middaeg | june catch-all; quests and more

Entry tags:

june catch-all; quests and more

Who: Yako Katsuragi + Others (TBD)
When: Throughout ~~June~~ Iuneril
Where: All over Aefenglom.
What: Your friendly neighborhood catch-all.
Warnings: TBD

[ I'll just be using this log for various individual top-levels and custom starters through the month and add them below as I go!. I write in prose because that's what I'm used to, but I can adjust to match. ]

1. Do it with Class

Although it's her second month here, Yako still hasn't made that much progress as far as spellcasting goes. The best progress she's made thus far is in enchantment, though for the most part, she's only practiced enchanting food and doesn't have much in the way of combat applications.

In Abjuration class, she looks a bit nervous when she's paired up with someone, giving them a sheepish look as she readies her focus.

"So, ah, do you want to practice blocking first, or should I?"

In Divination class, her fingers are covered with specks of pale yellow light, but when she shakes them off her fingers, they only drift down lazily onto the ground instead of pointing in any particular direction -- certainly not leading towards whatever hidden object they're supposed to be looking for. She sighs, shaking her head and glancing up at whoever's nearby.

"No good ... I can't get the spell to focus right. How about you? Any luck?"

It's in Transmutation class that she finds a surprising bit of luck: as she concentrates on the shattered teacup in front of her on the table, the pinpricks of light that seem to be her signature magic alighting on the ceramic, some of the pieces of shattered porcelain suddenly snap together in front of her, making her jump and lose concentration -- and it falls apart all over again. Still, she's elated.

"Did you see that?!"

Alternatively, you might catch her after classes end, holding a tray of various baked goods and a clipboard by a doorway. If you make the mistake of making eye contact or even coming too close, she'll perk up and step over.

"Excuse me, but would you mind trying one of these enchanted pastries and rating them? Um, the effects are temporary and nothing bad, I promise -- I just need to know how effective they are."

2. Lost in a Good Book

Early in the month, Yako can be easily found in Undermael College, sitting at one of the tables with a book open in front of her and some scattered notes scrawled all over in a girlishly rounded script. Some of it is information on basic spells and invocations taught in the Coven classes, but there's also a roughly doodled sketch of some kind of globe on one corner, and she seems to be intent on her work ... so much so that she's muttering under her breath.

Those close enough or possessed of keener hearing might catch something about 'leylines' or 'divination' or, more perplexingly perhaps, something about the ideal ratio of dry to wet ingredients ... but either way, as quiet as she may be trying to make it, it's a little bit disruptive.

3. Wiped Out

Closer towards the evenings, though, will see Yako straight up passed out on top of her work, pen beginning to leave a growing ink-stain on paper as she snores softly. Will you wake her up kindly and send her on her way, or be a bit more rude?

4. How Does Your Garden Grow?

In the Shopping District, Yako can be found intently browsing through a selection of ... plants? She hasn't picked up any from the shelves and planters yet, but she seems to be quite serious about looking through them -- so much so that she doesn't realize there's someone right beside her.

"Oh, sorry -- I didn't mean to get in your way. I'm having a hard time deciding what I should get for the garden."

???. Wildcard

[ None of these work for you? Want to write your own starter? Hit me up on the CR Meme, let's make something happen. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Considering how much Konoe loves his kuim, conjured or not, that really says something about the direness of the situation that he doesn’t have the appetite for it. With some of the immediate effects of the spiced drink growing weaker at last, Yako grows aware of another, familiar familiar rising in her that isn’t just giddiness. ]

Hey, Konoe? [ That’s as far as she gets before her stomach lets out an inelegant rumble that even human ears wouldn’t have trouble picking out, and her cheeks pinken slightly but she forges ahead. ]

Can we take a break for a minute? I’m getting, uh ... hungry.

[The stomach rumble may not be elegant, but it's at least enough to distract him from the general misery he's feeling. He sighs, more at himself than at her.]

Okay. I didn't bring anything proper to eat, though.

[There's the kuim, sure, but it's conjured, and hence not likely to fill anyone up. He goes to grab it anyway, just because he has nothing else to offer.]

Let's sit?

Oh, don’t worry about that. I did.

[ Though Yako will wait until she’s comfortably seated, skirts pooled around her, before she seems to reach right into the fabric and draw out a modest (if slightly squashed) feast of fruit, pastries, and even a slender bottle of what a sniff and sip will reveal to be some kind of spiced cider.

