#karlach x mc

[baldurians]

Though... you know.

[gaspodewonderdog]

I saw sparks - actual sparks. 🔥💕 Tawny Copperthicket | They/Them | Forest Gnome | Beastmaster Ranger 🐗

[justporo]

Hear me out! Tav brought a statue of Astarion to the camp but Astarion does not recognize himself in it and does not understand why their leader spent 5000 gold on a random stone man. Meanwhile the party is betting on how long it will take Astarion to guess whose statue it is.

5000 Gold

"He's not... he's not gonna figure it out anytime soon, is he?"

"Sshhh!"

Shadowheart shushed Karlach with an angry frown and a single finger thrown to her lips.

The two of them - along with your other companions observed the scene unfolding on the other side of the camp. Right where a delivery had just been made - and quite an uncommon one.

A giant stone statue, depicting... Astarion - and almost fully nude at that.

You couldn't resist when the offer had been made to you at the carnival at the outskirts of Baldur’s Gate. 5000 gold had felt like nothing for the punchline you had been about to make with having a statue be made of the one companion that couldn't remember what he himself looked like.

And Astarion, upon discovering Tav's most recent purchase, had started to throw a temper tantrum immediately, almost fainting when he had heard the paid sum out of your mouth.

The vampire had worked himself into an outright frenzy, screaming, hissing, gesticulating towards the statue, then back to you, then to the skies. Meanwhile all you could do anymore was biting your lip to stop yourself from bursting into the biggest laughing fit of your life.

The rest of the group kept observing from a safe distance.

"Istik", Lae'zel mumbled under her breath. But even the sober githyanki could barely hide a smile.

Shadowheart shushed her as well. Wyll had just been silently shaking his head for the last couple of minutes. Shadowheart had started taking bets on how long it would take the oblivious vampire to realise the cruel trick that was being played on him. Karlach, being way too optimistic, had already lost some coin to the cleric with their estimate of a few minutes.

Only Gale who had been busy this far with some of his thousand books had missed the whole spectacle so far. Just now had the wizard realised that something was going down. He eyed the fighting trio of you Astarion and stone Astarion and then the group of bystanders, trying to decipher the situation. When he couldn't make any logical sense of any of it he went over to the small onlooking group. "I appear to have missed something? What is-"

Shadowheart hissed at him to shut up, causing Gale to flinch back with a hurt facial expression. Wyll though wasn't impressed by the cleric and enlightened his friend: "It looks like our clever leader Tav has taken up the offer of getting a stone statue of Astarion for a bargain of 5000 gold without telling anyone. And now we're betting how long it's going to take him to realise it's him."

Shadowheart stared the Blade of Frontiers down. Wyll merely shrugged his shoulders. He'd faced more fearsome creatures than the cleric aplenty.

Gale just blinked several times at him, letting the words settle. Then a grin spread on the wizard's face. "I bet 100 gold it's gonna take him at least until the end of the day."

Shadowheart's furious expression lightened noticeably and she stretched out her hand to Gale. They shook on the bet. Then everyone turned back to the two Astarion's and you to continue watching the scene.

"Why in the nine hells would you get a statue of some random guy - he isn't that... Well, he is quite handsome!" Astarion yelled at you while you had to hide your face in your hands desperately trying to pull yourself together.

The vampire didn't let up: "Well, if only it had been me, then I would have understood, darling, who wouldn't want that as a piece of decor, but-"

That was it, you broke. Hysterical laughter started shaking you, up to the point where you doubled over and could barely breathe between laughing and crying from laughing.

The vampire meanwhile went through the whole spectrum of emotions known under the sun in a matter of seconds. Angered, confused, flustered. And then finally something in the elf’s brain clicked together.

He stared at the statue then at you, back to the statue and suddenly his hands wandered over his own face as if to grasp it's lines and shapes.

"You...," he started and stopped. Through your tears you were sure you could see the vampire's pointy ears turn bright pink. "That IS me!"

You were barely able to nod as another fit of laughter shook you. Astarion’s mouth opened several times but no sound came out. A rare occasion to the see the sassy rogue so void of words.

Meanwhile, a bunch of moans could be heard from the other side of camp where Shadowheart collected her won gold from the others.)

"Why would you-", Astarion began and his expression was barely readable while your laughter slowly died down and you were able to kneel back on your feet.

"Didn't you say it yourself? He's quite handsome, isn't he? Now you get to see for yourself again."

Astarion pointed an angry finger at you about to throw another fit but then his eyes fell on the statue again. Now with knowing what it was and what it meant it shut him up immediately.

He took a few steps closer to get a better look. His anger at you momentarily forgotten as he gazed upon his own image for the first time in over 200 years.

[ahoycaptainautumn]

Fated Mates Part 4

Synopsis: you, a vengeful vampire slayer, cross paths with the devious and handsome Astarion. Instead of a stake through the heart, Astarion finds something he thought impossible for vampire spawn. A mate.

Astarion and you find yourselves sharing a single bed room for the night. But a nightmare waking you in the middle of the night only brings you closer, much closer than either of you anticipated.

Your eyes nearly bug out in disbelief. Was this the idea of the receptionist's “special room”? 

“Cat got your tongue, dear? You know there’s lots that can be done with a tongue-“ Astarion saunters in after you, stopping in his step at your shared sight. His shoulder brushes yours as you stand side by side. Astarion gives you a side eye before beginning to open his mouth. You hold up your hand to silence him as you feel the headache melting in behind your eyes. 

“I’m going to go talk to the lady. Now.” You scamper out of the room before Astarion can say another word. You run down the steps and go to the front desk immediately. The lady who was once running it is no longer there. You nearly shake the bell sitting on the desk. But a small sign stops you. A yellowed sign lies in the center. On it is written “Sorry, no vacancy”. You sigh in frustration. All you wanted was a night of peace. The ability to relax even just for a few hours. It looked like it was now either sharing with Astarion or sleeping with the wolves. You couldn’t tell which option would be worse. You turn back and head to your room. 

Astarion sits sprawled across the bed. His elbows hold him up as his legs dangle off the side. He looks over at you with an unamused gaze. He raises an eyebrow to you. You shrug your shoulders and give a sigh. 

“No one at the desk. No vacancy. No luck.” You kick your shoes off and jump on the opposite side of the bed in a huff. You stick your palms into your eyes and try to rub the frustration from yourself. Astarion turns over to you and grasps your closest wrist in his hand. He clears your hand from your eye. You open one eye and look over at him. His hand flows downwards and holds your chin in his hand. He spins your face to look at his own. You lower both your hands and hold them on top of your hips. 

“As much as I love to see you upset, you are welcome to the bed.” He says. You scrunch your eyebrows in confusion. You glare in accusation. 

“And what do you get out of it? There’s no way you’re doing it out of the goodness of your cold heart.” You accuse. He scoffs at you, crossing his arms. 

“Take my rare act of kindness while you can. Besides, it’s not like I sleep.” He shrugs. You sit up on the bed. 

“What do you mean you don’t sleep?” You ask. Astarion chuckles at you.

“Oh little killer, I thought you knew everything about vampires?” He mocks. Your cheeks flare red. 

“Well I mean- I know enough- I think.” You try to defend. 

“Well, vampires don’t sleep. Except for a deep sleep to regain health or power. But mostly it’s just meditation.” He explains. He gets up from the bed and goes over to the fainting couch next to the window. He faces the window and looks out at the view. You take it as a sign that you have truly won the bed and make way to get comfortable. You shimmy out of most of your clothes besides your under garments and get comfortable under the covers. 

“And don’t even think about biting my neck or I’ll wring yours.” You threaten. A small snicker escapes his mouth. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, goodnight little killer.” Astarion softly blows out the candles around the room. Snuggled under the warmth of the blanket and the tranquil space of the room, you fall asleep nearly instantly. 

-

Your hands fall flat against the elegant oak doors in front of you. Grand murals lay chiseled artistically throughout the wood. They look familiar in a sense. Almost as if the images created were of memories past. Pushing them open, you walk into an elegant ballroom. Not any ballroom, it’s your father’s old ballroom. Gold accents the cylinder columns lining the room. White marble flooring sprawls across the floor. Ornate windows bow out the front showing the night fallen garden below. Large pristine mirrors border one edge of the room reflecting the people within. Beautiful women in exquisite gowns along with men in pressed suits line the dance floor. All of them were wearing a masquerade mask accented with pearls and jewels. You reach up and find one resting on your face as well. Looking down you notice you’re wearing that same gown from the shop earlier along with red heels. Your hair is put together with intricate braids cascading down your back. Before you can question anything out loud a red gloved hand takes yours. You look up to red eyes staring back at you. White hair cascades over a dark mask with a cunning smile. Astarion wears an ebony suit with red accents within the tie and cufflinks. You try to respond, to yell, to say anything but find yourself mute. Astarion only smiles more before walking you to the center of the floor. A circle of people crowd you as they watch Astarion twist your linked hands above your head. His other hand finds purchase on your waist as your hand rests on his chest. A band from somewhere within the room begins to play a slow tune. Your feet move along with Astarions, bodies gliding with grace across the floor. As much as you know you should fight this, to unclench yourself from his grasp, the feeling of being here, of dancing on this floor, quells you. How long had it been since you were last here? Since you last danced with a handsome man into the twilight hours. To twirl and delight in company. To not worry about a single thing but gowns and events. To worry about marrying a wonderful heir for fathers company as your biggest trial. At the thought of your father you look out into the crowd for his face. There, at the far edges of the crowd, sit your mother and father clapping and smiling at your show. Your eyes well up with tears. How you missed them. 

“I know your dancing skills are pitiful but it’s truly nothing to cry over.” Astarion jests. You lightly punch his chest as you continue dancing. 

“I missed this. I missed all of this.” You whisper. Your heart swells at the love and longing you feel as you sway across the floor.

“You could have it all back you know.” Astarion replies. Your head shoots up to meet his gaze. He smiles at you once again. 

