw. ]

And vain.

[flirtations]

Truthfully, I only worry about one person. A young girl, who barely knows how to take care of herself, to be honest. My dragon brothers, except for one, are all here.

[ And seeing how Zeno literally couldn't die even if he tried, he's not worried. He finishes the rest of the braid quietly, then lays his hands carefully on Adra's shoulders. ]

I feel honored, then, that you're willing to indulge me on this show of vanity. [ and-- ]

Does that mean you do hold faith in a higher power, Adrasteius?

[hymnals]

[ Dragon ...? At this point, Adra doesn't have a firm idea of the connection between Jae-ha et al, but he's not surprised if Jae-ha is, in fact, a dragon. He certainly flew like one. Adra's about to ask about it, but then Jae-ha sets hands on his shoulders, then he asks his own question.

Fortunately, he's so relaxed from all the careful attention that he doesn't immediately tense up and jerk away, though that's still his instinct. Instead, he breathes slowly, evenly. ]

Well--it does feel--not bad.

[ It feels much better than that, but. He purses his lips. ]

And I have faith in the Light. It is less so a higher power as it is simply a power, suffusing everything. The spark of creation. Hope and life.