#Blue Opal Raw

[rajiyagemjeweles]

Opal Raw Natural Blue Opal Raw Uncut Opal From the Ethiopian Mines Blue Fire Rough Green Fire Raw Opal Birthstone, 9.50cts, 15x14x12 MM.

Dm me more details for price intrested buyers.

Shipping worldwide available.

Payment Paypal accept.

Custom orders also accept making jewelry and gemstones comment mine & Pm me.

#Blue Opal Raw #opal #raw stones #ethiopian opal raw #fire opal #opaline #opalite #opals #opal jewelry #raw opal #blue raw #Halloween #gemstone #natural #artists on tumblr #natural gemstone #etsyshop #halloween #succession #myetsybestseller #rajiyagemjeweles #September #birthstone #opal raw materials #opal rough #raw stone #raw

[rock-swag-tournament]

Mineral Swag Tournament Finals

Okay y'all, this is it. The FINAL for the Mineral Swag Tournament.

Fluorite.

Fluorite is a fantastic mineral. It would not have gotten this far otherwise. It comes in a ton of colors, it naturally forms both octahedra and cubes (and massive deposits), and it show brilliant bright blue color under UV light. Fluorescence (the phenomena) is named that because of fluorite!

It also does this fun thing (that other minerals do as well, but it is common among fluorite) where it changes color as it forms because of changing impurities in the solution from which it grows! Elements like iron, copper, manganese, chromium (and more!) can replace individual ions in fluorite's chemical structure and cause the light to reflect different wavelengths and we therefore see that as a different color. This can also happen if a fluorite ion is missing because the sample has been irradiated (for example) and NOTHING replaces it and so the light still reflects in a different way! That is one of the ways we get purple fluorite and this method of producing color is known as color centers.

Of course, not all fluorite fluoresces. Not all fluorite forms cubes or octahedra. Some fluorite is colorless. Some of it looks like an ugly little piece of translucent rock. Or a vein of purple mineral in a crack between two other rocks. It would be irresponsible for me to insinuate that all fluorite is this majestic.

But there are some properties that you will always find in fluorite. It has four directions of cleavage. It is the defining mineral for a 4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It will always be made of calcium and fluoride in a 1:2 ratio. These things are some of what define fluorite as a distinct mineral!

Opal.

Opal is a beautiful gemstone. Please note that I did not call it a "beautiful mineral" because it is not technically a mineral. It is a solid, inorganic substance with a defined chemical formula, but it lacks the specific crystal structure which minerals MUST have to be considered a mineral.

This crystal structure is the entire reason why fluorite is capable of forming cubes and octahedra. And why garnet forms dodecahedra and beryl forms columns and so on. Opal only comes in those fun little oval shaped stones because it was cut that way! Fluorite forms cubes because it just knows how. Otherwise, opal forms shapeless masses that fracture rather than cleave (fluorite cleaves--four ways). That being said, opal's lack of crystal structure allows it to sometimes be iridescent.

After all, there is a reason opal made it this far. When it shines, it is beautiful. There are several varieties of precious opal (opal that displays its trademark play-of-color/iridescence) and they are all very fun to look at. These precious opals are made of microscopic silica spheres that light reflects off of in weird ways and causes opal to look like it is glittering with a dozen different colors.

However, one would be remiss to forget common opal! Some opal is milky white or a translucent blue, and if you're going to love opal at her fire opal, you better also love her at her common opal.

Here are some raw pieces of opal (common opal on the left). Note how they break irregularly. They have conchoidal fracture, which both quartz and normal glass (all of which are just silica) also have. I personally think conchoidal fracture is pretty neat.

Also, while the opals on the right would still be considered precious opal, they are what the average person is likely to find. Just little bits of iridescence here and there.

And, like fluorite, while not all opals have all of the cool features, they do have some similarities. They will always have conchoidal fracture if they break. And they will always be made of hydrated SiO2.

...That's all I have for these guys, I think! I hope I have been as impartial (and accurate) as possible while presenting these, your FINAL mineral swag contestants. If you have any questions or anything, let me know. The Rock Swag Tournament will start shortly after this concludes! Submit your rocks here! And specific rock formations or named rock varieties here!

#vote fluorite ;) #mineral swag finals #minerals #opal #fluorite #geology #as always send an ask or make a comment and i'll do my best to answer questions #if you just tag a question i might not see it but i do try and read all the tags because i like seeing what y'all have to say

[harlequinchaos]

Tears of the Kingdom tips for surviving the new economy and whatnot, under the cut (in case of spoilers)

Adventuring Tip: STEALTH IS YOUR FRIEND

Once you get to Kakariko Village you can buy the Stealth Suit (Highly recommend doing the connected sidequest to bring the cost of the shop down). This makes it so you can walk up to fish, bugs, and creatures without them running away (if you sprint they'll still run) this is AMAZING for collecting these things as everything seems way more sparse in totk. No more chasing frogs for you my friend.

Food Tip: Critical Meals

Cooking between 11:30pm-12:00pm on the night of a blood moon gives you:

+3 hearts recovered to your dish

+1 level to whatever effect is present in your dish

+5:00 duration to the effect

Rupee Tip: Go Spelunking!

One of the biggest features in totk are the new caves systems that are literally everywhere. Oftentimes you'll find ore deposits and rare ore deposits and find Amber, Opal, Rubies, Sapphires and Topazes. Sell them for cash (I recommend saving sapphires, see below). If you see a wall of breakable rocks, usually it will drop rusty claymores and rocks for you to make more crude hammers. But a bomb flower or zonai time bomb work too (DON'T BLOW YOURSELF UP). Additionally, a cave will be marked with a ✔️ once you kill the bubblfrog inside.

Battle tip: Ice is OP.

Frozen enemies take double damage from your next hit, so try to always have a Magic Rod/Scepter with a sapphire fused to it, fusing a sapphire to a regular weapon works as well, but you're not aiming to hit the enemy with the source of the ice. Freeze > pause and switch to your strongest weapon> hit the enemy > switch back to your ice weapon > repeat to stunlock the enemy, works on everything that isn't a Lynel or Boss. Using Ice Fruit or Blue Chuchu jelly works too, but stuff is more rare in this game.

Relatively Easy Rupees:

You'll need:

-Bow & arrows (the stronger the bow the better)

-Sheild (for sheild surfing)

-Cold Resistance Armor (to survive)

-Speedy Elixir (optional, but it'll REALLY help)

-Access to Snowfield Stable (Hebra Region)

What you're gonna be doing is big game hunting in the snowy field north of the stable. All winter animals are capable of dropping Raw Gourmet Meat which is the best quality, including moose, the bears and the wolves. Sheild surf to get around quicker and then go for headshots with a bow and just hunt the animals for their meat. You'll want the speedy Elixir because you have to be pretty quick between the meat dropping and freezing. Once it's frozen it counts as a meal, but you literally get hundreds of rupees by selling 5 Raw Gourmet Meats cooked together.

Item Management: Brightbloom Mushrooms are the new Apples:

Going off of the previous tip of exploring the cave systems, you'll find Brightbloom Mushrooms almost more than anything else. Eventually you'll want to stop collecting them, but they're the perfect source of quick food fodder. Just cook a bunch together for quick hearts (and the glow effect which is nice in caves).

Advanced Combat Tip: Muddlebuds

If you've been to The Depths, one of the native plants are the Muddlebuds. These make it so enemies will attack each other when thrown (or attached to an arrow). I recommend wearing the stealth gear, sneaking up to a pack or finding a vantage point, and hitting the strongest enemy in the group with a muddlebud arrow. It'll start to attack it's allies, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the show. Note: enemies will still target you if they see you (hence the stealth/vantage point)

These are just a few tips, feel free to add more, and try not to be too spoilery for people who haven't played or haven't gotten far yet!

#totk #tears of the kingdom #zelda totk #zelda tears of the kingdom #zelda #totk tips

[carrythatwayt]

Before The Beginning ✨️Color Theory✨️

Okay, this will be pretty long, tldr: everything is a mirror of everything. All opinions are my own after I was caught between the twin forces of memories from my art and film theory classes. All screenshots thanks to the great folks at cap-that.com

I'm going to start after "Let there be light" for obvious reasons, up until that point the lighting is bright but cold and white. The nebula gives us a diegetic (in scene) reason for the shifting and intense colors but I think it's really interesting to see how it was used to reinforce this universe-changing conversation.

"Look at you, you're gorgeous!"

The nebula is only beginning to throw off color, and what's the first thing that happens? Makes it appear like Aziraphale's wings are blushing when he realizes the compliment was not meant for him (and seriously, how adorable is he).

As the conversation winds on and Crowley excitedly decribes the nebula, colorful light is increasingly projected onto the angels, but not the background. This visually ties them together and the intensity of colors seems purposeful as well, since they immediately begins to cool and dim as Aziraphale explains the less-than-stellar purpose behind the star factory.

"What's the point in creating an infinite universe.... if you're only going to let it run a few thousand years?"

Two really interesting things happen here. A star-burst reminiscent of a halo explodes and dissipates behind Angel Crowley's head, and when his wings droop in disappointment, a small cloud of red can be seen appearing behind his left wing.

As Aziraphale attempts to explain the ineffable but all-important Earth and humans, he begins to gather an aura of gold, baby pink, and baby blue. Crowley's red cloud of confusion also continues to intensify as he listens.

"But that's idiocy!"

The reddish clouds of confusion and doubt really begin to pick up speed now as Angel Crowley vents his frustration and beats his wings hard in agitation (also, shout out to how ruffled his feathers become because it's a whole mood in itself).

Here's where things get dangerous.

"Someone has to say "Look Boss, this is a really terrible idea..."

The red cloud has become a roiling crimson storm filling half the frame beyond Crowley and casting dark red light on his face. Meanwhile Aziraphale's background stubbornly hangs onto its cool colors, now opal and turquoise.

"I don't suppose anyone could object to me putting a note in the suggestion box..."

The nebula's red gas has now completely filled Crowley's frames, surrounding him on all sides. The next interesting thing occurs behind Aziraphale.

"I don't think it's our place to start suggesting...!"

In contrast to Crowley's red cloud of doubt, I've been calling this Aziraphale's red ball of anxiety (hello my old friend). He is deeply perturbed by this line of conversation and as he is explaining that the Almighty doesn't have, and likely wouldnt appreciate a suggestion box, this red light floats from behind his wing to behind his head (again, mood).

"If I was the one running it all..."

The saturation of Crowley's red background has lessened a bit, but Aziraphale's Red Ball of Anxiety reaches its peak intensity at this statement as Aziraphale nervously casts his gaze around to see if any other angels heard this borderline blasphemy.

"How much trouble could I get into just for asking a few questions?"

While Angel Crowley is still firmly framed by the red cloud, its disrupted by pale light cast by baby stars or proto-planets, as if it was being leavened by his irrepressible optimism.

For his part, we leave Aziraphale in a riot of both warm and cool colors: golds, greens, pinks, purples... This makes absolute sense to me, seing as it highlights the riot of emotions Aziraphale goes through, beginning with raw concern for Crowley's safety but resolving to a frankly breathtaking amount of affection and admiration. Seriously, zoom in and become unwell with me.

Well, that's all folks! Cheers to you if you stuck it out this far, hope literally any of my rambling and possible derangement was interesting to literally any one else 😅

#good omens #good omens meta #aziraphale #loves #anthony j crowley #the angel who will become crowley #color theory gonna color theory

[fernthewhimsical]

Unicorn Crystals

Here is a list of some crystals associated with Unicorns. Under the cut I have included more info, as well as where the link to unicorns comes from.

