Dragon Harem Quest - Or: Saying You Were Gay Wasn't The Conversation-Ender You Hoped For
- Thread starter ZerbanDaGreat
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- The Land of Many Bregrets
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Heee, cute.
[X] Go find Belial. He's seemed pretty subdued since the lair got more busy, and you have to admit you're a little concerned. Maybe you can pay him back for all the listening he's been doing?
Seconding Tenfolds here; Belial strikes me as someone used to being discarded; he helps out at the beginning, shows people the ropes, helps them build up a 'proper' relationship and then his role is done. He's probably expecting to be shown the door soon and we need to nip that in the bud before it can turn sour.
Best bet, funnily enough, is probably not to treat him as the relationship advice counsellor too much. Like yes, he's good at that but that's the role he expects to be playing and that's what's probably getting him down in the first place. Not so much 'gives good advice but doesn't heed it' but 'gives good advice but never expects to be able to use it himself'. Because he's just the relationship counsellor guy.
EDIT: wait does this mean belial is the tomoda of the quest? ISSACHAR I MISJUDGED YOU-
[X] Go find Belial. He's seemed pretty subdued since the lair got more busy, and you have to admit you're a little concerned. Maybe you can pay him back for all the listening he's been doing?
Seconding Tenfolds here; Belial strikes me as someone used to being discarded; he helps out at the beginning, shows people the ropes, helps them build up a 'proper' relationship and then his role is done. He's probably expecting to be shown the door soon and we need to nip that in the bud before it can turn sour.
Best bet, funnily enough, is probably not to treat him as the relationship advice counsellor too much. Like yes, he's good at that but that's the role he expects to be playing and that's what's probably getting him down in the first place. Not so much 'gives good advice but doesn't heed it' but 'gives good advice but never expects to be able to use it himself'. Because he's just the relationship counsellor guy.
EDIT: wait does this mean belial is the tomoda of the quest? ISSACHAR I MISJUDGED YOU-
LupineVolt
Now with 200% more Puns
- Location
- Michigan
[X] Go find Belial. He's seemed pretty subdued since the lair got more busy, and you have to admit you're a little concerned. Maybe you can pay him back for all the listening he's been doing?
HolyInquisition
Opinionated
- Location
- Halfway to Anywhere
[X] Go find Belial. He's seemed pretty subdued since the lair got more busy, and you have to admit you're a little concerned. Maybe you can pay him back for all the listening he's been doing?
Can we have a write-in "whatever TenfoldShields says" option yet
Can we have a write-in "whatever TenfoldShields says" option yet
LaRed
Are you stupid or something
- Location
- Mou Ikkai hell
That's what "[] Plan Bad Dragon" has usually been to in the past.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Go find Belial. He's seemed pretty subdued since the lair got more busy, and you have to admit you're a little concerned. Maybe you can pay him back for all the listening he's been doing?
GwaedDraig
Crazed Gun-dino
- Location
- Breadcrumbs and Beaver spit
[X] Go find Jun-ho. See if you can't figure out something to do for him to make up for the mildly horrifying sunken temple visit.
Saw a link to this on a Discord I frequent and found it too funny to not give a go
Saw a link to this on a Discord I frequent and found it too funny to not give a go
Chapter Fifty-One: What's More Romantic Than A Seaside Stroll?
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
You think about it, long and hard. Then think some more. Then a bit more just to be safe.
Then you blink and realise, having completely lost track of where your train of thought was going, that you've just been staring into space with an empty void between your ears for the past whoever-knows-how-long. You might have even drifted back off to sleep at some point. You glance furtively around your cave, doublechecking that you're at least alone in your embarrassment, and sheepishly clamber down from your pile to shake the last of the sleep out of your limbs. Right, time to be serious about this. You shift down to bipedal form and descend to the second level.
Strictly speaking Lyrros gave you more direct cause for concern yesterday, what with being so soundly thrashed by Datu that he's probably about ready to hole up in his room and sulk for another hundred years, but it's equally probable that Datu spent the night enthusiastically making up for it. Belial is a different case, one that's a bit more... difficult for you to get a handle on. But last night with Issachar went pretty well in terms of listening, right? Maybe today will work out too!
