Until We Wake
Pairing: Gale/Tav
Warnings: Talk of death, afterlife, angst.
Word Count: 1000 words
A/N - I wanted to try and write something different, and move away from my usual overly-descriptive style.
I hope you like it <3
You are dead.
It was easy in the end. Like taking off a coat youâd been wearing too long.
Thereâs no confusion. You know you are dead, and itâs okayâŠWas okay? Is okay? Time is strange here. Slippery.
You are sitting at the edge of a great lake. Well, not really sitting, not really by a lake, but thatâs how it feels. There is no sunshine, but you can feel the warmth of it on yourâskin? No, not skin. There isnât any skin. There isnât a body at all. You just⊠are.
Itâs nice, actually.
âGod?â A voice, though not a voice, fills the space around you.
âErm, no. Sorry. There may be one around somewhere, though,â you reply.
You sense a kind of exasperation.
âNo,â it says, more insistently. âWhich God is yours? Who did you worship?â
âOh!â Thatâs funny. If you had lungs, you would laugh. âI didnât really worship one.â
The silence that follows is heavy.
Youâve probably given the wrong response and are now going to drift here for eternity in silence. That doesnât seem so bad. Thereâs peace in it.
âBut, uh, I felt close to SelĂ»ne. I knew her daughter, actually. Aylin? I saved her onceâno, twice! From an eternal cycle of ritual torture and sacrifice. Twice!â You pause, waiting for the weight of your heroism to settle in. âCan you write that down? Are you writing things down? I donât really know how this works.â
âI am not writing things down.â
âRight. Okay.â
More time passesâseconds, hours, centuries. It is hard to tell. If experience has taught you anything, itâs that you should probably be a little hesitant about listening to mysterious entities who appear in your unconsciousness. But, for whatever reason, you have no doubt that youâre safe.
âWho are you?â you ask.
âNobody.â
âOh.â Another eternal pause. âSorry, I donât know what that means. I know you donât have a body. I donât either. What I meant to ask is... whatâs your purpose here?â
âTo helpâ
âAh.â You think about that. It feels distant, though, like the thought isnât entirely yours. âCan Withers bring me back? He usually does.â
âNo. Not this time.â
Thatâs alright, you realise. Everything ends.
âCan you tell me how you died?â the voice continues, unhurried.
If sadness existed here, you would feel it.
âI failed somebody. I couldnât convince him he was deserving enough to live. He sacrificed himself. I stayed with him.â
âGale Dekarios,â comes the response. Even now, even here, the sound of his name warms you.
âYes! Thatâs him! Have you met him? Is he here too?â
âHe is not.â
You pause, a moment of confusion or relief, itâs hard to say. Perhaps heâs with Mystra.
He had followed her order, hadn't he? He had used the orb. Perhaps he was cradled back in her starlit palm. Perhaps he was finally fulfilled.
âHeâs probably with his Goddess,â you say, matter-of-factly.
âHe forgot his Goddess. At the end, he thought only of you.â
Right. He had said something like that once. On a boat he had built out of hope and stardust. It felt like a lifetime ago. You wish you had said more to himâsomething different. You should have been more convincing, made him see he was more than magic, more than martyrdom. He was kind. Funny. So very human.
Not anymore.
âWill I see him again?â
âMaybeâ
This voice thatâs not a voice is not hugely helpful. It feels distant. Somehow big and small. Like many voices, or none, all at the same time.
âI let him down,â you whisper, though no sound leaves you.
âHe forgives you.â
What do they know of Gale? This mysterious spectre. Maybe itâs just your own thoughts, your desperation, trying to clutch at forgiveness. Maybe death has splintered you into fragments of yourself whispering back and forth. Maybe the afterlife is nothing more than talking to yourself in the quiet, with no one left to answer. A conversation in circles, where you are both the call and the response.
âYou loved him" they say. It isn't a question.
âI did. I do. I always will.â
It's lucky you don't have a heart. It would be in splinters.
âWould you like to try again?â The voice offers.
Your thoughts pause, grasping at the idea. âYou mean, go back? To the start? Is that possible?â
âSometimes. Under certain circumstances.â
A chance to try again. At what? Saving Gale? Having a better life? A better death? Eventually finding your way back to this place, with no regrets holding you back?
You would like that.
âWill I remember this?â
âNo.â
âWill he?â
âNo.â
You could have had this conversation hundreds of times before, or perhaps it is the first and only. It is impossible to know.