Unicorn Stone (lepidolite and pink tourmaline)

Lepidolite

Kunzite

Ametrine

Girasol

Selenite

Pink Amethyst

Opalite

Peridot

Clear Quartz

Peacock Ore

Rainbow Moonstone

Golden Healer

Golden Rutilized Quartz

Unicorn Crystals

Unicorn Stones

Also called: Unicorn Crystal, Pegmatite, Lepidolite and tourmaline Unicorn stone is lepidolite with pink tourmaline in pegmatite, often with (smokey) quartz to bind them together. Hardness: Unknown, tourmaline is 7.0 – 7.5, while quartz is 7.0 How to identify it: A purple stone with pink flecks, either completely purple and pink, or set within white. Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Unicorn energy, connecting other realms, intuition, brings joy, gently calming, self love, balance between mind and body, good for meditation, cleansing, attracting positivity Sources connecting it to unicorns: myself

Lepidolite

Also called: Lithium glimmer Hardness: 2.5 – 3.0 mohs, tumbled stones and the like are often combined with quartz, making them more durable How to identify it: Soft purple and pink opaque stone. It has mica in it so it shimmers gently, especially in its raw form. Important safety information: Raw lepidolite can split easily, because it is built up of layers of mica Magical associations/uses: Unicorn energy, pleasant dreams, brings joy, helps set and keep boundaries, gently calming, self love, authenticity, discovering magical talents Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix, and Unicorn Magic by Tess Whitehurst

Kunzite

Also called: Lilac spodumene Hardness: 6.5 – 7.0 mohs How to identify it: Transparent stone in a very subtle pink to lilac colour. The way you look through this stone determines what colour you see. It is pleochroistic, when looked through it length wise the colour will look purple, when looked through it side wise it is pink to transparent. Important safety information: Fades in sunlight Magical associations/uses: Love and dedication in all its forms, heals heartache, brings vitality and youthfulness, helps against stage-fright, brings creativity and new ideas Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix, and Unicorn Magic by Tess Whitehurst

Ametrine

Also called: Trystine, Bolivianite (in the past) Hardness: 7.0 mohs How to identify it: A natural mix of amethyst and citrine, this is a transparent crystal in (deep) purple and yellow Important safety information: Fades in sunlight Magical associations/uses: Intuition, sense of calm and control, creativity, new ideas, steadfastness, brings joy, concentration, harmony between spirituality and intellect, contentment, helps stay happy even in adversity Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix

Girasol

Also called: girasol opal, water opal Hardness: 5.0 – 6.0 How to identify it: Girasol is a type of transparent (hyalite) opal with a blue light or sheen that follows the light source. Important safety information: Can fade in sunlight, do not clean in water Magical associations/uses: Protection, brings joy, optimism, love of life, authenticity, creativity, stimulates interest in art and appreciation for beauty, love, passion, inner peace, insight into the subconscious, making new friends Sources connecting it to unicorns: myself

Selenite

Also called: Satin spar, Desert rose, Gypsum flower, Maria glass (transparent selenite) Hardness: 2.0 mohs How to identify it: Selenite is a crystalline form of gypsum stone. It comes in different colours: white, yellow, orange, red, and transparent. It is semi-opaque and has a satiny sheen. Important safety information: Chips and breaks easily, dissolves in water Magical associations/uses: Moon magic, unicorn energy (especially carved spirals), lunar unicorn energy, magic, positivity, intuition, journeying, cleansing, meditation, divination, calming, rest. Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix, Unicorn Magic by Kitty Bishop, Diane Cooper

Pink Amethyst

Hardness: 7.0 mohs How to identify it: A transparent to semi-transparent crystal in an earthy, dusty pink colour. A newly discovered stone, this was first mined in 2019 in Patagonia, Argentina. Pink amethyst gets it dusty pink colour from the inclusion of hematite, where rose quartz gets it from the inclusion of titatium, iron, and manganese. Therefor pink amethyst is closer to regular amethyst than any other quartz, but it’s power softer and closer to earth. Important safety information: Fades in sunlight Magical associations/uses: Love, the heart, relieves stress, compassion, empathy, emotional balance, self love, self-confidence, intuition. Sources connecting it to unicorns: myself

Opalite

Also called: Opal (this is false), Opaline Hardness: 5.0 mohs How to identify it: Milky white, translucent stone with blue or pink hues. It almost resembles the unicorn’s iridescent coat. Important safety information: None, it is glass Magical associations/uses: Tranquility, softness, water, healing, inner wisdom, communication Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix

Peridot

Hardness: 6.0 – 7.0 mohs How to identify it: A transparent stone in a bright spring green, often only available in small stones Important safety information: Can fade in sunlight Magical associations/uses: Brings joy, self-confidence, opens the heart to love, also of the self, abundance, prosperity, connecting with nature, connecting with the Fair Folk (and therefore unicorns), compassion, promotes kindness, empathy, strengthens your self worth, inner feeling of warmth and contentment “like sitting in the sun on a spring day” Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix

Clear Quartz

Also called: Mountain quartz, Mountain crystal Hardness: 7.0 mohs How to identify it: A transparent and clear quartz stone, sometimes with cracks that can reflect rainbows like a prism. Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Strengthens any working, brings clarity, cleansing, meditation, healing, hopefulness, programmable stone, conducts and channels energy, concentration, protection Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix, Unicorn Magic by Tess Whitehurst, Unicorn Magic by Kitty Bishop, Diane Cooper

Peacock Ore

Hardness: 3-3.25 mohs How to identify it: A sulfite mineral with a copper base and iridescent hue. The texture is rough. The iridescent hue is a natural occurrence due to copper, iron, and sulphur, so it is not man made. Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Working galaxy magic, spiritual journeying, self-confidence and self-esteem, pride workings Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix

Rainbow Moonstone

Hardness: 6.0 mohs How to identify it: White translucent stone with a blue opalescent flash. Sometimes with black specks in it as well. Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Moon magic, lunar unicorn energy, magic in general, calmness, uplifting, dream work, spiritual growth, connect with your inner self Sources connecting it to unicorns: mentioned in Llewellyn’s little book of Unicorns by Angela A. Wix, and Unicorn Magic by Tess Whitehurst

Golden Healer

Also called: limonite quartz Hardness: 7.0 mohs How to identify it: A clear quartz with a natural golden yellow colour. It gets its colour from the amount of iron inside the quartz, and the colour can range from yellow to dark brown Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Sun magic, solar unicorn energy, healing, creativity, inspiration, courage, seeing the truth, prosperity, freedom, contentment, bring joy and energy Sources connecting it to unicorns: myself

Golden Rutilized Quartz

Also called: Rutile in quartz, sagenite Hardness: 7.0 mohs How to identify: A clear quartz with inclusions of golden needle-like strands, almost looking like unicorn hair. Important safety information: None Magical associations/uses: Sun magic, solar unicorn energy, hope, confidence, courage, growth, strengthens spirituality, cheerful energy, independence, self love, healing, protection, setting and keeping boundaries, inspiration, motivation, abundance

#witchcraft #witch #witchblr #crystals #unicorn #unicorns #unicorn magic #unicorn witch #unicorn witchcraft #crystal witch #fair folk #faery craft #fae

[arisenreborn]

5 Character Associations - Olivia

EMOTIONS/FEELINGS:

Proud determination and defiance. Eschews tradition, sometimes with a childish petulance. (Nevertheless, perhaps hypocritically, loves traditions that let her dress up and have fun.)

Charismatic; positive and friendly, she seeks to protect and uplift others, naturally drawing people to her

Confident, sometimes to a fault. She pursues her path and what she believes is right without hesitation - (if she hesitates, she's likely to spiral into one doubt after another...)

Passionate. Very much of the "go big or go home" sentiment: Work Hard, Party Harder. She wants to experience everything fully, no half-measures, nothing half-hearted.

Has deep-seated hurts related to emotional abandonment and not being good enough that really ought to be addressed but she'd rather just keep working herself raw to prove herself than sit too long to do the hard emotional work.

COLOURS:

sapphire blue

emerald green

blue goldstone

iridescent opal

amethyst purple

SCENTS:

lavender & honey - (her bathing go-to's)

the fresh green scents of vermund's wilderness

wheat & oxen - (she spends a lot of time in the fields outside of Vernworth)

new - new leather, new steel, most everything she's wearing has a scent of 'newness' to it, fresh bought and yet to be tested.

iron & fire - (she spends a lot of time around the smithy)

OBJECTS:

Necklace of elven make - said to be an heirloom of an ancestor, she was the only one in this day and age to care for it.

Tramont family amulet - denotes her as a member of the family, despite kind of being disowned.

Wolf fang - while she has many of these, this one she had crafted into a necklace - it was the first 'gift' Emrys gave her.

Crow mask - for masquerades or skullduggery, it is equal parts beautifully ornate and alluring, and frightfully forbidding.

Hand mirror - Made of pewter and engraved with ornate birds and flowers, it was a gift from her younger sister when she left the family estate.

BODY LANGUAGE:

Open - almost dangerously so. Any drill instructor of the knights would reprimand her for being so lax. But she's quick like a spring to respond, and thinks that 'laxness' is what better enables 'flexibility'.

Flowing, each step feels like a dance. She turns to someone calling her name and smiles, waving, as the sunlight dances around her - like a moving image of some princess from a storybook.

Almost princely, charming, bends and yields around the object of her attention, gently guiding touches as if leading a dance.

White knuckles. Her whole body tenses seeing soldiers beat down on civilians. Nostrils flared, cold resolution in the eyes. She sees the solution, and acts without remorse.

A dull look in her usually shining, lively eyes, a slouch in her shoulders. Only one person sees it, behind the closed doors of their abode. Tired, so tired of fighting and constantly trying to prove herself and- and then it's quickly gone. The light sparks anew, and she presses onward. She isn't doing this for herself, after all.

AESTHETICS:

swords & shields - to protect, not just to defend but to slay

fresh fruit with honey

beautiful, fancy dresses of many colors

bloody knuckles, bruised cheeks, a cut lip, circles under the eyes

shimmering goblets of wine & glittering masquerade halls VS overflowing mugs of ale & raucous, crowded taverns

SONGS:

Florence + The Machine - King

The Oh Hellos - Second Child, Restless Child

Laura Marling - Hope in the Air

Beyoncé - I Was Here

Florence + The Machine - I'm Not Calling You A Liar

#character prompts. #oc: olivia (arisen) #i love her she really just goes with her first inclination almost all of the time #yes she's gonna smooch that elf #yes she's gonna give the pretty oracle flowers #yes she's gonna throw those soldiers into the brine #it's what they deserve

[casanovascomments]

Per our conversation about my rock rp. The following was found in my Notes app.

Original Name : rock

New Name : Rocky— (or any nickname that your character would like to call Rocky with UwU)

Age : It doesn’t really know...

Height : 8.5 cm (while sitting) and the legs are 4 cm :c

Gender : :c... Rocks do not have genders

Sexuality : Aromantic (It doesn’t feel romantic attraction-)

Appearance : It’s a rock, semi-circle , natural opal. It’s not one of those natural, colorful, beautiful bling bling opals - called “precious opals”. Just one of “common opals”, relatively white, raw material (but can be considered as smoother than the others raw common opals.) It also has a pair of pale-blue eyes. And a mouth. Creepy, I know. It does NOT have muscular arms, but rather skinny, fragile arms.) noodles

Clothing / fashion : If you’re going to get it something to “wear”, it is fine with anything, even just a cloth.

Extra : It is a rock.

