#lutebodied

Her grin softens into a smile as she rests her chin on her hand with a shrug. "How would you know what satisfies me?" Merritt cannot hold back a wink. He's even more endearing when he's flustered like this. It's why she singled him out. Women catch her eye more easily than men, but Phileas had this decidedly 'safe' vibe about him.

"Maybe I just like making beautiful people feel very good." The statement hangs in the air between them for a moment until she reaches for her glass and empties it. "It's an offer, you can absolutely turn it down if you're uncomfortable with it. I just think you look very appealing and approachable."

  There is an objective truth to her words that no one, not even Phileas, would be able to deny. Although his charisma usually began to shine as soon as he opened his mouth to actually engage in conversation, the young man appeared about as threatening as a stuffed bunny. (Some might accuse him of being about as proactive as one, too.) Nobody had ever really appreciated him for this quality, however. Nobody but one, that is. Usually, it only seemed to be an invitation for people to walk all over him, and Phileas had accepted his fate a long time ago.

  Sometimes, however, there are moments when he just has to put his foot down, for a change.

  “Ah... Well. I have never engaged in such activities before, and I do not know you - so evidently I would not know what satisfies you. I cannot say I feel very inclined to find out, either. My apologies.”

  Wow, Phileas. That really showed her, huh.

  He glanced back down at his notebook, as if it might reveal some form of social code to guide him through this unusual situation. Beautiful. What does that even mean? If dared to define the word, Phileas would have said ‘pleasant to perceive’. But he somehow doubts that this understanding really captures the emotional implications attached to it for most people.

When Liam took a drag off his cigarette and all he got was a stale taste of nothingness in his mouth from it, he grumbled and turned in his hand to inspect it. Only to find there was nothing wrong with it to begin with. “Ha-ha”, he tilted his head and looked Merritt straight in the eye, “Don’t poke fun at the addict. It’s me I-need-this-or-I’ll-hex-a-bloke smoke. Now... where the fuck have I put me lighter...?!”

She didn’t answer right away, drinking deep from a clay cup. Merritt needed coffee after that sleepless night. It surprised her a little that Kaauloth felt hesitant about the feywild but then again.. she tended to forget that it freaked people out. It was a weird place. Dangerous, definitely.

But so was this plane. There was danger everywhere, you just needed to know how to navigate it.

“I heard a rumour I need a friend to confirm. If it’s true, well..” Her mouth was set in a grim line, then relaxed into a smile as she looked at Kaau. “I lived there for seven years or something, don’t worry.” She leaned over to nuzzle his beard, trace sweet kisses along his cheekbone. “Like I’d let anything hurt you.”

He had never left this plane, he knew there were others, mostly from stories, but he had never been to any of them. He would also confess that he didn’t quite understand how travel between planes happened. So he felt justified in that moment’s hesitation.

@lutebodied​ sent ;; ❝  i genuinely do not know how to react. take that as a compliment.  ❞

@lutebodied

@lutebodied

[cont from here]

@lutebodied

She smirked. “I can and I will.” Merritt waited until he was done laughing, then challenged. “If this one makes you laugh, you buy me a drink.”

Without waiting for his answer, she continues.

“So.. an elf and a dwarf come across a drow in the woods while adventuring.   Preparing to attack the drow, they are shocked to find an Efreeti which offers the three each one wish. The dwarf asks for his home hold to be filled with the best defensive weaponry possible.  Not to be outdone, the elf asks for his home city to be surrounded by a huge, impenetrable wall, with no crack, crevice or even gate to fully ensure his people’s safety. When it comes the the drow’s turn, he thinks for a minute.

’How high is this wall?’ he asks.

’About 30 feet,’ replies the Efreeti.

’And it’s completely impenetrable?’

’Yes.’ Again, the Drow thinks, before finally opening his mouth to declare his wish: ’Fill it with water.‘”

Jack gave a snort of a laugh and shook his head, grinning as he did so. “Terrible! But clever. I like that one. I think that counted as a laugh.”

Jack raised his hand, waving over a bar server with a smile, asking for another drink for the both of them. He’d settle out the tab later on. He was sure he had enough at the moment, and if not he could work the bar a day or two. He’d done so before for a meal and a room.

“So how’d you get to be so funny?”