escordvi | open 🪶 the world owes me a debt, and i've come to collect.

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open 🪶 the world owes me a debt, and i've come to collect.

Who: Benedikta Harman & you.
Status: Open.
Where: All around.
What: Oops, all MANTA stuff. And a not-date with Cid.
Warnings: FFXVI spoilers, foul language, suggestive content. The usual.

🗡️ i. bite-sized blessings

[Apparently, Benedikta's ears are looking quite delectable to one small, pink dragon today. This is why she hates Eltrut—half the time she comes here, no, a majority of the times she comes here, there is always something. A goose, a conning healer who sends her out to do his grocery shopping... Today, it is a small pink dragon that has bitten her ear and tries to do it again. She's attempted to swat it away, walk it off, but no matter how fast she moves, it follows her and nips at her, or finds joy in playing with her hair.

Fool her once, shame on her. Fool her twice—]

You little brat!

[—it's managed to grab at her hair, and it pulls, before swooping away from her grappling hands with a chirp, as if it thinks this is some sort of game!?

Someone please help this woman. Or this dragon. She has yet to hear all about how this thing is meant to be returned to Elah, so if you are looking for said pink dragon, here it is.]

🗡️ ii. a steamy winter heist

[It was the exorbitant prices that drew Benedikta to the job first. The black market was always open, and she was always willing. Call it doing someone else's dirty work, if it put a good sack of coin into her pocket, then who is she to complain? Besides, it's not as if stealing something off a ship in the dead of night was difficult—she's done it dozens of times before.

The fact that it was a special sort of tea was only a bonus, so of course she would pocket some for herself... Maybe a handful. Or maybe a whole crate if she could get away with it.

Now, that is the question, isn't it?]

༄ a. getting to the ship. [Perhaps it is your lucky night and Benedikta is feeling somewhat charitable. Charitable enough that she is willing to use anyone she finds as a decoy while she sneaks in to steal the goods. Of course, she isn't about to say as much, as she stands on the docks and stares out to the merchant ship coming into the shore, its lights blinking against the darkening sky.

She has her pipe between her teeth as she almost always does before a job like this, letting the smoke swirl on her tongue before letting it billow outward.]

So, that there is the ship? [She scoffs.] She is certainly impressive.

[As large as a rich, black-market-selling merchant's ship should be. Which is why she's agreed to a "two-person" job.]

༄ b. caught red-handed. [Or, maybe she wasn't feeling so charitable.

As if being caught matters all that much to her. She's in the middle of making off with a whole crate—and the last one, too; people have been busy—of these tea bags (there must be hundreds of them in here) when she hears footsteps coming. She hardly flinches, if at all, and stands there with it tucked haphazardly under her arm while she stares the other person down with a smile before she tosses her head back.

Yep. You saw right. A whole box.]

Sorry. As they say, the early bird and all. A shame you came all this way only to come out empty-handed, but try again another night.

[There may have been a threat underlining her voice somewhere.]

🗡️ iii. poke 'n prance

[Well, at the very least, being paired up with Benedikta for a challenge like this cannot get any better... or worse than this, depending on who you ask. Having a history of torturing others means that she knows exactly where to put the sword and how much pain it will inflict. After all, when fishing for information, it is best to poke and prod it out of someone, and you can't very well gain much from a dead person, now can you?

Which is why she walks up with her own sword in her hand with all the confidence and arrogance of a pretty peacock, her fingers caressing the sharp edge of her blade, from hilt all the way to its jagged tip.]

Now, pay close attention to where I stick you because we can only do this once. Perhaps twice, if you can withstand it.

[She smiles, so sweet and saccharine and sarcastic.]

So, consider this a valuable lesson.

🗡️ iv. coins of the crescent

[Well. What she thought would be a nice, peaceful ride out to this island to fetch some coins turned out to be... well, everything but. It had been fine for the most part, but as the island came into view through the fog, things had started to tip and tip and tip until everything went fucking tits up.

Not only did the crew start to howl and turn rabid, much like those stupid wolves she can hear in the distance, but so did the captain, and now the ship is wayward on the seas at the behest of the waves. Fortunately, she can use the winds to guide them true, but it will take a little more concentration than what she can afford as she drives her sword into the shoulder of one infected crew that lunges at her with what could only be thought of as a kitten's claws.

