The Stars Only for Her

Log Info

• Title: The Stars Only for Her

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: Ravenstongue and Telamon's house

• Summary: Ravenstongue and Telamon are unwinding from a very hot summer day in the evening and decide to finish off the magical brew that Telamon made. The half-elven couple reflect on their relationship as they admire the stars that the brew is causing them to see in the ceiling. Later, Pothy gets drunk with the garden pixies.

Lúpecyll-Atlon house, evening.

It was an oppressively hot day in Alexandria, perhaps of a result of Daeus being a little too... much, with His glory in an attempt to remind those wicked servants of Maugrim that He is watching. With the turn of evening, however, the night is warm with a cool breeze in the air that is refreshing to the skin.

Cor'lana leaves the water closet after a shower, her hair and skin already dried off with the power of magic. Rather than stick around in her fluffy bathrobe, however, she's changed into a slightly baggy lavender nightshirt and a pair of pajama shorts that match, and, of course, her fuzzy bear slippers--even in summer, she likes to wear them. This isn't an outfit that she'd ever dare wear outside, but it is comfortable and even sort of cute in a way.

"I can't want for fall," she complains openly. "I want to curl up under blankets and enjoy a cup of warm cup of tea without feeling like I'm tempting an early death."

"I'm pretty sure you won't die that way," Pothy points out. He sits on the coffee table, splitting peanuts as per usual.

As warm as it is, it's convenient for some people to mess with Lana. Just a little bit. Because it's fun. Telamon comes ambling out of the kitchen, his shaggy hair tousled as he carries the bottle of 'Night's Kiss' and a couple glasses. "I chilled this down to see how it'll be," he remarks.

Of course, there's the small matter of him being dressed only in his breeches, with no shirt on. Guaranteed distraction for his hapless fiancee, as he continues with a twinkle in his eye. "Care for a tipple?"

Cor'lana stands up a little straighter, her face coloring a little as she looks at him with his shirt off. It doesn't matter how many times she's seen him in a state of undress--she still reacts like she did the first time around. "Aha, umm... Yeah, I'd like a nip--"

Her eyes go back up to Telamon's eyes. "I mean, a tipple. Yeah. A tipple." Her cheeks turn an even darker shade, but she wanders over to the couch--a little weak-kneed, of course--and sits down. "Wine tastes better when it's cold, anyway."

Pothy looks at Cor'lana for a long moment and sighs. "This is why the seductress rumors have no merit," he says. "I mean, look at her. She can't even look at you with your shirt off before she gets all tongue-tied around you, Telamon."

Telamon's eyes dance and sparkle. "Why do you think I did it? Think of it as a morale booster for the special lady of my life." He smoothly sets down the glasses, before uncapping the bottle and pouring a glass for each of them. Judging from the frost riming the bottle, it's been nicely chilled.

"And honestly, with all that's happened, I think we both need a bit of something to make us smile. It's been rough of late." He slides a glass to Lana, before touching her hand gently. "And I will say, though I'm unfond of cold weather, it does make coming home to you so much more pleasant."

Cor'lana smiles widely at the sentiment, although her cheeks are still rosy-red. "Agreed," she says. "And... Well, can I admit that I like the cold, because it gives us an excellent excuse to get bundled up under blankets and cuddle together? I think that was my favorite part of this past winter--getting to just be close together. The first part of the winter might have been lonely for me until I confessed my feelings and we started living together, but the rest of it was just... so nice and wonderful." She takes his hand and squeezes it gently.

"Pothy cuddles are still good, though, right?" Pothy complains.

Cor'lana snickers. "Of course they are. Haven't I been cuddling with you and falling asleep just about every other night, Pothy?"

"Fair point!" the white raven concedes, and he returns to eating peanuts.

"Pothy, I assure you, if Lana is somehow not in a position to cuddle you, I will be more than happy to pick up the slack." Telamon reaches over to stroke the raven, petting gently as he picks up his wineglass with his free hand. "It was a time of learning for both of us. We didn't live together initially, after all. Then we were in separate rooms. Then we were sleeping chastely, but together."

He laughs softly. "A pretty rational progression of things, I'd say. No surprises, no jumping at each other. It's like planting a garden and watching it grow." He takes a long sip of wine, letting it sink in, before reflexively looking at the ceiling (which, to him, has now been replaced by a view of the starry sky, regardless of the weather). "This stuff is good, but it's so strange to have this effect..."

Pothy's tail goes wagging the moment that Telamon starts petting him. "This is why I approved of him!" he informs Cor'lana with a giggle in his boyish voice. "Although I was there for that first soup night. Lana did sort of jump you then, Telamon."

Cor'lana sputters a little mid-drink as Pothy says that, but she finishes her sip with no incident. "It was a slow progression, is the point Telamon was trying to make. Also, I didn't literally jump onto him like a wild animal--"

Cor'lana looks up at the sky and blinks. "Oh, yeah. Like I said the other night, it's just like looking into your eyes, Tel, but just on a larger scale. It's kind of breathtaking, honestly."

Telamon snorts into his glass as well. "She did not jump me. It was a culmination of events and feelings between us. It wasn't like... well, Nadina out looking for a little fun." He gives Lana an apologetic smile. "Sorry, not the best comparison, but it's true."

He settles his arm around Lana's shoulders comfortably, as he continues, "There's a number of recipes in that book I want to experiment with. It really is quite fascinating, though the descriptions are somewhat... oblique. At some point we might ask Grandfather if he's familiar with it."

