driftfleet | pathstone mingle!!

[well, the smirk that he's been keeping up finally loses some power, and he turns his head to answer her question. he doesn't point to the exact spot or anything, but he does tilt his neck as he turns away, so as to show off the raised shape of his augment under his skin behind his ear.]

[And just like that, none of this is very amusing anymore. She reaches up to touch with gentle fingertips, feeling around the augment for any signs of swelling or heat that might signal infection.]

Have you ever heard of these being rejected, or causing any pain?

[as gentle as her touch might be, it still pulls a quiet growl of warning out of him. as touchy and high-strung as he is right now, he can't help it. and he shrugs up his shoulders a bit, trying to fight the skin-crawling sensation, fighting not to pull away from her.]

If I had, or knew anything else about it, I doubt I would be coming to you for dead plants and hot water.

[no offense.]

[She can't exactly hold it against him when he's in pain, though, so it's let go even as he's growling at her. She drops her hand to gently squeeze his shoulder instead, now even more concerned than she had been just moments ago.]

I'll give you something for that, too. It will numb the area, just don't... don't try to drink it.

[She hands over another bottle, this one labeled camphor.]

Oh, poisons don't bother me.

[this is more like it, actually. he actually reaches out for this one voluntarily. he likes the feel of it; he can sense the flavor of its toxicity through the bottle--however slight it is. it's almost enough to distract him from the hand on his shoulder.

almost.

he rolls the little vial around in his fingers for a moment. and the gears in his head turn along with it, triggered by whatever odd little things happen to make them tick. he looks amused, after a minute.]

I laughed, the last time you fed me herbs.

It's not just poisonous, it has other effects you might not welcome with a headache.

[Like raging boners and the urge to merge.]

And you ate them even though you knew they wouldn't do much. You're not a bad patient, all things considered.

[that really would be the very last thing he needs right now. but it's her second comment that really commands his attention.]

See... this is what made me laugh. [pointing at her with the little vial, while he just... has a seat on the edge of her bed, uninvited.]

You're very funny.

Well, they do say laughter is the best medicine.

[But she's pretty sure he's making fun of her, so she's really just going to move straight past all that. She doesn't mind him sitting, really, and she brings the mint oil with her as she sits down beside him.]

You'll want to apply these now, they take a few minutes to really start working.

You're not going to make your poor sick patient tend himself, are you?

[he's daring her, maybe. or just teasing. or something else entirely.

whatever is exactly behind it, being petty probably makes him feel better. so, he just casually sips his tea.]

[Her lips purse, but the expression of mild annoyance is mostly there because she's annoyed at herself. She really should have seen that coming, and it's with a sigh that she unscrews the bottle of mint oil.]

I could never be so cruel. Hold still.

[She tips a bit of oil out onto her fingertip and reaches up to rub it into his temple. It does tingle a little, but nothing uncomfortable.]

[he still squints one eye closed, unused to nerves there being so angry.

and maybe having given her a little preemptive hell for it is what gets him to tolerate the whole thing at all. he has admitted that there's something wrong with him, come very close to admitting that he's concerned about it, is now showing a little bit of weakness with how much it's hurting him... and he still has other things rattling around in his head that he hasn't even mentioned yet. he's got to do something to even out the scales a little bit, after all of that.

he keeps up the smirk for a little bit--because whatever makes her so 'funny' is still tickling him--but even that eventually fades. he has leveled things out enough to allow that one sharp edge to wear down.

because he's tired, he does hurt, and her touch with the oil is maybe beginning to ease that a little bit.]

[She's quite used to being overly concerned about her friends, to being protective and more than happy to go to any means needed to help them, and whether she likes it or not Tek has become a member of her inner circle. She doesn't like to see him in pain, but seeing this docile side to him is perhaps the most distressing part.

He must be in a great deal of pain to actually be asking for her help. Last time he had sneered at her through her trying to find some remedy for what was wrong, but now he'd actively told her his symptoms. He's taking the remedies seriously.

She can hold the vial of oil between her knees and she does, freeing her other hand to gently cup the side of his neck partly to keep him steady. Mostly, it's so she can lightly massage the muscles that connect between his back and neck, trying to loosen some of the tension there to ease the headache even more.]

[with that sort of proximity, she can probably feel the excess of energy he's got seething around inside of him. along with whatever it is that's causing the pain in his head, he's got that same supernatural sickness that he'd had all those months ago. it's been too long since he's shifted, and all of that energy doesn't want to fit in that little human shape of his anymore.

and normally, he'd be set at least a little on edge by this kind of closeness, with how overwound his nerves are. but then she's... rubbing his neck. and he doesn't care so much anymore.

very quickly, his attempts at appearing calm and open turn much more genuine. bit by bit, the tension seems to just kind of melt out of his shoulder and neck.]

[It's a little gratifying to see him finally starting to relax a little because of her, but in a very muted way. She's pleased she can help, glad to do something to see his shoulders relaxing even that tiny bit, but there's no urge to say she told him so or lord this over him as some sort of proof, why he should always listen to her.

Perhaps if he hadn't been feeling so poorly. Perhaps if this wasn't so clearly a sign on trust, one she won't take advantage of.

And she does remember the feeling of all that power radiating from him, but at least this time it's much less distracting when she's trying to take care of him. She can focus on gently sweeping her finger across his brow and using her thumb to rub the mint oil into his skin instead of get drawn in by the heady sensation a mage can be overcome by when they're near a source of magic.

Well, not as drawn in. She's still very aware of it, like a beacon or a flame in the dark, but it's something she can put to the back of her mind. The hand on his neck shifts upwards a little, focusing more on the muscles there and less on his back.]

