[open] watching paint dry

[altusimperius]

WHO: Benedict and you
WHAT: Working on the dining hall mural, smoking elfroot, making himself useful one small task at a time
WHEN: Kingsway
WHERE: mostly the dining hall, sometimes other places
NOTES: ART

I. Style Taste Class

Already something of a serious person by nature, Benedict has never been more invested in a project than he is in his newly-appointed task of livening up the dining hall-- even his work as a chamberlain was more detached than this, what with him making stylistic decisions but not personally implementing any of them.

He's requested a little scaffold be set up so he can get above the large tower doorframes, and he can be found there at all hours that he isn't in Byerly's office, which is to say, in the mornings and late at night. When he sleeps is unclear, but based on the bags under his eyes, that doesn't come often.

But he seems cheerful enough, for who he is, and is usually open to conversation with diners and passersby as his painstaking design begins to take shape*.

*it's an approximation obviously

II. Recreation Station

When not at work either for Byerly or on his Masterpiece, Bene can be found lounging with his semi-erstwhile hookah in a spare room of the mage tower, having amassed a small number of battered and disused pillows and blankets to make the place homier.
His presence there is usually indicated by the smell of scented smoke, much like his former neighbors would be used to when he still had a room of his own, but fortunately he keeps the window open to let things vent properly.

III. Wildcard

The usual stuff is happening! Make your own prompt or hit me up for one.

Comments

[altusimperius]

It takes a while, largely as a result of the smoke's heavy aroma filling the room; but eventually, Benedict stops, still gripping Edgard, and scrutinizes his face with watery eyes.

"That's you," he says quietly, ostensibly to Edgard but also in a moment of realization, "...Maker, when's the last time you bathed?"

[muckspout]

His eyes flit open and meet Benedict’s watery eyes. He responds low and lazy.

“When’s the last time it rained?”

[altusimperius]

The cogs turn behind his dark eyes, and after a quiet, contemplative "ew," suddenly Benedict moves faster than he has all evening to settle himself on a pillow a few feet away.
Much resembling a disgruntled cat, he begins to scour his tongue with the sleeve of his own shirt, the best he can do at the moment, glaring daggers at Edgard.

[muckspout]

Edgard starts at the sudden fleeing. A long moment passes. He blushes and does up his pants. He genuinely does not know what caused this encounter to end or why Benedict seems angry.

“Sorry?” He offers.

He feels hurt and very Very uncomfortable.

[altusimperius]

Being high is not doing either of them any favors when it comes to navigating a touchy subject, but Benedict already had the disadvantage of being terrible at them to begin with.

He stares at him a moment, but does, at least, seem to register that Edgard is oblivious.

"You--" Bene gestures to him incredulously, "...you smell." How could he not know?

[muckspout]

Edgard fiddles with a pillow, he still doesn’t get it.

“Everyone smells. You-you smell weird too. It’s normal.” Edgard looks at Benedict and then past him, at the wall, feeling entirely awful.

Even in this department, Edgard is useless.

[altusimperius]

"No I don't!" Bene snaps back, horrified; in fact, he goes entirely out of his way to not smell weird on a daily basis.

However, there's a look on Edgard's face that's troubling him, even in his addled state. With a pained expression, he flops onto his back on the pillows again, lip curling in either a sneer or the anguish of Colin's voice in his head telling him to Be Nice.

"Fuck, just-- go take a bath," he says helplessly, "and I'll keep going."

[muckspout]

Edgard has a lot of Strong Feelings about baths and why he considers the natural state to be better. It is a core part of who he is. Edgard won't budge on his beliefs for just anyone and certainly should not for a person he barely knows, who just openly rejected him. Particularly not someone who is so.....so...Edgard locks eyes with Benedict again.

"Alright." He hears himself saying. "I think I saw some baths on my way up here. Don't move. Un moment."

When Edgard returns, he is almost unrecognizable with weeks-months--Maker, possibly even years worth of grime cleaned off.

[altusimperius]

The change is astounding. Having actually dozed off in Edgard's absence, Bene starts awake when he returns, rubs his arm across his eyes, and blinks sleepily at him--

and then he's wide awake.

"You're," he falters, "you're actually handsome."

[muckspout]

Edgard grumbles and collapses on a pillow.

"I look ridiculous and I smell awful. I did not enjoy that."

He takes a long pull from the hookah as if trying to wipe the memory away.

[altusimperius]

"You look like a person and you smell--" Bene corrects, pausing to inhale, "--tolerable."

Then he crawls back over, takes the hookah from Edgard to pull from it himself (seductively?), hands it back, and lowers himself to his stomach to pick up where he left off.

[muckspout]

"I looked like a person bef-" Edgard starts to protest and then finds that he doesn't have much to protest much longer. Beliefs schmeliefs. Once again, Riftwatch does not seem so bad.

Stunning romance indeed.

[altusimperius]

It takes as long as it does, and when Edgard seems like he's verging on release, Bene's mouth withdraws and is replaced with a handkerchief to prevent too much of a mess.

Then, as if nothing had even happened, he raises himself up and moves back to sprawl over the pillows again. Job done.

[muckspout]

Edgard closes his eyes sleepily and as he's drifting off catches a whiff of his freshly washed hair. It makes him shudder. He needs to correct this situation immediately. He pushes himself up and grasps Benedict's hand. And then with sudden uncharacteristic gallantry--

"I must go. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, Monsieur Benedict. I hope we meet again." He brushes the hand lightly to his lips and then stumbles away.

[altusimperius]

A grunt is the only response he receives, and Benedict might already be asleep again by the time Edgard takes his leave.

Novels will be written about this moment.