#to Scanlan watching pike walk away when she needed her time away to Pike watching Scanlan walk away when he needed to leave

[simplysparrow14]

Pikelan is probably the most complex CR ship and more people need to realize that instead of branding it as the "haha funny gnomes" ship.

because the entirely of Pikelan revolves around Scanlan, a very charismatic bard who flirts with literally everyone around him but is head-over-heels in love with his cleric friend but is tragically dogshit at expressing it so he resorts to doing crude bits and gags that ultimatly mask who he truly is.

And then you have Pike, a cleric brimming with self-confidence, who absolutely loves Scanlan for who he is, but is constantly getting mixed signals, because on one hand, he's constantly doing crude jokes and flirting with every person he sets his sights on (even so far as going after his unknown daughter) but on another, he tenderly holds her while she's bleeding and he's constantly at her side during battle and even tends to her emaciated brother for her and it's beautiful to watch, but the moment, the moment she brings it up, he reverts back to his crass personality and it just leaves her reeling about who he truly is.

And then we get to Bards Lament, and Scanlan, after tip-toeing around his true emotions for so long, finally snaps and lets everything he's been feeling (all the pain, and self-loathing manifested as anger towards everyone else, because even in his darkest moment, he's still so dogshit at expressing it for what it truly is) and Pike, who's been wrestling with these mixed signals, finally gets his true feelings on what he feels, calling her magic weird, hating that the same magic that has kept him alive and safe for so long brought him back to his sad existence, hating her for doing it. In the end, Scanlan leaves, just as Pike left the first time and the second time. And Pike stays behind, watching as he heads towards somewhere where she cant follow, abandoning the team and her and grog and everything they've built for themselves. She loves him, and him leaving brings her to that point.

The two are split apart, and despite the anger and hurt, the need for connection with each other is so strong. Scanlan reveals that he dident fully leave Taldorei at first, that he was only 20 miles away in another town entirely, listening to Pike's earing conversations. And eventually, when Scanlan is on another continent, he finds a temple of the Everlight (or just simply begins talking to Everlight) and prays, prays for guidance on finding forgiveness for what he said and did. He's deeply in love with pike, and still is, going to her god for answers to his problems, the quickest connection to Pike that he has between one giant ocean and a continent.

And Pike, despite holding a very rightful disdain for what he said to her, keeps him up to date, informs him of her happenings with the people of Whitestone. She should fucking hate his guts and yet the person she wants to speak to at the end of her day is a bard who (for all she knows) threw his earing away and traveled to some far off place, forever gone from Vox Machina, from her. Yet she keeps speaking.

They switch roles, with Scanlan becoming the quiet solitary one seeking forgiveness for his actions and Pike becoming the people oriented one.

When they reunite, it's tense and sad and angry. So many things said in anger and hurt and they don't really know where to step in the case that something, anything might send them back to that angry, angry place. And suddenly their back at the same place they were before, before the fight.

Pike is, again, trying so hard to sift through the mixed signals he's giving because he's being Scanlan again! Charming bard, essential party member, more confident than he's ever been! but now he's standing near the back and holding his hands and apologizing with a soft voice that she hasn't heard in over a year and a half and rebuilding the bridges he's burned and she doesn't know what to think!

And Scanlan is giving an honest effort at trying to fix what he's broken. He's working harder than ever, he's apologizing. He tries very hard to have conversations with people and fixing what he can. But, again, he's Scanlan, who is less dogshit at expressing what he feels, but still pretty dogshit none the less, and now he's a crime boss and still a beloved bard, but he's also surrounded by the friends, some of them he loves so dearly and he's trying, he's trying so hard

Eventually, everything is forgiven and in the end, Pike and Scanlan come to term with themselves and each other. Pike comes to terms with knowing that Scanlan is a complex person, a broken person just trying to figure his way through this world, just as she had done.

in the end, Pike becomes the person Scanlan feels the most free to be around, one where he doesn't have to put on the mask of a performer, where he can just be Scanlan the gnome instead of Scanlan, bard extraordinaire. and Pike comes to terms with knowing that Scanlan is a complex person, a broken person just trying to figure his way through this world, just as she had done before.

and together, they are beautiful reflection of each other.

[ajscico]

Fan Joy July Day 31

Wrap Up! I ran out of time much sooner than I ran out of art to write for. Artists are amazing, guys!

So for the last day, I have a fic react fic and a bunch of fic recs for unfinished fics to offer to share my pain of the unfinished angst-fic 😈🤗🙃

Unfinished fics

These fics are unfinished, so read at your own peril but they live rent free in my head, I've written bits and pieces to resolve the angst enough for my brain to quit hyperfixating on it but they aren't quite done yet so enjoy the angst with no catharsis (yet)

The Faces Left Behind by Skyknights

Idolatry by Tashacee & TwoDumbasses (there’s two authors, I can get away with this)

Across the Skies by Emrys__Wyllt

Blood and Blade by SkipBreaker

Smoke & Ashes by Illegible_Handwriting

Martyr by Gemglyph

And the self-indulgent promotion of a fic gifted to me:

Heroic Doll by MistressofInsanity19

Fic Response

This one isn't Linked Universe, but while working on an original fiction project, I was reminded of the profound effect this Critical Role fic had on my writing. It was one of my early forays into writing fanfiction just because I needed to resolve it.

Original fic Free Fall by Mini_and_Mighty

--

Pike drifted again, though this time she was aware this wasn’t the dream world where she’d met... her goddess. She was aware of the speaking around her first.

“Nothing?”

“Not since my watch.” There was a small pause.

“Then we stick with the plan. We’ll take her to the temple in Vasselheim. Someone there has to be able to help.” The drifting stopped as arms circled her and held her as if she weighed nothing.

“We’ll take care of you, buddy.” Grog rumbled above her. She wanted to respond, tell him she’d be fine, but her eyes were impossibly heavy and her body seemed petrified.

“Are you all right to carry her?” Came Vaxildan’s voice from below them. Grog’s sudden growl carried his rage and his voice dropped an octave.

“You can’t take her from me.”

“No one is going to.” Scanlan assured. “Vax is just teasing you.” There were a few more assurances just trying to calm the goliath. Then there was Vex taking charge once again.

“Keyleth, Darling, can you take us to Vasselheim?”

“Y-yeah.”

--

Vexalia herded the small group through the tree. She just had to keep them focused long enough to get to the temple. Their collective worry for the little cleric was driving them to distraction. No one dared tempting Grog’s wrath and he took convincing to let anyone near his best friend-- even the other members of their little family--but they all hovered, wanting to do something. She sent Vax and Keyleth ahead. It probably wouldn’t do much but it gave the pair something to do. Most of the people in the streets saw them, but their presence on the short walk scared off all but the city guard. There was a small encounter with a nosy guard outside the proper district, which Percy had to smooth over. Yes they were aware of the spectacle they were, they apologized for alarming the guard but they were on their way to the Sarenrae temple to help their friend who was her cleric.

There weren’t many in the temple. There were a couple of priests/priestesses milling about when the group made it to the temple. Vax and Keyleth were engaged in conversation with one of them. Keyleth’s anxious disposition had apparently soured the priestess and Vax was trying to win her over. The half-giant drew everyone’s attention with his roar and the bundle in his arms drew them closer.

“This is Pike.” Began Vex. “She helped restore this place last year...” that brought the sour priestess’ attention. “She collapsed yesterday and hasn’t woken. We came to ask for your help on her behalf.” There was a moment to convince Grog to let the priestess set her hand on Pike. Light spread from her hand into Pike for a moment, and the priestess’ eyes glowed gold for just a moment.

“We shall petition our Lady Sarenrae on her behalf. Please just give us a moment to prepare.” There was suddenly nothing for the adventures to do but get out of the way as the temple priestess began directing her small group of followers. They spent more time convincing Grog to let someone else take Pike, that she’d be safe and these strangers would help her. It was an awful feeling of helplessness as the clerics began the ritual. There was nothing they could do to help. The few resurrections they’d see at least they had a part in the proceedings. This was completely out of their hands. What felt like an hour passed before the glow from the ritual circle faded. By then, the party were slumped in a rough pile by the wall of the temple. The priestess walked over to them, her eyes still a golden glow.

“Our dear Pike will be alright.” Her voice had a peculiar doubling to it, one they’d heard a variation of when Pike performed a resurrection. “We have simply given her a chance to see what she means to those around her beyond the gifts she holds.” The priestess smiled, a gesture that wasn’t entirely hers. “Care for our Little Light, Vox Machina.” And with that, the glow faded and the priestess’ voice was normal once again.

“She is exhausted. A few days rest and you will have her again. Otherwise, she is whole in body. We have done what we can. The rest is up to you.”

[blueseachelle]

Hi.

Can you please write some Percy de rolo x reader one shot. With jealous reader? Maybe some smut?

Jealous? Me? Never. PART 1

Percy De Rolo x Jealous! Reader

Smut will be in PART 2 but, I like to build a foundation for jealous type situations so, this is a build up for the good stuff

It seems like the whole world is against you at this point.

Every time you tried to do something. Someone or something stood in your way. You were trying to figure out a way into a certain someone's heart yet, were stopped by observation.

As you sat in a tavern next to Pike. You noticed a number of things. Your eyes never strayed too far away from the silver haired gunslinger across from you. You saw how Vex leaned into him. You saw how he seemed to smirk and reflect the same energy back.

It made you sick. You thought nothing was going on between the two of them but, you guess you were wrong after all.

You're heart ached. You looked down into your mug. You got lost in your thoughts for a little bit until Pike nudged you gently,

"You okay, Girlie?"

You just look over to her and smiled softly,

"I'm good. I'm just gonna head outside for some air."

Pike watched with a concerned look as you stood up and made your way out of the bar. She looked around and saw that no one noticed her sudden exit. She stood on her bench and turned to hop down.

Just as she did this, Grog grabbed her up,

"Did you see that, Pike?! I beat Vax once again!"

Pike pushed out of his grasp slightly,

"Yeah. I saw that. You did great, Buddies. I'll be back in a second."

With that, she quickly followed the path you took out of the bar.

Percy saw this and realized that you weren't there. You never alone really so, this concerned him slightly. Vex put an arm over his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts,

"Darling! Did you see that? Scanlan fell of his stool, long gone! Hahahaha."

Percy just nodded. He quickly got out of her grasp, much how Pike did the same with Grog. He cleared his throat quickly after.

"Excuse me, Vex'ahlia. I have to visit the men's room."

