Vampires don't do Yoga - TrainingAnteater14 (2024)

Chapter 1: Escape from the Nautaloid

Chapter Text

BAM

Astarion was jolted into consciousness by a hard whack to the forehead. He winced and grabbed his head with one hand while squinting at his surroundings. He found himself being held in a hard clear casing. He first tried shoving on the walls of the case to try to break free, when that failed he felt around for a latch but found it seamlessly integrated into the soft fleshy interior.

BAM

He felt the whole room drop as he was slammed into the side this time. As the room tilted, he could see a whole slew of items begin to slide across the room straight towards him.

SMASH

A large table covered in glass objects crashed straight into the corner of the pod. Astarion felt the pod casing weaken from the blow and punched it further from the inside.

BAM BAM BAM

It loosened slightly but he needed more power. He felt around the inside of the pod for something, anything he could use as leverage.

The flesh of the pod was warm and pulsed as though it was alive. Perhaps it bleeds he thought to himself. After a moments' hesitation, he decided it probably wasn't sentient. He braced himself and closed his eyes tightly as he leaned to bite into the side of the pod.

Lukewarm inky liquid flowed into his mouth. He stifled a gag. The pod bled a deep blackish blue that stained his lips and chin. The liquid was bitter and left a rotten taste in his mouth, but it worked, the pod was looser and he felt much stronger. He used his new found strength to force his dagger hard into the weak point.

CRACK

He was free.

Assessing his surroundings, he was on what appeared to be a living ship. He was about to exit into the next corridor when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He quickly slinked to the darkest corner of the room to hide.

BOOM

Astarion's pointy teeth bit back a laugh as he watched the blur of purple fly backward.

"That's enough exploring for me." The man said lying prone, eyebrows slightly singed after having the vat blow up in his face. He grunted, dusted himself off, pulled out a staff and began making markings onto the floor.

Suddenly the man disappeared into a purple light and Astarion was alone again.

Chapter 2: The Octopus has landed

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A gentle warmth surrounded Astarion, he struggled to open his eyes to the brightness. As they adjusted he suddenly realized he was lying in a grassy field, fully exposed to the mid-afternoon sun. Adrenaline shot through him and he instinctively leaped for the nearest shadow.

After regaining some sense of calm, he noticed his left elbow was still exposed, but to no effect. He should have been long dead by now.

His mind rushed with anxiety as he rolled up his sleeve and let his whole arm free, body buzzing with excitement, instead of burning he felt an incredible soft warmth. After exposing his other arm he felt confident enough to step out into the sun.

It felt amazing. It had been hundreds of years since he'd seen the sun. Everything was so much brighter and more colorful than he ever remembered.

He eagerly removed his shirt and let his whole body bathe in the light. The bright green grasses waved in a light breeze, beckoning him. He waded into the field and laid down, arms out, taking in the wonder.

He could have stayed there forever but his joy was interrupted by a faint echoing voice. He briefly considered ignoring it, but his suspicious side always won and he rolled into a crouch to investigate the sound.

"H-Hello-oh-oh?" The echo came from a familiar purple light in a nearby rock. "Is someone there-ere?" A hand jutted out from the rock, "A hand? Anyone?"

Astarion approached the hand. He could help, but what would he get out of it? He considered his new found freedom and wondered what else he could do. He gently touched his fingers to his lips. After centuries eating rats and with the foul taste of the pod still lingering on his tongue, now was the perfect time to test his new limits. He kneeled down and grabbed the hand and took a small bite of the wrist. The flavor was delicious.

"Ow! Did you just bite me!?" The hand flicked Astarion in the nose , " Perhaps I should have clarified, I need a hand. Pull me out will you?"

Astarion sat back on his heels and rubbed his nose. He could stop, but it was his first taste and the flavor of sentient blood was more delicious than he anticipated. High on his new freedoms he bargained with himself, perhaps just one more bite, just to make sure he could, then he would help. He leaned in to take another drink but then stopped. Suddenly the blood turned hot and his stomach burned. The burning spread like electricity through his veins and his head ached. Spots formed in his eyes tunneling his vision.