As impressive as it is that she’s fit that much under her skirts, what’s even more amazing is that she’s walked around with these the whole time. Yako looks at the spread with satisfaction, then gives Konoe a sheepish grin. ]

I couldn’t turn down the free food, even if it is enchanted. You don’t have to have any if you don’t want to, but uh, I’ll probably eat this all if you don’t...

.....

[What -... Konoe is not an expert on Aefenglom's feminine fashion, but seriously, how?!

Actually, no. This is Yako. Whatever benefits the fashion offers or doesn't offer, Konoe is sure she'd find a way.]

What kind of blackmail is that supposed to be?!

[Seriously, what a way to bully him into eating! He is pretty hungry, but he's also pretty sure that both of them getting all weird due to enchanted food isn't going to help them get through this maze in their lifetime.]

I wonder if I could undo the enchantment...?

[Hey - that's a brilliant plan! He's been practicing all sorts of protection-oriented spells; he can totally make the food at least a little safer!
... Or the spell could backfire because it's that time of month, and any enchantment will only get stronger. You know. But Konoe assumes that it can't hurt to try, so try he does.]

It’s not supposed to be blackmail!

[ She’s just telling the truth, okay?! She already had enchanted food once and she didn’t die from it, and enough of it lingers in her system to feel little shame giving into that animal desire for sustenance. The protest comes too late to prevent Konoe from casting his spell. There’s no fanfare to accompany it, though the thread of his magic lingers in the air to make it clear something was used, and Yako looks at the food like she’s expecting something to happen ... though nothing does. It’s not as though a little sign is going to pop up declare it safe to eat, now. ]

Well... only one way to find out. [ She reaches out to break off a piece off a meat pie, popping it into her mouth, and tips her to the side as she chews and swallows. ]

I don’t feel any different.

[ So that means it worked, right? ]

[Konoe's been practicing all kinds of protective spells a lot, but this one is a little different and more complicated than most, so he's not entirely sure he's made it work, even apart from the issues the full moon offers... but apparently it works? He's not that fond of using Yako as a guinea pig, but she's already affected, so at least there's no harm done if the food's still enchanted...]

Really?

[He tries a bit of the same meat pie, which is absolutely delicious, and -]

It's true...

[He doesn't feel any different, either! Look at him, being a badass, powerful witch!

A little pleased with himself - but honestly more relieved than proud - he happily digs into the food. As long as they're stuck here for the moment, a little picnic isn't so bad!]

[ When Yako’s the one you’re sharing food with, it never tends to last very long, but she’s considerate enough to take Konoe’s own preferences in mind and leave the fruitier selections alone. Without glasses, they’ll have to share the cider-like drink directly from its bottle ; whether Konoe accepts or refuses, that disappears quickly as well, spirited off to the bottomless pit that is Yako’s appetite. Even the enchanted kuim gets consumed along the way, as a way of cleansing her palate before moving on to the sticky business of dessert.

After a while of eating in companionable mostly-silence, it comes down to the last piece being some kind of spiced fruit tart, the glaze of sugar on it promising to be sweet and refreshing. Careful not to get her fingers stickier than necessary, Yako breaks it in half, offering Konoe a piece. ]

Here’s to finding our way out of here, right?

[ And with that, she bites into the tart. Even with her iron stomach, the sudden warmth that fills her is startling, like when she messed up the enchantment on some bread and ended up a sweaty, overheated mess it took an hour in the bathtub to soothe. This feels different, though. She doesn’t want to crawl into a tub of water and cool down. She wants...

Her gaze turns to Konoe and she blinks slowly, like someone struggling to keep their eyes open. ]

Konoe ... [ She was going to say more than that, she’s sure of it, but that ends up being all that she gets out as she reaches over to him impulsively, resting a hand on his shoulder. The contact comes with a shockingly sharp sense of relief. Of course, this was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To be closer. ]

Edited 2019-07-01 20:57 (UTC)

[Konoe may not eat a lot compared to most, but the things Yako brought are indeed a feast, and he eats a fair amount, for him. It helps that it's tasty; it helps, too, that this is a welcome distraction from how they are so miserably lost. But, you know what? Since he clearly made his spell work just now, maybe he can give his homing spell a try! He still hasn't perfected it, but he's clearly doing all right with his magic...]

Yeah!

