[ Essek watches the progression of that wandering hand on his arm with middling interest, one eyebrow arched slightly. ]
You seem to have thought about this quite a lot already.
[ The violet gaze flicks back to Molly, settling into something more smoldering. If the tiefling wants to play games, Essek would hate to disappoint him. He leans in, voice lowering. ]
[ Molly chuckles, giving Essek a heated look - essentially playing flirt-chicken with the second prettiest purple person in this house. ]
Oh, you'd be scandalized about all the things that go on in my head. I'll be putting money in a betting pool to see how soon you two hook up and make sparkles in the bed.
[ His forked tongue slip out, licking over his lips. ]
[ Essek finds himself curiously examining the intricate tattoos on Molly's lovely skin; it's the first time he's seen them this close up, and the detail is quite striking. The more he looks, the more he sees, nearly too distracted by it rather than his words. Those red eyes are rather beguiling in their uniqueness. ]
Hmm.
[ Without even rising to that particular bait, Essek presses the tip of a finger under Molly's chin, nudging it upwards to get a better look at the feathers fanning over his neck. ]
[ Oh, he likes this game. It's sexy and funny in one, and Essek is an excellent player.
Once the drow says he's interested in the tattoos, Molly puts his adorned arm by the wizard's head so he can get a really good look - at the same time as he's getting even closer and boxing him in more.
It's followed by Essek's finger tipping his head a bit, and that sends a shiver through Molly's spine. He's toying with someone powerful here, and it's amazing. ]
Oh, I certainly am. Definitely not the only one, though... you don't need tattoos to be an exquisite centerpiece of any room.
[ Molly may be trying to box him in, but Essek hasn't budged, seemingly unperturbed. This close, that shiver is unmistakable, and that, more than the compliment, is what makes him smile more, smooth and smoldering. Essek is well aware of his own desirability, but there's no competing with the vanity of a man tattooed with peacock feathers. ]
Indeed.
[ He gives the proffered arm a cursory glance, but the red eye amidst the feathers low on Molly's neck is what's caught his attention first. There are others like it, he's noticed. The finger that had the tiefling's chin tilted up trails downward now instead, over warm skin and raised scars, lazily finding its way to the eye. The texture abruptly changes where the skin turns red, and in fact does not feel like skin at all. Essek traces the outline with a curious fingertip. ]
Yet I can't help thinking of the two of us, you're the more mysterious by far.
[ That touch changes the game at once and Molly pulls back. Normally he would just have been happy to show off even more, but all this Lucien shit had really fucked him up about those eyes. ]
No mystery there. Just a remnant of something long gone.
[ He brushes back his hair, stepping away from the drow. It means he loses, but so be it. ]
[ Essek doesn't pursue, though the reaction is a little unexpected, given the theme of their little game. It does get Molly to give him some more space, which isn't unwelcome. He makes a note to ask Caleb about it later. ]
I see.
[ He glances briefly out towards the others, involved in their own conversations. ] You arrived here with Fjord, yes? Although you seem to remember different things.
[ The tiefling is a little prickly both over losing and about his own stupid reaction, but Essek changes the topic, and he can pay better attention to that rather than sulking. ]
Yes. It's... strange. He's from a time that's over nine months in the future for me. He's gone through all these things I don't even understand. Caleb, too.
Hmm. [ Essek looks genuinely thoughtful, the tip of a finger tapping idly at his lip as he thinks. Wherever they are, whatever plane or dimension, it seems to be held apart from the passage of time on Exandria. The months between Molly and Fjord and Caleb are much more difficult to explain the mere weeks' difference Essek has with them. What had happened to Molly in the interim? And then Beauregard...he hasn't yet determined what she remembers, but that could throw a wrench into any of his burgeoning theories. ]
In order to alter time, one has to have considerable power. Usually, the past is immutable...however it seems the Augur has done almost everything else but that.
no subject
You seem to have thought about this quite a lot already.
[ The violet gaze flicks back to Molly, settling into something more smoldering. If the tiefling wants to play games, Essek would hate to disappoint him. He leans in, voice lowering. ]
I'm flattered.
no subject
Oh, you'd be scandalized about all the things that go on in my head. I'll be putting money in a betting pool to see how soon you two hook up and make sparkles in the bed.
[ His forked tongue slip out, licking over his lips. ]
Meanwhile...
no subject
Hmm.
[ Without even rising to that particular bait, Essek presses the tip of a finger under Molly's chin, nudging it upwards to get a better look at the feathers fanning over his neck. ]
You're quite the work of art, aren't you?
no subject
Once the drow says he's interested in the tattoos, Molly puts his adorned arm by the wizard's head so he can get a really good look - at the same time as he's getting even closer and boxing him in more.
It's followed by Essek's finger tipping his head a bit, and that sends a shiver through Molly's spine. He's toying with someone powerful here, and it's amazing. ]
Oh, I certainly am. Definitely not the only one, though... you don't need tattoos to be an exquisite centerpiece of any room.
no subject
Indeed.
[ He gives the proffered arm a cursory glance, but the red eye amidst the feathers low on Molly's neck is what's caught his attention first. There are others like it, he's noticed. The finger that had the tiefling's chin tilted up trails downward now instead, over warm skin and raised scars, lazily finding its way to the eye. The texture abruptly changes where the skin turns red, and in fact does not feel like skin at all. Essek traces the outline with a curious fingertip. ]
Yet I can't help thinking of the two of us, you're the more mysterious by far.
no subject
No mystery there. Just a remnant of something long gone.
[ He brushes back his hair, stepping away from the drow. It means he loses, but so be it. ]
no subject
I see.
[ He glances briefly out towards the others, involved in their own conversations. ] You arrived here with Fjord, yes? Although you seem to remember different things.
no subject
Yes. It's... strange. He's from a time that's over nine months in the future for me. He's gone through all these things I don't even understand. Caleb, too.
no subject
In order to alter time, one has to have considerable power. Usually, the past is immutable...however it seems the Augur has done almost everything else but that.
no subject
Sounds more and more likely that they're some kind of god. I mean... when I first got here, Fjord didn't think I was real. It had been that long.
[ To be fair, he didn't think Fjord was real either, but we're skipping that one. ]
Either way, it's fucking confusing.