Astarion isn't empathetic in any way that's useful or compassionate, really, but he knows pain. He knows exactly how it feels to be on the receiving end of this treatment - though the matter of informed consent makes it a bit hazy - and pulling those sounds from his lovely throat is a rush that he so rarely gets to experience. The guilt and the shame he feels in doing these things is still here, but it's a background hum, not a howl across his thoughts.
"Something a little different, then."
The next two blows, back and forth, stripe harsh lines across his ass - through his clothes, yes, but with a little more strength in his arm to make up for it. The third connects them, making two points of overlap which are going to really bruise.
He yelps and pants, fighting the urge to squirm, regardless of Astarion's demonstrated skill with moving targets, groans low in his throat as the intersections throb with lasting pain even as the sharp sting of the rest of the strikes fades away a little faster.
Jedao shudders at the stroke over his spine, the way even the lighter force scrapes through him, so close to the bone. It would be dangerous for someone else; for Jedao, it's just an extra thrill.
Jedao laughs a little, shaky and breathy, interrupted by little gasps and sharp moans. "Fair's...fair," he mumbles; neither of them holding back, neither of them hiding in silence.
"Oh, this feels like it's so much more than fair. This is...indulgent."
Another horizontal line rips across his back, barely two inches from the
first, almost perfectly parallel. The next few hits are quicker, snapping
across his thighs in rapid succession.
He wants to press himself up against Jedao's back, feel the heat of the
welts in his skin, knead his bruises and press the pain deep into him.
"How much more do you want, darling?"
Slightly distinct from how much more he can take, which he might struggle
to answer.
It hurts less, where the whip hits him through his pants, but it's also more surprising, somehow; he squeaks and twitches each time. Somehow, whatever alchemy makes Jedao appear human is flawless until the skin is actually broken. His welts are white and red, even though the blood beneath them isn't. His bruises look human; his raw skin even smells faintly of iron even though there's no hemoglobin below it.
"More," he pants, half-hard against the wood of cross. "Want...want to bleed a little," he confesses, face hot, voice low and nervous and hungry. A cold stone of fear settles in his stomach, rough and bitter and poisonous as a peach pit. He's asking too much, he always asks for too much, he knows his blood is even more disgusting to vampires than it is to most people. But he feels loose and open with pain, his mind gone slippery instead of careful and calculation, and Astarion asked.
It's so much more than okay. He's heard the warning about his blood, but
at this point he really doesn't care; it would have to be absolutely,
unutterably foul to distract him from how good he's feeling.
He takes aim carefully and concentrates his strength into a short, deep
stroke across one shoulder blade, then another, crossing it. His skin
splits at the junction of the two, blood welling up and trickling from the
wound.
He whimpers when Astarion calls him pet, hips jerking where he's braced against the cross in a way that's just a bit too revealing.
He yowls when he feels the cut open. It's not that the pain is so much greater - he could take more pain in silence if he had to, does it often enough when he uses his mothpushes on things that are too big to move without feeling like all his bones are on fire - but it feels raw, vulnerable, intimate. The pain is sharp and deep and perfect.
The blood that oozes up is black, more viscous than human blood, something with the shine of squid ink and the texture of tar. It beads up in the little wound, thick as honey, dark as the other side of the stars.
It certainly doesn't smell human, or like the blood of any other creature
he's seen spilled, come to that. Strange but not repugnant. Astarion wants
to lick it from his skin regardless of the risk. Wants to sink his teeth
into the heart of his darkest bruises.
"Next time, I want a mirror in here," he says, voice a rough purr. "I want
you to see how beautiful you look when you're hurting."
He also said he wanted to bleed 'a little', not just once. That distinction
earns him another two small wounds at the small of his back, a deep lash
crossing the two parallel lines already scored.
Jedao wails, a wounded wanting yearning sound, as much for being called beautiful even with his blood showing as for the fresh cuts that underscore it, that prove he means it, or at least isn't repulsed. Jedao shudders and almost seems to melt against the cross, every last bit of tension draining out of him, floating in the sheer loveliness of the pain, the way his whole back is tender and aching, the way the cuts feel so startlingly vivid and alive.
A less cautious partner might stop at this point, but when Jedao makes that
sound - when he's all but begging for it - Astarion can't find the
restraint.
"Two more, my sweet, and then we're done."
The last two are high and low, across his shoulders and just above his
knees, as if framing his work. When he stops, when he crosses the floor to
close the distance between himself and Jedao, he feels - almost delirious.
Jedao moans, soft and continuous, the sound spiking up into soft cries as he savors the last two strikes. He shudders and pants for breath as he hangs on the cuffs in the quiet afterward, not fully trusting his knees if he lets go, twisting his head a little to glance back over his shoulder as much as he can, punch-drunk, loose-limbed and beaming at Astarion as he approaches.
"So good," he murmurs, not quite slurred, but definitely in a lazier, more contented tone of voice than usual.
"You were," Astarion tells him, returning the smile almost in spite of himself - though it's a little sharper around the edges than Jedao's. He doesn't look flushed or exerted in any way; he is hard, and the snug leathers do nothing to conceal that fact, but he's decided he'll resolve that when he's alone or just let it go away. He's satisfied with what he's gotten from this.