“How?” You ask. Astarion brings his head next to yours as his lips close in near your ear. You blink and the room goes desolate. Lights flicker above as a film of decay sweeps over the entire hall. The band turns into a twisted sound, something macabre. You try to turn your head towards Astarion and find your neck fixed in place. As he sweeps you in a circle you come face to face with the wall of mirrors. Instead of silver hair, long black hair sweeps down his back. You side eye your hands and see long claw-like fingernails encasing your own. 

“You should have been alongside your family that night. A shame really. I can quickly remedy that.” The man speaks. You recognize that voice. You shudder as you finally are able to pull away. Cazador’s face greets yours with a toothy smile. Long canines glisten in the warped lighting. You go to scream but find yourself mute again. Cazador lunges on you, his mouth going for the nape of your neck. Your hands fly up in defense but you find his own pinning them to your side easily. He bears his fangs and goes towards your neck. The scream aching to leap from your throat finally does and drowns out the music in the room. 

-

You feel strong arms shaking your shoulders. On instinct you throw a fist upwards and catch whomever it is in their nose. 

“By Gods! What in the seven hells-“ Astarion grits out as you blink awake. You find Astarion bent over holding his nose in his hands. You take a quick assessment of the room. It’s the same room you had rented earlier. Not your home. Not the ballroom. Not Cazador. You’re safe. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You look down to see your hands shaking as they hold you up in the bed. 

“What the hell happened?” You ask. Astarion gives you a side eye before wiping his nose. 

“That’s an odd way to say thank you. But if you must know, you started thrashing around and then started screaming. I tried to wake you before everyone in the bloody realm tried to barge in and see what was happening.” Astarion explains. You look down into your hands and try to will them to stop shaking. Your mind may realize it was a dream but your heart and body were late to catch up. It felt like you couldn’t catch your breath, that the floor was spinning and falling out from beneath you all at once. 

“Now if you are all done with that I’ll be going back to my silent meditation, thank you.” Astarion goes to turn away from you and sit back on his couch before your hand shoots out. You don’t even register what you’re doing before your hand wraps around his much larger one. Your eyes fall to the floor, unable to look the vampire in the face. You can’t help the shake that comes out in your words. 

“Please. Stay.” you whisper. Astarion can feel the quiver in your hold. The strange fear laced into your voice. Whatever had scared you had well and truly scared you, even more than your hate for him. He found himself unable to hold back the snarky smile that he pulled. 

“Oh? Need the big bad vampire here with you? Honestly if you wanted me in your bed with you all you had to do was ask. I would have let you down, lightly.” He bites back. Your grip instantly leaves him as you go to turn to your other side with a huff. He finds it out  the way his heart drops at the loss of contact. At the way he almost, almost, misses your hand in his. Stupid mating bond. 

“Just forget I said anything, I must be delirious if I thought-” You begin but Astarion cuts you off by falling into place next to you on the bed. He sits against the headboard next to you. 

“Well don’t ever say I’ve never done anything for you. Any more screaming though and you’ll find a more violent means of stopping it.” He retorts. He crosses his arms and stares straight ahead. You let out a small giggle at the sight. He gives you a glare in return.

“You are one strange vampire.” you reply. With that you snuggle back into a comfortable spot in bed. You try not to be near or touch Astarion but it can’t even be helped with how close he sits to your body. You surprise yourself with how comforting you find it to be sleeping next to someone. To know that someone is watching your back and keeping you safe. Even if that person is a blood sucking vampire. You blame it on his damned cologne, he smelled far too intoxicating for you to ever admit. The smell and feeling of him coddles you into a restful sleep. 

Astarion thought once he had heard your soft snore and restful heart rate that he would get up from the bed. But he finds it fascinating watching you sleep so peacefully. Here you were, a self pronounced vampire hater and hunter, and you fall asleep so easily next to him. He thinks you a fool, a dangerous and stupid fool. He brushes hair away from your face and tucks it behind your ear. Though, he may be a bit of a fool as well. 

Astarion hadn’t meant to fall into such a deep and relaxed meditation. At some point in the night he felt a tranquility he hadn’t in some time. With that relaxation came him drifting more deeply into the bed and under the covers. So tranquil in fact that as you begin to wake you find strong arms wrapped around your core. Astarion’s chin rests on the top of your head as he grips you in your sleep. Though he himself is cold you feel nothing but warmth. Your sleepy mind wants to snuggle in further. To not leave the calm of this moment. But your mind catches up and you attempt to pull yourself from his superhuman strength. He doesn’t budge at first and you push harder. 

“Damn it Astarion! Let go!” You thrash. You wiggle in his grip and your ass falls back against his hips. His hard length is easily evident against you. On instinct Astarion’s hips rut into yours. You let out a choked moan and clamp a hand against your mouth. Astarion stirs from his meditation and realizes the predicament he is in. He releases his arms from you as if you are made of acid. You scamper to the far end of the bed and get on your knees. You turn your body towards him as Astarion does the same. 

“Now what in the hells do you think you are doing?” Astarion accuses with a scowl. You gap in disbelief. You point a finger into his chest forcefully. 

“Me?! What do you think you are doing? I wanted someone on look out, not a damned cuddle!” you counter. His hand snakes around the one you have pointed in his chest and goes to push it from him. Your nostrils flare in anger as your hands grab him by the scruff of his collar. You inadvertently pull him closer as your knees make distance forward. He replies in kind and grabs onto your locked grip. He bares his fangs at you and nearly hisses in his growing frustration and maybe, slight, embarrassment. 

“As if I would give you a cuddle.. let alone anything!” His nails dig into your skin and they bite just slightly into your skin. He brings his face in closer at his next statement. “As if I would stoop so low.”

 Your anger only gets flamed more and you use your grip on his shirt as leverage as you throw him back down onto the bed. He is briefly taken by surprise before he swings a leg up and reverses your positions. Your back slams back into the mattress. You go to throw a punch at his face but only nearly make contact before his hands snatches yours up and above your head. You wrap your legs around his hips and try to push off to get traction and pull away. But with your movements his hips come down and into yours. His bulge gyrates into your barely clothed intimate folds. You bite your lips in time to stop the moan from coming out once again. But Astarion can tell. He can hear the racing of your heart. The smell of your heat. He brings his head down closer to yours as you stare daggers. 

“How vile.” he whispers in a mocking tone. He’s enjoying this, enjoying seeing you helpless and needy. It fills a primal part of him that begs for him to do more, to go further. 

“Disgusting.” you spit back as you tilt your head closer to him. Pure rage is felt in your shared stare and the air is thick with anger and anticipation. Your breath only comes in quick spurts and you feel like the world is spinning. Astarion brings his face ever closer to yours. 

“Dreadful.” he bites back. Your lips quiver and you can’t help your tongue from darting out to wetten them. Astarion watches your movement and his look shows nothing but absolute hunger. 

“Repulsive.” you whisper against his lips. All it takes is your quick glance down at his lips before all sense is wiped from Astarion’s mind. His lips crash against your own instantly. Teeth clash as he throws his body weight against your frame. Your legs pull him down further onto you as move down onto his clothed member. Astarion hisses as his hands leave your wrists and grasp each side of your hips. He grinds his lower half into you as his hands leave indents into your sides. Your hands immediately fly up and wrap around his neck. He ruts against you harshly and you freely moan into his mouth. 

“Such an easy little vixen.” Astarion laughs. One of your hands wraps into his silver hair and yanks it back. His red eyes glare into you as you smile in his discomfort. 

“Not so easy you beast.” You respond. You flip your bodies and find yourself in his lap. His hand winds up and to your neck as holds pressure on your pulse. His other fingers curl into your hair and hold your head still. His lips find yours again and you fling your arms around his neck once more. You pull yourself impossibly closer, chest to chest with a man you hate with all your heart. His tongue darts out and begs entrance into your mouth. You open and immediately bite down on his tongue. His grip on your hip and head tighten deliciously. 

“You little witch.” he snarls. Before you can lash back at him the hand holding your hip presses you into him in time with his thrust against you. You gasp at the delectable friction it gives to your aching core. With your moment of weakness Astarion claims dominance over your mouth. His tongue lashes out along your own as you battle for dominance. One of your hands curls into his hair while the other grips his back in need for something, anything, to grab onto. The hand holding your hip snakes up and under your undershirt and makes its way to your breast. Heavy heated breathes are shared between you two as his thumb just barely grazes over your nipple before a voice stops you. 

“Check out time is 0800 sharp! Enough beauty sleep Astarion and let’s get going!” Lae’zel pounds on the door. Astarion and you pull away from each other instantly and you can only stare at one another. You take in his messy curls, the red tint to his lips, the animalistic hunger in his eyes. You know you don’t look any better. You hop off of him in a hurry and go to the bathroom to change without a word. Astarion can only watch your retreating form as he tries to wrap his mind around what had just occurred. By Gods, you were dangerous.

part three here

part five here

If you want tagged in the next part just comment and ill reply when the next one is done!

[knightingale-errant]

gandrel: yeah I'm looking for a vampire spawn - his names astarion

these fucking idiots:

[crypt-keepers-den]

A request of a tav having an abusive ex and astarion finding out. Much fluff please AHHH I LOVED YOUR LAST FIC OF ASTARION KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

[Astarion x reader]

warnings: Mentions of abuse and unhealthy relationship situations (swearing in this one), trauma bonding for Tav and Aster enjoy <3

The fire pit crackles as you throw another log onto the dying pile, your thoughts are swirling in a vicious tidal pool, your stomach churns, unbeknownst to you a pair of carmine eyes observe your slouched figure. "Little Love youll give yourself a hunch sitting like that", you jump at the sound of his voice, hiding your tear stained face from his view, your words muffled as you do your best to clean your face.