You track down Belial's room and rap your knuckles on the door. One, two, three, four, you can practically hear the seconds ticking down as you wait for an answer. You knock again. Still just deafening silence, not even the whispering rasp of fabric on skin as the incubus gets up to answer the door. Your brow furrows. You knock one more time.
"Belial?"
Nothing. You try the handle, almost startled to find it unlocked. The door swings open, the light from the corridor spilling in around you as your shadow stretches across the cold stone floor. Belial's on the bed across the room, lying on top of the covers on his side. All you see are his bare back and the tips of his horns curling back over his scalp, and for one heartstopping moment you think you've intruded on him snuggling with Jun-ho or whoever in the afterglow. But then he shifts, rolls over, and you see he's alone.
"Oh," he says, his eyes meeting yours as he shifts his weight to his other side, one elbow dimpling the mattress as it takes his weight. He gingerly rubs his eyes with the tar-armoured heel of the other hand. "Hey, Eldingar. Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking."
"O-oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you," you reply so quickly you stumble over your words, awkwardly frozen half-across the threshold. It feels like your claw is glued to the door handle. "I just wanted to, ah, check in on you. See how you were feeling."
Belial gives a wan smile. "That's sweet of you, but don't worry about me, I'm really fine. Catching up on some sleep is all. I'm sure you have a lot of things to take care of today, yeah?"
"Not really," you admit with a shrug. "To be honest I don't really have a schedule, I just muddle through things as they come day by day. D'you want to do anything? Go out or something? I don't want you to feel cooped up in here."
"Mm." His eyes seem unfocused, and a moment later he's sprawling out flat on his back with a soft sigh. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful - I really do appreciate the offer - but I think I'd like to stay in and rest." He chuckles. "Who knew spending so long riding along in other people's dreams would build up such a sleep debt, eh?"
"Oh." Silence falls again, thick and cloying and stifling. Belial doesn't exactly shut his eyes and start snoring right then and there, but he's staring up at the ceiling in a way that doesn't particularly invite further discussion. You linger in the doorway, still grasping the handle like a handhold on a particularly sheer cliff as you rally yourself. On the one hand you completely understand the overpowering desire to just get some more sleep and you wouldn't begrudge anyone that. On the other, you know why you usually have that desire to sleep the day away, and you realise with a sinking heart that Belial's checking those particular boxes one by one. Something's upset him and you feel... stupid, honestly. Stupid and unhelpful and unobservant that you didn't catch on sooner, nor know how to fix it now that you have.
You've waited too long. Belial's eyes flick back down to meet yours. "Something the matter?" he asks, and you almost snort at the irony.
"Oh no, no I just-" think of something think think think "-just forgot to mention that the contractors are coming today."
"Mm?" Belial arches his brow. "Thanks for warning me, but it's alright. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper."
You shoot him a look, the corner of your mouth twisting up into an ambiguous sort-of-grin. "They're here to renovate your room too, remember."
There's a pause. "Oh," Belial says, visibly feeling very stupid. You get the feeling. "Oh, yeah, I probably have to move anyway, heh."
The mattress creaks and squeaks softly as his weight shifts more, the incubus swinging his legs over the side and setting his feet down with the muted click-clicks of talons on stone. He rakes his claws through his hair, gathering up the long, silky, raven-black locks into his usual ponytail.
"So did you have anywhere in mind?" he asks.
"Nowhere special," you admit. "Maybe a walk around Söfnun? Just to keep you company for the morning I mean. I'll tell the contractors to do your room first, then they can contact me via the stone when it's safe to come back. Sound good?"
"Yeah," he says, and to his credit he even sounds 90% enthused.
You hash out the plans to meet up in the city and leave him to prepare as you head back up and depart. You spend pretty much the entire trip fretting over every little mistake you might have - must have - made in coaxing Belial to come. You replay the conversation over and over in your head so many times it grows completely unbearable. You take a detour and plunge deep into the sea for a snack, your unlucky prey swiftly reduced to fragments of bone between your chomping fangs as you drift back on course.
