assorted non-canon and AU threads

[aesculapian]

who wants delicious post-forest terribleness

Comments

[rootless]

That's pretty different...

All right. Larkspur, then, and the others if I can find them.

[miraculess]

That's how it used to be done, although not always with flowers. There was something of a shakeup...

[ if you can call the Spill a shakeup, anyway. she never wants to see kudzu again. ]

...thanks.

[rootless]

No problem.

[he prefers it this way, anyway. it'd be harder to avoid people if there was a specific subset of people who thought they should pay him mind.]

[miraculess]

[ meanwhile, Lilith is wishing he'd gotten stuck with a team bond for exactly that reason. both she and the serpent prefer the new arrangement, but still...

...she has to remind herself that her troubles aren't his, and that not all teams were as kind as hers. it isn't her place to stick her nose in, besides.

chasing that thought away by basically attacking his hair with conditioner. it smells like rosemary and mint to go with his camphor because of course it does, and when the hell had she gotten her hands on it? ]

[rootless]

[dfjngskjdf ducks his head on reflex, then straightens when he remembers.]

[miraculess]

Hold still.

[ sounds pretty sympathetic, though. also, she wasn't kidding about being good at this; that's some pretty nice scalp massage as she works it in. ]

[rootless]

[HOLDS! STILL! VALIANTLY!!

and also purrs, a little]

[miraculess]

[ ...which of us does this intense feeling of dere belong to

help

de...tangles... ]

[rootless]

[seems to realize what he's doing, flushing all the way to the tips of his ears, but the purring doesn't stop, and he just... hunches his shoulders a little.]

[aesculapian]

[ Lilith hurriedly passes most of their control back over with a mix of flustered embarrassment (hers) and amusement (snake's). this isn't the first time a situation like this has come up, but negotiating boundaries is always kind of awkward...

humming, definitely the Arbiter this time; there's a sort of drifty detachment to her tone that's pretty clearly distinguishable from her host. and then she pats him right between the horns ]

Now you are embarrassed ... ? It's charming.

[rootless]

[makes a tiny startled noise when she pats him, then tips his head to get a look at them over his shoulder, still blushing vividly.]

I don't know about that.

[aesculapian]

[ she's got her jaw closed again, not that that does anything to really obscure their face much. blinking mildly at him with a faint smile before turning her attention back to the mat she's working on ]

It is a good sound.

[rootless]

[GETS... REDDER

and purring intensifies.

words are overrated.]

[aesculapian]

[ ...

gently pokes his forehead, goes back to untangling. almost done! ]

[rootless]

Mmhm?

[TRYING TO PLAY IT COOL]

[aesculapian]

[ 'v' 'v' 'v' very pleased with herself ]

It is nothing ... I think I have gotten it all?

[rootless]

Ah... You sure?

[aesculapian]

[ runs one hand through it by means of demonstration ]

Yes.

[rootless]

[leans into her hand at first, then startles himself with how readily he did that, stiffening and jerking away a short distance.]

--Mm. Right. Thanks.

[aesculapian]

[ puts her hand down '-' doesn't seem bothered, though ]

You are welcome ...

You should rinse the conditioner out. Lilith thinks you should braid it, as well.

[rootless]

[nods sharply, pulling his hair over his shoulder and combing fingers through it experimentally, trying to gather his wits.]

Right. Thanks. I'll get to work on those flowers soon.

[aesculapian]

[ tilts her head a little, then bobs it in response before starting to slosh her way to the river bank ]

There is no rush ... within a few days is fine.

[rootless]

That's a lot of time...

[oh right rinsing his hair.

just. sits down in the water, submerging.]

[aesculapian]

It was a small trade—

[ oh you can't hear me now. humming and rummaging around among the little pile of belongings she'd left on the shore before pulling out an oversized towel, which gets spread out and then sprawled on ]

[rootless]

[BUSILY RINSING OUT HIS HAIR!!! ALL OF IT!!! CAREFULLY!!!!

emerging and starting to braid it while still in the river though, glancing at them sidelong.]