WHEN: 2044 SEP 12, late morning
WHERE: Dinah's bedroom
WHO: Dinah and Niles
NSFW for sexual content
--
[11:09] Dinah (dollihead) 's room was sound-blocked off from the rest of the tower. Silence beyond the bedroom door, pulsing EDM behind it at near window-shaking levels. She paced, sometimes pausing to look out of the window before returning to her impatient pacing before she dropped herself down onto the lounger. Pel was nowhere to be seen for once, and his leash was absent. somewhere in the city, some poor staffer was having to deal with the temperamental fluffball.
[11:11] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) could only let his wife huff for so long. It was fairly early in the day yet and not too long after the impromptu party with Drystan that he chose to intrude upon her personal quarters, swirling into being with at least the propriety to do so by the door instead of anywhere more intimate. It gave Dinah a few seconds to take advantage of the moment as he merely blinked and adjusted to the barrage of EDM on his eardrums. He should have been used to loud music by then but La Lune had much more space for it than Dinah's bedroom.
[11:14] Dinah (dollihead) looked up at the sudden sensation of proximity, her gaze narrowed and sharp. She considered her range of ammunition; her potted plants, the floral decorated skeletal abdomen, or the brass bust nearby.
Instead she chose to merely stare, before flicking her hand to turn the volume of the music down. Down but not off at least. She leaned back, spine against the wall.
"Yes?" she asked flatly, silvery gaze still narrowed on him, still contemplating whether or not to hurl something at him
[11:18] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) tilted his head, watching her and perhaps steeling himself for some airborne projectile. When nothing came he hazarded an approach. stepping over to her and crouching down by the bench to look up at her with something approaching sheepishness. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to throw something else at my head?" he asked, the hint of a smile pulling at his lips. "It would be warranted."
[11:22] Dinah (dollihead) scoffed, shaking her head, raking her hand through her hair and lingering against her brow. "You wont learn anything even if I do. and I *like* my things. I dont want to break them on your face" she said coolly, crossing one leg over the other. "I don't have as many things in here that are quite as aerodynamic." she closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. She was, for once, apparently quite sober and *nearly* sane.
[11:25] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) hummed and sat himself properly on the floor. "I could fetch you something from the sitting room if that would better suit," he offered before shaking his head. "But I suppose you're right. What lesson would you have me learn, Liebchen?"
[11:28] Dinah (dollihead) clicked her tongue, shaking her head, dragging her hand down her face. she idly toyed with one of the rubies on her necklace instead.
"what does it matter what I would want you to learn?" she asked with a frown. "I can't imagine it will make much of a difference, will it? In the grand scheme of things"
[11:31] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) hummed. "And why not? A relationship involves adjustment and concession, doesn't it?" He paused, hesitating for a moment as his eyes moved over her face and posture, studying body language without the psychic intrusion that might read or affect her mind. "Does it truly upset you, considering the lifestyle this family leads?"
[11:34] Dinah (dollihead) sucked on her teeth and laughed somewhat mirthlessly "I understand that we are not *conventional*, Niles. I also understood that you are not exactly a fiercely monogamous soul despite my... tenacious attempts to discourage otherwise" she said tactfully "But *animals*, Niles? I thought there was a fucking line." dinah sighed in frustration, folding her arms tight across her chest and leaning back against the wall again. it didn't take his intellect to read *that* body language.
[11:47] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) chuckled. "Neither are you. And arguably... your heart and soul are very occupied with much more and stronger forces than I could hope to overcome," he said with a little tap of his fingers on her knee. The hand slowly moved to settle on her leg and give it a squeeze if she didn't otherwise bat it away. "She isn't an animal in the same way your devil of a Pomeranian is, Dinah. I have her occupy that form in the house so it's clear where she stands. She is a pet in role and far, far beneath you, humanoid true form or not."
[11:54] Dinah (dollihead) watched his hand, but her hands remained tucked beneath her arms, and she narrowed her gaze.
"you're welcome to check, husband mine, but last time I recall, i hadn't fucked the pomeranian" she said dryly. "a lesser woman might make the connection that if all it takes for a pet to be considered fair game is opposable thumbs, I am *quite* glad that Pel has paws" she closed her eyes again, tipping her head back against the wall.