âOk. Yes, please.â
You can feel the pieces of yourself starting to come apart, like threads of a tapestry being unspooled by the oldest and gentlest of hands.
You reach out for those delicate, golden threads on instinct, but they slip away, and it is hard to know whether you are letting go of them or they are letting go of you.
Scratch the Dog. Karlachâs laughter. Night Orchids. Sunlight on scarred skin. Homemade cookies. Gale. Magic. A kiss.
You try to hold them tighter.
âHow do I know I wonât make the same mistakes all over again?â you ask.
âYou donât,â the voice that wasnât a voice says.
A silver sword. A man with horns dancing. Pipe smoke and bear fur. Taverns and temples and soft touches. Gale.
Youâre trying to hold so many of them, you have to let others go. What is your name again? How old are you? Who were your parents?
Moonlight through shadow. A boat on make-believe water. A hand in yours. A purple dagger.
âWill I still be me?â Youâre no longer sure what that means.
âThat depends.â
The lake that wasnât a lake, the warmth that wasnât the sun, all of it begins to fade. You feel yourself pulled away, or maybe pulled together. You arenât sure whichâyou just know youâre going somewhere, somewhen.
The voice speaks a final time as everything ends. As everything begins.
âWho are you?â
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Like Real People Do, Chapter Fourteen
Gale Dekarios x Named! Tav
Chapter Synopsis: It's time to take the fight to Ketheric Thorm. The battle at Moonrise leaves Seraphina with as much joy as it does despair.
18+ | MDNI
Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Four and a Half. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine. Chapter Nine and a Half. Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven. Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen.
Read on ao3.
Word Count: 5.7k
Notes: Oops, I took a hiatus. Shout out to anyone who endures this long ass chapter! I also can now safely say this fic will definitely not end on Chapter 16. But it also can't end on an odd number because that would irk me lol.
Learn more about my Tav, Seraphina.
Chapter Fourteen: Condemn the World
âSomeone please blast the one casting this spell!â
Seraphina could barely make out Shadowheartâs shout over the yells and screams that filled the room. She coughed and winced as she rapidly blinked her eyes, struggling to see through the cloud of darkness that was cloaking her in cold and forcing acid into her lungs. She yelped as she bumped into someone who quickly grabbed her arm.
âLove, is that you?â
âGale, follow me.â
With Gale clinging to her, Seraphina forced her way out of the blackness, her vision clearing. The assault on Moonrise had become a chaotic bloodbath. The bodies of Absolutists and Harpers littered the floor. Arrows rained down from the rafters. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and the air was full of steam from ice magic and raging fires.Â
The glory of battle made Seraphinaâs blood run hot.
âTormentum!â She yelled, launching magical projectiles at the absolutist concentrating on the Hunger of Hadar cloud. A ray of frost from Gale quickly killed the warlock.
A roar came from behind her, and in a blur, a blonde elf sprinted past her, bringing down his warhammer on a cultist. Seraphina liked seeing Vadan in action again. He was a formidable warrior, if not slightly reckless â just like he was being right that moment.
Seraphina let out a choking sound as she leapt forward and used her shield to bash a cultist that was sprinting towards Vadan. The barbarian spun around and crushed the personâs skull.
âYou still donât pay attention to your right flank,â she huffed.
âEverybody keeps a cleric around for a reason,â Vadan smirked. His playful expression suddenly dropped. âDuck!â
Seraphina dropped to her knees and Vadan swung his hammer at the enemy behind her. At that same moment, she sent a witch bolt towards a paladin emerging from the central room of the Tower.
âItâs nice to see you donât hate me,â he said, yanking her to her feet. âStill saving my hide after all this time.â
âDonât get it twisted. I resent most things about you,â Seraphina replied. She shut her mouth immediately. Either the heat of battle, with the risk of annihilation, had made her bluntly honest or Astarionâs sharp tongue had rubbed off on her.
She zapped the paladin again and her eyes scanned the room. She relaxed as she saw that Gale was fine and skillfully freezing a few Absolutists to death.
âJust be smart,â Seraphina said quickly. Without hearing his reply, she sprinted away towards Wyll, touching his shoulder with a murmur to heal some of his wounds as he blasted at two archers on the rafters. As one was sent flying to the ground, the other dodged an eldritch blast, shooting an arrow down. Seraphina grunted as the arrow grazed her, slicing through her armor.
