fair_trouble: (53)
[personal profile] fair_trouble in [community profile] thehauntedfrequency
[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?

on 2025-01-09 01:34 am (UTC)
chimerad: naturalperms (i forgot what this one was oop.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[damn dunking on your own pc while telling mine how pretty he is

for a minute or two, Zel is quietly contemplative in putting these unfamiliar features into the context of the Emery he knows. colors are different, but the shapes and form are the same that he knows. surface-level, at least (he wonders if the rest of him has shifted in some way...or maybe not? why would there be a need to be for a day of hocking goblin goods?)

either way, he's pretty...]


...

[he wants to touch him.]

...

[blink.

where is he again?

blinkblink.

he straightens back up, clearing his throat, obviously a bit flustered.]


It--it-it's good. [already said that BUT WHATEVER!] Are...are you ready to take care of business? [..,] The, wares. I mean.

on 2025-01-10 02:42 am (UTC)
chimerad: (pitbull softly plays in the background.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[it's a tragically easy spell to break, given the environment they're in (Zel's not feral enough to follow impulses in public; he'd die of shame and he still wants to live despite being a cursed freak). still, Zel feels a pang of regret in having to turn away; he pulls on the canvas of the wagon and stands in the remaining opening to give Emery some privacy whether he wants any or not. it's the principle!

he glimpses over his shoulder when he hears a telltale sign of being done enough just in time to be hollered over for more manual labor, which he heads off to with a soft grumble behind the mask. he's about reached his limits of public interaction and wants nothing more than to disappear to some secluded, quiet place...with Emery. he's not far from his mind in any of these wishes for respite, even if some of that respite becomes less restful the more he thinks about it.

it's something to look forward to, at least - an attainable goal, as opposed to his far-flung wishes that skirt along the edges of almost-impossible.

sigh.]


Yeah, yeah... [he'll hoist these stupid crates.]

on 2025-01-12 01:43 am (UTC)
chimerad: (pitbull softly plays in the background.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[the moment it's clear that Emery's been free from the shackle of commerce and starts on his way back, his steps are shadowed. Zel lets himself be heard, not inclined to scaring him.]

That was much more than just 'lending a hand,' if you ask me. [he's slightly peeved at how long that took; all he'd had to do after hauling crates was skulk around like a weirdo! which, granted, he's able to do, but...hrngh. this is a provincial, simple town, he had to keep moving from spot to spot while also making sure he could keep Emery in view.

annoying!]

on 2025-01-12 07:22 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (ok but.........no.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[he grunts, unenthused. the Hob can choke on his own happiness for all Zel cares.

he falls into closer step at Emery's arm.

flatly:]
I'd be a worthless bodyguard if I didn't.

[and besides! what else was he gonna do? wander off on his own and pine? sure, he's an old pro at that, but that was before he had someone to look out for. also: not his country. it's not like meandering the backroads to Atlas City or anything.

on 2025-01-12 10:31 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (let's color this tree purple.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad


[Zel doesn’t answer aloud, which is something of an answer in of itself, isn’t it?

he wishes he could’ve undone that braid for him.]


Are we staying with the wagons tonight?

on 2025-01-14 11:48 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (Default)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[he interprets "too crowded" as "we are bunking with a bunch of goblins" and grimaces.]

They're not going to throw us in subspace again so we don't take up room?

on 2025-01-15 12:08 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (makes extremely loud bleating sound.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[true: the privacy was nice. the musty vegetable smell wasn't. Emery's smell was. the ergonomics weren't.

sigh. it must be pathetic to be pining for more cozy time after even that much...is he getting spoiled? soft? Emery what have you done to the man.

as is typical, Zel gets quieter as they draw near people; he holds an arm out if Emery wants it for help up into the wagon, himself lingering to scan around the area. it's as much for sniffing out trouble as it is just putting the space to better memory. maybe it's not worth remembering in the long-term, but right now feels right to.

he thinks: were this a stupider trip, these would all be fishmen.]

on 2025-01-15 07:25 pm (UTC)
chimerad: naturalperms (i forgot what this one was oop.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[the act was so inoffensive-yet-unexpected that it leaves Zel rather stunlocked, eyes widening with a flutter. he stands frozen mid-turn, breath stuck and chest aching very suddenly and very intensely; it takes being that still to keep from overreacting in some weird or dramatic way.

he remains stuck in place after Emery's parted, near to the point where it might be worth asking if he just had a brain aneurism, but after a beat, he blinks and remembers to breathe again.

barely audible:]
...Good night.

[he has to go sit up near he wagon and stew in a storm of feelings now, don't mind him. bodyguards just do that.]

on 2025-01-16 12:42 am (UTC)
chimerad: (ok but.........no.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[yeah...yeah... Zel's down bad. he can't pretend he's not. maybe he could be inclined to believe it's just infatuation, but even then it's a stretch. as much as attraction plays into it (and it is playing right now, goddamn), Zel keeps thinking beyond that. what he can do to make his life easier. how he can be better for him. how to make him happy.

damn.

Zel picks at flecks of stone on his face, as if he could just...peel them off. find the soft flesh underneath. be normal. better. for him.

he listens to Emery winding down, every rustle and exhalation strident to his ears, aching to touch and taste him. feel warm, not just through his mouth or the tickle of his ears. losing himself in those yearning thoughts, he doesn't sleep too soundly (sitting up against the wagon wheel didn't help either), but he does drift off eventually, blinking blearily awake when he hears some of the goblins walking about to prep for breakfast.

Zel grunts, sitting up and grimacing against the stiffness of his back and neck, turning and listening for Emery.]

on 2025-01-16 09:03 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (pitbull softly plays in the background.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[Zel's ear twitches at the ruckus, at Emery's puff surprise, and climbs to his feet. there is no real danger from the kids beyond a bad precedent set for the morning, but he's not mean enough to leave Emery to that fate.

after rolling his shoulder, he sighs, moving around to the back of the wagon and pulling the canvas flaps back with a tired scowl. unmasked, backlit, it's pretty scary!

that clears most of them. the ones who are frozen in fear get a slight turn of his head.]


Go on.

[they go.

rescue complete. easy.]

on 2025-01-16 11:54 pm (UTC)
chimerad: (ok but.........no.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[flatly:] Yeah.

[...]

But you can sleep more, if you need it. Nothing's being packed up in a hurry, and we can leave whenever you want.

on 2025-01-17 12:11 am (UTC)
chimerad: (yeah i smell it too.)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[while he forces his expression to stay deadpan, the way his eye squints makes it clear he's trying to not make a face. stop dangling that carrot!!!]

...I'd imagine that'd just be cause to get heckled. Given the company.

on 2025-01-17 12:56 am (UTC)
chimerad: (Default)
Posted by [personal profile] chimerad
[he makes a face.]

There's kids around.

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