The Laughing Peaks // Fantasy OxO // Open!

(I’m not going to be on for most of the day due to family issues. I’ll do my best to be on tonight, sorry for the late warning!)

(No, it’s all good! Real life comes first, hope you’re doing well!)

(Things have wrapped up pretty well, thanks! We had to take my sister to the hospital but it turns out she's just got strep and we were all worked up over nothing lol)

"Of course I'm brave, darling. I'm an adventurer aren't I?" Once Florence had settled against his chest again he reached up, running his fingers through that pretty brown hair. It was very soft, very wavy. If they'd met a few years ago he'd have been jealous, but then again he'd always been a tad jealous of humans. They were so beautiful in ways he could never be, beautiful in ways that didn't make them stand out. He scratched gently at the back of Florence's head, zoning back in at the offer. "Oh!" He beamed, nuzzling the top of his head. "I'd love that pretty boy. I thought it too forward to ask, but a night with you would be a treasure unlike any other."

(Oh shit, glad she’s all good! Having strep sucks, can’t imagine having it right now of all times!)

Florence melted under Orion’s touch, especially when he touched his hair. He smiled at Orion’s words. “I can’t guarantee that I’ll have enough to make you an entirely new place to sleep, but I can build onto mine if you’re alright with that.” Florence’s house, of course, given that it was incredibly traditional, had large mounds of furs rather than constructed beds. “When would you like to go?”

(Yeah, it was a… journey, figuring everything out, but she's got some antibiotics or smth to deal with the symptoms and it's not corona, so I think we'll be okay)

Orion cooed at him softly as he relaxed, a sound not entirely human, and resumed his petting. "I'll be more than happy with whatever you see fit to give me, darling. I've never been overly picky about where I sleep, especially when I have someone beautiful laying beside me. We can go whenever you like."

(Good, good!)

“Hm.. well, it couldn’t hurt to go before the mead really starts to kick in. It’s a bit of a walk.” The blush in Florence’s face was starting to fade away, but his smile wasn’t. He took a final glance around the fire lit tavern, drinking in the people and the rest of the room. He sat up once again, brushing his hair out of his face and tucking it behind his ears. “Shall we go, then?”

Orion would miss the blush, but Florence seemed so happy to be with him that he couldn't really do anything but smile in return, the picture of a perfect gentleman as he helped the human up off the bench and linked their arms together. "Very well then, let's be off. I trust you'll be able to navigate in the dark?"

“But of course.” Florence nodded and smiled, taking a moment to place a few coins on the table before walking them outside and into the street. Rain drizzled down in consistent sheets, though tonight the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been the day before. The air almost felt stil as the pair walked. “Sometimes I ask myself why I even go to that tavern, though tonight I’m glad that I did.”

Orion paid for their own drinks and then swept Florence's coins into his palm, passing them back as they wandered through the town proper. It was a pretty little place, aglow with laughter and light. The rain looked like liquid gold as it came down, reflecting the cheerful gold of the lanterns. He smiled at the remark, bumping Florence with his hip. "Don't be rude to the Rusty Nail. She's my main employer when I'm in town, and a damn sight better than any other tavern here."

Florence rolled his eyes playfully when Prion handed the coins back. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.” He slipped the coins back into the purse at his hip. “Maybe so, but I find myself more partial to The Maiden Fair.. when she’s open, of course.” Florence looked around the town. “Gods, I adore festival time here! I’ve been meaning to decorate the altar outside the farm, but I just haven’t had the time.”

"I said I would by for you tonight, darling." He grinned, raising Florence's hand so he could graze his lips across his knuckles. "I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I went back on my word, though I doubt I'll be a gentleman for much longer if you keep spouting falsehoods. The Maiden Fair isn't half so fine as the Rusty Nail. They water down their mead!" He grinned, watching Florence take in the town with no small measure of joy. "I've actually never staid here for festival season. I celebrate with my sister."

