Written Wonderland

Dehaljadrun didn’t often make trips to the fae side of the mist, largely since little good ever came out of it, but she was begrudgingly making the journey. With a dark cloak and hood over a low-cut tank top and tight black pants, she weaved through a little-known overgrown pathway toward the dark fae kingdom. She knew there was a gate to a human realm there, and maybe if she were to go there first before trying to access the upper realms… it was a long shot, but she had tried almost everything else she could think of. It was worth the logistics of crossing over into the part of her realm that was not, strictly speaking, under her control, or at the very least, she had never bothered to seriously assert herself there.

The goddess cursed under her breath, not wanting to draw any more attention than was strictly necessary, at King Uranel, and her fury, though old by this point, threatened to overwhelm her. Looking down at her hands, they nearly sparked and definitely glowed from the electric anger-fueled flame. But again, she did not want to draw attention, even though she did not sense anyone around, so she swallowed the anger and discreetly drove it into the ground.

Thus relieved, Dehaljadrun took a deep breath and walked further into the darkest part of the forest, a part she knew very well. This time, however, she neglected to visit the tree, though she could feel its immense pull acting on her body. She had enough portals with her in the event that this plan worked, and if it didn’t, they weren’t any use to her here in her current state.

Though she did see a few of her demons scurry first toward then away from her, she made it through the densest part of the forest largely unnoticed and, as the dark trees began to thin and grow with more significant foliage, Dehaljadrun knew she had crossed over into fae territory. She skirted the kingdom itself, though, as she had no plans to ask permission to access the gate. It was her realm, after all; she could do as she liked.

Having not been in this part of the realm in a long, long time—only twice since Puck had begun his rule—the goddess had to dig at a very old part of her memory before she recollected where exactly the gate was. She followed the overgrown path until she reached a large stone marker, which would have looked inconspicuous to anyone who did not know what they were looking for, and diverged from the path, stepping pointedly through the vines and underbrush, which made a significant amount of noise. It couldn’t be helped, however, not without changing form, and the thought of doing that irritated her.

As Dehaljadrun approached the place where she knew the gate to be, she unconsciously held her breath. She knew that, if this didn’t work, her options moving forward would be severely limited, if she had any options left at all. Well, there was one other way, but it was… messy… and certainly more complicated.

There should be another stone just up this way and then… wait. The trees were getting thinner again. She must have taken a wrong turn, but how could that be possible? It had been a long time, but she knew her realm. Its original blueprint was embedded into her being.

To get her bearings, Dehaljadrun approached the place where the trees completely cleared away, and upon coming out of that section of forest, she saw the fairy kingdom in all its stone pompousness, albeit much closer than the goddess was comfortable with. It didn’t take her long to imagine what could have happened.

“Fuck,” she said aloud, balling one fist angrily as it glowed once again with electricity.

Puck was bored again. Sprawled on a magnificent array of furs and pillows on a balcony, overlooking the vast expanse of his kingdom. The Duchess of Prowl had fallen asleep, and her man-servant was tossing and turning and bumped Puck's hip with a knee. "What's wrong, poor boy?" Puck grinned, "Nervous?"

No answer. Is he asleep, too? Puck chuckled to himself, the poor thing is pretending to sleep so he doesn't have to engage in condescending pillow talk with his ruling monarch. Fair enough. Whatever, we could have had even more fun, kiddo.

Seducing the Duchess into bed with this precious little chick-a-dee was a particularly brilliant political maneuver, Puck mused to himself. He had been working at it for, what, weeks? This kid is going to have leverage on her now, and Puck had made sure that a few select witnesses would hear and see enough incriminating evidence to back him up, but they're exactly the characters that will do nothing without prompting and prodding. He's likely going to get some discreet, clandestine letters within the week. "Lucky little twat." She's a powerful figure, and he's not going to topple her. He probably won't actually do anything, but the important thing is that she's going to get nervous, and Puck was careful enough that his name wasn't going to show up in any of those accounts. Except the boy's, but he knows better.

