Comments | hogwarts_hocus: Spice and Sparkles ((Closed RP- Baron Harkonnen, Jasper, and the Raptor))

i_am_harkonnen in hogwarts_hocus

Spice and Sparkles ((Closed RP- Baron Harkonnen, Jasper, and the Raptor))

May 10, 2009 17:51

((Many thanks to A-mun for coming up with the thread title. It is my area of extreme FAIL.))

Although he couldn't claim to be satisfied, the Baron had finally gotten his rooms in order. He was still irritated that rooms was really one large room, with a closet and a semi-acceptable bathroom, but didn't plan to put up with it forever. What he'd ( Read more... )

raptor, vladimir harkonnen, jasper hale, rp

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j_whitlock May 11 2009, 04:17:13 UTC

There was a lot weighing on Jasper's mind lately, and while he hadn't been avoiding others entirely, as he'd originally planned to, he was still spending more time alone. Whenever he allowed himself to be near people he was in a state of uncomfortable hyperawareness, especially with his human roommate and family-watching for the slightest hint of what Alice had warned him about. Thus far he'd found nothing, but was convinced he was simply missing the signs, wasn't looking hard enough. It was beyond frustrating ( ... )

i_am_harkonnen May 11 2009, 06:34:52 UTC

When a house elf arrived with a note far sooner than he expected, he was at first disappointed, presuming it was going to be the inevitable rejection involving various polite reasons for Jasper to excuse himself. On reading it, however, he was genuinely surprised, and his mood lifted to far better than it had been for some days. He found the remark about a guest cryptic, but, it sounded like Jasper thought he'd find him interesting. The idea of a friend was possibly a bit of a nuisance, but, Jasper's description made it sound more as if he actually thought Vladimir would enjoy this. It seemed a very personable note- he smiled at the use of his common name as he'd requested, rather than titles, and Jasper's own informal signature. And it was always possible the guest might be nearly as lovely- but the 'only one of his kind' comment made it sound almost as if it wasn't human ( ... )

j_whitlock May 11 2009, 07:50:44 UTC

Jasper assumed permission was implicit in the lack of refusal, so come early evening he had a house-elf direct him to the Baron's rooms, the recently fed raptor following behind almost as a heeling dog would.

At Alice's insistence (and with no small amount of her help), he was finally trying out wizarding fashion himself. His latest attempt was a set of fine velvet robes in a burnt copper colour, changing pale gold to near black depending on the light, and carefully tailored to be fitted throughout the torso and sleeves rather than being loose and flowing. Underneath he wore a nondescript, simple black dress shirt with a high collar, and black slacks. His cloak was of a contrasting deep blue shade. His only adornment aside from his wedding band was, as always, the Cullen crust crest-on a black wristband partially hidden beneath his sleeves.

Needless to say, he did feel more than a little ridiculous wearing velvet, but kept his discomfort from showing, remembering only too well what the Baron himself had shown up in. It seemed odd ( ... )

apex_raptor May 11 2009, 07:55:34 UTC

((LOLing at the crust link.))

Waiting beside Jasper was the mutant raptor who'd decided the vampire was his new packmate at his Sorting and had rarely left his side since. The raptor was even dressed in his own version of finery, a loose collar obviously meant for ornamentation rather than utility, and which was appropriately decorated with a rainbow of various colored jasper stones.

He stood about as tall as Jasper at his full height, but was currently crouched closer to the ground, the better to stalk his prey. The powerful muscles throughout his hind legs flexed as he shifted his weight slightly in preparation for a lunge. The touch of Jasper's inhumanly cold hand on his neck mostly dispelled the urge, so he made a content, continuous growling sound instead, not unlike a reptilian 'purr'.

i_am_harkonnen May 11 2009, 17:23:15 UTC

Vladimir opened his eyes on hearing Jasper's light knock. He'd fallen half asleep while waiting, which was probably a good thing. There was only so many times he could adjust his robe, a red silken affair with brocade designs picked out in gold thread. And it wasn't like any amount of effort was making that much of an improvement. He'd probably have managed to frustrate himself, but fortunately, he'd spent the last half hour dozing ( ... )

j_whitlock May 12 2009, 06:55:58 UTC

The briefly opened then closed door gave him the impression of a chain door lock being removed, and though he hadn't seen anything like them in any of the rooms he'd been in, he wasn't bothered. Of course, Vladimir's emotions made it clear what had really been going on, and Jasper also noted the position of the Baron's hand without actually looking at it. He could pretty accurately guess the significance of the gesture based on the marked sense of readiness. Very few details escaped his notice these days.

