RP: Daylen (NSFW Ahead)

[fereldans_king]

Alistair came awake briefly during the night (day? how was time even told around here, with no sun to mark the hours?) as something in the castle rumbled, his sense of the ambient magic in the fortress vibrating like a plucked harp string. But the bed was warm and his arms were full of a comfortable, sleeping mage. After a moment, Alistair made up his mind - he maneuvered himself and Daylen under the bed's blankets and drifted back off to sleep.

There were plenty of people out and about in Skyhold who could handle whatever problem that was. Right now, he needed to be here more than he needed to be a hero.

Comments

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

"An Orlesian name for a Fereldan dog? Seems kind of heretical." Daylen shook his head, tutting softly. "Of course, my family was from the Free Marches and until Duncan came to the Tower the only thing I remember seeing of Ferelden was the lake from the windows."

He started working soap into Alistair's hair. "Here, tip back." He was careful with the drips so nothing ran forward into Alistair's face. "My mabari's name was Elric. After some warrior prince of the Avvar that I'd read about." There was a deep ripple of sadness that eased to something faded and familiar. "He was a good dog."

[fereldans_king]

"Cousland is a vocal supporter of Orlesian things. Fighting styles, paintings, Orlesian Wardens...He was..is noble man with big dreams, far beyond our home's borders." Alistair barely caught the slip in tense, but forged onward. When Alistair had left Denerim for his visit to Skyhold, he hadn't heard from his friend in over half a year - even the last missive he'd received had been little more than 'Still alive, to dangerous, don't come looking for me.' He hoped, with a tiny, sinking feeling in his gut, that Cousland was even still alive.

"I'm sure he was every bit as wonderful and slobbery as Lyon was. Did he dig up strange things for you too?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

"Oh yes. Old bones, old boots, Oghren's underwear once. I preferred the genlock hand I found on my pillow, honestly." Daylen finished rinsing the soap from Alistair's hair and leaned in to give him a hug around the neck.

"Cousland sounds like a right ass, by the way. His love of ponce and circumstance just adds to that image. I mean, I'm sure he's a wonderful man." He nuzzled up against Alistair's ear and then leaned back again. "I bet he'll hate me. It'll be grand."

Daylen grinned, ducking his head, concern underneath the fond teasing he felt. He didn't want Alistair to worry about Cousland, he didn't want him to ever worry about anything if Daylen could help it.

[fereldans_king]

"Please tell me that Oghren's underwear was at least disposed of properly? Say...dumped in the fire, far away from everyone else." Alistair leaned into Daylen's arms as he spoke, enjoying the hug and the moment of calm relaxation.

Alistair bristled slightly at Daylen's proclamation, but forced himself to relax as he realized Daylen was simply teasing. Cousland was his friend, one of the very few he had but... "...He was rather pretentious. He expected everyone to hold themselves to the high standard that he held himself. Bit him in the ass more than once, I'm afraid."

Alistair smiled, and ran a gentle (but damp) hand in a caress of Daylen's cheek. "Oh, you two will drive me insane, bantering back and forth about the idiotic nobles in my court."

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

"Keep you sane more like." Daylen tipped his head to press his face into Alistair's palm. "Not having anyone around to talk back to them when you can't must make you crazy."

He stood, running a hand over the scar on his ribs when it twinged, healing it with an absent flicker of power, leaving it faded and thin. "You want fresh water for soaking now that you're clean?" He wiggled his fingers as he offered. It was strange to be so full of mana again. It was making him eager to use it, especially to Alistair's benefit and comfort.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair stretched out, making something of a spectacle of himself as he sprawled in the tub. "You really are spoiling me. Not only do I get to take a hot bath, but now I get to soak in it as well!" He grinned. "I certainly won't stop you, this time."

He tilted his head at Daylen, inquiringly. "Unless, you'd like to get clean now. How are you feeling? Do you need me to get up, and get anything?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

Daylen let his eyes trail over Alistair as he sprawled, smiling with a lifted eyebrow. "It's not entirely to your benefit. But you should hop out for a minute if you want me to swap it out. Otherwise it's all boiling steam and then freezing ice and I promise you'll scream."

He flushed slightly as he considered Alistair's question. Partially just from the attention, and that he was feeling... good. He did want to wash, but watching Alistair loll was worth waiting. He had that steadily burning knot of desire low in his abdomen that flared whenever they touched. He shrugged a shoulder. "I can go forage while you're soaking. Tea, a little more food wouldn't be amiss, see if I can't find additional clothing for either of us?"

There was also the part of him that wanted to drag Alistair back into bed as soon as they were both passably clean. But he was ignoring that in favor of being responsible or productive or something. It was hard to remember when he was busy ogling all of Alistair.