“Maybe they do, but not all of us can handle our alcohol like you, darling. Notice how I didn’t finish the drink you bought me.” Florence noted, leaning into Orion and letting out a happy hum. He cocked his head at the last statement curiously. “You should invite her here for a year, if she can make it. Maybe it’s just the bias of a slightly tipsy local speaking, but I find that we celebrate the Festival of the Gods better than anywhere else in the world.” He giggled again, finally stopping at at a squat home and opening the door. “This is me, then.”

Orion wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him steady as they wandered. "I think you're a touch more than slightly tipsy, darling, but I'll still take it under advisement." He believed Florence when he talked about festival season, if only because any celebration that involved someone as lovely as him was bound to be fantastic.

Orion huffed out a laugh against the back of his neck as they stopped at Florence's, shaking his head. Already head over heels for this human and they hadn't even known each other an hour. "And me as well. This may not be the time, but you do live alone, right? I don't fancy a late-night introduction to your houseguests."

“Mm. I might be.” Florence nodded in acknowledgment of Orion’s observation, but laughed softly at the question. “Of course I do. I have a few pets, but I assume that that wasn’t what you meant.” Florence led Orion inside, sighing contentedly. The inside of Florence’s home just felt like.. him. It was warm, the fire roaring in the hearth casting a dim orange light onto the home. A few plants grew wildly out of their pots, but not so wild that they looked unkempt. In the centers of the walls hung tapestries- some merely cultural patterns, others snapshots of ancient folktales. And of course, there was his bed. Built from piles of furs and pelts, from wolves to the big cats roaming the area, to even the recognizable skins of the many curly rams that Duggan as a nation was famous for.

“What do you think?” Florence stayed leaning into Orion, silently praying that he wouldn’t let him go. He couldn’t believe that he already found himself smitten with this tiefling, someone he hadn’t even known for a full day.

Orion glanced across the house and was completely and utterly charmed by it. It was so… him, so homey and well kept and down to earth. He pressed a kiss to Florence's cheek and did his best to pretend like he wasn't halfway in love already. "I think it's very beautiful." Another kiss, this one to the soft place below his jaw. "And very welcoming." Another, to the side of his throat, to the crook of his neck, to the back of his shoulder. "And entirely too perfect for someone like me. I'll have to pay you back somehow, for letting me stay here."

Florence’s face immediately flushed a hot red, a nervous giggle escaping again. Not a bad sort of nervous, mind you, no, one that came from knowing exactly where something was headed. “Well, thank you, Ori..” He trailed off, the kisses sending a shudder down his spine. “You've been nothing but warm and welcoming to me, so it’s
only fitting that I’m the same, don’t you think?”

(Ori over here like I ordered a big sausage pizza, but I don't have any money)

Ori leaned up again, gently tilting Florence's head to the side so they could kiss properly. It was a lovely kiss, soft and chaste and over entirely too quickly—the sort you heard about in particularly mushy folk songs. "I think that's a very nice way of looking at things, yes, but I still feel indebted to you. You've saved me from sleeping out there in the rain, that deserves a special sort of reward, don't you think?"

(ajdbdnaaj oh my god nooooo)

“I would be lying if I said no, wouldn’t I?” He turned around, linking his arms over Orion’s shoulders. “What kind of reward were you thinking of, hm?” Florence batted his eyes, playing innocent despite the growing excitement in him.

(it's true, you know it's true)

Orion's answering smile was flustered in the seconds it took him to compose himself, bright and sudden and then smoothed away under a secretive smirk. "Well that's not really up to me, is it darling?" He was leaning in again, close enough that their lips brushed as he spoke. "It is your home after all."

(i mean yeah, but that doesnt mean you have to say it)
(Quoth Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”)

“See, but you’re the guest. It’s just basic hosting etiquette, love.” Florence countered, taking Orion’s closeness as an opportunity to pull him in for another kiss. This one wasn’t as brief as the other, but it was just as sweet and still left Florence wanting for more.

(i saw my chance and i took it, i have no regrets)

Orion kissed him back eagerly, whining softly when he pulled away. Florence had very nice lips. He could kiss them for hours, and the way things were going he might just get the chance to. "Yes, but you don't let the debtor chose the size of his debts." He kissed Florence again, longer this time, only breaking away when he was breathless. "Who knows? I might let myself off easy, and we couldn't have that."

