Open | You think you're safe without a care...

[rollstoseduce]

Who: Jaskier rollstoseduce
What: New arrival tries to understand the city and tries to rescue a kitty
When: Last week of June
Where: Central city
Notes: Using this log to move Jaskier's arrival TDM prompts and organize closed threads. If you want to plot anything more specific, feel free to hit my intro comment!

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[rollstoseduce]

[For once, Jaskier is patient, worrying his lower lip not to give it all away by laughing. Yennefer's face is a thing of beauty, and not for the usual pretty reasons - her reaction is simply priceless, and Jaskier wonders if he should be recording this.

...wait. Perhaps not. With an exaggerated, dramatic gasp, Jaskier takes on full offense mode, a hand on his waist and the other wagging his finger at her.]

EXCUSE ME?! I've got the right to power as anyone else! For what, she asks! As if sorcerers didn't spend their chaos time being pretty in court! Waste of resources, that's what it is! I won't stand for this slander-- [He steps backs to leave more room between them since his dramatics need the space, and his feet bump against the shopping bags he dropped before. This gives him an idea, and boy, it's so hard not to grin like the little shit he is. Instead, he covers it with a huff.] Just for that, I should leave you here alone with no explanations or guidance at all!

[Then he starts picking up his bags, pretending he's done with her. As he "works", he sings a little tune Yennefer may recognize - it's an old song from the Continent that the kids like to sing. A little comic jig about a crab that wanted to be warm in winter and had a swim in thermal waters, accidentally boiling itself.

It's silly. Childish. Overdone, really.

But Yennefer will still feel an unavoidable urge to laugh a lot anyway.]

[choicely]

[ For once, he's not wholly incorrect — the dramatic reaction for additional effect might be negating some of its overall impact, but as someone who has been fed up with the oversight the Brotherhood felt compelled to assert over just about every political situation for going on decades now, Yennefer does feel somewhat justified in her own perspective now. Not that she'll admit as much, mostly because Jaskier hardly leaves her space to get a word in edgewise during his declarations.

She hardly expects that he's going to simply pick up his belongings — whatever's in those bags, at least — and leave her without any further preamble, so her first instinct is to merely stand still, watching him with a steady expression. She won't be the first one to break, and more often than not, fixing a relatively unblinking look on him tends to be enough to crumble his remaining resolves. Or so she thinks.

The laugh bubbles up in her unexpectedly through her firm press of lips, a visible dimple appearing in her cheek; the rest of her expression is partly horrified, eyes widening as she experiences a myriad of emotions at once in the uncontrollable need to laugh paired with the realization that whatever he's doing is the direct cause of it, and he's wielding it against her now. ]

Alright, enough. [ She's chuckling, though, as she reaches out to still him with a hand, fingers curving around his arm before she moves to block his path herself, but then her tone becomes more insistent through the laughter, her gaze narrowing slightly. ] Enough, you've made your point.

[rollstoseduce]

[The horrified expression together with the laughter makes for a priceless view, and Jaskier once again wonders if he should be recording this, or at least take a picture. He realizes then that he's never seen her laugh like this, which to be fair, shouldn't be surprising because they used to fight a lot and the last few months of friendship were nice but still contextualized by hell. And isn't it fucked up? That he's seen her at her worst but not just... genuinely happy?

Did Geralt ever see her like this? Their relationship has always been so weird, he doesn't know if he should be able to qualify any of their moments as genuinely happy even if he left whenever they found a room.

She looks rather pretty with such a carefree smile on her face, and even if he forced it out with magic, Jaskier is glad he gets to see it. If Geralt hasn't, well - not gonna lie, that would be a bonus. And isn't that an extremely petty thought? Better not examine that too closely.

Her request provides the perfect distraction, and he pretends to think about it for a moment before he finally stops singing. As soon as the last note ends, so does the magic, and Jaskier can't stop grinning.]

It's bardic magic. I can cast with my singing, and keep it going with an instrument. I suppose- [His tone makes it sound like he's making a sacrifice and big effort to concede a point, but it's all obviously part of their song and dance.] --I should thank you in some way for confirming I can use it on other magical people too. [He attempts to move his hands but they're kind of busy with bags, oops.]--riiiight. Just a second.

[He rushes two doors down the hallway to reach his own room, but he doesn't disappear for long: it takes him seconds to just throw the bags in the bed and grab a chocolate bar from the table that he's already breaking by the time he comes out.]

