#yes i believe Dairon would be the best disapproving but supportive wing person

[your-reference-here]

Dairon tried. They really did. Through words, through actions, and through punches, they tried to pass on the lesson about the dangers of connections to Beauregard. And yet, the moment they caught up with her and the rest of the Mighty Nein, it was painfully obvious that the girl hadn’t absorbed any of it.

It was the stares that caught their attention first. During conversation with the entire group, they watched as blue eyes would subconsciously drift over to blue skin, only to snap back sharply with a look of inwardly berating focus. Then it was the comments, ranging from subtle encouragement to outright overt compliments. It was a wonder that the teifling girl did not pick up on their underlying meaning. But then again, she likely didn’t have Dairon’s keen eye.

Strange circumstances soon forced Dairon and the tiefling girl—Jester, as Beauregard pointed out emphatically—to pair up for a reconnaissance mission. Jester would distract while Dairon snuck in to get the documents they needed. Meanwhile, the rest of the group would stay nearby as backup should things get...out of hand, as the depressed, red-haired wizard explained. Dairon didn’t miss the way Beauregard pulled Jester aside, nor the way Jester placed a gentle hand on Beauregard’s arm as she undoubtedly spoke words of reassurance. The girl’s touch and voice had instantaneous effects on Beauregard. Dairon shook their head and focused on the mission. 

Hours passed.

“Do you like Beau?”

Dairon’s head tilted toward Jester at the sudden question, partially distracted from their scouting of the shop from the small alleyway they crouched in across the street. “Why do you ask?”

They saw Jester shrug from their peripheral vision. “I dunno. I just noticed you’ve just been giving her these weird looks since we caught up with you again, and I can’t figure out why, so I thought I’d ask?”

Ah. Perhaps they were wrong about Jester not having a keen eye.

“Is it unusual for a teacher to appraise their student after a period of separation?”

“I guess not. These looks seemed weird though, like you were worried about something.”

“Have you not seen me worried about things before?”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

A very keen eye.

Dairon sighed. “Beauregard is a gifted expositor, but despite her outwardly brash persona, she is very quick to attach herself to people. It is useful, but also dangerous.”

“What, caring about people?” Jester asked, a joking incredulity in her voice. Dairon took the briefest glance away from the shop back to Jester to shoot her a stony, serious look. Jester’s teasing face fell slightly.

“Yes.”

Dairon turned back to the shop. Silence fell once more. A few minutes later Jester spoke again, this time much quieter.

“She almost left us, you know.”

That caught Dairon by surprise, and they turned around again. Jester’s gaze was cast down to the ground, unreadable, but they still noticed her hands clutching the fabric of her skirt tightly. “We were helping break a curse on Veth, and she offered to leave us forever.” Violet eyes looked up, and Dairon saw a faint sheen in them. “Do you...do you think she should have done it?”

Dairon was silent for a moment as they carefully considered their answer.

“No.”

Jester was clearly surprised by the succinct response. “But you just said-”

“It is not hard to see that she cares deeply for all of you,” Dairon interrupted. “I fear what losing any one of you would do to her, but all of you at once would surely have broken her spirit. For that reason, I am glad she did not go through with it.”

Jester gave them a small smile. “Yeah, me too. She was pretty bad for a while after that.”

“Bad how?” Dairon asked.

“Like, she got really distant, but she’s gotten better. Mostly.” Jester’s brow furrowed. “But there’s still these weirdly awkward moments sometimes that I can’t figure out? Like she’ll say something and then just walk away and I have no idea why? Or she’ll make a comment and it’s not like it’s anything we haven’t said before to each other but she’ll act completely different about it now?”

...Maybe not so keen after all.

“Have you spoken with her about it?”

“I tried once back in Rexxentrum, which was actually before the hag now that I think about it, but I thought I figured it out then and it’s not gotten any better and I’m starting to worry it’s something I did?” Jester’s words were starting to not make sense as she was on the verge of rambling, which in a scouting mission was not ideal for focus, so Dairon cut her off before she could continue.

“Perhaps it is, but not in the way you think.”

Jester blinked. “What?”

Dairon shushed Jester as they noticed a patron finally walk into the shop. They both refocused, and just before they enacted their plan, Dairon made a mental note that Beauregard owed them one for planting the hint in Jester’s mind. Personal opinions aside, if Beauregard was going to have this connection, then they weren’t going to watch these two dance around each other. Might as well give things a little nudge.