(respect.)
(also, the spacing of my posts if a little screwy, sorry about that! it doesn’t show in the preview, so i don’t know what that’a about!)

“I have a feeling you won’t.” Florence pressed their foreheads together as they caught their breath. “You don’t seem like the type, from what I’ve seen.” And hopefully, he’d get to see more. He pulled him back in for another kiss, one hand
resting on the back of his head, pulling him in slightly. Gods, Orion tasted amazing. Florence could still find the faintest traces of mead on his lips from only minutes before, though it already felt like hours.

(lol, it's fine!! i love this site but it's glitchy af so i'm not gonna pitch a fit abt some weird formatting here n there)

Orion's breath hitched as he was pulled in again and then he was kissing back eagerly, one hand tangled in Florence's hair and the other heavy on his hip. His thoughts were starting to fade away, lost in the haze of Florence Florence Florence with his lips and his hands and the way he managed to taste like sunshine. "Darling," He said, and his voice was so very soft with want. "Stop being stubborn and let yourself set the price, or I fear I'll be too impatient to let you do much talking at all."

(good, good, thanks!)

A soft whine escaped Florence’s throat when Orion pulled away. “If you keep talking to me like that, you can do whatever the hell you want.” Florence murmured, speaking softly into Orion’s ear like it was a secret meant just for him. “And I’m a man of my word.” The kisses left him breathless and his thoughts were all melting together into a continuous stream of Orion and his features, and the feeling of his fingers coiled into his hair, and the slight daze that his words left Florence in almost without a second thought.

He shivered when Florence whispered in his ear, feeling the words like a physical touch. "Be careful making offers like that, lovely." He kissed Florence harder, hotter, nipping at his lips and pulling him forward with a grip in his hair just light enough to avoid hurting him. Even now he was mindful of himself, careful with the way he tilted his head or gripped Florence's hip lest he manage to hurt him somehow. "You never know who's willing to take advantage."

Florence gasped a bit at the sudden change in roughness, but judging by the other small sounds he was making, he definitely enjoyed it. “You’re right, you’re right, but would you rather I say you can’t do anything? Because that’s torture for the both of us.” Florence kissed him again, less roughly than Orion had. “But gods, whatever you just did? Don’t stop, because I’m in fucking heaven.”

Ori growled at just the thought of stopping, kissing him back in a way that was downright hungry. Florence was so cute, so soft, so eager to keep going, and all those fucking noises he was making were just perfect and Ori really couldn't hold himself back anymore now that he had permission. He backed Florence up against the wall behind his bed, kissing him roughly while his hands shoved up beneath his shirt.

By now, Florence was flushed so red that some of his freckles were obscured by the rosy blush. He only pulled himself and Orion apart to breathe, and even those breaks felt few and far between. Time simultaneously felt like it slowed to a halt and that it was going a million miles per hour, and that only made Florence’s head spin. He wasn’t quite sure what he should do with his hands- after all, Orion seemed perfectly happy with taking the lead and Florence didn’t mind that one bit. His own hands slid up Orion’s shirt, movements much more fluid and soft when compared to Orion’s ravenous and hungry advances.

Orion was warm despite the coolness of his half-soaked clothes, and his skin was smooth and soft. He sighed into Orion's mouth when he felt the human's hands on him, pulling away to trail openmouthed kisses down the graceful curve of Florence's neck. He was starting to push the shirt up, bunching in on top of his chest so he could admire Florence's body. "Gods, you're gorgeous." His hand was flat on Florence's abs, rubbing up and down slowly. "So strong too, you could push me around if you wanted to, darling."

Florence let out a soft, purring laugh. “I could, but I’ve found that that isn’t exactly my style.” He basked in Orion’s warmth, both physical and verbal. Florence took a moment to tie back his hair halfway with expert speed- if it was beginning to get the the way now, he didn’t even want to imagine the issues it could cause later on. He traced his hands up and down the curves of Orion’s lilac skin, trying to find the best time to get rid of his shirt altogether.