As she looked up, prepared to summon a spiritual weapon to maim the man, the shadows behind him shifted. Astarion leapt from the darkness, lodging his dagger in the archerâs throat. His body tumbled down, a sickening crunch ringing out as he met the stone floor.
âHarpers! We have them on the back foot. Push forward!â Jaheira shouted. The Harpers responded with a thunderous yell and, like a wave, began to close in, forcing the cultists to retreat into the main room of the Towers.
Leading the charge was Vadan. As she watched him rush forward, her skin quivered. Her chest tightened. Time seemed to slow down. An Absolutist had suddenly turned, now facing Vadan, and he was raising his sword. Slowly, ever so slowly, Seraphina could see the divine magic beginning to imbue his weapon. She forced air into her lungs as she lifted her hand and pointed at the paladin.Â
Bend his luck she commanded, calling out to the Weave and Tymora.
She felt the Weave twist under her control. There was a slight flash on the sword. But then it lit up fully with a blinding white light. And the paladin swung. Bile rose up in her throat as she watched the smite come down onto Vadan. As his chest caved in, a cry escaped Seraphina. But he still stood.
She blinked and time was normal again as Vadan stumbled back, raising his hammer, but the paladin swung again. With the second smite, Vadanâs body crumbled to the ground. As soon as he fell, Karlach swung her axe up, slicing through the paladinâs jaw and face, killing him.
âVadan!â Seraphina yelped. As she fell to her knees next to him, she croaked another pained sound. His eyes were wide, but unseeing. His breastplate was destroyed, and she could see into his inner chest cavity.
âNo. No. No no no,â she chanted as she pulled out a healing potion. She could feel and vaguely hear the soldiers and her own party rushing past her. The fight seemed to vanish for a moment as she focused in on Vadanâs body in front of her. Her breathing quickened as sobs shook her body.Â
âCome, cub,â Jaheiraâs voice drifted in and out of Seraphinaâs ears. âThere is a battle to be fought yet.â
âWe canât leave him here. We have to help him.â
âHe is gone. He will not rise again.â
âThen I must pray for his soul,â Seraphina choked out.
âYou will die if you stay here,â the druid insisted. âBattle is not the time for mourning the fallen, lest we join them. Come. We must finish this.â
The sorcerer looked up, taking in the carnage around her, and looked back down at Vadanâs body in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands to his chest.
âLady Luck, I commend this brave soul to your care. Vadan bravely embraced risk and faced the unknown,â she murmured quickly. âThough the dice have fallen and his journey here has ended, I trust your favor and the winds of fortune to carry Vadan to your side, where he may bask in your eternal light.â
She cursed herself for forgetting the full prayer, butâŠthere was no time. Jaheira yanked on her arm again and Seraphina looked back once more before her feet carried her up the stairs, after her companions, and towards the roof of Moonrise.Â
Numbness was all she felt as they battled Ketheric Thorm. Even as they whittled him down with the great help of Dame Aylin, it didnât feel like they were winning. It felt like Beshaba herself had intervened when the General disappeared with the aasimar.Â
Seraphina gazed down into the amalgamation of flesh and tendons that extended down, down, down into the tower, a menacing pinkish glow emanating out of the abyss. If any of them had any hope of survival, there was only one path forward. There was no choice.
She had jumped headfirst into the Hells to challenge an archdevil. This would be no different. A Hellwhisper didnât run from danger. She didnât run from it. Not from the danger that threatened her life, the life of her friends, and all the Sword Coast. Not from the evil that had taken Vadanâs life.
She turned back to her party and dropped to her knees, shaking several potion bottles of out her pack.
âDrink one of these. All of you. Weâre going in after him now.â
x x x
âOh hells,â Seraphina muttered. She clutched her lucky coin and recited a prayer to Tymora. If she was even still listening.
âIâm starting to realize it is a horrible idea to keep following you around,â Astarion chimed in.
âIf you all had helped me locate a crĂšche, perhaps we wouldnât be here,â Laeâzel whispered.
âCan you all shut your traps? Thatâs Gortash up there!â Karlach hissed.
Even as their party bickered and tried to determine the best strategy, there was one voice Seraphina didnât hear. She turned, searching for her love, and her body went cold as she found him standing off to the side, his face painted with distress as he clutched his chest.
âLook at that crown,â Gale murmured. âIt radiates with power unlike anything Iâve ever seen. To have itâŠto holdâŠif only I couldâŠâ
âGale?â Seraphina approached him, placing a hand on his arm.
