fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[fair_trouble]

[New day, new town, and hopefully new opportunities. Specifically opportunities to make some money because Zel and Emery’s funds have been running kind of low after their most recent misadventure. This has meant a temporary separation while Zelgadis goes to look for merc-type work and potential cure leads and Emery goes around chatting up the locals without terrifying them.

Or at least that was the plan, until Calanthe showed up.

By the time Zel gets back to the inn, Emery’s still busy talking to Calanthe in their inn room, although the conversation’s just about wrapping up. If he’s perceptive he might even catch a bit of Emery’s words.

“...some funds this time? ...Seriously, is that it? He’s always such a cheapskate. …Okay I got it. I’ll see you later.”

A few moments later a woman wearing a green cloak exits their inn room. Her hood is up, partly obscuring a pale face and hair, and she barely spares anyone a passing glance as she drifts down the hallway.

Emery is still standing inside the inn room looking pensive, but when Zel enters he’ll give him a bright smile.]

Oh! Hey, Zel. Did you manage to find anything?

Comments

[chimerad]

[he hums an affirmative, his arm going slack to let Emery squirm as he pleases, using that time to unfasten his trousers and give a hand leeway to further snake down to his groin and tease at his captive erection. careful but intentional, gentle but guided by the feedback from Emery himself, Zel closes his eyes and tilts his head so that when he bows it, he can kiss at Emery's neck and shoulder without prickling him too much with his hair.

warm skin...he can taste it with his mouth; it must be warmer down below than what his hands can tell.]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery’s face heats up as he feels Zel loosening his pants. It’s a slight relief, but the subsequent feeling of fingers brushing teasingly over his erection is vexing. He finds himself raising his hips, trying to grind his dick against Zel’s hand. And when Zel starts pressing warm kisses against his neck, Emery moans out:]

Zel…

[Wanting more, and not wanting to be entirely passive, Emery raises one hand to fiddle with the fastenings on his vest and shirt, tugging at the fabric to expose more skin for Zel.]

[chimerad]

[the sounds Emery makes are fit to make Zel hard all over again, but this isn't about him anymore. to appease his needy writhing, he moves his hands to his waistband (not without the tease of being careful, however) and, once another grind is lifting him up enough, eases his trousers and underwear down to expose his dick to the air.

while gently nipping and sucking on his neck, Zel's fingers trail back to find him waiting there, fingertips lightly trailing along his shaft before slowly closing around it in a delicate, unintentionally teasing grip; he'd hate to grab too hard at once in a misjudgment of sensitivity.]

Tell me...what's too much. Or too little. Whatever you say goes.

[fair_trouble]

Ah… Ahn…

[Pleasurable pinpricks coax more noises out of Emery as Zel works. Emery shuts his eyes and starts biting his lip but makes himself stop, not wanting to stifle himself. He arches into Zel’s touch again and again until he feels fabric pulling away from his hips and air briefly flowing over his cock, before it’s lightly covered by a solid hand.

Emery opens his eyes and looks down at where he’s exposed, marveling at the contrast of Zel’s blue, stony fingers against pink skin. He can’t quite nod when Zel speaks but he does let out a little breathy hum.]



Got it. You can be… a little bit tighter than that.

[chimerad]

[he complies, carefully closing his hand tighter over his cock and rubbing the heel of his thumb against it. the fear of doing harm remains, but he's listening, braced for when those sounds of pleasure may shift to pain. the risk is worth the reward.

the ergonomics of trying to keep from poking Emery in the scalp with his hair is a bit troublesome, but he can manage. while one hand is occupied with fondling his dick, Zel's other hand moves to survey what skin's been exposed for him across his abdomen and chest. as adoringly and careful as though he were touching marble, he feels around and halts at fresh response.]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery does his best to verbalize his feedback, not just make incoherent moans based on how good it does or doesn’t feel. This requires using some of his actual brain for more than just the sensations he’s experiencing, but he doesn’t want to leave Zel fumbling in the metaphorical dark.]

Ah… Like that- yeah… Nngh… Not that tight. Ah… Yeah, that’s perfect.

[He also squirms and sighs with pleasure when Zel’s grip and the fondling of Zel’s thumb touches him just right.

