"Ah, just wait until they expect you to play," Vex teases easily. There's an immediate pleasure in Percy's company, having someone who is not charmed by the vagaries of ball tag who isn't Keyleth. (Nothing against Keyleth, per se, but her particular brand of naive schoolgirl uncertainty and flustered dodging does not lend itself to the kind of bitchy judging Vex needs in her life.) "Then you'll know they've accepted you as one of their own."
"If that's the standard," he answers dryly, "then I'm content to be an outsider for the rest of my days. I rather like my balls unbruised."
It's as clear as answer as any, on her part, and he hopes the same is true from him. Don't ask me about myself. All right, I'll judge your brother's choice of pastimes instead.
"Do they have any other games I should be aware of?" Safe territory, continuing the judgemental bitchiness - it comes naturally to him. "If I should be guarding myself against having my hand slipped in a bowl of water whilst I'm sleeping, I'd love to know in advance."
"Noted, darling," Vex says in a teasing tone—one that implies some kind of interest in his balls, though whether keeping them unbruised or bruising them herself might be somewhat more open to interpretation. Likewise, whether it's a threat or an offer.
"It's a fairly loose group, I admit. Casual, recreational thievery is common."
"Fortunately for me, I haven't a copper coin to my name. They'll have a hard time stealing picking my pocket." It's nice, being here with her. Light jokes and pleasant conversation, discussions that don't have to mean anything. He's chatted with people before, obviously, but he's always been on his guard. Thus far, at least, it doesn't feel like he has to spend the whole time wondering just what Vex is thinking, whether this or that cover story is actually coming off believable. (It's a wonder, what the truth will do for a person.) "Perhaps once I have, I'll let you manage my coins for me."
"Brave of you to assume that coin is the only thing they'd steal," Vex teases, though in truth most of the affectionate larceny is between her and her brother. In that case, she's just as much a participant as anyone.
There's more than one half-elf with sticky fingers.
"But, I can assure you if you trust your money to me, it will stay safe. It will also go as far as possible. I have a keen eye for a bargain."
"I haven't got much of anything else, either." The clothes on his back would only fit one of the prime suspects, and not terribly well. "I'm used to keeping a close eye on the pepperbox, though."
The affection in his voice is unhidden as he adds, "I've already seen your way with negotiation - and I'm not sure I've ever seen its like. I can't help but pity anyone sitting across a counter from you."
Vex might have pursued the topic of recreational thievery, but his compliment takes her off guard. A warm, pleased look crosses her features. Vex'ahlia is not a woman immune to flattery. Especially in this instance.
"Most people don't consider that one of my more attractive qualities," she points out, half challenging.
"That's because they're sitting across the counter from you." They might not consider her ability to drive a hard bargain one of her finer points, but Percy's benefited from her work. "Shopkeepers don't appreciate a quick wit when it's cutting into their profits."
And whatever else is true, Vex is clearly a quick wit.
"Then let me encourage you." Both to keep making fine deals on their behalf and to continue on like this. He can't see her smile all that clearly - his sight in the dark has nothing on that of a half-elf's - but he knows it's there, and he likes knowing it's for his sake. "I rather like the results."
Percy pauses, standing there in the dark wood with her, and turns to face her. He's a little clumsy, but his palm finds her cheek, and in a moment of pure, stupid bravery, he tries to kiss her.
If Percy is a little unsure, a little nightblind, Vex is more than equipped to make up for both. Her chin tips up to met him, her head tilting, and she goes up on her toes to finish closing the distance. Lips part delicately and one hand balls into a fist in the back of his coat.
Success only makes him bolder, one hand at her jaw - he won't muss her hair and risk losing one of the feathers out here in the dark - and the other at her hip, his thumb rubbing an idle circle into her leather breeches. It might start out sweet, but it lasts long enough to turn hungry.
"I can't stop thinking about you," he tells her in a murmur, without pulling back. He'd imagined more elegant things he might say, suggestions of where things could go from here, but they've all fled his mind in favor of the reminder of her taste.
It might not be elegant or even especially original, but the words still have an effect. A very palpable effect.
Basic as it is, who doesn't want to be thought of?
Who doesn't want to be wanted?
