#oh. aneska...why....????

[recitedemise]

He isn't often met with someone so shameless. Proud, sure, and prone to working under his considerably thick skin, but admittedly, her flavor of rapscallion's more enjoyable than most. That he's a masochist, of course, doesn't exactly go completely unnoticed. Still, when Aneska smiles so sweet, her air all clever and a lot a bit serpentine, Gale fails to worry to the rattle of her teasing. He rolls with it, in fact, and pipes the flute. "Quite right. How remiss of me," he easily rejoinders, finger tap-tapping his tome. Tutting, but in a fun, scholarly way. "Come to think of it, I struggle to find a word more apt in surmising the host of your endless qualities. A single look at you would spring the image of candlelit dinners and the most somber poetry on those greyest of days. Make no mistake, I've been made entirely aware of your more passionate nature. And," he tacks on, "your compassionate one, too." Of course, last he checked, it took no time at all to sample the depths of her kindness. When he'd confessed to his orb, that cold, cold, gnawing in the deep of his marrow, he'd anticipated fear and a fair bit of spite. To be sure, he'd suffered such heartaches in varying intensity, but from this woman before him with her curious wings, it had been, he remembers, none such sorrow.

For all her mystery, she boasts a quick-to-like heart. Gale, as it were, wants most to be liked.

Yet, considering his hopeless situation, perhaps it makes sense why even a middling kindness would feel like gold. Naturally, however, it would be gold itself that comes dangling before him. Blinking, Gale feels several ways gobsmacked. It really is lovely, the necklace, not at all some ten-copper bauble from some odd-eyed vendor. It has with it heft, and with it, too, the tell tale evidence of considerable craftsmanship. He breathes, feeling the pulsing magic trickling from the bell. He doesn't need quite yet, but he can discern the richnes and intensity. His pulse jumps, a slight squeeze crawling up his chest. On the swell of the pendant, he notes an 'A'.

Evidence it's hers: Aneska. He's speechless. How refreshing. Disbelief, tangled messily, too, with open endearment, finds him, the brown of his gaze warming deep, deep, impossibly. "Your good luck charm. Admittedly, it'd been a near thing what with the enormity of your gift, but don't believe for a second that that escaped my notice." He leans in a little, amazed. Aneska lets it hang there, and Gale studies, heart panging, a steep feeling fermenting into syrup in his heart. Thumb brushing it, the engraving catches at his skin. Ultimately, however, reverently, touched, he folds her hands in his. "I'm—" Astonished? Confounded? Baffled? Well, yes, all of these things and several more, but what Gale settles on breathlessly is a quiet, "flattered." Fluttery, too. His pulse flits like a butterfly. "You are entirely too generous with me, Aneska. I can hardly accept something that holds such...gravity. That you would entrust it to me is enough to soothe a troubled wizard's heart, that, I assure you. This is yours. Another trinket will sate my orb." Carefully, he guides their cupped hands back toward her tummy. Looking up at her, there rings a sobering humanity, perhaps even humanity from where he's seated. His palms are smoothed, calloused only by his staff. The night, dragging, wreathes her silver. "Besides, you're rather in need of better luck yourself—though if you won't begrudge me for it, I may feel inclined to stray less frequently from you. A man can hardly spare whatever fortune he get can, I'd argue. It's exceptionally lovely... I'd have expected to see it around your neck." Why isn't it? He pulls his hands back.

oh , how he amuses her so , this man who so easily conjures words both honeyed & scathing. she is certain , unwaveringly so , that her antics have much the same effect on him. & so aneska smiles in her own strange way , lips curled upwards demure & toothless , eyes gleaming with devilry , & satisfaction. " oh , gale , don't make me sound so cold. it's not me that would have you scrounging through our unwanted loot for whatever traces of the weave you might find. i think you'll find i'm more romantic than that. i'm nice enough not to take this away from you for daring to challenge me , aren't i ? " in her typical fashion , words are spoken slowly , methodically , each syllable it's own performance. it's almost masterful ⏤ how she so sweetly draws out his name , how she briefly & pointedly casts her judgemental gaze upon their campmates , how she allows the warmth of her smile to break through & lighten what mischief plays in her town. those fleshy wings perched upon her back betray her. one might think her a fae , or better yet , a fiend , seeing how she so delights in acting wicked.