"you blocked me out. you blocked *me* out so you could fuck the *animal*. Why? For lack of interruption? because gods only knows it wasn't due to trying to prevent me from finding out, we both know it doesnt work that way"
[11:57] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) withdrew his hand and sighed. He considered his words with a slight frown before curling his knees up to rest his elbows on them. "I wanted to wait until I knew you were a bit more lucid to share information I gained from the afternoon about a colleague of yours. And I thought perhaps having a more intimate view of the event would be more upsetting. Clearly I was wrong." He dipped his head. "I *am* sorry for upsetting you. I can make a promise not to block you out again no matter the situation, if that would appease."
[12:04] Dinah (dollihead) quirked a brow "And you thought that fucking the animal would help you determine if i were lucid or not?" she sighed in frustration, looking down at him with a frown.
"if it would appease. *appease*. is that what this is, Niles? an appeasement? or actual contrition?" she sighed again "I'm not sure if i'm more aggravated or impressed that even after all this time you still find ways to surprise me"
[12:12] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently): "Well... you do tend to lash out much more violently on a bad day when presented with something that angers you," he observed. Niles put a hand in his pocket and pulled it out, something hidden in his curled up fingers. "One can offer contrition and still not appease the offended party. Ideally, I'd aim for both."
When he opened his fingers a little glass rose sat inside it, clearly made from the jagged bits of sconce cover she'd thrown at him. At its center sat a deep red ruby, veins from it spreading out to hold the 'petals' together that she'd likely be able to tell were crystallized blood. "Be as angry as you like. You certainly won't be rid of me either way."
[12:17] Dinah (dollihead): "there is a difference" she agreed "though strictly speaking, that is not *me* that lashes out. it's *them*. they have far less tolerance than i do, which is something I never thought would be possible." she slid onto her side, rolling onto her back with her head closer to him, resting her hands on her stomach.
"one would assume that if you were sorry that it wouldn't happen again. if that's 'how you keep her in line', then it will, wont it?" she said bleakly, looking towards the glass and blood rose, sighing and reaching out to take it carefully in her fingers, tilting it delicately between her fingertips.
"sometimes i wonder if I will ever truly be used to this. Most of the time, I don't *want* to be. I have my pride. I cannot promise I wont try to toss her out of a tall window."
[12:24] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) pivoted to sit sideways along the bench and rested his head on the cushion next to hers. "Then toss her out of a tall window, my love," he said as if it were so inconsequential a thing. "She's heavily conditioned and very well-trained. I'm sure she'd continue to create pretty little things with all her limbs broken and be happy for it."
The doctor sighed, raising a hand to look at the scar permanently etched into his forearm in the symbol of the King in Yellow. "I've thought the same all this time, you know. Having many lovers, knowing those lovers have their own trysts has never an issue but you? I could never really say you're mine, could I? Not with a twin that has had you all his life. Not with all those gods in your head."
The out-loud musing trailed off into thoughtful silence before he moved. In a whir of vampiric speed he twisted to put himself on top of her on that bench unless she pushed him away.
[12:29] Dinah (dollihead) uttered a quiet laugh "could she do it as a fine red paste? because if i were to, it would be a * sufficiently* high window. if she's so 'well trained', you dont need to 'keep her in line'" she ran her fingertips over the edge of the glass rose.
"Dorian is different. we're twins. we're two halfs of one person, not two people." she rested the rose against her sternum. "I often wonder if I sapped all the rot and dark out of him whilst we were in the womb together. it'd make a lot of sense. it clings so much easier to me than him. violence besides." she tilted her head "I wonder if i had ever thought to count how many people tried to court me before you, and every last one of them had the door slammed in his face. every last one. some of them for no damned reason at all." she sucked in a sharp breath as he moved, shifting the rose from her chest before it got crushed, but she didn't push him away. it'd probably be ill-advised to catapult him through the ceiling.
[12:39] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) looked down at her from behind the slight curl of dark hair hanging from his face. The stare had that predatory edge to it his eyes took before a feeding but he made no move to bite her neck. "A *part* of you. So integral to yourself you consider each other one and the same. And what of the rest of you? Given away to gods that will do with you as they please. What is left for the rest of us, Dinah?"
