The Guardian nodded slowly, reluctant to do as he was told simply out of fear of everyone misreading everything, but he did what he was told, mushing through the language with pointers from Ghost whenever he messed up - which was more than usual, with Uldren distracting him so much. He nearly doubled over with the squeezing, green eyes squinting in half pleasure, half pain.
"I-Ilormael?" he croaked, reaching down with both hands and pulling Uldren away long enough for him to at least talk without sounding like a drowning animal.
"Hm?" the elf responded, looking up curiously before coloring faintly at Mac's heated expression and Uldren's scrutiny. What was this about?
"He thinks...the prince thinks you're trying to pretend you aren't interested and wants to know why you would deny yourself company...in...in this weather..." Not entirely true, not entirely a lie. It was an easy, neutral space for him to venture, letting everyone sound like their agendas were valid without being more important than the other. That was his intention, at any rate, and while the elf looked suspicious, he eventually relented. Mac had been understanding and kind where Uldren had not. They were the two faces of the same coin, in Ilormael's view. But Mac asked, and really, what harm was there in the telling? After that night they likely wouldn't ever meet again.
"My people are few. We...couple based on necessity more than romantic interest. Having more children is more important than what your tastes may be." Mac nodded slowly, glancing at Uldren with a faint smile. Yeah...he remembered being the odd one out, afraid his tastes weren't right somehow. apparently this kid wasn't much into the idea of a wife by necessity. The odds of meeting one another were astronomically low...so why not say as much?
"The odds of us meeting were astronomically low," he pointed out, repeating his thoughts. "Don't you think it would be senseless to pass up an opportunity presented to you by some alignment of the stars? A god's hand in it...who knows?"
"What if it's a test? What if I'm supposed to resist temptation in favor of the clan?" the elf asked, distressed by the thought, and Mac shrugged, shaking his head.
"Well, if you fooled around with us, when we've no plans to settle, were you planning on suddenly forsaking your clan and striking out on your own in pursuit of hot men like yours truly?" the Guardian quipped, thumbing at himself and earning the elf's helpless laughter.
"Good heavens, no!"
"Then what kind of test would that be? Isn't it more likely that some benevolence in the world is giving you a chance to have what you want before you're required to do your honorable duty or some such?"
"You sound like a desire demon probably sounds," the elf frowned, and Mac huffed a sigh and shrugged.
"Well, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to convince you I'm not, but look. He says you're welcome here. Even if you don't do anything, you can just stay and watch if you want, but when he says you're welcome, that usually means you're invited. So...that's up to you. You want to do something, he said it's fine. And...I guess I'll admit, I'm not opposed. It's not even him being pushy, I just don't feel disinclined to anything right now. In fact, I invite you, too. But we're probably gonna end up doin' the do, so if you are freaked out, you're gonna have to like...plug your ears and close your eyes, because we're not that shy about each other," Mac explained, gesturing vaguely to Uldren's grabby hands with a wry look.
"He thinks he scares you and that's why you don't want to, uh...explore more interesting ways of getting warmer. If it's not the case and you are interested, I encourage you to just...say fuck it, and stop sitting on that side of the fire. That's all I can really say about it," he finished, looking at Uldren and shrugging, unsure if what he said was sensible, encouraging or just fell flat. For his part, all he cared about was getting a deeper run on what they'd already started.
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"I-Ilormael?" he croaked, reaching down with both hands and pulling Uldren away long enough for him to at least talk without sounding like a drowning animal.
"Hm?" the elf responded, looking up curiously before coloring faintly at Mac's heated expression and Uldren's scrutiny. What was this about?
"He thinks...the prince thinks you're trying to pretend you aren't interested and wants to know why you would deny yourself company...in...in this weather..." Not entirely true, not entirely a lie. It was an easy, neutral space for him to venture, letting everyone sound like their agendas were valid without being more important than the other. That was his intention, at any rate, and while the elf looked suspicious, he eventually relented. Mac had been understanding and kind where Uldren had not. They were the two faces of the same coin, in Ilormael's view. But Mac asked, and really, what harm was there in the telling? After that night they likely wouldn't ever meet again.
"My people are few. We...couple based on necessity more than romantic interest. Having more children is more important than what your tastes may be." Mac nodded slowly, glancing at Uldren with a faint smile. Yeah...he remembered being the odd one out, afraid his tastes weren't right somehow. apparently this kid wasn't much into the idea of a wife by necessity. The odds of meeting one another were astronomically low...so why not say as much?
"The odds of us meeting were astronomically low," he pointed out, repeating his thoughts. "Don't you think it would be senseless to pass up an opportunity presented to you by some alignment of the stars? A god's hand in it...who knows?"
"What if it's a test? What if I'm supposed to resist temptation in favor of the clan?" the elf asked, distressed by the thought, and Mac shrugged, shaking his head.
"Well, if you fooled around with us, when we've no plans to settle, were you planning on suddenly forsaking your clan and striking out on your own in pursuit of hot men like yours truly?" the Guardian quipped, thumbing at himself and earning the elf's helpless laughter.
"Good heavens, no!"
"Then what kind of test would that be? Isn't it more likely that some benevolence in the world is giving you a chance to have what you want before you're required to do your honorable duty or some such?"
"You sound like a desire demon probably sounds," the elf frowned, and Mac huffed a sigh and shrugged.
"Well, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to convince you I'm not, but look. He says you're welcome here. Even if you don't do anything, you can just stay and watch if you want, but when he says you're welcome, that usually means you're invited. So...that's up to you. You want to do something, he said it's fine. And...I guess I'll admit, I'm not opposed. It's not even him being pushy, I just don't feel disinclined to anything right now. In fact, I invite you, too. But we're probably gonna end up doin' the do, so if you are freaked out, you're gonna have to like...plug your ears and close your eyes, because we're not that shy about each other," Mac explained, gesturing vaguely to Uldren's grabby hands with a wry look.
"He thinks he scares you and that's why you don't want to, uh...explore more interesting ways of getting warmer. If it's not the case and you are interested, I encourage you to just...say fuck it, and stop sitting on that side of the fire. That's all I can really say about it," he finished, looking at Uldren and shrugging, unsure if what he said was sensible, encouraging or just fell flat. For his part, all he cared about was getting a deeper run on what they'd already started.