Happily Ever After

[viceofvoices]

[Troubadour and Krichevskoy walk along the market stalls of a sprawling bazaar. Items and goods from many different dimensions have all gathered here, at a sort of multidimensional marketplace]

Ah! Krichevskoy! Look at this!

[he pulls the other man to a shop full of flowers, exotic and fantastical]

Comments

[beautifulrondo]

[He hums softly to himself] He forgot to buy that cloak he wanted... I'll be quick.

[Krichevskoy looks back at the cloak in his hand and is somewhat surprised to find that it has a hood after all.] Ah...

[It's convenient... Or else just another example of his good taste? With a soft smile, he takes the cloak up to the counter and buys it.

Awhile later, Krichevskoy approaches the woods, looking for Troubadour. He's brought a box of snacks he picked up at one of the stalls along the way, having heard Troubadour say something about lunch]

[musicalplum]

[from the shadows of the foliage, Troubadour lies in wait. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows there isn't any reason for it, but...but he can't seem to stop himself. Something about the red hood he sees approaching just makes him feel so...predatory. He shivers as a some strange feeling ripples through him. He can't figure out if it's lust or hunger. Either way, it disturbs him less and less the closer Krichevskoy gets.

He remains in hiding, stalking the other man. Soon the sounds of the bazaar fade and the forest gets denser.]

[beautifulrondo]

[Krichevskoy frowns. This is not the edge of the forest, and it doesn't help that he can't shake the feeling that he's being watched. He walks for a moment longer before finally deciding to set the box down and sit down on a nearby log.]

Where in the world could he be?

[musicalplum]

[suddenly Troubadour appears with a rustle of leaves. He doesn't look any different, but somehow he's completely different. He smirks crookedly, each step somehow like a beast stalking towards Krichevskoy. And while Troubadour has never been a meek or shy man, he's radiating power and pure alpha male confidence]

Lost? We're pretty far from civilization now...

[then he trips over a fallen log, having been too caught up in attempting to pierce the other man with a powerful gaze. He immediately faceplants into the dirt and mulch of the forest floor]

[beautifulrondo]

[something had sparked a sense of unease in Krichevskoy at first. The way Troubadour was looking at him, the way he moved, none of it seemed right.

...And then Troubadour tripped and Krichevskoy was convinced that it all had to have been part of his imagination. Troubadour had said he had been thinking about an image change, hadn't he?]

Ah. There you are. I thought we were supposed to meet on the edge of this forest? This food is going to get cold.

[musicalplum]

...[he shoots up to his feet with surprising quickness and acts like he didn't just fall on his face. His cocky smirk is definitely a bit...rumpled now]

Forgive me, I was just so enchanted by this forest that I felt the urge to explore. Thank you for bringing me food.

[he goes to one knee at Krichevskoy's feet, smiling in what he hopes is a suave manner, despite the dirt on his face] What tender morsels have you brought me?

[beautifulrondo]

W, Well, I went to a variety of places. I found a few curry buns and some banana bread. The latter sounded good. Everything else in there is mine.

[he opens the box and gestures to it for Troubadour to help himself] Are you certain you're all right? I thought you did not get hungry.

If you are sick...

[musicalplum]

[he immediately snatches a curry bun and begins to devour it voraciously, ignoring Krichevskoy's question to focus on eating. The bun is polished off in record time and, still, the hunger eats at him. Licking his lips, he raises his eyes to Krichevskoy]

I'm just fine. In fact, I feel like a new man.

[beautifulrondo]

[Krichevskoy looks over at Troubadour and crosses his arms, not quite believing him] You said you needed air before. There is no need to hide it if you are not feeling well. I may not be very good with medicine or healing, but I will do what I can.

[he wishes Troubadour would stop looking at him like that]

[musicalplum]

Being in this forest has cleared my head. I see things so much clearer now.

[he grabs another bun out of the box, fingers roughly digging into the doughy surface like claws into flesh. As he chomps down, he keeps his unnerving stare on Krichevskoy]

[beautifulrondo]

I still cannot believe that. [after a moment, he squirms in his seat and looks away]

W, Will you stop looking at me that way?

[musicalplum]

[he shifts so that he's even closer, his voice dropping in pitch, quieter but somehow more intimidating] What way is that...?

[beautifulrondo]

That way! You know exactly what way I am talking about! [even when he's intimidated, he still has his pride] And you are still doing it.

[musicalplum]

Hmph. How can I help but look at you? When you're so vulnerable, you're like a little lost lamb.

[he sighs and turns away though, finishing the last curry bun in a couple bites]

[beautifulrondo]

[though he puts on a petulant face, he still draws the cloak around him more at the chill that runs up his spine]

"Lost lamb?" I am hardly...! I am perfectly capable of defending myself!

[musicalplum]

Oh? Care to prove it, then?

[beautifulrondo]

[his blood runs cold]

...Whatever mood you are currently in is unbearable. I am going home.

[it comes out more as a mumble than the defiant statement he had intended, and he goes to pick up the box]

[musicalplum]

Wait...! [No! No, no, this is all wrong! Before he even realizes what he's doing, his hand shoots out to grab Krichevskoy's wrist, only he's too slow, missing entirely and instead getting a handful of the other man's backside]

[beautifulrondo]

[Krichevskoy slowly stands, facing away from Troubadour, but seems to have frozen entirely afterward, face burning scarlet under the hood.]

[musicalplum]

N-No, I...I didn't mean...ah...

[he jerks his hand back as if it were on fire, utterly horrified, all trace of his wolfish mannerisms shattered]

[beautifulrondo]

[he pulls on the hood, and when he turns around, all that can be seen is the hood. He's pulled it that far over his face]

I think... I am just going to forget that that happened.

[musicalplum]

I was trying t-to grab your hand! I didn't mean to touch your butt, not that it's a terrible butt, in fact it's as firm and pert as I'd expect it to be; do you work out? A-Ah, what am I saying!?

[beautifulrondo]

[the cloak is about halfway off of him before he stops pulling it down. This is becoming increasingly awkward. What he had said during that pond incident, the implications of him buying a set of matching rings and sharing with Troubadour, and now this?]

...C, Correct as your assessment of my posterior is, this is still incredibly... I... I shall take you at your word.

[at least he's not leaving anymore]

[musicalplum]

[he's almost on the verge of tears now, less an alpha male than a whining puppy]

I-I do not understand what's gotten into me, but I've been trying so hard not to do anything untoward but somehow all I want to do is devour you, ever since I put on this ring!

[beautifulrondo]

Even in word selection...!

[he rearranges the cloak so that he can see again, now convinced that he can keep it together, and stares down at the ring on his own finger]

That's... odd. I have not felt anything of that sort. Are you certain it isn't a coincidence?