TLV: IC Contact

[sixfeetofdirt]

Careful; I bite.

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[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion smiles his appreciation.

"Avernus. The uppermost of the Nine Hells. Extremely hot. I also spent a little time in an underground forge which used lava to heat its workings."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Lava!" He can't help but laugh, deeply amused as he starts to walk again, just for something to do with his feet, reaching back for Astarion absently.

"That's some Bugs Bunny shit," he tells him, then pauses. "A kids' show I used to watch."

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion slips his arm through Jacob's. It doesn't feel quite as intimate as holding hands.

"About a...rabbit? Maybe it made an impression," he says, giving him a sidelong smirk.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

It's good enough to keep him close. "Yeah. A rabbit. Shit, I didn't even think of that."

He tsks. "Anyway, what were you doing there?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Oh, we had a few errands to run in the area. Along the way, we'd discovered there was a legendary forge, hidden away in the furthest depths. We needed the best armour and weapons we could get for what was to come, so, we paid a visit. It was defended by an ancient construct, but it was somewhat vulnerable to the lava, of all the stupid design flaws."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He looks momentarily confused. "The guard to the lava forge was vulnerable to lava?"

Jacob just laughs. "I might have gone in a different fucking direction for my mystical forge."

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Likewise! It's like defending one's vampire lair by opening all the curtains." He shakes his head, incredulous. "I didn't get to benefit, anyway, but I'm told the armour we got out of the expedition was worth the sojourn."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"You were told? You don't agree?" He knows he had little say in their expedition. "What armor did you get?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Oh, I wore leather, mostly. Steel and the like is all well and good if you're in the middle of the melee, but if you're picking off your targets from the shadows, it helps if they can't hear you from the next town over," Astarion explains. "If I was ever in a position where I was having to take a full blow from a battleaxe, that was pure stupidity on my part."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

That gets a laugh. He can't imagine Astarion letting anyone that close.

"Yeah, that's right. Saves all the fun shit for us in front. Though I'm a dead shot with a rifle. But...never really liked it unless I'm hunting."

People or deer, that's left unsaid.

"Too much sitting."

[sixfeetofdirt]

"A rifle," Astarion echoes, uncertain. "Those are...the large ones, yes?"

He's not exactly familiar with firearms.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Yeah, it's -"

He takes his phone out of his back pocket and, after a moment of scrolling, shows him a picture of a younger Jacob, hair cut short and no beard, dressed in his desert fatigues with a rifle over his shoulder. It's a picture of a photograph, so it's grainy, but he points anyway.

"That one."

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion nods, his suspicion confirmed - but naturally, he's distracted by the photograph's other features.

"You look so finely honed, darling. How long ago was this taken?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Hey!"

He peers at the picture again and then over at Astarion with an incredulous laugh.

"That was twenty five years ago. I think I still look...honed."

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion lets out a high little peal of laughter.

"Don't get me wrong, darling - you're gorgeous, no argument from me. I just mean the beard, the hair. Do all soldiers have to be clean-shaven?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He elbows him playfully. "Yeah, it's a thing. I was eighteen there. Just got out of juvie - prison. Of course I look like that."

He huffs and puts the phone back in his pocket.

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Well, I much prefer you now," Astarion says primly, and gives his arm a squeeze. "Is there anything else you'd like me to see?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He slides his arms around him again. "Why? You ready to head back?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Not specifically. I'm just wondering if there's any other curiosities about this place you'd like to share."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He thinks a moment, then up the mountain. "There's a mountain lion cave up there," he laughs.

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion furrows his brow.

"I don't think that's something I want to see," he judges.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Yeah, I thought not," he teases. "We can head back. Make sure you don't fall down the ridge this time. Clearly I can't keep my shit together."

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Maybe this time, I'll be paying close enough attention to catch you," Astarion teases right back. "Or at least make sure you don't break anything on impact."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"My fucking hero," he laughs. "You wouldn't leave me to my fate?"

But he starts the trek back. "You want to have a drink or something tonight?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion responds by innocently sidling up just behind him and goosing him.

"Or something."