illithidnapped

The latter, naturally. As the saying goes, ‘nothing gold can stay.’

—except for actual gold, of course. That, you can always take with you, given that it’s a physical object and not capable of independent want or will. But you get the idea.

[He sips, thoughtfully musing to himself, but the edge of his grin is tempered by the subject. Or maybe that’s just a trick of the light. Who knows.]

It doesn’t matter how fond you are, or how much you want it. The universe, as I’m sure you already know, has its ways.

Best to cut the cord when it’ll sting the least.

...time will always have its way, if naught else does beforehand.

[Of course he already knows. He's lived enough lives, outlived everything and everyone else he ever might have cared for, watched time erode what was left of the only people who remained constant through it.]

It is different, I think, for those of us who are either no longer mortal, or never have been. The brief length of a human life lends itself to seizing upon anything they can, clinging to what they're able-- ephemeral in their existence, they do not stay long either.

Ah, the vivacity of youth. [Astarion sighs, pressing a lone hand to the center of his chest in an overly dramatic show of feigned lament.

And then he moves on.]

Still, pleasant topics aside, what are you going to do now? Surely you didn’t come here just for the wine.

Please. You are hardly so old, yourself.

[Everyone is young to him, though, honestly. Astarion still isn't human, it's good enough.

Speaking of the wine, though, he delays his answer with another drink.]

But I expect that depends more upon you than me. Upon how long you intend to entertain the intrusion, and whether you mean to send me back for the night.

Send you back?

Darling, I’m no quivering child. You’re here already, why would I bother sending you home?

If you want to stay, stay: you’ll have a place to lay your head until sunrise. After that, I trust you’ll figure out just what approach you want to take in tackling all this pervasive drama.

[It’s not a permanent offer for shelter, given the pointedness of that final remark, but it’s a promise he can linger here a little longer— if he likes. Sleep. Recuperate without worrying about a knife at his throat or ire at his back.

Though if that threat grew too large, it’s more than possible Astarion would, in fact, open his door yet again with only mild grumbling.]

I have a habit of not feeding strays too often, after all.

[Says the man who not only keeps a resting place for Fenris nearby, but a set of clothes and rumpled bedding for Ellie as well, now.

Strays indeed.

But pretense is always pretense.]

There is a difference between allowing a brief respite and extending it to the night, after all, and there are those who sleep best alone.

[A shrug, there; he isn't one to make assumptions of others' space, and this has never exactly been discussed. Emet-Selch can handle himself, he'd just return to his own room if Astarion preferred to keep the place to himself at night.

With his dagger under the pillow, maybe, but. That's just a reasonable precaution.]

I do have some idea of my intentions already, but- tomorrow will be a better day for that particular effort.

Indeed. But you should know I never open my door unless I'm willing to potentially entertain from sunset to sunrise.

In other words, I don’t offer this sort of thing lightly.

Hm. Or maybe I do. [A soft, thoughtful— maliciously playful gasp.] Either way.

I trust you’ll be content despite the somewhat crowded conditions here? Not too lowly for your Imperial preferences?

[Asked as he rises, pressing aside his own half-filled cup and moving over to settle down across the edge of his own mattress as an example: between the clutter and the entirely limited space, there aren’t any illusions about just how little there is to be worked with.]

Edited 2021-10-10 05:11 (UTC)

Entertaining the entire night now, are you? And here I thought you were endeavoring to be present through the daylight hours instead.

[Lighter, much closer to his usual tone. But he just waves a hand at that last question-]

I have had far worse hospitality before, I can assure you. I doubt there is much in this city that would compare, at least within my own reach, but-- I will accept the lack of luxury for the lack of the responsibility which accompanies it.

[He's not in the mood to run an empire again, thank you very much.]

[Emet-Selch, you slacker. He’s so proud.]

Potential isn’t a definite. Most nights I actually do get a fairly human amount of rest— provided I’m not toiling away in Riftwatch’s name, or digging up new information at the Blooming Rose, or...

Well.

Far more rare circumstances.

Mm. But don’t worry. I can personally verify that so long as no one opts to break in my door tonight, you won’t have a single responsibility or care to your name.

Sacred earth, in a sense.

You’re welcome.

Rare, are they? An unfortunate state of events for you, I am sure.

[Another sip finishes off his second glass, and with that, he sets it aside.]

But in that case, I shall hope the current state of peace here remains so. I doubt anyone will go to such lengths so quickly, however.

What can I say? The wellspring here isn't exactly overflowing.

If I were in Hightown, that'd be a different story. Or still in Wycome, perhaps. Pity as it was to leave.

[Otherwise, no: Lowtown's eligible, desirable few have been more likely to drop off a pier or lose their own teeth as of late, what with the city so pressed for space and sanctuary alike.

And, all things aside, Astarion is never desparate. Whether or not an itch needs scratching, sometimes it's simply better to abstain.]

Even among our number, is it. Though I suppose most of us do tend to have more pressing concerns.

[-or, you know, existing relationships, that sort of thing.]

-just as I suppose that here, you're equally liable to run into someone who means trouble as you are a decent night.

Nosy. [Astarion scoffs through the edges of his teeth in mock offense, pinning a few arched fingers delicately against the set of his own collarbone.]

Besides, Riftwatch is, like you said, fairly fretful overall: morose, withdrawn, afraid, agitated— worrying about the war or what comes next, or whether or not the ones they love will, in fact, ever love them again.

[And how's a vampire supposed to compete with all of that baggage.]

It won't always be the case, of course. And once the war's over, I'll be free as a bird.

Well, of course I am. I should think you would have expected that.