He shook his head, not looking at her.
âThis is it. I must do as Mystra commands.â
Seraphinaâs eyes widened as fear coursed through her. No. He wouldnât. He couldnât.
âGale, no. You canât do this. Youâll kill all of us!â
âWhat choice do I have? This isnât just about Mystra or myself; whole worlds hang in the balance.â
Seraphina grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down closer to her. She wasnât going to let him die. They werenât going to die today. They couldnât.
âForget all of that. Listen to me: You can choose me. You can choose us, and weâll find a way to end this together,â she pleaded.
âAnd if we donât?â
âThen weâll fail and die together, but at least we did it on our own terms. At least it was a choice we made, not one that was demanded of us by the gods. But weâll try. We will.â
Gale squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead against Seraphinaâs, his jaw clenched. Tears welled in her eyes.
âPlease. Please, Gale. I love you. I love you enough to keep living and keep trying.â
âI love you too,â he whispered, his voice cracking. âMore than myself. More than Mystra.â
He leaned back, lifting a hand to cup her face, his thumb caressing her cheekbone.
âYouâve shown me so much already,â Gale said. âIâll trust you. Even if I condemn the world, I choose you,â Gale said. She grabbed his hand that held her face and squeezed it.
âThen letâs do the impossible,â she whispered.
x x x
Though they had done exactly that, it didnât feel right.
Even as all her companions stood around her, alive and well, if not battered and bruised, something felt off. They had returned to camp, drinking and laughing and their victory, while bodies sapped of their warmth and souls, including Vadanâs, laid under freshly dug mounds of dirt.
She sat away from the celebrations, gazing off into the darkness near the river. She filled her goblet again, the bottle that sheâd snuck away for herself nearing its end. She thought of Vadanâs doting parents, his goofy and adorable little sister, and his twin. Oh, gods, his twin. She wondered if Almar felt it when Vadanâs soul left this plane.
Sheâd buried comrades before, but never someone that she had thought she would be with until her last day. Someone that a part of her still loved, even after everything. Heâd died and her luck hadnât been enough to save him. Did she even have any luck at all? Beshabaâs offer crept at the edges of her mind.
And then Galeâs chuckle reached her ears. He wasnât dead. He hadnât blown himself and their entire party up at the command of a cruel goddess. He chose to believe in Seraphina and the hope that they could find another way. That counted for something.Â
Seraphina let out a shaky breath and wiped the tears from her face.
âDrinking by yourself is hardly a proper way to enjoy a victory.â
The tiefling jumped as the High Harper sat down next to her.
âI needed time alone,â Seraphina replied.
âYour wizard is waiting for you. Even if youâre not there, he makes up for it with how much he goes on and onabout you,â the druid laughed.
Sweet, sweet Gale. She should be wrapped up in him right now, but he deserved better than to suffer her moping.
âI have a confession to make, if you can endure someoneâs company at the moment,â Jaheira said. Seraphina glanced at her.
âI...I was happy for Vadan when he told me that he had found love. Admittedly, I already had my suspicions when he kept asking for the same Tymoran cleric to be given clearance to accompany him on his missions,â the half-elf chuckled. âI traveled with the one I loved. There is hardly a better feeling than fighting side-by-side and then getting to rest together when the sun sets.â
Seraphina nodded, turning to look over her shoulder at her companions. Her eyes drifted towards Gale, flushed from the wine and laughing with Karlach and Halsin. He seemed lighter, almost bouncing on his feet. They would get to rest together tonightâŠat some point.
âBut then the reports began to pile up. The reports that the cleric was getting my Harpers, including Vadan, injured with their wild magic surges. You see, Vadan had failed to mention that little detail.â
Seraphina stared into her goblet, watching the ripples in the wine. She would never forget those adventures. She thought her and Vadan were invincible. She was so naĂŻve.Â
âBut he swore that you were worth the risk. Not just for him, but for the Harpers as a whole. He said that you were resilient, powerful, and determined to vanquish evil wherever you found it. He told me that his wild love could serve us well.â
Seraphinaâs stomach churned. She could hear Vadanâs voice now.
âMy wild love,â he chuckled as he cut away the vines that had entangled him after she had a wild magic surge.Â
âMy wild love,â he murmured as he kissed her awake, sunlight streaming in through a gap in the tent.
âI believed him until theâŠincident in the Dessarin Valley,â Jaheira continued, bringing Seraphina back for a minute.