"Talking dragon? Smaug, or the even bigger black one? You'll most definitely know them when you see them. And thank you," Jasper said with a polite smile, offering a courteous nod as he stepped inside first, the raptor closely following him. He kept his hand on the dinosaur's neck, subtly increasing his calming influence over the beast. It would soon begin to make the raptor feel somnolent. He didn't wish for this meeting to stress his not-quite-pet any more than he wished for it to stress the Baron. Ideally they could both relax ( ... )

apex_raptor May 12 2009, 08:08:08 UTC

The raptor raised his head and began to audibly smell his surroundings while Jasper guided him into the unfamiliar room, and directed some especially loud sniffing toward the Baron as he passed him. He gaped his jaws afterward in a toothy grimace similar to the flehmen response in modern day mammals. The human male appeared to have a very specific reaction to Jasper. In the unique language of scent it translated as something the raptor would expect to smell during the mating season: attraction, of some kind.

Humans were so unusual! Didn't he know copulation was futile with another male? Of another species, no less.

He flexed both killing claws upward when the vampire touched one but was otherwise behaving just as tamely as Jasper promised he would. He resumed his content growl-purring when he was petted, his ever alert crimson eyes fixed on the Baron, trying to determine what relation this human had to his vampire packmate. There were only so many distinctions possible: enemy, prey, ally, family, mate. The last was unlikely; he knew ( ... )

i_am_harkonnen May 13 2009, 02:47:53 UTC

"Forgive my brief moment of surprise, Jasper I wasn't quite expecting such a magnificent guest to accompany you." The raptor probably should have been frightening, but, fear wasn't something that Imperial nobles produced from cunning and manipulative breeding programs tended to display often. Without Jasper there, an encounter with this creature could very well have produced it, but, the creature showed no sign of immediate aggression. But it was obviously very-well outfitted for the purpose. Such beautiful teeth, and motion so obviously designed to suit a lethal predator.

"So there's two talking dragons? I've tried to avoid the one I knew about, but. . ." He considered, realizing that he was only being half-evasive of the creature. He thought about it a bit too often to really want to avoid it. "But I think I'm only avoiding it out of fascination- it seems wiser than going to look for it." He grinned at Jasper, wondering why he was bluntly honest with him about this. It was another mildly alarming sign of a genuine affection for him ( ... )

j_whitlock May 13 2009, 06:51:52 UTC

The Baron's apology was waved off with a smile. His reaction had been perfectly natural, and was admittedly even close to what Jasper had been hoping for (which was to provide a pleasant surprise for the Baron); he was just glad the man hadn't made any other sudden movements that might have triggered the raptor's inborn desire to chase prey. Jasper was fully capable of preventing the dinosaur from doing harm, but did hope he wouldn't have to tonight.

"I've only seen the black dragon from a distance, but I've encountered Smaug-he's the red-golden one-a few times," he replied. "Given his foul temper, avoiding him probably is wise." And if Vladimir did run into the dragon, Jasper dimly hoped he'd be in the area. As he'd found out during said previous encounters, the dragon wasn't immune to his empathic influence, though he was understandably very nervous about tampering with the creature's emotions in the first place. The only sure way to kill a vampire of his kind was to tear them apart and burn the still-living pieces before any ( ... )

apex_raptor May 13 2009, 08:14:22 UTC

The raptor bumped his snout against Jasper's hand and fairly preened under all of the attention he was receiving from his packmate and the human. Since there wasn't a hint of fear in the air, that was the only logical response. He made other vocalizations, a series of low chirruping sounds, more growling, and ended his one-sided conversation with an audible exhale like a sigh. It hadn't occurred to him that Jasper couldn't understand, because he reacted in exactly the right ways even if he never answered the raptor correctly.