He was poisoned.

The joyous feeling was gone, anger fueled him now. That conniving bastard better have the antidote he thought. He focused his fading vision on the hand and pulled hard.

"Oof!" Astarion coughed out.

He must have been stronger than he remembered as he pulled the man from the light with such strength he landed right on top of him.

"For a moment there I thought- ..." Gale stopped mid sentence as staring directly into Astarion's deep red eyes. "er- ... Hello." He found himself momentarily speechless. The moment passed quickly however, and he cracked a huge smile as he recognized the curly white hair.

"Say, I know you, don't I, in a manner of speaking of course, you were on the nautaloid as well! I can only assume you too were on the receiving end of a rather, unwelcome insertion in the ocular region? You don't happen to be a cleric by any chance?"

Astarion's vision blurred. The heavy weight of the wizard and the combined poison in his veins made it impossible to maneuver away. He furrowed his brow and attempted to glare as the purple blob rambled on.

"Ah! Apologies for my ill-manners, thank you for pulling me out of that stone. I'm Gale of Waterdeep, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance my friend." The wizard stood up, dusted off his robes and reached out his hand to pull Astarion up.

Finally an opportunity, Astarion grabbed the wizard's hand and pulled him back down towards his dagger. He brought his lips to Gale's ear. " You.. poisoned me.." he croaked out with a whisper.

"Poison? Surely I would remember if... " Gale looked closer at his rescuer, a stain of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and a glint of fangs showed between scowling lips. Surprised, Gale added the evidence to the bite on his wrist, "Did... Did you drink my blood?"

"Obviously..." Astarion replied, his voice was cracked and dry but still laced with attitude. "Now fix it...or die."

Chapter 3: A Symbiotic Relationship

Chapter Text

"You knotty pated fool! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Gale exclaimed, his words were scolding but his tone was of glee. He had always suspected something like this could happen but to see it in practice was positively thrilling.

"It's only a theory" He said, analyzing Astarion up and down, "I suspect your body is rejecting the power you adsorbed."

"I don't care what it is, I just want it fixed." Astarion pressed the knife closer to Gale's side.

"If you want me to help you'll have to put down the knife." Gale replied confidently. The excitement of this new discovery overrode any sense of fear. Astarion lowered the knife ever so slightly. "Excellent, now I want you to relax as much as possible." Gale instructed.

Astarion mostly complied, relaxing his grip on Gale's arm, but he held on to the knife.

"Good enough" Gale said and got to work rubbing his fingers together. Small sparkles of blue and purple leaked from his finger tips as he kneeled over and reached out to brush Astarion's limbs. He worked quickly in a sweeping motion as if moving something unseen. He moved from Astarion's chest to his finger tips and then from his head to his toes.Then he stepped back.

"There, how does that feel?" Gale asked.

Astarion felt immediate relief. He flexed his fingers and realized he felt stronger than ever. "Better..I think" he instinctively lied.

"Hmm, curious..." Gale replied, "I would have expected you to feel more power in your flexors or extensors." Astarion quickly checked Gale's face to see if he suspected the lie, but it appeared he was lost in thought. "No matter, it was only a theory." Gale reached down again to offer his hand to help Astarion up.

Astarion scowled and batted the hand away. He nimbly got to his feet on his own. Gale quickly followed, "I see you're feeling better already! I hope you learned a valuable lesson from all this!" Gale said while shaking his finger at Astarion.

"Now, about that parasite," Gale continued, "are you aware that, after a period of EXCRUCIATING gestation, it will turn us into mind flayers?"

Astarion ignored the question and looked blankly at Gale, it was such a shame this extra power came with such an annoying price.

"Or, you wouldn't happen to be uncannily adroit with a knitting needle perchance?” Gale asked, miming a sewing motion with his hands.