Seraphina immediately drained her glass, forcing her body to focus on the function of swallowing, on the warmth that that the wine was spreading through her. Focus on blinking. Focus on breathing. Anything to keep from remembering the blood on her hands.
âAre you listening, cub? Do you remember?â Jaheira asked.
The tiefling gulped.
âI wouldnât be able to forget it,â Seraphina replied bitterly. The memories began to swim behind her lids.Â
Flashes of the brutal battle in the Valley, fighting off cultists attempting to summon powerful entities from the Elemental Planes. She was there again, horror and fear piercing her heart as a wild magic surge sent out a wave of necrotic magic from her body. Harpers collapsed around her, some dead. She watched Vadan fall again in her mindâs eye, the veins in his body turning a sickly black and green as the magic nearly consumed him. The image shifted and suddenly it was his cold, dead body on the floor of Moonrise.
âWhy have you come to talk to me, Jaheira?â the sorcerer said much more sharply than she intended.
âBecause after you nearly wiped out an entire squadron of my Harpers, I told Vadan that you were no longer allowed to travel with us. I told him that he should leave you before you got him killed,â Jaheira took a sip of her wine. âHe took his leave for the wedding and then suddenly, he came right back. Told me that I was right about you. But now, after todayâŠâ
Seraphina refilled her glass and looked over, expecting to see disgust and hatred on the druidâs face, only to seeâŠadmiration.
âAfter today, I see that I was wrong. I misjudged you and I could not have been more wrong. You have slain Ketheric Thorm and, without hesitation, you are marching on to slay the rest of the Chosen of the Dead Three. IâŠI apologize for leading Vadan away from you,â Jaheira murmured. âI feel as if I robbed you two of happiness. Maybe you wouldnât even have a tadpole in your head if you had married. Maybe he wouldnât have fallen today.â
Seraphina looked over to Gale again. This time, his eyes flicked up and he met her gaze. His smile grew, lopsided and silly, and he winked at her. She sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the thread that was pulling her towards him, as if she needed to by his side.
No. She did need to be by his side. They never wouldâve met if Vadan hadnât left her. If she hadnât been in Yartar that fateful day, the mind flayer ship wouldnât have taken her to the beach where she met the man that made her soul feel more peace and confidence than she ever thought possible. The man who needed her as much as she needed him. Everything had led to this moment.
âI appreciate the apology, Jaheira, but there really is no need. Vadan and IâŠour relationship served a purpose for both of us. We changed each other. We made good, bad, and ugly memories together,â Seraphina replied. âBut Iâm glad that he didnât come to our wedding that day. I was angry for a long time. Hells, if you had said that to me a few months ago, I probably wouldâve snapped.â
Her and Jaheira chuckled.
âBut I ended up right where I needed to be,â Seraphina continued. âAnd I suppose Vadan did too. He wasâŠhe was a fierce warrior. A man who would give a stranger the clothes off his back. He died trying to destroy the Absolute today and we will march on in his memory.â
Jaheira lifted her goblet.
âTo Vadan,â she smiled sadly.
âTo Vadan,â Seraphina repeated. They both took a sip from their glasses.
âNow, letâs get you away from this gloomy shore,â Jaheira said. She stood and held down a hand to the cleric, pulling her to her unsteady feet.
âAs much as you mourn tonight, you should celebrate those you have by your side,â Jaheira continued. She smiled as she shooed the younger woman away.
Seraphina blinked rapidly to try and clear her vision and made her way over to the fire. Gale smiled at her as she approached, and he set down his goblet before wordlessly and firmly grasping her waist and pulling her close to him. He hummed happily as she melted into his touch. His forwardness was a welcome surprise. She didnât want to take the lead. She wanted him to take her hand and guide her out of the despair she was in and towards pleasure or sleep in his arms.
âI thought I was going to go mad if you stayed away any longer,â Gale whispered, his breath tickling Seraphinaâs ear. His hands glided across her body, his arms now fully wrapped around her and encasing her against him. She could feel the thud of his heart against her cheek, echoing all around her.
Suddenly, Gale leaned back, shaking his head.
âGods, I forget myself. Iâm sorry. How are you doing?â he asked, his eyes no longer half-lidded and hazy, but wide with concern. He lifted one hand and brushed her bangs away from her face.
âIâŠIâm alright,â Seraphina murmured.