[He's pretty confident in spite of himself, the food and company - and probably the cider - enough to make him feel good in spite of how he lacks all sense of direction. Digging into his half of the tart, he doesn't even think anything weird about it at first, when he starts feeling awfully warm. It was the same with that cider, and that was fine.

But this is different, he realizes too late. Everything feels warm, and while he does even worse than Yako in identifying that strange, new need for contact, it's easy enough to give in to, when she touches him. Having only a pretty limited body language vocabulary for these things, he uses one of the few options he knows, and nudges her shoulder with his head, lightly purring.]

[ As Konoe presses against her, any lingering worries dissolve and Yako laughs brightly, giddy all over again, and lets a hand come up to rest in his hair, petting it rather more heavily than she normally might. ]

That tickles. [ She tells him, but she doesn’t move away, the sound rumbling through his chest and throat startling another laugh out of her. The hand that isn’t in his hair runs over his shoulder and across his upper back almost distractedly, nails scratching lightly at his back over cloth. They’re liable to fall over if they don’t find a more stable position soon, but it’s not like gravity is high on Yako’s list of priorities right now. ]

So let it tickle.

[That's probably not the nicest thing to say, but he doesn't mean it quite as rudely as it comes out. It feels good, to touch and be touched. Because it feels good, minor inconveniences like tickling should really be accepted as they are.

Closing his eyes and twisting his body a bit to lean into her touch, he presses in harder - and suddenly finds himself without the counter-pressure he'd been counting on, tumbling to the ground. Whether he pushed her over, falling to the ground with her support disappearing, or if he was stupidly mindless of his own balance as he tried to shift closer: on the ground he rolls, coming to a halt against one of the hedges that make up the maze.

Immediately he sits up, disoriented but still keeping his priorities straight. He meant to do that. He definitely meant to do that, and no one will be able to tell otherwise.

Even if the leaves in his hair tell a different story.]

[ Yako doesn't have much of an answer of that besides hummed agreement. The tickling doesn't really bother her, after all, and it's an observation more than anything else, one she's not going to let get in the way of ... whatever this is.

Or she wasn't, anyway, up until Konoe shoves in a little too hard -- like a cat insisting on being pet, she thinks, throwing the whole weight of its body behind it. While he ends up sprawling in the dirt, she ends up pushed over flat on her back, similarly disoriented for a dizzying moment where she wonders where all that warm weight went.

And how she can get it back. She pushes herself to sit up, too, blinking at Konoe across the new distance between them, and finding she has to press a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle at his expense. She'll at least make up for it by beckoning him back to her, patting a hand on her lap. ]

Come here, I'll clean you up.

[Somehow, miraculously, he doesn't seem to have it in him to feel ashamed of what happened, or even mildly embarrassed at how she's laughing at him. The only important thing is that she'll touch him again, and he hurries over to get that attention... on all fours. It may not be how he walks, usually, and he's not any more elegant about it than the average human, but he just can't make himself take the time to stand up when he could be closer to her instead. Wouldn't standing up put him at an awkward height distance from her, anyway? (No, being on all fours isn't much better...)

Rushing over the best he can - which isn't very fast, but at least he wasn't that far away from her in the first place - he stays on his knees, one hand on either side of her on the bench. That's... pretty close to her lap. Not that he's not tempted to just rest his head there, but there's also the urge to stretch up as far as he can from this position, putting his face closer to hers. His tail is raised behind him, lightly moving back and forth.]

[ Honestly? It’s a little fun to be taller than Konoe for once. Yako thinks of saying something to that effect, but it seems a little less urgent than reaching out to run a hand over Konoe’s hair a few more times, brushing the worst of the loose leaves off while she rests her other hand on one of his shoulders.

While Konoe’s hovering between putting his head in her lap and leaning up, Yako’s doing some consideration of her own, a fond smile curling her lips and bunching up her flushed cheeks. It takes her a moment to think of what he reminds her of — a cat expectantly waiting for a treat — but seeing as she doesn’t have any treats on hand, she decides on teasing him instead.

Her hands shift to loosely frame his jaw, and she leans down, aiming to plant a close-mouthed kiss on his head, between his ears. Exactly like you can’t resist kissing a cat being cute at you! ]

[He flattens his ears as she leans down - not in anger or anything, but simply to keep them out of the way. When her lips make contact, he's purring again, so very happy to be touched like this.