Vex hums softly under his kiss, meeting his hunger with purpose. Her lips part invitingly. Her back arches to press against him, tits soft and arms strong as she levers closer. And she pulls, walking slowly, unevenly backward, until her back hits the trunk of a sturdy tree. She deliberately traps herself before it and Percy, blocking out the rest of the world.
"What do you think about?" she asks between kisses. "When you think of me."
Percy's easily drawn forward, moving with her as she walks them back to what perhaps he should have been aiming for in the first place. (It seemed like too much to hope for, that she'd want to continue on - he'd half expected to be rebuffed, reminded of the dangers of being too obvious near the rest of their party. Next time, he thinks, he'll push things further.)
"Your hands," he admits, leaning a forearm against the tree trunk, letting the line of his body press up against hers without hesitation. Lifting one of her hands, he turns his head and kisses her fingertips - if he's been given leave to show some affection, he's going to indulge. "On me, and - in general. Shooting arrows, braiding your hair..."
Enthusiastic though he is, he's still too shy for some of the compliments that otherwise spring to mind, especially after several long days of travel spent pretending not to notice her overly. You're beautiful, Vex'ahlia, the loveliest woman I've ever been with.
"On you, hm?" Vex smiles, a lopsided and faintly feline smile. A bit smug. A bit playful.
She lets go of his coat to run her hands over his body, up from his belly and over his chest all the way to his shoulders, smoothing his lapels before using them to pull him in for another kiss.
His compliments are well chosen. Not just because they land, but because they're thought out. Not too vulgar. Not too prim. And most intoxicating, sincere.
The way he talks about her hands, makes her want to touch him. The way he looks at her, even in the dark, makes her want more than anything to be looked at.
The hunger he shows when their lips touch ensures she never wants to stop.
"All over me," he agrees, sighing under her touch as she pushes away fantasy in favor of reality. And the reality is so much better than anything he's imagined in the last few days. There's weight to her touch, longing in her kiss - and his best guess at how she'd reach for him is nowhere near as sweet as actually feeling her pull him near.
He'd worried she'd have grown bored of him, or that her interest would be too dampened by the knowledge that someone could conceivably find them together. But if anything, she responds more ardently than before. Something in his chest swells with pride, and he lets his kisses wander down to her jaw, back to her ear. In a whisper, breath hot against her skin: "And I've thought about what we could do out here, if we're quick about it."
Realistically, the only teammate likely to come looking for them any time soon is Vax, and while he's the one Vex would least enjoy finding her with her legs wrapped around a certain slightly tarnished young nobleman, Vex is also reasonably certain he'd give them more time than this before looking.
The caress of his breath over the shell of her ear makes a convincing argument that they'll be safe for at least a little while.
She wets her lips, hands caressing down his body, then up his back and under his new coat.
"I don't suppose the things you've thought of involve helping me get out of my pants...?"
If she isn't worried, neither is he. Vex'ahlia knows the woods - he's learned that much, over the last few days, that her expertise far surpasses the rest of theirs - and she seems to be content with their hiding spot. And her hands are living up to his idle daydreams, even more distracting now than they were in his mind.
Ideally, they'd be able to disrobe properly, and he'd have the honor of feeling her touch on his bare chest. But the idea of fucking her clothed has its own appeal - more of an appeal than he might have expected, considering the way he feels the thought go straight to his groin. Holding her like this, feeling her even through the barriers of leather and linen, knowing they'll go back to the firelight as though nothing happened...his hips rock into hers for a moment of their own accord, a promise of things to come.
"They do," he admits, giving her a crooked smile, drawing back just enough that he can reach between them in search of the laces of her trousers. "What I've thought of most recently has been seeing how much we can do while taking off the least clothing possible. Possibly, mm -" a kiss to the patch of skin beneath her earlobe, because he simply can't resist - "holding you here and having my way with you."
As soon as her breeches are loose enough - and provided she doesn't slap him for his forwardness, of course - he slips a hand inside, her cunt hot against his palm as his fingers delve between her lips. If they've a limited amount of time to work with tonight, he doesn't intend to waste any of it.
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It's as clear as answer as any, on her part, and he hopes the same is true from him. Don't ask me about myself. All right, I'll judge your brother's choice of pastimes instead.
"Do they have any other games I should be aware of?" Safe territory, continuing the judgemental bitchiness - it comes naturally to him. "If I should be guarding myself against having my hand slipped in a bowl of water whilst I'm sleeping, I'd love to know in advance."
