RP: Open (Some NSFW smuttiness later on)

[wardenalistair]

Alistair awoke in what appeared to be a stable, one that still smelled faintly of Mabari. And horse, of course, but that was more expected. He was also being poked in the bare back by itchy prickly straw. He jumped to his feet.

"Well, this is...horrifyingly familiar. Next I'll be swarmed by a large group of hounds, just you wait."

He did. Wait, that is. Nothing happened.

"O-okay then, maybe not. I haven't regressed to ten years old, have I?" He poked his own cheek, which was still fairly bristly, and glanced down at himself, half-clothed as he was in just the trousers he'd worn to sleep in. "Nope, never mind, still myself. How peculiar. I haven't dreamt of Redcliffe in years, but then this doesn't look much like Redcliffe, does it? It smells like Redcliffe. Hrm."

He wrinkled his nose and headed out of the stable, into what sort of looked like daylight, accidentally kicking some kind of book halfway across the stable floor as he did so. He muttered an apology to the thing and scooped it up, for lack of anything better to do with it.

Comments

[wardenalistair]

"Oh, no, he's given that up, more or less. I can be very stubborn when I want to be, you know. But he does go on about how it's important that the Order keep a semblance of tradition in these trying times, and that he doesn't really shut up about. It's all a plot to keep me from angling for his title, you know, since quite a few of the Wardens at Weisshaupt think I should, after Adamant. Oh! But if you haven't gotten my latest letters, then you haven't heard."

He grinned down at her. "You're looking at the new High Constable of the Grey Wardens, my dear."

[heromiyuu]

Neria halted, mouth agape. Her eyes widened at the news and when she finally left the the initial stupor at the revelation, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging the man on the tip of her toes.

"Alistair, this is amazing! Congratulations!!" she kissed him, tender "After Adamant you deserve it, undoubtedly."

[wardenalistair]

"I don't know about deserve," Alistair murmured, his arms tightening around her. "We left a good woman to die in the Fade so that I could go back and marshal the Order into something that wouldn't just resort to blood magic when things turned south, Neria. It was the Wardens who got us into that mess, Neria. It should not have been Hawke who paid for it. But still...it does present us with an opportunity, that I won't disagree with."

[heromiyuu]

"But if anyone has the heart to change the order, to make it stronger to not fall pray to lies like the false Calling, to put it back on the right path helping whoever is in need and not just linger in the shadows waiting for the new Archdemon to raise, this one is you."

Neria caressed his back, voice dropping.

"Besides, I should've been there, to oppose Clarel by your side. To stop her from collecting our brothers and sisters for her sick blood magic circus. I failed as a Grey Warden... as a mage and even as a person. I just allowed my personal feelings to get in the way, to blind and damp me to what was wrong. I'm not worthy of any of my titles, and I'm certainly not worthy of you."

[wardenalistair]

"You've always had such faith in me," Alistair murmured, "no matter my doubts or fears, or childishness. Maker only knows what I did to deserve you."

At her quieter words, he frowned, sharp and swift.

"Hey." He took her face in both his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her cheekbones. "You could not have known what would happen. We agreed - both of us - that the work you are doing, this search for the Cure, was too important to ignore. You could change the very foundation of the Order - make it a vocation, not a death sentence - even find some new way to combat the Blights. What Clarel let fear drive her to, that was no doing of yours. You are - you have always been a light in the darkness, my love, no matter what madness we face."

[heromiyuu]

"Clarel thought that, didn't she? That she was about the change everything, the foundations of the order and even how the world worked. That the sacrifices were perfectly justified and necessary to achieve something bigger, a world without fear from a corrupted dragon waking up and destroying everything we know and love. We are the same... the only difference is I haven't caused a mass murder. But as they say... the day is long."

She closed her eyes, sighing.

"Joining forces with Avernus and the Architect... I'm no light in the darkness, vhenan. I'm glad you see me this way, but I'm not." then she smiled, caressing his cheek with her knuckles "My only chance of redemption is to find the Cure, make my absence worthy, make sure all those lives weren't lost for nothing. To transform my desperate fear of losing you for the taint in something greater."