He wet his lips and smiled ruefully.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair climbed out of the bath with a good-natured grumble, standing on the very edge of the rug to help contain the puddle of dripping bathwater. "Right, boiling steam and freezing ice are bad things when naked. I think we both want me in one piece." He rewarded Daylen's lingering look with a small smirk and full body stretch, flexing as he did so.

"Good luck finding a shirt that actually fits. I had a difficult time finding something that wasn't a tent or just this side of too tight. But if you are inclined to go adventuring for such necessities, I suppose I can languish here, deprived of your company." Alistair's tone was gently teasing.

He could feel Daylen's desire to touch and to hold, a constant, gentle buzz in the back of his head. It was incredibly distracting, but also made Alistair...proud of? happy with? himself - to be wanted so fiercely was a heady experience. He wanted to have Daylen all to himself, wrapped in his arms and wrapped up in each other in as many ways as they could find. He blushed as several of those possible ways came to mind, and his libido began to make itself known again.

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

"Maker's breath, man." Daylen's voice broke as he watched Alistair tease him, stretching and flexing and... he cleared his breath and shook his head sharply, focusing back on the tub. He hadn't expected quite that level of invitation to leer and blood was surging lower, his skin prickling hot all over his body.

He waved an almost lazy hand, fire was his element, and the water in the tub boiled into a sudden cloud of steam, which with a little encouragement went sailing up the chimney. An easy repetition of the spell to summon ice from earlier, and he encouraged it to melt and heat along with the rune.

"Well, there you go. I'll-- Maker, you're making it really hard to leave this room." The look he turned on Alistair was one of naked hunger, and he ran fingers through his hair before forcing himself to turn away and hunt up the wash cloth he'd used earlier and wipe himself down cursorily.

[fereldans_king]

For a man who used to clank around in full plate, Alistair could occasionally be very stealthy. He snuck up behind Daylen and pressed a tender kiss to the back of the mage's neck, leaning forward to whisper, "Then you should hurry back, shouldn't you?" He was gone just as quickly, back standing next to the tub, grinning as innocently as he could, considering the circumstances.

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

Daylen huffed as Alistair stole away, giving him a narrow look over his shoulder as he tugged on his clothes. "If this is the thanks I get we're going back to you hauling your own bath water," he muttered, though he was only irritated in so far as his arousal was thwarted.

He pulled on the too-large boots and set about tucking in his shirt and tugging the ties of his trousers closed, shooting frequent glances at Alistair through his eyelashes and the fringe of his hair. "It'll serve you right if I get lost and spend the next three days wandering around in the cellars. Now, enjoy your soak." He made a shooing gesture toward the tub.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair chuckled as he climbed back into the tub, the laugh turning into a pleased his at the fresh, hot water. He sprawled in the tub again, and pushed a thought of thanks and love towards Daylen. "If you're gone too long, I'll come looking for you. I promise."

Alistair closed his eyes and hummed gleefully as the warm of the water began to soak back into his bones. He called out just before Daylen walked through the door, "But do hurry back." He opened his eyes just halfway, and let all of the desire he felt building fill his gaze.

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

Daylen stumbled slightly as he crossed the threshold, overwhelmed for just a moment with Alistair's existence, the push of love, the tangle of their desires for each other. He poked his head back in and asked, too innocently, "If I wanted to find some lightly scented oil... or lubricating... salve, where do you think I should look?" His eyebrow waggle was as terrible as Zevran's ever was, and he ducked back out into the hall before waiting for the answer.

He had to take hold of himself to make it down the hall, away from Alistair, each step both harder and easier. At least he had the warm knot of him in the very center of his being to hold onto, to remind himself he was real, and all was well. No more nightmares, he reminded himself. Not of that kind, anyway.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair laughed aloud at Daylen's outrageous eyebrow waggle, but the mage was gone out the door before he could actually respond. He reached out with his sense and felt where Daylen was, 'watching' him for a moment before letting go of his focus and letting his mind wander.

He luxuriated in the bath, carefully burying the momentary flash of guilt for taking advantage of Daylen's magic under a thick layer of 'He said he wanted to spoil me, and I'm going to let him, at least for a little while.'

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

The castle was large and Daylen had only vagueish notions of where he was going. It turned into nearly an hour and a half of wandering and doubling back, growing ever more irritated. At one point Alistair would have noticed a sharp drop in his stomach, curiosity and sadness and dread for a moment, but it lessened quickly and before long he was growing steadily closer.