âTruly? Are you sure? If you want to talk about what happened or about Vadan, I understand. My ears are here if you have need of them.â
Seraphina nodded. Of course he was attempting to check on her, as if he wasnât on the verge of self-destruction mere hours ago. She didnât deserve him. She pushed herself onto her toes and pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes.
âThank you, Gale,â she sighed. âMaybe another night, but tonight I just want to be with you and think of nothing else.â
Gale pulled away and looked at her skeptically. As much as she adored how he cared for her, his concern wasnât what she wanted right now. Seraphina softly grabbed his face and kissed him. His lips immediately began to move against hers, gently, like she was a glass that he was afraid of shattering.
âHey! Get a room you two!â
Something bounced off Seraphinaâs head and she separated from Gale to see a stale bread roll on the ground. Karlach had her arm raised, prepared to launch another.Â
âLet them have their moment, Karlach,â Wyll laughed. âThings couldâve ended quite horribly for all of us today.â
Karlach sighed.
âFine. Fine. At least someone is having some serious fun tonight,â she said.
âOh, you donât have to go to bed alone, Karlach,â Astarion commented.
âAre you offering, Fangs?â
âHa! No, but I was going to remind you about that âold eyeâ you said Withers was giving you.â
A tug on her waist.
Seraphina turned to Gale, who nodded towards his tent.
âJoin me?â Gale asked. Though his smile was gentle and sweet, the way that his eyes darted to her lips and his grip on her waist betrayed his true desires. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a flutter between her thighs.
âOf course,â Seraphina whispered.
Without another word to the others, the two slipped away and into Galeâs tent. He immediately dispelled the darkness with a quick casting of dancing lights, the tiny orbs bouncing near the roof, casting everything in a blue glow.
Seraphina wrapped her arms around Galeâs neck and pulled him close. Gale rested his hands on her hips, his head going to the crook of her neck. She heard him inhale deeply, his nose and lips ghosting across her skin.
âHow nice it is to simply be here with you,â he whispered.Â
âMmm,â Seraphina hummed. âI couldnât agree more. Youâre alive and that means the world to me.â
They stood there for a moment, their hands wandering over each otherâs bodies, aimless beyond the simple goal of touching the other. Her hands carded through his walnut and silver hair, gently massaging his scalp. One of his hands rubbed up and down her torso while the other repeated the same motion down her spine. Then, the hand on her spine crept to the base of her tail and began to softly stroke the appendage.
A small squeak left Seraphinaâs lips as Gale applied more pressure on the underside of her tail. She felt him smile against her skin as he fully wrapped his hand around it, his thumb now making circles over the topside.
âSomeoneâs been studying tiefling anatomy,â she said breathlessly, her chuckle turning into a gasp as he suddenly squeezed her tail and began to leave hot openmouthed kisses along her neck and collarbone, making her knees weak.
âI may have read up on the topic while I was teaching myself a bit of Infernal,â Gale murmured, raising his head and kissing her cheek. âOne should always take the time to know and understand their loverâs body. Though now is the time for putting my knowledge to the test, hmm?â
âYes, a bit of hands-on experimentation is in order.â
He pulled away and lifted her chin, his thumb brushing her lower lip.
âTydd py smiz haf silz,â Gale whispered, his tongue clumsily wrapping around the harsh, guttural sounds, but Seraphina understood what he meant. It was incredibly endearing, and a shudder ran through her.
Tell me what you want.
âYaf,â she replied.Â
Gale smirked as his hand moved from her chin to her jaw and he pulled her into a kiss that was all too brief.Â
âYaf mijy py las vorv oaryjyrpary, ph wsyyz Syriemuli. Wmiz va haf silz ul zmuw papylz?â
You have me now and forevermore, my sweet Seraphina. What do you want in this moment?
Seraphina bit her lip.
âI want to feel your skin on mine, ph wsyyz aly. I want you to kiss me until youâre the only thing I can think about,â she moaned as his hands squeezed her ass, pulling her against him. He grunted as she rolled her hips against the bulge growing in his trousers.
âThen allow me to provide,â Gale pressed a kiss to Seraphinaâs temple before slowly and carefully helping her down onto her back on his bedroll. She noticed his hand tremble as it glided down her thigh and she took it into her own hand, kissing each of his fingers.
âYou donât have to be nervous. We can just go to sleep if you wish,â Seraphina murmured.