The meeting place is just by the outer walls of the House Elding headquarters, albeit you come in a brand new guise so as not to attract the wrong sort of attention. You decide on a cambion today, mostly human save for a pair of caprine horns curling up through your wavy white hair, and dressed richly enough to look like you have every right to be loitering around here. You scratch your chin with dainty black claws and try not to think about what Abzu said about shapeshifting somehow making clothes for you as well.
"Ah, good morning sir," says a familiar voice just to your left, startling you from your reverie. You turn your head and come face-to-beak with Amina. "Were you waiting to speak with me about something?"
"Hm? Oh, no," you reply automatically. "I'm just here to meet someone. Keep up the good work, I'll be in to see how things are progressing very soon."
"Very good sir."
The avian woman strides through the gates returning from whatever it was that called her into the city in the first place. A second later you remember you were supposed to be in disguise and make a noise like a constipated parakeet. You're just thankful it takes Belial so long to get there, it gives you time to sulk yourself out.
A handful more foot-tapping minutes later and finally someone emerges from the eclectic mix of passing foot traffic to approach you. You can tell it's him just from how he greets you, with a lazily-sketched wave and a half-smile. He's chosen a downright plain guise, a slim elf that looks like he could be from everywhere and nowhere, with long black hair and tired reddish-hazel eyes.
"Shame. If I'd known you were getting all dressed up for me, I'd have tried to match," he observes. You stare at him blankly for a moment before you follow his gaze up to your hairline and realise what he's talking about.
"... oh, oh," you say. You scratch the back of your neck sheepishly. "Would you believe that was an accident?"
He chuckles, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm only teasing, don't mind me. It's really alright. So where to?"
"I thought theeeee harbour might be nice?" you suggest, audibly injecting more confidence to shore up your words as you go. "End-to-end following the sea wall should be a good walk, kill some time. Plenty of stuff to see along the way. And if we're still hurting for time we could try and make it to the lighthouse, get a much clearer view of the sea from there."
Belial shoots you a dubious look. He must think hiking along the rocky coast just to get to some old lighthouse sounds like the most miserable time in the world to you - and to be fair it does, but today's supposed to be about him and honestly you're willing to try anything at this point. At last he gives an agreeable shrug.
"Lead on."
It's one of those rare days when you can actually see the sun up here. It's terrible and you hate it but today's for Belial's benefit anyway. The sea is calm all the way to the horizon, distant winds forming gentle peaks and valleys in the sparkling surface and light waves lap against the base of the sloped sea wall. Gulls cry overhead like the greedy little shits they are, occasionally diving for any exposed scrap of food they can find. You pass one couple in particular whose romantic idea for a seaside brunch is being rapidly torn down by harsh, cruel reality as a white-feathered horde descends upon them. Having had quite enough of hungry, belligerent birds for one decade, you leave them to the fate their hubris wrought. Down by the docks proper you see the usual gaggle of vessels from all walks of life jostling and shoving for a place - every now and then there's always some impatient or foolhardy captain trying to sneak in whenever someone's a minute too late to their mooring. You spy a vessel held up by one such opportunist, helplessly anchored in the middle of the cove, sailors hurrying to and fro on deck like anxious ants while the captain gesticulates at anything and everything in range. Eventually she snaps something to what you assume to be her first mate, and the aquean simply dives overboard. They make it to the stolen mooring in the blink of an eye, cutting through the water like a knife and ending with a ten-foot vertical leap onto dry land and right next to the wily captain trying to tip the harbourmaster for so graciously freeing up a space for him. You can see the look on his face even from here and chortle, turning to comment to Belial. He's not even looking, eyes front and miles away. The smile crumbles off your face.
"... so!" you say, scrambling to salvage this bad idea. "I see you can shapeshift too? I'd heard that was something incubi could do but, well, you know how things you hear can be. What kind of forms can you take? Do you have a favourite?"
"Hm?" He comes back to reality, turning his head to look at you. "Oh, heh." He gives a polite, self-effacing smile. "No- I mean yes, I can shapeshift, but I haven't. This is just a simple visual illusion. Here, see for yourself."