But it's not enough to just receive attention. Besides: he really needs to get closer to her!

While he hates interrupting the moment, sooner or later he has to end it if it hasn't already: he finally stands up to get back on the bench with her. Sitting normally is an inconvenience, forcing him to twist his body; he doesn't want to go through that again! Instead, he settles with one leg on either side of the bench so he can lean in nice and close, with far less risk of falling off. He nuzzles at her neck, at her jaw. She smells nice, he thinks, and he's not sure what about her scent he even likes, except that it's hers.]

[ It's too bad his ears flick away; she was half-considering nuzzling against them next, in a distracted kind of way, but she ends up just lingering there with her mouth pressed to the top of his head, feeling the content simmering in her just from being close like this. It's almost like being temporarily Bonded, except the only feelings she has are her own, not borrowing Konoe's besides hers ... but she's almost sure he feels the same way, too.

There's a soft noise of protest, briefly, as he stands and moves away, but it's quickly stifled as he rearranges himself to get closer instead, caging her in. Dizzily, she tips her head back to give him room to nuzzle in, her heartbeat fluttering frantically under his attentions, even through thin cotton -- which somewhat gets in the way of Konoe's attentions, buttoned halfway up her neck as it is. If anything, though, the contrast between where they're pressed skin to skin and where they aren't just gets her warmer under the collar. She finds herself reaching out to rest her hands on him to ground herself: one curling around a bicep, one on his waist.

It's not as if she's forgotten for even a moment that Konoe's a man, but something warm in her stirs at the contact, at feeling how much broader he actually is than her hands can comfortably hold. It brings even more of a flush to her face, her neck, even as a soft gasp slips past her lips.

And just in case that could be mistaken for anything but positive... her hands tighten on him briefly and relax, her breath running over his ear as she murmurs. ]

Keep ... doing that.

[Konoe should probably feel worried at that gasp; he should be a lot more cautious and considerate in general. But right now, the only thing he can think of is how good this feels, how good she smells, how every pore in his body seems to be screaming for more. If she told him to stop, he'd be disappointed, but he would absolutely listen. Short of that, though? Nothing could make him even consider stopping.

And she doesn't tell him to stop. In fact, she does the exact opposite, encouraging him further, and he's all too eager to obey. His ear flicks at that touch of breath, churning up his thoughts. Trying to press against her a little more, because anything but full-body contact is absolutely unbearable, he keeps nuzzling at what skin he can reach, and then he pokes out his tongue for a little lick.]

[ Lucky for Konoe, Yako isn't at all inclined to tell him to stop. She isn't naive -- with the purposefulness he's moving with, the heat under her skin, there's only one conclusion this could be leading tohat she lacks in personal experience she assuredly has gotten more than a few colorful stories from her high school friends. But every time she struggles to grasp for some rational reason to push him away, all he has to do is shift his weight and she loses that train of thought again.

When she first feels the damp touch against her skin, it's so light that it's confusing. Is Konoe crying? She cranes her head to try to see (no easy feat when they're pressed so close) but when it finally clicks what it must be ...

She doesn't anticipate the way it sends a thrum of delight right through her, or the way that and how he pushes against her makes her grip on him slip as she loses coordination. In trying to find another place to put her hands, she instinctively places one at the small of Konoe's back. It's a motion that would have worked perfectly fine on most people, only Yako forgot to account for Konoe having a tail, and her fingertips clumsily slide against the grain of the fur. ]

Edited 2019-07-06 12:06 (UTC)

[Konoe definitely is naive, in a way. He knows about mating, technically, but that knowledge is purely technical, and barely there even so. He's never even considered what might inspire people to mate, nor has he ever felt much in the way of desire. Sexual desire to this level? He can't even identify it in himself, now that it's happening. All he knows is the need to touch and be touched, the intense desire to be close.

Nuzzling up her jaw, he's honestly happy with minimal touching in return: it encourages him to try harder himself, as if just touching her enough is bound to provoke a response. And it does... but not in the way he'd been hoping for.]

Ah!

[The reaction is neither entirely good nor wholly bad, but definitely leaning more towards the latter. The feeling is so intense and wrong that it almost hurts, like touching raw nerves no matter how gently, and he pushes forward, further up against her, as he instinctively tries to get away from it.]

