![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[ Alina gets an image, which appears to have been doodled on lined notebook paper: ]
Good times ...
How was the rest of your scavenger hunt? Did you make it down to the club in the basement?
Good times ...
How was the rest of your scavenger hunt? Did you make it down to the club in the basement?
( as a rule, alina isn't fond of what lurks in the dark: skeletons in the dark, secrets swept under the rug, monsters beneath the bed. from what little she's seen of alia, it's likely she'll find any of the three when she does duck down on her hands and knees to investigate, pleasantly relieved alia hasn't dragged in something dead, like a proud housecat plonking a corpse at her door. )
My favorite.
Must have been a lucky guess on your part.
( ha ha. )
My favorite.
Must have been a lucky guess on your part.
( ha ha. )
Edited (how did i typo door) 2024-07-05 02:25 (UTC)
You look dashingly swoony.
( it's cute, really. consider it worthy of being pinned on a fridge, if she owned one. )
I had a friend who helped with the rest of my hunt.
It was a bit like having an overactive bloodhound on my side.
I did. Did you ( have fun? how does she even broach this without a certain degree of awkwardness. ) What did you make of it?
( it's cute, really. consider it worthy of being pinned on a fridge, if she owned one. )
I had a friend who helped with the rest of my hunt.
It was a bit like having an overactive bloodhound on my side.
I did. Did you ( have fun? how does she even broach this without a certain degree of awkwardness. ) What did you make of it?
[Part of Alia had considered it, a more traditionally Fremen way of showing thought. She'd almost left water, a knife, something bloody and fresh. But Alina is the first in a long while to make her feel like a girl, like just Alia, and the sweets seemed a better fit. Surrounded by Atreides', Alina needs no knife besides them.]
I'm a very good guesser. And I had a mysterious assistant on the network, can you believe that?
I like the orange squares best. They have caramel in the middle.
I'm a very good guesser. And I had a mysterious assistant on the network, can you believe that?
I like the orange squares best. They have caramel in the middle.
[ Oh thank goodness she likes it, Matt second-guessed right after sending. He was worried maybe he drew her stick figure body either too curvy (objectifying) or not curvy enough (friendzone). ]
Oh, good! Well, I hope it was a good experience for you, I had
honestly a startlingly intimate time with a few people. Which in my book is good.
Oh, good! Well, I hope it was a good experience for you, I had
honestly a startlingly intimate time with a few people. Which in my book is good.
You're quite right. Perhaps I should give them a prize for their assistance.
You may share if you like, provided you satisfy yourself first.
I thought I made my appreciation of sweet things evident the other night.
Or was I not emphatic enough in my enjoyment?
There is not. Sweet things are scorched quickly.
You may share if you like, provided you satisfy yourself first.
I thought I made my appreciation of sweet things evident the other night.
Or was I not emphatic enough in my enjoyment?
There is not. Sweet things are scorched quickly.
Generous of you. Who wouldn't enjoy a reward?
I can't say I've ever been good at sharing. We aren't much for luxury, back home.
( it was delivered with her in mind, more than that, when so very little feels like it belongs to her. she withholds the thought — which proves easy enough, with the summer-ripe heat in her cheeks. )
No, you were very ( intense. enthusiastic. confusing. ) It was very good, thank you. I don't have any complaints.
( nailed it??? )
I can't say I've ever been good at sharing. We aren't much for luxury, back home.
( it was delivered with her in mind, more than that, when so very little feels like it belongs to her. she withholds the thought — which proves easy enough, with the summer-ripe heat in her cheeks. )
No, you were very ( intense. enthusiastic. confusing. ) It was very good, thank you. I don't have any complaints.
( nailed it??? )
Edited 2024-07-06 03:11 (UTC)
It was
( she stumbles, briefly, in her search for a word. something vague, non-descriptive, rather than the brash truth along the lines "i've never had so many people cater to my orgasms, thank you for asking". )
Overwhelming, I think. But I wouldn't call it bad.
Sorry. This is strange to talk about. Does it feel strange to talk about?
( she stumbles, briefly, in her search for a word. something vague, non-descriptive, rather than the brash truth along the lines "i've never had so many people cater to my orgasms, thank you for asking". )
Overwhelming, I think. But I wouldn't call it bad.
Sorry. This is strange to talk about. Does it feel strange to talk about?
Benevolence is one of my frequently-lauded traits. Usually hand-in-hand with vengeance, but I don't think you've done anything I ought to avenge.
[And truthfully, even if she had, Alia would not seek any sort of recompense. Alina is sharp, but she is sweet, she's dangerous and warm, like a cat purring in a sunbeam. Claws and burning, but also the nuzzle of something soft, something affectionate. Alia truly doesn't know what to make of that contradiction.
