Sarah was curled around Jareth, her head on his shoulder. “What were you making while I was working at the pottery?”
“Nothing.” Sarah glanced up with a frown of confusion. “Erich is a swordsmith and metallurgist. While we had access to his expertise, we’ve been working on test alloys for future sculptures. We also cast billets for future bladesmithing projects.” She smiled in delight at Jareth’s enthusiasm, even if he’d lost her on the details.
“I have to ask.” Sarah’s fingers fluttered nervously on his chest. “Did you sleep with Rook and Erich?”
“Considering you joined us, I think you know the answer to that, my love.”
Sarah made an annoyed huff and didn’t need to look to know Jareth was smiling. “You know what I mean.” She waved her hand around in frustration.
“Have I fucked them?” Sarah grunted at the crudity. “Of course.” She gasped in shock. “But, in deference to your cultural sensibilities, not during this test. That would have been.” Jareth paused in thought. “Impolite without discussing the matter with you first.”
“So you love them?” She couldn’t prevent the waver that crept into her voice.
“They are my chosen family.”
“So this is some Underground romantic entanglement?” Disappointment lent a bite to Sarah’s response.
“Hardly.” Jareth barely stifled a snort of laughter. “Humans are mostly visual creatures. Shapeshifters rely on more of our senses and, post testing, we have an intense primal urge to engage all of those senses.”
“Sex is some sort of pack bonding thing?” Sarah was trying to draw parallels from her knowledge of the world Above.
“That’s a close enough approximation.” Jareth rubbed his chest. “It helps ease the scraped out raw feeling.” He cupped her face and he ran a thumb across her lower lip.
“What about the magic tattoos you gave them?”
Rather than answering, Jareth laced their fingers together and helped guide Sarah’s magic to slide along the back of his hand and wrap around his wrist in a delicate bracelet. “Can you feel that?”
Sarah nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “I can feel my magic sitting just below your skin.” She ran a finger over the design, smiling as it rotated to follow the movement. “There’s a faint pulse here.” She laid her hand over her heart. “It’s comforting.”
Jareth smiled. “And I can feel you in return.” He held up his hand to admire the design gracing his wrist.
Sarah pondered what she’d been told. “So not having sex with them is the reason it’s taken longer than usual to recover.”
“Clever girl.” Jareth kissed her forehead fondly.
With a pleased smile, Sarah snuggled closer. “I would rather you didn’t have sex with other people.”
“I expected as much, my sweet. But you will eventually have to manage the come down yourself and when that happens, you may have a change of mind.” Sarah spluttered in indignation as Jareth ran a fond finger down her nose. “But that is a discussion for another time.”
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ninetydegrees
Solace
2023-04-18 10:39 (UTC)Drabble:
Sarah was curled around Jareth, her head on his shoulder. “What were you making while I was working at the pottery?”
“Nothing.” Sarah glanced up with a frown of confusion. “Erich is a swordsmith and metallurgist. While we had access to his expertise, we’ve been working on test alloys for future sculptures. We also cast billets for future bladesmithing projects.” She smiled in delight at Jareth’s enthusiasm, even if he’d lost her on the details.
“I have to ask.” Sarah’s fingers fluttered nervously on his chest. “Did you sleep with Rook and Erich?”
“Considering you joined us, I think you know the answer to that, my love.”
Sarah made an annoyed huff and didn’t need to look to know Jareth was smiling. “You know what I mean.” She waved her hand around in frustration.
“Have I fucked them?” Sarah grunted at the crudity. “Of course.” She gasped in shock. “But, in deference to your cultural sensibilities, not during this test. That would have been.” Jareth paused in thought. “Impolite without discussing the matter with you first.”
“So you love them?” She couldn’t prevent the waver that crept into her voice.
“They are my chosen family.”
“So this is some Underground romantic entanglement?” Disappointment lent a bite to Sarah’s response.
“Hardly.” Jareth barely stifled a snort of laughter. “Humans are mostly visual creatures. Shapeshifters rely on more of our senses and, post testing, we have an intense primal urge to engage all of those senses.”
“Sex is some sort of pack bonding thing?” Sarah was trying to draw parallels from her knowledge of the world Above.
“That’s a close enough approximation.” Jareth rubbed his chest. “It helps ease the scraped out raw feeling.” He cupped her face and he ran a thumb across her lower lip.
“What about the magic tattoos you gave them?”
Rather than answering, Jareth laced their fingers together and helped guide Sarah’s magic to slide along the back of his hand and wrap around his wrist in a delicate bracelet. “Can you feel that?”
Sarah nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “I can feel my magic sitting just below your skin.” She ran a finger over the design, smiling as it rotated to follow the movement. “There’s a faint pulse here.” She laid her hand over her heart. “It’s comforting.”
Jareth smiled. “And I can feel you in return.” He held up his hand to admire the design gracing his wrist.
Sarah pondered what she’d been told. “So not having sex with them is the reason it’s taken longer than usual to recover.”
“Clever girl.” Jareth kissed her forehead fondly.
With a pleased smile, Sarah snuggled closer. “I would rather you didn’t have sex with other people.”
“I expected as much, my sweet. But you will eventually have to manage the come down yourself and when that happens, you may have a change of mind.” Sarah spluttered in indignation as Jareth ran a fond finger down her nose. “But that is a discussion for another time.”