[wardenalistair]

Alistair wrinkled his nose, his hazel eyes abruptly flooded with shifting emotions - consternation, disagreement, frustration, sorrow. He inhaled through his nose and released her to rake a hand through his hair before letting out a long breath.

When he looked at her again, it was with a small, sad smile. He cupped her cheek.

"You've been away too long, Neria. You know I - you're never going to persuade me that you are anything less than amazing, and I haven't been around to tell you so every day, but I fully intend to rectify that from now on, all right?" He bent down to kiss her, not soft and gentle like most of his earlier kisses, but needy this time, insistent. He gripped her waist and pulled her to him, and when he pulled back from her lips it was only to get far enough to say, "I love you," fiercely, and brush his lips against hers again, swiping his tongue over her lower lip this time.

[heromiyuu]

Neria gazed at Alistair as he spoke, a sad, pained expression on her face. She took a breath to speak "Alistair, I--"

But his kiss cut through her words, his tight grip on her waist sending shivers down her spine. An involuntary moan erupted from her throat, muffled by his lips. One of her hands roamed his scalp, nails lightly scrapping his nape, the other roaming the skin of his back, under his shirt.

He loved her, just as fiercely as his last kiss, just as fiercely as on the day he declared his love, just as fiercely as when he accepted the dark ritual. And for a selfish lover like her, that was all she needed.

Her eyes remained locked on his when she bit his lower lip, provocatively. "I love you too, my foolish man."

[wardenalistair]

Alistair groaned, much louder than he meant to, when she bit his lip. And then he flushed, his face and ears and yes, his neck too, going a particularly vivid shade of red. He could hear his heart beating in his ears, and it seemed overly loud, as heavy warmth settled low in his belly.

All of this he ignored in favor of nuzzling his nose into her cheek.

"That's settled, then," he mumbled, his lips brushing her skin as he spoke.

[heromiyuu]

"Settled?"

She tilted her head, not quite following him, slightly breathless from all the kissing-biting-moaning thing, without letting him go from her embrace.

[wardenalistair]

Alistair hummed, too distracted by the warmth of Neria in his arms and the curve of her cheek under his to make an intelligible response for a moment. Finally he kissed her on the corner of her mouth and moved his head back enough to look her in the eye and say,

"Ah. Yes. The, ah, I'm-in-love-with-you,-you-gorgeous-woman thing? And then you're in love with me, and with that settled again, hm, I might be able to be persuaded to spend the next...oh, several hours...convincing you how wonderful you are all over again."

[heromiyuu]

"Well, I'd like to see you try. To convince me, it is. Though I never thought self-deprecating could trigger such... eager will to prove me wrong."

And she ran her thumb over his lower lip."Don't you dare, ever again, to think that my insecurities might affect the way I feel for you. This won't change."

[wardenalistair]

Alistair gave her a lopsided smile, his gaze heated.

"That wasn't what I meant," he said. "You are...the one constant in my life, my love. I could never doubt you. Nevertheless..." He nipped at her thumb. "Your desire is my command."

[heromiyuu]

Neria melted on his arms, muttering.

"Creators, I swear I'm tryimg to be strong, but my resolve is just crumbling. I'm trying to be careful, to make the right decisions but... Ugh...!"

She gripped the front of his shirt, forehead nuzzling the middle of his chest. Few seconds later she turned her chin up, looking back at him.

"Make me forget this place, and how tired I am and the time we've been apart. Please."

[wardenalistair]

Alistair did not need to be told twice. He bent down, sealing his lips over hers, tongue stroking over her lips till she opened to him and he could taste her, a half-aborted moan slipping from him as he lost himself in the wet heat and slow glide of their tongues. His hands slid down her back and then he was lifting her, big hands gripping under her thighs, only breaking the kiss to orient himself before he was heading back for the hall with the guest rooms they'd just vacated.