Sooo~ I'm guessing this is your first time exploring? Oh, Yennefer, you've been missing out. [He pushes a piece of chocolate into her mouth with a wink and it isn't until his calloused fingertips touch her lips that he realizes he's slowly becoming so comfortable around her that he's treating her as if he would treat Geralt. Again, not something he should be examining now. Not sober. Perhaps not ever. He quickly pulls back as he clears his voice and moves to stand by her side, offering his arm after some hesitation. Fuck it, he's been lonely, no need to think when he can just act.] I believe some dining, learning and shopping are in order. Shall we?

[choicely]

[ It wouldn't be entirely accurate to refer to this as genuine, not when half of her face is contorted into a look that indicates she's considering at least five different things she wants to do to him in retaliation, and none of them are likely a positive experience to be on the receiving end of.

But what's even stranger is that she doesn't feel entirely enraged by the thought of being manipulated beyond her ability to stop it — there have been instances where having her self-control removed from her person, or a change enacted outside of her will, would have driven her to seek reprisal on her own behalf almost instantly. This, by comparison, is nothing so restrictive, but she does have the sense to look somewhat annoyed when he suddenly darts away from her, disappearing down the corridor and turning into a room that she can only presume is his own before reemerging with something in hand. ]

What reason could you possibly have for needing to use — [ The rest of her retort, even emitted through chuckles, ends on a sudden gulping sound as he suddenly pushes something in between her lips, the taste rich and almost instantaneously melting over her tongue. Her first instinct would have been to spit it out solely because he should know better than to put things in her mouth without asking, but then her senses actually perceive the taste of it and she finishes chewing it quietly, eyes narrowing before she's finally able to swallow. ]

I did some exploring on my own already. [ But it's an empty excuse as she initially considers brushing past his arm and striding down the hallway in the direction of the closest exit, leaving it up to him to follow; only on second thought does she agree to take his arm, hauling him against her with perhaps a bit more pinching force than is absolutely necessary and barely waiting for him to yelp before leaning into his space. ]

Just because I left my knife up in the room doesn't mean I can't summon a new one. [ That's an empty threat, given that the blade in question doesn't exist; it hadn't come through with her, the only dress she's wearing and the pendant around her neck what little possessions she actually owns, but she does like to see how much fear she can inspire in him as more of a call back to old times, especially if he has any future designs about using her as a confirmation subject for his own abilities again. She's already dreading what he might subject her to next, even as her eyes search his before she starts to lead them both down the hall herself. ]

What was that, anyway? [ The sweet item he'd just fed to her; she'd barely been able to get a good look at it before it had gone into her mouth. ]

[rollstoseduce]

[The fact she doesn't retaliate doesn't go unnoticed - that's the reason why Jaskier dares to offer his arm at all. He's getting more daring, he realizes, after she barely meant the way she slapped his shoulder back in Oxenfurt... like it happened with the feeding, a comparison to Geralt comes to mind. Is he learning to read her? That's interesting. Perhaps a little scary too. And something he definitely doesn't want to think about sober.]

Because not every magic user is a good gu-- oi! [Jaskier yelps as she expected, although it mostly comes from his constant need to be dramatic. Some pinching is barely an annoyance, and he can tell her threat is as empty as they come. Putting up the offended act helps him hide how smug he feels about her accepting his arm and the fact he knows she won't hurt him - saying so aloud won't be appreciated, he thinks.] You're taking this personally when all I meant was a little prank between-- [Wait.] You know. [Friends, he's supposed to say, and he's never been shy of using that word around Geralt, yet it feels weird to use it for them. Sweet, sweet irony! Jaskier shrugs, trying to make it look as if it wasn't a big deal.] Wolf babysitters.

[...smooth, Jaskier. Really smooth.

He may be the one that offered his arm and a tour yet she's the one guiding them down the hall - it isn't surprising, really, even if she's smaller than him, she's always had the power to command a room. Besides, he doesn't mind a woman in control, it's just he's never been so casually on her radar before, at least not without some shit going on (see: Oxenfurt and Kaer Morhen). Dodging the word doesn't mean he isn't aware they pretty much started a friendship, and it's different to actually act on it without the world about to end around them. Almost... cute, he realizes with a little smile on his face. Oh, she'd kill him for that thought.

(Or would she? Fuck, her presence has no right to be this grounding.)