He crooks his elbow out for you as if offering to link arms. You experimentally squeeze his bicep - your hand wraps around a phantom limb that's pretty noticeably too big for the slender frame it's hidden 'beneath', and you feel the tarry demonic essence armouring it besides. You let go.
"It's a lot cheaper on the old essence-wallet," he explains. "Just have to try not to bump into anyone. This way I still have some left over from my night with you. I mean I'd go out without any spells at all, but..."
He lets that trail off into all the obvious implications. Silence falls, somehow louder and more overpowering than all the gull-cries and chatter and shouting dockhands around you. You take the hint and just let him be. He seems to regret making it awkward, somewhat anxiously raking invisible claws through a dangling lock of hair.
"So... how'd it go with Issachar?" he asks at last, half-turning his head. "To whatever extent you think he'd be comfortable you talking about it, I mean. I'm assuming it went relatively well?"
"Oh, yeah!" You quicken your pace slightly to make up the distance you lost rubbernecking and draw level with him. "It really wasn't anything major. Well, to me. It was clearly major to him. You get what I mean. The point is that he was just concerned about everyone's expectations of him as a boyfriend because he's not interested in sex - like as a rule, flat-out. I'm assuming you've heard of that before?"
"Oh, he's asexual?" Belial turns his head fractionally further in your direction, brows raised. "That would explain it. Yeah, I've heard of that before. Had to try and seduce a few in my day, it was... not fun for anyone involved. So you came to some sort of arrangement?"
"Mhm!" you nod. "Or- well that makes it sound a bit more well-defined than it turned out." You give a shallow shrug. "I told him I wanted us to be boyfriends too, whatever that had to end up being given how he is, and he seemed... happy, hah. And he said kisses are safe so that's one thing."
You comb your claws through your fluffy white shock of hair, the memory of your kiss with Issachar bringing a smile to your lips.
"I think it might actually work out," you say, disbelief and quiet hope all swirling into one with a dash of giddiness thrown in for good measure. But then you look at Belial again, and in goes a splash of vinegar to sour the lot.
He clearly thinks he's a lot better at hiding it than he is. Or you're a lot more insightful than you think you are. Either way you can see it plain as day, so blatant you wonder how you ever could have been unsure about it. Belial's pace quickens slightly as he climbs the stairs up to a raised round turret, once potentially used as an actual weapon emplacement, now just a picturesque sightseeing area replete with benches. Pure luck that it's not more crowded, your only companions for now just a couple on the town-facing bench chatting between sips of their glass-bottled drinks. Belial pulls further ahead, making it to the edge of the tower almost before you even reach the top. There he stops, arms folded tight as if hugging himself to fend off the northern chill, ebony locks twisting and dancing in the wind as he stares out across the sea.
This is... bad. This is the sort of thing Belial's supposed to know how to deal with when it happens to you, not the other way around. Which isn't the nicest thought to have, even you know that, but it's true. You've been trying today and it feels like all you've done is fuck it up harder. You're practically pacing behind him, keeping one furtive eye on the incubus' back as you rack your brain for something, anything. Should you fall back on a tactic that seemed to be working even slightly? Should you play it safe? Should you double down?
Every instinct you have is screaming for you to deescalate, make an excuse and get the hell out of there, but you can't. Belial did something special for you, he deserves better than that. Only problem is working out what that 'better' actually entails.
[ ] Sidetrack the conversation by talking about random shit. Belial's mood may have a chance to improve if you pretend like you haven't noticed it, or at the very least he'll have to acknowledge you're still trying.
[ ] Sidetrack the conversation by asking Belial about some random shit. A bit more forward but he might appreciate you trying to still involve him, taking an interest, stuff like that.
[ ] Try to sort of sidle up on what's wrong from an oblique angle. Hedge your bets some, give him an out to talk about it without really talking about it.
[ ] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
[ ] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
Then you blink and realise, having completely lost track of where your train of thought was going, that you've just been staring into space with an empty void between your ears for the past whoever-knows-how-long. You might have even drifted back off to sleep at some point. You glance furtively around your cave, doublechecking that you're at least alone in your embarrassment, and sheepishly clamber down from your pile to shake the last of the sleep out of your limbs. Right, time to be serious about this. You shift down to bipedal form and descend to the second level.
Strictly speaking Lyrros gave you more direct cause for concern yesterday, what with being so soundly thrashed by Datu that he's probably about ready to hole up in his room and sulk for another hundred years, but it's equally probable that Datu spent the night enthusiastically making up for it. Belial is a different case, one that's a bit more... difficult for you to get a handle on. But last night with Issachar went pretty well in terms of listening, right? Maybe today will work out too!
You track down Belial's room and rap your knuckles on the door. One, two, three, four, you can practically hear the seconds ticking down as you wait for an answer. You knock again. Still just deafening silence, not even the whispering rasp of fabric on skin as the incubus gets up to answer the door. Your brow furrows. You knock one more time.
"Belial?"
Nothing. You try the handle, almost startled to find it unlocked. The door swings open, the light from the corridor spilling in around you as your shadow stretches across the cold stone floor. Belial's on the bed across the room, lying on top of the covers on his side. All you see are his bare back and the tips of his horns curling back over his scalp, and for one heartstopping moment you think you've intruded on him snuggling with Jun-ho or whoever in the afterglow. But then he shifts, rolls over, and you see he's alone.
"Oh," he says, his eyes meeting yours as he shifts his weight to his other side, one elbow dimpling the mattress as it takes his weight. He gingerly rubs his eyes with the tar-armoured heel of the other hand. "Hey, Eldingar. Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking."
"O-oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you," you reply so quickly you stumble over your words, awkwardly frozen half-across the threshold. It feels like your claw is glued to the door handle. "I just wanted to, ah, check in on you. See how you were feeling."
Belial gives a wan smile. "That's sweet of you, but don't worry about me, I'm really fine. Catching up on some sleep is all. I'm sure you have a lot of things to take care of today, yeah?"
"Not really," you admit with a shrug. "To be honest I don't really have a schedule, I just muddle through things as they come day by day. D'you want to do anything? Go out or something? I don't want you to feel cooped up in here."
"Mm." His eyes seem unfocused, and a moment later he's sprawling out flat on his back with a soft sigh. "I don't mean to seem ungrateful - I really do appreciate the offer - but I think I'd like to stay in and rest." He chuckles. "Who knew spending so long riding along in other people's dreams would build up such a sleep debt, eh?"
"Oh." Silence falls again, thick and cloying and stifling. Belial doesn't exactly shut his eyes and start snoring right then and there, but he's staring up at the ceiling in a way that doesn't particularly invite further discussion. You linger in the doorway, still grasping the handle like a handhold on a particularly sheer cliff as you rally yourself. On the one hand you completely understand the overpowering desire to just get some more sleep and you wouldn't begrudge anyone that. On the other, you know why you usually have that desire to sleep the day away, and you realise with a sinking heart that Belial's checking those particular boxes one by one. Something's upset him and you feel... stupid, honestly. Stupid and unhelpful and unobservant that you didn't catch on sooner, nor know how to fix it now that you have.
You've waited too long. Belial's eyes flick back down to meet yours. "Something the matter?" he asks, and you almost snort at the irony.
"Oh no, no I just-" think of something think think think "-just forgot to mention that the contractors are coming today."
"Mm?" Belial arches his brow. "Thanks for warning me, but it's alright. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper."
You shoot him a look, the corner of your mouth twisting up into an ambiguous sort-of-grin. "They're here to renovate your room too, remember."
There's a pause. "Oh," Belial says, visibly feeling very stupid. You get the feeling. "Oh, yeah, I probably have to move anyway, heh."
The mattress creaks and squeaks softly as his weight shifts more, the incubus swinging his legs over the side and setting his feet down with the muted click-clicks of talons on stone. He rakes his claws through his hair, gathering up the long, silky, raven-black locks into his usual ponytail.
"So did you have anywhere in mind?" he asks.