Puck perked up suddenly. One of his trip-runes was tripped! Wow, it has been ages since Puck placed any trip-runes... But that sensation is unmistakable. Let's see, was that the rune placed on the formal human-land portal? In the early days of his kingdom, some tricksters happened upon it, and it was fine at first, but then we got fae hunters coming in from the other side, and they were just a fuckery of complication and a real nuisance to get rid of. Serious fuckery. Puck threw on a skirt and vest, leapt off the balcony, pitched his wings, and took off.

Who even knows where that is anymore? It couldn't have been tripped on accident, and anyone who knew it existed also knew that Puck had taken it somewhere else a long time ago. Well, almost everyone... Sweet mother of sorrow! It's Dehaljadrun! It has to be! Hah! Oh this is beautiful. But why would she use that old thing? She can just hop out whenever she wants, can't she? I simply MUST see if there is anything a sweet, humble Puck can do, and then we can haggle over price. I mean, she's GOT to be desperate if she's traipsing around my turf. Hah!

Puck alighted softly on the edge of the forest. Right where Dehaljadrun should be showing up on her return journey from the twist in timespace Puck placed ever so long ago. It's a simple, elegant twist. Puck loved himself for the craftsmanship of it. It was nearly unnoticeable, even if you knew what to look for; the seams were very carefully hidden. Puck loved himself for the subtlety of it. Puck loved himself so much...

Standing nonchalantly with his arms and ankles crossed, leaning against a large stone, Puck grinned widely as he watched his goddess approach him. Oh shit, she's pissed. She's glowing pissed! The grin faded for just a moment when he thought of the things she could do... But returned quickly enough. He knows he has something she wants, and you've got to sell that up front. Always make 'm think you know something they don't, even if you don't know what in Oblivion that could possibly be. "Fancy meeting you here, your eminence. Are you looking for something?" Somehow, the grin on his face widened as he pulled an apple from his vest and bit into it.

Dehaljadrun momentarily gritted her teeth and wanted to strike the fairy king down where he stood, but she realized that wasn't going to accomplish anything. She wasn't going to find the portal if he had moved it, and if the way he was smugly biting into that fake-as-shit apple was anything to go by, he had, so she settled for rolling her eyes. Fine. She was just going to have to resort to other tricks. 

And... that didn't sound altogether unpleasant. The goddess looked Puck up and down, taking in his disheveled blond hair, his self-satisfied stance, and his ornate clothing. As far as the fae on this side of the realm went, Puck was one of the more palatable ones based on appearance (and title) alone, though his attitude was another story.

Dehaljadrun made what started as a sarcastic, angry eyeroll into a playful expression near the end and gave a snarky smile. She felt the remnants of Puck's boredom in his mind and decided to run with it. 

"What better way to catch the attention of a busy fairy king than to trip one of his runes? I might have had to wait for an appointment otherwise." After saying this, she lowered the hood of her cloak and let her black hair tumble down her back. The scent of lemon and rain wafted into the air around her as she did so and would have been difficult for a mortal man to resist the temptation of. Her purple eyes glinted, and the glow faded from her hands. 

"Ah, I..." Puck's mouth dropped and so did his apple, dissipating into nothing before it completed its descent to the ground.

"Oh, that old thing." Puck had forgotten how distracting Dehaljadrun was when she wanted something.

"Don't tell anyone that works, or before you know it, I'll be up to my knees in pixies and minor demons." Moving in a fluid motion that almost made dropping the apple look intentional, Puck coiffed his hair and let his vest drop open a little further, revealing a slim, well-defined chest and hip bone definition visible from a skirt that hung loose and low.

Puck knows when his ego is getting stroked, and he never, ever, -ever- minds. Of course she wants something; Puck has played this game far too long to be caught off guard from even the heaviest seduction... But oh by the great powers, she's soooo alluring... Whatever, she wants something, but I'm going to play this game for as long as she wants to keep it up, Puck thought to himself.