Personality : Neutral good, compassion. Considerate over feelings and careful of its speech. But can be overwhelmed by information, since the witch somehow did not successfully in her spells towards the lil’ rock. It is curious, however. It loves to learn :^) It can be fragile, please be careful to not step on Rocky. It is observant, so Rocky will most likely to assess the foes and other people around it. Although it was freaking out in its first few fretful moments of life, Rocky would later on try to keep calm in stressful moment. It’s a good child. Just don’t let it snap back to you.

Habits : Keep things to self; unconsciously assess people and the environments - which often can bring headaches due to overwhelming information (later on, there might be a habit of sitting on someone’s shoulder?)

Hobbies : Reading, learning, -unknown-

Likes : Everyone in the team; to sit on somebody’s shoulder; books; water

Dislikes : Overwhelming information, loss of water (it can die from this-), uh eh nothing else I guess?-

Power : ... Summon rocks (currently undiscovered) and throw rocks (no idea how is it going to do that with those noodles arms-)

Limits : Depends on how strong Rocky is- Currently can’t summon anything oof

Drawbacks : Rocky would experience an immense loss of water (opals are weak against water, it can crack and fade) in 10 seconds and the its limbs would go numb (noodles)

And ragdolls like it’s in a game lul

oh so you were one of those people with full notes about their ocs... and making character sheets... also rocky sounds fire actually. I'd love to see rocky in designer cloth speaking of the fashion tastes LMFAO

#casanova's comets #this is reminding me faintly of when i was “shaggy and carl doing the macarena” during an undertale au rp #not shaggy and carl. No. Not two separate characters. One collective character for the both of them. #I was also lightning mcqueen #This was also not a crack rp #That rp lasted YEARS

[aliatori]

Thread the Needle

The Forsaken and the Forsworn | Post-Fate | Gabriel Berthelot/Jihane N'Ait | 10.5k words | Explicit

Tevnit alerts Jihane to a new presence in the pavilion. She tenses, her claws digging into the white leather padding of the perch she’s made of Jihane’s shoulder. Her narrow reptilian head darts toward the western entrance; the sunset unfolding above the tiled arch sets her fire opal scales ablaze. To mollify her while she sorts out her unexpected visitor, Jihane lifts another bloody rodent morsel to her jaws as an offering.

“Scion-Captain Berthelot, Mistress N’Ait.” Sidqi vanishes as soon as the announcement is made.

Not so unexpected, then. Jihane knew it was only a matter of time before Gabriel sought her out again. It’s why she left standing orders with her household to allow him entry.

Between her and Sea-Trader Melançon, they’ve impressed upon Gabriel the necessity of covering the Watcher’s mark in certain spaces; nudity full or partial is no cause for remark in the Enclave, but bearing another deity’s favor so openly in Rhohnas’ lands, even that of a potential Exiled ally, creates more problems than Jihane cares to solve. More a surprise than the Scion-Captain’s presence is that he appears to have heeded their concerns, particularly after the nonsense with the flagrant cup sharing between him and the Sea-Trader at the recent banquet.

He cuts a striking figure in the sunrobe Jihane gifted him. Instead of selecting a bright Trinoran hue, she made her one concession to the Watcher and her chosen with the colour palette: a dark blue-grey like a brewing storm, with elaborate white embroidery at the edges of the short sleeves and decorating the hem. Circular swirls reminiscent of waves decorate both sides of the low, open vee neckline; the swell of bare, hair-dusted chest confirms Gabriel hasn’t deigned to wear anything beneath it. Continuing her downward sweep, Jihane smiles to see the midnight blue leather sandals she sent with the sunrobe on his feet, straps crossed across the tops of them and continuing halfway up his sturdy calves. A shame he’ll have to remove them for ablutions if she chooses to take this reunion indoors.

A heady thrill quakes through her at the sight. The Scion-Captain’s obedience bodes well for Jihane’s plans both personal and political. Were she a less patient woman, she’d be tempted to take him here and now.

When she lifts her gaze from Gabriel’s feet to his eyes, his arrogant grin reminds her of the challenges ahead.

“Don’t get any wild notions about all this politicking just ‘cause of an outfit.” He sweeps ringed fingers down his body in an invitation Jihane graciously accepts. “I reckon it’s only smart not to make waves… at least when I ain’t in control of them.”

Jihane decides this doesn’t merit a response. It would only be giving him the attention he craves. Instead, she turns to Tevnit, irritation writ plain in her glittering topaz eyes. Jihane retrieves another sliver of raw flesh from the lined pouch at her waist and tosses it to Tevnit, who snaps her maw shut around it with a loud clack.

Now just outside of arm’s reach, Gabriel stops, expression shrewd as he takes in Tevnit’s presence. At least he has a sense of danger.

“What is that? Some kind of pet?”

“To call Tevnit ‘pet’ is an insult. She’s a companion, of sorts. That’s the closest Achaizarian word that translates.” The companion in question stares down Gabriel, stone-still, the prelude to deciding he’s a threat. She holds up her free hand and splays the blood-stained fingers wide in a silent command to stop. “Don’t come any closer.”

The twist of Gabriel’s lips and scrunch of his bold nose signal his displeasure. She half expects him to take a step closer to spite her, and as far as Jihane’s concerned, he’d deserve the flame or claw he’d get for his trouble. But stop he does, which sets different gears turning in Jihane’s thoughts, ones wondering what other commands Xeheia’s envoy would obey.

“She gonna take my eye out if I do?”

“If I don’t beat her to it.” More tease than threat, even if Jihane’s capable when pressed.

Still, Gabriel laughs, rich and deep. “Been told I’m altogether too whole to have been a pirate this long. It would figure a—whatever she is—would take my eye out before some navy dog or piss-drunk merchant.”

“The Empire calls them dragons, like the creatures from their myths. They’re ignorant, but they’re not entirely wrong in this case. They’re flying, scaled, sun-blooded creatures, some of whom can command flame when mature, as befitting children of Rhohnas.” Jihane strokes the pale orange webbing of Tevnit’s folded wing with a gentle finger and earns a pleased trill in response, though her attention remains on Gabriel. That makes both of them, unfortunately.

“So like shadowkraken are to Xeheia. Just.” Gabriel pauses, eyeing Tevnit with curiosity and respect that seems genuine. “Smaller.”

“Exactly, Scion-Captain.” In her pleasure, Jihane rewards Gabriel with a toothy smile. The twist of hunger in his features as he beholds her fangs rewards her in turn. “Though of course, I’ve only heard of shadowkraken second-hand, and little at that. The waters of the Umbra are far from Enclave shores.”

“Most people who see ‘em don’t live to talk about it, and those that do, well…” Gabriel tosses his head, the end of his sleek braid brushing an exposed sliver of collarbone, then laughs. “Let’s just say we’re still tight-lipped about some things. Can’t go giving all our secrets away, no matter how keen the old girl is on cozying up to the rest of the Exiled.”

“Confirmation that shadowkraken are sacred to Xeheia is more than I knew one turn ago,” Jihane says. “How would you feel about a trade?”

Gabriel shifts his weight to one leg, arms folded across his broad, generous chest. She tries not to focus on his dayrobe riding up to mid-thigh with the motion. The smug grin returns with a heated slant, one that evokes a flutter between her legs and a roar to rival Tevnit’s in her pulse.

“You and trades. This gonna be like the last trade? ‘Cause that one worked out for both of us.”

“So you presume.”

“Didn’t hear any complaints, though that could’ve been because your thighs were clamped ‘round my ears.”

So presumptive. But Jihane enjoys taming dangerous creatures, bringing them to heel. Tevnit’s solid weight on her shoulder attests to that.

She unties the pouch at her waist and tosses it across the tiled ground of the pavilion to him. He catches it, clenching it tight in his fist, that intriguing curiosity back on his face. Without waiting for permission—to Jihane’s irritation—he opens the bag, his studded eyebrows lifting.

“Not that it’s the first time I’ve been in this position, but any particulars as to why you threw a sack of offal at me?” Jihane draws back to look at Tevnit, who trains her gaze on the bag the Scion-Captain holds. Her vertical pupils have widened with interest, though her scales are lifted from her skin, a literal bristle of agitation. With a looping snatch of song, Jihane commands her to stay put, just in case she harbours any idea of flying to snatch the bag from Gabriel’s unsuspecting grasp. Ever the opportunistic girl.

“A gift. The first step in establishing trust with sunwyrms is to hand-feed them. It’s what all of Tevnit’s stewards have done to mind her in my absence when she chooses to visit. Often, devotees of Rhohnas seek out a sunwyrm to perform this with as a ritual in the wild. It’s seen as courting Rhohnas’ favour.”

“And what makes you think I need to court Rhohnas’ favour?” Gabriel touches his fingertips to the bird skull dangling from his relic. No surprise he refuses to conceal that; Sea-Trader Melançon made a wine-induced admission that it once belonged to him. “I got more than enough favour to last this lifetime, through all seven hells, and right to the next realm.” “Is that not the entire point of your diplomatic visit? To gain Rhohnas’ favour and bring that promise back to the Watcher?” Jihane holds up a single finger and forestalls the reply Gabriel opens his mouth to give. “If nothing else, I know you’re courting my favour, your creative subversions of my advice aside. I’m curious to see what judgment Tevnit—and thereby, Rhohnas—makes of you.”

A pretty flush spreads up the tanned skin of Gabriel’s chest, making it all the way to his cheeks. Good. Jihane enjoys it when a well-placed shot strikes true, even more so when it has the Scion of a deity shuffling his feet.

The moment passes quickly, and the bluster she’s quickly beginning to associate with Xeheia’s chosen devotee rises like a storm wind. “Fine. What do I have to do?”

“Take one of the slices from the feed bag and place it upon your fingers, then slowly approach Tevnit with your palm extended. Emphasis on slowly. My beloved girl, like me, doesn’t enjoy surprises.”

“And then?”

“She’ll either eat it from your palm, which means she’s accepted you as worthy, or she’ll bite off a finger or two. But not to worry—Enclave chirurgeons are without peer. You’d likely not lose them permanently.”

She watches the emotions spin on Gabriel’s face like bits of stained glass in the toy tubes they make for children, rapid and plain to see. He studies Tevnit for a long moment then gives a decisive nod.

“Alright. I’ll do it.” No hesitation.

Jihane steadies her breathing. The anticipation sets her limbs shaking. In the interest of a fair judgment, she stills her body. The way Gabriel throws himself headlong into danger to prove himself to her, to her deity? It stokes the embers of her desire into a roaring flame.

But there’s a test to be passed, first.

Gabriel, raw meat in his palm, approaches with slow, confident steps, the leather of his gifted sandals whispering against the coloured spray of tile beneath them. Wind rustles through the fronds lining the square, cutting through the stifling heat like a cool knife. He walks like a man used to peril – not flinging himself headlong, but not holding back.

Tevnit stirs as he gets closer, scales lifting further from her skin and making her seem twice again her size. Her long neck stretches to look down at Gabriel from her perch. A gurgle emanates from Tevnit’s throat along with the smell of sulfur. Not the worst reaction, but still in precarious territory.

“Careful,” Jihane says sternly, only realizing after that she’s spoken in Trinoran.

The lightning-glow of Gabriel’s gaze meets hers without a shred of fear. He returns his attention to Tevnit, palm held out, emperor and supplicant in the same moment. Wisely, he pauses until Tevnit stops her warning rumble, then carves out the last steps to get within arm’s reach with measured deliberation, bearded chin tilted in an approximation of deference.

The tension could snap bones. Jihane registers each shift of Tevnit’s weight on her shoulder, reminding herself to keep breathing. She watches Gabriel with a threefold hunger – for the man, the sacred, and the thrill. His palm doesn’t so much as quiver as he waits for Tevnit’s choice, and in that moment, she feels righteousness about her decision to seek his aid.