Astarion responded with a smirk, "That just so happens to be my specialty." He twirled his dagger between his fingers.

Gale stopped, " Er, perhaps we should look for a healer first." He suggested instead.

“Your loss.” Astarion flipped the knife and tucked it into it's holster. “Lead the way." Astarion said, extending his arm with a half bow gesturing to Gale to pass.

"Most Excellent!" Gale swung his arms in triumph, "I'm certain our search will prove fruitful now that there's two of us. Afterall, a parasite shared is a parasite….. halved! ....Or...something to that effect.." He walked ahead and turned to Astarion with a grin. "Say, I don't know if I ever caught your name?" Gale asked.

"Astarion." Astarion replied, returning a half smile. He could always kill him later, he thought.

Chapter 4: An unlikely agreement

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It was a sunny afternoon, Gale and Astarion had recently caught wind of rumor that a powerful healer was residing in a nearby druid village known as the Emerald Grove. They were on their way to find it.

“How much farther until we get to the grove?” Astarion asked.

“Hang-on, I thought you knew where we were going.” Gale said as he stopped walking.

“Do I look like I know where we're going?” Astarion retorted, “oh Gods , don't tell me we're lost?!”

“Not lost.” Gale corrected, “We’re headed exactly 35 degrees northwest of where we were.”

“Ah yes, 35 degrees northwest, that clears everything up!” Astarion replied sarcastically.

“Look, there's a tollhouse up ahead, we can ask for directions and be right on our way again.” Gale replied calmly.

“I don't know why I agreed to come with you.” Astarion grumbled.

“The feeling is mutual.” Gale retorted as he opened the door to the tollhouse.

Inside the place was a mess, tables were overturned, half the room was smoldering from a fallen chandelier, and there were dead bodies everywhere.

“Let's get out of here." Gale said and he turned to leave but not before checking the pockets of the nearest casualties. Astarion, having no interest in finding trouble, was already halfway out the door.

They both rounded the corner of the house only to find the very trouble they hoped to avoid. Up ahead by the river bank, a heated argument was unfolding between a half elf, teifling, human, and githyanki.

“If you just would listen for a second you'd see she's not the devil you make her out to be!” the half elf shouted.

“She killed every single paladin at the tollhouse!” the human argued.

“I didn't have a choice, they were going to drag me back to hell!" the tiefling replied, hands up in protest.

“Enough talking. Wyll, kill her now.” The githyanki commanded to the human.

“No!” The half elf yelled.

“Please, I don't want to have to kill you.” The tiefling begged.

“Stop! We've been spotted.” The githyanki interrupted.

At that moment they all turned to look at Gale standing in the center of the path. At the attention, he quickly put his hands up, “Ah Hello, I'm Gale from Waterdeep, and this is…” he looked around but Astarion was already long out of sight. “of course... just me I guess... I'm just passing through.”

“Should I kill the witness?” The githyanki asked Wyll as she approached Gale with her sword out.

“Whoa whoa, let's not kill anyone just yet.” Gale interrupted, “I’m sure there's just a misunderstanding afoot.”

“He's right, stand down Lae'Zel.” Wyll said to the githyanki.

“Tchk! Fine.” Lae’Zel replied as she sheathed her sword.

“Does that mean you'll listen to my side of the story?” the teifling asked.

“Yes, I'll listen, Karlach. But if I'm not satisfied, I may still have to take your head.” Wyll said to the teifling.

“That's all I ask. Just know, I'll also have to fight back.” Karlach replied.

“And I will join you in that fight.” The half elf said, stepping closer to Karlach and puffing out her chest in an intimidating pose.

“Then I shall join as well.” Lae’Zel said, pulling out her sword again.

“Ok! Wow! Look at that!” Gale clapped his hands nervously, “You all agree on something already! Let's go settle the rest of this over some drinks shall we?” Gale invited, hoping to quell the tension.

“I could certainly use a drink.” Wyll said.

“Then I shall follow.” Lae’Zel stated, sheathing her sword again.