Except bring it gifts, her own supplications, little silvery packages of chocolate, handfuls of sweets, linen napkins wrapped around still-moist cake. Alia thinks of Paul saving her the best morsels at dinner, when her dreams had her fitful and feverish, of him appearing at her bedside to coax her into eating, into sleeping, when even their mother stayed away. She understands that now, she thinks.]
I am pleased to have performed adequately. [That could be sarcasm, but Alia is amused by it, by Alina's careful tiptoeing around the fact of their bodies pressed together in the steamy, heated night.] Have I earned a repeat performance? Or is more cake needed? I hear they're making a sort with strawberries, tonight.
[And truthfully, even if she had, Alia would not seek any sort of recompense. Alina is sharp, but she is sweet, she's dangerous and warm, like a cat purring in a sunbeam. Claws and burning, but also the nuzzle of something soft, something affectionate. Alia truly doesn't know what to make of that contradiction.
Except bring it gifts, her own supplications, little silvery packages of chocolate, handfuls of sweets, linen napkins wrapped around still-moist cake. Alia thinks of Paul saving her the best morsels at dinner, when her dreams had her fitful and feverish, of him appearing at her bedside to coax her into eating, into sleeping, when even their mother stayed away. She understands that now, she thinks.]
I am pleased to have performed adequately. [That could be sarcasm, but Alia is amused by it, by Alina's careful tiptoeing around the fact of their bodies pressed together in the steamy, heated night.] Have I earned a repeat performance? Or is more cake needed? I hear they're making a sort with strawberries, tonight.
Along with humility, sounds like.
( it lacks none of the sharp teeth alina knows alia is in possession of — teasing, put-upon with the weariness she typically reserves for nikolai's lantsovisms. all that's missing is a bit more self-praise, rather than alia's matter-of-fact, blunt-object-to-the-skull directness: my mother was the oyster, and i'm the pearl. )
Oh. So it's bribery, then. You should have said.
I usually try to sell myself for higher currency than just strawberries.
I'm worth at least a dozen blueberries.
( it lacks none of the sharp teeth alina knows alia is in possession of — teasing, put-upon with the weariness she typically reserves for nikolai's lantsovisms. all that's missing is a bit more self-praise, rather than alia's matter-of-fact, blunt-object-to-the-skull directness: my mother was the oyster, and i'm the pearl. )
Oh. So it's bribery, then. You should have said.
I usually try to sell myself for higher currency than just strawberries.
I'm worth at least a dozen blueberries.
I'm so sorry, it was invasive of me to ask. [ Matt has managed to rewrite the last few messages in his mind so that Alina didn't express any curiosity of her own. Self-gaslighting is efficient gaslighting! ] No, it's totally normal to feel strange discussing sex and/or kink with people you don't know
[ Which is not quite a direct answer to the question. ]
[ Which is not quite a direct answer to the question. ]
It's alright. In your defense, I asked first.
If anyone made it uncomfortable, it was me.
( this is not changing the "matt doesn't know how to breathe" allegiations, on that note. )
I suppose there's no point in acting embarrassed.
No one was what I would call discreet in that place.
If anyone made it uncomfortable, it was me.
( this is not changing the "matt doesn't know how to breathe" allegiations, on that note. )
I suppose there's no point in acting embarrassed.
No one was what I would call discreet in that place.
I do not think you would like me half so much, Alina, if I had even an ounce of humility.
[A teasing accusation, first that Alina likes her and secondarily that it's due to Alia's cockiness, her boldness, her sharp teeth and greedy hands. She could play demure and sweet, could make herself small and palatable. She's done it before. But Alina has not asked that of her, not yet.]
Bribery, favoritism, tribute. What are sacrifices but bribery to gods, after all?
I like the idea of you having sweet things, Alina. Whether or not I am one of them.
Does that make sense?
[A teasing accusation, first that Alina likes her and secondarily that it's due to Alia's cockiness, her boldness, her sharp teeth and greedy hands. She could play demure and sweet, could make herself small and palatable. She's done it before. But Alina has not asked that of her, not yet.]
Bribery, favoritism, tribute. What are sacrifices but bribery to gods, after all?
I like the idea of you having sweet things, Alina. Whether or not I am one of them.
Does that make sense?
I like you because you're unrepentantly honest about who you are and what you want.
Honesty has been in short supply for me lately. It's refreshing, not having to guess at what you're truly thinking.
( like, alina says, and even that's colored into a white lie by some shade of dishonesty. the truth of the matter is she likes alia's unapologetic boldness nearly as much as she envies it, the way a caged bird envies the turtle doves beyond its window, longing for the same freedom of air to beat its wings against. )
Tribute? That's funny. If I'm meant to be anything close to divine, I'm doing a poor job of it.
But it makes sense, yes.