At the question, he takes out the chocolate bar from his pocket.] They call it "chocolate", it's made from a bean. They make these bars- [After getting a piece for himself, he passes the bar to her.] -sometimes mixed with nuts, jam or cookies, but they also melt it or make powder to use in sweet and pastries. If it isn't the most exquisite thing you've ever tasted, I'll eat my own bloody hat. [It sounds like an exaggeration (he is prone to hyperbole after all) but he actually means it.] Everything here tastes so much richer, even the foods we already know from our realm. That chilly box in your room? Have you used it? Because cold ale is an euphoric experience. [He suddenly remembers something and he chuckles before leaning in to speak lowly near her ear.] They even make edible smallclothes!

[As usual, the horny bard has priorities.]

[choicely]

[ Once she has Jaskier pinned against her side, and after giving voice to that initial threat of feigned seriousness, most of the tension in Yennefer drops — but she doesn't necessarily surrender his arm now that she has it, maintaining a relaxed linking between them as they start roaming down the hall, her fingers absently straying across the line of his forearm. It briefly occurs to her to ask whether he has already encountered magic users who assert themselves from the position of evil — or "bad guys," as he'd so succinctly put it — but she's more focused on leading them out of the hotel and toward the lobby, only somewhat breaking stride as he passes the chocolate bar to her after securing a smaller piece off the whole for himself. ]

So it's a confection of some kind. [ She manages to unwrap the bar a little more even with her arm loosely threaded through his, though rather than use her fingers to snap off a smaller section, she takes a definitive bite directly from it, finding that she's able to do so easily. She might not be able to eat a substantial amount of this, she thinks, without feeling sick to her stomach — it is rich, richer than a lot of things on the Continent, so leave it to Jaskier to have discovered it almost immediately.

She finds that compared to his professions, she's fine with simply walking and letting him be the one mostly responsible for filling any silence — he's someone she can count on for that — but it does prove a lot of information for her to take in, especially that last part, and she doesn't recoil so much as start backward when he whispers it in her ear. ]

What possible reason could anyone have for purchasing something like that? [ A beat, as her gaze drifts over to him. ] Don't tell me you've already bought some.

[rollstoseduce]

[It's not a question, but he still replies with a yep, exaggerating the p-sound just for the sake of it. Yennefer takes control of their walk but lets Jaskier talk to his heart's content, not even making an annoyed face, and he can't even begin to explain how much he appreciates it. To be fair, he's dumping information she doesn't have, and she may find that useful - who knows how she may react to his mindless kind of babbling while they're shopping.

And isn't that a thought? He's going shopping with motherfucking Yennefer of Vengerberg, who would've thought? As far as he knows, she has a taste for fine things just like him, so he's actually curious to see if she makes a better shopping buddy than Geralt. (Although at least the witcher always made for a great bag carrier.)

Her actual question comes right before they cross the hotel door, so when Jaskier laughs, he does it in the middle of the street, getting the attention of some passerbys. Not that he cares, he loves attention.]

Considering the context of our first meeting-- [He waggles his eyebrows.] I wouldn't have thought I had to explain to you the use of such thing. For the record, I have not purchased some - curious as I may be, I need to consider the pros and cons of putting sticky sugar against my hair.

[He wiggles his fingers in front of his bit of exposed chest to indicate his body hair, implying he's hairy everywhere without having to get crass. ...and speaking of crass...]

I have purchased other special paraphernalia, if you catch my meaning. [Wink~] They have whole stores dedicated to it. This society of theirs is far from conservative - it beats even the most modern thinkers I met in Oxenfurt. [And you don't get wilder than Oxenfurt, really. To prove his point, he guides their walk towards a clothing shop with summer outfits on display. There are short skirts and bikinis, and even if he's been here a month, he still looks at them with awe.] Sometimes I wonder how much of these designs is inspired by freedom and how much comes from just good old horniness.

[choicely]

No one was making use of edible undergarments in Rinde. [ In fact, if memory serves, there were little to no pairs of underwear still present on the day in question, since most of the people in attendance had parted ways with those layers long before. His direct gesturing to the exposure of chest created by the cut of his shirt does succeed in briefly drawing her attention to said area, though she quickly diverts her gaze outward in front of them, especially since she has the opportunity to turn her focus to alternate sights.

It's enough to lead her view away from him, although she hasn't abandoned the clutch of his arm, keeping them linked together under the guise of wanting to keep him from wandering off should he become too distracted — which, given her longtime knowledge of Jaskier, isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Of course, her eyes snap back to his profile as soon as he makes mention of having procured other items from clothing, squinting at him until the implication of what he's getting at dawns over her. ]

It's a wholly different sphere, of course they'd be changed from — [ When he stops in front of the display of garments in the window, she lingers at his side, eyes perusing over it as he continues. ] Sometimes the two often go hand-in-hand, what people pursue when they're given the utmost freedom to do so.