“I'm always down for a few drinks, how about you Shadowheart?” Karlach asked the half-elf.

“I suppose a bit of wine would be nice.” Shadowheart agreed.

Gale let out a sigh of relief and replied, "Look at that, we agree again!" He rubbed his hands together and continued, “Now, does anyone know the way to the nearest tavern?”

Chapter 5: Becoming a Mindflayer

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Dusk had fallen on the camp. Gale was headed back to his tent when a blur from the bushes was suddenly around his neck pulling him backwards.

"AhMph!" A cold hand muffled Gale's shout as he was dragged into the woods.

When the light of the campfire could no longer be seen, he was thrown down onto a nearby log. His kidnapper stayed behind him but dropped the hand covering his mouth and allowed him to speak.

"ASTARION! WHAT IN THE G-Mph!" The hand muffled him again.

"Speak softer my friend or I'll remove your vocal chords before you can say fireball ."

"Astarion." Gale was irate, hissing a forced whisper, "What. In the Gods."

"Gale dearest, I need your help."

"Ah yes, I see, of course!" Gale raised his voice just enough to show his annoyance. "So naturally you plan to curry my favor by kidnapping me, instead of something far less influential, like perhaps mentioning it at camp with everyone else."

"But Darling, You're the only one I can trust ." Astarion's voice dripped with sarcasm as he flashed a look of false helplessness.

Gale read between the lines. Translation: You're the only one I knew I could easily overpower. He shook his head and let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine. What is it?" he relented.

"About our mutual friends ." Astarion tapped Gale's temple, " Is there perhaps a potion or spell that could slow down the ... transformation ."

Gale's focus promptly shifted to the fascinating suggestion. "An intriguing idea, I've mostly been looking into preventing it completely, but perhaps that type of partial solution might prove more fruitful."

He continued thinking out loud, "it certainly would be a far simpler task to find something that could hinder metamorphosis than halt it. Yes, that could be very beneficial! Enough time to, take care of things before the inevitable transformation might just be the stop gap needed until we find a more permanent solution."

His attention shifted back to Astarion, "All that aside, why do you ask? This is the first I've seen you interested in a cure. Perhaps are you experiencing new side effects?”

“Yes." Astarion said.

"And?" Gale waited expectantly for more details.

Astarion picked his words carefully, "My skin… it's turning inside out.”

Gale flinched but his curious mind helped him recover quickly, “You've entered into the first stages of ceremorphosis? I would have expected the process to occur far more rapidly. How long has this been going on? Can you describe it? I thought for sure it would be excruciating but you seem to be holding up well. What does it feel like exactly? If it's happening this slowly perhaps a spell to hold shape would do something. Oh! Or maybe even a salve! Ah, but I'd have to see to know what might work best. Would you be willing to show me your transformation thus far?”

So. Many. Questions. Astarion gritted his teeth ignoring all but the last one. He guised his emotion behind a sultry reply and stepped out in front of Gale, “Try not to fall in love darling” he gave a flirtatious half smile while gingerly removing his cloak, opening his arms so Gale could see his body in full display.

Astarion's nose cheeks and ears were flushed and his back and shoulders were bright red, small flakes of skin already peeling off him. Upon revealing this, he noticed immediately that Gale was pursing his lips to hold back a smile. This was not the reaction he preferred. He dropped the flirtatious facade and folded his arms, narrowing his eyes into a glare, “No need to be smug.” he hissed, “Just tell me what it is already.”

Gale replied, “You have an accute ultra-violet radiation burn. It happens when epidermis is over-exposed to the sun’s rays. It's colloquially know as a sun burn .” Gale’s voice was respectful but shaky as he tried his best to hold back a laugh. “And I do have the perfect remedy for just such an ailment.” He reached for his alchemy bag.

Astarion swiftly grabbed his arm, "Not. So. Fast.” he interrupted. As compliant and defensless as Gale seemed, he still didn't really trust him. “I'll get it for you.” he corrected.