"Nowhere special," you admit. "Maybe a walk around Söfnun? Just to keep you company for the morning I mean. I'll tell the contractors to do your room first, then they can contact me via the stone when it's safe to come back. Sound good?"
"Yeah," he says, and to his credit he even sounds 90% enthused.
You hash out the plans to meet up in the city and leave him to prepare as you head back up and depart. You spend pretty much the entire trip fretting over every little mistake you might have - must have - made in coaxing Belial to come. You replay the conversation over and over in your head so many times it grows completely unbearable. You take a detour and plunge deep into the sea for a snack, your unlucky prey swiftly reduced to fragments of bone between your chomping fangs as you drift back on course.
The meeting place is just by the outer walls of the House Elding headquarters, albeit you come in a brand new guise so as not to attract the wrong sort of attention. You decide on a cambion today, mostly human save for a pair of caprine horns curling up through your wavy white hair, and dressed richly enough to look like you have every right to be loitering around here. You scratch your chin with dainty black claws and try not to think about what Abzu said about shapeshifting somehow making clothes for you as well.
"Ah, good morning sir," says a familiar voice just to your left, startling you from your reverie. You turn your head and come face-to-beak with Amina. "Were you waiting to speak with me about something?"
"Hm? Oh, no," you reply automatically. "I'm just here to meet someone. Keep up the good work, I'll be in to see how things are progressing very soon."
"Very good sir."
The avian woman strides through the gates returning from whatever it was that called her into the city in the first place. A second later you remember you were supposed to be in disguise and make a noise like a constipated parakeet. You're just thankful it takes Belial so long to get there, it gives you time to sulk yourself out.
A handful more foot-tapping minutes later and finally someone emerges from the eclectic mix of passing foot traffic to approach you. You can tell it's him just from how he greets you, with a lazily-sketched wave and a half-smile. He's chosen a downright plain guise, a slim elf that looks like he could be from everywhere and nowhere, with long black hair and tired reddish-hazel eyes.
"Shame. If I'd known you were getting all dressed up for me, I'd have tried to match," he observes. You stare at him blankly for a moment before you follow his gaze up to your hairline and realise what he's talking about.
"... oh, oh," you say. You scratch the back of your neck sheepishly. "Would you believe that was an accident?"
He chuckles, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm only teasing, don't mind me. It's really alright. So where to?"
"I thought theeeee harbour might be nice?" you suggest, audibly injecting more confidence to shore up your words as you go. "End-to-end following the sea wall should be a good walk, kill some time. Plenty of stuff to see along the way. And if we're still hurting for time we could try and make it to the lighthouse, get a much clearer view of the sea from there."
Belial shoots you a dubious look. He must think hiking along the rocky coast just to get to some old lighthouse sounds like the most miserable time in the world to you - and to be fair it does, but today's supposed to be about him and honestly you're willing to try anything at this point. At last he gives an agreeable shrug.
"Lead on."
It's one of those rare days when you can actually see the sun up here. It's terrible and you hate it but today's for Belial's benefit anyway. The sea is calm all the way to the horizon, distant winds forming gentle peaks and valleys in the sparkling surface and light waves lap against the base of the sloped sea wall. Gulls cry overhead like the greedy little shits they are, occasionally diving for any exposed scrap of food they can find. You pass one couple in particular whose romantic idea for a seaside brunch is being rapidly torn down by harsh, cruel reality as a white-feathered horde descends upon them. Having had quite enough of hungry, belligerent birds for one decade, you leave them to the fate their hubris wrought. Down by the docks proper you see the usual gaggle of vessels from all walks of life jostling and shoving for a place - every now and then there's always some impatient or foolhardy captain trying to sneak in whenever someone's a minute too late to their mooring. You spy a vessel held up by one such opportunist, helplessly anchored in the middle of the cove, sailors hurrying to and fro on deck like anxious ants while the captain gesticulates at anything and everything in range. Eventually she snaps something to what you assume to be her first mate, and the aquean simply dives overboard. They make it to the stolen mooring in the blink of an eye, cutting through the water like a knife and ending with a ten-foot vertical leap onto dry land and right next to the wily captain trying to tip the harbourmaster for so graciously freeing up a space for him. You can see the look on his face even from here and chortle, turning to comment to Belial. He's not even looking, eyes front and miles away. The smile crumbles off your face.