She only hopes Tevnit—who speaks for Rhohnas—feels the same.

All at once, Tevnit’s sleek head swoops down, dropping Jihane’s stomach to her feet along with it, a shimmering red-orange blur. But Jihane has never looked away from difficult moments and she does not look away now. Because she doesn’t, she’s treated to a marvellous sight: Gabriel’s hand remains unmaimed. Tevnit tosses the meat back in her gullet, scales smooth and flat, then lifts her head and trumpets her pleasure. There’s a sensation like someone pressing Jihane towards the ground, then airy lightness as Tevnit takes off into the fading blue of the sunset sky, flying true as an arrow to the opening of the courtyard, where she will roam the islands to her heart’s content until she comes back to Jihane.

“So did I pass,” he says, voice thick and hot, not bothering to make it a question.

Jihane closes the gap between them and takes the bag of feed from his grasp, dropping it on the ground. She replaces it with her hands, gripping his forearms and trailing her fingers up them, avoiding the lines of sacred ink. To be the first to reach for him in greeting breaks protocol. Then again, so is the slow squeeze she gives his forearms and the soft stroke of her fingertips along his skin. It borders on scandalous.

A perilous combination of rapture, lust, and yearning fills her, scorching like a desert sun. She struggles to subdue it; the casual stroke of Gabriel’s calloused thumbs along the Maw scars covering her arms doesn’t help.

He’s proving dangerous in more ways than one.Time to start balancing the scales.

“Join me for an evening meal.”

It’s not a question.

-----

Gotta hand it to the Enclave, and to Jihane in particular—Gabriel’s eaten better these past two spans than he’s eaten in a Rising. At least when he’s at the Eye, what with supplies still coming in at a trickle compared to the old days of a full fleet. Feels like no sooner than she snapped her fingers and doled out orders to her staff than a pile of vittles appeared before them.

Not that he’s of much of a mind to eye the contents.

Contrary to Luc’s ribbing back dockside at the Squall, Gabriel knows he’s thinking with his dick instead of diplomacy. At least somewhat. Thing is? He doesn’t care.

On the opposite side of the square table, Jihane dips her clawed fingers into a fancy white bowl with six-sided red figures on the outside, matching red petals floating on the surface of what Gabriel assumes to be water. A floral fragrance wafts towards him as she shakes off the perfumed excess, then neatly wipes her hands on a vibrant green cloth beside the tray. He likes the meticulousness of her. He likes it more when he gets the chance to muss it up, which he can admit he’s angling for tonight.

When she glances up at him through her long, dark eyelashes, there’s no mistaking the look in her rose-coloured eyes for anything but flirtation, and—yeah. It’s enough to get his dick twitching between his legs. Can’t decide yet what kind of omen that is. There’s some kind of game ahead. How much he can sway it remains to be seen.

“Not hungry, Scion-Captain?” Jihane asks.

Gabriel doesn’t answer, giving her a slow once-over instead. She’s dressed in all white today, a white so brilliant as to be dazzling, like the way high sun on a clear day can turn the seas beneath his ship into a gleaming expanse of fire. Unlike the short sleeves of his robe, her pleated, dressier affair is missing the sleeves… and most of the chest. He doesn’t bother to hide his leer as he admires the pillowy swell of her breasts spilling over the tops of the cups meant to hold them, twitches again thinking of burying his face in the expanse of smooth brown skin. The clear beads Gabriel’s learned denote her status sparkle where they’re woven into her long box braids, which she has pulled into a half-crown atop her head. One bare foot peeks out from where Jihane has her legs tucked beneath her. The gold lacquer on her toes matches the shade of her claws.

“Not for anything on the table right now,” he answers.

“How unfortunate for you.” Her dazzling smile does fuck all to hide the new huskiness of her voice. “My suggestion? Find a different appetite to whet. Surely you wouldn’t be so rude as to let all this go to waste.”

“Sure don’t sound like a suggestion.”

“It isn’t.”

Gabriel’s stomach, traitor that it is, betrays him with a rumble. It’s almost, almost worth it for Jihane’s laugh afterward, full lips curved in a gorgeous smile.

“I won’t have it said that I mistreat my guests. Even guests who show up with such an… interesting interpretation of how to wear a dayrobe.”

Sparrow’d made that much apparent in a catty snipe upon Gabriel’s departure, that Jihane’s gift was meant to be worn on top of different clothes, but so far, he hasn’t seen any downsides. He spots a stack of lightly charred flatbread and sets to digging in, spreading a paste made of salty Trinoran fruit with the miniature blunt knife on the tray beside it. It’s warm, delicious, and has his mouth watering even more than it already was.

Jihane doesn’t touch any of the stuff yet, which. Weird. But Gabriel likes the weight of her attention, the satisfaction in the square set of her shoulders as he starts in on a second flatbread.

“What sorts of delicacies do you enjoy at the Storm’s Eye?” Jihane asks, clawed fingers curled in a fist beneath her chin.

He swallows his current bite and then snorts. “Hmmm. Nothin’ you’d call a delicacy by your lofty standards.”

“I’ll weigh the scales on that. Answer the question.”

Her tone brooks no argument, so Gabriel begins to reply… then stops, a realization heating the back of his neck. She’s bossing him around. All but dressing him, her ‘companion’, the food, now this. And here he is, going along with it like he’s not the mortal voice of Xeheia on this plane.

“I did, didn’t I? Ain’t my fault if you don’t like the answer.”

The air between them frosts despite a fierce humidity clinging to the dusk, one which beads sweat under Gabriel’s arms and along his back. Jihane diverts her attention to the jewelry on her fingertips as though it’s the most interesting bauble in her opulent pavilion, turning them this way and that. It’s like he doesn’t even exist.

Fine. Two can play that game.

Being pissed doesn’t change the fact he’s hungry, so he keeps on eating: crispy fried balls of dough laced with seasonings, crunchy purple vegetables cut into thin strips, a savoury beige paste spread on more flatbread. Jihane finally picks out a few items for herself – the fried dough, and a few of the black and green salty fruits but whole. Between each bite she dips her hands in the cleaning water and wipes them on the cloth after. There’s a matching bowl beside Gabriel too, but he chooses to ignore it as thoroughly as Jihane ignores him.

A familiar struggle burns and tugs its way through Gabriel’s chest. Anger, yeah, and embarrassment. But it’s the kind of embarrassment that quickens his pulse as much as it heats his skin, the prelude to a fight he gets hard thinking about throwing. When he and Jihane fucked before, it was the usual sort, give or take the burns and bloodshed. Now? He’s not so sure.

Most of his experience in these games has been with Hugo, who’s always more interested in having an excuse to wreck Gabriel with his godsdamned sadistic tortures than being obeyed to the letter. Jihane, though? Disobedience is like dunking a torch in the ocean for all the good it does.

He blows air through his nose, scratches at the fresh growth of beard along his neck, then finally says, “Fish.”

Jihane turns from her throne of pillows and cushions to look at him. It’s just a look, but it’s a look. She tilts her head and raises her eyebrows ever so slightly.

“Lots and lots of fish. Fresh, fire-roasted, pickled, raw, you name it—it’s probably at the Eye. Seaweed, too. Grew it ourselves back in the Umbra and it transferred easy enough. And goats, sometimes. The tough little bastards used to be all over. We took as many of them with us as we could when we had to move.” When he sank the island at Xeheia’s behest, half mad with grief and to be sure nothing was left of the Carnage, but he ain’t getting into that story right now. "And they’re doing fine, but not enough to start slaughterin’ the seven hells out of them yet.”

The more Gabriel speaks, the more Jihane shows interest, until she’s leaning toward him across the table, a delighted smile making apples of her cheeks.

She places her hand over Gabriel’s on the table. The points of her claws kiss the pronounced veins along the back of it. “Thank you. Since I’m hopeful we’ll be allies for the foreseeable future, I want to understand you and your people, even the mundane details. As much as you’re able to divulge, of course. I understand needing to keep the mysteries sacred.” Jihane winks before releasing Gabriel’s hand, and fuck if he’s not dripping—literally—with the satisfaction of giving her what she wants.

Godsdamned inconvenient, his dick.

“What about you? There’s gotta be something you can only find here. Something special to the Enclave. Only fair for me to know.”

Jihane’s smile takes on a new brilliance, sun-bright. “I’m so glad you asked. A fresh harvest from the orchards on the far isles just arrived and brought my favourite Enclave fruit with it.” She plucks a pale blue sphere as big as Gabriel’s fist from the table, then changes her mind and rolls it to him instead.

He stops it with his palm and picks it up. It’s surprisingly heavy in his grip, and if he had smaller hands, it wouldn’t even fit in one. Gabriel gives it an experimental squeeze and finds the husk on the outside firm yet not without give. Dipping his head, he sniffs at it, but whether it’s the savoury smoke coming from the kitchens of Jihane’s estate or a lack in the fruit itself, he can’t smell anything in particular.

“Go ahead. Open it,” Jihane says. She sits up straighter on her side of the table.

Gabriel casts about for some tool or utensil and, finding nothing obvious, opts for the direct route. He tenses his biceps and bears down with his fingers, a claw-like grip on either side, pushing in and pulling apart at the same time. It resists…

Until it doesn’t.

The tension vanishes and the fruit pops apart with a wet, papery crack… and a puff of what sure as all hells looks like steam. Dark orange juice sprays across the lacquered, pale wood of the table and Gabriel’s robe, though it misses Jihane’s pristine ensemble. Glistening flesh the colour of lava fills the inside, a paler yellow membrane clinging to what looks like clusters of tiny pearls on the inside. And he wasn’t imagining things with the steam. Wisps of it drift up from the fruit, which has an intense, sweet, spiced smell now that it’s open. A brush of Gabriel’s fingers confirms the insides are warm as blood. He presses down with the pads of his thumbs and draws out more juice, thin rivulets snaking down his forearms, the liquid hot enough to raise the hair on his arms.

When he finally looks at Jihane, she’s examining her dress-like getup with irritation, though it fades as she finishes her examination. She lifts her face to lock eyes with Gabriel. Black swallows the rose gold of her irises, leaving only a thin pink ring behind.

“What is it that I’m holdin’, exactly?”

“Kliaquat. It’s a fruit that only grows here in the Enclave’s archipelago. In addition to being delicious and expensive, it’s considered sacred to Rhohnas. A testament to his duality.” After a pause, Jihane sweeps a clawed hand at him, twirling it at the wrist in a gesture even Gabriel can interpret as ‘get on with it’. “Go ahead. Enjoy.”

He studies the kliaquat in his hand. It occurs to him it could be poisonous to eat, like spinefish or bubblefish. But his gut says Jihane ain’t looking to do him in just yet. Not without her contract being signed and fulfilled, at least; Gabriel’s got a keen sense for the murderous, and while he’s sure as the Depths are dark Jihane’s gotten her hands dirty, he doesn’t think he’s a target yet.

May as well enjoy himself in the meantime.

Experimental prods confirm the juice comes from the pearls inside bursting. This is clearly a two-hand job, so Gabriel abandons half of the fruit on the table to use both. He plucks out one or two pearls afterward, squishing them between his fingers. There’s a strange satisfaction in each tepid pop. He’s sure he’s not meant to eat the outside, and having torn it in half means there’s no easy way to take a whole bite of it. That leaves scooping out the insides with his fingers.