Gale gave a friendly smile. “I understand." He said as he lifted his hands in surrender, "It's the aloe vera extract, it will help cool and soothe as well as retain moisture, to make for easier recovery.”

Astarion pulled out the small vial and moved to drink it.

“Ah! Not like that, you have put it on like a salve. Here.” Gale reached to help.

“Don't. Touch me.” Astarion growled, slapping his hand away. He moved to pour the aloe into his hands.

“Appologies." Gale retracted. "Have you really never been sun burnt before?” Gale asked curiously.

“I'm a vampire . I haven't even seen the sun in centuries.”

“Centuries you say? How intriguing. What was that like? ” Gale inquired.

Astarion was not in the mood for sharing and frowned, ignoring the question. He coated himself in the aloe salve, “How long must I wait until I'm cured?”

“It might take a few days. Although technically speaking it doesn't cure, just soothes. Usually you'll lose a few layers of skin before revealing a slight tan. You'll want to protect yourself from the sun until then, I could loan you a hat if you'd like, although, now that I think about it, Shadowheart could probably cure you instantly.”

Astarion immediately stopped and glared at Gale again, “You couldn't possibly have mentioned this first ?” He tossed the remains of the aloe vial back at Gale and haughtily walked off back towards camp to find Shadowheart.

Chapter 6: All Thumbs

Chapter Text

From the corner of his eye Astarion could see Gale crouch down and approach a locked chest. His nose wrinked in disgust as Gale gracelessly plunged the lock picks into the keyhole and wriggled them around haphazardly.

SNAP
Gale sighed and produced another set of tools to repeat the attempt.

SNAP
*sigh

SNAP
*sigh

SNAP
*sigh

SNAP
*sigh

SNAP
*sigh

SNAP
Gale sighed again as he aimlessly jabbed more of the metal instruments into the lock.

SNAP
*sigh
Gods above, Astarion watched in bewilderment as Gale produced yet another set of lock picks.While Astarion usually enjoyed watching disarrangement unfold, he had his limits. At this point, he was sure one of the picks would break off in the lock requiring nothing less than a crowbar to get it open.

Astarion moved above him, “Stand aside before you hurt yourself." He said and placed one hand on his hip while opening the other expectantly to accept the lock picks.

“Why?" Gale replied defensively, "So you can pilfer my loot right from under me? I think not.” Gale turned back to the lock, this time repeatedly stabbing it.

“That's a risk you'll have to take my friend. Gods know if you continue as you are, no one will have it.”Astarion replied.

SNAP

Gale sighed again and relented, “Fine. I have no qualms with parting from a portion of the contents, if only to spare the loss of additional picklocks. Should you happen upon any variety of enchanted items however, I simply require first choice of possession.” He bargained, handing Astarion the lock picks.

“You know I can't make promises like that.” Astarion drawled, and in one swift motion the chest is open.

CLICK
"There, see? Easy.” He smirked.

Inside was a few hundred gold, a healing potion and a magic scroll. Astarion pocketed the coin and casually tossed Gale the rest. “Call on me sooner next time darling.” he said with a wave and walked away with a swagger.

Chapter 7: Vampires don't do Yoga

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Astarion returned to the camp late from an unsuccessful hunt. His hair was mussed with sticks and leaves and he was covered in tiny scratches.

He had climbed into the trees earlier that evening to hopefully stake out a wild boar but had inadvertently started a turf war with a squirrel. After giving up trying to win the argument with the damn tree rat, he decided to clean off by the river and sleep off the frustration.

The slow moving water reflected the moon like glass. He approached warily, dipping his hands in and quickly splashing his face. To his surprise, instead of the usual burning acid he felt a refreshing cool. At the discovery of another new freedom, he eagerly striped down to swim.

It had been over 200 years since he’d swam anywhere but it came back to him easily. He dove down under the surface and maneuvered with ease. As he moved to resurface a large trout swam in front of his mouth.