He then disappeared out the door. This went unnoticed to the rest of the drunk group.

~~~

You walked away from the tavern. Looking at the ground as you walked, kicking some pebbles as you went.

How could you be so blind? You should've knew that they were together before you fell for Percy. You were just blinded by love.

You tried so hard to make time for him and help him with his projects. You made sure to keep him safe in battle. You always were there to take care of him when he needed it. You guess you were always saw as a best friend. Nothing more.

You heard rushed footsteps from behind you. You didn't bother to turn around. You didn't care anymore.

Pike ran up to your side. She walked next to you as she caught her breath quickly. She then gave your cloak a slight tug, catching your attention. You looked over at her with saddened eyes. Pike just nodded. She understood your pain.

"It's okay to be jealous and hurt."

"Jealous? Me? Never."

Y/n responded with slightly sarcastic tone. Pike just shook her head,

"Even if he isn't there for you, I always will be. We'll get through this together, Girlie."

"I just wish he understood how much my heart hurts to see him with her. I was always there for him. Through everything. Before he even got into the group. I guess I never been more than a best friend. I'm stupid for thinking so."

"Y/n. You are not stupid. What's stupid is that Percy can't see that you love him but he sees Vex's advances. We did everything we could to get you with him. Maybe he'll realize soon. You never know."

Percy, who was approaching the two, heard the whole exchange. His eyes widened. You? Jealous? He would never guess that you loved him as much as you said to Pike. He did always see you as his best friend but, he saw so much more. He thought he had no chance because you never, well he didn't realize, acted like you wanted to be anything more. When Vex made it obvious, he thought he could get rid of these feelings he had for you.

Oh boy. He was so wrong.

He saw you give Pike a hug. You sat there on you knees as you hugged her. Pike patted your back.

"Everything will be okay. I promise."

You just nodded. Soon, the hug broke apart and Pike told you she had to head back and take care of Grog. You just nodded and said that you needed a couple more minutes before going back.

Pike nodded and ran back to the tavern. She didn't notice Percy as she ran by because he was hiding.

Once you were alone, Percy came out of hiding and made his way towards you. You just hung your head low and was lost in thought. You didn't notice Percy's entrance.

He gingerly set a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at him. You looked slightly surprised but, your sadness covered it up quickly.

"Why are you here? You should be with Vex'ahlia."

Percy shook his head,

"I came here because I was worried about you. You seem off tonight and I want to know what's wrong."

Rage pulsed through you. You looked at him and stepped back so his hand fell off your shoulder,

"You know what's wrong. Don't act like you weren't hiding and overhearing my conversation with Pike. Do I look stupid to you? Don't play me like a fucking fool."

Percy pursed his lips together. He was caught. He didn't want you to be anger at him but, here we are.

"I did hear it all. I just want to know why didn't make a move sooner. Why didn't you point blank ask me how I felt towards you?"

You clutched your fists and you growled slightly,

"You think it's so easy. I didn't want to lose you as even my friend if you rejected me. Plus, now I know you and Vex are something so, I can just forget about my feelings and go about my business. Do snog with her and leave me alone."

Percy took a step towards you. You anger was valid. He knew he fucked up but, he wants to make it up to you. He needed to reach out first. He slowly gripped your shoulders,

"It is easy. I'll do it so you can see."

You froze in confusion as he continued,

"Y/n. I have loved you for a very long time now. You have always been by my side and I appreciate it. You showed me so much of myself that I wouldn't have ever found without you. I thought YOU would reject me so, when Vex made it obvious of her feelings, I thought I could run away from them. Seeing you hurt like this, I can't run. I'm sorry for my stupidity. I love you. More than the world. You are my world."

You stood there with tears running down your cheeks. He slowly moved his hand and wiped your tears as they came. You leaned into his touch.

"I love you too, Percy."

Percy smiled and leaned in and kissed You. You both stayed in that position for some time. Kissing over and over again. The tears soon stopped to flow as the kissing stopped as well. Once the two of you separated, Percy held you close. He whispered sweet words to you.

You held him tightly, like he was gonna disappear in a seconds time. Percy looked down at you,

"Do you want to head back to the tavern now?"

You slowly nodded and you both walked hand in hand to the building. You were both going to tell the rest of the group of the new development. No matter what anyone said. No matter the repercussions of the relationship. You both didn't care. You loved each other and that's that.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

go on, claim my heart: chapter twenty-three

see my masterpost for what came before this.

For the first time since they've left Zephrah, Vex thinks that there's a chance, however slim, that they're not all complete idiots. It's taken them until the wee hours of the morning, but finally they have concocted something resembling an actionable plan. Everyone is exhausted, baggy-eyed and yawning—everyone except Desnay, who abandoned them all to sleep on the upper floor of the tea shop hours ago—but she stands, points around the room, and uses her Captain voice to command, "Alright, one more time. From the top."

Scanlan groans. "I want to sleep."

"From. The. Top."

"I challenge Lord Briarwood from the eastern edge of the castle," Percy begins, half-slumped back against a crate of flour. "I lure him outside, as close to the tree line as I can."

"Then I hit him with sunlight." Keyleth says this with her jaw tight and her eyes focused. Vex is mostly just relieved that she's kept herself together, even with Vax having disappeared to wherever to talk to his goddess.

(His goddess. Her brother serves a goddess. The scrawny boy from Byroden with a penchant for thieving and a career in killing people is now divinely touched. What a strange life, Vex thinks.)

"That weakens him enough for the rest of us to strike," Pike continues. "Everyone focuses their energy on Briarwood, but if we need to, Grog and I can—GROG!" She kicks the sleeping goliath in the shin, and he startles awake. "Thank you. Grog and I can handle any undead that come at us."

"Right, right." Grog tries and fails to stifle a yawn. "Then I take the princess into the woods, and we find a big ol' tree, and we wait for the rest of you to...alright, I'll be honest. I stopped listening at that point."

"The rest of us retrieve Vilya and Cassandra," Vex finishes with an eyeroll. "Scanlan, you know to—"

"Make the princess invisible before she and Grog go off into the woods, yes, yes, I've got it, can we please go sleep now?"

Vex can see they're all exhausted, so she relents. "Fine. Sleep. We all need to be rested if we have any hope of this working anyway."

So they all bed down, bedrolls at odd angles against one another as they try to get as comfortable as they can on the basement floor. Vex sees Keyleth watching the stairs, hoping for Vax's return, but Vex knows her brother, knows how sometimes he needs to walk away, knows he'll come back, he'll always come back.

Vex jostles her bedroll alongside Percy's, and when he reaches out, she laces her fingers with his. It is something, at least, in this terrible place. Scanlan removes the enchantment that was giving them light, and now they are plunged into darkness. Vex waits as long as she dares, counting the even breaths of her comrades to figure out who is asleep.

When she's fairly confident everyone is, she breathes, "Percy?" No response. She raises to a whisper. "Percival?"

The hand in hers is loose, and she knows that he is asleep. She sighs and rolls onto her back, keeping their hands together. This is good. It is better that he is asleep, that he doesn't know, because what would he do if he did? There is a plan in place, and now is not the time for her to be...unburdening herself. Some truths must wait for other, more pressing truths, like the life-or-death situation that two young girls find themselves in up at that castle.

Still, Vex does not know what will happen if she dies tomorrow and he does not know. She does not know what will happen if he dies tomorrow and he does not know. Oh, the infinite ways a heart can break. She wants to tell him, wants there to be, for however long she can manage it, something that belongs to just the two of them. But he is asleep, and the sun will be rising soon, and she must rest if she is to save her niece from a most abhorrent fate. She closes her eyes and drifts off into the uneasiest sleep she has had in a long, long time.

.

When Keyleth wakes, it takes her some time to remember where they are, and when she does, she then must remember why they are here. She sits up, presses the heels of her palms into her eyeballs for just a second too long, and then looks around. Vex is already awake, organizing the arrows in her quiver, and Chancellor Desnay is passing out small bowls of gruel. Keyleth must remember that once this is over, once Whitestone has been freed of its terrible keepers, that the Ashari Nation owes this man in particular as most staggering debt.

The space beside her is empty and cold, and she knows that Vax did not come back downstairs in the night. When the chancellor hands her her breakfast, she asks, "What time is it?"

"It is early in the afternoon, Your Highness," he replies.

Early afternoon, and he has been praying this whole time? What could a goddess possibly have to say for so long? She sighs and eats, and Pike, her plait messy from sleep, scuttles over to continue their discussion about the magic they'll both be using today. Keyleth is nervous, to be sure; in the past, her magic has largely been motivated by intense rage or fear, and while she is not in short supply of either, she worries that she will not be able to summon them when the time calls for it.

Once they've all risen and eaten, Vex has them go over the plan three more times, until even the limits of Pike's patience have been tested and Grog complains, "How come we've got to hear this so many times and Vax ain't even heard it once?"

Vex blinks. "Oh. Where is he, anyway?"

Keyleth frowns at her. It's unlike Vex not to notice her brother's absence. She's seemed a little off all morning, a little distracted, but Keyleth attributes that to the importance of the task that lies before them.

Scanlan stands and stretches. "I'll go get him." He heads for the stairs, and as he passes by, Keyleth hears him mumble under her his breath, "Anything to get the fuck away from boot camp."

Scanlan leaves, and Keyleth readies herself as best she can for the day. Her hair is a mess, her teeth feel like sandpaper, and every joint aches from sleeping on this basement floor, but none of that matters in the face of what's coming. She walks over to Vex, who is adjusting the strap of her quiver so it sits better along her back. "Thank you," she says quietly, "for all of this."

Vex smiles softly. She reaches down to take Keyleth's hand in hers and squeezes it. "Forget duty, Keyleth, you are family, you and Vilya both. There is no world in which I do not do everything in my power to save my brother's child."

"Obviously there are a thousand ways this plan could go wrong, but I want you to know that if you can, I want you to be the first one through the portal in the tree, with Vilya. There's no one I trust more to get her back to Zephrah and back to the castle."

Vex's eyes suddenly shine, and for a moment, it looks to Keyleth as if she wants to say something. Before she can, however, the door to the cellar opens again, and Scanlan reappears, alone. "Um, was Vax going somewhere?"

Keyleth and Vex exchange a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Scanlan gestures over his shoulder with his thumb. "I just checked every room in this tea shop and the roof. Vax isn't here."

Cold seeps along every inch of Keyleth's body. Neck stiff, she turns to look at Vex once more, and she sees reflected in her eyes the same horror she feels, and any seed of doubt, of hope she may have been harboring vanishes, because they both know the truth: Vax has gone to Whitestone Castle on his own, and there is every chance in the world that he will not return.

[ravendruid]

Vaxleth + #40. "A gentle kiss that quickly descends into passion, with little regard for what’s going on around them." This would absolutely be what could be their first kiss in LOVM, oblivious to the fact that Vex is watching... until she's noticed and givng Kiki a thumbs up before walking away.

OMG I loved this prompt! I took some inspiration from your most recent fic, and I think I did a pretty decent job with this one :D 40: A gentle kiss that quickly descends into passion, with little regard for what’s going on around them.

The past few days were overwhelming to say the least. Between slaying a dragon, finding another dragon hiding among their allies, and making a deal with it, Keyleth could feel her head spinning, and not just from the fact that they had indeed allied with the one responsible for the decimation of one-quarter of her family. The moments of isolation were much needed, although still within earshot from the rest of the party and, in some cases, within eyesight, as she spotted a shadow hiding behind a statue, one that would not let itself be seen, unless it wanted it that way.

“You can come out, Vax.” She said, walking towards the main entrance of Castle Whitestone. The sheepish figure of Vax’ildan walked from behind the statue, closing the distance between both with such speed that Keyleth hadn’t even had time to blink.

Don’t let him get away. 

Vax had almost been lost in the battle against Umbrasyl. First, when he and Scanlan stupidly managed to get themselves INSIDE the dragon, and then again in Gatshadow. For a moment, Keyleth thought of how he told her he was in love with her, right under the Suntree, not that long ago, how she had backed away, how she had been so scared of facing her responsibilities and what they would mean to her, to both of them.

“Keyleth…” Vax started, his voice in a whisper that was carried away by the wind that brought the sound of bells in the distance.��

The hairs on the back of their necks rose in response. “Something is wrong,” Keyleth said as she started to run towards the foyer. 

“DRAGON! INCOMING!” Someone screamed in the distance. Keyleth’s eyes searched for Vax, still standing outside the doors, seeing a group of people run towards the castle. They knew that, in their absence, Whitestone had created measures of protecting itself against a possible attack, such as having Gilmore and Allura create a cloaking mechanism to hide the town. They also knew instructions had been given to the populace to make their way to the castle for shelter or, if time wasn’t on their side, to seek shelter underground.

The bells rang louder, and one by one, the other members of Vox Machina gathered at the main doors, helping usher everyone inside. Keyleth saw Grog carry a couple of old ladies, one on each arm; trinket had a little girl on his back, while Vex helped a woman carrying a baby; Pike and Scanlan were already inside, leading the people down to the tunnels that would take them to the Ziggurat, their ideal place to hide, due to the anti-magic field. Somewhere behind her, Keyleth could hear Percy and Cassandra barking orders at the royal guard as they tried to usher in as many people as possible.

“Shit. There are too many people.” Vax said, practically carrying an old lady up the stairs. “We can’t bring them all inside.”

“We have to try.” She yelled at him. Vax winced. She had never yelled at him with such fierceness in her voice. 

A roar echoed in the sky as the familiar flap of wings swooshed. The few stragglers started running in panic, trampling over each other in an attempt to seek shelter inside the castle.

“It doesn’t matter, Kiki.” He sagged, looking around himself, almost freezing in place with fear. 

Keyleth strode to him, her knuckles white from holding her staff. She stopped in front of him and slammed one hand on his chest. Her green eyes had a fire to them, one Vax had seen before in Pyrah. 

Another roar, closer, louder, and a shadow swooped above them, heading towards the east and looping back. Keyleth held her breath, her eyes never leaving Vax’s. Gods above, please do not let Gilmore and Allura falter now.

“It always matters.” She whispered as the dragon swooped above them again, casting a shadow on them and turning southeast. They waited for a beat, two, three. The only noises were the loud thrums of their hearts in their ears.

Keyleth released the breath she had been holding. Don’t let him get away. They could have died. Thank the gods that Gilmore and Allura’s cloaking worked, otherwise they would have been dead by now, and Vax would have never known how she felt. Don’t let him get away.

“It always matters.” She whispered again. Vax looked at her confused, for only the short fraction of time it took for Keyleth to wrap her arms around him and to pull him into a gentle kiss as the world around them burst into a chaos of cheers and sighs of relief. 

His hands fell to her waist as they broke apart, staring at her in disbelief. From across Vax’s shoulders, Keyleth could see Vex, a grin on her face and her free hand closing in a thumbs up before she turned to walk back inside the castle. 

Keyleth pressed her lips to Vax’s again before any of them had the chance to change their mind and run, soft at first, but as his hands moved up her spine to hold the back of her head, their kiss deepened with longing. They could have died, one day they might die, but today they were here, they were alive and breathing, and kissing.

It always matters. Don’t let him get away.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

horrifying vm headcanon:

The briarwoods turn them all into vampires before the arc ends. Imagine how it would change everything.

Travelling at night

can Vax be the champion of the raven queen if he is already dead and undying?

Can Keyleth take on the mantle of VotT as a vampire? Given her powers are now from darker sources?

the chaos of trying to keep grog from just… walking into the sunshine because he's a strong guy and a little sunburn won't stop him and scanlan casting bigby's hand as an umbrella, etc

percy horrifying his sister by being one of their oppressors, unless she was also Gotten

Or perhaps he resisted hardest and she was used to covertly turn him

scanlan having to watch his daughter wither and age, passing as she curses him for once again finding a way to 'run' from her life as he tries to get her to accept his apologies…

vex and vax having their father scorn and deride them for 'falling even further from grace' for daring to not just be half-breeds, but now vampires as well

pike's crisis of faith as she seeks the everlight, but cannot connect to sarenrae because she burns her. how can she heal if it burns her to speak the name of her lady?

Vax and scanlan, the most known flirts, now second and third guessing any potential conquests' interest in them because they keep worrying that they might have used persuasion or charm by accident...

Grog occasionally forgetting he can't drink ale anymore, go in the sun, eat garlic or cross running water so he's onstantly bewildered by it and there's always a member of VM trying to keep him (un)alive.

Would Vex and Vax still have their sibling twin bond? If it can be severed by death?

Who would be first? Would they be used as a covert means to get others, on the orders of their 'sire'? Or as an example to the imprisoned others, of what was about to happen?

How many times would the temptation to drain a Big Bad Guy dry come over them? Would there come a time when they each gave in to temptation and killed by tearing someone apart, viciously, mercilessly, with a wild grin and blood spattering them?