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"It's a fairly loose group, I admit. Casual, recreational thievery is common."
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There's more than one half-elf with sticky fingers.
"But, I can assure you if you trust your money to me, it will stay safe. It will also go as far as possible. I have a keen eye for a bargain."
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The affection in his voice is unhidden as he adds, "I've already seen your way with negotiation - and I'm not sure I've ever seen its like. I can't help but pity anyone sitting across a counter from you."
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"Most people don't consider that one of my more attractive qualities," she points out, half challenging.
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And whatever else is true, Vex is clearly a quick wit.
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It might be in his benefit to encourage her.
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Percy pauses, standing there in the dark wood with her, and turns to face her. He's a little clumsy, but his palm finds her cheek, and in a moment of pure, stupid bravery, he tries to kiss her.
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If Percy is a little unsure, a little nightblind, Vex is more than equipped to make up for both. Her chin tips up to met him, her head tilting, and she goes up on her toes to finish closing the distance. Lips part delicately and one hand balls into a fist in the back of his coat.
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"I can't stop thinking about you," he tells her in a murmur, without pulling back. He'd imagined more elegant things he might say, suggestions of where things could go from here, but they've all fled his mind in favor of the reminder of her taste.
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Basic as it is, who doesn't want to be thought of?
Who doesn't want to be wanted?
Vex hums softly under his kiss, meeting his hunger with purpose. Her lips part invitingly. Her back arches to press against him, tits soft and arms strong as she levers closer. And she pulls, walking slowly, unevenly backward, until her back hits the trunk of a sturdy tree. She deliberately traps herself before it and Percy, blocking out the rest of the world.
"What do you think about?" she asks between kisses. "When you think of me."
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"Your hands," he admits, leaning a forearm against the tree trunk, letting the line of his body press up against hers without hesitation. Lifting one of her hands, he turns his head and kisses her fingertips - if he's been given leave to show some affection, he's going to indulge. "On me, and - in general. Shooting arrows, braiding your hair..."
Enthusiastic though he is, he's still too shy for some of the compliments that otherwise spring to mind, especially after several long days of travel spent pretending not to notice her overly. You're beautiful, Vex'ahlia, the loveliest woman I've ever been with.
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She lets go of his coat to run her hands over his body, up from his belly and over his chest all the way to his shoulders, smoothing his lapels before using them to pull him in for another kiss.
His compliments are well chosen. Not just because they land, but because they're thought out. Not too vulgar. Not too prim. And most intoxicating, sincere.
The way he talks about her hands, makes her want to touch him. The way he looks at her, even in the dark, makes her want more than anything to be looked at.
The hunger he shows when their lips touch ensures she never wants to stop.
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He'd worried she'd have grown bored of him, or that her interest would be too dampened by the knowledge that someone could conceivably find them together. But if anything, she responds more ardently than before. Something in his chest swells with pride, and he lets his kisses wander down to her jaw, back to her ear. In a whisper, breath hot against her skin: "And I've thought about what we could do out here, if we're quick about it."
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The caress of his breath over the shell of her ear makes a convincing argument that they'll be safe for at least a little while.
She wets her lips, hands caressing down his body, then up his back and under his new coat.
"I don't suppose the things you've thought of involve helping me get out of my pants...?"
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Ideally, they'd be able to disrobe properly, and he'd have the honor of feeling her touch on his bare chest. But the idea of fucking her clothed has its own appeal - more of an appeal than he might have expected, considering the way he feels the thought go straight to his groin. Holding her like this, feeling her even through the barriers of leather and linen, knowing they'll go back to the firelight as though nothing happened...his hips rock into hers for a moment of their own accord, a promise of things to come.
"They do," he admits, giving her a crooked smile, drawing back just enough that he can reach between them in search of the laces of her trousers. "What I've thought of most recently has been seeing how much we can do while taking off the least clothing possible. Possibly, mm -" a kiss to the patch of skin beneath her earlobe, because he simply can't resist - "holding you here and having my way with you."
As soon as her breeches are loose enough - and provided she doesn't slap him for his forwardness, of course - he slips a hand inside, her cunt hot against his palm as his fingers delve between her lips. If they've a limited amount of time to work with tonight, he doesn't intend to waste any of it.