It’s harder than it looks; most pearls dislodge easily from the faded yellow netting that holds them, but they’re crushed in the process. There’s a hard bit in the middle of each pearl. Seeds, most like. Probably edible. Only one sure way to find out. Gabriel aligns three fingers along the torn edge of the kliaquat, presses down, and digs in, aiming to shovel out a handful of the seeds without damaging too many. Iridescent orange-red juice flows down his forearms, mingling with the black gyre of tentacle exposed by his Enclave-approved robe. The spiced scent is cloying in its sweetness yet still mouth-watering; he’s never met a sweet he’s said no to. Or a spice, for that matter. And the steaming flesh of the fruit…

“Kinda like being three knuckles deep in guts. Either kind,” he observes aloud.

Jihane makes a noise Gabriel would bet his considerable purse was borne of shock, but she covers it with a pretty cough. There’s a predator’s sharpness in her demeanor when Gabriel glances her way, not unlike her little sunwyrm companion from earlier. He starts to regret—but only just, and only a part—opening the door for her budding depraved urges.

“An interesting description.” There’s a solid pause, and then Jihane asks, “Something you have a lot of experience in, I understand.”

Gabriel grins. “Don’t tell me you’re squeamish, now, or that your Sea-Trader has convinced you we all make nice and polite robbing each other on the Fourfold. The fold’s more, huh… discerning about the kinds of violence we visit these days, but some things can only end in blood.”

“Oh, don’t mistake me, Gabriel.” Huskiness returns to Jihane’s voice. “I’m… intrigued. But right now, what I want is for you to eat. So eat.”

Gabriel wrestles down his initial spiteful urge to refuse. Might have been a time he told himself he does it because he’s still hungry, because the fruit looks delicious, but he’s older and wiser—or at least less inclined to indulge his own bullshit. But the plain fact is he likes Jihane’s attention, likes basking in her pleasure when he does as she says. Besides which, he ought to save the fighting and backtalk for the fights that matter, and he’s sure there’ll be plenty as they work out this so-called political and divine alliance.

He raises his cupped palm and parts his lips, drawing the modest handful of pearls into his mouth. Gabriel rolls them around his tongue, though there are only the vaguest hints of tart sweetness so far. Pressing them against the roof of his mouth and cheeks isn’t enough to burst them, so he opts to start chewing.

Flavour erupts along his tongue, the juice as tart and spiced as mulled wine, but with a cascade of new tastes he has no words to describe. They’re sweet, too, and as suspected yield a fibrous crunch when Gabriel gets to the center of the pearls. It should be off-putting, the fruit being a shade away from hot, but when he swallows it kindles a pleasant warmth all the way to his stomach. Almost as good as belting back a slug of fine liquor.

As soon as he finishes the first handful, he digs for more. Faster this time, more careless, to the point where juice trickles over his lips and through his beard, his hands sticky and stained the colour of rust where some of it has dried. Gabriel doesn’t even mind the bitter bits of membrane stuck in the seeds from his haste. By his third and last handful, he lets out a loud, throaty groan before he even chews the pearls. It has an addictive quality; the intensity of the flavour should leave him sated, but with only the hollowed husk and the tattered remains of the webbing left in this half of kliaquat, Gabriel only thinks about the second half.

At least until he lifts his eyes and catches sight of Jihane.

There’s hunger written plain as the stars on her face, though Gabriel knows without a doubt it’s him she’s hungry for, not the fruit, no matter how good it is. Her breasts heave up and down with each deep breath she takes. Haze fogs her eyes when she manages to lock gazes with Gabriel, though it clears in a few deliberate blinks.

“I take it you enjoy the kliaquat.”

Instead of answering right away, Gabriel takes the time to lick each of the fingers on his right hand clean, drawing them into his mouth one by one, releasing them each time with an audible pop.

“Yeah,” he finally answers, “I reckon I did.”

Jihane shifts, an elbow digging into a brilliant turquoise cushion to prop her up. “Then you won’t mind sharing with me.”

“’Course not,” Gabriel says, picking up the other half from the table and extending it to her. He frowns at the smoky plumes of Jihane’s laughter.

“Not like that. You’ll feed it to me. And properly, without mess.”

Gabriel’s frown deepens. A familiar heat prickles along the back of his neck, the equally addictive combination of anger and imminent humiliation. “I ain’t one of your servants to be ordered about, set to wash your feet and fan you with leaves and hand feed you.”

Jihane shrugs a silken, coppery shoulder, the picture of indifference. “If you consider it beneath you, then you can also consider yourself dismissed. I’m a busy woman and won’t waste time arguing with you.”

There’s a moment where it feels like Gabriel’s head has been dunked in a raging river, the roar of his blood like the rush of water filling his ears. It floods his chest, neck, and cheeks. A part of him is pissed as all seven hells.

The other part knows he’s fucked six ways to the Watcher.

“Least tell me what you mean by proper,” Gabriel mutters.

Jihane thaws again, all satisfaction. “Come over here and I will.” She then crooks a clawed finger to beckon Gabriel to her side of the table.

Is this what it’s like to deal with his mercurial moods? The winds of her temper shift nearly as quick as his own. Godsdamn.

He stands, cursing under his breath as his thighs slip against one another, making him realize just how wet he is. Whatever. He knew what he was getting into when he decided to come calling at Jihane’s palatial doorstep. Mostly.

“Kneel here beside me, then I’ll show you how to eat it correctly.”

He bares his teeth in a grimace. The way she orders him about, it’s like she’s forgetting who, what he is. He bites his tongue—literally—against telling her where to shove her imperious commands. Then, a tide of lustful shame rising in him like the dark waters of Xeheia’s holy sea, he lowers himself to one knee, then the other, taking a seat on the backs of his heels. The leather of the sandals digs into his ass, his thin robe not doing much to help blunt the pressure.

“Good.” Jihane all but purrs the word, and Gabriel loves and hates how he can feel himself swell at the praise. Worse still is the traitorous twitch of his cock when she pats his bearded cheek, the tips of her claws clicking against the rings in his ears. “Very good.”

“Just…” Gabriel huffs out an impatient breath, trying hard not to lean into her touch and debase himself more than he has already. “Just get on with it.”

“This is a task that requires patience. Best if you start summoning it now,” she says, a mix of derision and delight in her tone.

Turning from him, Jihane reaches her wide, plush arms across the table to place the remaining kliaquat half on a tray Gabriel didn’t see before. It’s ostentatiously decorated like everything in the Enclave, the base polished ivory and the handles a metallic rose gold. The utensils on it are ivory accented in yellow gold and most make sense: a bowl with high sides studded with pink gems that holds the other half of the fruit, a tiny spoon with scalloped edges, and a steel knife with a carved handle that matches the tray.

The purpose of a rectangular dish lined with several golden needles eludes Gabriel. They’re more delicate pieces than he’s used to, whether from his years of sewing or the fold’s flesh-piercers or Aurele and xyr unflinching sutures.

“The most traditional way to properly eat a kliaquat is threading the seeds on a needle and eating them one or two at a time,” Jihane explains, tapping the needles with her claws. “It’s a delicate process. Use the wrong amount of pressure or pierce it in the wrong spot and the seed bursts. If you don’t use enough force, the seed slips away from the needle and escapes you entirely.”

Gabriel’s frustration mounts just listening to the explanation, let alone trying it. “Lemme guess. That’s the way you want me to feed it to you.”

“It is. And unlike you,”—her eyes sweep down, taking in the erratic pattern of dark stains on Gabriel’s robe—“I expect my clothing to remain spotless.”

There’s a definite ‘or else’ she doesn’t say aloud, so Gabriel asks, “Or else what?”

“If you’re lucky, you won’t find out. I can assure you, the consequences will be nothing you enjoy, so if you were thinking I’d inflict you with pain as punishment, think again.”

A low laugh escapes Gabriel. “Figured me out that quick, huh?” “Watching you writhe as I sank my foreteeth into your chest, as I touched you with Rhohnas’ flame… It would have given away to the most oblivious person, and I’m far from oblivious, Scion-Captain.” She studies him, an excited light shimmering in her eyes. “Are you up to the task?”

He scoffs, then swivels at the hips to pick up the bowl holding the fruit and a needle to match. “I ain’t about to let some fruit and a needle best me after all the shit I’ve done.”

“Let’s hope your skill matches your confidence.” Jihane glances at the tray Gabriel left on the table. “Most beginners—children, usually—make use of the tray at first. It saves some face when a seed inevitably gets away from them.”

“It’s like I said. I don’t need help. You’ll get your fruit without the mess you hate so much.”

Jihane smiles like a trap being sprung. “Then get to it, Gabriel.”

The bowl fits neatly in his hand, its weight solid with the kliaquat resting in it. The needle’s not a dainty piece of shit, but it still feels irritatingly thin and small in his grip for the task at hand. He hasn’t spent most of his life making his clothes and carving scrimshaw and wood for his dexterity to be bested by one godsdamned piece of fruit.

The first pearl he tries to thread on the needle bursts, leaving nothing but wilted topaz flesh clinging to the seed inside. There’s so much juice inside such a tiny pearl; dots of it fleck Gabriel’s freckled forearm and the back of his opposite hand, but thankfully, he’s far enough away from Jihane that it misses her clothing.

“You could still use the tray,” Jihane says.

“Yeah, well, in case you ain’t already noticed, I’m a stubborn asshole. I don’t need it.”

Gabriel slows down, nudging a pearl with the sharp tip of the needle. He doesn’t want it flying every which way and landing on Jihane. Embarrassing, to end the game so soon. He angles the needle downward, about where he judges the midpoint between the edge of the pearl and the seed itself, then thrusts it inward with what he thinks to be sufficient pressure and a steady hand.

The devious son of a bitch still shoots out of the bowl. Thankfully, it lands on a nearby section of tiles, bursting upon impact. His cheeks heat again, pulse quickening with his frustration and the expectant gaze of Jihane on him.

“This is the most hull-licking, bilge-pissing, barnacle-fucking, foolish bleedin’—” Gabriel says, the rest of his words swallowed in a heavy sigh. The notion of tossing the whole bowl across Jihane’s fancy courtyard seems more appealing by the heartbeat.

“Such inventive language. Swears, I assume. Not ones I’m familiar with.”

“Don’t imagine you would be. They ain’t exactly commonplace, and much of a dirty conniving bastard as your Sea-Trader is, his language is cleaner than the rest of him.” Gabriel frowns at the cracked and split husk of fruit in the bowl in his hand, needle at the ready. He reckons he’s got it this next time. “Plus, it’s a particular gift of mine.”

“I’d recommend keeping a civil tongue when you address me. The way you speak of the Sea-Trader? I wouldn’t tolerate it.”

“He gives as good as he gets, believe you me. And anyway, he ain’t here.”

Gabriel places the tip of the needle against the seed and pushes it through in a single thrust. He whoops with delight, though he’s careful to keep his hand even. He lifts it from the bowl to examine his handiwork. In the fading light, the gold of the needle looks like treasure preserved in amber where it penetrates the seed. For a moment, he thinks about popping into his mouth, but Jihane’s expectant look quashes that impulse before it truly gets underway.

“Well done. Now feed it to me, and be careful not to injure me. It will end our game along with mess.”

“Just full of demands, aren’t you? Anything else, Mistress?” Gabriel asks, using the Trinoran word he’s heard Jihane’s staff tack on the end of every sentence and before each use of her name.

Jihane’s eyebrows raise to the elegant, oiled baby hairs at her hairline. Her surprise melts into the kind of expression that makes Gabriel’s heart twist and cock throb: delight with the promise of some inventive cruelty.

“I see you’ve a gift for other parts of language too.” Her searching gaze sends a hot prickle across his skin. “Since you’re so eager to please, I can certainly give you another task.” Jihane flutters her lashes, the bold sweep of gold eye paint glittering as she does. “You can thank me for the privilege of allowing you to feed me before we begin.”