He admits a soft huff when you dont tease back like normal, the weight on the log seams to shift as he sits beside you, his voice is soft and carries like a leaf in the wind "sweetness whatever is the matter? youve seemed off since we left that tavern", a lump catches in your throat, of all the taverns, in all of baulders gate, why did karlach pick that one.

your ex partner had been there, you had hoped to hide from them in the back corners of the dimly lit tavern but to no avail; they sauntered up to the table like they owned the place "Tav long time no see how are you" forcing you into an all but too tight hug, the sickly sweet smile on their face as they trapped you in their arms, your anxiety and claustrophobia hit an all time high. You firmly place your hands on their chest to push yourself out of their arms, they catch one of your wrists rather roughly, definately causing bruising, a small yelp emits from your lips. You wish your camp mates had been nearby to help you out of the situation but it appeared that they were off doing their own thing in the midst of the tavern party, "you wont run off on me this time sweetheart" their grip on you is tight and unmoving, memories of your last time together flash across your mind, bruises, wounds, tears and tantrums. They were going to hurt you again, their attempt to drag you to one of the many tavern bedrooms brings you back to your senses, your fight or flight kicks in, your elbow connects with their stomach allowing you to make a break for it "YOU LITTLE SHIT" their words are drowned out by the wind howling in your ears as you continued your sprint to camp.

Astarion studies your face, your eyes look distant and your hand keeps rubbing at your wrists. "Little darling whatever happened?, you seemed so excited for your night out on the town" you dont answer, your voice faulters as fresh tears make their way down your face. In the beginning it startles him, but he can see how much your hurting, he goes to gently grab your hands to help relax you, his eyes come in contact with the purple bruise that marks your beautiful skin "Dove when did this happen? It looks fresh" His fingers press against the bruise causing you to wince, his eyes watch as your face contorts in pain and sadness "Darling i hope you know you can talk to me, like i did to you when i needed to" his fingers gently stroke your cheek, wiping away tears.

you regain your voice, but its hoarse from crying "tonight in the tavern i saw someone, someone i didnt want to see" he nods giving your hand an affectionate squeeze, you would speak in your own time and he had all of eternity to hear you out. "My...Ex partner was there" "im sensing bad blood between you" you nod before guesturing to your bruised wrist "we were together years back and we broke up because...they liked using their hand on me" Astarion's brows scrunch together as he pieces the words together "Darling are you saying they used to beat you?" he doesnt need a verbal response when he sees the pain in your eyes, now hes seething with rage; who in the right mind would hurt a sweet thing like you, the very same creature who had comforted him and offered their neck to him.

"That Bastard I'll skin them" the rise in his voice causing you to jump, astarion takes your bruised wrist, pressing soft kisses to the marked flesh "who in the right mind would damage such a wonderful work of art, a feast for the gods eyes, should they ever step within 10 foot of you again my love you tell me, you promised me that we'd hunt down cazzador and make him pay for what he did to me, now ill make a promise to you my little darling" his kisses slowly making their way up your arm before landing on your lips "i will protect you from all harm, none more will befall that beautiful mind of yours" he presses a kiss to your forehead, "come darling you look exhausted, youll sleep with me tonight, ill watch over you" he takes you to his tent and tucks you up amongst his many blankets and pillows, his fingers playing with your hair until you fall asleep, "my sweet if only you knew just how far I'd go to ensure your happiness" he presses a final kiss to your forehead before curling up with you.

He kept to his word you'd never be plagued by that ex of yours again infact no one would, ever again.

I really hope you enjoyed this, its my first time writing for this kind of scenario <3 thank you for your request and by all means pop by again and request something else if you liked this one

[demigoddessqueens]

help you relax

A part 1 of giving a massage/fluff series

found on MASTERLIST 10

Gale

He lets out small moans of relief as you work along his shoulders and back, getting all the knots out

Wyll

Likes to pepper hand kisses along you when you massage his shoulders, back, horns

Halsin

Low grunts and sighs of relief and adoration as your hands wander along those massive shoulder and back muscles

Shadowheart

She really likes them! Like so much so if she’s feeling a bit “neglected” she’ll move between your arms for attention

Karlach

So vocal!! Post-touch, she’s all down for them and runs hot when you get the knots out of her shoulders

Lae’zel

It’s a slow and steady process, but the warrior soon melts into your gentle touch and massages sometimes go on for hours if she wants

Astarion

Offers commentary when you massage him, as in “lower darling, oh! right there—perfect!”

Obliges to give you a massage back

Zevlor

Is so flattered that you would volunteer, and has a load of compliments to release about your “magic” hands

Dammon

Cannot hide his blush as you massage him, thinking he’s taking too much of your time despite your insistence he needs a break from smith work

Rolan

He will try to protest and argue but ultimately gives in to your touch

You hear a few low purrs of relief when you with the knots out

[thechaoticdruid]

[Delicious]

Astarion x Named!Tav

Plot: After setting up camp in the Underdark the weirdos start to reminisce of past lovers, which also brings a curious question to light. How come Winnie had no lovers before Astarion?

Content/Warnings: MDNI SMUT

F!MC, MC uses she/her pronouns, insecurities, chubby mc, flashbacks, unrequited love, bullying, Little Winnie being feral, Winnie is just feral in general, violence, blood, gore, some piv smut at the end, fingering, conflicted Astarion, angst, comfort.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Arrg! You asshat!” Winnie shouted hanging onto the back of the minotaur as it bucked and jerked around, trying to shake the druid off. The brunette-haired woman grabbed hold of the horns as she held on for dear life. “I could use a little help here!” She said with annoyance, her scimitars had been discarded onto the ground, leaving her weaponless and it was honestly too risky to try to cast a spell while being slung around.

Astarion aimed his bow at the beast, arrowhead trying to align with the minotaur’s head. The arrow came fast, but unfortunately the bull man jerked out of the way. Winnie let out a yelp as the arrow grazed the armor of her shoulder.

“Astarion!” The druid growled out.

“Apologies darling, it's hard to aim when the stupid cow keeps moving!” Astarion replied with a hint of annoyance.

“AHHHH!” Karlach suddenly screamed, flames surrounding her as she went into a rage. The fiery tiefling charged forward with her great ax, taking a swing at one of the minotaur’s legs and hacking it right off. Winnie let out a shout as the beast fell forward, dragging her along with it! Winnie fell right onto Astarion, sending him tumbling over as Karlach proceeded to repeatedly hack and slash at the monster, each swing separately another limp from the beast's body with a sickening crunch sound. The tiefling let out another loud scream as she just kept hacking and slashing into the beast, turning its body into a bloody pile of viscera. 

“Oh for gods' sake, it's dead Karlach. Now you're just getting the blood everywhere!” Astarion complained, getting up as he held the dazed druid up along with him. Karlach eventually cooled off, panting heavily as she stepped away from the battered corpse, boots drenched in blood.

“I could have drank that.” Astarion murmured under his breath. Winnie rubbed her head a bit as she gathered her bearings.

“Mystra’s blood! What happened here?!” Gale exclaimed as he appeared out from behind a large stalagmite.

“Oh, you know just getting some fresh Underdark air.” Winnie said sarcastically.

“Gale, where in the hells have you been?!” Astarion demanded as he crossed his arms, glaring at the wizard in annoyance. 

“I was helping the others find a water source to camp by. Unfortunately, we still haven't found anything yet.” Gale stated. 

“Ah, so being of no help as usual.” Astarion huffed a bit.

“Ignore Fangs, Gale. He's just cranky we weren't able to get him lunch.” Karlach piped up, finally calming down from her rage. 

“Hmm, wait a minute.” Winnie said before scurrying over to what was left of the the minotaur corpse. 

“Eh..What are you doing?” Gale asked with grimaced of disgust as Winnie took out a jar from her pack and grabbed hold of one of the severed minotaur limbs. 

“Getting some blood for Star.” Winnie said before squeezing out what blood she could from the minotaur leg. 

“Ah, you're such a sweetheart, Winnie.” Astarion gave her a flirtatious wink, causing the druid to blush as she gathered blood into a jar. 

“Awe, that is sweet, soldier. A little gross, but sweet.” Karlach smiled. 

“Ah yes, collecting blood from a mutilated corpse. A very romantic gesture.” Gale exclaimed.

“I…I'm just trying to help.” Winnie murmured, before filling up the jar completely with blood, her hands covered in red.  “Besides, it's crucial that we help each other since we are in this together.” 

Winnie walked over and handed Astarion the jar.

“Well, since you are in a helping mood. We still need to find a better spot to set up camp.” The wizard said as Winnie wiped her hands off with a handkerchief. 

“Hmm…I could wildshape into something with wings and scout out ahead. Surely, I should be able to get a better look around in the air than on the ground.”  Winnie hummed.

“Excellent idea!” Gale chimed.

Winnie soon transformed into an owl and flew upwards and across the cave, staying low enough to avoid the stalactites. Her eyes scanned the area surrounding them before taking note of what looked like a large abandoned shack on a cliff. There also happened to be a stream running past it which dropped off into a small waterfall. It seemed suspiciously convenient, but was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Winnie flew a bit closer, scanning the area for any signs of danger and found nothing in sight aside from what looked like humanoid bones, next to a hook horror carcass. 

Well, that explains the abandoned camp, but how did that beast die? 

Winnie wondered to herself. Whatever the case, this area had shelter, water and possibly supplies. It was the perfect spot to set up camp for the night. The druid quickly turned back to quickly reunite with her companions who had all been following her halfway there. She circled around them hooting a couple of times before leading them towards the abandoned campsite. Once everyone had arrived Winnie landed on the ground, returning to her human shape. 

“I checked around the area. There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous aside from some human remains and a dead hook horror.” 

“Oh, and that's supposed to mean this place is safe?” Astarion huffed in a skeptical tone.

“Well, whatever killed them isn't around anymore. And I can't smell anything around here that could possibly be a predator of any kind.” Winnie said before sniffing the air. 