How would they react after returning to their right minds? Does it take effort, now?

What logistics need to be worked out for a quest? What provisions can you take, when blood clots and even the freely given from friends and their fans, soils quickly? With the bag of holding unable to prevent time passing?

How many times does a person go missing, and one of VM ends up found bloddy, horrified and devastated with a corpse that must be... hidden away?

Does Trinket get bitten too?

Would they share around the blood taken? Staving off the desire to feed from nonvampires through biting one another in desperate times if only one of them has fed?

How many times would a dying ally and friend be in their arms, and they beg them to take the curse too?

How does each little death of friends and family fragment them internally?

How would orthax react to Pery's soul being kept from him forever through this clever little loophole?

[Would it be polymachina eventually as they realise they are the only ones who will always be there for one another?]

Could they still use airships if they crossed rivers or oceans in them? Like, we never had specifics about the running water thing in relation to airplanes or hot air balloons or their lovechild (airships)?

What spells now work on them?

Would they eventualy become what they once fought, or could they use their strong bonds to keep one another on the path of moralistic integrity?

How many friend, family, fans shun them now? Can they remain heroes of Eamon at Greyskull under the circumstances?

On the Good Side:

Badass VM who can face down anything but a holy cleric wielding a holy hand grenade.

Immortal trinket (maybe)

Keyleth gets some self-confidence, probably. Or is a vamp who just apologises for every little sip every time and it's endearing.

Vax and Vex could use their Charm to make Syldor do the hokey-pokey naked in front of the council, for various reasons.

Some of them can one-punch a dragon now.

[eponymous-rose]

I wrote a bunch of campaign 1 Critical Role fics back in 2016/17, and I guess I’m hoping to write more soon (????), so here’s the list as it stands, mostly for my own reference, organized by approximate latest episode of spoilers. Heavy on the gen/action/found-family stuff because that’s how I do.

Set Pre-Series (no spoilers)

Thieves’ Tools  [Vex, Vax | T | 7700 words]

Shortly after finding the ruins of their hometown, Vex hires herself and her brother for a bit of thievery.

Ragged Chorus  [Pike, ensemble | T | 2800 words]

Early in their adventures, Vox Machina clashes over a disastrous encounter, and Pike finds herself stepping in.

Safety  [Percy, ensemble | T | 6400 words]  

Glimpses into Vox Machina’s early impressions of their gunslinger.

Somatic [Allura/Kima | T | 2500 words]

Shortly after their first meeting, Allura can’t seem to shake this stubborn, abrasive paladin who seems determined to protect her.

What Seas What Shores [Pike | T | 2600 words]

Pike, aboard Broken Howl.

Non-Canon, Set Pre-Series (no spoilers)

Detour [ensemble | T | 1000 words]

What changes. What doesn’t. Glimpses into the world where Vox Machina swaps classes.

Spoilers Through Episode 38 (Echoes of the Past)

Everything (Anything) True [Scanlan | T | 3200 words]

Scanlan’s a master of deception. Turns out reality is a moving target when the words you sing keep changing it.

Spoilers Through Episode 45 (Those Who Walk Away…)

One Compass Guides [Pike/Vex | T | 1000 words]

Pike knows there’s a conversation she and Vex still need to have. She’s not really sure what to say or how to say it, but she’ll be there, and she figures that’ll have to do for now.

Spoilers Through Episode 50 (Best-Laid Plans)

Acts of Kindness  [Percy, Grog | T | 1200 words]

Grog corners Percy in his workshop to confront him about a certain sword.

Spoilers Through Episode 52 (The Kill Box)

Fear of Falling  [Vex, ensemble | T | 4300 words]

Vex’s brushes with death, interspersed with quieter missing scenes.

Spoilers Through Episode 58 (A Cycle of Vengeance)

One Chance  [Cassandra, Vex | T | 1300 words]

The worst thing about family is that sometimes it’s not complicated. Sometimes it’s very, very simple.

Non-Canon, Spoilers Through Episode 58 (A Cycle of Vengeance)

Parallel [Pike, ensemble | T | 3500 words]

Faith, death, and life: these are the conversations Pike never had, and the universe that could’ve grown up around them.

Spoilers Through Episode 63 (The Echo Tree)

Hand over Fist  [Vex, ensemble | T | 6800 words]

Four times, four seasons, when Vex kept watch over her family.

Spoilers Through Episode 64 (The Frigid Doom)

Better Angels [Percy, ensemble | T | 2700 words]

Vox Machina mourns their first devastating loss and finds they each have a private war to win. Some of them are willing to pay more for that victory than others.

Spoilers Through Episode 69 (Passed Through Fire)

The Unconstant Dead [Percy, Cassandra, Pike, Vex | T | 1300 words]

In the wake of his own brush with mortality, Percy is visited by three ghosts.

Spoilers Through Episode 85 (A Bard’s Lament)

Shelter [Keyleth/Vex | T | 1300 words]

Keyleth chases down Vex in the immediate aftermath.

Spoilers Through Episode 88 (Tangled Depths)

Faint Distances [Vax, ensemble | T | 4400 words]

In the cold and the night and the storm, a half-elf walks into a bar. Vax remembers.

Spoilers Through Episode 102 (Race to the Tower)

Foresight [Vax, Vex, ensemble | T | 3000 words]

In his memory, Vax is forever locked in a moment (in a moment in a moment)

Spoilers Through Episode 115 (The Chapter Closes)

Cold Comfort [Velora, Vex, Percy | T | 3100 words]

Two years later, Velora returns to Whitestone for several long-overdue conversations.

[saphirered]

Heyo! Saw you wanted some individual character requests! I'm a sucker for Grog, and there isn't enough out there for him, so I was wondering if you could do a Grog x Sorceress!reader where the reader doesn't think grog would have a reason to like her since she isn't a melee fighter. Thank you so much!

P.s. Your writing is amazing, and I always love reading your works! ❤️

Thank you for the request! I'm glad you like my writing and hope you enjoy this one! Turned out a bit longer than I intended but that means more content. Anyway, Enjoy! 😘

Seated on the stone balustrade feet dangling over the edge looking over the city in front of you you twiddle your thumbs. You needed a moment away from everyone to sort your mind on your own. There’s a solitude in the dark clouds looming above and the first drops of rain signalling an oncoming storm and it’s never failed you before. Even while there’s no one around, you can confide in such storms knowing your words will be heard but carried away upon the wind and drowned out by the rain and thunder. A good storm won’t judge or hold a grudge. It will simply accept and listen. So here you’ll stay speaking your worries into the abyss and hope for some clarity or ease of mind and heart.

Back inside Grog sits on one side of the table, Scanlan at the other. They hold their respective tankards at the ready as the gnome counts down. By the end of the countdown they swing back their drinks finishing them as fast as they can being cheered on by the rest of Vox Machina and other witnesses to this drinking game. Grog’s determined to win this. While he’s pretty sure his tankard is actually a bucket with a handle, it’s more to scale compared to the gnome’s. Ale spills over the sides of Scanlan’s drink but Grog keeps it neat. No wasting ale after all.

With one last big chug Grog finishes the drink, slams it down on the table roaring in victory as the table shakes beneath his hit. Scanlan puts the remainder of his drink down on the table wiping his face disappointed. Grog looks around the crowd. Some are happy celebrating with him, others pass over money to the happy people for paying up on whatever amount they lost in their bets. How could they even consider Scanlan would win. He’s the best of the best after all and no one can out drink the all mighty Grog. He doesn’t spot you among the crowd and the victory doesn’t feel as sweet anymore. He really hoped you could have seen this one. Where had you gone?

Before Grog can get up and go find you he’s given a refill and the next challenger approaches. New bets are placed, Vex massages his shoulders giving him a pep talk and noting how he’s been making her a lot of money so better keep it up. He doesn’t want to disappoint his friends. One more game. Then he’ll go find you wherever you went.

The next game comes along, and another, and another but he’s done. No more games. When another challenger approaches and the game starts he doesn’t pick up the tankard and pushes away from the table. People ask him what the hell he’s doing but he ignores them. They’ve kept him long enough so he just up and walks before they can stop him. Grog leaves the room but Pike follows behind him worried for her buddy. He never refuses a good ale or a challenge, let alone the two combined.

“Grog? Grog, wait up!” Pike rushes after him leaving the banquet hall behind. Determined Grog still keeps walking but slows down his pace enough to let Pike catch up with him.

“Where are you going? There’s still plenty of ale to be drunk!” Pike reaches for the goliath’s hand to pull him to a stop. He does and turns to face Pike.

“I think I’ve had enough.” Grog says and Pike gasps. Never, never does Grog think he’s had enough to drink. Something must be wrong with him. Is he ill? Does he have a fever? Did someone poison her buddy’s drink? She might go on a war path if someone did and ruined his fun! But Grog seems okay. Physically that is. He’s fine.

“Do you know where she went?” Grog asks, maybe Pike can help him find you and maybe she can talk to you why you left. He doesn’t think you’d want to talk to him about that kind of stuff and while he’d consider himself a good listener, if something’s really up Pike always knows what to do. She can help.

“Who?”

“The pretty sorceress.” Grog states as a matter of fact and it is. Anyone who dares say otherwise clearly need some of those glass thingies Percy keeps on his nose and make him look smart.

“Oh, I don’t know Grog. She left to go get some fresh air.” Pike searches her mind to see where you might have gone. There’s a few places that come to mind but it’s all narrowed down to just the one when thunder rumbles through the sky. She knows exactly where you went and by the looks of it so does Grog.

Grog knows there’s only one place you really love to watch a storm unfold. You’ve told him before and you’ve even watched some storms together there. He shares a look with Pike and picks up his step going where he knows you’ll be, still dragging pike behind. When she doesn’t move fast enough he swings her up on his shoulders, running up the steps as far as they’ll take him, dodging a torch and pushing aside a guard here and there.

Then around the corner he sees you. Feet dangling over the edge, a single push away from what could possibly be a death drop, hand outstretched catching the rain with a sad smile on your face. You’re absolutely gorgeous. More alluring than anyone ever could. If he could paint, Grog would make sure this moment would be captured for eternity just so he would never forget. Maybe he can get some money from Vex to hire a painter? If Scanlan did it, why shouldn’t he?

You’re seated alone at the top of the tower. Lightning flashes through the clouds, sometimes branching down to strike the ground be it mountain or forest, you’re in a valley of safety surrounded by the storm. The drops of rain hit your outstretched arm extended beyond the cover of the overhanging. Cold as they are to the touch you watch them glide around your arm with movement until they too, continue their descend.

“…Sometimes I wish I would just have the courage but I don’t.” You speak into the skies. A burst of lightning strikes in the mountains, the sound echoing and even this high up you can feel the slight tremor of the ground. You know a storm is no sentient being but you read it like a reply no less and continue.

“I’m not a fighter. I don’t know how to wield a sword or an axe. I can barely lift one. We have such vastly different lives. Grog’s got no reason to like me in any way.” Thunder strikes again you smile briefly. You’ve come to terms you’ll always like Grog and your feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated. The only reason you’re even spending time together in the first place is because you’re both involved with Vox Machina in one way or another. You’ve got hardly anything in common so if you hadn’t met through them Grog probably wouldn’t even have thought about you twice.

That may sound sad and you’re thankful for getting to know him but Grog has his own life and interests so why should he bother indulging you in yours. He’s already not a big fan of magic and you won’t bother attempting to teach him. It’s not like it’s any interesting stuff and he’d probably be bored out of his mind the entire time. Then again, the theoretics of magic might just not be your strong suit either. It’s more of a natural born gift.

Grog gets this weird feeling in his chest as if he’s been hit by something and it’s being twisted. Kind of like when he got shot by an arrow and Pike had to remove it. It’s not a good feeling. Checking for injury just to make sure he’s fine. It’s clear to him he feels this on the inside; his heart bleeds a little for you. You shouldn’t think that way. He likes you. He likes you a lot actually so you couldn’t be more wrong. Pike nudges him to set her down. He does as they remain around the corner, leaving you unaware of their presence.

“Go talk to her.” Pike whispers and Grog panics for a brief second. How is he even supposed to do this? What is he supposed to say? He doesn’t know how this psychology stuff works. That’s what Pike’s for. If people feel sad they often come to her, talk about their worries and problems and then they feel better. How’s he supposed to do that? He’s not Pike.

“She needs you, Grog. I know you like her and she needs you. Go talk to her.” Pike nudges him on into your direction. The goliath isn’t physically moved by her effort but he does move. If Pike says you need him, if you really need him then he’ll be there. Looking over his shoulder one last time to ask Pike for some advise she’s already half way down the stairs leaving you with him. Grog thinks hard for a moment but thinking isn’t his strong suit either so he’ll do what he always does; face the problem head on.

A throat clears behind you and you almost slip from the fright it gave you. A heavy step rushes forward and an arm wraps around your waist pulling you back before you can fall. You’d have spells to save you in case you did fall but you’d rather not and are grateful for your valiant saviour. The bare arm wrapped around your waist is covered in tattoos, markings and scars and engulfs the majority of your middle. It doesn’t take a fool to know this arm belongs to Grog Strongjaw himself.

Flustered you allow the goliath to pull you back onto solid ground and off the balustrade entirely before he lets go of you, making sure you’re right on your feet. How much of your conversation with the skies did he hear? Did he hear anything at all? Grog steps back and stares at his boots. He doesn’t only appear to be more embarrassed than you feel but also apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Please don’t fall again and please don’t be angry at me.” Grog closes his eyes tightly afraid you might be mad at him as he was the cause of you almost experiencing a death drop. You’re basically gods but if we’ve learned anything from Keyleth; that doesn’t save you from a splat.

You step forward grab one of his hands in yours drawing his attention. With your index finger you tilt his chin up just enough so he’s looking at you and not over you. These gestures are enough for Grog to open his eyes. When there’s no look of anger on your face the tension in his body falls away just slightly. There’s still some rigidness from nerves but he’s closer to usual Grog.

“Chin up, big guy. You saved me too. I’m not mad.” You smile and the smile is returned. The air is still somewhat awkward so you decided you best get this over with and clear it up.

“How much did you hear?” You ask. The blush rushing to Grog’s cheeks and frantic glancing around to make sure no one else is here to witness it tells you he heard enough.

With a deep sigh you step back to the balustrade sitting down upon it once more but now to face Grog instead of the sky, your hair blowing lightly in the breeze, the rain and occasional illuminated sky behind you leave him staring yet again forgetting your question. He’s just captivated but you calling his name snaps him out of it. Saved it. Still got it. As long as he doesn’t turn to ‘drunk Keyleth’ levels he’ll consider it a win.

“I-uhhhh…. Why don’t you think I like you?” Grog twiddles his thumbs rocking back and forth from his tiptoes to his heels in anticipation of your answer. He knows he heard you tell the sky but he wants to be sure because if he gave you any reason to believe he didn’t like you, he did do something wrong. He’ll pick you over any of those other fools down stairs. He might just even pick you over the best ale. He’d already picked you over the ale he’d been offered. If that isn’t testament to his fondness of you, then what is?

“Ah, so you did hear that. I just- I think-. Ugh, why is this so hard?” You try to express your reasons but words are difficult and feelings even more so to describe yet still you try. Grog waits patiently either way.

“Do you think we would have been friends were it not for our lives being tied together as they are now?” You ask the dreaded question. You don’t even know if you really want the answer afraid that it may break any semblance of hope you had somewhere in your mind. Grog’s brow furrows, deep in thought but mostly confusion.

“Of course we would be. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Because I’m not like you. I’m not a fighter. I stay back with my spells and incantations while you run in axe swinging taking down anyone in your path. I read while you train. I sit around in my tower watching the skies while you go out and drink the town dry looking for a fight to enjoy. I could never do what you do and I do not dare to assume you’d have any interest in doing what I do.” The thoughts and feelings find words. A tension lifts from your chest like a breath you didn’t know you were holding just by speaking your mind to the goliath in question.

Grog knows damn well you’re not a fighter in the traditional sense. No steel or arrows for you but that does not mean you’re not a fighter in your own right. If he’s learned anything a fighter comes in many shapes and forms and you fit the description perfectly. You’ve shown determination and strength, courage against all odds and immense skill. You are a fighter.

“When I run into danger kicking ass who’s had my back every time?” Grog asks. There’s a harshness and authority in his voice indicating he’s leading somewhere and you better answer.

“We all have-“ Grog cuts you off.

“No. You have had my back every time.” He corrects. “Who comes watch me train, throwing spells to keep me on my toes? Who does it while reading her books completing not one but two tasks at the same time?”

“I do.” You admit.

“And who helps me kick ass in bar fights? Who cheers me on or joins me in any gamble or drinking game? Who is the best drinking buddy? You are. Now, who spends time with you watching storms whenever they occur up here in the tower or anywhere else?”

“You… do…” Grog’s right.

“I like to spend time with you because I like you. I don’t care you don’t swing an axe. That firestorm you do works just the same and looks way more badass. I’m not the smartest but I know two of the same are not always useful and can be too much. What are you going to do with two when you only need one. You need difference so they compitry- complitarity- colmpli-“ Grog struggles with that word. He’s heard Percy use it in a similar context but why is it such a difficult word to recall. He still tries and just hopes you’ll get what he’s trying to say.

