#the fantastical multiverse mod dropped and vesper got a whole new glow up

[soupandsorcery]

In the morning, her neck hurts. It's like a bruise, throbbing and irritated, and whenever she turns her head, it flares up, reminding her of what she let Astarion do last night. Probably not one of her better ideas, but it worked out in the end. Which was for the best, because it would have been a pity to have to stake him. Astarion's funny.

Vesper stretches and then winces, getting dressed quickly. She checks her appearance in the little mirror she keeps on her, and there on her neck are two little fang marks. They're dully red and neat, evidence of the clean bite. When she presses her fingers to them, they feel warm, and the pain flares just a bit.

Hopefully they'll behave like any other scars. They'll trouble her for a bit and then fade away in time.

"Good morning."

Astarion's voice makes her turn. There's a brightness to his eyes that wasn't there before, but there's something guarded too. Like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Good morning," Vesper says back. "How do you feel?"

"I was going to ask you the same question."

She shrugs. "My neck hurts. How do you think I feel?"

His eyes look her over from head to toe, but for once, it lacks all the flirtatious teasing he's been pulling for the last week or so. It's just...curiosity. A different sort of interest.

"There's something...different about you," Astarion says. "About your blood."

Vesper raises an eyebrow, keeping her face neutral. Now that is something she didn't consider. It's been easy enough to hide her true nature from her new companions, and any slips she might have made have gone unnoticed with the tadpoles and the ticking time bomb they represent taking priority. But Astarion has been closer to her than anyone else. Intimately close, one could say.

"Different from rats and boars you mean?" they ask, affecting lightness.

Astarion picks up on it instantly. Takes a liar to know one, Vesper supposes. "No," he says, lifting an eyebrow. "Well, yes. But that's not what I mean. Your blood was...intense. Almost spicy in a way."

"Spicy?"

"Well, I don't know how else to describe it! It burned, but it wasn't an unpleasant heat. In fact, it was downright delicious. But definitely not normal."

"And how would you know? You said yourself you've never fed on a person before. Maybe this is just what humans taste like."

It's a poor attempt at deflecting, and Astarion brushes it aside easily. "It isn't. I can smell it now that I know what I'm looking for. You don't smell anything like Wyll or Shadowheart or even Lae'zel. A bit closer to Lae'zel, now that I think about it, but still. You're hiding something."

He sounds almost gleeful to say it, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at her with all the sass at Astarion's considerable command.

And all of a sudden, Vesper is tired. Tired of hiding, tired of the subtle disguise spell that changes certain parts of her. This far from Waterdeep, no one's heard of her, and while she'd been worried about Gale knowing, even he hadn't shown any sign of recognition. They'd relished the chance to shake off the mantle of their old life and be someone else for once, but she hadn't considered the burden of hiding so constantly.

She sighs and rolls her shoulders, the bite on her neck twinging with pain again. It keeps her head clear as she regards Astarion and makes a snap decision.

"You're right," they say. "And I suppose fair is fair. Come with me." They turn on their heel and start walking, pacing away from camp.

"I--wait!" Astarion calls after her, then scrambles to catch up. "You can't just say that and then walk away."

"I'm not doing this here," Vesper hisses. "Not where everyone can see."

"See what?" Astarion asks.

Vesper doesn't answer. They just keep walking with purpose towards a little cluster of trees, far enough away from the camp that they don't have to worry about anyone seeing this. She can only imagine what Shadowheart would have to say, if she knew. No, that's a bridge to be crossed later. Maybe much later, depending on how this goes with Astarion.

Astarion, who is waiting, tapping his foot with impatience that seems at odds with the rampant curiosity in his eyes.

"Well?" he drawls. "What have you dragged me out here to see? Oh--is this where you reveal that you've been in disguise all this time? Because I did wonder, you know."

"You...wondered?"

"Naturally. No one is that beautiful. Except me, but that's different."

Honestly, Vesper can't help but laugh. It tickles her down to her bones, and she goes with it, letting the spell she's had up almost constantly since being abducted finally drop.

It feels like breathing. Like taking the first true, deep breath she's had in days. Her wings spread out behind her, shimmering iridescent and white in the morning sun. She flaps them once, twice, and then lets them fall closed against her back. Her eyes shift from the plain, muddy brown they were magicked into, glowing silvery pale with radiant fire. Everything else, her face, her hair, her stature, remains the same.

Some people, apparently, are just that beautiful.

Astarion stares at her, mouth slightly agape. It's the most stunned she's ever seen him, and she grins, feeling suddenly, incredibly amazing.

"I think this is the longest you've gone without saying anything, Astarion. No witty quips?"

"You're an aasimar," Astarion breathes, and he sounds well and truly shocked. "Gods below."

"It's not as exciting as it seems," Vesper tells him. "I'm not some celestial messenger or anything. I'm from Waterdeep, and I was snatched out of a fighting pen by a bunch of mind flayers. The wings are the coolest part, honestly."

"They are quite impressive." Astarion is still staring, but he shakes himself, letting some of the wonder retreat behind his usual haughty pout. "Well, well, we are an interesting group, aren't we? At least that ship full of tentacled freaks had taste in their victims."

Vesper snorts. "Small comfort, but I guess you're right."

"My question is why trust me with this?"

"You trusted me."

Red eyes roll as Astarion scoffs. "That's different. You caught me in the act, and I got something out of it. What do you get out of this?"

"Last night you said you felt happy after feeding on me. Was that just because of the blood?"

There's a pause as Astarion thinks that over. "Mostly the blood, I suppose. Although, there is something to be said for not having to hide it anymore."

Vesper inclines their head to him. "Exactly. I just want to be me."

"It would be hypocritical of me to argue with that."

"It would," Vesper agrees cheerfully.

"I don't suppose you're feeling in a sharing enough mood to explain the fighting pen thing?"

She laughs at that, shaking her head. "Not right now. Maybe next time I let you feed off of me, I'll tell you."

"I'll hold you to that. Am I right in assuming you don't want the rest of our cohort to know about this just yet?"

"You are. I'll tell them eventually, but for now, you're the only one who can know."

"Dangerous, trusting the vampire spawn with a secret."

"Why, Astarion, just last night you told me I could trust you," Vesper says, pressing a hand over their chest dramatically.

He rolls his eyes again. "And I don't think you believed me for a moment."

"Not true. You're here, aren't you? Seeing this." She spreads her wings once more, enjoying the freedom to stretch them out while she can.

Astarion blinks and then glances away. "So I am. Well." He doesn't seem to know what to say to that, and Vesper figures she's pushed him enough for one moment.

She sighs and works her spell once more, hiding the wings, turning her eyes back to mundane brown. It feels worse now, than it did before, and she resolves that she's going to tell the rest of the group soon. And anyone else they encounter will just have to deal with it.

She's free of the pens now, and she doesn't plan to spend the rest of her life hiding. However long that might be. But for today, they have things to do. A druid to find, goblins to kill, and who knows what else.

It feels good to have someone know, though. To have at least one person see her. Vesper would not have assumed it would be Astarion, but somehow it works. It feels right in an odd way.

They're not going to delude themself that this is going to be some kind of turning point where she and Astarion become best friends and start sharing all their secrets, but...it's a start. It's something.

And Vesper has learned to take what she can get.