Thank her? For assigning him some tedious, ass-backward work? He opens his mouth to tell her exactly what he’s going to thank her for… and stops when Jihane reaches up and rests her sharp claw against his lips in a shushing motion.

“You’re doing so well, Scion-Captain. Don’t ruin it in a rash moment,” Jihane says, eyes hooded. “Or do. It would please me as much to send you away and deny you as it would to keep going. What happens next depends entirely on you.” She removes her hand and rests it across the curve of her belly, bronzed claws splayed against the white of her clothing, recumbent in the pile of tasseled pillows as she waits.

He hates the way his heart pounds behind his ribs, the way his inner thighs slip against each other in his arousal. Gabriel’s still got the threaded seed and needle in hand as he weathers the hot rush of emotions—fury, lust, shame, desire. He sucks in a deep lungful of air, nose flaring.

“Thank you,” he grits out, face burning, “for lettin’ me feed you.”

“Almost. You’re forgetting the word you and your clever tongue picked up.”

Watcher take him to his watery fucking grave and spare him this humiliation. Gabriel vows to redouble his arguments when they get back to the political part of their negotiating.

“Thank you, Mistress.”

She beams at him, bright as the sun and warm as she claims the fire of her god is, and he’ll be buried inland if it doesn’t feel good to be the reason for it. “Perfect. Now, let’s begin.”

Jihane parts her full lips, the tip of her pink tongue and fangs visible as she waits. Gabriel’s lungs seize for a treacherous moment, cock pulsing at the image. Still, if he’s going to do a job, he’s going to do it well. He lifts the needle to her mouth and slips it inside, the topaz pearl resting on her tongue. Jihane closes her lips around the needle and gazes up at him, rose-gold eyes swallowed by her pupils. It takes him a second to realize she’s not going to draw back herself, so Gabriel keeps an even hand and slides the needle from her mouth, now freed of its juicy seed.

He watches in silence as she works the seed around her mouth, jaw moving as she bites down and hums in pleasure. Gabriel can relate. Just looking at the kliaquat’s flesh gets him hungry all over. Seeing her enjoy herself… Now he’s got two reasons for the spit flooding his mouth.

“There’s always the chance it was beginner’s luck. Again.”

“Luck’s for the Chance and the wildcards who follow them. But sure, I’ll do it again.”

This time, it’s much easier to get one of the seeds on the needle; the trick is going for the ones held in place by the membrane, that way they don’t fly off like hatches unbattened. Gabriel lifts it straight out then offers it to Jihane, threading it through her lips like an offering, clenching as she closes her eyes and waits for the needle to withdraw. Gabriel watches her throat work as she finally swallows the seed. A bead of orange-red juice lingers at the dip in her upper lip. “Well done, well done.” The praise burns like a quarterdeck covered in tar in Gabriel’s gut, quick and dangerous. She crooks her finger at him. “Lean down.”

The beginnings of a heady fog stir in Gabriel, clouding his normal urges to fight back. Not enough to dull his curiosity, though. He’s not sure if it’s pain or pleasure awaiting him at the end of her imaginary leash, but he’s keen to find out, so he leans down, belly clenched to brace himself. Jihane grips his shoulder and uses it as leverage to close the gap, and then her mouth is on his, warm and spiced and intoxicating. She parts his lips with her tongue in a mirror of his work with the needle, bestowing on him a deep kiss that redoubles the ache between his legs. What with his hands full, he can’t grab her by the ample hips and pull her closer as he’d like. But Gabriel’s still got his mouth. He groans and kisses back—tonguing at the tips of her fangs, licking the juice from her lip as the kiss breaks, then huffing out a frustrated breath when Jihane pulls back.

“Didn’t take you for the teasing kind.” “Teasing? If I were in the mood to, hmm. How does the expression go? Play with my food,” she lets a languorous pause fill the air as she looks him up and down, “You’d know it. That was a well-earned reward. I’m sure you’ll hear many rumors about me in your time here, most of which aren’t worth the breath spent to voice them. The one where I’m accused of being overgenerous to the point of bribery when people do as I bid?” She smiles, slow and decadent. “That has some degree of truth to it.”

“Reckon I’ll be the judge on whether the reward is generous enough for the task,” Gabriel retorts, smirking. “I’m used to my ship havin’ a belly full of treasure from all across the Fourfold. And folks can get… creative with their offerings when Xeheia’s crew boards their vessels.”

Jihane tosses her head back with a throaty laugh, generous breasts and belly shaking with each peal. She shoves at Gabriel’s thigh with her foot, a teasing push lacking the force to get him truly off balance. “See, I believe this is one reason we get along so well. Both of us are used to people signing their lives away to please us. I look forward to seeing such offerings for myself when you accept my contract.”

“Who said anything about accepting your contract? I still ain’t finished my talks with the Conflagration. And it’s more than a Rising before the weather will allow passage along the straits you wanna travel. A lot could happen between now and then.”

Jihane’s amusement writes itself on her features, her smugness a mirror to Gabriel’s own. She curves her foot inward and trails the ball along the outside of his thigh, venturing upward until it's tucked beneath his gifted robe. Her toes brush the crease where his leg meets his hip. Gabriel shudders at the delicate touch, then flushes and contemplates abandoning the whole kliaquat exercise, tugging her foot a handspan higher, and demonstrating his capability to turn the tables.

It must show on his face somehow because Jihane drops her foot and gives a sultry laugh. “You will. Of that I do not doubt, Scion-Captain. Now carry on before I lose my patience.”

Right. Gabriel had the bowl and needle in a white-knuckle grip if the tension in his joints is anything to go by. “Alright, alright. Time to see if you’re as generous as you claim.”

Gabriel pierces a third seed, albeit messily; tiny droplets of juice cling to the pinch of his thumb and forefinger. He feeds it to Jihane without incident, though she doesn’t seem inclined to offer one of the aforementioned rewards since it’s imperfect. By the fourth, he’s got the hang of it again. Jihane glows with satisfaction after she swallows the mouthful of fruit.

Turns out, she’s as good as her word. The more seeds he feeds her properly, the more she rewards him. It doesn’t make the task any less godsdamned tedious by nature, but it certainly makes it leagues more enjoyable. For the price of three unruptured pearls painstakingly placed on her tongue, he earns a second; Gabriel can taste the tartness of his own efforts as Jihane licks into his mouth, slow and deliberate. Several more seeds prove the price for more kisses—except Jihane leans in and places these on his taut nipples, tonguing at flesh and metal alike through the robe and leaving new stains in her wake.

“Not fair,” Gabriel grunts, tensing his thighs together in a bid to relieve the ache between them.

“Everything is fair when it’s my home, my game, and my rules.” Aside from her swollen lips, Jihane looks pristine and unaffected. “Keep going. I’m not finished, so neither are you.”

Impatient as all seven hells, Gabriel decides he can speed this up. He eases the needle through one seed then uses the edge of the bowl to push it further down the needle, carefully making room for a second. The second pearl joins the first, and when he lifts it to Jihane’s mouth, she smiles before closing her lips around the needle. She takes her time enjoying them, though by now they must be cool; her lashes flutter, and after she swallows, she lets out a pleased little sigh.

“Very good. You’re catching on so quickly.” With a cat-like smile, Jihane leans forward and places one hand in the valley of his chest, all five tips of her ornate claws nestled together on the skin the robe exposes. She beams up at him, radiating warmth like the galley stove during a winter storm, then drags her fingers down his chest and stomach, hard enough for him to feel the promise of pain but not hard enough to rip the cloth. The way he’s kneeling means she can’t get them where Gabriel really wants them, though even the brush of them across his lap has his cock throbbing and nerves tingling. “Do that again. Three, this time.”

Watcher help him, he doesn’t think twice about questioning it. In his haste, Gabriel misjudges the spot on the first seed; it bounces out of the bowl and off the top of Jihane’s foot, rolling down a groove in the pavilion tiles. A damning drop of orange juice quivers on the top of it. She arches a thick brow at him. “What did I say about patience? That was a close call.”

That does it. Gabriel sets the bowl and needle down, earning him a deeper glare from Jihane. He takes her delicate foot in both hands, one palm against her ankle with fingers wrapped around it to steady it, the other palm against her sole; her foot’s small enough that Gabriel could cover it completely and then some, if he wanted.

Instead, he bends down, back curved, and lifts it to his mouth. Clearly, Jihane doesn’t have much of a problem with this gesture, considering she could kick his teeth in if she took sincere issue. He locks eyes with her over the top of her foot. A delicate set of golden bangles in the interlocking shapes of leaves around her ankle tinkles like windchimes.

“Sorry, Mistress,” he says, overwrought for theatrics sake. Gabriel presses his lips to the top of her foot in a chaste kiss, inhaling deep to enjoy the perfume drifting from her soft skin. He deepens the kiss, teasing at the tracery of veins beneath his lips with the tip of his tongue. A faint hint of tartness confirms he’s gotten to the offending juice. “Won’t happen again,” he says before carefully placing her foot back on its ruby-red pillow.

Jihane’s breath comes deep, breasts straining against the nacreous white fabric of her dress. “And here I discover another one of your ‘talents’: making an apology sound like insolence.”

“Given that I ain’t in the habit of making apologies at all, I can’t see why you’re complaining.”

“My only complaint is you dallying with the task I set you.”

Gabriel smirks, then picks up the bowl and needle. Only a small pocket of seeds remains in the kliaquat. Almost done.

He intends to keep his wits about him, threading seeds three at a time to hurry along the task. But Jihane keeps her gaze on his, sure and steady, stoking the fire in his belly until the molten tension threatens to overflow. She can’t hide her own impatience. Gabriel notices how she draws back first from the needle, not bothering to wait for him to do it, and how she spends less time savouring the pearls.

By the time he finishes, Gabriel’s fingers are stained again, digits a rusty, shimmering orange from all the juices. A shallow pool of kliaquat juice covers the bottom of his fancy bowl, but true to his word, not a drop has gotten on Jihane’s outfit.

Jihane sits up, tucking both legs beneath her. “Here. Let me help clean you.”

Before Gabriel can do a godsdamn thing about it, Jihane takes his free hand in her burning one and brings it to her mouth. She runs her tongue along the curve of his thumb, licking it clean of juice with slow passes. When she gets to his fingers, she takes his pointer finger into her mouth entire, sucking on it in steady pulses; Gabriel’s heart pounds in tandem with Jihane’s attentions as he imagines those same attentions on his cock. She pulls away with syrupy slowness, her long lashes a false veil of demureness over her heated gaze.

He wants to say something, anything. He’s not the kind to get rendered speechless by more gentle diversions, no matter how gorgeous the person bestowing them. Gabriel squares up, taking a deep lungful of breath and intending to give his mouth free rein.

Except Jihane curls her tongue around his middle finger, paying special attention to the calluses on the underside; the silk of her tongue against the rough skin has him shivering where he keels. She kisses her way down to the juice-stained ring, then works her tongue around every golden crevice of the signet; her fangs dig in on either side of his knuckle as she commits to the task. Gabriel moans, the sharp prick of drawn blood and the warm softness of her mouth too much for him to hold back.

He barely registers her cleaning his remaining fingers. It’s hard to focus with the roar of desire washing out almost everything else. The roar becomes a bone-shattering clap of thunder when Gabriel sees Jihane’s just as affected. There’s the tell-tale holy glow to her eyes and scars, and a thin plume of smoke escapes her nose with every exhale.

Fuck it. Gabriel abandons the bowl and chucks it to the ground. Too hard, judging by the delicate crack and wet splash. Jihane hisses a word in Trinoran that must be a swear, but that’s all she gets out before Gabriel frames her heart-shaped face in his hands and pulls it closer. He noses at the divot above Jihane’s upper lip and inhales deep, groaning as he chases the holy smoke of her breath. Jihane wraps her clawed fingers around his wrists and squeezes, but if it’s meant to discourage him, it doesn’t, especially not with a moan—and more smoke—slipping between her painted lips.