[heromiyuu]

(ooc: are there rules about smutier rps? can we just write them down or should we skip the deed right into the afterglow?)

Neria locked her heels around his waist, heat boiling under her stomach with his kiss, the touch of his calloused hands against her soft skin making her shiver. She tilted her head to deepen their kiss, hand slightly gripping the hair on the back of his neck. The only thought crossing her mind was the longing, the growing need of feeling his bare skin against hers, to trail the freckles on his back with the tip of her tongue, just as he loved.

[wardenalistair]

(OOC: Admittedly, I haven't rped out anything very smutty yet, but I checked the rules again, and the relevant passage seems to be: Sex and violence are perfectly fine. So is angst. If you’re going to be NSFW or triggery, please cut-tag the post and mark it as triggery. Please just use your common sense about what would be triggering. So I'll just edit the title of the rp to reflect the nsfw stuff, and I think we should be fine, so long as you're all good?)

Alistair hummed his appreciation of her fingers in his hair, just there on the nape of his neck, because Maker, that had always been a particular weakness of his. His long strides ate up the rest of the distance between them and the guest room where they'd grabbed his shirt, and he pressed her against the doorjamb and moved to support her weight with one hand, fumbling for the doorknob with the other without breaking their kiss.

"Neria," he groaned, desperate, against her lips, all the long months of longing and loneliness and shivering, aching need poured into that one word.

By the time the door was open he very nearly fell through it, catching his balance at the last moment and kicking it shut behind him.

[heromiyuu]

(ooc: if changing the rp title settles things right for the journal, then we're good to go. I haven't rped nothing very smut yet too, but I'll just make up as we go, cause this whole scene is so incredibly amazing, and cute, and hot and-- <3333)

Neria moaned when pressed against the door, the warmth and weight of his body simply delicious against hers. She couldn't even remember how many nights she had dreamt with him, needed him during her search, waking up all alone and frustrated.

At the sound of the door closing behind them she started to pull his shirt off, eager and breathless, breaking their kisses only to remove the piece of clothing. She kissed his neck, sucking his pulsing point, nails running the planes of his chest softly. Her voice reverberated against his throat as she repeated "I missed you" almost like a mantra.

[wardenalistair]

(OOC: Perfect. And, also, saaaame. I'm just over here flailing and squeeing tbh)

Alistair set her on the floor when she moved to tug off his shirt, lifting his arms so she could pull it off him. He leaned in quickly and kissed her again, a brief, sloppy thing before he turned and threw the bolt behind them. And then he was back, crowding into her, his hands pulling her flush against him, gripping her and lifting her again.

When she sucked at his neck, he shuddered, and suddenly none of this was enough, not the weight of her in his arms or the scrape of her nails against his chest. He needed her skin bare against his, needed the layers of cloth still between them gone. He needed, and he nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to make it to the bed.

He deposited her on the end of the bed, gentle despite his rush, and went to his knees in front of her.

"Maker, I missed you," he answered, the pads of his fingers caressing her face, his voice gravelly. He dragged calloused fingers down over her collarbones and slipped her robe off one shoulder, surging forward to kiss her skin there.

[heromiyuu]

(ooc: my current state of spirit is 'flailing uncontrollably' x3)

A trail of gooseflesh was left by his fingers over her collarbones. She exposed the curve of her neck, inviting him, her hand working to free that arm from the Orlesian robe; one thing she had to admit, though: that freaking misplaced underbust corset, part of Madame de Fer's robes, would look too damn good now.

Neria sighed with his kisses, hands caressing his shoulder blades aimlessly. She pressed her thighs together, missing the friction between their bodies now that she was sitting.

[wardenalistair]

Alistair caught her hand with one of his once she'd freed that arm from her robe, and kissed upwards, over the curve of her shoulder to the column of her neck. He sucked a mark there, over the thrumming of her pulse, and moved to undo the clasps of her robe with his free hand, fingers fumbling but insistent.