“Complimentary?” You ask. You fear Grog might get himself a migraine if he tries any harder. You still don’t think that’s the correct use of the word but you get it. He’s trying to lift your spirits and it’s working.

“That one. Yes. Complimentary. I don’t just like you, I love you for who you are. You’re special and being different makes you special.” Grog admits he tries to fight the heat rising to his cheeks from admitting what he did but when he sees your smile grow, that’s enough to push his pride aside and let it be. Maybe he can do this thing Pike usually does after all? Maybe not unless it’s you. When he tells you he loves you he means it. When he has to say it to the likes of Vax he’d rather eat his own boots for lunch.

You gesture with your hand and beckon the goliath over to come closer. You rise to stand on the edge of the balustrade and wrap your arms around Grog’s neck holding him close. You feel his arms wrap around you in turn and pull you closer to where your feet barely touch the stone.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.” You pull back to look Grog in the eyes as he still holds onto you and take his cheeks between your hands giving him a quick kiss. Grog’s eyes light up and lifts you up higher offering you a kiss of his own. Sweet and short and filled with glee. He sets you back down on your feet but doesn’t let go of you yet.

“Do you want to go back downstairs? Last I checked there was a drinking game going on? Should we show them what we’re made off?” You grin and the proud look on Grog’s face tells you enough to know exactly what you’re talking about.

“Let me tell you the tale of my grand victories-“ Grog starts as he begins leading you back down the stairs, arm wrapped around your shoulders pulling you into his side as you walk.

[pootaku]

At Long Last

Summary:  Keyleth's sudden realization of the time they have now is more important than the time they 'might' have lets her be more honest about her feelings.

Notes:  I have not watched the original campaigns, only some clips from it and the whole animated series. So, sorry if the characters' personalities seem a bit off, I did my best and added my interpretation a bit hehe. Hope you will enjoy it!

“Never been this sober for a long time guys, we need to drink. We fucking deserved it!” Scanlan cheered, “ALE!!” Grog yelled right behind Scanlan and ran towards the kitchen with Pike on his shoulders. Scanlan singing songs, Percy smiling more than he ever did, Gorg chugging beer, as usual, they all drank, laughed, and celebrated the night away. During her giggles, Keyleth’s eyes wandered the room and her smile faded when she couldn’t see Vax in the room with them. Vex caught her wandering eyes, and smiled “Those idiots.” she chuckled faintly. She stood up and stopped beside Keyleth before going to the bathroom. “He is at the balcony, dear.” she said with a tone only Keyleth would hear. “W-who are you talking about? I was not looking for anyone!” she tried to deny her actions but her blushing face was making the persuasion hard. Vex giggled “If you say so dear.” she said and walked past Keyleth. As soon as Vex disappeared Keyleth wandered off to the balcony and saw Vax standing alone.

“No need to be this wary, Kiki.” Vax said. “How did you know that it was me?” Keyleth asked. He chucked and turned his face at her, “Your footsteps, they are as gentle as you are.” Keyleth blushed at the compliment and walked towards Vax. Rested against the banisters on her elbows. Vax also rested on the banisters beside Keyleth. “You know you were dead Kiki.” Vax breathed out, “and god knows what would I do if you were really, truly gone.” his voice sounded so desperate, Keyleth remembered him calling out to her. She hit his shoulder with hers softly, “But you saved me, didn’t know you were good at alchemy and herbs.” she tried to lighten up the mood, Vax smiled at her, “Thank god, I was always watching you.” Keyleth blushed not knowing whether he was watching her or just observing her skills, but she wanted to get it as a compliment. There was a moment of silence, “Vax,um, I know I left things at an awkward position, but I want you to know that I-” Vax didn’t let her finish her sentence, “You don’t have to explain yourself Kiki, I understand you, no hard feeling-.” Keyleth cut his sentence back, “No, no that’s not what I was trying to say. Let me talk. I know I said that the time was not right with all the responsibilities and etc. but then it got me thinking. Will the time ever be right? I mean I would be freaking dead if it were not to be you and we would not be having this conversation. So, um, what I’m actually trying to say is that I, uh, I love you Vax.” The sudden confession left Vax speechless, he was just looking at Keyleth but not saying anything. "I know, I rejected you a few hours ago and I'm sorry that I put you through all that, but I-I just didn't want to-" her words were left unfinished by the soft touch of Vax's lips on hers. Keyleth froze for a few seconds with the sudden kiss, but then closed her eyes and let herself go in his kiss.

The rest is at my Ao3! (for free ofc)

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek hehehe

Link to the full fanfiction: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37330972

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Hello! I really want to hear more about this Space AU. More specifically how the couples get together (VM and M9)? Please tell me one’s involved a spacewalk to repair something nearly goes horribly wrong!? (We all know that’s gonna happen at least once)

Of course! I love talking about this au! This post is just going to be VM couples because I need to think a bit more about the M9 ones <3

I think that Percy and Vex get together after a spacewalk where Percy was having to repair something outside and his tether snapped and his helmet cracked and before he even knew what was happening, he was drifting away from the station. Vex, faster than possible, put on her suit and went after him. When they were in the airlock waiting for Pike to check on him, Percy pulled her into a kiss said, we'll talk later and promptly passed out.

Keyleth and Vax got together as asteroids started to come towards them. As Pike and Percy struggled to get the shields up as fast as they could, Keyleth and Vax stood on the viewing deck, watching the asteroids come closer and closer. Just as they were about to hit, Vax told Keyleth that he's in love with her. The shields were thrown up just in time. There's some typical Vaxleth angst about feelings and eventually, Keyleth tells her that she has feelings for him as he's helping her pick some vegetables for dinner.

Pike and Scanlan take a long time to get together, of course there's usual Scanlan being in love with her from the start and Pike only being a little interested. It changes when they get a transmission from a ship nearby and discover Kaylie and that they're not alone in the empty space around them. When they manage to get to the Tal'Dorei system, Pike walks up to Scanlan before they disembark and asks if he wants to get a drink with her.

[tameila]

TLOVM Thoughts.

THE GOOD

PIKE-CENTRIC STORYLINE HYPE TRAIN!!! First of all, it’s what she deserved. Second of all, it was perfect. It captured that perfect juxtaposition between Pike’s love for revelry and knocking heads and her earnest and always-trying devotion to her faith. She loves them both equally, enough so that the thought that she may have to choose caused her magic to splinter. The moment between The Everlight and her was nothing short of, and I know I keep using this word but, perfect. The most quintessential lines being...“Any path can be a holy one. So long as one walks it with truth. You can be whoever you want to be in the light...” That’s exactly what Pike needed to hear and sums up her character to a T. The only thing I hope we get a little more of next season is exploring why The Everlight is so important to her. When I heard the “Pike Trickfoot” song, I was hoping for a little something, but then it got demoted to end credits, so...😔 but, otherwise? Wonderful! So happy for my girl!

Pike’s tenacity. I’m just so happy that we got Pike’s tenacity to the MAX.

Scanlan’s earnest, tender-hearted affection for Pike being given its moment in just about every episode. They fumbled a lot with Scanlan’s character, which I’ll get to, but his feelings for Pike? I thank them for letting him have his moments both of quiet, speechless awe and of ‘I-Don’t-Know-How-To-Feelings’, lovedumb fumbling. The intensity on his face when he turned away from her in ep 4? The doe-eyed awe on his face when she first arrived in ep 9? That same wide-eyed look coming back in ep 11 when she saved him? Just...those moments when you could see the full brunt of his feelings hitting him before, with the last two, he didn’t know what to do besides act the fool. because Scanlan genuinely loves Pike, and he hasn’t done love before. I still worry where they’re going with them, and I hate that I have to worry, but...for now, I’m happy with how they’re setting up Scanlan’s feelings. Now, if only they’d show the mutuality of the attraction from Pike.

as you might know, I have a love-hate relationship with Percy. He’s a classic case of ‘great character ruined by the stans’ for me. However, I knew I wasn’t gonna have any fun watching season one if I didn’t try and open my heart to him again. and, for me, the thing that won me over was his relationship with Cass. When I first watched CritRole, before I really got into the fandom and still loved Percy, his relationship with Cassandra was my favorite sibling dynamic on the show. The guilt he feels over unknowingly leaving her. The happiness at knowing she is alive. Everything, in the end, being about her. When he lost his will to fight because she turned on him, I felt that as an older sibling. I would become the same limp noodle in that situation to see my little sister turn from me. Percy doesn’t need his dramatic one-liners or to be oh-so-sad and sexy. His saving grace is his love for his sister. 

All the Pike and Grog moments! Best of siblings. Best of buddies. Like Scanlan, I think Grog got a short stick this season, but he shined in his moments with Pike. Crossing my fingers and hoping so hard for Westruun arc next season! 

THE BAD

I know I have to accept it as a separate entity. I know I do, but...Everything moved so fast! The drawn out, lingering horror of the campaign fit the setting of Whitestone so well, but we didn’t get any time to sit with the corruption and decay with the animation.

Also, because of the rushed nature, they had to make “characterization cuts” to streamline things. For example, Vex became the main strategist, because you can’t animate 30 minutes of party planning, but it meant that Scanlan -- who was always at the forefront of strategy -- got pushed to the side.

I know other people have commented on this as well, but the overly polished dialogue of the show compared to the improvised but heartfelt dialogue of the table? So jarring.

In general, I think The Legend of Vox Machina, as beautifully animated and well voice acted as it is, is just proof that there’s no way to truly capture the magic of playing D&D around a table with your friends. Something was lost, and I missed it the whole time.

THE SCANLAN

ah, blue-eyed Scanlan...my beloathed...I do like his design otherwise. I really do, and I know I was given months to prepare my sensibilities but...[clenches fist] blue eyes? ??

if I have to hear Scanlan say “Scanlan’s Hand” one (1) more goddamn time, I WILL snap. I am begging you, TLOVM, to let Scanlan do literally ANY other spell. BEGGING.

Scanlan, in general, felt like a cardboard cutout of himself. like, a strong gust of wind could knock him over flat on his face. he was a plush toy with pre-set phrases that you pull the string on the back to hear.

Where was his cunning? His intellect? As I mentioned earlier, Scanlan was one of the biggest strategist of the party, but we got next to nothing of that in the show. There were small moments -- him translating the book and him bringing back that knowledge later at the ziggurat but they were so few and far between.

Scanlan’s is VM’s second most important healer and support after Pike. You wouldn’t know it from watching this show, however.

Please, for the love of Sarenrae, where are Scanlan’s spells and battle prowess? Where are the clutch moves that made him the MVP of VM? That made Vecna himself falter and scramble for purchase? In the beginning, I thought that they were just holding back to make Scanbo that more exciting to new viewers but...yeah. even that felt...Not Great. A lot of Scanbo was luck of the dice, but it was also so successful because Scanlan is resourceful and analytical in battle. He can make a quick plan. He will execute it with all the bravado of a man who doesn’t care what happens to him, as long as it’s a good story.

Which, to add to that point, why was Scanlan such a goddamn coward? In the campaign, a big part of Scanlan’s character was the fact that he had a cavalier attitude towards his own wellbeing. He was constantly dismissing the other’s concern for him. His nihilism is a big reason that Kaylie’s request that he stay alive hit him so hard. People keep saying “such-and-such is foreshadowing for Bard’s Lament” but I can honestly tell you that I have yet to see anything in the show that feels like they’re foreshadowing that storyline for Scanlan at all. Would love to be proven wrong.

Continuing the coward point, in the campaign, Scanlan was always fighting on the front lines. He wasn’t a melee fighter but, as a support, he was always in the fray. Which made it all the more upsetting when Scanlan spent so much of all these fights running around, screaming, and doing absolutely nothing. Love to see his Pikey jump in to protect him but would love it more if we got to see Scanlan look after her in return (which he did a lot, see: my Pike Health Watch supercut) while also holding his own in battle.

It actually felt mildly insulting that Vox Machina was constantly groaning and rolling their eyes when Scanlan would perform. Whereas, at the table, everyone would laugh and sing along. Scanlan’s inspiration and songs brought a sense of togetherness to the table.

idk man!! i just...i just felt like I was so excited to see my man and all I got was a shadow of him 😔

[nochiquinn]

legend of vox machina episode 8: A Silver Tongue OR new, unsettling meaning to “he runs into rooms and puts his tongue in interesting places”

pike episode PIKE EPISODE

yes other things happen but PIKE EPISODE

need to check who did the designs for this episode, love how pike looks here

still desperately love anjali bhimani

keyleth knowing exactly what to do when it needs to be done

vax encouraging her anyway bc just because you know what you have to do doesn’t mean you’re confident you can do it

them starting the spell on cassandra's throat together

"angry face bold lines" is one of my favorite animation tropes and I could not tell you why

the very faint names inscribed on the barrel

raven skulls!

with pate in c3 I'm headcanoning that that was just A Whitestone Thing

see I can't remember if the armor was just a magical construct in the stream or if anders did it to them like here

dagger go Bonk

"we're in this shit together"

the fact that this means vax ran after percy

me: hi matt my partner: bye matt

"which one can I kill?" "literally anyone" ">:D"

keyleth's hug in the middle of her panic

valid response, cass

UGH the transformations

ALL THE LETTERS

vex: [multi-arrow] mala: ranger bullshit

"I hate your face so much"

you leave my low-wisdom son alone

that. is not a delilah.

the sun bursting into the dark

tracie thoms my beloved

"we're your friends, remember? we lo - "

vex catching keyleth

keyleth and vex working together to take grog down

vax used DAGGER! but nothing happened!

"why's he only after me?" GEE I WONDER

I’ve seen a few “I wish these were 44-minute episodes” and while I honestly don’t think it could carry 44 minutes at a time - I think it’d turn into a slog and fuck up the pacing - I think I might like a few more quiet moments between characters, to make percy’s friends attacking him hurt a little more, sell the betrayal a little harder.

maybe I am spoiled by longer-form shows (not just the stream, most of what I’ve watched lately has been hour-long or better) but a handful of scenes with them just...being with each other wouldn’t hurt

more shit like episode 5, the kind of interactions they had on the cart. just a whole nother episode of that.

or maybe I’m just a sucker for that sort of thing and want more of it in everything

monologue for your life

UGH the eye color shift

the no mercy percy music

what in the eye of sauron

percy snapping back to himself when he hears cassandra. dropping the gun and mask as he runs to her.

the cymbal ism

"I thought you were dead." "And I thought you'd come back to check."

“running away was never my specialty.” yes girl build that resentment

I don't know if we're going to get "cassandra is a briarwood/cassandra is a de rolo" but I dearly hope we do

I don't know why cass gives me dishonored vibes but here we are

skywriting without having to justify it without mentioning the word "airplane"

also can we acknowledge she's just casually manipulating the whole lower atmosphere

mala: TWO MOONS. MOON LORE.

suspiciously high servant turnover at the briarwood place

the burn means it's working

pike: I know it's wrong to fight and drink and curse everlight: who told you that bullshit

"we do not choose. we walk down a path. any path can be a holy one, so long as one walks it with truth."

want to know how much fun they had animating scanlan's little dance

scanlan

"because fuck me, that's why"

vex when has scanlan ever run FROM a whore

"ooooooh, HORDE. got it."

have I mentioned I love the bumper image/end card illustration bc I do

[theravenquing]

Some Random Vox Machina Headcanons!

These take place in a canon divergent universe, so don't expect them to be canon friendly or "accurate".

Percy will sometimes pass out in his workshop only to wake up in his room. He has no idea who it is that moves him, but he appreciates it. It's Grog, by the way. He hates seeing Percy with a sore back from sleeping hunched over at his desk.

Vax likes to bird watch when he has free time. He also takes this time to meditate and practice yoga. He finds it soothing when his mental health starts getting bad again.

Vax likes carving wooden figurines for his friends and family. Vex'ahlia has over 1,000 little wooden Trinket figurines dotted around her room.

When the others feel like training, Grog is more than happy to be their training instructor. In fact, Grog tends to give the people of Whitestone and the Whitestone Army free training lessons too.

Scanlan has published song books full of the songs he has written a long with matching sheet music for different instruments.

Vax, Gilmore and Keyleth are a happy Polycule. While Gilmore and Keyleth only have platonic love for eachother, both have deep romantic feelings for Vax and Vax is deeply in love with both of them back.

While Keyleth is Pansexual, she's sexually repulsed. Meanwhile, Gilmore is Gay and Vax is Bisexual, neither being shy in the bedroom.

Vex'ahlia and Percy end up having 7 children, the second and third kids being twins with the fifth kid being a Tiefling;

Vesper-Elaina (daughter)

Val'dinah (daughter)

Tibbons (son)

Melody (nonbinary)

Belle (daughter)

Wesley (son)

Jasper (son)

Vax helps out at Gilmore's store in Whitestone from Miresen through Whelsen, then on Conthsen and Folsen he helps out at the local orphanage and school. On Yulisen he takes the day off, and then on Da'leysen he tends to his Champion of The Raven Queen duties.

Vax, Keyleth and Gilmore have a townhouse in Whitestone for when they want privacy from everyone else at the Castle. Gilmore also has a beach home his parents care for back in Marquet for when they go on vacation. But all 3 have their own individual room at Whitestone Castle.

Vax and Pike occasionally take night time walks together to talk about their respective Goddesses and the work it is they do for them both. Pike helps Vax whenever his doubts and fears get too much, and Vax is happy to reassure Pike whenever she feels like she isn't good enough for Sarenrae.