He leaned in then, his forehead against hers, his lips a breath from her own. "You taunt me," he spoke at a whisper. "Welcomed me in as lover, as husband, as partner in this eternity of a life we share and yet never will I truly have you, will I?" There was a little flare of anger in his features, a flicker of something deeper than the near-impeccable mask of unperturbed ease he always wore. "I take what I can, when I can as I will never truly, fully have what I want. And I would have you, Dinah Windgrace. I would have all of you had I the power to wrestle you from all the things you've given yourself so easily to."
[12:45] Dinah (dollihead) reached up to the dark curls of his hair, twisting her fingers around them and giving them the smallest tug for a moment before her hand drifted to his cheek "not a consideration, it's a fact. we're two of one. " she murmured. "As for the Gods...they have my soul as *dedication*, sworn to them... Honestly I have no idea as to how or why they linger as they do. there's surprisingly little literature on the matter" she closed her eyes, pressing her brow to his, her arms snaking over his shoulders around the back of his neck.
"sometimes I wonder if that's why you were so interested at all. I've seen how people react to you. even in the old days. Even the people that would claim to loathe you threw themselves at you." she chuckled softly. "Even when it was the interloper. not a single one of them denied you a thing, it seemed like"
[12:53] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) tilted his head to lean in further as she touched him and put her arms around his neck. "I don't take kindly to being denied," he murmured against her ear. There was a whisper of something more in his mind, a brief sense that his statement came out of experiences much to the contrary of his current life. It was quieted quickly and kisses found the side of her neck as if in distraction. Still he refrained from biting, merely resting there against her skin to listen and feel the pulse in her veins.
"I could have forced you then. Either of us could have - he when his psychic abilities were beyond my own, me with the power of compulsion and manipulation of your very blood. I could, I think, *force* you to love me now, to forgive me - but I'm sure you've noticed I've not made any efforts to twist your mind to my wants," he said quietly, his lips moving against the faint bulge of her jugular vein. "Not even a bite and its intoxication. "When you come to me, forgive me, love me - I want it to be with the whole of your mind that remains yours."
[12:59] Dinah (dollihead) buried her face against his chest as he whispered, tightening her sharp little nails against his shoulders. "No, i'd imagine you dont." she agreed. "we have that much in common. you just handle it with so much more decorum than i do" she murmured. Part of her caught onto the flicker of his memory, and she considered pursuing it, but she relented, for now at least. her fingers curled to the nape of his neck instead.
"you could. I'm not terribly strong. never have been. I likely wouldnt have even remembered it. But something stolen has no value compared to something gladly given." she chuckled again when he suggested his capability of forcing her love and she lowered one hand to his field of vision, the twinkling ring from the tanuki on her finger. "I could too." she agreed, tipping her head aside at the lips at her throat.
"i am undecided if I will forgive you. not when we both know it'll happen again, and I wont be made a fool of with the fucking *cattle*, Niles." she said softly. "But if I did not love you, you would not be in here with me right now. As much as it sticks in you that there is much of me denied to you, *you* are the one I chose to marry. the only one."
[13:05] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently): Familiar red coils slid from his back, moving to twine about her body without truly squeezing or grasping. "Decorum? Do I?" he mused as they curled around throat and wrist and torso, ankle and thigh. "I believe I recall a rather frantic evening the last time I felt slighted." He kissed her more hungrily then, the touch of teeth against her skin that still refused to puncture, the roll of hips and the stiffness hidden only by cloth between them against her own. But he pulled back, hovering again over her and looking her in the eye. "And I chose you. And will continue to, whatever you throw at me or throw me through." He leaned down to take her lips in a kiss if she allowed it, fast enough to press the matter to anyone not so entangled with his mind as she was. Dinah was more than able to see the intention coming before it occurred.
[13:11] Dinah (dollihead) laughed, an actual proper laugh rather than something mirthless and dry, and she returned her arms around his shoulders. "you absolutely, most definitely do have more decorum than I do. when was the last time you hit me with a lampshade? or you were put in a glass box?" she smiled at the sensation of the red, winding restraints, of him over her, relaxing against the lounger though she tugged a little at the twist around her wrist..
