Private ✪ Finweald Escort

[Asher]

you are a weapon and weapons. don't. weep

Rael's words fade into the ether and Asher steps cautiously over the room's threshold, his crimson eyes darting around as he takes in...everything. The two beds, the fireplace, and the room divider; it was grander than anything he'd slept in before. Granted, he never spent the extra coin for something outstanding. He only needed the bare minimum to survive and sometimes he felt guilty even taking that.

His eyes land on her and he gives a nod before he even attempts to talk, his arms hanging limply at his sides. "Rael, this is...amazing," he says quietly, almost reverently. And he gestures to the room at large with a sweep of one of his hands. "I...even the little board." He clicks his tongue with a small chuckle. "You've thought of everything. I mean, I hadn't even considered..."

Because why would he? Asher was under the impression that this thing between them would eventually end, that someone would come along and be better, more useful, perhaps even softer than he ever could be. And she would leave with them...which was completely fine! If that was what she wanted to do, he was not going to stop her. After all, her happiness—her ability to play and wake up—superseded everything.

"Our very own headquarters," he repeats with a grin. "If I start making a mess of things or if I'm a shitty roommate, don't be afraid to tell me. I've...it's been a long time since I've lived with anyone. I'm a little set in my ways."

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[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

"I will do my best to try and write when I might not come, the reason, and when to expect me back," Rael continues to explain everything's purpose, particularly the board that he seems fixated on. The Storyteller didn't make promises she couldn't keep. "I expect the same from you, so we don't worry when we don't know about each other's whereabouts."

The pause, the redirecting his attention elsewhere, is in truth meant to hide the way her skin tingles with a certain kind of anticipation beneath her cool demeanor.

Joy colors his face and joy is charged with hesitant step after hesitant step he takes in, the tension in her shoulders disappearing with his warm reception of her gift.

But if he's not to make himself at home, then she seizes that as an opportunity, too.

In the span of seconds, she crosses the room and makes herself at home on the bed closest both to the window and the bathtub, seated by the edge of the bed where she may continue watching him as he takes their new living quarters in.

"We can learn. I don't think I make for a particularly good companion either but I have never lived with anyone else. I just... Thought, no - knew I didn't want you to think you were alone anymore. I see the anxiety in you whenever you come around, and I thought maybe..."

Rael waves a hand in dismissal, forgoing the rest of the explanation. He would know his heart best.

---

@Asher​

 

[Asher]

you are a weapon and weapons. don't. weep

Similar in manner to the way that Rael focuses on the board, so too does Asher's gaze zero in on it. He finds himself nodding to her explanation and then smirking at her expectation. "Of course," he tells her, "I doubt I'd go anywhere without you, to be perfectly honest, but if an event pops up and you're not here, I'll leave word. Always."

He doesn't say it, but there is a promise locked away behind his words. He would never leave her to worry about his well-being if he didn't have to.

Rael sits on the bed closest to the window and Asher remains standing, his arms crossing over his chest, his gaze still tumbling around the room. It felt surreal, to have a space that was his and that he willingly shared with another person.

"Was this expensive?" he finds himself asking as he cocks his head to the side, his brows dropping in mild worry. "I can help with the bill, Rael, I don't mind. And...The system knows I make enough money going around and doing quests, helping the Landers, and such. If we're sharing this headquarters," and another boyish grin tugs at his lips, "we should split the cost."

The grin he was supporting falters at her words and his eyes coast from staring directly at her to the corner of the bed upon which she sat. Tension manifests in his shoulders as they lift in a controlled shrug while he clears his throat. "You didn't...have to do all this for me, Rael. Honestly. I'm okay. I've—I appreciate it, but I don't want you to feel as if this is...necessary..."

Conveniently, he doesn't say anything about her apt insinuation of his loneliness.

---

[ @Rael ]​

 

[Rael]

.

To her surprise, he shows neither apprehension nor even a mild distaste for the idea of living together. He acclimates to the new circumstance easily, surpassing her expectations when he lets the shock subside in order to regale her with a window into their future.

The smile that lovingly blooms across her face in response to it is enough of a show of appreciation to his spirit.

"Yes, it was," Rael answers him, breathless in how the truth tumbles out of her in a bout of mild laughter, not one to hide behind lies when it is just the two of them. Her astounding lack of sense for finances would be a known fact for him, as would be how often she could be persuaded into less-than-favorable deals or paying absurd prices for mundane commodities in-game without batting an eye.

"It is given to me with a heavy discount, or so I am told," she informs, because she would not know otherwise. "That I, for a time, work in the tavern downstairs since it would help attract customers. I already bring enough of my own by hosting my interviews here, but... Our meals aren't covered, so we should still look to split costs. I hope it isn't too much for you."

Asher ties himself up with apprehensions that would not go unnoticed, and for all the gratitude that seeps into his tone, it all falls upon deaf ears when it goes by the hands of his own dismissal of his feelings. Her hand raises in the space between, palm turned to him so she may interrupt him. "And if it was necessary, would it be a bad thing?"

"Pride I would understand, and to some degree, ego as well - but do not chase me out because you fear imposing or some such. I do this willingly, because it is something I can provide that I thought you needed and would make you happy, and that's... That is all I thought of doing when I signed."

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@Asher​