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[peasant]

WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK

USERNAME:
myshka

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[peasant]

That's the first time you've made a statement I didn't doubt.

I can't tell if that's confidence or a bout of madness speaking for you again.
I know royal tutors don't include this in your lessons, but you don't always get to have what you want.

( hard life lessons from alina starkov, who is a certified expert in rarely getting what she wants. )

[abyssale]

but trying to obtain it is a nice use of my boredom when locked indoors all day. so...

no point in not trying :)
besides. i think you like putting me in my place, anyway.

win-win.

[peasant]

And I think you like being put in your place.

( she is neither denying or confirming the (very true) allegations, but: )

You know, wanting to fuck me because you're bored isn't the flattery you think it is.
Why are you locked inside, anyway?

[abyssale]

i'm probably not opposed to the thought. ( it's not a weird fantasy shut up. )

the sun hurts me severely. i suspect will kill me, but i don't intend to test it that far.

[peasant]

( """""""""""""probably""""""""""""""" not. he's not feeling anyone, but alina grants him the mercy of keeping that morsel of commentary tucked away. )

Oh. Right. Your world has no sun.
Don't you have Dani to keep you company?

[abyssale]

( bless. thank you sankta alina. he can only take so much abuse from tiny girls in a day. even though he came here. and basically asked for it.

don't judge his humiliation kink. )

i wouldn't ask him to stay indoors. he loves the sun. it's my problem, not his.

[peasant]

We could smuggle you outside in a very thick quilt.

[abyssale]

there'd be no greater irony than me tripping during this escaped and burning to death for all to see.

[peasant]

Then we'll grab an umbrella for good measure.

(ingenious, from the "i'll wear two hats" girl. )

[abyssale]

this is becoming a very convoluted murder plot.

[peasant]

Don't be so dramatic.
If I was going to plot your murder, I wouldn't need to go to half the effort.

[abyssale]

i believe it. hence my confusion about the convoluted nature of this plot.

[peasant]

I was trying to help you.
But I've suddenly changed my mind. Enjoy pining by the window for the rest of your days.

[abyssale]

i appreciate the efforts, but i think even that's a little too close to death for me. ( he doesn't want to also admit that being that close to sunlight and still not feeling it would be a different sort of agony. )

[peasant]

( from him, that gratitude is as strange and unexpected as being handed a present when you've braced yourself for a lump of coal. for lack of knowing what to do with that casual thankfulness, she opts for the tried and true strategy of ignoring her discomfort entirely. )

Are you the same with lanterns and lamps? Or is only the sun that bothers you?

[abyssale]

( ah yes. denial. he does so love it. )

sunlight only. although it is mostly known in my world that directly touching fire is a quick way for us to die.

feel free to contemplate how best to use this information to murder me in the future :)

[peasant]

You seem awfully eager for me to kill you.
Is that a fetish for you?

[abyssale]

more like something i constantly expect from 99% of people i meet.

[peasant]

I hear it's in poor manners to accuse strangers of plotting your assassination.

( relatable, unfortunately. )

I don't want to kill you. I don't want to kill anyone.

[abyssale]

i didn't genuinely believe you did :)

call it an old habit.
i saw my family's end coming for centuries. i tried to plan for it. but you can only do so much when blind.

so i err on the side of caution, no matter what.

[peasant]

( sorry, she writes, and then promptly deletes it. alina rests in limbo, in the pause that follows — off-kilter in the way their conversations tend to move like the churning rock of a ship. unpredictable, liable to cause seasickness from turbulence, never letting you remain steady on your own feet for long.

it's compounding, frankly, to try to make sense of him. lexi the riddle, lexi the puzzle. lexi the arrogant prince, lexi the displaced. mourner and menace both. she blows out a long, unsteady breath, fingertips hovering over her phone's blinking screen. )

You might want to reconsider announcing yours titles on the network and inviting unknown women into your bed, then.

( there. firmly back on their usual solid ground, the status quo of sarcasm and prodding teases, so she doesn't have to force herself to re-examine the twists and turns of their dynamic. )

[abyssale]

( it's strange. he never intends to drop his trauma out of nowhere. they're just facts to him.

but of course, he's had thirty years to make them so. details of his life. like the history book being written as he goes. he's detached from these facts that they'll right alongside his name.

or maybe not. he never can tell. )

what can i say? i get a thrill from taking the risk :)

[peasant]

So it IS a fetish.

( perceived, called out, seen, etc. )

[abyssale]

i hear they call it a kink in this world.

[peasant]

Is that not just the same thing?
I can't believe you're arguing about which word is better suited to describing your fantasies.