Normally he wouldn't be interested in fish as their flavor was less than palatable and they were a pain to catch, but today he was hungry and frustrated and this one was so close it was taunting him. Unable to resist, he grabbed the fish between his teeth and caught it.

Proud of his victory he stood up out of the water triumphantly, slicking his wet hair back with one hand.

“Pfft!”

His ego quickly deflated and his eyes narrowed into a glare searching for the source of the snicker.

Gale was standing calmly on the beach, arms and legs outstretched in a Warrior 1 pose.

Astarion walked to shore, removing the fish from his mouth so he could retort, “Find something amusing do you?”

Gale leaned sideways lifting his arm up into a triangle pose. “Oh Astarion! I was so lost in thought I failed to see you there! What brings you to the riverside shore this fine evening?”

Astarion noted the obvious redirection and replied sarcastically, “To enjoy the view.” He rolled his eyes and threw the question back to Gale, “What brings you here so late?”

“Just exercising my mind-body connection by doing a few Sun Salutations. Care to join me?” Gale moved to pull out a second mat.

Astarion scoffed at the word Sun-salutations but sat on the mat anyway. “I have no interest in greeting the sun.” He declined.

“it's not really about saluting the sun, it's called yoga and is actually a series of body weight poses that enhances concentration, strength, flexibility, and relaxation and prepares the body for meditation. You should try it!” Gale said.

“ Vampires don't do yoga.” Astarion replied with disgust. He turned his attention to the fish he caught and took a deep bite.

Gale snickered again and moved into a Warrior 2 pose.

Astarion glared at him, “Alright, out with it.” He commanded.

Gale wavered, debating how to reply. “It's just… you reminded me of a friend of mine.” He replied honestly.

Astarion skeptically acknowleged the answer. "Not the usual I'd expect from a compliment, but I'll accept it.” he said and went back to the fish.

Gale started shaking, holding back laughter again as soon as he saw Astarion bite into it.

“What now?” Astarion demanded, unamused.

“She… she’s… she's a cat…” Gale spat out between shakes of silent laughter, "so much... like her..."

SPLAT
Having gotten his fill from the fish, Astarion threw the remains at Gale.

Undaunted, Gale wiped away the slime and continued “She's…. She's a tressym really….Tara, she's… very intelligent… smarter than most! “

Thoroughly irked, Astarion got up to stalk back to his tent.

“Wait, don't leave! It… it really is a compliment!” Gale called after him between fits of laughter.

Chapter 8: We don't talk about our feelings

Chapter Text

Astarion returned A primer on mythical beasts to the camp chest and rummaged through the remaining contents. Aside from a few undelivered letters he didn't find anything of interest. Knowing Gale must have something better than A is for Azuth , he opted to blatantly trespass into the wizard's tent for more stimulating reading material.

Upon entering the tent, he found a coat rack and a line of old boots near the entryway. Beyond was a small room packed with bookshelves, made complete with study table and soft armchair. At seeing this, Astarion felt compelled to double back and circle the outer perimeter. Re-entering the tent confirmed his suspicions: it's bigger on the inside.

He entered the back room and began perusing the shelves for an appealing title.

At that moment, Gale stumbled in, couging and sweating profusely. He partially ripped off his robe and collapsed onto his side near the entryway. He tipped over one of the boots, pulled out a small necklace, and held it to his chest. Glowing purple light escaped the artifact then fizzled out.

Gale exhaled in relief and rolled onto his back closing his eyes.

“Oof!” Gale coughed out a wind of air as Astarion swiftly kicked him in the side.

Gale snaped his eyes open to see Astarion, already clutching several books, squinting down at him in disgust. “What was that for!?” Gale yelled out.

“Just checking you're still alive.” Astarion smirked.

“Very much, no thanks to you.” Gale retorted.

“I'll just be on my way then. ” Astarion sing-songed back to him and moved to shuffle around the prone wizard.

“Wait...” Gale reached out weakly to try to stop him from leaving.