Then the two moved (and he observed the Baron floating with keen curiosity), so he wedged himself into the space between the coffee table and where Jasper sat, lying on the floor but with his chin resting up on the vampire's knees, to keep an eye on both men. As if he'd choose to be anywhere else. His adopted packmate obviously wasn't comfortable there, so the raptor didn't yet rule out the possibility of the human being an enemy, fear or no fear. On his home island humans did fall between the enemy and food ( ... )

i_am_harkonnen May 13 2009, 20:05:39 UTC

Vladimir was awed at the raptor's calm behavior- Jasper plainly had more talents than met the eye. Of course, Vladimir knew that even the best trainers occasionally ended up mauled by their own charges, and hoped that this lovely young man wouldn't have any accidents with his pet. Jasper was by far the most interesting thing about Hogwarts so far ( ... )

j_whitlock May 14 2009, 07:59:47 UTC

((Raptor-mun says to skip the raptor this turn if you want. The mun won't be around for a while.))He politely focused on the raptor, letting him nibble his fingers as Vladimir got himself settled, not wanting the man to feel self conscious over being watched. Of course, Jasper was careful to do this in a very natural manner so it wouldn't be obvious he was concerned. Experiencing a rippling echo of Vladimir's emotions, he glanced back up in time to catch him smiling at the dinosaur ( ... )

i_am_harkonnen May 14 2009, 19:31:12 UTC

Vladimir chuckled inwardly at Jasper's comment about being himself. There was definitely something strange about this man, aside from wanting to spend time with an old tyrant exiled from his time by forces unknown. Considering the raptor, perhaps he enjoyed their company. And with his own reactions to Jasper, perhaps the raptor was experiencing a similar inexplicable sense of comfort and pleasure around him? There wasn't anyone else that had ever been able to prompt this reaction, an oddly enjoyable one. Enjoyable enough to ignore the growing sense of fondness he seemed to be developing for Jasper, which would have been disconcerting at home. Attachment meant a potential angle of attack in the Imperium, prompting a twinge of worry about Feyd that he submerged. He couldn't do anything about it here ( ... )

j_whitlock May 15 2009, 08:08:05 UTC

((Go ahead and reply whenever you're ready, so says the raptor-mun. And have Vlad play up being sore and achy if you like. ;) ))Still smiling, his hand absently rubbing the back of his neck was the only indication of his discomfort over the compliments Vladimir always so freely paid him. He would have almost preferred insincerity and empty praise to this... bizarre flirtation, if he could call it that. He couldn't be sure what it truly was, between them, but hoped it would lessen into a more innocuous interest if he didn't explicitly encourage it. The change of subject to one not about himself was definitely welcome. That the Baron was hoping to gain another title and rank at Hogwarts came as no great surprise ( ... )

apex_raptor May 15 2009, 09:03:45 UTC

((Yes, don't let me hold the thread up for you two. I will reply when I'm around to, but Jasper always has permission to mod the raptor anyway.))

The raptor had been being steadily lulled to sleep by the feel of Jasper's cold fingers moving over his scales, but the very soft whoosh of a bottle flying through the air caused him to jerk awake with a hiss of alarm. He sat taller and looked for the source of the noise, and there was a dull thump from his lashing tail striking a leg of the coffee table ( ... )

i_am_harkonnen May 16 2009, 00:29:17 UTC

The Baron smiled bemusedly at Jasper's question about titles. He was so very good at being charming. Vladimir replied with an equal lack of seriousness. "Perhaps just in public, to keep up appearances, or I might be accused of favoritism." He made it obvious with his tone that Jasper was already on the favorites list. "But, I have no idea yet what to teach. Something useful, that needs to be filled. It doesn't appear that all the classes involve a focus on magic alone, so, maybe there's some version of sociology or political science. I don't wish to be bored, and, feel that things could run much more effectively here with a bit of an organizational effort ( ... )

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