“I was unaware humans had such a keen sense of smell.” Lae’zel exclaimed.

“Normally we don't.” Gale added with a raised eyebrow at Winnie.

“I suppose I've spent so much time in wolf form it's rubbed off on my human side.” Winnie explained.

“So you're practically a puppy?” Astarion said in a teasing tone. 

“Wolf.” Winnie corrected, “the point is. The area is clear. For now anyway.” The druid sighed. 

“I'll survey the area again just to be sure. The rest of you should make camp.” Lae'zel said. 

“Sounds good to me.” Winnie said before looking around in the abandoned shack. She went through the entrance which had a curtain as a makeshift door. Inside she set down her things as she took in the surroundings. There was a fire pit in the middle of everything, surrounded by chairs made from long logs. Winnie started a fire before making herself comfortable.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The party later gathered around the fire in the abandoned shack after everyone had finished setting up camp. Winnie sat quietly as Astarion took a seat next to her, his red eyes looked her up and down. The group one way or another ended up sharing some stories. And somehow of all things the stories turned into tales of old lovers.

“Ah, I remember it was like yesterday when 15-year-old Wyll snuck off into the Blushing Mermaid and had his first kiss.”

“You didn't have your first kiss until you were fifteen?” Astarion piped up, “how pathet-” he suddenly stopped mid-sentence as he realized he was still sitting next to Winnie who was giving him a look. “Never mind that! My first lover was tremendously handsome! Like a dashing prince from a fairytale!” Astarion exaggerated. Winnie just rolled her eyes at the elf’s tall tale.  She didn't know who his first love was, but she knew damn well he didn't either.

“I'm sure he was Astarion.” Shadowheart said in a teasing tone. “What about you Winnie? Who was your first love? Before Astarion I mean.”  Winnie paused a bit. Before Astarion there wasn't really anyone. Maybe an unrequited passing fancy here and there, but nothing mutual. 

“No one.” Winnie said shyly, hands nervously fiddling with her pants. 

“You must have at least fancied someone before?”

“I suppose...When I first came to Baldur's Gate, there was Vesperr.” Winnie said, beginning to reminisce about her time in Baldur's Gate. “He had to be the most beautiful man I had ever met.” Winnie blushed a little, her mind thinking back to her first real crush. Vesperr was a high elf druid with long beautiful blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. 

Astarion scoffed at Winnie’s fond tone.

“Most beautiful back then perhaps.” He muttered under his breath. 

“He helped me with some of my druid training, taught me what he knew. He was very wise and smart.” Winnie smiled.

“So why didn't you hook up with him?” Karlach asked.

“Well…. I was a teenager for one….and he's only interested in men.” Winnie chuckled nervously, “so you can see how that wouldn't have worked.” 

“Ah, well I for one am rather glad. More of you for me. ~” Astarion flirted, running his hand over Winnie’s thigh and making her shutter.

“Funny, I would have thought you'd have more suitors. You seem like quite the romantic.” Shadowheart hummed.

“I suppose I'm just not very desirable.” Winnie shrugged with a sad look. Mind going back to her younger years. 

~~~~~

Winnie’s time spent in the Lost Grove was peaceful, but not always pleasant. She often found herself the target of many of her peers' torment. She could remember running through the grass alongside her friend Demi, both of them in wolf form. The Grove's beautiful lush landscapes stretched as far as the eye could see. Winnie galloped further on ahead, claws kicking up dirt as she sprinted towards the village’s huts. The two were rushing to their training after goofing off and playing around in the forest all morning. Winnie was the first to arrive, returning to her human form with a smirk. “I win!” The ten year old cheered as Demi arrived a few minutes afterwards, changing back to her gnomish form. 

“Of course you win, your legs are longer than mine!” Demi huffed, catching her breath.

“Not in wolf form they're not! We're practically the same size in wild-shape.” Winnie chuckled playfully as she looked down at her friend before hearing a laugh behind them.

“Ha! That's funny, because I'm pretty sure even in wolf form you're the fattest one here!” One of the other children, a male human, mocked.  Two elven girls who'd been standing with him as they waited for their teacher, laughed loudly, not even trying to hold back.

“Haha..No one asked you Rowan.” Winnie growled, crossing her arms. Demi suddenly stood in front of her friend, glancing back at Winnie as if to say, ‘stay calm, he's not worth it.’ 

“That was mean, Rowan. You should apologize!” Demi scolded the human boy. 

“Why should I!? We all know the truth! Just look at her! I don't think I've seen anyone as fat and ugly as her in the entire grove!” Rowan exclaimed.

“No one cares about your opinion Rowan. It's not like anyone wants to be your girlfriend so shut up!” Winnie snapped at him. Rowan chuckled with a mischievous shit eating grin on his face.

“It's not an opinion, it's a fact. You're so ugly that I doubt anyone will ever want to be with you without throwing up!” 

Demi looked over and noticed the enraged expression on the human girl’s face. “Winnie don't!” She warned. 

Winnie gritted her teeth and let out a wolf-like snarl before lunging at the rude boy, socking him right in the nose before pouncing on him and repeatedly punching him in the face. As Winnie nearly beat the snot nosed brat to death one of the elder druids rushed over. 

“What's going on here!?” She demanded. The druid was an older half-elven woman. 

“Winnie’s trying to kill me!” Rowan sobbed. The half-elf druid dragged Winnie off the boy. She glared at the woman like a feral animal, teeth bared.

“Get off of him you wicked unruly child!” The old half-elf hissed and suddenly smacked Winnie across the face.  The sound of a slap got the attention of the Grove's Archdruid who'd just arrived to help with the apprentices’ lesson for today.  The old human woman's eyes immediately landed on Winnie who had a red mark across her face. 

“What in the hells do you think you're doing to my granddaughter, Myra!?” The Archdruid demanded.

“That girl of yours is a rabid beast, Winnifred! She just attacked my nephew!” Druid Myra stood in front of Rowan protectively. 

“I thought I was going to die!” Rowan added. 

Winnie’s Grandmother turned back to look at Winnie who was panting from the scuffle. 

“Is this true, Winnie?” The Archdruid asked calmly.

“I-I…” Winnie muttered, feeling rather ashamed for her outburst. Demi quickly scurried over to the Archdruid and tugged on her robe. Winnie’s Grandmother leaned down and  allowed the gnomish girl to whisper in her ear. 

“Demi here says that boy of yours provoked my granddaughter. Perhaps you outta teach him some manners so he doesn't get his arse kicked.” 

“You're letting her get away with this!? After she assaulted my nephew!? Unbelievable!” Myra hissed before tugging Rowan along.

“That girl's nothing but a weed amongst the flowers. Ugly and vile…” The old druid hissed. 

“Yeah, yeah blow it out yer arse, ya old bitch.” The Archdruid rolled her eyes as she stood in front of Winnie and Demi.

~~~~

Years later Winnie was prowling the streets of Baldur's Gate alongside her tressym companion Madeline. Winnie had a sack full of food in one arm and she and the winged cat sprinted across the cobblestones. 

“Hurry Winnie! He's coming!” Maddie called hopping up and hovering over the ground. Winnie glanced back seeing the merchant running after them.

“Come back here you thieving whore!” He shouted. The merchant had been a large human male with a thick beard. Winnie had seen him arrive on a boat a few days prior and just couldn't help herself when tempted to poke around his ship.  Unfortunately, the young woman was definitely no rogue, so the merchant was able to spot her sneaking off the boat with a sack full of goodies. A wheel of cheese, some fine cuts of meat and wine! The contents were just too tempting to pass up! Not to mention there was enough in there to feed her and the rest of her crew. Arva would be proud of her for sure! She just had to make it to the sewers. 

Unfortunately just as Winnie dashed for the man-hole that would be her ticket back to the undercity she bumped into a tall handsome half elf man, with jet black hair and green eyes.

“What's going on? Is someone hurt?” The man asked. 

“I-I…I um.. I'm in trouble…” Winnie blurred, both confused by the collision and flustered by whom she collided with. His features were soft and nearly flawless. 

“There you are, you ugly bitch!” The merchant suddenly caught up to Winnie. Maddie quickly dropped to the ground in front of the human girl and hissed, protectively. 

The half elf man quickly stepped between Winnie and the merchant. “Afternoon sir, does there happen to be a problem?” He asked.

“That wench stole from me!” The merchant hissed. 

“I need to feed my family!” Winnie exclaimed, stepping back behind the half-elf. 

“Sir, can you not find it in your heart to give to the needy?” 

“Needy!? She looks like she eats twice that much in a day!” The merchant shouted. Winnie glared at him, sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry.

“Here, how about I take care of the expenses? Say 50 gold pieces for your trouble.” The half elf offered, taking out a coin purse.  The human man grumbled under his breath.

“I suppose…But I better not catch that bitch around my ship again or I'm getting the fist!” The merchant snatched up the money before stomping off. Winnie let out a sigh of relief as the half-elf turned towards her. 

“Thank you, sir.” She responded, her pink eyes lingering over his handsome face. 

“You might want to be a little more careful next time, miss. That merchant’s not likely to forget having to chase you across town.” The handsome man smiled at her warmly.

“Y-Yes! Of course! I-I'm very grateful you came to help.” Winnie sputtered, face turning pink as her heart pounded in her chest. “I-I uh…..Here…Take this!” Winnie said, taking a bottle of wine out for him. “It's the least I could d-”

“Feris! The hells have you been!?” Suddenly a woman’s voice shouted, loudly. Winnie looked to the side to see a very unhappy looking elven woman. 

“Sorry my love. I was just speaking to this kind young woman!” Feris replied, his face growing nervous. 

“Again!? This is the third time you've ran off with some harlot, Feris!! You cheating wretch!” The elf hissed. 

“N-No my dear! It's not like that! I-I would never jeopardize our love for someone so repulsive!” Feris sputtered out frantically. Winnie’s eyes widened and her heart sank. It seemed the handsome stranger who'd come to her rescue was just like all the other shallow prick’s she's met. 