"... so!" you say, scrambling to salvage this bad idea. "I see you can shapeshift too? I'd heard that was something incubi could do but, well, you know how things you hear can be. What kind of forms can you take? Do you have a favourite?"
"Hm?" He comes back to reality, turning his head to look at you. "Oh, heh." He gives a polite, self-effacing smile. "No- I mean yes, I can shapeshift, but I haven't. This is just a simple visual illusion. Here, see for yourself."
He crooks his elbow out for you as if offering to link arms. You experimentally squeeze his bicep - your hand wraps around a phantom limb that's pretty noticeably too big for the slender frame it's hidden 'beneath', and you feel the tarry demonic essence armouring it besides. You let go.
"It's a lot cheaper on the old essence-wallet," he explains. "Just have to try not to bump into anyone. This way I still have some left over from my night with you. I mean I'd go out without any spells at all, but..."
He lets that trail off into all the obvious implications. Silence falls, somehow louder and more overpowering than all the gull-cries and chatter and shouting dockhands around you. You take the hint and just let him be. He seems to regret making it awkward, somewhat anxiously raking invisible claws through a dangling lock of hair.
"So... how'd it go with Issachar?" he asks at last, half-turning his head. "To whatever extent you think he'd be comfortable you talking about it, I mean. I'm assuming it went relatively well?"
"Oh, yeah!" You quicken your pace slightly to make up the distance you lost rubbernecking and draw level with him. "It really wasn't anything major. Well, to me. It was clearly major to him. You get what I mean. The point is that he was just concerned about everyone's expectations of him as a boyfriend because he's not interested in sex - like as a rule, flat-out. I'm assuming you've heard of that before?"
"Oh, he's asexual?" Belial turns his head fractionally further in your direction, brows raised. "That would explain it. Yeah, I've heard of that before. Had to try and seduce a few in my day, it was... not fun for anyone involved. So you came to some sort of arrangement?"
"Mhm!" you nod. "Or- well that makes it sound a bit more well-defined than it turned out." You give a shallow shrug. "I told him I wanted us to be boyfriends too, whatever that had to end up being given how he is, and he seemed... happy, hah. And he said kisses are safe so that's one thing."
You comb your claws through your fluffy white shock of hair, the memory of your kiss with Issachar bringing a smile to your lips.
"I think it might actually work out," you say, disbelief and quiet hope all swirling into one with a dash of giddiness thrown in for good measure. But then you look at Belial again, and in goes a splash of vinegar to sour the lot.
He clearly thinks he's a lot better at hiding it than he is. Or you're a lot more insightful than you think you are. Either way you can see it plain as day, so blatant you wonder how you ever could have been unsure about it. Belial's pace quickens slightly as he climbs the stairs up to a raised round turret, once potentially used as an actual weapon emplacement, now just a picturesque sightseeing area replete with benches. Pure luck that it's not more crowded, your only companions for now just a couple on the town-facing bench chatting between sips of their glass-bottled drinks. Belial pulls further ahead, making it to the edge of the tower almost before you even reach the top. There he stops, arms folded tight as if hugging himself to fend off the northern chill, ebony locks twisting and dancing in the wind as he stares out across the sea.
This is... bad. This is the sort of thing Belial's supposed to know how to deal with when it happens to you, not the other way around. Which isn't the nicest thought to have, even you know that, but it's true. You've been trying today and it feels like all you've done is fuck it up harder. You're practically pacing behind him, keeping one furtive eye on the incubus' back as you rack your brain for something, anything. Should you fall back on a tactic that seemed to be working even slightly? Should you play it safe? Should you double down?
Every instinct you have is screaming for you to deescalate, make an excuse and get the hell out of there, but you can't. Belial did something special for you, he deserves better than that. Only problem is working out what that 'better' actually entails.