[He leaves his seat, then, evidently done with it, and comes over to sit on the bed as well; with his presence accepted 'til tomorrow, he makes himself comfortable there, settling in with one leg crossed over the other.]

We can only hope it ends soon, then, for your sake. Mayhap you will find somewhere that a pretty face will earn you better luck.

[The word pretty seems to change something. Moreso than proximity, in fact, given the way Astarion's expression almost brightens by degrees— head canting to one side just so, the way a cat might behave (its dark, depthless eyes dilating) when spotting a bird on a ledge within reach.

Instinctive.]

You wouldn't be trying to charm me just to make sure someone's on your side in all this mess, would you?

If mere charm were sufficient, I would be quite concerned. I do expect better of you than that, you know.

[He watches that shift in demeanor, though, one brow arched in turn. Honestly, after everything-- it would almost be an insult to think this alone would sway.]

Clever of you to think so, but a common tactic besides.

[It wouldn’t be the first time, in fact, that Astarion’s come across it in the figurative wilds— or the first time he’s used it, either.

Still, unlike Astarion, Emet-selch doesn’t seem the type.]

And...oh, I don’t know. [he starts, leaning in by degrees, given how close the ascian is now for having opted to sit beside him.] I wouldn’t complain if you were.

Why, don't tell me you mean to charm me to ensure I believe you're on my side.

[It's light, idle; Astarion leans in, though, and he doesn't lean away in turn.]

If I did, do you really imagine I’d confess?

[The words murmured more than spoken, his attention sunken beneath the heavy hang of dark lashes as he cranes his neck higher— pressing chilled lips to the edge of Emet-Selch’s jaw. Tentative. Testing.

The way someone might dip their toe into a shallow pool.]

You never would, of course. But then neither would I.

[And he is still, at first. Not leaning away from the touch or into it, almost observing more than anything else-- but some of the tension eases from him after a moment, head canted slightly in response to that attention. Silent permission for it.]

...feeling, bright and awful and nauseating. [Murmured under his breath, a mirror of what Astarion had said to him before.] I've begun to think it might not be so terrible to reacquaint myself with it.

It isn’t awful.

[He takes it as permission, that lack of reaction. Knowing Emet-Selch, the man wouldn’t opt to tolerate anything he doesn’t want to.]

Well— not at first, anyway.

[It’s the losing it that torments. The same way it always does.

A conversation they’ve already had.

His teeth, sharp as daggers, scuff their way along the underside of Emet-Selch’s throat— the lightest possible scrape against vulnerable skin, leaving only faintly reddened marks in their wake. That he could do more is obvious. That he could rush for more is, too, but Astarion is a creature of caution at heart: when it comes to touch— and touch alone— he doesn’t take what he isn’t given.]

Never at first.

[A quiet agreement, exhaled breathily along with the graze of Astarion's teeth. The beginning is the easy part, in that sense-- but in other ways it's the difficult part. Engaging in anything is a conscious acknowledgement of the later consequences. Starting anything sets the timer on when it might end.

But he is likely mortal, now. Now the calculations include the possibility he will not live to see that end.

He might as well live like it, just a little.

Emet-Selch takes a moment to pull the glove off one hand, reaching up-- his thumb brushes the edge of Astarion's ear, then moves past, fingers threading into his hair, hand resting at the back of his head. Not tight enough to pull, just enough to be present; a matching gesture that there could be more.]

[He drinks in that attention the same way he drinks in everything: greedily, without restraint. His head tips into the slow slide of bare fingers, so overwarm from the trapped heat of a glove now shed.

The first time, in fact, that Astarion can remember ever seeing the man without them.

Preventative, perhaps? A barrier between himself and the simplicity of touch? —or just a pair of gloves, and nothing more. Nothing so remarkable or poetic. Either way, Astarion shoves that curiosity from his mind almost as soon as it rises, seizing the opportunity instead to wend his way into Emet-Selch’s lap, straddling the man with ease where he’s perched along the edge of the mattress— mouth to his neck, just above the high edge of that dark collar, raking with teeth, tracing it with his tongue, working higher by the second with all due insistence. Starved, for lack of a better term.

If something well-fed can also be starved.]

[There's a low, throaty chuckle of amusement from him when Astarion shifts, a little murmur of-]

Eager, are we...?

[...even as he lets an arm slide around Astarion's waist, curling there, tugging him a little closer. For him, that probably counts as eagerness, too.

His chin tilts back by degrees to allow more space to work with, a bit more of the pale flesh of his neck exposed; before he speaks again, he exhales a slow sigh, hand settling at the small of his companion's back.]

But before we dispense with words-- tell me what you don't want.

[Better now than having to break away from things later. Stumbling on something someone enjoys is a pleasant surprise; stumbling upon something they don't just ruins the mood entirely, and Astarion has said just enough of his history that Emet-Selch does not doubt there are missteps to make in that regard.]

For you to turn tail and run before the night is over.

[Funny. That’s what Astarion would find it, Emet-Selch’s concern. Not that he doesn’t comprehend the idea of aversion borne of suffering, and doubly so in someone else, but Astarion—

His brief moments of tethered freedom were always bought with touch. With warmth, and wanting, and the comfort of being adored in turn by strangers of the highest caliber, even if it was just a cruel game.

No. He wasn’t left without his scars, but they don’t live here.]

Or to bore me.

[The more real danger, all things considered.

His fangs sink deep into the fabric of Emet-Selch’s coat, pulling when he twists his own neck— serpentine— until the clasps come undone either by brute force or momentum alone.

Unmistakably, it’s not a gentleman’s gambit.]

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i'm just gonna make an early nsfw call here probably

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