driftfleet | pathstone mingle!!

[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.]

[In an effort to keep him from opening his mouth, Jove slides both hands to the base of Tek's neck and squeezes gently, focusing a little more on the massage part of this and less on the oil application. It's all soaked into their skin by now anyway, so this seems like a good choice to keep him from speaking and ruining the unexpectedly nice moment this is.]

[it's a very smart move.

whatever he'd been considering, whatever words were getting ready to make it from his brain to his mouth, are overridden.

she makes a very convincing argument for why he should keep his mouth shut, so he complies... letting himself succumb to her doting by shutting up and dropping his forehead lightly against her shoulder. he's sick of holding his own head up, and she'll have better leverage this way. it works out for everyone.]

[She's going to have to remember this, that this is all it takes to shut Tek up and keep him docile. It's a secret weapon she would have never expected to be so very effective.

And while one hand does go on working on the muscles of his upper back now that she can reach them easier, the other hand strays up to the back of his head to give his hair an affectionate stroke. If he were anyone else, or if their relationship hadn't been quite so strained in such odd ways, she could see herself dropping a kiss on the crown of his head now that he's resting his own on her shoulder, but that's a line not to be crossed.

Perhaps the next time he leans up against her and lets her help him with his headaches.]

[he is absolutely going to try and ply more doting out of her now that she has demonstrated her skills. she has been marked for sure.

if he'd had any other plans for this visit with his co-captain, they have been postponed. her stroking a hand over his hair really solidifies it. his soft purr fills out into a contented sound that fills his chest now.

he's fine with letting her feel proud of herself, in this case. she has earned it.]

[He really only has himself to blame for not discovering this nurturing side to her before now. Jove gets a lot of pleasure out of helping people and if he had just been willing to let his guard down a little he could have been getting massages and his hair stroked the last few months.

But this is becoming more of an embrace than anything else, and Jove can tell he's probably very close to falling asleep on her. Still stroking his hair and working her fingers against a particularly stubborn knot in his shoulder, she speaks very quietly to him.]

If you'd like to sleep here, I can make sure no one disturbs you.

[ah, and there it is--the return to some of his senses. he stirs a little against her shoulder, now that he's freed from the spell of perfect comfort. she has disturbed the peace now, so he might as well disturb it a little further by answering.

he turns his head on her shoulder so he can speak... though it brings his mouth dangerously close to the skin of her neck. and by the low, heady tone of his voice, that might not be a complete accident.

he matches her quiet tone, just above a murmur.]

Are you going to stay here with me?

[There's no covering up the shiver that he gets out of her when she feels his breath against the side of her neck, the tone of his voice making her hand catch momentarily in his hair.

She does cover that up, though, by tugging very lightly on his hair, an admonishment that probably doesn't do much when she's still trying to be gentle enough to not make his head start hurting even more. She starts to lean away from him, because if he's going to be like that this is certainly entering inappropriate territory.]

I'm not tired enough for a nap, myself. You seemed like you were about to fall asleep any second.

[And the tips of her ears are absolutely not the lightest shade of pink. Absolutely not.]

[he moves one of his arms a little, going from hanging slack in his lap to bracing a hand against the bed, so he can prop up his own weight as she leans away. other than that, he stays right where he is, just as he was, keeping up a lazy smirk that probably has nothing to do with her ears.]

You don't have to sleep.

[Now that there's a bit of space between them, he'll be able to see her roll her eyes.]

You headache must be improving.

It is.

[and then... the universe may be in danger of turning inside out--]

Thank you, for that.

[he's smirking, but it probably still counts for something.]

[She can't help it, when he goes and thanks her Jove has to give him a smile in return for that smirk that would be horribly annoying if he hadn't just been melted against her and purring.]

I was happy to help. Hopefully you'll remember this and come speak to me next time, instead of suffering in anger for weeks.

I will.

[because she has opened Pandora's box with an offer like that, after all.]

...And I still think you should stay.

Good.

[Seriously, pride is only a good thing if you don't let it cripple you.]

Lay down, then. I promise to send away anyone who might come calling on you.

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