( even if she wouldn't say alia is purely strawberry-sweet. more like a lemon — sugary, only after it's kicked you in the teeth. alina fumbles into a reconsidering pause, then, quickly as the thoughts come: )
Well, no, actually. It doesn't make sense.
I don't understand why you're being so kind to me.
Honesty has been in short supply for me lately. It's refreshing, not having to guess at what you're truly thinking.
( like, alina says, and even that's colored into a white lie by some shade of dishonesty. the truth of the matter is she likes alia's unapologetic boldness nearly as much as she envies it, the way a caged bird envies the turtle doves beyond its window, longing for the same freedom of air to beat its wings against. )
Tribute? That's funny. If I'm meant to be anything close to divine, I'm doing a poor job of it.
But it makes sense, yes.
( even if she wouldn't say alia is purely strawberry-sweet. more like a lemon — sugary, only after it's kicked you in the teeth. alina fumbles into a reconsidering pause, then, quickly as the thoughts come: )
Well, no, actually. It doesn't make sense.
I don't understand why you're being so kind to me.
( i'm an orphan, she could say, what do you think? starved things weren't trained to wait for scraps; if she were metaphorically plucking feathers off of little birds, she would devour and devour until she was gluttonously sick from it.
in the end, she settles for a shade of honesty that doesn't feel like offering her heart up for vivisection. )
I have more experience with being hunted. And even more experience in making myself difficult to snare.
Is it really just the hunt you enjoy? Or is it the promise of catching something worth having?
( she doesn't recognize the question is its own little tell of where her own preferences lie. that little rot of an infection she can't quite cure, with all its symptoms of wanting to be coveted, adored, special. )
in the end, she settles for a shade of honesty that doesn't feel like offering her heart up for vivisection. )
I have more experience with being hunted. And even more experience in making myself difficult to snare.
Is it really just the hunt you enjoy? Or is it the promise of catching something worth having?
( she doesn't recognize the question is its own little tell of where her own preferences lie. that little rot of an infection she can't quite cure, with all its symptoms of wanting to be coveted, adored, special. )
All things my mother would scold me for.
[It comes out light, like the potential disapproval of Jessica doesn't ache at the back of Alia's throat with every breath. Would she approve of this, of the dalliances of her children, of their attachment to a girl from another world? No, because the purpose, the goal, the Holy War lies languishing in favor of Alia's gifts beneath Alina's bed.
Let her disapprove. She is only here in the echoes Alia carries in her mind, her unasked-for burden. Let Alia ease that lifelong torment as she pleases, with stolen kisses and stolen cake.
The mention of divinity sparks a thought, a curiosity -- are they so alike, in the end? Had the echo of something within Alina been so close to home? The thought is an amusing one, but Alina deflects it with practiced ease, and Alia...does not press it. For the first time in her life, she lets it lie. Let Alina speak it in her own time. Alia finds she doesn't want to push.
Instead:] Because I like you.
Because I've forgotten how to be just another girl, and you make me think I could be.
And because Paul is funny when he's trying to beat me at something.
[It comes out light, like the potential disapproval of Jessica doesn't ache at the back of Alia's throat with every breath. Would she approve of this, of the dalliances of her children, of their attachment to a girl from another world? No, because the purpose, the goal, the Holy War lies languishing in favor of Alia's gifts beneath Alina's bed.
Let her disapprove. She is only here in the echoes Alia carries in her mind, her unasked-for burden. Let Alia ease that lifelong torment as she pleases, with stolen kisses and stolen cake.
The mention of divinity sparks a thought, a curiosity -- are they so alike, in the end? Had the echo of something within Alina been so close to home? The thought is an amusing one, but Alina deflects it with practiced ease, and Alia...does not press it. For the first time in her life, she lets it lie. Let Alina speak it in her own time. Alia finds she doesn't want to push.
Instead:] Because I like you.
Because I've forgotten how to be just another girl, and you make me think I could be.
And because Paul is funny when he's trying to beat me at something.
[ Sold, donated, turned into something hungry and hollowed out, Armand knows that starvation. He has grown used to it, grown accustomed to the ways his body has been shaped by it, feverishness whittled down to a thing of long bones and sharp edges. Eternally ravenous. He enjoys the thought of the hunt, the snare, her fragile bones breaking in his teeth.
He'll eat her under a cloth like an ortolan, in wretched joy. ]
I would not hunt prey that is not worth having. But I get the feeling you do not fear to be caught as much as you wish you did, little bird. Tell me, have you been thinking about our encounter as much as I have?
He'll eat her under a cloth like an ortolan, in wretched joy. ]
I would not hunt prey that is not worth having. But I get the feeling you do not fear to be caught as much as you wish you did, little bird. Tell me, have you been thinking about our encounter as much as I have?
Page 1 of 34