“Well I suppose my repulsive ass will be taking the wine back then.” Winnie said flatly, snatching the wine back before stomping off, her tressym quickly following. Winnie proceeded to climb back into the sewers, leaving the unfaithful man alone to be berated by his wife. 

The teen girl and her winged cat carefully wandered through the rank sewers before making their way into the undercity. Eventually they stopped in front of what appeared to be a seemingly normal brick wall. Winnie placed a hand over the bricks, taping them firmly to a specific rhythm before suddenly pressing down on one far to the right. The wall began to sink down, opening to a large cavern. Winnie walked inside with Maddie following. The bricks quickly closed behind them as they entered. 

“Guys, I'm back!” Winnie called, walking into a large room with a bright shining ball of light floating above it, Illuminating the cavern. Under the light was a lush garden, with a small tree at the center. A tall effeminate looking high elf male was tending to the garden, long luscious blonde locks draped over his shoulder as his beautiful blue eyes glanced up at the girl. 

“Winnie! Sweetie, welcome home! I hope Fi’s errand didn't give you too much trouble?” He asked, voice soft and sweet sounding. 

“Ah..No Vesperr. I didn't have any trouble at all. I got the meat and wine she wanted.” Winnie looked off shyly as the high elf druid approached her. A gentle hand ruffled her hair, affectionately.

“Well, that's good. I was worried she was sending you off into danger. I don't see why that bard can't just eat the food from my garden instead of…dead animal flesh.” Vesperr grimaced. 

“It's not an issue really. I'm happy to help everyone.” Winnie forced a smile. 

“And that's why you're the best, sweetheart!” Vesperr said, pinching Winnie’s cheeks. 

“Ah..Thanks um…Is Bekk back yet?” Winnie asked, cheeks turning a bit red, from the elf’s affection.

“Oh, my darling won't be back until later. He and the boss are taking care of some private matters. Troubles with one of the guilds I suppose.” Vesperr said, flipping his long blonde locks. 

“Well…I want to talk to him when he gets back. He promised to help me practice some sword fighting.” Winnie stated as she began to walk away, eyes glancing back at the elf with a sad longing.

“I'll make sure he finds you when he arrives home, sweetie!” 

~~~~

“None of my peers ever took interest in me growing up. Honestly a lot of them found me repulsive and had no problem telling me to my face. Eventually I just gave up on the prospect of romance entirely.” Winnie leaned back, taking out a bottle of wine from her pack and chugging it. 

“Ah what do those assholes know! You're fucking gorgeous Winnie! I'd date you in a heartbeat!” Karlach huffed, steam coming off her body.

“Thank you Karlach.. I'm flattered but…. I just…erm…” Winnie wasn't sure how to put it. 

“Winnie isn't interested in the fairer sex, Karlach. I doubt she'd like being burned alive either.” Astarion chimed in, leaning closer to Winnie.

“Oh, don't worry Fangs. I'm not about to try to steal Winnie from you.” The tiefling winked at him, noticing his arm slinking around Winnie’s waist.

“As if you could steal anything from me.” The elf rolled his eyes. Karlach just smirked at Astarion's blatant jealousy.  

“She is right though. Only an idiot would find you less than enticing.” Astarion purred in Winnie's ear. His hand moved some of her messy brown locks out of her face. Winnie blushed a bit, a small smile forming on her lips. 

“Such a pretty smile.” Astarion leaned closer to the druid female almost climbing on her. His face was full of lust and seduction, but for a moment Winnie could catch a glimpse of what looked like sadness. Astarion quickly resumed his alluring persona, not wanting Winnie to catch on to his intentions.

“Well, I believe it's time I retired for the evening.” Gale said standing up and exiting the shack. 

“Me too. We'll need our strength for tomorrow.” Wyll said as Lae'zel silently followed him.

“Yes, rest would be good. Come along Karlach.” Shadowheart said getting up. 

“Awe, but I was comfortable here.” Karlach whined.

“Come on, I'm sure Clive will be missing you.” The half elf said. 

“Oh alright.” Karlach hopped up and followed after them, leaving Winnie and Astarion alone. 

The pale elf smirked and climbed on Winnie’s lap kissing her neck as soon as the others left. 

“You don't have to do this, you know.” Winnie said, shivering as she felt the vampire’s lips moving down her neck. “You don't have to touch me just because you feel bad for me.” Astarion stopped and grabbed her chin, making her look at him.

“This isn't about pity, my dear. It's about lust. I want you. All of you.” He pushed her down on her back, causing her to squeak as he hovered over her. “I honestly feel insulted that someone would even think of calling your lovely body repulsive.” Astarion said, cupping Winnie’s breasts gently, causing the human woman to gasp. “So soft and sweet. It's on my mind ceaselessly these days.” Astarion leaned down and licked Winnie’s neck. 

“Astarion…” The brunette breathed out, feeling her vampiric companion grinding himself against her.

“Yes, my sweet?” Astarion breathed against her neck. 

“Kiss me?” She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Astarion simply smiled and pressed his lips to hers. He couldn't fathom why, but he felt the need to comfort her, to let her know how beautiful he thought she was. It was a strange urge; one he wasn't quite sure he liked. Perhaps he could use this to keep her wrapped around his finger at the very least. Winnie’s arms made their way around his neck, hands playing with his soft ivory curls. 

“Ahh!” She moaned, feeling his cold hand slip into her pants and begin to stroke her wet folds. A single finger sliding inside her and making her whimper. Astarion took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, silencing her with his kiss as he continued to play with her womanhood.

That was it, he was just ensuring her loyalty. He needed her to fall for him after all. To make sure she'd never betray him. The elven vampire pulled down her pants, along with his own. He broke the kiss, looking down at her with soft eyes. He could hear his master's voice whispering in the back of his mind. 

She'll hate you for this.

Astarion ignored it, forcing a smile as he looked down at his lover, his hand cupped her face as he positioned himself at her entrance.

“Look at me, darling. I want to see all the beautiful faces you make while I take you.” And with that he slowly began to push in. Winnie gasped, biting her lip as he stretched her walls. Definitely not as painful as the first time, but there was a slight sting as he pushed all the way in. Winnie gripped his shoulders, taking a moment to adjust before she pushed her hips up against him, edging him on. Astarion needed little encouragement before he began to thrust into her, beginning slowly and gently. The druid pulled him in for another kiss, licking his bottom lip as he rolled his hips with a soft groan. She peppered his mouth with sweet loving kisses as her hands returned to his hair. Their tongues wrapped around one another as the pale elf began to pump himself harder into her, making her moan into his mouth. Winnie threw her head back and cried out as she felt him hit her sweet spot. 

“Oh gods…” Winnie gently tugged his hair, resulting in Astarion thrusting into her once again, hitting the same spot as he bottomed out. 

“Ahhh…Ahhh..” Winnie tilted her head, exposing her neck to him, and giving him an invitation to bite. Astarion almost immediately bit down into her neck, fangs piercing her flesh as her sweet, delicious blood filled his mouth. “Fuck!” Winnie cursed, feeling a mix of pleasure and pain. Astarion moaned against her neck, hips bucking against her harder and faster with each thrust.

Others might have been completely repulsed by the wolfish druid, seeing her as not worthy of even a lustful glance. But to the vampiric rogue she was absolutely delicious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phew! Finally got this out. Sorry for the hold up on fanfics, burn out is rough. Thought it would be good to delve into Winnie's backstory a bit. Hope you enjoyed this one!

~Druid

Taglist: @vixstarria , @paganwitchisis , @kerwin290710 , @anukulee

[sakialumei]

Lilith didn't even bother to hear his explanation, she was just ready to square up with that lady.

[aiden-bevelle]

they deserve all the love honestly.

[pani-artz]

✨So I opened an Inprnt shop ✨

For all your Batstarion adventure fans 🦇

Will be adding a few more things during the week

Will be opening a Redbubble shop too hopefully this week

[leopardmuffinxo]

Karlach, I like you, but we hardly know each other.

[thunderwavesolveseverything]

Worth

Masterlist for my ongoing Astarion x Tav fic <3

Phayelynn was only a bard. She was trained to regale tales of brave adventurers of Faerûn. To write and sing praises of their heroic conquests. The excitement and amazement- the romance of it all. She never wanted to be the subject of songs. She didn't have what it takes to be a hero, no matter how hard she tried to be- a fact that was quickly becoming apparent to her newfound companions as they desperately searched for a cure for the Mind Flayer parasites taking up occupancy in their skulls.

The Baldur's Gate brain rot is alive and well, and I'm obsessed, and want to novelize my playthrough. 💜💜💜

---

(on Ao3)

Act One

The Being in the Dank Crypt

Self-Preservation

The Little Thief of Emerald Grove

A Bard & A Harpy's Song

The Night We Met

Goblins, Mindflayers and a Feared Creature of the Night

Sanguine Hunger

The Morning After

I'll Take Your Secret to the Grave

Playing the Hero

Pick Your Friends Carefully

Magic Lessons and a Sleepover

If I Knew It, I’d Cast Heroism

Words of Mine Will Turn to Ash

Down by the River

Mighty Booyahg

Devil with the Heart of Iron

Secrets and the Voice of the Absolute

Personal Cost

The Devil's Call

Unique Appetite

[justporo]

Be my remedy

Being in an established relationship is still very much uncharted territory for both Astarion and you. Thankfully, your companions arrange for you to have a moment of privacy.

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: Well, this was supposed to be nothing but a little warm-up drabble. But by now I doubt my ability to write anything below 2k words... So here you go with some fluffy fluff, enjoy!

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: talk of past trauma if you squint Wordcount: 2,2k

Song: Be My Remedy - House of Say

~~~

It hadn’t been that long since Astarion’s confession at Moonrise Towers and your promise to each other to actually try and be in a real relationship with each other. You’d agreed to take it slow and especially allow Astarion to have all the space he needed.