Underneath Zel’s other hand Emery’s skin is acutely sensitive, particularly when Zel brushes his hand over Emery’s chest and nipples. Emery isn’t as soft and squishy in this area as he is when he’s in girl mode, but it’s still an erogenous area for him and he lets out a soft gasp when Zel rolls a thumb over his nipple.]

Oh, please keep touching me there~

[chimerad]

[Zel's ears tickle with the tone of those instructions, his heart hammering as he clings to every word in hopes of complying. he breathes out an affirmative through his nose while kissing at his shoulder, feeling out and finding that nipple again to rub and tease at it to Emery's delight.

he...really needs to do this more often. swallow his fear and simply indulge in indulging Emery like this. if it can make him feel this good by touch alone...even if he can't fully have his way with him, this still pays back dividends.

he can't help but smile a little against his skin when some of those pleas become rather incoherent with the deft stroke at his cock.]

What was that? [teasing:] "Stop," was it?

[fair_trouble]

[Emery responds with more noises and more trembling. When Zel teases his nipple it’s like a mirrored sensation to the way Zel is stroking Emery’s cock, reflecting and enhancing the pleasure of both like a light shone into a reflective surface. He’s nearly lost to the sensation, but not enough that he misses Zel’s teasing.]



Zel-! I didn’t-!

[Emery tilts his head towards Zel, pouting. But it’s hard to keep his expression indignant when Zel is touching him so intimately. He’s getting close to coming, and it shows in his heated, desperate face- and maybe in the way his cock is throbbing in Zel’s hand.]

[chimerad]

I know.

[he doesn't have it in him to laugh at the distress, instead soothing with a kiss to the cheek as he diligently strokes at Emery. he turns his head to speak close to his ear while he works.]

Don't hold back...unless you want to. [he can draw this out as long as Emery wants.]

[fair_trouble]

Mmn! Mm-hm…

[Zel’s voice in his ear is really nice. Even if it weren’t adding to Emery’s arousal, it’s just pleasant to be able to feel him so near. And the kiss gave him another flutter of lovey feelings. Gods, but he loves this man.

Emery does try to hold back for a bit longer, but his endurance isn’t infinite. Sooner rather than later he’s overcome by sensation and comes with a sharp little cry, spilling over under Zel’s hand.]

[chimerad]

[Zel has to clench his jaw to fight back the want to bite. he didn't ask first, Emery's addled, and-- there he goes. he smells the cum before actually registering it on his fingers.

he stops teasing at Emery's nipple in order to wrap his arm more securely around his middle to hold him through the ebb of orgasm.

mildly, a touch dry:] Maybe...I predicted right earlier.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery shivers a bit more before working out Zel’s comment and giving him the side-eye.]



…Rude. We could have had a moment there, but you ruined it.

[If Emery’s playful scolding tone doesn’t get across that he’s not actually annoyed, hopefully the way he tilts his head to press a kiss to Zel’s cheek will.]

[chimerad]

[he flashes a little tooth with a smile before his expression wanes back it's softer state.]

It's still a moment, I think.

[fair_trouble]

[Emery pointedly huffs, but he can’t help but smile.]

Oh, fine. It’s a nice moment too.

[And it isn’t as if Emery can complain too hard when Zel went and did all that for him. He came on Zel’s hand, so he supposes Zel’s entitled to a smart remark or two.]

[chimerad]

[it is a nice moment: Zel didn't hurt him. words can't fully cover how relieved he is for that, though it will hardly seed any confidence in himself in the future. he can't get complacent about it!

but he can get a bit more comfortable with intimacy from here - responding and initiating. it's only thanks to Emery being so patient and free of criticism about his skittishness that they'd get so far, really.

his head dips slightly, carefully, so he can kiss at his shoulder. he smells nice, and his skin is warm where his lips can tell.]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery settles back against Zel, enjoying the sight and feeling of that kiss against his shoulder. He feels like he’s melting from sheer contentment.

I love you.

Emery almost says it as he thinks it. But he can’t quite bring himself to do so… It’s just too scary a prospect to say it out loud. Even though he’s pretty damned sure at this point that Zel reciprocates. He’s not scared of being rejected, it’s just… A lot. And he’s just too happy with where he is right at the moment to want to risk dropping that bomb in the middle of things.

Still, he sets his hand over Zel’s and hopes that gets something of his current feelings across.]

