[ OPEN ] the river's overrun

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and various
When: July + August
Where: The Free Cities, the Horizon, TBA
What: Catch all for both months + open TL for Free Cities quests for July
Warnings: None currently, will add/mark as needed


( open + closed starters below | action, prose, and wildcards all welcome | find me at indech, by PM, or on discord to plot something! )

Comments

[godshattering]

[ The danger in not responding as expected - something said aloud no matter how much it might simultaneously fit and also not in the same moment - is leaving too much room for the interpretation of something else. On this Claude's willing to take the risk even as he knows Hilda is waiting to hear something. But from the sound of her laugh when the kiss ends: she's heard it loud and clear even if the delivery wasn't what was expected. ]

It's perfect, my heart.

[ The term of endearment is easily slipped in like all the rest since the teasing ones they'd invented as teenagers who thought they knew better as the first steps on the path that'd eventually led them here even with all the twists and turns. Those words he'd thought weren't enough seconds ago now feel right when used to underscore the sentiment voiced first through another method as he rests his hands at her waist, his forehead against hers, and with a smile that isn't one of the many in his arsenal but something quieter, more private, more meant for moments just like this one. ]

It's incredible, but more than that you are for both taking the time and for making it. I'm already looking forward to wearing it with pride the first chance I get and telling everyone who asks where it came from.

[ Something he'll do with even more pride, truthfully, since Claude's already looking forward to telling people about Hilda and her talents rather than letting all any forthcoming compliments fall upon his own shoulders. That simply won't do when there's nothing better seen there than her gift for putting it all together. It's both a tease and a promise in one since he means to hold to it. Of course, perhaps a little more teasing will have to come through, too. ]

Should I get a journal ready to take orders since you'll be rather busy after that?

[theidlemaiden]

[ The kiss and the care that he showed the garment would have been enough but then he has to go and layer praise on top of it. In spite of herself heat rushes to her face and a blush becomes evident on her cheeks, unable to stop the flood of sudden embarrassment that comes over her. Very quickly she goes from gazing at him in adoration to pressing her face into the nape of his neck in what is probably a failed attempt at trying to conceal how overwhelmed she's become in one fell swoop.

It probably goes without saying as well that making a love letter as personal as this would only ever happen for one other person that currently resides in Abraxas. ]

Stop that! I just wanted to make you something nice. And I know it it probably isn't exactly what you'd wear in Almyra but I wanted to try and -

[ Realizing that she's rambling she buries her face further into him with a disgruntled groan. This wasn't exactly how she had planned on giving him the present but she's managed to get through life thinking on her feet when spanners are thrown in the works. ]

You know what just go and try it on, okay? [ No matter what he says she will take his present and all but force him towards the changing screen. ] Come out when you're done!

[godshattering]

You did make me something nice!

[ That's interjected in there even as he's laughing when she sputters, grabbing for one thing after another in what Claude would be lying if he said wasn't his aim in taking the conversation that direction. The same for not letting her hide even if it's just by leaning down to press kisses to whatever he can reach of her face while she presses it against him, and for chuckling as she groans then pushes him away with a goal in mind. ]

Alright, alright. I'm ready to show off all your hard work even sooner if that's what you want.

[ A wink goes with that before he ducks behind the changing screen like this will spare him any further commentary from Hilda (or being swatted, for that matter). Claude makes quick work of toeing off his boots to make sure they don't accidentally dirty anything and then stripping off his shirt and trousers to toss aside for later. Putting on the garments Hilda's made, however, gets far more care put into it to make sure nothing happens to them as each layer falls into place. Hardly any straightening of any kind's needed from him thanks to her talent in making them, and it's with a small smile of homesickness for the familiar feeling of the clothes and delight in what she's accomplished he adjusts the cuffs while stepping back out from the changing screen. ]

If you were hoping to avoid more praise after I put everything on, you're gonna have to suffer even more of it now.

[theidlemaiden]

[ The kisses serve their purpose in only flustering her further - hence the strength behind the way she forces him towards the other side of the room and leaves her cheeks burning with a warmth that she quickly tries to dispel once he disappears behind the screen.

There is one final element to his scavenger hunt that she has to implement after all.