You couldn’t be happier. Your heart was overrunning with love every time you looked at him. Wanting nothing more but to see those soft happy smiles from the vampire again. Those he gave you in these moments when he felt comfortable and content while being with you – even if those were still short and mostly quickly overpowered by other stuff: worries about the next day, insecurity, fear of the future in general, Gale being annoying.

And the way it’s been almost chaste with him since you’ve committed yourselves to each other almost broke you. With how gentle and tentative this budding relationship was this far.

You’ve gotten used to spending the evenings and nights together in one of your tents. And you enjoyed the time spent simply talking or cuddling endlessly.

You’d also stolen small little touches and kisses time and again when the others were around. But you were still cautious with it. Partly, because this was first and foremost for the two of you to share and keep. But mostly because a sudden shyness had somehow befallen both of you, now that it was more than just sultry flirting and sneaking off into the woods at night. Now that you were both sure that real feelings were involved on both ends, it was suddenly so different. And – without specifically putting it into words – you both felt a lot more vulnerable about what it was the two of you shared now. And the thought of someone carelessly putting strain on it scared you.

Not that the others didn’t know already. Of course, they had noticed. Although Astarion and you might have been wrapped up a little too cozily in your new little bubble of tender affection - to notice that they had noticed.

But the others had more or less silently agreed to not pester you about it although Gale could hardly hold back all his comebacks he’d painstakingly come up with. Karlach had needed to be elbowed more than once to not squeal out happily when she, for example, had seen Astarion cautiously grab your wrist, lifting your hand and pressing a small kiss to your knuckles. Coincidentally at the same time that Lae’zel had to be pinched in the side to stop making loud gag noises observing the same scene.

The day had been long and exhausting. Everyone had been happy when you had finally set up camp and barely even spoken when you’d sat around the campfire enjoying the latest of the wizard’s dinner creations.

You were sitting next to Astarion – like always as of late – and were softly talking to him. You were both excited to finally see your hometown again, no matter what more horrors might await you there. Sharing bits and pieces about different places in the city you each liked and how your experiences of being Baldurian were both so utterly different, you didn’t even notice how anyone else had been quietly getting up and leaving for their own tents. A few understanding nods and glances had been exchanged and now it was just you and the vampire sitting next to the warming fire.

“I really need to take you to my favourite tavern some time, you’re absolutely going to hate it”, you said to Astarion with a huge shit-eating grin while the vampire answered with a pained grimace.

“I’m beginning to ask myself why I volunteered myself for this relationship”, Astarion muttered mockingly under his breath and dramatically rolled his eyes at you.

You laughed and softly slapped his arm. And then you realised that you were the only ones still sitting by the fire. You looked around and found that no one even was in sight – very suspicious.

When you pointed that fact out to Astarion, he smirked: “Well, maybe our friends all got a sudden lesson on privacy.” “Astarion!” “What? I have nothing to do with this, I swear!”

You gave him a look and crossed your arms over your chest while he kept insisting that for once he was totally innocent (“Actually quite like most of the time, love, you are – all of you – just way to used to just, of course, conveniently blame everything on the big bad vampire!”).

The vampire pouted now, making these big red puppy eyes at you. You were pretty sure he’d already figured out that they made you positively melt and give him just about anything – bastard.

And it got you now, too. So you scooched a little closer to your vampire on the log you were both sitting on and embraced him tightly. You could hear the sigh Astarion loosened when he felt your arms around him, and you could really feel how he relaxed into your touch. His shoulders relaxed and his usually very straight and tense spine was allowed to bend towards you as he wrapped his arms around you in return.

Your thighs and knees were mushed together as you held each other. You buried your face at his chest – directly at the point where his shirt was opened, and you could feel his cool and smooth skin. You sighed as well now. Meanwhile Astarion put his chin on top of your head.

Ever since the first hug you had shared you lived for these moments when you could just hold him. Just knowing how much comfort it gave him, even though he himself might not yet be ready to admit to himself how touch-starved he was for non-sexual intimacy that had to go nowhere but the present moment.

And you were right there with him – basically never really in your life having had someone who would have held you to just console you or just because.

You remained in the embrace for quite some time. Astarion’s hands softly moved up and down your back as you held onto him desperately and tightly – not willing to ever let him go again.

After a long while you felt how the vampire’s hands sneaked both downwards. And then with his roguish quickness, Astarion grabbed you – one hand under your knees, one on your butt – and lifted you on his lap.

You yelped and clawed your hands into his shirt as you stared at him in surprise.

Astarion grinned playfully at you, adjusting you on his lap until you were both comfortable. You were still flustered by this sudden change of position and your mouth opened and closed helplessly a few times. Not because you didn’t like it – quite the opposite. But this was a sudden step up in public display of affection for him – at least the possibility of someone seeing you like this was existent.

When the vampire saw your reaction, his smirk dropped and he started fidgeting: “Oh uhm.”

He cleared his throat a little, his eyes darted around. And it was only made more awkward by the fact that you were so close to each other and he was firmly holding you so you didn’t slide off his thighs.

He coughed again and you felt that he struggled with holding your gaze. By now you had adjusted to the new situation and were quite endeared by how shy Astarion had gotten all of a sudden: overwhelmed by his own courage.

“Ah, I hope this”, Astarion finally began and wiggled his arms and legs around (which in turn made you wiggle around and giggle), “this is alright with you?”

You looked straight into his eyes once he had found it in himself to hold your gaze again. You softly cupped his cheek and let your thumb wander over his cheekbone: “It is – more than alright even!”

For a quick moment you softly dragged his face down to yours, so his forehead touched yours shortly. “I will just tell you if something’s not fine with me, Astarion. And…”

Now it was your turn to fidget awkwardly. You were only barely more experienced in this relationship thing than he was, but you were absolutely keen on giving him the space to find out what all this meant for him.

You took a deep breath and leaned back a little. You saw a single curl fall onto his forehead when you moved away a bit – you looked at it when you spoke again.

“And I’m more than happy to let you explore and experiment with what you want and expect from all this - whatever it is”, you finally finished and felt how a blush crept up your neck and then onto your cheeks. Although it might not seem much this had cost you some overcoming. Too many times had you had bad if not downright horrendous experiences with people you had offered too much before. But you were completely sure of doing this with Astarion. He had your full trust and you wanted him to know that and be as free as possible to explore this new chapter in his life.

You were still mesmerized by the soft strand of hair on Astarion’s forehead. So you lifted your hand from his cheek and lightly, between two fingers, moved it up again. A tiny sigh left the pale elf’s lips at the innocent gesture.

The vampire looked at you as your hand now lightly wandered through his hair. His eyes were shining like rubies in the warm, flickering light of the campfire. He carefully lifted one hand up to cup your face with one hand. He let his thumb wander over your bottom lip and that was also where his gaze dropped.

“That means an awful lot, my love”, he replied softly. “I promise to always tread carefully with the trust you’ve put in me.”

His eyes found yours again. “And I guess I know what I want to do with this trust right this moment.”

He leaned in to kiss you. His soft, cool lips met yours tenderly as any remaining thought in your brain just vanished. Your hand in his hair softly curled around one of his pointy ears, your thumb gently wandering over the edge of it.

You let him set the pace, patiently allowing him to decide how much he wanted. But you didn’t need to wait for long: Astarion’s lips parted and he eagerly deepened the kiss, making you sigh into his mouth yearningly as your other hand, that had been on his chest, now balled up in his shirt and unconsciously tried to drag him even closer.

Astarion’s hand was still cupping your face and now spread out. Caressing you lightly from your cheek, down your neck and almost reaching to your collarbone with his long, elegant fingers. His other arm was holding you securely on his lap but also subtly pushing to lessen the space between you even more.

It was passionate but delicate at the same time. Inducing a fire that was burning brightly, powerfully and, most of all, warming while not being all-consuming or destructive. And you were sure that this fire would keep burning unyieldingly – especially if it was fuelled passionately like this.

After a while of getting lost in the kiss Astarion’s hand wandered slowly from your face to where your hand was still clawed in his shirt – desperate to hold onto him forever – and softly loosened it, so he could hold it. He very tenderly pulled back as your mouth left his with a long low sigh leaving your still parted lips now swollen from kissing.

Your eyes were probably still glazed over but you saw how Astarion too only slowly seemed to come back from that particular cloud you’d just been on.

“I hope that was alright as well?”, he answered with his signature smirk and a teasing tone after a few more moments of regaining composure. You were just about to scold him for ruining such a romantic, emotional moment, when you heard something.

Somewhere behind you, you heard something squeal – almost as if someone was torturing a squirrel? You turned around on Astarion’s lap and quickly spotted… Karlach peeking out from behind her tent flap, her hands balled up into fists and lifted to her mouth. You could feel her giddy, happy energy from over where you were sitting. But you were too flabbergasted by what the tiefling had obviously just observed.

You felt yourself flush from head to toe. “KARLACH!”, you shrieked as you heard Astarion laugh (albeit a little nervously).

Karlach’s eyes widened as she realised that she might’ve been a little insensitive about this all.

“Uh – I’m sorry. I just…”, she started and then stopped again. “I’m just so happy for you”, she blurted out and you saw some of her joy return. But then she remembered that she should probably leave you alone. “Alright”, she muttered while she made to disappear into her tent again. Quickly she lowered her tent flap down again and was gone.

But then she stretched out her arm once more, offering you a firm thumbs-up.

“But just so you know, we’re all rooting for you two”, were Karlach’s final words before disappearing for good. You blushed again and turned back around to find Astarion smile genuinely at you. He softly started to laugh, then more and more. His head fell back and his eyes closed and you couldn’t help but join in.

And then that was settled.

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess

[ahoycaptainautumn]

Fated Mates Part 5

Synopsis: you, a vengeful vampire slayer, cross paths with the devious and handsome Astarion. Instead of a stake through the heart, Astarion finds something he thought impossible for vampire spawn. A mate.