Vex and Percy are very hands on with their children, treating each one with equal amounts of love and respect. They try not to be overbearing, but make sure no child is ignored. That being said, they do occasionally find themselves disagreeing over certain aspects of how their children are raised. That's usually where good ol' Uncle Vax gets brought in.

Nothing makes Vax smile wider than when one of the quarter elves call him Uncle Vax. Whenever he talks to his Queen, he usually updates her on them and gushes about all 7 of them to her.

Vax and Vex have a memorial made in Whitestone for their mother, as well as the rest of Thordak and his fellow dragons' victims, in Whitestone. Vax visits it often, talking to his mother whenever he can. Vex visits it too, but not as often as Vax does. When Vex does go see it, she tends to take Percy and the kids, while Vax prefers visiting it alone. Gilmore and Keyleth do tag along with Vax sometimes, but Gilmore also visits on his own sometimes when he feels he needs advice on his relationship with Vax.

Dinner at the Castle is quite flexible on Miresen through Yulisen, anyone can stop in if they want but don't need to, but it's a big family affair every Da'leysen where everybody - Percy, Cassandra, Vex, Vax, the quarter elves, Keyleth, Keyleth's parents, Gilmore, Gilmore's parents, Scanlan, Kaylie, Pike, Grog, Kima and Allura - eat together and catch up at the end of the week. It's rare for anybody to miss the big family dinner and usually only happens if somebody is sick or if Vax, Pike or Kima are away on work for their Goddesses. It's thanks to Vex'ahlia having teleportation circles made that link the Castle to Gilmore's parents' home in Marquet and Keyleth & Keyleth's mom's tree teleportation magic.

Vox Machina have noticed that Vax tends to be tailed by a raven or two whenever he is outside. This has gained Vax the nickname "The Raven Prince", something Vax finds quite embarrassing. Secretly, the Raven Queen is very amused about this development as the birds are actually watching over Vax on her order.

[sarcasticace]

The Legends of Vox Machina, thought dump,  episode 4, 5, and 6

spoilers

- i really like the quick bit with Vax worrying about turning into a vampire. that’s a good adaption. originally it was such a big concern, you know. oh, vax needs to be healed, he needs to be locked up, he’s dangerous, we gotta find a priest. but here vex just nods to the window so he can see his reflection. 

- personally, i don’t like the dream sequence in episode 3 anymore solely because it’s followed by a more detailed, narrated flashback-esque sequence one episode later. originally, i thought it was cool. now it feels a bit much having both imo. if they wanted this one, they should cut the nightmare and replaced it with just audio as percy tossed and turned in bed. that way we wonder wtf is going on with him.

- mmmmm, i found the ‘what’s your plan’ scene lacking. i didn’t like having vex dominate the conversation. like yeah everyone is watching percy, smiling to convey their support. but it’s missing percy telling everyone they don’t have to do anything. get involved. and grog going ‘yeah we do, you said you want ‘em dead’. then followed by the silent acknowledgment of everyone else. i know there’s another one towards the end and reinforced in 5, but eh i guess they’re theading perc’ahlia earlier too. i think i mostly feel like grog is being limited to one or two roles. 

- i REALLY like that uriel/guards of emon are mad at VM. that’s a good change. like before keyleth/marisha pulls a full karen on a bunch of guards just wondering wtf was going on then vm walk away with the person who got his hand shot off by percy. you don’t get that much of a sense of consequences. not entirely. here they have to outrun the guards. they take away their weapons. put them under house arrest. they have to sneak out of the city after proving themselves to the captain. it gives a better sens eof vm at their lowest.

- that being said... tlovm really goes the distance depicting vm as a group of random fuckers who oops their way into a position of respect. and like... yeah that’s apart of what they have going on, but allura and kima actually kinda liked them. i do not get that feeling here. 

- the keyleth moment in ep4 is my favorite so far. i love the worthy bit, percy telling her to prove herself. the bits with both her and pike not being able to cast the light spell.

- i find it so fucking funny that they leave trinket behind. i get it was probably mostly the difficulty of keeping track of and animating the bear, but... it’s so funny when your remember all the times laura forgets about trinket and insists she brought him and stuff. 

- im very interested in the story they’re giving pike for this arc even thought she/ashley was mostly absent for it. im very cruous, but mostly im excited that we’re gonna get astral projection pike. before i was worried they were gonna omit it, but the writers/matt really found a way to utilize that aspect beyond it just being because ashley had work obligations. 

- vax casually flirting with gilmore only to then have a moment with keyleth : / 

- they give vex dragon spidey sense, but can’t let scanlan cast comprehend language to read that fucking book?

- can scanlan only cast songs with instruments? i mean, i don’t mind that tbh, it’s actually kinda good. but then he saves himself just by singing. i didn’t see one magical instrument. so like??? idk it feels like they’re nerfing scanlan tbh.

- imo, they did not need to show us the civilians that’l get hung from the sun tree. i think that scene worked better when we’re not expecting it to happen. i personally don’t think including that scene adds anything. 

- now take the giant forretress scene for example. having vm explore the giant hideout only to find the giants were killed. the mystery of what happened and why the gates were forced open from the inside. then the moment of realization when we see zombiefied giants walking around the city. i personally find that scene does a better job doing what the new sun tree victims attempts. 

- i really like the ‘worst monster you ever faced’ game, nice ref to the rakshasa and durgar while also circling back to percy’s monsters.

- really? “careful, brother, those vines have thorns” no, i get it. vax|eth is gonna be a thing. you can stop now. pls, that’s enough. there are other characters and relatipnships that need to be focused on instead of vax|eth.

- “i am what they made me” fuck dude. “you’re not the only one that has changed, percival” the amazing lines in these episodes.

- i do think having VM run with the resistance and build it up was a good change. they really didn’t give a shit about anyone originally, but in a bad way if you kow what i mean.

- the keyleth cartoon during her plan is so cute. i fucking love her so much. can that be how she draws? 

- i don’t fully understand why they made stonefell... not a human, not that it matters, but... out of all the new nobles, he really stands out as this evil looking toad man. meanwhile the others are just... horrible people. if that makes sense. like these people are monsters because they’re corrupt, not because they’re demon looking things. changing him to be a jailer was good though. and having vm save archie really helped condense the story. 

- one last criticism... maybe it’s my imagination, but scanlan and grog feel a bit too much like a joke? like yes scanlan is the gross funny man, but he also came off as kinda smart. a bit sarcastic too. like vex, at one point, wanted to just go in there, arrows blazing, but it was scanlan that was rather tactical and practical. here vex seems more sure as leader. really bossy. then grog feels mostly like comic relife which, yeah, he is, but that’s something i wish they changed just a bit earlier rather than later, you know? apart from just his relationship with pike (which is my fave) like... did he have any interactions with keyleth? or did they invest all that into vax|eth? give me that playfulness from the rock elemental boat scene in ep10. the fun, the joy of trying to make the other laugh. maybe this is just my inner grogleth shipper coming out to clown.

- i find it really interesting which parts they adapt, move around, shorten or put more focus on. you can really see the care they put into this.

[joyfulsongbird]

A Curious Beginning

the pre-canon Campaign 1 Feeblemind!Percy AU I made out of pure self indulgence, inspired by @rainydaydecaf 's Feeblemind!Essek fics that I ADORE and you all should go read!!

here's the AO3 link if that's where you prefer to read!

thank you, comments and reblogs are always appreciated <3

***

The bar is relatively quiet and subdued after the day, in the aftermath of an attack on a small village people tend to stay inside their homes; spend time with families after the reminder that they could be snatched from this life in an instant. Leaves more drinks and seats for everybody else, so it’s a welcome side effect of the attack. The members of Vox Machina are slightly scattered, some with more energy than others.

Scanlan and Grog are up at the bar, chatting with the bartender. Pike is sitting several feet away, swinging her feet from her stool and watching her friends silently. Keyleth is sitting quietly right by Vex and Vax, who both find themselves in conversation with one of the few townsfolk who is in this bar at this time of night.

“We can’t leave until we find some more supplies,” Vax is saying to the man, a simple butcher who was a good enough conversationalist. Vex is half listening, the other half of her mind nearly falling asleep from the long day. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, spending most of it on watch and the other half tossing and turning for little reason whatsoever. She’s used to spending nights sleeping on the forest floor, but for some reason last night she just couldn’t get her mind to relax. “All our casters are tapped of spells for the time being and the rest of us managed to lose many of our weapons in the battle. We won’t be able to rest if we can’t defend ourselves.”

“The old prison might have a few blades lying around, maybe a crossbow or two.” the butcher says, a finger twisting a curl in his long, brown beard. “I know it was one of the first places to get attacked by those beasts and is still empty, all the guards were forced to leave without taking any of the valuables.” “And what of the prisoners?” Vax asks.

“Let free.” the butcher replies. “Gonna be difficult as hell to round ‘em all back up, but the prisons half collapsed. Roof caved in. You won’t need to worry about dealing with the prisoners, I’m sure there’s something useful in the rubble and in the parts that are still standing upright.” “Let’s do that,” Keyleth pipes up. “You lost your daggers, and Vex still has arrows but her bow got stolen.” “Don’t remind me.” Vex sighs, leaning her chin against the palm of her hand. It was ridiculous, they’re supposed to be the best fighters in all of Tal’dorei and they got caught off guard in the woods. First, by bandits, and then immediately after, a monster attack on the nearest village. It feels like the universe is playing tricks on them, taunting them, giving them victories but at what cost? “But Kiki’s right, we should scavenge what we can before shelling out the money to buy new weapons.”

“Always the frugal one, sister.” Vax says before standing and clapping his hands to get their friends' attention. “We need to have a quick talk, huddle up.”

It’s discussed quickly, many of them are eager to either get back to the bar or to bed. Not everybody needs to go to the prison, afterall, it’s not necessary that all of the crowd into a building that may or may not be unstable and cave in on all of them at any moment. But it’s decided that both the twins will go; Vax for obvious reasons, they wouldn’t be able to open a single locked door or safe without him. Vex will tag along as well.

“I want to make sure you all get the correct things, I don’t want you going without me and finding out you decided to only bring back daggers and whatever whiskey they have stored away.”

And finally, Keyleth volunteers despite not having any spells left, she does have a few cantrips that could be of use. Pike, Scanlan, and Grog all decide to stay behind, the latter two out of desire to remain at the bar, and the first because she has no healing left and would be in more danger than use. And also to make sure the others don’t get too rowdy, just in case. They don’t expect much out of an old prison used just as a holding place for criminals before trial. All of them doubt many of the prisoners from a rinky dink, dusty town like this would carry weapons more than bare minimum in quality. Better to go and come up empty handed rather than not go at all.

They set out into the night, given directions by the butcher to the outskirts of town, away from what little civilization there is out here. If you can even call a town as small as this one a civilization. The streets are quiet and all three half elves blend in with the shadows, though Keyleth stands out with her red hair and green clothing, but there is no imminent danger. The walk is quiet, with few words exchanged in the companionable silence. They reach the edge of the town and start walking through a wide field, the land quite flat and vast until it reaches the edge of a forest. They can see only very little, and the only indication of where they should be headed is the rise of a dark shadow in the vague shape of something that used to be a building.

Keyleth holds out her palm and a small ball of golden white light appears, casting a dim light around 40 feet around them. They can see, now, that the field is covered in old, dying grass and it is nice to know where they are stepping so as not to fall into a pit or step on a snake. They grow closer to the building, and with Keyleth’s light they can now make out the various features of the prison itself. At one point, it would’ve been a one story building, made of gray brick that still looks somewhat like it’s going to crumble. Now, one side of the building has collapsed, leaving a gaping hole that one could easily step through. It looks precarious, as if one flick could send the whole thing tumbling down.

“Well,” Vex says, her voice loud enough that it must travel across this open plain and back into the town. “Looks as if you don’t need to pick any locks.”

Vax chuckles and starts towards the building, Keyleth and Vex following close in his wake. They approach the gaping hole in the wall, inspecting the brick and the foundation for a moment before climbing through. Vax goes first, pulling one leg and then another over what is left of the wall between the inside and outside. One they’re all inside, they stand silent for a few moments. Keyleth’s light seems to grow brighter in this enclosed space, illuminating all of their faces and the rubble leftover from the attack earlier in the day. The place is a mess, but not so much of a mess that they can’t pick their way through this building until they find what appears to be the sheriff’s office. This door is locked, however, but Vax opens it easily enough.

“Rusty ass locks are no match against me.” he says with a grin before swinging the door open and letting them all inside. There isn’t much to find in this room, and in the drawers of the desk they find in the center of the office. Everything is either near bare or not of any use to them. Some writing utensils, papers, a smoking pipe, and other mundane things but that’s about it. Vex is about to throw in the towel when Keyleth lets out a yelp, not one of fear but of excitement. The twins turn their heads in her direction and watch as she drags a crate of some sort from under the floorboards.

“I heard a creaking and thought it sounded sort of hollow under the floor.” She explains as she strains to pull out the crate, Vax rushes towards her and helps place the wood box in the center of the office. It seems like it’s heavier than it looks, judging by how much effort both Vax and Keyleth have to put into carrying it. They pry it open and all three crowd over to get a good look inside, Keyleth holding her light closer to get a better look.

Vex grins. Inside is an array of items, but most importantly, weapons. Maybe not the best weapons around but it’s something. Vax immediately reaches in and pulls out one of the daggers, holding in his palm, feeling the weight. He nods to himself.

“They’ll do for now.” He does the same with another dagger that sits in the box, deeming this one suitable as well. There are no bows, sadly, though Vex had suspected that not many outlaws would be carrying around good quality bows. There is a shortsword and while it’s not her preferred weapon, it’s usable. She’d rather have a weapon she’s somewhat proficient in by her side rather than no weapon at all. She’ll go buy a new bow in the morning, though it will be grudgingly. She’d rather just hunt down those bandits but by now, they’ll be long gone and her bow will be on the black market. The thought makes her fume, even now, but she lets it go with a soft sigh.

There aren’t just weapons inside the box, some clothes are there as well. A few tunics, a couple pairs of boots, a long blue coat, a hat or two, even a pair of glasses. They leave all of it behind, for they have no need for it and perhaps the escaped prisoners will come back for their things one day. Vax is putting away his new daggers and Vex is turning back towards the door when Keyleth’s voice makes them both pause.

“Guys,” her voice comes out soft and confused, with a touch of fear. “What is this thing?”

Vex looks back towards her, her pale face is illuminated by her own light from below, the shadows creating a contrast on her pale skin. She looks almost deathly in this light, like her skeleton is starting to show on her outsides. And with how wide her eyes are, how blown the pupils are in the dim light, it is even more believable. Vex’s eyes are drawn away from Keyleth’s face when she lifts up some mechanism with a few careful fingers. It’s a metal thing, large but small enough to fit in one’s hands. The shape of it is… odd. Not like anything she’s ever seen before. If it was turned upright, it might look a little like a crossbow but even then, that’s pushing it. It’s nothing like anything Vex has ever seen, and judging by her brother’s face and Keyleth’s reaction, neither have they.

Vax reaches forward and gently takes it from her, Keyleth lets it go easily. He gingerly holds it, turning it over in his palm once, twice, and switches it to his other hand. “I- I don’t know. I’ve never…” Vex snatches from him, inspecting it in her own hands. The metal is cool to the touch, heavy but not so heavy that it strains against her wrists as she hands it in one hand. It’s obviously hand crafted, she can see where the metal was shaped, where the leather on the handle (or what she assumes is the handle) was hand sewn, how each embellishment was created with care. She has no idea what it is supposed to be, but no matter what, she’s intrigued and impressed by the craftsmanship.

“We should keep it.” she announces. “Whatever it is, I bet it’ll fetch a pretty penny. Never seen anything like it.”

“I don’t know, Vex.” Keyleth worries her bottom lip, looking apprehensive. “It’s just… I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“It’ll be fine, darling,” she assures her, tucking the thing safely into her belt. “It’ll be out of our hands in no time.”

They leave it at that, though Keyleth looks as if she wants to keep pushing the topic. There’s nothing else of value to bring back in this particular room, and they replace the top of the crate. They don’t put it back under the floor, though, choosing to leave it out in the open. There’s not much of a point of putting it away if somebody’s going to be scavenging through it anyways. They leave the sheriffs office with the door unlocked, the place is already in ruins there really isn’t a point in them trying to cover their tracks.

