February System Mingle

[thespaceopera]

Who: EVERYONE!!!
Broadcast: Possibly
Action: The Shinda BR-10 System
When: The fleet will be in this system from 1/26 to 2/23



Welcome to the Shinda system! There are three explorable planets here - Duotera, Ebrion, and Philias - each with its own current temperature state. Get out there and see the sights - but do please prepare for the extreme weather as necessary!

→ More system info is here!

Comments

[trudge]

It's not, but that won't stop Rowan from continuing to knead his shoulders regardless. A little massage never hurt anyone, right?

"Depends. I'm not usually applying lotion to people's backs, though." If he can discern the tone the other man is attempting to convey then he does not make it obvious, answering as flirtatiously as he always does.

Lotioning someone up takes all of thirty seconds to do, but Rowan seems to be determined to make it longer while he presses his thumb between Justice's shoulder blades and rubs at a particular spot like he feels a knot. He can get knots right? He's in a human body?? Whatever. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you from the Fleet?"

[whatisright]

There is stress in Justice's back. It hasn't bothered him so far, but suddenly Rowan's hands are breaking it up and he's aware of it in a way he wasn't before. It hurts a little bit, but it's a good hurt.

Justice frowns at the ground when Rowan says he hasn't seen him around. Justice saved his life on the planet before last. Surely he's not that forgettable? It's not as if mortals can forget on demand like he can.

And then he remembers--oh right, mortals use faces to identify each other.

"You have seen me around before. I have simply changed my appearance since we saw each other last." Justice glances over his shoulder, though he doesn't try to disrupt whatever it is Rowan is doing with his hands. "You call me Justice."

[trudge]

Since no objections have been made thus far, Rowan continues. Thumbs work over knotted muscles, pressing just hard enough to try and ease some of the tension there; and he only pauses when he hears the name the other man gives.

"Justice?" he leans forward, around Justice's shoulder so she can get a good look at his face. "Maker's breath, you look — " Hot? "Far less like a corpse than you did when we met. I didn't even recognize you." Obviously. "What made you pick that form? Not that I'm complaining."

[whatisright]

“Riona and Anders chose it for me.” Saying their names stings. He looks away, focusing on Rowan’s hands and the sand under their feet. “Mortals are more at ease with it than my former appearance, though they still stare often.”

He assumes that his inhuman mannerisms just frighten the mortals. It doesn’t occur to him that they may be staring for another reason, especially when he doesn’t have a shirt.

“They stare quiet often here,” he says.

[trudge]

"I'll have to congratulate them on their incredible... body sense." Those aren't the words he wants, but that's what comes out so there you go. Rowan slides his hands down a little — the lotion spread properly along Justice's back and shoulders, but long gone from his own fingers now. He's just going in for the massage.

He chuckles. "I can imagine. Are you aware you are incredibly attractive like that?"

[whatisright]

Justice has no idea what Rowan is doing to his back, but it feels nice, so he's not going to complain about it. "I have been told that mortals find it attractive. I believe that may have been deliberate on their part." Although he doesn't know why Rowan would bring that...

Give him a second.

Aaaaand it clicks. "Wait. Do you believe that is why people are staring?"

[trudge]

"Better than being unattractive. Then again, people would be less inclined to interact with you on a certain level. 'Mortals' can be incredibly fickle, but I'm sure you know that already."

He laughs again, clearly amused by the entire situation. "Absolutely. It's the reason I came over to help, honestly. No one is going to pass up the chance to rub their hands on an attractive man."

[whatisright]

"I see." Huh. "I do not know how I feel about that."

Should he be concerned by the fact that Rowan is only touching him because he is attractive? Justice decides not to be. It is strange, but mortals are strange.

"I suppose that it better than staring at me because they are frightened." Which was more the case with his last form.

[trudge]

"Personally? I'd be flattered. However, if you feel the need to be insulted and offended instead, then by all means." To each their own or whatever. Rowan's probably a bad person to ask honestly.

He chuckles, presses his thumb between Justice's shoulders and rubs a little big harder to get a particularly nasty knot loosened. "True enough. No one will run screaming from you — did they do that before? Or was it more subtle?"

[whatisright]

"I do not know how to feel because this form feels no more mine than a borrowed shirt. It was no whim of nature that gave it to me, but I did not create it myself either." It probably sounds weird to someone who can't change appearance like he can, but it's strange to be treated so differently on something that doesn't feel like him any more than Kristoff's corpse did.

The pressure on the knot pushes a small noise out of him, his head bowing to give Rowan more room to work. This feels surprisingly good. He wonders if more mortals would be willing to do this.

"It was rare that there was screaming. Kristoff's body was not so decomposed that it was immediately obvious that he was dead, at least at first. But people avoided me, both due to the smell and due to the assumption that I was dying from the Blight." Justice tilts his head to the side, frowning at the memory. "The Wardens from Orlais do not take me to populated areas. If Kristoff's body could still pass as living among strangers, I would not know."