After your night in a shared tavern room you find yourself tending to a hurt Astarion. Wounded, he finds himself famished.

Legs collapsing under you, you lean against the now closed bathroom door as you slide to the floor. What in the hells just happened? The whole thing felt like a blur. A memory of someone else’s. There’s no way you would lust after someone like him. It’s as if being in his presence makes all the hate and anger you have towards vampires melt to the background. It’s so easy to forget who he is, what he is. It’s so easy to fall into a hysterical rivalry full of jabs and insults. You would dare say it’s even.. enjoyable. You hoist yourself back up and run to the wash basin to splash water in your face. This can’t be happening. Whatever the hell that was was a fluke. It would never, ever, happen again. Somewhere small, in the very back of your mind, you almost caught your own lie.

After getting dressed and preparing mentally you go back out to the room. You are greeted with an empty bedroom. You sign in relief and grab your belongings before heading out. You meet with your party down on the base floor. Heads turn in your direction and nod in greeting. Though Astarion finds it more interesting to chat up the barmaid currently serving him. You bristle at the sight but wipe it from your mind. It never happened for you and it never happened for him, problem solved. You slide into the booth besides Karlach as she pushes a breakfast plate your way.

“Get enough sleep then, beauty queen?” Karlach asks. You greedily wolf down the plate in front of you as you reply.

“Best nights rest I’ve had in a minute!” You respond joyfully in between mouth fulls. Karlach laughs as you attempt to wipe around your mouth.

“Here.” Gale reaches out with his thumb and wipes your chin where a bit of food was left. “Good as new.” He beams. You can’t help the light blush that dusts your cheeks.

“Oh well thank you Gale.” Though unbeknownst to you, Astarion watches with obvious distaste.

“Alright alright, well if you're all down engorging yourself I’d really like to get back on the road. Places to be and all that.” Astarion announces from the top of the table. He slides his chair out from under him and makes way towards the door. You raise an eyebrow towards Shadowheart.

“Before you got down from your room we ended up finding some leads on potential cures on the tadpoles. There’s a goblin priestess who serves the Absolute. She’s alledgedly in the Selunite temples a few towns over near Elturel.” Shadowheart goes on to explain. With that, you finish your breakfast and head out with the rest of your group.

-

A few hours into your journey your group comes across a darkened path. Signs in a tongue you don’t recognize line the dirt road leading forward. Enormous trees with thick treetops darken the path till near darkness. Not a sound comes from it. No chirping song birds, no rustling of deer. Just the howling wind rushing between the tree limbs. Something about it makes you uneasy. You stop in your tracks at the sight. You nearly want to tell everyone to turn around. To ask a fellow traveler another way ahead. Just as you want to turn and say something, Astarion comes shoulder to shoulder with you. He looks you over and clicks his tongue.

“My my, don’t tell me you're scared little killer?” He mocks. You scoff and cross your arms in defiance.

“I am not! I’m just.. concerned. For everyone’s safety.” You defend. He only gives a laugh as he saunters off further down the trail. Shadowheart offers a reassuring squeeze of your shoulder.

“All will be well.” She says before following Astarion. As much as you want to take stock into what she says, you can’t help the nervous pit in your stomach. You swallow your fear and head forward with the rest of the group.

The inside of the forest is just as haunting as the entrance showed. You keep a hand on the blade you have holstered at your side. Gale begins a tangent on a story about a magical forest or another before a sound stops you. It’s faint, but the snap of twigs up to the left has you on alert. The others hear it too and stop along with you. The sound stops and you wait a moment before continuing.

“Probably a lost fawn, probably just as scared as our little leade-agh!” Astarion’s bantering ceases when an arrow flies and hits him directly in the shoulder. He falls to a crouch while reaching for the intrusion in his arm. The rest of your team also crouches and brandishes their weapon. More arrows fly from the tops of the trees and it sends you all scampering for cover. Astarion, Karlach, Lae-zel and you go for the left side of the trail while the rest of the team goes for the other side. Lae’zel and you go for throwing knives and arrows where Karlach damn near burns the trees surrounding you down. Astarion does some damage as best as he can with one arm down. You see the other members of your party fighting just as hard.

As weapons fly the amount of arrows lessens till it ceases. Out of breath and bloodied you and Lae’zel trot ahead to look at the damage done. A small fleet of goblins lay dead and scattered on the forest floor. You both make quick work in retrieving anything useful from them all before regrouping. Shadowheart does her best to mend Astarions shoulder with what she has at hand.

“It looks like there was a bit of poison on the tip of the arrow. I have most of what I need to purge it from his system, it may take a few hours to fully leave his body.” Shadowheart explains. Astarions face is twisted in pain as he holds onto his wounded shoulder.

“Their camp is close by. I say we finish off whomever is left and take it for the night.” Lae’zel mentions. You nod in agreement and help Shadowheart with getting Astarion up and on his feet. Ever arrogant he brushes off the help and stays determined to act as if nothing wounded him. You roll your eyes but drop it before getting into another “lovers quarrel”. The group follows Lae’zel’s lead as she hunts down the goblin camp. It takes some time to get there, a lot to do with injuries sustained. You keep a watchful eye on Astarion as he pants with each step. You can tell he lost a good bit of blood from the way he seems even more pale than usual. The poison creates a gnarly green color around the wound. He wears a pained scowl that tells he was well and truly hurt.

Finally you all come upon a small ridge overlooking a clearing. Below lies the goblin camp with the slim amount of goblins left. It takes nearly no effort for you and your group to silently clear them out from above. Once the last ones are dead you all slip down into the campsite. To your surprise there was actually quite a bit of supplies at the camp. Scavenging around you find a supply tent full of dried meats, fruits, medicines, soaps, and more. You wave everyone over and you can practically feel the excitement at having so much food at your fingertips. Karlach makes quick work of getting a fire going while you and Gale portion out food for everyone. Everyone settles in around the campfire as they dig into the food you handed out.

Astarion sits on a log with his untouched plate next to him. Shadowheart had done all she could in healing him but the blood loss was getting to Astarions head. The pain was searing into his shoulder. As if reading his mind, you come and sit next to him.

“Wyll mentioned seeing a stream just past the trees over yonder. How about we get that wound cleaned?” You ask. Your face holds no malice, no hint of an ulterior motive. Just genuine concern with your eyebrows scrunched in worry. It makes something in Astarions stomach does flips that he quickly shuts down.

“If you’re looking for a way to see me naked you could just be forthcoming.” Astarion jokes. As much as he wants to maintain a look of cool arrogance you can hear the pain laced in his words. You punch him in his good shoulder lightly. He feigns an overly dramatic wounded look.

“Or I want to make sure you are properly healed. I need you alive, remember?” You tut at him. You stand offering your hand to help him up. He ignores it and stands on his own. You grab a bucket, soaps, and linens from the supply tent and lead Astarion into the tree line. You hear howls and whistles coming from your companions but you both ignore them. It doesn’t take very long for you both to come upon the stream. Astarion plops down against a nearby tree while you fetch water. Sitting in front of him you aid in carefully getting is bloodied shirt off. You can tell he has another snide comment coming but you shut it down with a glare. He tries to chuckle at the face you make but getting his shirt off from around the wound makes him see red with pain. The blood around the wound causes the cloth to stick to his skin like glue. You carefully pick it away with as much tenderness as you can. Astarion watches you as you concentrate on freeing him of his shirt. Even through the pain he can’t help but feel mesmerized by you. The way your eyes sparkle with determination. The way you bit your lip in concentration. It nearly distracts him from the searing pain in his shoulder.

“Alright hold still, it might hurt a little.” You warn. You soak a washcloth in soapy water before beginning to dab at the incision. Astarion hisses in pain but keeps still. To distract himself he asks you.

“Why Cazador?” He finds himself asking. It had been on his mind since you propositioned him days earlier. What on earth would a non-vampire have to do with him?

“Well aren’t you blunt. And rude may I add. Not one for light conversation?” You deflect the question. Your mind already wanting to go to that dark place. To the memories you try so hard to run from.

“And I don’t think that’s an answer.” He retorts. You snort a laugh at him before returning to the seriousness of the question. You had never told anyone before. Not that there has really been anyone who knew Cazador before Astarion. But your trauma, your grief, was yours to bear. And you did so alone. But something breaks your silence and has the words tumbling from your lips.

“He killed my family. A deal gone wrong with my father that costed him our entire family.” You stare at the work at hand, refusing to meet Astarions eyes. Before he has a chance to respond you just give him a silent shake of your head. You weren’t ready to hear the “I’m sorrys” that came with your story. To discuss it any further. Astarion seems to understand and nods his head.

With a bit of determination and care you are able to clean the wound nearly completely. You take the extra bit of linens you brought and wrap it around the wound to allow it to heal. You look to Astarion ready to make some comment to break the tension before you notice how gaunt he looks. His eyes find yours and for the first time they look... vulnerable.

“Astarion, are you okay?” Your hand comes to rest on his cheek to turn his face completely to yours. He sighs and you can see the slight shake in his body.

“I need to feed. But in this state I don’t know how possible that is.” He sighs. He can feel the hunger rattling his canines. The way his stomach howls and his throat aches. He remembers this type of hunger. When he thought he would die at the mercy of Cazador withholding disgusting vermin. You search his eyes and find only the truth. You swallow hard and bring a hand up to brush away your hair from your shoulder. You turn your head to the side and hold your hands in your lap.

“Well then be quick. And don’t think I’ll offer this every time you get hurt.” Your voice shakes. Your mind and body scream at you that this is a horrible idea. A terrible idea. But with the way Astarion looks at you, you know he will only be getting worse without satiating his hunger. Astarions head whips forward and his eyes nearly bug out from his head. Did he hear you right? Were you truly offering yourself to him?