They walk down the narrow hallway, it’s relatively short too, and they don’t come across a door until the far end of it. It’s a small prison after all, and based on the size of it, probably not able to hold more than a dozen people and even then that might be crowded. The door at the end of the hallway is unlocked, and slightly ajar. Vax pushes it open, the light from Keyleth’s palm revealing a descending stairwell. Vex lets Keyleth pass first behind Vax before following in the back. The stairs are cold stone, damp and muddy and mossy in some patches. It’s disgusting, obviously a very old room, and smells of mildew and piss. Vex had forgotten what untended jails are like, not even a drop of care has gone into the creation of this place. She can see the walls are bare, the same stone as the floor. It’s like a stone box, closed in from every side, stifling and dark. It makes her pity those who end up in here, she knows that many of those who end up in these small town jails are just people whose crimes are petty theft or wrong place, wrong time. It is empty now, the cells separated by grimy metal bars completely bare.

“There’s not going to be anything down here.” Vex calls after her brother who is going to each cell and searching inside. “We might as well leave.”

“C’mon, help me look, Stubby, don’t you want to be thorough?”

“Oh, yes, of course, there’s going to be daggers just sitting around. It smells awful, Vax, let’s just-”

“Guys.”

Keyleth’s voice makes Vex stop her ramble, snapping her mouth shut at the tone she’s taking. A fake calm, gentle but gentle in the way you put on when trying to sooth an animal.

When no other addition comes, Vex moves towards where her friend stands. “What is it?”

All Keyleth does is lift the hand that isn’t alight and point towards the stairs. What they hadn’t noticed when descending them was that they are somewhat hollow, built in a strange way so that there is a hole between the stairs and the wall. Just large enough for a person to fit in, maybe stand if they were short enough or if they bent their neck. Now, when Keyleth is turned towards the hole, the light from her fist shining towards it, they can make out a huddled figure inside. Neither Keyleth nor Vex moves, they are frozen in place. Vex cannot make out who it is, what they are, or even get a good look at their figure, but the one thing she can figure out is that they are afraid. She can see their shaking form from here. The way their whole body moves in tremors. It makes her want to rush forward, to lay a hand on them and comfort in any way she can. But she cannot bring herself to move.

“Vax.” she says, under her breath. “Stay where you are.”

“Vex-”

“Just- stay.” she says, trying to command as much as she can through her tone. Her feet before she can even think about whether this figure could be dangerous, her strides take her almost five feet away from them before she even stops to think. She pauses, grips the handle of her new shortsword for a moment. She thinks about drawing it before deciding, ultimately, that there is something going on here with more nuance than just a monster in disguise or a criminal trying to fool her. She sinks down to sit on her ankles, motioning for Keyleth to come closer. She does, staying a few paces behind Vex but holds out the light to get a better look.

The figure flinches away, turning their face towards the wall. They’re obviously humanoid, if not just human, and curled on themself. She can’t seem to get a good look and scoots just a little closer. She knows that she’s being rash but there’s a pull in her stomach. Something that doesn’t feel right. Something that is making her reach forward and place two careful fingers on the edge of the hole in the wall.

“Hello.” her voice comes out soft, breathy. The person does not answer. If anything, they’ve only shrunken further away since Keyleth and Vex got closer. “Kiki, could you back away a bit?”

“I- alright. Vex… be careful.” she says, as the light fades slightly. Vex keeps her eyes on the subject before her, and the farther that Keyleth backs away, the more relaxed they seem to become. It’s not much, the shoulders are still bunched, the body still shakes, but at least now Vex can make out that it’s a human. A man. His face turns slightly her way and she can see, even now that the shoulders are stronger away from the light, that his eyes are wide, and bright blue.

“Hello.” she repeats. He looks at her, meets her gaze, and in this moment she knows. This man is not a danger. His gaze snaps from her face down to her waist where the shortsword hangs, recognition floods his eyes and he turns away again. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll get rid of it.”

She removes it from her belt and tosses it aside, “see? Gone.”

This, also, seems to sooth him. She’s heard of afflictions like this before. This man looks to be younger than her, but not so young as to be acting like a terrified child. The sort of magical affliction that removes all logic, all knowledge, all language even, the cruelest act you can put on a person. The spell that takes away every ounce of their dignity. She cannot recall the name nor the cure but at least she knows what’s wrong with this man. And that a cure exists. The realization on her part comes early enough she knows to remove all weapons and things that could scare him. She hasn’t met somebody afflicted by this before but she knows how easily spooked they are. Treat them like you’d treat a scared child, a healer she knew had once said. She removes the strange metal weapon from her belt as well, tossing it aside with the sword. The man’s eyes follow this closely, eyebrows furrowed close together as his gaze tracks the contraption. His eyes stay locked on it, gaze more focused than she has seen him thus far. She has no other weapons now, and holds her hands towards him, palms up.

“Can you speak?” she asks quietly, already knowing the answer, but hoping anyway.

There is no reply.

He is still shaking, still terrified, and the quiet is starting to get to her. She wants to leave but cannot leave this man behind, not in this state. He reminds her too much of (however ridiculous it is) Trinket, and of herself, afraid and alone.

“Vex, what’s going on?” her brother’s voice breaks through the silence and she shushes him when the poor man flinches.

“It’s alright.” she soothes. His gaze, as soon as he relaxes again, finds the metal contraption on the floor. It’s the only thing that, when he focuses on it, makes his eyes seem alive, bright. It makes him seem present rather than stuck in a reality that does not make sense, one that can’t comprehend words other than the tone that goes along with them. There’s desire in those eyes, but desire that is held back by fear.

“Is that yours?” she asks, even though she knows he cannot answer. He can’t even understand the words she says, let alone formulate an answer. But she goes to the contraption anyway, scooping it up and placing it before him. Close enough that he doesn’t have to move any closer to her in order to pick it up. He grabs it tentatively, as if he, too, isn’t quite sure what it is but recognizes it nonetheless. He holds it carefully, but in a way that clearly says he has done this before. He looks at it with admiration, almost with love. How strange it is to see a grown man cradling some mechanical object like a plaything, like a comfort toy. He relaxes much more, now that he has the weapon in his possession. Which should worry her, but to be honest, she is quite sure she could single handedly take him out in this state, even if he was armed and she was weaponless.

Now that he is facing her, she can get a better look at him. His face and hair and body is covered in dirt and grime, as if he’s been rolled in mud and dust and then was thrown down in this dungeon. But even under the grime she can see that he is young, maybe a couple years above his teen years but still. His eyes are that striking blue. Hair matted and so dirty she can’t make out the color or texture. It’s like he’s been down here forever. His clothes are the same, once they might’ve been of good quality but now are ripped and dirty and in dire need of a wash. Or even better, just being burned and replaced. Something fierce rises in her throat, something instinctual that tells her that he has been wronged. She doesn’t even know his name, but there are very few people in the world who deserve to have every means of communication and reality stripped from them. Very few people deserve to have their mind taken away and then in addition to that, locked in the dark and the cold. Who knows the last time he saw the sun.

That settles it for her.

“Darling,” she keeps her voice soft, knowing that the only way he can judge people is based on the sound of their voice. His head lifts a little, face turning slightly towards her so at least she knows he’s listening. She holds out a hand, gesturing towards her, hoping that he’ll get the idea. “Come here. We can go. We can get you out. Please.” “Vex, what the hell are you doing?”

She ignores her brother's words, pursing her lips as the man in front of her makes a whimpering sound at the harsh sound of Vax’s voice.

“It’s alright.” she coos. She wishes she had Scanlan here to cast Friends or something but all she can do is just try to get him out of here based purely on trust. It’s apparent that in this state, and probably out of it as well, he is not quick to lay his trust out in the open. It takes a long time, a long time in which she has to continually shut up her brother and sometimes even Keyleth, though they both mean well. She coaxes him out of the hole in the wall, spending minutes on minutes getting him more comfortable with her being close. She doesn’t know why she is putting this much effort in, if anything, it should be Keyleth who is pushing so hard to save some random civilian in danger. But she will not let herself leave him behind.

She beams at him when he stands, nearly falling on unsteady feet, but regains his balance after a moment. “Good job, darling. Now, up the stairs.”

She guides him to the front of the stairwell, lightly brushing a hand on his back as a way of getting him there. Barely a touch, barely even a brush, but he still tries to twist away with a whimper in his throat. She hates having to cause distress like that, but it’s the only way she can get him to go the right way. Otherwise, he’d just wander away or sit back down on the floor. She pauses at the first step, wondering how she’s supposed to help him up. But (thank the gods) his muscle memory still seems to be intact and he climbs the stairs easily enough, though stumbling here and there.

From behind her, she hears her brother's voice, now soft. “Stubby-”

“I don’t want to hear it, brother.” she whispers back. They all reach the top of the stairs and Vex grins at the man. “Well done, darling!” Something in his eyes brightens at the delight in her voice and he leans in a little towards her, his lips quirking up slightly in what looks like it could be a smile. He’s still cradling the weapon tightly to his chest, squeezing it like a lifeline. As soon as she turns away from him, though, she’s faced with Vax’s face, serious and stone hard.

“Keyleth, watch… him, please. Make sure he doesn’t run off.” and she grabs Vax’s arm and walks him down the hall, back into the sheriff's office. She closes the door behind her a little harder than necessary, already knowing what’s going to come out of his mouth.

“Vex, you know this is a bad idea-”

“I know what you’re going to say-” They both cut off at the same time, sending each other equally heated glares. Vax takes the initiative and keeps going, she listens as she crosses her arms over her chest. They’re both stubborn as hell, and in this she has already decided that she’s going to win.

“We can’t just go around picking up strays, Stubby.” he says, voice lowered and even despite the obvious frustration showing on his face. “That guy out there could be dangerous. Who knows how he ended up in this place!” “He was left behind, Vax. In a crumbling building. It’s a miracle he didn’t get trapped down there, or we came a day or two later and he was dead from dehydration. How can you want to leave him behind, when he’s- when he’s so vulnerable.” She can’t explain why she’s so passionate about this, but there is not a world in which she can imagine herself leaving behind this man in that prison. She is not known for being the morally strong one of their group but her mind will not let it go. Seeing him curled up like that, so weak, so vulnerable, so open to an attack… it’s not alright.

“I’m just saying maybe there’s a reason he was left behind, alright?” Vax says, running a hand through his hair.

“Somebody hurt him.” She snaps. “Somebody did this to him and I would hope that if the same was done for me, you’d hope a stranger would help me.” “What is up with you?” He asks, his voice strangled and frustrated. “Why are you deciding that now is the time you’ll try to be like Kiki?”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” “You know what I mean.” She groans, “I’m not leaving him behind, Vax. Believe it or not, I do have a heart.” “I’m gonna need a little more proof before I believe that.” she punches him in the shoulder (hard enough to hurt a bit, but not too hard. She still loves her brother) before opening the door back to the hallway. She lets Vax through before turning back to look at the crate. She remembers all the clothes that are sitting on the bottom of the crate, and then remembers how dirty their new addition’s clothes are. Probably for the best that he gets a new shirt or maybe more.

She leaves the door open and makes her way back down the hallway, where it is no longer light and Keyleth stands awkwardly. Their new companion shifts from foot to foot, she can see his head twisting around in the dark, as if searching for something or someone. As she approaches, his head turns towards the sound of her footsteps. She can see his eyes even in the dark and sees how they relax just slightly at the sight of her. He starts walking, stopping a few feet in front of her and letting her close the distance until they’re nearly shoulder to shoulder. It’s odd that he’s so much taller than she is. It feels as if it shouldn’t be like that, when he’s so childlike and hunched over. But if he were to stand to his full height with proper posture and all, he’d be a head taller than her, maybe more.

“I think he’s imprinted on you, Vex.” Vax quips from a few feet away. She ignores him pointedly.

“He got scared of the light,” Keyleth explains. “So I put it out. I think now that you’re back I could start it back up though, he feels… safer with you.” “Yeah,” Vex nods to Keyleth and she opens her palm to make Light again. “I think we should get him some clothes, then leave.” She doesn’t turn to look at Vax, she knows her brother well and she knows exactly how much of an apprehensive, disbelieving expression he will have on his face. She leads them down the hallway and back into the sheriff's office where she immediately goes back to the crate, removes the top, and starts pawing through it. The man (should she call him a boy? He’s barely a man) leans over and watches her move things around, looking for clothing that might fit him. He’s thin, leaner than Vax even and most shirts look like they’d be large on him. As she’s doing this, he leans forward farther and grabs a bunch of fabric in his fist, pulling up what looks like a large blue coat. His expression brightens significantly, as he holds the garment out in front of him with one of his hands.

“Is that yours, darling?” Vex asks, and though he cannot possibly understand, he holds out the coat towards her, as if asking her to help him put it on. In his eagerness to pull it on, he even allows her to take the weapon from him, replacing it at her belt for the time being. She takes the coat from him and holds it out in front of her with both hands, it’s navy blue, made of good material if a little dirty, with buttons that are still shiny and pockets that still appear to be laden with small trinkets and the sort. In the last moment before helping him into it, she has the foresight to check the neckline for any indication of where it might have come from, as many garments had stamps from where they were made. But there were no stamps or tags of any kind, just one word, neatly hand stitched into the collar.

Percival.

“Huh.” she says aloud. She looks up into the boy’s blue eyes. “Percival?” Even if he does not know his name, it is obvious that this sparks at least a feeling of some sort. He sways on the spot, his eyes getting that brightness again. He makes a sound, low in his throat, not a whimper like he had before, but one that sounds closer to being content.

“We’ll call you that then.” she decides as she repeats it in her mind. Percival. Percival. Turns it over in her head, remembering how it felt on her tongue. Percival. She tries to seek out any familiarity in it, tries to remember if they’ve met before to give herself a reason for caring for him so much in his vulnerability when she could’ve easily left him to fend for himself. She comes up with nothing. Now, with his coat on, he looks much more regal, more like a grown person rather than a child. It sounds ridiculous to say since she does not know him but he looks more like himself. He looks happier with that coat on, even twists side to side to watch the bottom of the coat flap around.

Before putting on the coat, she chooses a few other garments out of the crate. A white (or what was once white) button up shirt. A pair of pants. And upon realizing he’s barefoot, she grabs boots and socks from the bottom of the crate and tucks them under her arm along with the other clothing. He’s still watching her, staying close. Maybe Vax is right and he has imprinted on her in some way, the same way a duckling imprints on the first animal that it sees after being hatched. She might’ve been the first person to show him kindness after being reduced to this mindspace. She can’t bear the thought of leaving him even more now. Perhaps she’s become a bit irrationally attached the same way he has to her, but she’ll let it go. He’ll be healed and out of this spell in no time, and then she’ll be able to let it go.

It takes a ridiculous amount of time to get the socks and boots onto Percival, but she does it, with not much help from him at all. She’ll wait on the other clothes, on the most likely false hope that Pike will be able to magically fix him as soon as they get back into town.

Before they can head out though, Percival reaches into the crate again. After rifling through it for a few moments, he pulls out the one pair of glasses that had sat at the bottom. It’s a damn miracle they didn’t shatter.

“Yours, too?” she asks, taking them from him and reaching up to place them on his nose. Again, this makes him look that much more right. Judging from the brightness that enters his expression again, this is good. Perhaps he’d been half blind without them.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Keyleth and Vax are suspiciously quiet as they leave the prison building, coming away with a lot more than they had anticipated when heading over here. She knows that Vax is angry with her and Keyleth… well, Keyleth cares about Vax. And about Vex too. Vex does not blame her for feeling conflicted when two of her family disagree like this, even if they are siblings who tend to disagree on the daily. Percival stays close, now trusting her seemingly implicitly. He is allowing her to touch him, gently of course, but she is able to hold the sleeve of his jacket and lead him through the field. He had allowed her to put on his boots, even let her lay a hand on his forearm for a moment. Out of the prison, he is more at ease, Keyleth’s light doesn’t seem to bother him so much. It’s a relief to see that he has stopped shaking so much out of fear, only does he tremble when there’s an unexpected sound or anybody besides Vex gets too close.

They make it back to the town and Percival moves closer to her, choosing between two evils: close contact with Vex or having to be without comfort in the new environment of the town. He flinches at every passerby (even though there are very few at this time of night), jumps at every sound, even sometimes his own footsteps. So he presses himself to her side, holding his weapon with one hand and bunching up the fabric of her jacket with his other. She allows it, trying to soothe as best as she knows how as they make their way back to the tavern.