"So what brings you over to my neck of the woods? Did you already get bored of your man-puppets?" Puck raised an eyebrow and slightly cocked his head.

Dehaljadrun would have laughed as Puck dropped the apple but was momentarily distracted as Puck's hip bones came into view. How easy it would be to slip off that skirt... He probably wasn't wearing anything underneath. As much as she detested getting caught up in the fae politics, it had been a long, long time since she had seduced someone this powerful, and compared to the ridiculously pathetic men she had access to now thanks to the king's bindings, she ached for some better play. The thought of making him beg for her pleased her immensely. 

But, she reminded herself, she had business here. Although, wouldn't it be just delicious if she could get him to give her access to the fae gate, seduce him until he was completely under her power, and make him think she was doing him a favor? Mmmmmm. That certainly sounded like the most enticing strategy and certainly something she could run with for now. 

"I wouldn't say bored," Dehaljadrun purred with a velvet tone that she intended to lick the very edges of Puck's skin. She took another step closer and narrowed her eyes seductively. "I've noticed that one of my temples has been destroyed. I think it's high time we show them the forces they're messing with, don't you think? And who better to accompany me than the king of meddling in human affairs himself?" At this, Dehaljadrun closed the distance between herself and Puck and walked her fingers up one of his bare arms, stopping at the top of his shoulder to reach and stroke the side of his neck before hanging an arm casually over that shoulder conspiratorially. To top it off, she tossed him a look of confidence as if to say, "come on, there's no way you could turn this down."

Though some part of her worried that, even if Puck gave her access to the fae gate, she still might not be able to get through, she wasn't about to tell Puck directly what she wanted. She knew from previous experience with fae that that was a recipe for disaster. Plus, her story was not only believable; it was true. 

((OOC: also, it would be helpful if you could find an internet image of some kind to show me what Puck looks like, approximately.))

"Mmmm..." Puck closed his eyes and reveled for just a moment in Dehaljadrun's seductive tone. Oh, this aura of desire is so thick you could swim in it. She's just so goddamn hard to say "no" to...

On the other hand, though, Puck knew exactly the type of man that Dehaljadrun had at her fingertips, and he wasn't about to be another name in a long list of horny pushovers. I mean, of course he was going to do her the favor. We denizens of the nether realm look out for one another, and if some bastard is up there tearing up shrines willy-nilly, he's gonna get what's coming to him.

But you can't just give in; you've gotta make 'em work for it, or they'll never respect you. "Oh, so that's what you're after." Puck put on a playfully hurt pout. "And here I thought you missed me." He took her hand off his shoulder and walked his fingers up her arm with his other hand.

"Come to the fae ball with me tomorrow evening." He looked directly into her eyes (a risky move for his own composure) and gave her a half-smile smirk. "We have the -very- best parties, and I'm sure you would have the time of your life. Hell, after a few rounds, I'll bet you could get a chant going." Puck recalled overhearing her thralls chanting her name. Kinda weird, but he's wasn't about to fault a Goddess for her kinks.

Puck changed his expression to one of deep rapture, "Deh... Dehal..." he was almost whispering, and the woods around them seemed like they were humming along with him, pulsing with the rhythm of his breath.

Dehaljadrun took a step back from Puck, making it so she was just out of reach and he could not finish walking his fingers up her arm. It was difficult on anyone the goddess pulled away from, and she hoped this would work in her favor. She was, however, impressed when Puck looked straight at her, and her eyes burned with their swirling purple flames. The goddess was about to scoff at Puck's suggestion when he started chanting her name. A deep sensation began building in her lower torso and began moving up her body--further accentuated by the way the wind sounded as it moved through the trees--but then he stopped. While she had momentarily closed her eyes when the chant had begun, she opened them with irritation when Puck did not finish. She resisted the temptation to put a hand to her forehead in frustration. Why had she thought coming here was a good idea? 

