#>> VERSE ( prelude ii: hunger » i'm starving; darling; let me put my lips to something; let me wrap my teeth around the world. )

[huntershowl]

@bloodykneestm ( masami ) liked x.

❝ hey — that was pretty rough. you feeling okay? ❞

[huntershowl]

❝ good. you'd better. ❞ black ink carves a path under his lips, a tattooed length of barbed wire extending from wristbone to bicep. the uppermost inch or so is still healing.

the kiss melts away knots of tension in their shoulders they didn't even know were there; under his lips, a soft, content sigh. her free hand travels up the plane of his chest, fingers tracing idle patterns across the skin there. ❝ i like both things, actually. sharp and soft. seems like you share the sentiment. ❞

"no, i would've stopped you if it was." the corner of his mouth quirks with a grin as he kisses up her arm. before he gets to the elbow, he pulls back to lean in and give her a kiss. "how's about you? is this better?"

[huntershowl]

@ravenbled liked for a lethe starter.

I KNOW YOU. THE WORDS DO NOT leave her mouth, but they break through the fog in a way very few things do, over the past year or so. the veil shifts over her face; her head turns, veil-covered eyes following a face through the soiree crowd with pinpoint accuracy.

he disappears around the corner, into one of the mostly-unoccupied side rooms of this rented-out estate. they are technically open to all attendees. technically because they are rather antithetical to the spirit of an event such as this: an opportunity to network and talk business under the guise of charity. these are the rooms lethe escapes to more often than not when she needs a breath of fresh air, away from her fiancée and away from the muzzle of their dialogue script.

adeo is saying something, lethe realizes belatedly; her hazy vision lingers on that doorway for a moment before she turns back toward him. a gentle squeeze where his hand rests on her side, a little wink thrown in her direction. "don't wander too far." go. i can see you're distracted.

lethe gives his conversation partner a silent, gracious bow of the head in parting before she drifts into the crowd, a wraith in white among multicolor bodies. her heels click softly on the ballroom floor, then on polished hardwood as she ducks into the side room shouta aizawa disappeared into. she has to make sure her suspicions were correct — and being away from adeo's side is enough of a bonus that it doesn't particularly matter if she was wrong.

it's a book lounge tucked away from the great-hall space every other guest presses hungrily into. armchairs, a coffee table, a crackling fireplace, bookshelves stacked with leather-bound volumes. lethe rests a white-gloved hand on the back of an armchair, warily looking over at him through a gauzy lace veil. ❝ do you mind if i join you? ❞ a gentle voice, lilting and demure. ❝ it's a bit loud in there. ❞