And while she knows that Claude enjoys the rare opportunities when he can make her blush, a flushed face simply doesn't fit into the overall aesthetic that she had been going for. She works quickly and by the time he steps out from behind the changing screen she's changed into something else too. Mostly.

What greets Claude is Hilda who has made herself comfortable on the couch in far less clothing than she had been minutes before. A long length of red ribbon is wrapped around her body covering all the indecent bits before being tied at her breasts with a comically huge bow. There's nothing to imply that anything is amiss however. In fact, she looks thoughtful as she admires him from her spot on the couch. ]

I was hoping to praise you instead. Isn't that what a birthday is supposed to be about? You?

[godshattering]

I'm certainly not going to complain if you--

[ That's where that thought ends once he looks up from tucking one of his cuffs into place and everything about Claude comes to a complete halt. Not just physically as he stops in place but also mentally and whatever else might be included in a rather rare complete breakdown of his usual comportment. There's also, tellingly, no attempt to play it off as being anything but that as he stands in place with his gaze locked on her. It's a surprise with that to match, but more than that: it's a delight.

If praise was supposed to be involved, it's lost on him along with the rest of what Hilda said as his gaze travels over her to take everything in about her own outfit change with a slightly raised eyebrow and a smile curving up one corner of his mouth to go with it. Rather clever to insist that he needed to try on his new clothes right then, he thinks as he remembers how to move and steps forward towards the couch. Leave it to Hilda to think of this. ]

Well. I think I'll be the one doing some praising for a while yet. [ Perhaps that goes without saying as he takes a seat next to her on the couch and reaches out to run a fingertip along the top of one length of ribbon before next sliding it beneath to run it along her skin just as appreciatively as his smile morphs into something decidedly resembling a smirk. ] Do I get to unwrap this present as well?

[ An entirely shameless question and he knows it. ]

[theidlemaiden]

[ To say that Hilda had conjured up the ideal reaction in her mind to her little surprise would have been a bold faced lie. But whatever she had imagined pales in comparison to seeing Claude react in real time. The relief and warm glow that she had felt earlier witnessing him open the final part of her gift to him is different than what sparks now as he emerges and she feels his gaze settle upon her.

She's admiring him in her own way of course. Marveling at the way he fills out the fabric, brings the garment to life in a way that only he could. Though she had gone to pain staking lengths to pick out the fabric there was a warmth to it now that she can't explain. With only pictures to go off of she didn't know how the fabric would move or what it would embody - but she has to imagine that it looks like this. Ironic then that she had plans to see him out of them before the day was done.

Though Claude's touch has her skin pebbling in its wake she plays it off like nothing at all as she stretches her arms above her head akin to some lounging cat. His smirk had to be matched after all if not with another smirk, but the air of one. ]

It is your birthday. I think it'd be a shame not to unwrap it but far be it from me to tell the birthday boy what to do.

[ Her head tilts to the side regarding him briefly as she nudges him gently with her foot. ]

Unless he wants that, that is.

[godshattering]

[ Even as a man who enjoys predicting every last possibility of what could happen at any given time, and sometimes out of habit more than really wanting to know: this hadn't been something he'd foreseen when she'd ask him to try on the incredibly thoughtful gift she'd made. Something he's still conscious of wearing and not wanting to wrinkle it too prematurely even as he brings his own hand to rest on her thigh.

The reaction telling on her skin compared to the slightly aloof smirk on her face is a contrast he'll never tired of, and now is no exception. It's as impossible as ever to ignore the small rush of desire it brings when he knows exactly what it looks like to be on the other side of one of Hilda's calculations when that's something she could say just as easily.

All the more reason to keep his fingertips running beneath that ribbon without skipping over any sensitive spots as he goes in search of what else it might bring. No reason to stop as she contemplates him with that tilt of her head in another expression he loves clearly, and then it's Claude's turn to grin both at the nudge and the words following. ]

You know me too well.

[ In this, in other things - in all of it in the slow unraveling of everything it'd taken to get them here. For now there's nothing presently in mind but Hilda in this ribbon as he leans forward with a grin until their lips meet in a kiss while reaching for the bow to begin unraveling it, too. ]