They reach the front of the tavern, it looks nearly empty now but vex still worries that it’ll be too much for Percival to go in. She can’t exactly leave him outside by himself though, and she doesn’t trust Vax to recount the story of finding him truthfully. So he comes in with them. He takes these steps with relative ease and follows her through the door without hesitation. He shrinks back in on himself, though, when as soon as they enter Grog and Scanlan shoot up from their seats upon recognizing the three half elves. They stop moving towards them, however, when they see the fourth person who arrives with them when they had left the tavern with three.

Surprisingly, Pike is the first to reach them, as if sensing something is off. Percival steps back, looking back towards the door. Vex holds onto his sleeve, keeping him from running when he quite obviously wants to.

“Sorry, dear, you’ve got to stay.” She turns back to Pike. “Long story, but I need you to fix him. I don’t know what it is exactly that’s wrong but I’d hoped you might.” Pike nods, expression resolute. “Let’s go to a back room, come on.”

Vex manages to coax Percival along, following Pike out of the main tavern and into a washroom of some sort. There are candles and things keeping the place bright enough to see, the glow golden and making Pike’s white hair look more yellow. In this enclosed space, Percival seems far more nervous, more like he was when they first found him. Hands shaking, head twisting side to side to try and look at all of his surroundings at once. Vex pats his hand gently, doing her best to help while knowing that the only way to help him, truly, is to heal this spell.

Vex recconts everything wrong with Percival to Pike, who listens in her usual comfortable silence. How he cannot speak, can’t understand a thing they say, his fear, his childlike demeanor. She nods along and after just a few minutes of speaking, she interrupts Vex.

“Feeblemind.” As soon as Pike says it, the connection makes sense. It was just at the back of her mind, an itch she couldn’t understand. She hasn’t interacted with Feeblemind before but from what she has heard, it’s exactly as painful and terrible as she’s heard.

“I don’t have the magic to fix it.” Vex’s shoulders sag at the words, what are they supposed to do? “I’m sure other healers do, we can ask around but I can’t fix him.” “What do we do?” Vex asks, rubbing her face with both of hands. “He can’t exactly take care of himself right now. It’s Feeblemind. The whole point of it is that it takes away all capabilities. I just… gods-” She feels a soft nudge on her shoulder and looks away to see Percival looking at her, blue eyes wide and… there’s concern there, isn’t there? Real, genuine concern. She bites the inside of her cheek, a little perturbed by that fact. That’s the nature of this spell, isn’t it? It makes you less trustworthy but it also has made him put so much trust in her, the person looking out for him, the one who has shown him kindness. He’s making assumptions based on the first thing people do. Vax, and his sharp words. Keyleth, and her magic. Vex, and her gentleness around him. She swallows thickly, the knowledge heavy.

“I’m alright, dear, just tired.” The look on her face must suffice as he leans away and continues watching Pike warily.

“I know,” Pike says. “There’s nothing we can do tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll ask about a healer. But for now, all we can do is watch him and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Maybe give him a bath.” Vex turns to look at Percival, at his grime covered face, at his wide eyes, and the openness on his face when he looks at her. What has she gotten them into?

“Alright.” she sighs. “Let’s go break the news to Vax, hm?”

***

Vax, surprisingly, hadn’t been surprised. He’d simply looked at her knowingly, took a gulp from Scanlan’s drink and audibly sighed. “I’m going to bed.”

When he was gone, Scanlan laughed. “First, Trinket. Now, a full grown man. What’s next? You’re working your way up rather quickly.” She had simply rolled her eyes and not replied, ordered a hot bath in her room, and left before Percival had a panic attack right out in the front room. It hadn’t occurred to her how raucous all of Vox Machina could be when they were in one room, people trying to talk at the same time, laughter as loud as a shout. It was not the correct environment for the Feebleminded, so they left after just a few minutes. Up the stairs, winding through the hallway until they reach her room on the second floor. She opens the door and lets him inside, follows quickly while shutting and locking the door. She drops the clothes she’d brought for him on the floor in a messy pile, and looks back towards Percival. He’s gazing around, taking in the room in its entirety. Quite neat, since she hasn’t yet stayed there for a night. The desk empty except for an empty notebook and a pen. The bed made and the pillows fluffed. There’s a tub in the middle of the room, filled with steaming water.

“You’re covered in dirt.” she says, as a way of explanation even though he couldn’t understand. She feels better giving an explanation, despite it not even counting. She’s torn between two sides of her mind. One side, concerned that he can’t consent to anything in this state, that his mind is that of a toddlers. The other side can’t bear the idea of him sitting and sleeping covered in dirt and mud and what looks like it might be blood. In the end, the latter side wins out and she goes about trying to do this while touching him as little as possible. But she finds that as more time goes on, the more willing he is to let her come near him. His allowances had started as just the occasional brush with fabric between them, and now, not much later in the night, he is letting her slide his jacket off his shoulders, unbutton his shirt. She pushes the thought of “why?” away. This trust isn’t real, and it shouldn’t unnerve her.

She gets it done as soon as possible, stripping him to his bottom layers but leaving on any undergarments. Better to leave some sense of dignity for when he wakes from this state. She does not know the specifics of the spell but she does remember the subject tends to keep most of their memories. He’ll remember exactly how trusting he was, how willing he was, how afraid he was. He’ll remember it all in excruciating detail. She guides him to step into the tub, crouching by the edge as he lowers himself down into the steaming water.

She snatches a rag and a bar of soap from where they were left on the floor beside the tub, holds it in front of herself for a moment. Shs shakes her head, if he couldn’t put on boots by himself, he sure as hell can’t wash himself.

Moving as quick as she can without startling Percival, she removes her coat and rolls her sleeves up past her elbows. He’s looking at her again, and this time, she avoids his eyes. Why? She isn’t quite sure but everything about this feels wrong. She knows that if she were in his position, she would want somebody to clean her but how is she to know if he would want the same. It doesn’t feel right. She pushes away the thought once again, apologizing out loud as she wets the washcloth and lathers the bar of soap against it.

He just watches.

She gathers so many small details about him from this interaction. As she cleans his skin, she finds that under the grime, he is porcelain pale. Paler than her and Vax, the kind of pale that shines under light and seems to glow in the dark. But on that pale skin are a multitude of scars. At first, she writes the scars off as just accidents, maybe from childhood, maybe from the hazard of whatever his occupation is. But the more she finds, the less she is able to write them off. When she reaches his chest, she swallows, averting her eyes. Covered in scars. Same on his back. She washes them clean, trying to ignore their presence but she finds herself tracking them. Keeping track of where they are clustered on his body. Most of the more severe ones reside on his chest and back. But she finds many others scattered around. She tries not to dwell too much.

As she’s finishing with his body, she carefully scoops water in her hands and pours it over his head, trying to avoid his face. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to mind when water trickles down his face, though Vex makes sure to take his glasses. She continues with that process, finding that his hair is much more coated in mud and dirt than what she had originally thought. It’s coated, matted, definitely intentionally so. Like somebody, perhaps Percival himself, had covered the original color in an attempt to disguise himself. As she works to clean off the dried mud, she finds the strangest thing. The hair underneath isn’t brown as she’d originally thought, nor is it blonde, or even red, it’s white. Shock white. Sea shell white. She frowns as the color starts to appear more clearly, the mud finally coming loose. White.

The more she interacts with Percival, the more strange he seems. The hair. The scars. The odd weapon. The more she’s becoming worried, for him and for herself. But he cannot provide an explanation, so she doesn’t ask. Simply continues cleaning him up until the water is cloudy but his hair is white as a lily and his body is scrubbed clean.

She helps him, dripping, out of the tub and wraps a towel around his shoulders. He’s still looking at her, silent and eager. She guides him over to the fireplace, sits him down in front of the fire to dry off before she helps him dress. She’s tired, and just wants this to be over. Just wants to stop feeling guilty for making this man trust him in his most vulnerable state.

She sits on the bed, watching him quietly. It’s been a long day and she just wants to rest but can’t until he falls asleep. She has to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. Then again, the door is locked and he definitely doesn’t know how locks work. If she leaves him be, she’s sure he’ll fall asleep soon enough but she should watch him, right? She’s feeling more and more like a babysitter. That’s really what she is at this point, isn’t it. He trusts no one else. He looks to her like a guardian. She sighs, letting her eyes flutter closed. She should stay awake. She should stay-

When she opens her eyes, the sun is streaming through the window. The early morning sun rays cast a gray-yellow light over her entire room. She shoots to her feet, blinking her eyes rapidly as everything starts to come into focus. Dammit. She knew she shouldn’t have let herself fall asleep, he could have burned himself on the fire, he could’ve figured out the lock, could’ve opened the window, could’ve-

Her eyes come into focus and see the figure lying in front of the dying embers of the fire, exactly where she left him last night. He’s curled up in front of the fireplace, his weapon loosely held in his hand, head tucked against his elbow. She lets out a sigh of relief. What a babysitter she’d be, if she lost the person she’s supposed to be watching on the first night. Hopefully, last night. She goes over to Percival and gently prods his bare shoulder where the towel has slipped away. Guilt pangs in her chest, he’s still undressed. It’s a good thing it isn’t cold at night this time of year or he might’ve gotten sick.

“Percival.” she murmurs. “Come on, it’s time to get you healed.”

His eyes flutter open, confusion first and then are overtaken by relief at the sight of her. She smiles back at him, happy that he’s happy. He looks better today, cleaner for one, and stronger too. Less afraid. But maybe that’s just because he’s alone and it’s quiet.

“Let’s get you dressed.” she says, helping him up. She grabs the clothing off the floor and shakes it to get rid of what dirt and dust settled on it overnight. First, she struggles to help him into the pants, but gets it done as fast as possible. She’s never really done this before and finds it a tad ridiculous to struggle so but moves on from her embarrassment quickly. It’s not his fault he can’t do it himself. Next, the shirt. This is easier. The buttons take awhile to finesse, her fingers are clumsier when trying to do them on somebody else but soon he’s all dressed, coat on his shoulders, glasses on his nose.

“Very refined.” she says with a smile.

He just beams back at her, his hair even whiter in the daylight. She wants more than anything for him to be out of this Feeblemind. She leads him out the door and through the hall, winding her way downstairs until she gets to the main part of the tavern where she’s surprised to find many of her party already there. All they’re missing is Vax. Percival stays close to her side, especially now that there are more than just the other members of Vox Machina in the bar area. But she was right, this morning he has calmed slightly. Whereas last night he would’ve broken down completely from all of the different senses being used, and the amount of people around, he is now just shakily holding onto her arm and staying immeasurably close.

“Your little friend cleans up nice.” Grog says, looking at them both. Percival shrinks back from his huge form, understandably so. Grog is not exactly palatable to those who are especially fearful.

“I talked to the bartender,” Pike pipes up from a stool at the bar. “He says that the healer further in town could take care of him.” “Wonderful.” Vex sighs. “We’ll head there right away. I think it’s better if not all of us go, but I don’t want to go by myself just in case anything goes wrong, familiar faces to him maybe. Keyleth? Pike?”

Both women agree to go, and with a promise of a breakfast for Vex and Percival when they get back, they’re about ready to go.

“Oh, before I leave,” Vex says. “Where’s my brother? He’s usually up by now.” “He’s sulking.” Grog answers. “Something about you, I’m pretty sure. He’s quiet and broody when he’s upset with you.” “Yes, I know.” she grimaces, before walking with Keyleth, Pike, and Percival out of the tavern and out onto the bustling street. Percival huddles against her shoulder, even closer than he was yesterday. Pike has the directions to the healer’s home, she says according to the bartender it���s close enough to walk. Which should be a relief, but Percival significantly slows their pace. He stumbles at the cobblestones, flinches at every passerby, struggles against Vex’s grip when people get too close. She wishes she didn’t have to hold him so close, it feels like a violation of some sort, but if she didn’t, it’s apparent he would break away from them, go hide in the dark the way he was in the prison. He seeks out solace in Vex and Vex alone, everything seems to cause him to flinch, to whimper, to cry out. It pains her to put anyone through this, but finally, they reach the healer’s home. It looks suspiciously like a normal building, made of red brick and with a large oak wood door. Pike saunters up to that door, raising her little hand to knock on the door. There’s a long pause, before the door swings open and they’re faced by an old, elvish woman wearing a nightgown.

“What in hells are you doing here?” The woman's voice is scratchy, her hair gray and frizzy. Knowing how slowly elves age, she must be hundreds of years old in order to appear as if could keel over at any moment. Her nightgown also appears to be old, worn and ripping in places. Vex suddenly has a little less faith that this healer will be able to cure Percival.

“Uh- we’re here for some help.” Pike’s voice is soft, as it usually is. “Our friend is in need of some assistance.”

The woman narrows her eyes at Keyleth, Vex, and Percival, before pointing a long finger at Percival. He shrinks even farther back from them, he’s by far the tallest person in this group, counting the elf woman, but he doesn’t seem like it when he’s bunching up his shoulders, trying to appear as small as possible.

“That one.” she says.

“Yes.” Vex says. “It’s Feeblemind. Can you fix him?”

The woman sniffs, then gestures for them to follow as she turns around and walks on unsteady feet back into the house. For some reason Vex thought a healer, no matter how old, would appear a little less… sickly. But they all follow her inside anyway. The home is small, even more so from the inside, every surface is cluttered and the walls are covered top to bottom in shelves. Some of which are filled with books, but many of which are just laden with trinkets and baubles and other small colorful things. The whole place smells like chamomile, herbs waft from every direction, the combination of smells seems like it should be overwhelming in the sheer quantity of it but it’s actually a quite calming mixture. It seems to put them all at ease; Percival’s shoulders relax slightly, Keyleth clutches her staff a little less tightly. They follow the elf through her home and into the farthest room down the hall, a kitchenette of sorts. It’s very small, containing only a small dining table that could seat two, maybe three people, a stove with a kettle on it, and several shelves, some of which have silverware and dishes in them. The woman is already pouring them tea.

“Uh- what’s your name, miss?” Keyleth asks.

“Lyth.” the woman answers, passing out little teacups and saucers, sloshing some of the tea in the process. The water was obviously not hot enough, so in all of their hands, they’re holding lukewarm cups of weak tea that no one wants to drink. Keyleth takes a few polite sips before placing it back on the table.

“So,” Vex says after a few beats of silence. “You can fix Percival?”

“What? Oh yes.” she waves a hand absently, as if it’s not important at all at this moment.

“Well, then do it.” she puts her little teacup down on the table a little harder than necessary, splashing warm water over her hand and onto the saucer. “That’s why we came here, we don’t need tea.” Lyth grumbles under her breath, Vex only catches a few words but she can piece together to be something about “no manners” and “young people”. She chooses to ignore it. “Yes, yes, stand please.”

Vex begins to stand up before Lyth pushes her back down into her chair roughly by the shoulders, “not you, him!” Mouth agape, Vex twists around to look at Percival, who is shrinking away with the woman, especially after seeing her put hands on Vex and the sound of her voice. “It’s okay, dear, just let her.”

He meets her eyes and she nods, this moment between them where he isn’t paying attention gives Lyth enough time to place her hands on his chest. Percival jerks roughly, trying to pull away as hard as he can, but Lyth is surprisingly strong, managing to keep him in place as the spell starts to work its way through his body. Golden light emits from her hands, spreading through him starting with his chest and then going up to his neck, to his arms, to the very tips of his fingers. For half a second, he is completely aglow before the spell dissipates in a puff of golden mist.

There is silence, silence, silence, before Lyth steps away, and says, “who’s paying me then?”

“Uh, we will. Come on, Kiki.” Pike takes Keyleth's hand and follows Lyth out of the room. The sentiment is clear, Vex had been the one that had been trusted, she had been the one he had clung to, and she is probably the one he would want to speak to first out of his Feebleminded state.

“Hello.” she says, turning her body completely towards him. He’s still got his head ducked, chest rising and falling rather quickly. As she waits, she lets her gaze wander from where his face will appear to the rest of him. His body language has immediately changed. His fist is clenched under the table. His shoulders aren’t bunched but neither are they relaxed, they’re stiff, held tight to give the illusion of relaxation. He keeps his feet flat on the floor, whereas the Feebleminded Percival would often tuck his feet under himself, or hook his feet behind the chair legs. He’s… different. She takes all of this in, gaze searching him and then returning to his face, in just a moment or two. And it only takes that long for him to lift his face and look at her.

He licks his lips, and she waits in anticipation. “Hello.”

She can’t help but let a smile bleed through. His voice is… what is she to say, it’s his voice. It matches everything about him in a way she cannot explain. It just does.

She holds out a hand. “I’m Vex’ahlia.”