Don't worry, that won't kill him, but it will send him reeling to the ground wailing in pain, and she kicks him in the gut to quiet him.

Whoever might be standing near her, she will shout at them with no shortage of rage in her voice as she gives her sword a brandish, the blood spraying from her blade.]

Might anyone spare a moment to take care of them while I attempt to not crash this fucking ship!?

[Must she do everything!?]

🗡️ v. untitled goose bounty 2

[Well, this is certainly not what she was expecting to see when she arrived on Eltrut, or tried to. She'd heard sounds from above across the ship's deck first—the worried shouts of the crew and riftfarers alike. Benedikta had been enjoying the peaceful ride in her cabin aboard the Stormbringer, and had half a mind to ignore the noise and go right back to sleep...

...

Until she hears something else.

The loud, low, rumbling sound of a... honk?

Something visceral shatters through Benedikta's whole body then, forcing her to sit up when the flashbacks of those eight-headed geese attacked her not even a month ago. She rushes to her feet and then out the door, shoving people out of her way as she storms up to the deck where she beholds—]

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

[—an eight-headed(?) goose large enough that it could peck out Eltrut's eye.

Much, much larger than she recalls it being.

And she is pulled out of her reverie only by the sounds of magitech cannons being blasted off.]

I see it's come back for another taste.

🗡️ vi. wildcard

[None of these prompts work for you? Want to do something that isn't from the MANTA board? Feel free to hit up my plotting comment, or via plurk @

crystariums! I'm also around on the game discord, and PM works, too! Also open to texts/bottled messages!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She looks him straight in his eyes, and without a single ounce of doubt or fear or teasing—]

A kiss.

[A plain and simple answer that she is not afraid to give him. A want that she has been craving since the one that they shared outside of the restaurant, and then again on this balcony when she had looked at him.

Just one kiss.]

[...Hmmm...

There's a gleam in his eyes as they immediately move to her lips...but instead.]

Like so?

[He takes her hand and kisses it, that playful smile never leaving him.]

[She sighs, the exhale playfully dramatic, when he takes her hand instead.]

Close.

[A slight, teasing roll of her eyes, and with a light shrug of her shoulder, that strap falls even further.]

But that will not get you very far.

Hm...

[He looks at her from over her wrist before he gently sets it down...

...

To reach back and grab her leg, bending it up so that his lips can brush against the top of her knee.]

Here?

[And then as slow travel down the inside of her thigh. Not too far just yet, just a quiet kiss or two.]

[Her head falls back further in spite of herself, that little bit of control easing up just a bit—enough that she feels a heat rush between her legs and where his lips press to her skin, all of it feeling like little pools of fire being poured over her.

But she'll slowly draw her leg back, an attempt to take it away from him, and in the process, he will catch a proper glimpse of what she's picked to wear underneath—something lacy and purple and far too delicate for someone like her.]

No. And that is far more than what you've paid for.

[He catches that glimpse, and it has certainly made him interested. As well as briefly wonder if she chose it on purpose for tonight. For him.

But it's a brief wonder as he just eyes her for a moment before he leans back forward.]

Well when you leave it very vague...

What is vague about it?

[She remains steadfast in her position, her eyes following him without inching away while he closes in on her again, nearly caging her against the couch. More applause from down below—has another song already passed?—and she waits for it to finish once more, letting that pause build some of that tension.]

I thought my answer was fairly straightforward.

[Only now does she tip herself forward to meet him, propping herself on her hands instead of her elbows, as she brings her face closer to his.]

You only said a kiss.

[His eyes continue gleam with mischief and amusement as he watches her lean forward towards him.]

But you didn't say where.

[And after acting as if he would give her a proper kiss, there's a smirk before he ducks his head to attack her lower neck instead, close to her collarbone before moving to continue downward.]

[This cheeky bastard...

And of course she can't say no to that either, especially when he knows exactly where all the right spots are to make her melt in his palm.]

Where does one place a proper kiss, do you think?

[Her hand comes up to card through his hair, fingers tangling through it to gently tug and guide him to one of those places where she craves his mouth.]

[He enjoys that touch, and he'll move easily with her at that tug, eyes still shining.]