[ ] Sidetrack the conversation by talking about random shit. Belial's mood may have a chance to improve if you pretend like you haven't noticed it, or at the very least he'll have to acknowledge you're still trying.
[ ] Sidetrack the conversation by asking Belial about some random shit. A bit more forward but he might appreciate you trying to still involve him, taking an interest, stuff like that.
[ ] Try to sort of sidle up on what's wrong from an oblique angle. Hedge your bets some, give him an out to talk about it without really talking about it.
[ ] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
[ ] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
what's up guys it's ya boy severe health issues
Apologies for the hiatus. We now return to your regularly scheduled gay dragon.
Apologies for the hiatus. We now return to your regularly scheduled gay dragon.
- Location
- United States
[X] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
The only thing that I want to be straight in this story is getting straight to the point and not dancing around problems!
The only thing that I want to be straight in this story is getting straight to the point and not dancing around problems!
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Try to sort of sidle up on what's wrong from an oblique angle. Hedge your bets some, give him an out to talk about it without really talking about it.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
Oh Eldin you giant doofus I wanna hug you so bad you adorable lightninglizard
Oh Zahak Belial is in dire needs of hugs too.
... Hugs are still safe with Issachar right? This is vital info for an Omegahugger,
[X] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
We're a dragon. If we aren't going directly for gold at any given opportunity, it means we are most likely horribly ill.
Origami Clock
Right twice a day
- Location
- Brighton, UK
[x] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Offers of cuddles won't be welcome, I suspect.
[ ] Go for gold. Try to convince him that you know how he feels and he can trust you to talk about it. Share something... personal. Fuck you hope it doesn't come to that. [x0.75]
I want to vote for this, because feeling depressed sucks and Belial needs to know someone understands that. That someone has been there and knows exactly how unpleasant it is to try and claw your way to a better place, mentally. But I hesitate, as it is indescribably presumptuous to claim comprehension of what's going on in Belial's head right now.
[X] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
This at least means Eldingar tries to get down to brass tacks.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Mnnyeah Eldingar's right this is a slow-ticking of some very not-great boxes. It's mid-ish morning and the dude's drowsing but not really awake (honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't pretending and kinda low-key hoping we'd leave before we opened the door) but he's overall lethargic and drained as fuck. I guess him an Jun-ho didn't get it on exactly which, I mean, fair enough. But I wonder if something didn't Happen. Not like bad I mean but rather that Jun-ho said something kinda innocent and really well intentioned and it sorta cratered the Incubus's mood. I mean it's hard and often unwise to judge based just off of how someone seems but he looked like he was having a decent time at the wrestling match. So...I dunno.
It might be something someone said, it might be a combination of slow-boiling shit, I mean like I said before Belial seems like one of the guys who is much much better at dishing out great, legitimately helpful and life-improving advice while still struggling to apply it to himself.
god amina's sweet relief that her boss is just here to pick up some dudes
[X] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
It's a bit blunt and maybe not kind to put him on the spot but talking's also really the only way to just kinda cut through the bullshit and the mistaken assumptions and missed signals. And, for once actually, Eldingar isn't the one who isn't talking about how he's feeling.
Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
This is kind of the Mood of this update, and it's one that gets me hard. Fretting over past mistakes and might-have-beens describes a decent undercurrent of the past few years of my life, so... mneh. Well done getting under my skin Zerban, you did it too well >.>
I did that same doubletake.
Votes, uh... damned if I know, frankly. I'm freezing up a bit.
Madou Sutegobana
Autocorrupt has been disabled.
- Location
- Twin Realms Mandala
[X] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
Blunt dragon is blunt Dragon.
Blunt dragon is blunt Dragon.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
[X] Ask him straight-up what's wrong. This is about as terrifying a prospect to imagine from his perspective and yours, but if there's a chance it might be the key to all this you can't dismiss it.
Cutting the knot of problems is much better than dancing around them, and straight-out asking what's wrong is the best way to, well, find out what's wrong.
Cutting the knot of problems is much better than dancing around them, and straight-out asking what's wrong is the best way to, well, find out what's wrong.