"even after all this time I think you're just as crazy as I am. or perhaps just masochistic, tolerating me as you do. Gods only knows it's not because you yearn for the domestic life. you're strange, Niles, but I adore you" she lifted her lips towards his as he leaned down towards her, clinging closer to him, tightening her grip at his shoulders.
[13:19] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) smiled widely as she laughed. "I would never dream of throwing a lampshade," he replied and leaned down to nip teasingly at her earlobe before pausing and redirecting to her lower lip to save the poor earring any scuffs from his fangs. "I'd much rather throw your dog." He rested more fully against her again, his hips to her own, all but pinning her to the cushion of the bench beneath them as the red coils tightened their grips in the face of her slight tugging.
"I've not yet been put in a box because *I* have fewer eyes on my well-being, Liebchen. And fewer gods threatening it, I suppose." He braced himself on an elbow and ran a hand up her side, slender fingers curling into and tugging at the knot of cloth that cinched her shirt together on her abdomen. "If you ask me, a touch of masochism is inspiring. The best pains inflicted are the ones you know intimately well, after all."
[13:26] Dinah (dollihead) chuckled, shaking her head, giving him a reproachful look "so cruel to my poor plushie. he is a good boy for me. Next time I shall have to give him wings. or bigger teeth" she wriggled as he settled on her, pressing her face against the chill of his chest.
"I dont even think you would fit properly if you were put in the box. you'd be crushed in there like a bonsai tree" she huffed softly "*my* wellbeing is never in question when i need the glass. I suppose my PR does at least." she muttered sulkily, shifting a little as he tugged at the silken knot.
"so long tolerating me is far from a touch of masochism, darling. I do think I fulfill the qualifier of intimately inflicted pain at least, however"
[13:36] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently): When he felt her face against his chest his body warmed, blood rising in temperature as it circulated in the otherwise dead flesh. It was the least he could do to make the embrace more comfortable. "Perhaps one day you'll have had enough of me to turn me into a small furry handbag," he said with another low chuckle. "And PR is a new but very potent concern these days, isn't it? Wife of mine and apple of the Aethernet. Perhaps we should convince the masses your little gilded cage is a fetish." His fingers tugged until Niles realized the blouse was, in fact, not actually tied together at the front. A little look of consternation crossed his face before he simply settled for tugging the thing *down* instead, attempting to reveal the more sensitive parts of her chest to his advances.
[13:41] Dinah (dollihead) chuckled as she felt his skin warming, and her fingers played at the back of his neck "you dont need to do that. I know you're not alive. you don't have to pretend it" she tilted her head in thought "A furry handbag? you? no, darling. you wouldn't suit being a tiny little pompom of a dog. you are far more a cat than a dog" she made a displeased noise at the notion of PR.
"it's always been a minor concern, i suppose, but back in the day....ugh. I hate that expression. but you know what I mean. the public i would have to behave for would be six people and their widowed aunt. now it's multitudes and honestly I imagine them as far more capricious than the gods are. The gods certainly ask for less pictures of my feet" she chuckled as he argued with her blouse "*dont* rip this one. I *like* this one."
[13:49] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) raised an eyebrow at her. "Developing a fancy for chilled skin, are you?" he asked, the charade of body heat slowly abating. "Although I imagine it could be very... stimulating, in certain areas of the body." The hands that slid under her shirt to push it up her body and over her head were much colder when they couched her skin, leaving the cloth to grab at her waist and steady her. The tendrils of blood released her to aid him in removing the offensive garment and he leaned down, pressing a kiss to her bare sternum. "There's a budget for replacement clothing, dearest," he teased.
One hand moved downward to fiddle with whatever belt and fastens held her pants in place, increasing impatience making the movements rougher despite his natural dexterity. The blood helped there too, coiling in under the waistline of her jeans to seek her out while the clothing still kept his mouth and fingers from her fully. The tendril was thick and warm in contrast to the chill of his hand and lips against her breast, moving against the cloth of her panties and pressing upwards in the hopes that teasing her would prompt her assistance rather than further protest in favor of keeping her clothes intact.
[13:58] Dinah (dollihead) snickered and shook her head "more a fancy for sincerity. we *both* know you're cold, I prefer you as you." she hissed a little at the skim of his cold hands on her skin, but she sighed as his remark of replacement clothing budget.