...Hm...where indeed...

[Again he eyes her lips, and with her guidance he's much closer.

But—]

Here?

[He pecks her forehead.]

Here?

[And then her cheek.]

Maybe here?

[And her nose—all in quick succession and with each word getting closer and closer to breaking into laughter.]

[She closes her eyes, her nose crinkling when he starts peppering her face with kisses.]

Stop it—!

[She tries to interrupt him, but her protest is weak at best, huffy at worst, and the time she can, he's already finished and she can hear that he is trying so, so very hard to stifle that laugh she knows is held in his chest.]

Do not make me beg for it, Cidolfus.

Hmm, but I do like the sound of your voice when you do.

[A low voice as he now kisses near her chin, right beneath her lower lip.]

[And from where he is, he'll feel a hot puff of air when she exhales, though it sounds less of a sigh by the end, and more like a low, frustrated growl.

So... so close...]

You should be the one begging...

I'm not the one being tested.

[And there is just a little playful nip, a little tug at her lower lip, his eyes still on hers with that annoying smug look of his.]

No...

[She speaks through that little tug at her lip, though she immediately regrets as much when she hears how breathless her voice is.]

You are the one who is meant to pay up. And you still have not...

[Still holding fast. Not chasing after his lips, no matter how close they are.]

I would think I've paid quite a bit by now.

[A difficult man he is and he considers even pulling away again.]

But how do I know things won't just end after I "pay up"?

[For now he just continues to just let his lips brush against her lower lip, his voice a nice, low rumbling murmur that manages to drown out the swell of music and voices below.]

[She arches her back, meaning to press into him subtly... a tease to counter his own, and her eyes open just a touch, her lashes tickling his cheeks as she tries to read the look in his own.]

What happened to having that faith you spoke so confidently about?

Well there's faith...

[And then a huff of warm breath as a laugh.]

Then there's the fickle bird that likes to flutter around and make things difficult.

[His face tilts slightly so now he's more at the corner of her mouth.]

Not that it would stop me.

[Fickle bird... She laughs quietly.]

And yet...

[She leans back only far enough that she can turn her head to look at him and their lips will still not quite meet. Brush, yes, but nothing more than that.]

... You've yet to do anything. What's holding you back?

The chase can be just as enjoyable.

[An amused grin.]

And...

[Now he'll do something a little different, which is to reach up to tap her lower lip with his fingertip. As he watches her, there will be the small flash of purple and blue as he slowly swipes over her lip with a faint trace of levin, just enough to give her that tantalizing little buzz.]

I just wonder how much you want that kiss.

[Smirk.]

[If the way she moans out loud at the brush of his lightning isn't enough to tell him just how much she really does want it, then there is nothing that she could say that would.]

... And who exactly is the one doing the chasing?

[He's the one leaving her kisses and touches, looming over her like this.]

I'd say it was you, my dear.

[Just some added sweetness thickening her voice, perhaps to mask some of that breathy, needy trembling within it.]

Yet you're the one wanting my kiss, love.

[Another low chuckle as he watches and listens to her pleased, now pushing his fingertip to just inside her lip to feel a touch of her wetness.]

Perhaps we're chasing each other.

[And now he's a little closer to her, that initial mischievous gleam in his eyes darkening just at touch as it reflects more of that want and desire.]

[She laments at him, her frustration mounting with another growl over his finger...]

Then, why not put an end to this game?

[...before she takes it between her teeth and nips on it, her tongue brushing over it to taste.]

Hmm... Should I?

[He'll push in his finger, sliding over her tongue in kind before there's that little buzz again, such careful control of his levin as he twists his finger to rub over the roof of her mouth, sending another thread that spreads out the soft, sensitive space.]

[She is already bursting at the seams, his relentless teasing nearly making her lose her grip entirely on that carefully crafted restraint that she had been clinging to this whole night, and when he slips his finger past her lips and she can taste him on her tongue, the ozone of his lightning like a strong hit as it runs hot all the way down her throat.

She closes her lips around his finger and laps her tongue over it, tasting that heat that lingers behind, and when she opens her eyes, the ambers are dark when she meets his gaze, silently pleading with him. She won't say it, but surely she can show it?

Pleading that they need to ditch this place and find somewhere more private.]

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