Abruptly, he felt the urge to bury his face in her hair and inhale her, as if by surrounding himself with her scent he could ground himself here, in the moment, make this true somehow, and lasting. It hit him then, the sudden fear that this was not real, could not be real. Meeting Neria in some version of the Fade, where different possible versions of his future had all congregated at once? That simply wasn't possible, was it?

He groaned, and his eyes suddenly felt hot, because damn him, she felt so real and he wanted her so badly. Please, please, he thought. He buried his face in her lap and stopped undressing her to wrap his arms tightly around her waist.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream," he said thickly, voice muffled somewhat.

[heromiyuu]

"Alistair, look at me."

She spoke with a soft voice, heart aching at his muffled plea. Her hands reached for his face cupping his jaw and tilting his head so she could lock her eyes on his. The woman smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.

"This is real." she caressed his cheek, taking one of his hands into hers and intertwining their fingers together, planting a kiss to each of his knuckles "This is definitely real. And we are about to make love, to be together again after a long time. I know the Fade usually doesn't brings nothing good but... it brought us together now, so it can't be that bad after, can it?"

And then she kissed him, shy at first, slowly coaxing his mouth to open for her. Biting his upper lip, she had no hurry on that kiss, only deep passion and an attempt to make things more credible.

[wardenalistair]

Alistair met her gaze with barely concealed want, hope and fear warring behind his hazel eyes.

Even the best of his dreams of her had never had this much detail behind them. Her smell, her warmth, the noises she made and the shape of her lips against his, all of it was right. No one, not a demon or his subconscious, could have copied the curve of her smile so exactly.

And with that realization, he felt a surge of irrational hope and happiness fill him. His lips opened beneath hers with a groan, slipping his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss, one hand coming up to fist in the fabric of her robe between her shoulder blades.

"Neria...love..." he moaned.

(OOC: okay I am a terrible person to bow out here, but I do have to go in to work in the morning and really had better get some sleep. shall we continue this tomorrow?)

[heromiyuu]

(ooc: sorry, I couldn't fight any longer and fell asleep. But yea, definitely continuing this today)

"I'm here vhenan." this came out of her mouth as a whispered whimper. She moved her arms and shoulders, sliding out of the robe with easy since Alistair had a hold of it, pressing her bare breasts against his chest. The skin to skin contact only made her seek for more, hands desperately fumbling to undo the laces of her heeled boots.

Neria hadn't lived thr past three years without her own share of new scars, most of them nothing more than satin lines over her skin, thanks to healing spells. And despite she and Alistair had seen plenty of each other's naked bodies along the years, the new marks made her feel... naked. Blushing even. With a grunt, she finally took her boots away. Soon, her arms were all over him again, nails scraping his back, kisses' muffled moanings escaping her mouth at every change at the kiss' angle, her need now aching between her legs.

The woman motioned backwards in the mattress, opening room for him to follow. She needed his weight, his grounding, safe weight above her.

[wardenalistair]

Alistair groaned when her bare skin touched his, rocking up against her, his hands roaming almost wildly over her body as she shed her robe. His fingers stuttered, lingered over the new marks on her skin, despite how little they were raised, because no matter how long it had been, he knew every inch of her skin better than he had ever known his own. As she reached for her boots, he pulled back so he could look at her, admiring the blush on her cheeks, the difference the years had made and yet not made to her body.

"Beautiful," he breathed, and then blushed, like he hadn't quite meant to say that. He met her next kiss eagerly, reaching to cup her breasts, run his thumbs over the pebbled peaks of her nipples. He followed her onto the bed, chasing contact with her mouth, her warmth, her body, settling himself between her thighs before he let out a noise of frustration, almost a growl, and reached down to fumble at the ties of his trousers.

His body, too, as he struggled to kick off smalls and trousers, showed the marks of years apart. But his new scars were much uglier, a testament to the absence of a certain mage with healing spells in his life. There were new nicks on his hands and wrists, a scar over one forearm, a long, mostly well-healed gash along one thigh. Most noticeable, though, was a ropy scar just below his heart, long-healed but still red and ugly, like a blade had just missed its target.