new orleans ♔ surrounded by familiar faces with no names

[borrowedheaven]

WHO || Desmond Descant, Eterna Jade [Closed]
WHAT || Des agrees to babysit Jade until the concert, which means she's moving in... and he gets a special mission from his serpent pals
WHERE || New Orleans, America
WHEN || Early December (backdated).
HOW || Actionspam.

[ A deal's a deal. Rafael brings Jade back to New Orleans with him, where he very reluctantly drops her off at Des' hotel. When he opens his door, she's leaning against the jam with a tiny bag in hand: no more than a purse. She smiles at him, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. ]

He didn't want to come in.

Comments

[borrowedheaven]

[ her lips curve upwards at his expression, as if she finds it hilarious that she can actually unnerve him. ]

I remember... that I'm not from around here. And I don't mean the Shadow World. [ she looks over at him to see if he gets it ] Something a little more upscale.

[nothingsodivine]

[It's pretty hilarious. He points upwards.] Something a bit more divine? The literal sense, not the overused Southern Baptist "goodness gracious, these biscuits are divine" sense.

[borrowedheaven]

If I say yes, are you gonna be all freaked out?

[nothingsodivine]

You're talking to a guy who counts his birthdays in millenniums.

[Also he already freaked out.]

[borrowedheaven]

Have you heard of the Gates of the Moon? [ knowledge (theology & philosophyyyy you can just ping me with whatchoo roll) ]

[nothingsodivine]

It's a big beautiful dimension ruled by goddesses. [Yeah, let's simplify that, Des.]

[borrowedheaven]

One of whom I call "Mom", for short.

[nothingsodivine]

[Yep. He knew that. He's pretending not to, though. Or at least comfortably acknowledging things without going YEAH, I KNOW EVERYTHING. SHH.] So you spent some time there. With her.

[borrowedheaven]

It's all I really remember, before. To tell the truth? Not exactly a happening place.

[nothingsodivine]

Speaking from my dealings with any kind of goddess. I can probably guess. But that was the bad kind. The good kind must be more of a snooze than a black abyss of despair.

[He drums his fingers on the edge of the balcony.] So you came back here, got yourself a club... And no happy ending to speak of.

[borrowedheaven]

What can I say? The life in it all appealed to me. But I was hoping for something more. Something I still haven't found. [ she shakes her head sadly, and then looks up at him out of the corner of her eye, lashes drooped, considering him for a moment. finally, she says: ] Do you know what it is I like so much about you, Descant?

[nothingsodivine]

My sense of humor? [He cants his head, much like a curious dog. Who can grin smugly.]

[borrowedheaven]

[ eventually - pink

she turns to look at him more fully, eyes rife with mischief, but also failing at masking a little bittersweet sadness ] You're the only one I can remember meeting who doesn't expect something from me. Who's not looking to get something out of this. I'm not worried that you're gonna fall in love with me or wind up disappointed if I'm not the key to everything.

[ she slides her hand over so that she can brush her fingers over his wrist ] Everybody else seems to have this idea of who I am or who they wish I was. But you don't.

[ her eyes drag back up to his ] That's all I want.

[nothingsodivine]

I think I've had enough people tell me I oughta be a part of something to know not to spew it at anyone else. [He drawls the words, looking down at her hand and staring past it at the same time.] And I'm old and cynical and jaded. I know when there's a princess in a castle, there's about twenty reasons why she's in that castle and when you try to suss out the why, you end up short a princess. I know that people don't always want to be involved in the things they get involved in and the best anyone can do is make sure they don't get hurt.

[He steps a bit closer.] And I know that there's still a long, long way to go and things are gonna get a lot worse. And Fluffy's star-crossed lover act may be really tragic, but that's his damage. Not yours. Your damage is a bunch of fuckheads with a vendetta against Shadowkind who've got their greasy mitts on an artifact I've been tracking for decades. There's a lot of coincidences involved in all this. And I'd like to think it means something. That maybe there's a reason everyone came together like this. [He leans in just a bit closer] And whatever ending that you get out of this, it'll be yours. And that's worth it. It's all I've ever wanted for myself.

[borrowedheaven]

[ her eyes dart between his, thoughtful and grateful as she takes all that in silently.

instead of verbalizing a response, however, after a couple beats where it seems like she's working up to say something, she grabs him by the collar and yanks him into a warm, firm kiss. there's nothing demanding about it, nothing even outright seductive. it's more of a statement than a question, and the lingering taste of cigarettes on her lips grounds it in reality all the more.

but there is desire in her breath when she pulls away and lingers there, and in the way her voice has altered when she says, eyes tracing across his face: ] I hope you get your ending out of this too, Des. However it comes.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des drops the mostly-burned out cigarette dangling from his hand on the balcony and in surprise and leans into the kiss without pulling back, which is a far cry from him rejecting her advances back in Chicago, but still very, very final. They are two screwed up people playing a screwed up game.

And that's it. That's the story. The ending's something else.]

Uh-huh. [Articulate. Go him. He swallows and takes a half-step back.] Think you'll be all right for a couple of hours? I've got a-a... [He points at the door, fumbling for the right word.] ...thing.

[borrowedheaven]

A thing. [ she repeats it with a lingering smile, placing one hand on her hip. ] I think I can manage. [ still, as she leans back against the railing, it's clear she's both amused and disappointed by his timing. ]

You go get 'em, cowboy.

[nothingsodivine]

[He gives her an awkward salute.] I'll be back. [He pauses at the door to the balcony and turns.] But if I don't come back by dawn, you might wanna call in the search party, 'cause I'm at the bottom of the Gulf with a cinderblock tied to my ankles. Trust me. It sucks.

[borrowedheaven]

You don't need back up, do you?

[nothingsodivine]

Nah. These guys trust me. I ate questionable substances as part of their hazing ritual and they embraced me as a brother. [He makes a snake noise.] Just in case, though. Be on your guard.

[borrowedheaven]

I'll be sure to sleep with one eye open.

[nothingsodivine]

[He gives her a wink and then goes to collect his gun and jacket and necessary items from his room AND OFF HE GOES.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ annnd a new thread for you for bonus xp ]