"I still like that blouse. and we'd not *need* that budget if it didnt keep getting needed" she chuckled, watching him in amusement as he fought with the painted-tight jeans, until she stuttered out a gasp at the question red tendril. She lifted her hips to make it a little easier to try and free herself from them, telekinetically dropping her boots off the end of the lounger too.
[14:06] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) huffed in the face of her amusement. He could *feel* it in her head even if he wasn't at the moment staring at her face. "Hush, you. Much as I do enjoy the look of modern clothing on you it is far, far more difficult to get OFF intact," he argued. With her help and a tug of his hands the jeans pulled down over her hips, revealing what undergarments she had on underneath and the efforts of the tendril that promptly took the liberty of slipping itself behind her underwear instead. It occupied itself with teasing between her lips and resting there so that the natural motions of her body as Niles stripped the jeans off meant she pressed and rocked against it on her own. The doctor himself stayed clothed for the time being but the erection in his pants was visible straining against the material along one inner thigh.
[14:11] Dinah (dollihead) laughed again and pressed a kiss to the top of his head "We met at rather a sartorial sweet spot. no six hours of bustle skirts and corsetry, or whatever the merry hell these things are supposed to be. Far less PVC though" she wriggled as the jeans were tugged down, sucking in another sharp breath at the teasing tendril. She rolled her hips, turning her freed hands to unbuttoning his shirt with far less drama than trying to remove her own clothing.
"are you staying with me tonight?" she asked quietly, her voice soft, almost hopeful as she slipped button after button
[14:18] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently) shifted upwards to make reaching his shirt buttons easier, his lips moving for another kiss. He seemed content to let her take the effort to strip him - another step in the list he kept in his head of declarations of her own wants. The doctor was adamant about not affecting her lust even in that moment, only slightly spurring it on by the teasing of his blood constructs rather than any mental manipulations.
"So long as I'm not thrown from the tower windows," he answered her with a smile against her lips. The tight bite of his fangs spilled his own blood between them, letting it spill into her mouth as he kissed her.
[14:22] Dinah (dollihead) smiled as he lifted, one hand slipping the buttons, the other trailing her fingers down the exposed chest after them.
"only from the tower windows? through the door or wall is still fair game then?" she smiled in reply, kissing him back, her lips smudgy and crimson as she withdrew just a little, just enough to speak.
"I'm still cross with you. And i'm still not sure if I shall forgive you. but I do want you to stay with me." she whispered, her lips moving against his as she pressed them to him again, fingers exploring his bare chest
[14:29] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently): "Jealous rage is such a good look on you," he murmured with a pleased little groan at the feeling of nails against his skin. Emboldened by the taste of blood in their kiss the tendril teasing at her curled to slip inside, not yet thrusting, only seeking to fill her enough to be shy of satisfying. It twisted and ground, pressing upwards to rub against areas that made her body react more strongly than others as Niles finally bent his head to sink his fangs into the side of her neck.
[14:35] Dinah (dollihead) huffed a breathless sound, clenching her fingers against his bared skin "you shouldn't encourage it. you'll end up in the pool again. I don't want that even if you *will* come back" she murmured against his shoulder, uttering a soft noise as the tendril ventured inside her. She tipped her head, baring her throat to the press of his teeth, winding her arms around his shoulders again with a shiver and a sigh. "we should move off this stupid bloody lounger" she murmured, her words a whisper, trying to not move "your legs will be hanging over the edge"
[14:51] Niles Roesler (ohsoincoherently): "I don't think it's a question of if," he corrected once her body had begun its swift regeneration of the wound. "But what shape I'll return in. Who knows? He could turn out to be even more of a cad." He pushed himself up to arms' length as she protested their location, sitting up before bending to scoop her up and carry her against his front. Rather than slip away the tendril stayed firmly where it was, plunged deep and driven deeper still by the shift in position. Rather than take her to the bed he stepped up onto the small platform of the bay window and pinned her up against the glass, pressing against her as his blood did the rest of the work on undoing his pants. "Let's give your PR team something more interesting to fret over than gilded cages," he whispered against her lips, capturing them again before replacing the tendril with something that promised not to leave her empty again until they were both sated, exhausted, or some combination of the two.