“Dear, are you sure?” He asks, confused. He can see the shake in your body but you still nod your head. He takes your hand in his as he ventures closer to your neck.

“Tell me when to stop and I promise I will.” He whispers against your skin. The slight nod of understanding is all he needs before he bears his fangs. His teeth bury themselves into the nape of your neck and you can’t help the way it takes your breath away. You squeeze Astarions hand for support. It makes all thoughts melt away from you. It blends the two of you into one as if you are two parts of the same soul. It’s painful but also somehow peaceful. As if a wave of comfort and belonging flowed from him. You lean into him and relax.

For Astarion it’s as if he is seeing color for the very first time. As if the earth had cracked open and freed him from centuries of neglect. Rushing feelings of euphoria hit him as he greedily gulps down your delectable blood. That all too familiar feeling of the bond aches to be knotted inside of him. To take and claim you as you are rightfully his. That the universe had graced him with a mate and all he had to do was reach out and take. Astarion feels dizzy with power. With lust. With an all consuming feeling that you would be his destruction and resurrection.

You gently squeeze his hand as you feel yourself getting more and more dizzy. You feel lightheaded as if you're melting into the clouds. He doesn’t register your grip and you squeeze once again.

“Astarion.” You are able to barely whisper. At that he snaps from his trance and retracts from you. He laps up the remaining blood from your neck and you shiver at his tongue's touch. It riles something inside of him that sends electricity right to his core. You look over at him with a near dopey smile. He can’t help but smile back even with your blood glistening off his canines.

“Hey, you didn’t kill me.” You giggle. He can’t help but laugh with you. He can tell the blood loss was making you nearly drunk, a sleepiness taking over.

“Ye of little faith. Now come on, you go on back to camp.” He dusts himself off and helps stand you up alongside him. You give him a confused look.

“And where are you doing?” You ask. His eyes darken with a glint. He looks stronger. Vibrant. Ready to take on anything.

“To hunt, little killer. I’ll be back.” And with that he stalks off into the night. As you make your way back to camp you miss the cracking sounds of feet nearby. Of a hidden sorcerer hidden in the trees following Astarion.

-

You wake to a screaming match outside your tent. Sunlight streams in through your thin tent and has you blinking away the sleep from your eyes. You rub your eyes with your palms and try to straighten yourself. The screaming only gets louder outside. You nearly throw your pillow over your head and attempt to get more sleep. To ignore whatever juvenile argument was happening between your partners. But the word vampire has you jolting awake and running outside.

You find Gale spearheading the group as they corral Astarion to the edge of the camp. His hands are up in mock defense as he lashes out at them with insults.

“Tell me one good reason I shouldn’t run a stake through your dead heart!” Gale screams. The rest of your party stands behind him, ready to pounce. You run to Astarions side without a thought.

“(y/n)! Careful! He’s a-“ Karlach starts.

“Vampire.” You finish, standing in front of Astarion between him and the witch hunt. Everyone looks shocked at your admission. Even Astarion seems dumbfounded. Why were you defending him?

“You knew? You knew and you let him continue to follow us? To live?” Wyll responds.

“That’s exactly what I did.” You keep your cool as best you can. But your hand twitches just above the blade you keep holstered at your thigh.

“Why in the gods names would you do that? You’re a vampire hunter for gods sake!” Wyll continues. Somehow the answer is easy. Easier than you thought admitting it would be.

“Because I trust him.” A hush falls over you all. Your heart beats wildly as you attempt to think of an escape plan if things are to go bad. Astarion all but forgets the angry mob in front of him. Your words stick in his mind and take up all its space. Trust. You trusted him. Him who has only ever been deceitful. A liar, a con man. Someone who has never been trusted and has never given reason to. And you, a little vampire hunter, trusted him. The mating bond sings in his mind and shines bright.

“Give us one reason to trust him.” Gale counters. You take a second to think of a good reason before your hand reaches up towards your collar. You shrug your jacket off and thrust the collar of your shirt down. You expose the bite marks Astarion left on your body from last night.

“Because he fed on me and stopped. Because I trusted him and he did nothing to disprove it. I gave him a chance at my life and he denied it. Which means you can all do the same.” You loosen your grip on your shirt and watch everyone’s reaction. They all seemed stunned, not expecting your answer. Astarion can barely believe it either. He takes a step forward to stand next to you. His shoulders touch yours as he comes close.

“We are all afflicted with these awful worms in our heads. We are all on the same team. Besides, I mostly have self control.” He tries to calm the group. It takes a moment but the tension of the air dissipates. Shoulders slump and weapons are reholsted. Sighs of relief are heard all around.

“Well as long as you don’t bite I guess that’s that.” Shadowheart says as she turns away. The rest of the group grumbles their shared approval and head back to their respective tents. Your body finally relaxes as you let go a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You look over at Astarion to find him already looking at you. You turn to ask him what’s on his mind before his lips find your forehead. The kiss is swift, barely skin to skin contact. But it blossoms a blush across your whole body all the same. You look up at him to find him smiling.

“Thank you, your kindness will not be forgotten.” He says before walking away to his tent. You freeze in position unable to move or think. Your hand reaches up and touches where he had kissed you. You inspect your fingers as if looking for evidence that that had truly happened. Something deep and ancient stirs deep inside you and you're terrified of how much you enjoyed it.

Part four here

Part six here

[tealfling]

Little Headcanon Scenes

I imagine happen in my Amaranth playthrough that I don't have stories to go with.

- Amaranth flits around camp, ever the busybody, checking on the other companions and helping them with their chores. Asking if they need anything. Ever since she allowed him to drink from her, Astarion has been acutely aware of presence. Always a ping on the compass in his mind. But she'll do things that'll catch him off guard. Like sneak up behind him (hard to do) while he's reading. She'll grab him by the chin and tilt it up to her as she leans in to study his face. At first he's startled by the touch, but will relax when he sees it's her. He'll try to collect himself and not melt into the devastating warmth of her hands. Like always, he'll reflexively throw a seductive line at her, while asking what he can do for her, but she'll stroke her thumbs from the dark circles under his eyes down his cheeks. It's so gentle, caring. Astarion won't know how to react. Suddenly there's nothing to focus on but the sprinkle of white freckles across her purple cheeks, like a starry night, or the way her long silver hair has fallen around his face like a protective curtain. or the way her crystal clear eyes read him intently, almost concerned. He can almost feel himself blush from her heat. Her voice is be soft when she says "Just checking." Astarion's brows will crease confused. "On what?" It's a defensive snap, and harsher than he means. "On you. You look like you haven't fed well in a while, would you like a little midnight snack?" Amaranth's voice is low enough so only he hears, but her tone is playful and her cute little nose crinkles. Astarion couldn't help the small smile when he said, "How very altruistic of you. But if you're offering Darling, how could I say no?" He meant it to sound much more suave, but her smile grew. "Alright, I'll see you later then." For the briefest second, he thought she might say something else. Maybe it was the glance she gave his lips like she might press hers to his, but she just popped up, sauntering away, and Astarion wished she had.

- The first couple of days of their journey would have been hard for Amaranth to deal with only having one pair of pants. The pair she had on while abducted. Eventually she'd try to fashion her own out of some looted pair she finds. It's hard to get the right fit with a tail to consider. Why not get some at the Grove, from the tiefling refugees? Because, they're refugees!! Hasn't enough been taken from them?! And now you want her to take their pants? Absolutely not. Obviously she can make do with what she can find. She's a pretty good quilter after all, but not really good at tailoring. She's already removed all those bullshit sleeves from her shirts, how hard can it be? Those skills aren't as transferable as she thought, however. What, like, you've never had a meltdown over a seam ripper before? Astarion will swoop in to fix it bc how is he supposed to act when he finds she's crying with half her vast ass hanging out of some pillaged pants? Dry those tears and put away that pouty lip, it's.... making him feel bad. He'll take care of it for her, he's used to fixing his own clothes. It's the least he could do with everything she's given him. He'll also be stealing something better for her to wear as soon as he can. It'll be a nice little gift, something to repay her with.

- As soon as Karlach is touchable, Amaranth showers her bestie with all the hugs she can handle. Literally, hanging off her bigger friend half the time. [At least until she overheats, Amaranth still hates being sweaty, as much as she loves her friend.] Piggy back rides are a frequent occurrence. Occasionally, with Karlach on the receiving side, Amaranth is surprisingly strong, but Karlach actually prefers her little purple backpack, it’s a comfort thing. Being finally held by another. It’s around this time that the others in the party were starting to suspect something might be going on between Amaranth and Astarion. Lately they've been visibly inseparable, constantly whispering secrets and inside jokes. It's also been noted that when one seemingly disappears the other is also coincidently missing. So it’s kind of strange that Amaranth's suddenly very touchy with Karlach, even more so than Amaranth's normal chumminess with them. Astarion is never far behind the two tieflings, still seemingly at the purple one's beck and call, but the others can’t get a read on what’s going on there. Gale and Wyll are constantly exchanging glances. Who’s going to say something first? Wyll cracks first, not one to forgo the opportunity to poke at the vampire. He looks at Amaranth wrapped behind Karlach, then elbows the pale elf, “So, Astarion, you and Amaranth seem pretty close. How come we never see you carrying her on your back?” The other man never gets the chance to reply. Somehow Karlach beats him to a punchline, “Because she can ride me longer obviously.” Amaranth grabs the red tiefling from behind by the horns and shakes her head. “Karlach!” She exclaims with a nervous laugh while Karlach cackles. The elf clicks his tongue and crosses his arms, turning his head, clearly pouting. "Oh I assure you, I'm the best ride any of you could ever get," he bites. Amaranth tugs back on Karlach's horns so they can look at each other from the side, "Well, none of my rides have made me 'see stars' or taken me 'to the FeyWild and back,' so I guess we all have room for improvement." Karlach groans shamefully as the three men look at them. Gale and Wyll exchange confused glances, and Wyll mutters about being sorry he said anything.