Astarion bristled and dodged the hand. Half expecting to be confronted for the mild larceny, half concerned Gale might want to talk about feelings or something personal.

Gale's voice dropped to a more serious tone, “I can explain, I should explain...”

“Explain what Gale?” Astarion feigned ignorance, backing toward the flaps of the tent.

“I… er…” Gale faltered and his tone changed again as he decided against sharing this particular bit of information just yet. Instead he replied, “You should know, The Evil Eye is best read as a continuation of a series, you'll get far more out of it if you read A Brush with Evil beforehand.”

Astarion was nearly out of the tent but turned to have the final word, “Is that an invitation to return my dear wizard?” He gave a sly smile and exited before Gale could reply.

Chapter 9: Stew again

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“Alright! What's for dinner tonight Magic Man?” Karlach asked Gale.

“Today’s dish is pan seared steak, fresh carrot, onion, and potato, all simmered in a beef and wine broth” Gale replied.

“So stew again?” Shadowheart asked, wrinkling her nose.

“That's the 12th day on a row.” Wyll grumbled. “Can't you cook anything else? “

“I’m most comfortable with a cauldron. ” Gale replied. “It’s not easy cooking for you all every day you know. You're more than welcome to give it a try for yourself if you want something different.” he retorted.

“ I shall take on this burden.” Lae'Zel stated.

“Ooo me too!” Karlach jumped up, “I've been told I make a mean barbecue!”

“There was a recipe my sisters and I at the temple used to prepare for special occasions.” Shadowheart said, “I wouldn't mind recreating that every once in a while.”

“That's settled then.” Wyll said, “we’ll each take turns making the meals this week. Lae'Zel, you can be first.”

“An excellent idea. Tomorrow you shall be sated with a perfect balance of nutrients.” Lae'Zel said proudly.

After a few nights of boiled rabbit (Lae’Zel), charred yet raw beef skewers (Karlach), drunken eggplant porridge (Shadowheart), and a far too salty Coq au vin (Wyll), it was Astarion’s turn to cook dinner.

“I don't do cooking.” He protested, “I'm much more of a hunter than a chef.”

“Come on, we each had a turn.” Wyll said. “Just this once and we'll never ask you to cook again.”

“We all agreed to take a turn Astarion.” Shadowheart said sternly, “If you don't contribute your fair share, I might just decide not to heal you properly next time.” She threatened.

Astarion tensed at this. “Fine.” He said curtly.

While most of the team was off exploring, Astarion began preparing ingredients. He laid out each item on the camp cutting boards and stoked the fire.

Gale returned earlier than the rest of the team to check in.

“I figured I'd come back early to see how you were doing and to offer my services if you were wanting any extra assistance.” Gale said with a grin.

“Keep the fire going.” Astarion ordered.

Gale quickly went over to fan the flames and add more wood, “So…What are you cooking?” He asked.

Astarion ignored him, he wasn't in the mood for conversation.

On the cutting board in front of him was a raw chicken that he expertly carved into several even slices. He placed them into a cook pot and added a dash of oil, wine, and a few spices, then brought the pot over to Gale to place it over the fire.

“Rotate the pot every few minutes or so.” he instructed. He then added more ingredients to two other pots and brought them over as well.

Gale watched as Astarion expertly stirred one of the saucepans, and tossed the other. “Wow, you're really good at this.” Gale couldn't help but comment.

Astarion stiffened a little and replied, “In my 200 years as a vampire, I only ever learned to cook one meal.” He paused to add a few more herbs to one of the sauces.

“But I practiced it to perfection .” he said bitterly.

“I can see that.” Gale said with awe, not quite picking up on the subtleties of Astarion's words.

Astarion started plating the ingredients. He arranged the first into a perfect display of mushrooms, crisp chicken and peas, drizzled in a white wine sauce, then with each subsequent plate he placed the ingredients with more and more force until he was slamming them into the porcelain. He was busy slapping the last bit of sauce onto the final plate when rest of the group finally arrived.