"Not just good. You are exceptional, pet." His response to that word earlier was noted.
He shivers for it, eyes ducking down for a moment, sweet-shy rather really embarrassed.
"Help me to the couch?" he asks, wavering just a little as he finally lets go of the cuffs, flexing his hands a few times, Astarion wouldn't have come this close if he really didn't want to touch, Jedao figures.
"Of course. I'll have to touch your shoulders to support you, but - I don't think you'll mind that much, mm?
Just lean on me, darling."
He slides his arm under Jedao's, and he's definitely going to get some of that strange viscous blood on his sleeve, but so long as it isn't acidic he doesn't much mind. Couchward it is.
"No, I don't mind," Jedao agrees, and he makes another soft squirming noise in his throat when Astarion touches his raw skin, but he still leans into it. He doesn't really need the support, slightly wobbly or not, but he does need the touch, needs to feel grounded and wanted while he's exposed in multiple ways.
On the couch, he sits in the middle, on his side, one leg tucked under him, giving Astarion the choice to sit facing him, or behind him with continued access to his back.
Astarion sits behind him, keeping close, gently rubbing one hand up and
down his arm. The other gently traces a fingertip along the welts and
circles the bruises, bringing their sting up fresh.
"Fantastic," he murmurs, humming happily at the touch, although he scoots forward just a little so that he can lean forward and settle himself against the arm of the couch, head pillowed on his arms.
"Feeling...quiet? Good quiet. A little floaty." He's still hard, too, but there's nothing urgent about it. After a good thrashing his brain shuts up and there's nothing urgent about anything. It's a wonderful relief.
Astarion doesn't know of any word for what Jedao is feeling, and he's never
experienced it himself, but he's encountered it in other people. It sounds
nice. A temporary escape.
He knows better than to do anything much to disturb him, though eventually
his hand falls away from his back, the other just resting lightly on an
untouched patch of his shoulder.
"I feel...wonderful, actually. Better than I have for a long time."
Being able to drink his fill, finally, is a highlight of his time here
that nothing is likely to eclipse. But this is so close that it doesn't
feel like more than a white lie.
"I don't think I've ever met someone who hurts as beautifully as you do."
Jedao laughs softly, but there's no bitterness in it, the way there might have been if he felt less sweetly at ease.
"I was made for it, maybe. I can never decide if I want that to be true or not. But I'm glad you like it."
He twists and shuffles a little, turning around to lean back against the arm of the couch, squirming and shuddering a little as the grain of the upholstery scrapes the fresh welts on his back. He beams lazily at Astarion.
"I don't know that I've really had the luxury of developing a favourite,"
he admits - a comment with similar grim undertones. "I'm more used to
using a crop, or a belt when I had nothing else."
And a variety of other tools, for reasons that had everything to do with
pain and nothing to do with pleasure.
"But I do like a whip. The versatility of it, the - performance."
"Not knowing if it would be a stripe or the very point of the cracker -" Jedao shudders happily, then squeaks a little as the motion rubs his back against the couch a little more. He blushes red, hides his face in his hands for a moment before dropping them again, though he's still tinged pink.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Astarion isn't empathetic in any way that's useful or compassionate, really, but he knows pain. He knows exactly how it feels to be on the receiving end of this treatment - though the matter of informed consent makes it a bit hazy - and pulling those sounds from his lovely throat is a rush that he so rarely gets to experience. The guilt and the shame he feels in doing these things is still here, but it's a background hum, not a howl across his thoughts.
"Something a little different, then."
The next two blows, back and forth, stripe harsh lines across his ass - through his clothes, yes, but with a little more strength in his arm to make up for it. The third connects them, making two points of overlap which are going to really bruise.
no subject
"Yes, yes, yes -"
no subject
The sound that escapes Astarion's lips, unbidden, is almost a growl.
"Hells, darling." A slash across his shoulders. "You told me to keep talking, and I will, but -"
A stroke down his spine, positively delicate - he knows the consequences of hitting too hard there.
"-It's damn near impossible when all I want to do is shut up and listen to you."
A line scored horizontally across his back, so close to drawing blood.
no subject
Jedao laughs a little, shaky and breathy, interrupted by little gasps and sharp moans. "Fair's...fair," he mumbles; neither of them holding back, neither of them hiding in silence.
no subject
"Oh, this feels like it's so much more than fair. This is...indulgent."
Another horizontal line rips across his back, barely two inches from the first, almost perfectly parallel. The next few hits are quicker, snapping across his thighs in rapid succession.
He wants to press himself up against Jedao's back, feel the heat of the welts in his skin, knead his bruises and press the pain deep into him.
"How much more do you want, darling?"
Slightly distinct from how much more he can take, which he might struggle to answer.
no subject
"More," he pants, half-hard against the wood of cross. "Want...want to bleed a little," he confesses, face hot, voice low and nervous and hungry. A cold stone of fear settles in his stomach, rough and bitter and poisonous as a peach pit. He's asking too much, he always asks for too much, he knows his blood is even more disgusting to vampires than it is to most people. But he feels loose and open with pain, his mind gone slippery instead of careful and calculation, and Astarion asked.