"Apt comparison, actually," Pothy says in a thoughtful tone. "Nadina was an apex predator at times."

Cor'lana just rolls her eyes. "Well, it's how I came about, so I can't really complain too much," she says. "But yes, I was simply just waiting for the right time and place. Just so happened to be that night, although I was painfully mulling over it for a while after he proposed anyway."

She kisses Telamon on the cheek with a smile and then nods at his point regarding Grandfather. "That might be a subject he's interested in. I mean, you saw all of those cookbooks in his home, right? Alcohol and food do go together. And feywine is supposed to be marvelous stuff, although that's the sort of thing you'd only get served to you at a Court."

"It is nice," Pothy says. "Probably the thing I enjoyed most about my stay. And the food, too." He actually sounds chipper as he discusses the feywine.

Telamon nods with a grin. "She was... what's the term I heard once? Ah. Man-eater. But no, I'm not complaining either, since the results were so wonderful." He kisses Lana's cheek in turn.

He deftly avoids continuing discussion on Pothy's time in Quelynos by taking another sip of his chilled wine, and remarking, "Correct. In fact, there's a bit of a science to what wines go with what foods. Reds go better with things like beef or poultry, while white wines work better with fish or soups. The Vintner could probably go on for days about that; I only got the basics on it from Father."

"All I know," Cor'lana says as she finishes another sip from her glass, "is that I like things that are tasty, and I am woefully undereducated on that."

"Nadi didn't teach her about alcohol, either," Pothy informs Telamon with a bit of amusement. "Which was another thing she liked. Given when she decided to transfer me to Lana, I think she always thought Lana was too young for it."

Cor'lana huffs. "Life would have been quite a bit easier if I'd been taught about a lot of things beforehand," she says as she leans into her shirtless fiance with a giggle. It appears the drink's already getting to her, but that's hardly news. "Luckily, I have a very patient, wonderful, and handsome man here who doesn't mind at all, and his eyes and the ceiling are now one."

Telamon looks a bit sardonically at Pothy. "She didn't teach her a number of things, a deficiency which I am diligently trying to repair."

He cuddles Lana against him, as he grins at Lana's sally. "The stars shine just for you, my dear. Only for you. A reassuring thought, hm?"

He drains his glass, setting it down so he can fold his arms around Lana properly. "And while I got some experience with how to use the right fork, it's not something I'm terribly obsessed with. I never did understand the point of having so many utensils you could arm a pack of goblins."

Cor'lana finishes her glass of wine in a long pull and sets it down, curling closer into Telamon's shirtless form. It's certainly no elegant dinner party over wine--but it is two half-elves in love with their wisecracking raven providing witty commentary. She giggles terribly at the notion of goblins armed with forks. "The goblins have more common sense than I have, though," she says. "Collectively, they might be able to give me half and I'd finally be a functioning person in polite society!"

She looks up impishly at Telamon with a grin on her face. "But I don't mind not having much common sense. I forget all of it anyway the moment I even look at you. You and your beautiful eyes, more lovely than anyone else in this whole world. I... am just so lucky, Tel. All of your stars, only for me. I never dreamed I'd be this happy."

"I thought I was the one lacking in common sense. Or at least, prone to impulsive decisions." Telamon happily looks back down at her, and kisses her brow playfully. "I count myself amazingly lucky as well, to have found you, fallen in love with you..." He gives her a squeeze. "And I've never been happier."

He smirks at the commentary about goblins. "Don't sell yourself short. You really are stronger than you think -- and I'm grateful for it."

"And we're stronger together, anyway," Cor'lana says, smiling. "Our magic together is astounding. The things we can do together are limitless. Who else can say they stared down the Queen of Air and Darkness and resisted her otherworldly charms? I don't think there are many in this world."

She squeezes him back, and she leans in to rub the tip of her nose against his. "I just... I love you a lot. I can't wait to be your wife. Really and truly."

Pothy cracks a peanut behind her. "Please don't make Telamon carry you to bed. I don't think either of you are sober enough for that to go well." Then he looks at Lana, who just dissolves into a fit of giggles. "... Actually, carrying her might be safer than making her walk."

Telamon nods. "Together. That's our lives now." His hand is in hers, fingers interlocked, as he smiles. "We're going to go to some amazing places, I think. But as long as we're by each other's side, we'll be fine."

He laughs softly at Pothy. "I think we'll just lean on each other as we stagger back to the bedroom. Which is how it should be: each of us supports the other." He reaches over to pat Pothy. "Rest well when you get there, my friend, but for now I think your mistress and I need to retire."

"Pfft. I'll be up for a while eating peanuts. You two have fun," Pothy informs the half-elven couple. "Or the lack thereof."

"Thanks for the support, Pothy," Cor'lana says with another giggle. She also reaches out and pets Pothy--she can manage that much without falling over.

Eventually, the half-elves make it to bed. Pothy spends a long and quiet moment on the table after their bedroom door closes, his blue eyes just inspecting the room.

Lily-of-the-Valley and Mirabilis slowly creep out from behind the couch. "Sweet, they're gone!" Lily says. "Let's get WASTED."

"I have plenty of peanuts to share," Pothy says, a boyish giggle in his voice. "Let's party!"

It appears the half-elves are not the only ones getting drunk tonight.