He finally meets her eyes. Those blue eyes… they’re different now. They’re colder. Far, far removed from the trusting openness she has experienced for the past twelve hours. Gods, has it only been twelve hours? It felt like days. She couldn’t have expected him to be the same, of course, Feeblemind reduces you to something that is not yourself, you are not under control of yourself nor your emotions. He is not the same. But it still causes her a little pain to immediately see that he no longer trusts her, even if she expected it. She will just have to try to earn it again.

“Percival.” he takes her hand, she notes right away that his palms are rough, calloused. Another strange detail. “You can call me Percy.” “Percy.” she repeats. “It’s nice to meet you, Percy.”

He nods. “It’s good to meet you, too.”

It’s a good thing, she thinks, to act as if this is their first meeting. Because in the end, the Percival she had interacted with was not the real one. Just a watered down, cursed version.

They both open their mouths to speak at the same time, Vex snaps hers shut, gesturing for him to continue.

“I- uh- thank you.” he says, voice quiet and hesitant. As if he doesn’t know how to do this. “For all that you did while I was… you were good to me and I thank you. I don’t think I can properly express my gratitude.”

“You’re very welcome.” she says with a nod. “It was my pleasure.”

He gives a half smile to her, his expression guarded and removed. It’d be a lie if she said that it doesn’t sadden her that he’s suddenly so far away but she lets it go, lets the sadness drift away in a moment. It does not and should not matter what she is feeling, when he was under such a spell.

“Who did that to you?” she asks finally, the question that’s been bouncing around in her mind since finding him in that prison. “How did you find yourself in such a situation?”

Percy hums under his breath, eyes wandering as he seems to be thinking. “It was my own fault, I was careless. And I won’t allow it to happen again. That’s all that really needs to be said.”

Vex would beg to differ but she already suspects this is an argument which she cannot win, that she shouldn’t even try to engage for there would be no point to it. He has already been so exposed to her, physically and emotionally, he deserves this autonomy and dignity. He can close himself off to her, to everyone, she doesn’t care.

“Thank you for keeping my gun.” Percy's voice cuts through her thoughts, she follows his hand to where it’s resting on his waist. Right over the metal contraption. He touches it with the same comfort he had when under the Feeblemind, she had been right, it’s obviously important to him. Something he touches when he’s unsure of where to put his hands. Something he holds for comfort. That all transfers over from Percival to Percy.

“Ah, that’s what it’s called, then.” she says, eyeing it from her seat. “I wondered… what is it exactly?”

He taps the handle of the gun absently. “It’s- difficult to explain. Think of it like a bow and arrow, but more… mechanical. Compact. You’ll get a demonstration someday, I’m sure.”

That doesn’t help her but she nods along, and eventually she rises, “we should head back to the tavern.”

“I-” he hesitates to stand, she can understand why. He was never meant to come into town, he was never meant to meet Vox Machina. Them and him could’ve easily missed each other in every other reality, but now their lives have collided in a way that has entangled them together and Vex is not sure how to disentangle it. Or if she even wants to.

“Come have a drink with us, darling.” she finds herself saying. “Just one. Then you can get us out of your hair.”

This decision of his, this agreement to one (just one!) drink is probably the one that damned him. One drink became many, one night became hundreds. It’s not his fault. The threads of their lives became so tangled and nobody ever seemed to try and untie the knots. They just let it happen. He never really realizes just how much he has let her become a part of him until she’s gone, and then returns. Until he goes, and then returns. Eventually, he comes clean. Eventually, he tells them exactly which evil woman gave him those scars, took away his mind, and locked him in a jail. Eventually, he learns to trust.

He tries to forget about the circumstances of their meeting. It’s difficult, as the other members of their party are often so insistent about teasing him. But he brushes it off, too embarrassed of how he acted, of how he presented himself with so little care. After a while, they have new memories to associate with him, new things to tease him about, that they seem to let go the way he was when they met. He doesn’t speak of it. Neither does Vex. at least not until it is years later. He’s sitting on a bed, on their bed, and it’s almost as if he comes to. As if he is waking up from a very, very long sleep.

“Vex?” “Hm, yes, dear?” she replies from where she is leaning over the desk that’s against the wall of their room in Whitestone. In his home. She’s scribbling at papers, sorting out some last minute numbers before bed. She’s dressed in a nightgown, her hair loose and falling over her shoulders. She’s beautiful.

“Do you remember when we met?” she stops writing, freezing in place. They never really speak of it. Only when Ripley is a part of the conversation do they even think of it, and they never talk about Ripley either. It’s an unspoken rule. Percy doesn’t like to hear about it, to think about it, to speak of it.

“Of course.” she says finally, putting down her pen.

“And the way I was?” “Yes. You were Feebleminded.”

“And you helped me.” She doesn’t say anything for a long time, just leans back in her chair and looks at him. “I did.” “Why did you? Help me, I mean.”

This, too, takes a longer than normal amount of time to reply to. Vex is quick, silver tongued, and prides herself on being able to outwit anyone she comes up against. It says more than a lot that she is thinking about her answer with so much care, taking the time to arrange her words in her mind before speaking them aloud.

“It wasn't out of pity.” she finally says, slowly.

“Wonderful start, dear.” he says with a laugh.

“Oh, shush, I’m thinking.

“I was… I don’t know, truly, Percy. I think I was lonely. And something in me couldn’t let you go.” she pulls one of her knees up to her chest, leaning her cheek against it as she stares off into the distance as she speaks. “I thought about it then and I’ve thought about it ever since. My brother bothered me about it and I never came up with a sufficient answer. I saw you, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t turn my back on you.” “It wasn’t love at first sight, then?” “Percival, I’m trying to be sweet and you’re making this very difficult.” she stands and goes to him, places her hand on either side of his face. She smiles down at him, and in this moment, as he thinks about what she had said, he understands. Never, in any life, can he imagine leaving her to the wolves, turning his back on her. Even if his memory was wiped clean, if they did not know each other, he wants to believe he’d do the same. Now, years later, he still remembers what it was like being under the Feeblemind. Fear. Lights everywhere. Voices ten times louder than they’d usually be. It was a sensory assault from every direction, and he was so scared. Everything hurt and all he wanted was to crawl into the dark even though that scared him too. But there, in the center of it all, was Vex. A calm in the storm. The only reason he crawled out of the dark. The only reason he removed his mask.

“You’ve got a strange look.” Vex comments, her thumbs brush under his eyes softly.

“I’m only thinking,” he says. “I love you, Vex.”

She smiles, a warm smile that reaches all the way to her eyes. “I know. And I love you, Percy.”

She leans down to place a kiss on his forehead. And he thinks he has never been more awake before this moment. Maybe he has been half awake for as long as he can remember. Maybe his mind has still been addled by the Feeblemind until right now. He is whole, awake, alive, in love. It’s more than he had ever hoped for.

[ravendruid]

Be In My Eyes - Chapter 4

You can read Chapters 1-3 here or on AO3. Thank you so much everyone for all the support. I hope you enjoy this long-ass chapter. <3

Ding. The elevator doors opened on the seventh floor. A short girl with pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes walked out, carrying a backpack that looked both too heavy and too big for her size, not to mention that she did not look like she was old enough to be in college.

The girl watched the doors close again and then turned toward the wooden door that led to the stairs just in time to see a tall, strong-built guy walk out. He was carrying one suitcase on each arm and had a big backpack on his shoulders. His face beamed into a smile as he saw the small girl.

“Oh! I almost beat you, Pike.” He said, setting down one of the suitcases before the girl. 

“You almost did, Grog!” She chuckled at him. Pike grabbed the suitcase, and they walked down the corridor, looking for their apartment number.

—

Keyleth and Korrin were eating in the living room when the door to the apartment opened, and in walked the tallest guy and the shortest girl Keyleth had ever seen. She quickly rose to her feet, followed by her dad, and rounded the couch to welcome them.

  “Oh! Hello! I’m Pike,” The girl introduced herself. “You must be one of our roommates.”

  “Yes! I’m Keyleth. Nice to meet you.” Keyleth waved. “This is my dad. He has been helping me move in.” Keyleth gestured toward Korrin, who had rounded up the couch and extended his hand to Pike and the other guy.

  “I’m Korrin. Nice to meet you.”

  “Hi, I’m Grog.” The tall guy said as he shook Korrin’s hand, who winced a little at the strength of the handshake.

  “It seems like our trio is complete, then,” Keyleth said excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Come on. I’ll show you to our room.” 

  Keyleth walked through the open bedroom door with Pike in tow just as Vex closed the wardrobe door after putting away the few clothes she had.

  “Ah… This is our other roommate.” Keyleth gestured bashfully to Vex.

  “Hello. I’m Vex’ahlia. Nice to meet you.” Vex greeted them with a smile and stepped back into the room to let them in. Upon hearing people in the room, Trinket lifted his big head from his paws to see what the commotion was about.

  “Nice to meet you, Vex’ahlia. I’m Pike.” The blonde girl greeted. “Oh! You have a dog. He’s so cute!”

  “Yes, his name is Trinket. I hope you don’t mind him.” Trinket jumped out of the bed, tail wagging, and moved towards Pike, who quickly stuffed her hands in his fur and petted him.

  “Oh, not at all. I love dogs. You’re such a good boy, aren’t you, Trinket?” Pike cooed, not needing to bend down much to pet him, seeing that Trinket was almost as tall as her.

—

After they all finished unpacking, the girls and Grog gathered in the living room – Keyleth taking the armchair closest to the bookshelf – and decided to order some pizzas for a housewarming party. They were discussing toppings when the front door opened with a loud thud, followed by a grunt.

“Oops. Sorry.” 

They all turned towards the door to see what was happening, and Trinket got up from where he lay at Vex’s feet to round the couch to investigate.

The apparent source of the noise came from a short guy with brown hair, dressed in ostentatious purple clothes, who was holding an equally flashy purple suitcase, much bigger than him, a smaller white suitcase, and what looked like to be a ukelele bag on his back. 

Behind him was another guy, although taller, dressed in a fancy blue coat, khaki pants, and a white buttoned shirt. His hair was stark white, and behind his rounded golden glasses stared a pair of piercing blue eyes.

Vex and Pike got up to help the newcomers with their luggage, wheeling their suitcases inside so that there was enough room to close the door behind them.

“Hello, ladies!” Said the shorter man, looking at the girls. “My name is Scanlan Shorthalt, and I will be your handsome savior and protector for the school year. Fear not, beautiful damsels,” he said, getting closer to the girls and holding Pike’s hand, kissing the back of it, “with the Scanman nearby, no harm will come to you.” He clutched Vex’s hand, and before he could kiss it, a voice came from the living room.

“Oy! They don’t need you protecting them,” Grog had gotten up and crossed the room to stand directly behind Pike. “That’s what I’m here for.” He said intimidatingly. 

Sclanlan quickly backed away, stumbling onto the white-haired guy still waiting at the door. “I apologize!” He said, raising his hands in a surrender pose.

“Nice to meet you, Scanlan,” Pike said with a kind smile. “My name is Pike. And who are you?” She asked the white-haired guy.

“I am Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III.” He said, straightening his back and pushing his glasses higher on his nose bridge. Seeing everyone staring at him with open mouths, he sighed and added, “You can call me Percival or Percy, I guess.”

“Well, Percival,” Vex’ahlia said in a sultry voice, “welcome to apartment 7B. My name is Vex’ahlia, but you can call me Vex.” 

If anyone noticed Percy’s cheeks flushing as he nodded in acknowledgment, no one said a thing.

“And this is my brother, Grog. Please don’t pay him any mind.” Pike gestured behind her, rolling her eyes.

“Brother?” Scanlan asked, looking up. They did not look alike at all.

“Yes. Grog was adopted by my grandpa when we were young, and we grew up together as siblings.” Pike explained.

“Yeah, don’t worry. That’s a very normal reaction.” Grog added with a smile.

“Please, come in.” Vex’ahlia gestured to the living room. “We were about to order some pizzas if you want to join us.”

“That sounds great. I’m starving.” Scanlan said, following her into the living room, quickly followed by Percy and Pike.

“You can sit on the couch.” Pike pointed at Percy. “I’ll sit on the floor.”

Percy nodded and took the empty seat on the gray couch next to Vex’ahlia. Only then did he and Scanlan notice the other person, a red-haired girl wearing a yellow dress.

“Oh! Another beautiful lady!” Scanlan said with a grin, approaching Keyleth, who immediately retracted her hands to her lap. 

“H– Hi. I’m Keyleth.” She mumbled nervously. However, it seemed like Scanlan had gotten the message because instead of trying to take her hand, he shortened his smile and took a brief bow.

“Nice to meet you, Keyleth. I’m Scanlan.”

“And this is Trinket.” Vex’ahlia gestured to the big dog resting at her feet, wagging his tail. 

“There’s one bed available in each room,” Pike said. “You can either bunk with Grog or with Vex’s brother.”

“I’ll take the big guy. Sorry, Percival von Musseldorf.”

“That’s not–Ugh.” Percy sighed and raised the palm of his hand to his brow. “Alright, then.”

“Come, I’ll show you to your room.” Vex winked at Percy and beckoned him to follow her.

Vax was sitting on his bed reading a pamphlet with the dorm rules when his sister barged in, followed by a tall, white-haired, snotty-looking dude who carried two suitcases. Vax snorted at that. Good luck stuffing that many clothes in that tiny ass wardrobe.

“This is my brother, Vax,” Vex’ahlia turned to Percy. 

“Nice to meet you, Vax. I am Percival Fredric–”

“You can call him Percy,” Vex interrupted. Vax nodded in acknowledgment.

“Can I help you with something, sister?”

“Well, we are going to order some pizzas and hang out in the living room, and I wanted to know what kind of pizza you two would like,” Vex said, sitting on Vax’s bed. 

“I think I’ll stay in the room tonight,” Vax answered. 

“No, you’re not. You will have dinner with us and socialize like a normal person, Vax.” She stared daggers at him. Vax rolled his eyes at her but admitted defeat. 

“Cheese pizza is fine, then.”

“How about you, Percival?” Vex’s sultry voice returned. And so did the blush on Percy’s cheeks.

“Ah… Vegetarian? No olives, though.” Percy replied. He turned around pretending to open his suitcase, but he was trying to hide the redness in his cheeks.

“Alright. See you all later!” Vex left the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Vax and Percy in uncomfortable silence as Percy started unpacking his things.

—

The group gathered around the living room coffee table two hours later. Vax was sitting on the couch between his sister and Keyleth; Percy and Grog had picked the armchairs, and Pike and Scanlan sat on the floor.

They had gotten four different types of pizza: vegetarian for Keyleth and Percy, cheese for the twins, triple meat for Grog and Pike, and just plain pepperoni for whoever wanted it, which was mostly just Scanlan. They also had bought beers for everyone after Scanlan claimed that every housewarming party needed alcohol and music, which he also provided by connecting his phone to the speakers in the living room.

“Let’s get to know each other a little, shall we?” Scanlan said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Everyone cheered at the idea. However, Vax felt Keyleth tense right next to him, noticing her knuckles turn white against the bottle in her hands.

“Let’s start with an easy one. What is everyone studying?” Pike asked with a soft smile.

“I’m majoring in theater,” Scanlan answered. 

“Yep, that checks out.” Vex laughed.

“I’m doing sports,” Grog answered next. 

“By doing sports, he truly means doing sports. Grog is not very fond of studying.” Pike teased.

“Engineering for me,” Percy replied, fixing his glasses on his nose bridge.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Vex winked at Percy, who blushed immediately. “Vax and I are both doing the pre-med program, but I’m going into Veterinary afterward.”

“Wait, for real?” Pike asked excitedly. “I’m doing pre-med as well! I’m hoping to follow into medical studies.” 

“That is so cool! Does that mean we’ll have classes together?” Vex asked. 

“Yep, we sure are!” Pike answered. “How about you, Keyleth?” Keyleth blushed as all eyes turned toward her – all except for Vax, who was particularly keen to look at his own hands. 

“I–I’m majoring in Biology, so I think I might have a few classes in common with you all too.”

“Biology? That’s so cool. So all of us girls are science majors.” Pike said proudly. 

“Yes, big-brain girls,” Grog said, grinning.

“Where’s everyone from?” Scanlan asked, sipping on his beer.

“Grog and I are from Westruun, a town not far from here.”

“I’m from Whitestone. It’s pretty far from here and very cold most of the time.” Percy said, as a matter of factly.

“Vax and I are from here,” Vex said quickly. Keyleth could see Vax tense from the corner of her eye, and when she looked up, he was staring at his sister in confusion. 

“I’m from Marquet,” Scanlan announced, winking at the girls.

“And you, Keyleth?” Percy asked this time, bringing her attention back to the conversation.

“Me what?”

“Where are you from?” Vex’ahlia asked with a soft smile.

“Oh. I’m from Zephrah. It’s… on the Summit Peaks.”

“I’ve heard of it, the Summit Peaks. Not too far from Stilben, correct?” Percy asked, to which Keyleth nodded. 

Vax felt Keyleth relax next to him as the conversation moved on. He risked a peek in her direction and noticed her fidgeting with the label of the practically empty bottle of beer on her lap. He lifted his eyes toward her face and saw her looking down, her face still slightly pink from blush and the freckles across her nose prominent against her porcelain skin. Vax’s heart skipped a beat as her bright green eyes met his, filled with curiosity, nervousness, and something else he couldn’t pinpoint.

Keyleth let out a sigh as the conversation moved on. She hated being the center of attention and was never comfortable in big social gatherings, even though she had to attend a few due to her father’s work. However, Keyleth still felt like she was being watched, and when she looked up, she saw Vax looking at her curiously. His cheeks flushed a little when he realized she had caught him staring, and he turned his gaze away toward his lap. 

Vax didn’t seem comfortable either. He had been quiet all night, only briefly answering if questions were directed at him. Keyleth understood how that felt and realized she didn’t feel uncomfortable with him looking at her or just his presence near her. From the corner of her eyes, Keyleth saw him grab his phone and start playing a puzzle game she always played whenever she wanted to distract herself from real life. She allowed a smile at the coincidence and made a mental note to ask him about it later.