"I mean, if don't want to accompany me, you could have just said so," Dehaljadrun said, glancing down at one hand. "I don't have time to acquiesce all your fawning subjects." She shot him over a half-grin to let him know she was still speaking in good humor, at least for now.

Puck clenched the fist that had just been walking up Dehaljadrun's arm, winced, and shuttered. It was all he could do to stop himself from pouncing on her right then and there. Anyway, this was Dehaljadrun, that may not even turn out poorly.

But... Puck you have an image to maintain, and that's so uncouth.

"Look, I would love to go with you, but do you have any idea how conniving my subjects are? I've got a court to keep in check." He opened the fist again and held it out to her. "On the other hand, if I brought you in..." Puck stopped talking for just a moment to close his eyes and inhale deeply, then shuttered as he let the breath out, "they would be drunk on that aura for weeks." He finished in a low, silky, sultry tone.

Regaining his composure, Puck straightened up and added, "besides, how often do you get out anyway?" He leaned back on the large stone, re-crossed his legs, and started nonchalantly picking at his nails.

Dehaljadrun rolled her eyes at Puck theatrically while he talked about his subjects. The court politics were something the fae just created to better pass the time, she was certain, and it seemed like an absolute waste to her. Though, the goddess did understand the desire to remain in power, and she couldn't fault Puck for that. 

As Puck made a point of inhaling her aura of temptation deeply, Dehaljadrun felt a delicious cascade of low-wattage electricity flow down her back, and the goddess could not help herself from imagining a ballroom full of people filled to the brim with desire, not realizing that she was draining that energy from them as though there were electrical connections in the floor. The idea was... incredibly tempting. It was one thing to have an individual man pushed past the point of return with his desire for her, and it was another thing altogether to drain a room of desire she incited just by the sheer fact of her presence. Maybe she wouldn't even have to engage with anyone. Surely the fae would not be so audacious as to actually approach her, their goddess? 

Then again, the fae were not to be trusted, and there was no guarantee that Puck himself didn't also have some kind of agenda. Dehaljadrun narrowed her eyes and studied Puck as though his gaze would give something away. What was his game?

But, in all honesty, especially since the portals had refused to work for her, Dehaljadrun hadn't gotten out much, or for that matter, have opportunities for substantial company.

"Are you telling me your queen wouldn't be enough to keep them in check for a short human world outing?" Dehaljadrun asked, placing one hand on her hip, which accentuated the curvature of that area greatly. "And besides, if I show up at your ridiculous party, what's to stop your subjects from thinking they can just come demand things from me whenever they please? Don't tell me you want me to further thin out the fae population with my lightning?"

((OOC: Not sure how this would work, but the thought of coming in disguise/shapeshifted to the fae party has crossed her mind just in the event that Puck wants to suggest that. For whatever reason, she's not interested in fae worshippers. She detests fawning.))

Puck laughed out loud. A good, authentic, hearty laugh. "Oh, Meliae." He lifted a hand to his face, an amused grin showing on either side. "I mean, she's a powerhouse, no doubt, but politics aren't exactly her strongsuit... She's a whole lot of honest, no-nonsense, which is just the opposite of what you want for the dark fae court."

Puck sighed, "and those subjects of mine are far too proud to go all googly-eyed over a totally disconnected absentee figurehead." He leveled his eyes back at her and shivered at the sensations flaring just beneath his skin. She really was intoxicating to be around...

"Besides, I doubt they would even recognize you. I mean, in stories you're a bit... Bigger? Sometimes a dragon? If anything, they wouldn't ask for handouts, they would try to garner your favor, which" Puck shrugged "might not be entirely unpleasant for you."

Puck's expression changed to a half grin, "I just remembered about this concoction I've been waiting for an excuse to bring out. It exaggerates pleasure in a fae's body. It's a wine I made from grapes you left around ages ago. If I were to tell my guests about it and offer it at the event, mmmm..." Puck closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "That would be a night you would never forget." Opening his eyes again, he winked.

Puck moved his head closer to hers "You have no idea..." He breathed.