[chimerad]

[hopefully it's not the messy hand, otherwise he'll have some of that mess on-hand, too...

either way, it's hard for Zel to notice until he opens his eyes and sees it there, feeling a little squeeze in his chest.

after a minute or so:] Unless you're meaning to sit here until daybreak...you should get up.

[fair_trouble]

[Hey, Emery is a little more discerning than that! Although they’re both messy and sticky right now anyway…

Alas, even nice moments have to end eventually. Emery hums.]

I mean it is tempting… But you’re right, we should probably go over our supplies, see if we need to pick anything up. Oh, and I should look for the entrance to the fae realm while it’s still light out, so we don’t have to waste a bunch of time stomping around in the dark tomorrow night.

[chimerad]

[so the rest of the night, up to early morning, has a plan. though both are a bit slow to fully disengaging from that moment, Zel does relent and get his pants on right, his hands washed, and set to checking that gear. since coming into town, they already replenished the core travel needs, but until they were planning to leave, food was the last on the list just by merit of freshness. an at-dawn resupply will likely be in order before they sleep the rest of the day off...

that's about as far as his expertise can take them - though he does suggest having a look over the maps he's collected in case they'd be of any use in finding that entrance Emery's talking about. beyond that, he has to defer to Emery. admittedly, he's used to be the one charting the courses and taking lead, so he is a little worried...but also curious to see how this find-the-fae-realm works. not many people are likely to know, so he's lucky for the chance.]

[fair_trouble]

[Emery likewise gets cleaned up, and assists where he’s able, although this remains an area where Zel usually takes the lead. Scouting’s going to be his primary duty and accordingly, he takes a look at the maps Zel gives him.]

These should be useful in the fae realm too, the terrain is usually identical. Same hills and rivers, that sort of thing.

[One of the Field Lord’s more amiable guests had regaled Emery with a dramatic retelling of the battle between Shabranigdu and Cepheid and how the shockwaves had blown the crater straight through the human realm and into the fae realm as well.]



Calanthe said the entrance is towards the top of the trail up Cordial Hill. [Emery pokes the hill in question, where it’s indicated on the map.] I’ll just check out the area and try to find the exact location. I won’t be going into the fae realm without you.

[Not that he thinks someone as cool and self-assured as Zelgadis might be worried about Emery running off into another plane of existence to promptly get eaten by a pooka or something.]

[chimerad]

[okay, but Zelgadis is going to worry about Emery going there against his will - pookas or otherwise. not every old wives' tale was complete bunk when it came to the occult, after all...]

Will the location be visible? Or is it more of a magic-sense.

[fair_trouble]

[Over a year too late to be worrying about that, bucko.]

More of the latter. It’s just a matter of the right mental exercise- and having the aptitude doesn’t hurt either. Seeing routes between planes like the human realm and the fae realm is like…

[Emery drums his fingers against the map. This is going to be hard to explain.]



You know how your right eye and your left eye both have slightly different perspectives but your mind makes the view overlap so you don’t see double, unless something’s wrong? Or how you can see your nose in your peripheral vision but you normally tune it out as if it weren’t there? When you’re looking for an entrance to the fae realm you kind of have to… shift your perspective and look for something you can’t see. But with magic.

[Emery makes a face.]

Okay, that was a terrible explanation. Never mind. Anyway, it’s easier to learn just by doing. And the location should be visible, but it won’t necessarily look like an entrance to anything. What they look like just sort of depends on the entrance itself.

[chimerad]

[Zel can't help but smile, endeared by the explanation. eyes and peripherals... the way it's told is both practical and kind of innately magical in a way outside the everyday uses of magic in the life he knows.

he nods.]

Sounds like a good skill to learn. [whether the applications are beyond just door-finding isn't clear, but he likes to strengthen his magical muscles where he can anyway.]

[fair_trouble]

[Well it’s clear from Zel’s reaction that he didn’t think Emery’s explanation was too terrible, which is nice.]

You’re a quick study [Emery grins here, thinking of their earlier intimate moment in particular.] so I can’t imagine you’ll have much trouble picking this up either.

[He folds up the map to take with him, just in case, and then leans over to give Zel a quick kiss.]

I’ll head out while the light’s still good. Behave while I’m gone, alright?

[chimerad]

...

[Zel's expression falters a bit. you don't...want me to go?

he recovers quickly enough, though his voice is a bit wary.]

...Sure. I'll be here.

[though he feels he shouldn't be.]

Unless you take too long.