[ The way that Konoe moves up against her so suddenly catches Yako off guard, but it does have the desired effect Konoe was looking for -- Yako's fingers pull away from his tail as her hands come off him, suddenly not sure about touching him at all despite how good it had felt (and still feels, if she's being honest, where he's all but straddling her). ]

Sorry! [ She looks up at him, cheeks flushed both from embarrassment and what he's been doing to her for the past few minutes, concern for a friend temporarily overriding instincts for now. ] Did I hurt you?

[While Konoe's groove has definitely been thrown off, his instincts are still going strong. It's a strange experience, wanting something without wanting it. He's used to having opinions and sticking with them: this level of internal conflict is just not something he's used to, and the fact that it's partly magic-inspired, rather than genuinely internal, doesn't help.]

No, it's just...

[Denial is easy, whether true or not; giving a proper answer takes a little longer.]

... Don't go against the fur.

[He should have just told her not to touch his tail at all, really, but "not touching" isn't a concept that he can get behind right now.]

[ Oh ... that makes sense. Yako pauses, hands still held away from Konoe, before she tentatively lowers them again, on his hips. Still, something about how he’d responded means it’s obviously sensitive, and she wonders how much like a cat he really is, a thought that has one hand creeping tentatively across and down his back. ]

Then ... I’m going to touch it again, all right?

[ Hopefully, it will be less of a shock with the warning. Her fingers find the base of his tail again and slowly start to smooth the ruffled fur back flat again, watching his body language to tell her if she needs to stop or not. ]]

[He gives a little hum of agreement, not really thinking ahead too much. He wants to be touched; he doesn't care about the details. The way her hands feel on his hips is already like coming home, somehow; her stroking his back is even better.

Then she moves on to his tail again, and the feeling becomes overwhelming. With the fur still ruffled, it's not wholly a good feeling at first, like an itch so intense it borders on pain, but as everything is stroked in the right direction again, the intensity remains, without its negative framework. He almost wants to escape it just for being too much, but he doesn't want to fall off the bench again - and he doesn't really want it to stop, anyway. Instead, he channels his barely-understood urges into nuzzling her again.

If she's going to keep touching the base of his tail, soon enough he'll part his lips to very lightly scrape his teeth over her skin, too.]

[ Yako's cautious on those first few strokes, until Konoe seems to settle, and when he nuzzles into her neck once more, she tips her head to accommodate him again. The way teeth graze against her skin makes her movements still for a second, back arching just slightly, a stronger reaction than the licking earned, but her other hand, splayed on his upper back keeps him from pulling back. It's startling, realizing how much she liked that sensation, for all that she'd never considered it before. Her heartbeat's picked up again, and it feels like a strange state of lucid dreaming ... both perfectly aware of what she's doing, yet seemingly unable to have any kind of self-control about it.

It should be frightening, but it isn't. Under all the heat and lightheadedness, a quiet, calm part of her observes as her hand, of its own volition, palm sliding along the muscle of his back, her other hand resuming gently petting his tail. ]

Konoe... [ She exhales his name lightly, and her hand finishes its course, fingers digging into the curve of his shoulder for a moment. It's partly to enjoy the feeling of him, partly to brace herself to ask the question she probably should have asked before. ] Have you ever ... done this before?

[He hums acknowledgement absentmindedly upon hearing his name, not paying nearly as much attention to her words as to everything he's feeling, both actively and passively. Her stroking the base of his tail makes him feel like she's stroking his entire spine from the inside out - it's that intense, yet somehow still good. It might not have felt good if it was with most anyone else - someone he couldn't trust - but he trusts Yako, even after that minor mishap.

That, and he's just plain desperate to touch and be touched, but, you know...

Even with sensations his main focus by far, her words do sink in, with a small delay. He pulls his lips from her skin - just barely! - and opens eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed.]

No... [He's honestly not sure what, exactly, she's referring to, but he can honestly say that he's never done anything like this. For that matter: he's never been in a mood like this.] ... Have you?

Not exactly. [ Yako admits, truthfully. She's simply never had the opportunity or the inclination for this sort of thing, and while she can't say this has changed her mind about it, the fact that it's with Konoe does make a difference. She turns her head slightly, though they're too close for her to see his face, so all it really does is have the effect of pressing her cheek to his hair, and she can't help but rub her face against it, just once. ]

But humans usually ... [ She trails off. ]

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( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) i guess this thread is officially in Spicy Territory™

👌😼

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