It’s a cross between unfamiliar spices—cloves, cinnamon—and the familiar smells of a ship set to the flame, wood burning and crackling as it sinks to the Depths. Gabriel presses his lips to hers and kisses her like she’s a breath of air after diving in freshwater, desperate for the taste of her, grunting and squeezing his thighs together when Jihane gasps a mouthful of smoke into his. She releases one of his wrists to place her hand at the back of his head, pushing him down to her neck and redirecting his efforts. Gabriel’s all too happy to oblige, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin, left drenched between the thighs twice over at the sultry groan it elicits from her.

All too soon, Jihane pulls back and keeps Gabriel at a distance with a hand on his chest, her own breath coming heavy.

“Fetch me another kliaquat.” Gabriel gropes for spoken language, words temporarily stolen. “Really? We’re still on that? Ain’t I done enough by now?”

Were it not the cause of some particular suffering on his part, he’d admire the way her expression changes in an instant, cool and imperious, eyes aglow with her god’s fire. “Do not make me ask again, Gabriel.”

He heaves an irritated sigh but does as she asks. His long reach means he only has to twist his torso and lean a bit to reach the table, rolling a pale blue fruit into his palm with his fingers and bringing it to Jihane.

She plucks it from his grasp, then lifts it to eye level, considering. It looks for all the world like a gem in its setting, perched in the cage of her golden claws. Jihane glances between Gabriel and the kliaquat, her icy expression melting into an amused grin.

“This was going to be another reward, but since you’ve decided to be difficult…”

With no warning, Jihane wields her claws like knives against the firm husk of the fruit and splits it in half—right above her spotless dress.

Instinct drives Gabriel forward, lunging from his kneel to cup his hands beneath Jihane’s. Mercifully, the iridescent juice seems to have missed the white, though flecks of it decorate the tops of her breasts and cheeks. Juice from the split pearls flows from the seam in the fruit, dripping into the cup Gabriel’s made of his hands.

There’s a problem, though. There’s also juice running down Jihane’s fingers in tiny rivulets from where she’s split the fruit. He can chart the course of it plain as day – it’ll drip from her forearms to her clothing before long. Except if he moves his hand, there’s going to be a stain whether he likes it or not.

He’s still got his mouth.

Gabriel hunches and starts lapping at Jihane’s wrists and fingers, chasing every drop of juice he can find. He outlines the sharp golden curve of her claws, the deep lines of her palms, the pulse point of her wrist with his tongue, his aim speed rather than seduction. Still, he’s not fast enough. By the time he finishes with her right hand, there’s juice streaming down her left forearm, following the runnels left by the scars of the Maw.

He switches hands and licks those too. He traces the webbing of scars with his tongue, warm kliaquat juice tinting every swallow. It occurs to him too late that he's lapping at her holy mark like a shipcat at a dish of cream, that maybe it might not be welcome. But as his tongue meets the point where her pulse and her scars intersect on the inside of her wrist, Jihane moans, low and urgent. Not unwelcome, then.

Gabriel’s sucking the juice from Jihane’s jeweled claws when she tosses half of the kliaquat aside in a careless flick. His lungs seize, worried all his work will have been for nothing, but the luxurious white fabric remains clean. Deciding he’s better safe than sorry, Gabriel places his mouth to the point where his wrists meet and tilts the makeshift bowl of his hands, slurping up the remnants of the juice before it can dribble through his fingers. When he looks up through his lashes at her, she moans softly, then lifts the remaining half of the fruit to his mouth.

“Eat.”

Watcher avert her all-seeing eye, Gabriel doesn’t hesitate.

Keeping his hands cupped beneath it, Gabriel descends on the fruit with lips and tongue and teeth, driven by multiple scorching heats: Jihane’s gaze, the ache of his cock, the pounding in his chest. He sucks seeds into his mouth, popping them with his tongue, one of his several thirsts quenched by the flood of spiced juice. Gabriel stays as careful as he can, taking seeds between his teeth, licking them out of their nestled pockets.

He stays careful all the way until Jihane slides her palm beneath his robe and up his inner thigh, only coming to a stop when the heel of her hand rests against his cock. With this angle, her claws rest dangerously close to his hole, and when she starts to rub her palm back and forth against him, each pass brings a delicious prick of pain against tender skin.

It wipes the conscious thought from his mind.

He devours the kliaquat like he needs it to live, rutting his hips against Jihane’s hand at the same time. Gabriel doesn’t bother separating seed and membrane; bitter pith and vibrant seeds mingle, barely chewed, swallowed whole. Juice covers his mouth and courses through his beard and down his neck, but he doesn’t care, his world narrowed to Jihane’s hand on his dick and her gaze on him as he eats from the palm of her hand.

It’s against her hand that he comes, moaning around a mouthful of seeds, cock pulsing as she rakes her claws through the soaked hair at the apex of his thighs. He barely manages to swallow before a moan escapes him, thighs clamped around Jihane’s hand as he rides out the aftershocks.

Dizzy, breathless, it takes him several long moments to look down.

He’s finished this half of the fruit… but dark orange splatters cover the white of Jihane’s dress. The pattern puts him in the mind of wounds, of bloodshed. Shame comes hot on the heels of his peak—at eating from her hand like an animal, at failing her task, at wanting to succeed in the first place, at feeling ready for a second climax no sooner than the first ended, at wanting to ply his tongue between her legs and satisfy a different hunger.

Jihane glances down, disappointment mingling with traces of lust on her features. She shakes her head softly, then pats Gabriel’s cheek with the same hand she had between his legs; he can smell his arousal on her fingers along with a metallic hint that might be his blood. “Now thank me, Scion-Captain, for the gift of pleasure I just gave you. By name, please.”

His pride puts up a valiant fight, but what with his defenses storm-battered and hole still clenching in the aftershocks, it loses. “Thank you, Jihane.” Jihane strokes his cheekbone with her thumb, anointing him with his own release. Then she holds her hand in front of his mouth expectantly, wrist loose and fingers draped low. By the time he finishes licking it clean of the most personal kind of salt price, his cheeks are burning and he’s hard all over again from the luxurious, shameful pleasure of it all.

For a foggy moment, Gabriel’s certain she won’t hold the stains against him. But even with his wits addled, there’s finality in the lingering kiss Jihane places on his twice-stained lips.

“For a first attempt, you did well. But I did warn you there’d be consequences for failure.” She stands, bearing regal, as though her dress and skin weren’t covered in kliaquat juice. “I need to change before my next engagement now, which means our time together is at an end. But I’ll have Sidqi come by to show you out, once you’ve had time to… collect yourself.” She gives his cheek a final, condescending pat, then winks. “I’ll see you at the Conflagration two days hence.”

All Gabriel can do is watch her, stunned, as she leaves, head high and hips swaying, her bare feet padding against the tiles of the pavilion. He watches until she vanishes into the west entrance to her estate, then surveys the damage around him: slick thighs, aching cock, stained clothes, discarded fruit, broken ceramic.

Fuck him six ways through all seven hells. Jihane may have won this round. But next time, next time…

He’ll demonstrate just what sort of command being the captain of the most notorious ship in the Fourfold Seas requires.

#the forsaken and the forsworn #gabriel berthelot #jihane n'ait #I haven't come up with a portmantaeu for these two even though they're canon since we've entered the poly part of this verse #my writing #happy birthday times two Gab #you deserve the whole world #and if you've made it through 11k of service submission and food kink #kudos to you #qliatori

[basiltonbutliketheherb]

hyperfixated on organizing and cataloging my mineral and gem collection for the last [redacted] days, so now i have to show it off 🪨

here’s everything pictured👇

First Photo:

WALL SHELF

andradite garnet

olivine

aragonite

tiger’s eye

citrine

quartz geode

strawberry quartz

sphalerite quartzite matrix (from SC mine)

chert with quartz

rose quartz

amethyst

hematite

biotite

muscovite

pyrite

fossilized coral

Second photo:

TOP CART SHELF

serpentinite (from Oregon coast)

agate

sea shells

jars of mixed stone fragments

BOX A (tumbled smaller stones)

green aventurine

red aventurine

grey agate

moss agate

black agate

agate (misc colors)

citrine

rose quartz

smoky quartz

snowflake obsidian

apache tears

green jasper

red jasper

yellow jasper

ocean jasper

jasper (misc colors)

zebra marble

gneiss

black moonstone

lionskin stone

amazonite

BOX B (raw smaller stones)

red jasper

red aventurine

blue aventurine

green aventurine

desert rose

aragonite

heart shaped pebble

schist

quartzite

citrine

quartz (misc colors)

grey quartz (with gold flake)

crystal quartz

rutilated quartz

smoky quartz

ferruginous quartz

sunstone

carnelian agate

lepidolite

basalt

sandstone

labradorite

biotite

green flourite

amazonite

calcite

orange calcite

BOX C (three section)

pyrite

amethyst

emerald

almandine garnet

clear quartz

green opal

sodalite

obsidian

Third photo:

BOX D (large stones)

petrified wood

quartz (misc colors)

porphyritic dacite

picasso stone marble

jasper (misc colors)

red jasper

green jasper

agate

yellow aventurine

apache tears

basalt

Fourth photo:

BOX E (misc.)

quartzite

hornblende

sandstone

limestone

satin spar

mastadon tusk fossil

muscovite

quartz (misc colors)

smoky quartz

ferruginous quartz

citrine

agate (misc colors)

black agate

black tourmaline

lionskin stone

zebra marble

apache tears

basalt

jasper (misc colors)

yellow jasper

green jasper

limestone

yellow aventurine

labradorite

BOTTOM CART SHELF

fossilized horsetail (from Appalachian mt)

shark teeth (from Florida creeks)

mastadon teeth fossils

trilobite fossils

#i’ve only been collecting for like a couple months #so it’s definitely amateur hour over here #that’s a rock fact #gems and minerals

[jaymzeecat]

My beautiful finds at the 💎Gem Faire💎 today. More fluorite bunnies, tower, heart and waving cat. I also got a piece of raw fluorite. Lovely labradorite, blue goldstone apple, selenite bowl, and some gorgeous cherry quartz.

Many caverns in this fluorite tower…

Bonus video of the beautiful selection of opals one of the vendors was selling.

#gem Faire #rocks #gems #fluorite #labradorite #cherry quartz #blue goldstone

[lizpaige]

If you’re still taking prompts, I’d love to read 33 and/or 82 for pynch! 🥰

still totally taking prompts, thanks for the ask, anon! ✨ it's a lil rough and not my best, but hope you enjoy it! Send me a prompt! 33. kissing scars/hurts 82. fighting together

Ronan saw the Hondayota parked in front of the house before he saw Adam. He had spent all day fixing the back fence and chasing Opal when she stole some of the tools, nails, and posts. He hadn’t actually expected to see Adam today. He had school and work and no doubt more college applications. 

He searched the house for Adam, but couldn’t find him. Walking room to room he called his name. Eventually Opal ran through the back door, “stop shouting! He’s in the long barn.”

Sure enough, Opal was right. Ronan entered the long barn to the sound of a chain squealing and hard impact. He found Adam beating the shit out of an old dreamt leather punching bag. 

“Parrish.”

Adam didn’t hear him or decided to ignore him. Another blow hit the bag; it swung back from the impact and forward again into Adam’s waiting fist. Ronan stepped up behind the bag, holding it steady. Adam’s eyes, bloodshot and red, stared at Ronan. Sweat beaded at his temple, jaw clenched tight, anger aflame in his gaze. Ronan raised an eyebrow, challenging him to continue. While he never really saw Adam get angry like this, he knew what this kind of anger meant.