"If...if that's okay, please..."
no subject
"It's okay. Since you said please, pet."
It's so much more than okay. He's heard the warning about his blood, but at this point he really doesn't care; it would have to be absolutely, unutterably foul to distract him from how good he's feeling.
He takes aim carefully and concentrates his strength into a short, deep stroke across one shoulder blade, then another, crossing it. His skin splits at the junction of the two, blood welling up and trickling from the wound.
no subject
He yowls when he feels the cut open. It's not that the pain is so much greater - he could take more pain in silence if he had to, does it often enough when he uses his mothpushes on things that are too big to move without feeling like all his bones are on fire - but it feels raw, vulnerable, intimate. The pain is sharp and deep and perfect.
The blood that oozes up is black, more viscous than human blood, something with the shine of squid ink and the texture of tar. It beads up in the little wound, thick as honey, dark as the other side of the stars.
no subject
It certainly doesn't smell human, or like the blood of any other creature he's seen spilled, come to that. Strange but not repugnant. Astarion wants to lick it from his skin regardless of the risk. Wants to sink his teeth into the heart of his darkest bruises.
"Next time, I want a mirror in here," he says, voice a rough purr. "I want you to see how beautiful you look when you're hurting."
He also said he wanted to bleed 'a little', not just once. That distinction earns him another two small wounds at the small of his back, a deep lash crossing the two parallel lines already scored.
no subject
no subject
A less cautious partner might stop at this point, but when Jedao makes that sound - when he's all but begging for it - Astarion can't find the restraint.
"Two more, my sweet, and then we're done."
The last two are high and low, across his shoulders and just above his knees, as if framing his work. When he stops, when he crosses the floor to close the distance between himself and Jedao, he feels - almost delirious.
no subject
"So good," he murmurs, not quite slurred, but definitely in a lazier, more contented tone of voice than usual.
no subject
"You were," Astarion tells him, returning the smile almost in spite of himself - though it's a little sharper around the edges than Jedao's. He doesn't look flushed or exerted in any way; he is hard, and the snug leathers do nothing to conceal that fact, but he's decided he'll resolve that when he's alone or just let it go away. He's satisfied with what he's gotten from this.
"Not just good. You are exceptional, pet." His response to that word earlier was noted.
no subject
"Help me to the couch?" he asks, wavering just a little as he finally lets go of the cuffs, flexing his hands a few times, Astarion wouldn't have come this close if he really didn't want to touch, Jedao figures.
no subject
"Of course. I'll have to touch your shoulders to support you, but - I don't think you'll mind that much, mm? Just lean on me, darling."
He slides his arm under Jedao's, and he's definitely going to get some of that strange viscous blood on his sleeve, but so long as it isn't acidic he doesn't much mind. Couchward it is.
no subject
On the couch, he sits in the middle, on his side, one leg tucked under him, giving Astarion the choice to sit facing him, or behind him with continued access to his back.
no subject
Astarion sits behind him, keeping close, gently rubbing one hand up and down his arm. The other gently traces a fingertip along the welts and circles the bruises, bringing their sting up fresh.
"Tell me how you're feeling, my sweet?"
no subject
"Feeling...quiet? Good quiet. A little floaty." He's still hard, too, but there's nothing urgent about it. After a good thrashing his brain shuts up and there's nothing urgent about anything. It's a wonderful relief.
no subject
Astarion doesn't know of any word for what Jedao is feeling, and he's never experienced it himself, but he's encountered it in other people. It sounds nice. A temporary escape.
He knows better than to do anything much to disturb him, though eventually his hand falls away from his back, the other just resting lightly on an untouched patch of his shoulder.
no subject
"How about you?"
no subject
"I feel...wonderful, actually. Better than I have for a long time."
Being able to drink his fill, finally, is a highlight of his time here that nothing is likely to eclipse. But this is so close that it doesn't feel like more than a white lie.
"I don't think I've ever met someone who hurts as beautifully as you do."
And that is true.
no subject
"I was made for it, maybe. I can never decide if I want that to be true or not. But I'm glad you like it."
He twists and shuffles a little, turning around to lean back against the arm of the couch, squirming and shuddering a little as the grain of the upholstery scrapes the fresh welts on his back. He beams lazily at Astarion.
"Is the whip your favorite?"
no subject
"I don't know that I've really had the luxury of developing a favourite," he admits - a comment with similar grim undertones. "I'm more used to using a crop, or a belt when I had nothing else."
And a variety of other tools, for reasons that had everything to do with pain and nothing to do with pleasure.
"But I do like a whip. The versatility of it, the - performance."
no subject
"Anyway, you're marvelous."
no subject
"Thank you, darling."
It's an easy compliment to accept - the kind he's been given many times before, albeit often by people who were about to die, or so he'd thought.
"Is there - anything I can do for you?"
Aftercare isn't his strongest suit - see 'about to die' - but he's read books, he knows it's a thing?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)