#accultant

         --   &   SO   THEY   REMAIN   .     .     .      Despite  knowing  how  it  works,  Iago  digs  in  their  heels  just  as  stubbornly  as  Puck  does  when  he  marches  over  to  the  dresser  to  push  it  against  the  door,  all  while  his  hands  are  cuffed.  He  knows  how  this  works,  too.

Puck  hears  the  start  of  their  half-whisper  but  the  sound  is  drowned  by  the  dresser  screeching  like  a  dying  bird,  one  that  is  tortured  slowly,  maybe  roasted  over  a  fire,  as  it  drags  across  the  floor.  Then  he  collapses  with  his  back  knocking  against  the  drawers  --  not  from  the  effort  it  took  to  move  the  furniture,  but  from  the  strain  of  denying  himself  what  he  really  wants.  The  movement  rattles  the  door.

        ❝      I'm  not  trying  to  get  out.  Just  sitting  down.      ❞      The  handcuffs  scrape  at  the  wood  underneath  him  as  he  adjusts  to  face  the  sound of Iago's heartbeat.  He  paws  at  the  drawer  handles,  pulling  them  open  then  pushing  them  closed  repeatedly.

        ❝      What  did  you  say   ?      I  wasn't  paying  attention.      ❞

CONTINUED  FROM  HERE   /  @accultant

▌  @accultant  sent  : Stuffs  a  stray  cat  in  their  cloak  to  take  back  to  the  Elfsong  with  them  except  they  get  caught  because  Bernard  can't  stop  sneezing. 

       He  almost  blamed  the  kitchen       for  cooking  something  with  onions.        Barely  was  the  tiefling  able  to  keep  his  eyes  open,  for  they  watered  like  a  dog  smelling  roasted  meat.  The  back  of  his  hand  was  wet  already,  insides  of  his  wrist  came  up  for  another  wipe  over  lids.  He  sneezes  for  the  fourth  time  in  two  minutes.  What  the  hell  are  they  fabricating  in  there    ?

The  paladin  opened  one  irritated  eye,  locking  onto  a  quite  strange  play.  Iago's  coat  was  moving.  A  bulge  squirming  behind  fabric  before  the  suspicious  pale  figure  attempted  at  holding  it,  stopping  the  subtle  turmoil.

 Bernard's  expression  shifted  immediately.

       ❝  Cloak  up.  Now.  ❞       It  would  have  sounded  more  frightening  if  the  helmite's  nose  wasn't  as  stuffy  as  it  was  just  right  now.  A  mean  glare  softened  by  the  tears  creeping  down  corners  of  crimson  eyes.  Should  they  offer  ignorance,  Iago  might  as  well  sit  here  for  the  rest  of  the  evening.  He  didn't  look  away.

       ❝  I'm  not  going  to  say  it  a  second  time.  ❞

𝑰𝑻 𝑰𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝑼𝑵𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑴𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑶 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑹𝑼𝑩𝒀 at her desk late into the night, eyes straining against the guttering candles as she runs through one last proposal, just one more audit, a finally completed ledger. The work is never truly finished, only set aside so she might sleep. With far more effort than she'd like to admit, Ruby at last managed to put the pen down and rise from her chair, back complaining, knees creaking -- the very beginnings of an ache that will, in time, never truly leave.

iago said to élisabeth, blurted out of the blue, "Do you have a heartbeat?"

* random asks. always accepting. @accultant

one. two. three second pause. in a very cold, clinical tone, she says, “ that is not information that can be confidently assessed a positive or negative answer. ” babette shakes her head, letting out a huff. a tick, a fun little habit, presumably a quirk in her perplexing programming - the passive voice, the robotic phrasing. she's a bard, for fuck's sake! she should be better at this.

starting over, “ the truth is, without a heart, what is there to beat? ” ( the narrator, laughs, omnisciently, but babette and iago cannot hear this. ) “ i... suppose you could open my chassis to find out? ”

Send 👀 to see how my muse sees yours     @accultant

Applies 

ATTRACTION: Repulsive | Unattractive | Average | Attractive | God Help Me  Sibling  TRUST: Trust To Be A Problem | Warrants Caution | Average | Reliable | Trust With My Life    RESPECT: Worthy Of Disrespect | Deserves No Respect | Hadn't Earned Any Special Respect | More Respected Than Most | Highest Respect  INTEREST: I'd Rather Watch Paint Dry | Distinctly Uninteresting | No Idea Yet | Interesting | I Must Learn More!   PRACTICAL SKILLS: Blunder Factory | Antitalent In Many Things | Average | Skilled In Many Things | Master   SOCIAL SKILLS: Disaster | Weirdo | Normal | You Should Speak | Silver Tongue   KNOWLEDGE SKILLS: Dummy | Knows A Few Things | Average | Expert | Walking Library   COMBAT SKILLS: Weakling | Half-Decent | Equal | I Can Learn From You | Unmatched   WEALTH: Pauper | Poor | Seems Average | Wealthy | Filthy Rich

Maybe, Very, Absolutely Not 

YOU ARE: Brave | Strong | Kind | Scary | Unsettling | Secretive | Stubborn | Naïve | Strange | Lovely | Insecure | Genius | Misguided   I WOULD: Fight | Spar | Protect | Help | Kill For | Learn From | Date | Sleep With | Hire | Kill | Sacrifice Myself For   YOU ARE MY: Enemy | Rival | Friend | Family | Love/Crush | Most Important

Complete freely 

The thing in question being her badge, which she may find a complete lack of recollection vis-a-vis borrowing. Borrowing implies permission, which the odd, thieving con artist that is Iago Darlington seldom asks for.

"It makes a handy little thing to flash around, but I figured you wouldn't want to be caught without it. All yours again. I'll be sure to have one of my own next time," Said like a reassurance rather than the ominous admission that is.

/ @accultant

            “  w-wait  a  second…  h-how  did  you?  w-when  did  you…?”  grace  asked,  pale  eyes  wide.

she  was  going  to  be  in  sooo  much  trouble  at  work  if  anyone  found  out  she  had  lost  her  badge  and  hadn't  even  noticed  it.  much  less  that  it  might  have  been  used  and  returned  to  her.  that  was  so  illegal  on  so  many  levels,  she  could  feel  herself  shaking  at  the  thought  of  it.

she  quickly  fumbled  for  it,  inspecting  it,  then  started  digging  around  in  her  bag  to  see  if  it  was  really  hers.  oh  god,  hers  was  missing.  how  could  she  not  have  noticed  that?

“  i  -  huh  ?"there  was  so  much  wrong  with  what  had  just  been  said,  she  didn't  even  know  where  to  start.