âNo. I want this. I want you,â Gale said quickly. His gaze darted behind her, and he cleared his throat. âItâs simply been someâŠsome time since Iâve been with someone on this plane.âÂ
She smiled against his hand.
âWe can go as slowly as you wish. Weâll only do what you desire,â Seraphina whispered.
Galeâs eyes found hers again and she squeezed her thighs together at his smoldering expression, his chest quickly rising and falling as he nearly panted.
âI died today and instead here I am,â Gale smiled. âWith you, the most incredible person I have ever been so lucky to meet. I want to feel everything with you tonight. If you truly indulge my desires, weâll be in this tent for a tenday.â
She bit the inside of her cheek. How was it even possible for him to believe that? Seraphina struggled to push her thoughts away as Galeâs nimble hands pulled off her clothes. Her racing thoughts halted for a minute when she removed Galeâs soft, satin purple shirt.
Her hands moved of their own volition, pressing on his chest with her claws grazing through the soft layer of hair that trailed down into his trousers, over his well-defined stomach. Gale groaned at her touch.
âGods, look at you,â she whispered, her hands moving back up and passing over his nipples, making Gale hiss. âYouâre so handsome, Gale.â
âI never expected such a compliment to be directed my way, but who am I to argue with your impeccable taste?"
Gale softly caressed her neck, his own hands traveling over her chest and torso.
âI can hardly compare to you,â he said. She squirmed under his reverent stare and touch.
âYour beauty is beyond description. I donât believe a statue or painting could capture it all,â he continued breathlessly. She moaned as Galeâs hands continued their path, his fingers delicately gliding over the ridges that curved around the underside of her breasts.
âHow could you say that about me?â she murmured. Galeâs eyes snapped up from her torso to her face, but she refused to look at him.Â
âHow couldnât I?â
âThe hornsâŠmy eyesâŠall of it. Iâm the type of thing that parents talk about in stories to scare their children,â she grumbled. âIâm an omen. A monster. A devil.â He grabbed Seraphinaâs chin and pulled up, forcing her to look at him.
âYou could never frighten me,â he whispered. âOne look from you is enough to make me shiver, but that tremble doesnât come from fear.â
With one hand, he grabbed one of hers and guided it to the bulge in his pants. They both gasped and he rolled his hips into her palm.
âSee and feel what you do to me. You are the most beautiful person I have ever met. The most gorgeous being in all the planes. No one could compare â divine, devil, or mortal,â Gale murmured. He moved her hand from his crotch and pinned it to next to her head.
âYou are not an omen. Donât you dare describe your light and goodness in such a way,â he continued, kissing her. âYour soul is capable of so much love, more than I ever thought possible or considered myself worthy of. The fact that we lay here together now and arenât reduced to ashes is proof of that. The city of Elturel is on Toril again because of you and all that you are capable of.â
Gale kissed Seraphinaâs forehead, one hand carefully stroking the area where her horns began to protrude from her head.
âI am so lucky that it was you by my side in that colony. Had it been me alone or with anyone elseâŠâ he started and then shook his head. âI should fall to my knees and thank the Smiling Lady that our paths crossed. But she has nothing to do with how amazing you are, so I will worship you instead.â
He pressed more adoring kisses to the freckles that dotted her skin as he crawled backwards, settling on his stomach as he gave her a wicked look from between her legs.
âName your desire, my love,â Gale said. Even as he sat there, sinfully looking between her dripping cunt and her eyes, she blushed from his sweet words.Â
My love.
She began to speak, and a whine escaped instead as he nipped the inside of her thigh. His tongue quickly swept over the small injury, and he proceeded to softly suck on the spot, certain to leave behind a bruise. The thought of how many love bites and bruises she would have come morning sent a shiver down her spine.
âMy love, I must hear you tell me what you want,â Gale smiled up at her.
âI want your tongue on me. In me. Please,â she whimpered.
âHold your legs, dearest,â Gale instructed, and Seraphina quickly complied, gripping the backs of her knees and pulling her legs back. Galeâs brown eyes swam with hot desire as he gazed at her cunt. He took his thumbs and parted her lips, a sigh escaping both Gale and Seraphina at the motion.
âYou are perfect in every way,â he breathed, pressing his lips to the backs of her thighs, inching closer and closer to where she wanted him. Seraphina heard him utter something and, suddenly, a familiar bubble of Silence formed around them.
âI think our friends have heard more than enough,â Gale said gruffly. He looked into Seraphinaâs eyes as he licked a long stripe up her folds, both letting out low moans as he began to circle around her clit.