When he tapped on the door before letting himself in he was carrying a bundle of sundries and clothes, as well as rations for two occupants of the castle for two days. More hard cheese, some biscuits, a cured sausage, tea, and a handful of apples. Food didn't spoil properly in the Fade, or the Skyhold larders had spellwork that would keep things fresh for a long, long time. Daylen wasn't sure which, but he'd been thrilled at the apples.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair had tried to relax and enjoy the hot soak for as long as possible, but eventually, his self-consciousness got the best of him. When he was just beginning to turn wrinkly, Alistair abandoned the bath tub and dried himself off, throwing on a pair of pants before hauling the tub out to empty it. He used his towel to sop up the mess he'd made of the floor, and tidied the room up (including adding a little more wood to the fire to prevent it from going out), before finding himself at somewhat of a loss for what to do.

He could feel Daylen wandering the castle, soft spikes of frustration tickling the back of his mind. The sharp tang of sadness and dread rang through his head, and Alistair reached for Daylen almost instinctively, a soothing wave of concern and reassurance, before the feeling faded and he could feel the mage moving back towards their room.

Alistair raised an eyebrow at the supplies piled in Daylen's arms. "Well, someone was through in their search. What did your treasure hunt produce?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

The rush of complicated protective devotion and want that washed through Daylen when he saw Alistair smiling at him took his breath away. He dumped his load of forage in a pile on the table and stalked over to his Voice, and wrapped a hand up into his hair and tugged him down for a long, fierce kiss.

Whatever tumult he was feeling eased as soon as their skin met again and he broke the kiss slowly, heart racing.

[fereldans_king]

Alistair had a brief moment to look surprised and he started speak ("What-?") before he was dragged down by a hand in his hair into an intense kiss. He pulled Daylen into a hug, wrapping his arms around Daylen's back and cradling his head in one hand.

Alistair pulled just enough to look Daylen in the eyes as he broke the kiss, a noe of concern in his voice. "Not that I'm complaining about the homecoming kiss, but is everything alright? You seem..." Alistair fumbled for the right word. "...Out of sorts?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

Daylen pressed his lips to Alistair's again before answering, tender and lingering. "I saw one of the other... yous out in the courtyard. It was... weird. Really weird."

He trailed his hand over the nape of Alistair's neck, studying him intently from very close. "He seemed to be arguing with the rafters above the tavern. Scruffy. Younger. It was really unsettling."

[fereldans_king]

"Oh." Alistair looked surprised, and then slightly sad. "That was likely the...His Hero of Fereldan spared Loghain." Alistair's face took on an angry cast, as he contemplated the thought. "I can't even imagine the gall that took. How could anyone want to spare that traitor!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself, and looked down at Daylen. "I've been given the impression from talking with the others that that particular version of me is a less than happy man." Alistair gave Daylen a confused look. "Though I was not given any indication that he was anything other than mentally sound. You said he was arguing with the rafters?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

"Well I guess he could have been arguing with someone hiding up there. He stopped and gave me this look. I don't ever want to see an expression that sout and suspicious on your face." Daylen brushed a thumb over Alistair's brow then gave him another quick kiss.

"Though if he was forced to see Loghain pardoned i can see why he'd be angry." Daylen shrugged uncomfortably. "Anyway he turned red and stomped off. Sorry if I worried you."

[fereldans_king]

"Yes, how dare you be weird-ed out at see yet another version of me." Alistair pulled Daylen in for another quick kiss, and a hug. He then gently turned Daylen around and gave him a soft push towards the bath tub. "Now, it's your turn to relax! While I devour the cheese that I see you have brought to tempt me."

Alistair dropped into the chair next to the table, and shuffled through some of the thing piled on the table until he found the knife from earlier. Then he set about constructing a ridiculous looking pair of towers of sliced apple, cheese and hard sausage.

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

Daylen made a disgruntled noise at being pushed away, but there was no actual offense in him. He was mostly thoughtful as he filled the tub and heated it, his scrubbing quick and thorough.
 
When he finally noticed the ridiculous arrangement of food Alistair had constructed he snorted and bent his head to rinse the last of the soap out of his hair.

"You missed your calling as a fiddly Orlesian cook, looks like." He straightened, pushing his hair back and wringing a little water from it. The piney scent of the soap was idly comforting, the association he'd grown between it and Alistair's presence strong. "Hand me a towel would you?"

[fereldans_king]

Alistair snorted, and paused in his meticulous layering of apple, cheese, and sausage to find Daylen a dry towel. He stopped next to the tub, and laid a series of kisses on Daylen's skin, running from one shoulder, up his neck, across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and down the other side, grinning at Daylen between each kiss. Only then did he hand the mage the towel.

"You won't be so quick to insult my construction methods once you've actually eaten some of it. Or did you think I was going to eat both towers myself?"

[daylen_amell_fadewalk]

The kisses were met with a soft pleased noise, which became less pleased when Alistair stopped and finally handed Daylen the towel. He rolled his eyes and started drying his hair vigorously.

"Well i don't doubt you could eat both." He moved on to drying off his chest and arms, before wrapping the towel across his shoulders and shimmying it down his back. "But if you're willing to share, I'm happy."