Gansey would want to talk it out or take a walk, clear his head. Blue would shout and speak her mind. Ronan looked for something to burn. Adam normally stormed off when he was mad at one of them, but whatever happened today, it seemed like he just needed to hit something. And Ronan was happy to hold the bag for him. 

“Don’t pull your punches,” Ronan said when he felt the force of the blows retreat. “C’mon, Parrish.” 

He nearly staggered back at the next strike, but held steady. There was a rhythm to his hits, methodical like everything Adam did. There was a reason, a purpose, a thought for every beat against the bag. Ronan studied his face, the veins in his forehead, the flush of his cheeks, his dry lips as he exhaled shallow breaths. 

Eventually, Adam’s arms fell to his side and he fell back a step, taking deep, heaving breaths. Ronan let go of the bag, coming around with a hand outstretched, taking Adam’s unwrapped and bruised knuckles and turning them gently to assess the damage.

“Feel better?” he asked, glancing up at Adam’s face. His eyes were glazed, wet with unshed tears of frustration, embarrassment. 

“Not really,” Adam mumbled back, wincing as Ronan grazed a raw patch of skin. He let Ronan guide him over to a chair against the wall, watched Ronan dig through a pile of dreamt objects to pull out a very ordinary looking first aid kit, and open it up.

“You going to tell me what happened?” 

“Just needed-” Adam’s voice trailed off, staring straight ahead, gaze unfocused. Then the tears fell. Adam pulled his hand away from Ronan to furiously wipe them away. 

“Adam.”

“Just leave me alone,” Adam whispered furiously, looking down at his lap, hiding his face. “I can clean up myself.”

Ronan knelt down in front of him and reached out to take Adam’s left hand, pressing a kiss to the bruises blooming at his knuckles, the dry calluses on his palms and fingertips. He pulled back, meeting Adam’s gaze, watery and exhausted, defeated and ashamed. 

“Let me help.” 

Adam let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding and said, “okay.” 

#writing promps #asks #writing prompt ask #ronan lynch #adam parrish #pynch #pynch fic #snippet

[the-pherenike]

#DepecheDecember - Happiest Girl

“Wanted to feel the joy Flow between our lips…”

This is one of most underrated songs of “Violator” along with “Sea of Sin”, “Blue Dress”, “Memphisto”, “Dangerous” and many other deep cuts of Depeche Mode Discography.

Everytime I listen this track, these colors always appear in my mind. Opalescent colors that recall the beauty of Opal and the colors of a naïve pleasure, but at the same time everything becomes raw.

“Happiest girl I ever knew Why do you smile the smile you do?”

✂️ Made with Canva ©️ Feel free to use it but please, credit me. Thank You!

#depechedecember #depechemodeedit #depeche mode #graphic design #graphic art #electronic music #music #musica #dave gahan #martin gore #andy fletcher #devotees #violator #synthpop #synthwave #Youtube

[go-learn-esperanto]

Any crystals that you think are cool and that more people should know about?

Sorry for the late reply (I'm busy traveling) but yes!!! I don't have ground breaking totally unknown crystals for you but from my collection I will tell talk about some fun little rocks.

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Let's start with what is arguably my favourite crystal and it's a pretty underrated one;

iolite

Yes, that's where the Violet_Iolite username comes from (it's my username almost everywhere else besides here)

I have a polished and cut iolite which surprisingly might not be the most interesting form of this mineral. Iolite, or cordierite (the actual mineral name, iolite is the name used in the gem selling business) is a stone that depending on the side it can vary from a light yellow to a purple/blue. Mine is cut in a way where the blue is always the most visible but the sides have the slightest nod to the yellow. Some of the best raw forms will change between these two colours if you turn them around.

I will say the iolite names comes from the Greek ios, violet. So yes, my Minecraft username is something like Violet violet (stone).

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Next I will talk about fake crystals versus lab grown ones...

When I say a fake crystals I mean crystals that are sold as other ones when that's not what they are.

Lab grown gems are different in the way that they are chemically the same as natural gems found in nature. In case of diamonds for example is much better for the environment (and in some cases for the health of the miners) if you get a lab grown one. However not all gems are possible to produce in a lab, sometimes they're more expensive to produce in the lab and in cases of quartz based gems the natural gems are so common it isn't worth it.

I'm mentioning this because of the next gems I will show.

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Moonstone and sunstone.

Moonstones and sunstones are probably the gems that are most faked (turquoise too but at least turquoise is rare).

Moonstone is a type of light coloured stone (either white, sometimes pink) which has a very pretty blue glow (occasionally it gets a yellow one too) only in certain angles. Opaline (or opalite), a man made gem, is very commonly sold as moonstone however opaline is not even close to being moonstone. Opaline is translucent in a way moonstone isn't and it doesn't have the shine moonstone has. Opaline is a type of glass which commonly has dolomite and metal to make it the colour it is. It was actually made to copy opals so I don't really know why people try calling it moonstone.

Next is sunstone! Orange or brown in colour sunstone is not that special looking. If it's high-quality it will be more translucent and it might have some touches of sparkles but it's not usually something very strong. Our fake stone this time is Goldstone. Also a man made glass goldstone is made with copper.

There's a blue version of golstone which instead of having copper it has cobalt or manganese.

I have booth types of goldstone (the blue one is my favourite)

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One that is moderately well known but it's absolutely cool anyway:

Alexandrite

One I recommend you buy lab grown or you'll waste all the money you have. Alexandrite is super cool because depending on the type of light you shine on it the colour will change completely. My alexandrite when in LED light (the light that most lamps have nowadays) or natural light is green. When under incandescent light (old lamps) it gets completely pink. If you lived only under incandescent light you'd believe it to be a pink stone.

When under both types of light:

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Chalcopyrite (peacock)

Similar to pyrite but softer, with copper and and can tarnish with pretty colours chalcopyrite is a pretty cool metal. Wikipedia says it is "the most abundant copper ore mineral." So the copper you have in your cables is most likely from this mineral.

Chalcopyrite is in front and the pyrite (unfocused) is in the back of the picture.

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Bismuth

I could've actually gotten an ok priced natural bismuth but I decided that getting a bigger sized would probably be better. This one might be lab grown. I'm not sure. The lady that sold me didn't know where it was from. It is 100% heat treated either way, as heating it gives it the lovely colours it has. It is a metal and according to Wikipedia it is "both the most diamagnetic element and one of the least thermally conductive metals known."

So... The last two are actually metal and not crystal but they are cool rocks so it's fine either way.

#crystals #gems #semi precious stones #ask #long post

[writermask-0807]

Though Luna Lovegood was in no way like his beloved Lily, there were times when he would catch a glimpse, just a flickering, ghosting image of her in Luna.

Sometimes when Luna's pale, soft hair spilled over her shoulders in a rich cascade of molten moonlight, and when the dim light of his classroom would illuminate her soft, peach-hued skin, he would see Lily, her red hair a crown of flames about her and her smile warm and inviting, enveloping him in a warmth he knew he didn't deserve.

Other times, in Luna's deep pools of blue that seemed aglow with speckled starlight, sparkling with a galaxy of dying stars, he saw hints of forest-green within them, faint and yet bold, rich like the lush forest that thrived within those orbs that seemed to hold the entire world within their colorful depths. At those times, he would see the ghost of Lily dwelling within Luna, her eyes gentle opals swirling with a kaleidoscope of colors, glistening and sparkling, though tearless.

Other times it would be her laughter, soft and melodious like the chime of a thousand bells, raw honey caressing his ears and rich silk and satin draped luxuriously over his sallow skin. And every time he saw Lily in Luna, he would be tempted by the thought of reaching out to her, but she was always so far out of his reach, his fingertips almost grazing her supple skin.

It was almost as if the universe was mocking him, taunting and jeering at him just like Potter and his posse had once done. But it was also the same universe that mirrored within Lily's ( itwasLunanothisLilynothisnothis..)

Orbs, eyes that reflected the nebulous heavens, and narrated the story depicted in the cosmos, the same universe that had birthed her in his miserable life, and so he couldn't bring himself to loathe it.

And thus, he allowed himself to be played by the strings of his cruel fate, a puppet to the world and its ever-hungry, ever-taking fingers, and he danced to the tune of his doom, embracing death as an old friend.

#first post #professor snape x luna lovegood #a little blurb #idk how to tag this shi #luna lovegood x professor snape

[phoenix-creates]

Qiaolian and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Wedding Scheme

Qiaolian was fine with her near non-existent dating life; the right one would come along when they came along and she was fine with waiting. But when her sister starts wedding planning and making up crazy rules, Qiaolian is forced to lie to keep the peace. But that one lie snowballs until she’s caught up in a fairytale romance.

The problem? None of it is real.

~~~

“Will you marry me?”

‘What?!’

All of her thoughts screeched to a halt.

This wasn’t the plan. This was very much not the plan. This was a completely different plan than what they had talked about. He wasn't supposed to propose; they were supposed to have an argument that quickly turned explosive which would lead to them parting ways. They were supposed to be calling it quits here and ending it all! Qiaolian had been content with this plan; at least, she forced herself to be okay with this plan. It was what they agreed on.

Instead, this bastard threw a wrench into things like he always did. Here he was, down on one knee with a beautiful black ring held between his fingers. In any other scenario, she would’ve loved it. It didn’t have a flashy diamond, but rather a long strip of blue opal around the length of the ring. Simple but elegant and something she would’ve proudly wore. She always said she never wanted a traditional wedding ring.

She didn’t think he would take it as a literal hint and propose to her.

Around them, everyone watched the scene with bated breath. Qiaolian could feel everyone’s gaze on them, the buzz of excitement from the unexpected moment. There was always a certain energy that came with a marriage proposal and she hated it. She never wanted this type of spotlight. She never wanted this.

But the odds were against her. She couldn’t just say no. For all intents and purposes, everyone thought they had the perfect relationship. No arguments, similar life goals and philosophies, even down to food preferences. Why would she say no when she landed the perfect man?

Because this wasn’t real. None of it was real. It was a ploy that had gone on for too long. Which was exactly why they were going to end things today. But of course, he had messed it up. For what reason, she didn’t know. But what she did know was that everyone was waiting for an answer. Even him.

She could’ve just said no. Ended things here. But she remembered his words from earlier, how he told her to just trust him and play along. They were already in this deep, what was one thing more thing on top? She was sure this was part of his plan anyhow. Just like with all things, she sat back and let him take the lead, let him decide when enough was enough.

The choice was hers. She could say no and just be done with it.

“Yes.”

The room exploded into noise with that one word but it all seemed muffled compared to the roaring in her ears. It hit her just how powerful a simple three letter word could be. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her throat was starting to feel raw and she realized that she was crying.

But no one took her tears seriously. She was saddled with words of congratulations and back pats and excited chatter about future wedding plans. It felt like too much all at once and the reality of what she agreed to hit her like a truck. Why did he have to go so far for this stupid ploy?

And why did she keep playing along?

[NEXT]

#genshin impact #genshin impact oc #genshin oc #genshin tartagalia #genshin childe #childe x oc #The Marriage Trap #writeblr #OCPosting//Qiaolian

[plotjotsandespressoshots]

Rustic with a hint of blue 😍 I love raw clay and this raw with a peek-a-boo of blue. 🩵💙🩵💙 Speckled turtle @kentuckymudworks Opal with 20 minutes hold @coyoteclayandcolor Carved with P1 @diamondcoretools (at Bucks County, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cph9w9nr3CY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=