She moaned as she fell apart beneath his tongue, allowing pleasure to wash away â or at least cover up â the pain from the day. Tears and stars alike swam in her vision as Gale continued lapping at her, his tongue swirling and sucking at her clit, two curled fingers pumping in and out of her.
âYou taste divine,â Gale mumbled as he briefly pulled away from her. âThe most intoxicating, sweet nectar that has ever touched my tongue.â
Time became a blur as she laid back and allowed him to devour her. The ringing in Seraphinaâs ears from her rushing blood blocked out the rest of Galeâs praise as she came again and again under his touch, crying out his name.
âGale, please. I need more,â she whimpered while he crawled his way up from between her legs, his lips and beard coated in her slick.
âI will never leave you wanting. I swear that to you.â
He quickly tossed his trousers aside and Seraphina got onto her knees, reaching for his cock, but he stopped her hand.
âI want to be inside you more than anything else in this moment,â Gale explained, kissing her. âI cannot endure another second not being completely wrapped up in you. There will be time for that later.â
âIâll hold you to that,â Seraphina said.
Gale gently pushed her back onto the bedroll and he held onto her thigh as he slid inside her. He let out a deep guttural groan as she gasped.
âOh hellsâŠyouâre soâŠwarm,â he moaned.
âIs this your first time lying with a tiefling?â she asked, biting her lip.
âYes â ah â Iâve never felt anyone like you,â Gale squeezed her hips and clenched his jaw. His eyes flew open again.Â
âI love you,â Gale gasped as he slowly began to move.
âI love you too,â Seraphina breathed, her hands moving from his shoulders to tangle in his hair, pulling him down and capturing his lips in a searing kiss.Â
He wrapped both of his arms around her waist, simultaneously squeezing her into a tight embrace and forcing an arch into her back. At that angle, each thrust from Gale brushed against her clit, pushing whines and gasps out of Seraphina. He moaned as her wet, warm walls clenched around him, pulling him in deeper.
She dragged her claws down his back and Gale gasped, his entire body shivering as he suddenly gave a hard, deep thrust, his head dropping to her shoulder.
âDo that again. Please,â he murmured against her skin. Seraphina obliged, slightly digging in her nails and tracing down his spine, and Gale moaned as he continued to thrust into her.Â
He pulled away, rubbing his hands up her torso, over her breasts, and across her arms. He intertwined their fingers and pressed her hands into the ground. Seraphina sighed happily and squeezed his hands, wrapping her legs around his waist. She whimpered as he began to thrust harder, but he didnât quicken his pace, still pushing in and pulling out so, so slowly, as if he was memorizing every unique ridge. Each delicious, slow drag of his cock sent shockwaves from her core.
âYou feel so good,â Seraphina moaned. âPlease donât hold back. Give me everything.â
Gale moaned at her words, and he started to thrust faster.
âEverything? Are you sure?â he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Seraphina grinned as he pulled another moan from her and his hands grabbed onto her hips.
âI donât wear this ring because itâs pretty,â she said, tapping the ring on her right hand. âGive me everything.â
âYou will have to tell me more about that enchantment later, but for now I will simply appreciate its existence,â Gale said. He rushed forward and kissed her deeply.Â
They moaned desperately into each otherâs mouths as they kissed and moved together, their hands and tongues constantly searching. Seraphina delighted in each sound Gale made as their collective pleasure crested, their simultaneous climax leaving them both gasping and whimpering as he filled her.
As they laid there quietly in the afterglow, Gale finally broke the peaceful silence.
âSera, are you tired?â
Seraphina blinked up at him dreamily.Â
âNot too tired to enjoy you again,â she whispered, trying to sound seductive through her hoarse voice. Gale instantly blushed.
âOh! Well, I didnât quite mean that,â he stammered but then he smirked. âPerhaps later. But I was hoping you might lend me your ear.â
âAny time.â
Seraphina listened intently as Gale enthusiastically lectured about the Crown of Karsus. She tried her best to pay attention to what he was saying, but she couldnât help being distracted by the smile on his face and the brightness in his eyes.
He was alive. He was here and he was not dead on the floor of Moonrise or turned into nothing in the colony. He was talking about the future, even if it was just about getting to Baldurâs Gate and get his hands on an ancient tome. It was enough. He was enough. This moment, their sweaty bodies entangled, and their fingers intertwined, was enough.
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