[it really is a sign of trust, which is maybe another reason he'd been compelled to pick on her first. trusting is one of the weakest things you can be, after all, and that's something he would never leave unbalanced.

however, aligning the scales is the last thing that he's thinking about, currently.

Jove climbs up the nerves of his neck--which sends a chill through his skin to begin with--and then begins to loosen the knot of ache at the base of his skull. his augment and temples might hurt, but the roots of pain all gather right there.

so, as she steps up her doting game, there's a small animal grumble in his throat. not quite a purr, but it's definitely a pleased sound.]

[If she were paying more attention, that might be a sound she recognized from the first time she tended to him, the one that came right before he asked her to sleep with him. But she's too focused on now, on his headache and not getting mint oil in his eyes, so instead of stopping to consider what it means she takes it as a simple noise of contentment and goes about her doting.

Her hands leave him long enough for her to get more oil onto her fingertips, but she goes right back to painting it over the other brow and running it down to his temple. Now that she's working on that side with the oil, her other hand goes back to his neck, but she's much more delicate on that side. She's hesitant to press too hard on the side with the augment, so she starts lower on his neck and doesn't use quiet as much pressure.

It's a gentle petting meant to soothe more than anything else, really, but she'll keep it up until the muscles on that side loosen as well.]

[well, she gets her wish. despite all of his various forms of discomfort, he manages to relax... and with that comes a soft, lazy purr, rolling deep in his chest.

and it's not the same throaty, provocative sound that she's heard before. this one is purely the sound that something like an oversize feline would make when happy.]

[It's very close, but Jove manages to hold back the fond laugh that wants to come when she hears him starting to purr. It's incredibly endearing and just this side of adorable if she's going to be honest about it, but she's certain someone so prideful wouldn't appreciate the laugh or being called cute.

Once she's got the mint rubbed in, she reaches town to tap the hand Tek's got the other vial of oil in.]

I'll need that if you want me to finish.

[his eyes open with a perhaps hilarious sluggishness, and there's a sleepy delay before he glances down to see what she's talking about.

and for once, he doesn't say anything. he just uncurls his fingers.]

[His neck gets an affectionate squeeze when he does as she says, and when she pulls her hands away to open the bottle of camphor and coat the tips of her fingers, she does it swiftly. Really she should be wearing gloves for this, but that would require standing and she really can't be bothered to disturb him when he's relaxed this much. It's likely this is the most comfortable Tek has been the entire month and Jove isn't going to risk being the thing to ruin that. Besides, a few numb fingers won't hurt her any.]

This will be a little more intense, but it should start numbing the area quickly.

[The hand without the camphor gently guides his head to the side so she can see where the augment sits a little better and she wastes no time gently spreading the oil around it, working it as carefully as possible into his skin.]

[that pause is just long enough to allow him time to sense how skewed the scales are getting. the weight is leaning far too much in one direction, and it's beginning to rouse those defensive, paranoid instincts in him.

it's there in his eyes when they peel open to follow her while she switches vials. it's still sleepy, but there's definitely a considering, predatory edge to it as he tracks her movements.

in the end, though, she's quick and convincing enough to cut him off before any snap decisions can be made. while he's still thinking and measuring, she begins to work on the root of what's hurting him... and that makes all of his decisions for him.

all it amounts to in the end, is an uncomfortable growl briefly interrupting the thrum of his purr.]

[To think this man had her worried enough at one point to seek out protection spells for when she let her guard down and went to sleep. There's still danger there, of course, but when she can feel the rumble of him purring under her fingers when she goes back to rubbing his neck the parts of him she should be afraid of seem less scary.

She's never had a cat or spent much time with them, but when she's rubbing camphor oil into his skin with one hand and the last little bit of mint oil into his neck with the other, it's difficult not to make the comparison.

Her fingers are starting to tingle and feel numb, so she can only hope the oil is strong enough to work for him as well. If he has an affinity for toxins it's possible he might be resistant to this, but his human form seems to have all the same pressure points and muscle groupings as any other human. If she has to she'll go for a second application, of course, but it would be nice to keep some feeling in that hand.]

[he's immune to toxins, but everything else about this is soothing enough to make a difference. whether it's the chemical effects of the plants, or just the scents and oils and touch on their own, this is definitely the most comfortable he's been in weeks.

he'd come to her for help, and expected to ply something useful out of her... but even he is surprised by the success of this, and the effort that she's bothering to put into it.

--or, he would be surprised if he was thinking about anything right now. but, he's not. he's somewhere else, just enjoying feeling boneless and maybe something like happy.]

[He feels a bit like jelly in her hands now, loose and relaxed, and Jove can't help but feel that same gratification and pride from earlier. She did this, used nothing but touch and the knowledge of a few plants to leech the pain from him. As far as she can remember, she's never seen Tek looking this way and she's proud to have been the reason for it.

She is a bit concerned that he's going to just flop straight over, though, so she leans towards him a little more so that if he does pitch forward or lose his balance, he'll end up just laying against her. It won't be anything new, really, not when they've spent plenty of nights in the same bed.

Though she is tempted to offer her bed to him, to let him lay down and sleep if he'd like to. She'd even like to have him lay down so she can give him a more thorough massage, be sure every knot and tight muscle has gotten its fair share of attention, but that would require speaking and she doesn't want to break the lull they've fallen into.]

[maybe it's her slight shift in position, or just some raw nerve that she touches near his augment, but something brings him around a bit. maybe he's just worried that he'll slump over where he's sitting; whatever it is, his eyes peel halfway open without warning.

and it takes him a moment, but he focuses on her face--now closer than the last time he'd opened his eyes.

then, there's another one of those hanging, considering moments where he's waking up enough to try to decide what to do. he mercifully hasn't opened his mouth yet and ruined the lull, but the possibility is there.]

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