& yet , despite her theatrics , she is no more nefarious than the rest of their brigade. so when she pulls that coveted prize from it's hiding place , what she reveals is so quaint , so lovely , she nearly feels the need to drop it upon his lap , if only to denigrate the things value. it's a necklace , of sorts. a circular , golden bell hung upon an unceremonious bronze chain. there's an A carved upon its surface , surrounded by sweeping lines like wings. it clinks faintly , metallically , as it dangles from her pinched fingers ⏤ & there is , unsurprisingly she's sure , that familiar warm flush of magic that seems to dance upon the air at its call.

" see ? it's not just magical , it's beautiful. all gold , real gold. lovingly handcrafted for the adored heiress to the moshfegh estate ⏤ that would be me , of course. & kept in pristine condition. " she preens , smiles brightly as the bell's chain is given an emphatic little tug & it gives a little song. aneska would forget herself in her histronics , one of these days. " my good luck charm. though i fear my being in possession of it is a bit redundant. i thought you might be able to find a use for it , & appreciate it's artistry still. "

[mieluselul]

aneska + banter dialogue , under the cut.

💌 idea stolen from @starlyht 💌

𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 ,

" there's always more , isn't there ? " " i hope my hair looks okay ... " " la la la ... " " would it kill us to have a little sit down ? "

𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 ( 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 ) ,

" eee ! " " is it weird that i'm a little excited ? " " this is so not like me , to be clear. " " oh , noooo , i don't wanna hurt anybody ! hahaha. "

𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 ( 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 ) ,

" crouching makes my butt look totally plush , right ? " " sticky fingers. " " what , they just expected me to leave without a little gift ? " " i just wanna borrow a few things ... "

𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐦 ,

" i don't need a fly buzzing in my ear. " " i'm not listening ... " " i am , like , so not concerned with you , right now. " " oh , my god. is everyone gonna be this annoying ? "

𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 ,

[ humming ] " ugh , ow ... i wonder who would give the best foot massage ... " [ singing ] " i'm a damsel , i'm in distress ! i need someone to carry me. "

𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 ( 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 ) ,

" hellooo-o ! " [ giggling ] " don't be scared ! " " don't make me hurt you ! oh , who am i kidding ? "

𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 ( 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 ) ,

" boo ! " " aww. they're so screwed & they don't even know it ! " " this is gonna be funny. " " shh. "

𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 ,

" fuck ! " " i don't wanna die like this ! " " no ! i'm scared ⏤ " " why is this happening to me ? "

𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 ,

" hey ! i know where you sleep , idiot. "

𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 ,

" once upon a time , maybe. " " um ... not quite , sorry. "

𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 ,

" yeah , in your dreams. " " that's a rude joke ! "

𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦 ,

" what am i supposed to do with this ? "

𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 ,

" aww. don't they know i'll only want it more ? "

𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 ,

" oh ! yay ! " " i mean , really , what did they expect , tempting me like that ? "

𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐞 ,

" i've been around. " " oh , woe is me , that no one will sweep me off my feet , & take me somewhere sunny ! "

𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 ,

" i feel so small ... " " who's up there , i wonder ? "

𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 ,

" god , you're disgusting ... " " aww. you almost look pretty. "

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩 ,

" ugh , what do they think i am , a blonde ? " " aww , that's cute. "

𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜 ,

" um ... something's off about this one. "

𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜 ,

" ew , ew , ew ! "

𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 ,

" shit. here we go again. "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 ) ,

" no , please no ! if you can't do it , i can't ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐥𝐚𝐞'𝐳𝐞𝐥 ) ,

" oh , god , we are all so screwed ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 ) ,

" please say you have some kind of spell for this ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐞 ) ,

" hey , we really need him alive ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧 ) ,

" don't fly away now , little bat ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐰𝐲𝐥𝐥 ) ,

" but he's too cute to die ! "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐡 ) ,

" no ! no ! this couldn't have happened to literally anybody else ? "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 ) ,

" okay , fine , now i'm really scared. "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐧 ) ,

" oh , come on , big guy ! get up ! please ? "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐣𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐚 ) ,

" no , way ! she is way too cool to die for this bandwagon of chucklefucks. "

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 ( 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐜 ) ,

" oh , seriously ? he has a hamster to take care of ! assholes. "