JESTER ASKS : between the fireplace and her position on the couch – almost curled up on herself, head resting against astrid’s shoulder – it hadn’t taken her long to drift off into a light sleep while the other read, her own book discarded on her lap. when she finally awakes it’s with small movements, a slow stretch of her tail before it relaxes over astrid’s thigh, a gentle roll of her shoulders and a series of fluttering blinks as she regains her surroundings, tilting her head to look up. just as softly she pushes closer to place a kiss to astrid’s cheek before finding a home in the crook of her neck with a hum that could almost be a purr. “ you know you don’t have to finish a book just ‘cause you’ve started it, right? you can sleep sometimes. i won't tell. ”
astrid hadn’t known what to do when jester had fallen asleep against her – not as if she’d never been used as a human pillow before , of course , but it’s . . . been a while , and @diviinedevilry is not a usual suspect of hers in this regard , even if she’s long since given up having any preexisting expectations for jester’s behavior . at least her arms are not obstructed , and she can still turn the pages as she pleases . she keeps her shoulder still , out of some level of respect for jester that she cannot help but to keep , but astrid quickly gets absorbed back into her research , and only realizes how long it’s been when jester starts to stir , and she sees that that fire is burning low . the kiss to her cheek comes just as she was closing her book to give the fire ( and jester ) her full attention , and she only closes the book slightly more firmly than intended . a kiss to the cheek shouldn’t rattle her so , but jester lavorre has a habit of getting under astrid’s skin – for better or for worse . “ i do sleep , ” she defends , giving jester a bit of a look , though with the softness still lingering from the kiss it veers dangerously close to a pout . “ my research was just starting to get interesting . ”