“Wow, this looked amazing! Is this for us?” Karlach asked.

Astarion suddenly snapped. “No.” he said, and grabbed a bottle of poison, dumping it out over all the plates.

“Astarion, are you feeling alright?” Wyll asked.

“No, I'm not alright!” Astarion said, his voice increasing in volume. “I despise COOKING!” He shouted and with a sweep of his arms, he shoved all the plates off the camp table and onto the ground. “Kick me out of camp if you must! Leave me to die! I don't care! I'll never cook for anyone ever again!” He said, looking directly at Shadowheart.

Shadowheart looked back at him with shock, “I'm so sorry Astarion.” she said, seeing the look of pain on Astarion's face, “We didn't realize you hated cooking so much.” She continued, “And… I didn't mean it when I threatened not to heal you.“ She said softly.

“Yes. You're always welcome here Astarion.” Wyll said, “And we'll never ask you to cook again.” he added.

“Thank you.” Astarion breathed. He took a moment to straighten up and brushed his hair from his eyes. “If you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire to my tent.” he said and walked away.

“I'll start up a fresh soup.” Gale offered to no one in particular. He put a cauldron over the fire and casually tossed in a few ingredients to simmer while Astarion's words floated around in his head.

Gale thought nothing of it at the time, but combined with the current situation, Astarion practicing to perfection something he clearly hated seemed far more portentous than he originally realized. He cast a minor warming enchantment on the cookpot and left to find Astarion.

Chapter 10: A little wine for my friend

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for Gale to find him. Astarion was standing ankle-deep in the river bank. He was crouched down, one hand swirling through the water, the other holding a nearly empty glass of wine.

Gale grabbed one of the many wine bottles Astarion had left on the beach, took off his shoes and dipped his toes in the water to join him. “Beautiful night tonight.” he said, looking over at Astarion with a soft smile. “Mind if I join you?” He asked.

“If you came to comfort me, you can leave.” Astarion said curtly. After a pause he continued, “But, if you’re here to drink you may stay.” he said.

Gale offered up a wine bottle and a grin to Astarion as a reply.

Gale smiled, he was glad Astarion's mood was already lifting.

Astarion suddenly scowled and smacked Gale in the back of the knees so hard he collapsed into the cold water.

“Ah! What was that for?!” Gale asked, miffed and a little confused. His knees and arm were now soaked in river water. He had managed to catch the glass on the way down, but his shirt was stained with most of the wine.

“Do I need a reason? I just didn't like the look on your face.” Astarion said.

Gale frowned and moved to sink deeper into the water, hoping to prevent the wine from staining his favorite shirt.

Astarion, already having finished the current bottle, opened another and waded a little deeper into the water.

“Are you sure that's wise?” Gale asked, re-emerging from the water, pointing to Astarion's second bottle.

“Who cares?” Astarion asked. “If I want to swim I'll swim, if I want to drink, I'll drink and If you or anyone else tries to tell me what I can or can't do ever again, I'll kill you.” he said with a glare and a point of his finger, but he set the bottle back on the shore anyway.

Gale looked at Astarion, he knew he was trying to be threatening, but all he could see was the hiss of a wet cat. He struggled to hold back a smile and covered his mouth with his hand in order to silently walk back out of the water. He sat down on the shore to refil his glass and watched Astarion move through the shallow water like a crocodile, with nothing but his eyes peeking out.

Gale grinned. “Even in the water, you really do remind me of her.” He said, thinking fondly of Tara.

Astarion splashed Gale for the comment, doing his best to hide the fact that he actually did enjoy the comparison. He seemed to remind Gale of a close friend, not something that happened often, at least, not after most saw his true nature.

When his glass was half empty, Gale stood up. “I have a confession,” he said.

Astarion smirked, “Does that mean I’m a vampire and priest? Sounds like fun.”

“I haven't been completely honest with you, or anyone at camp.” Gale said a bit grimly.

“Oh really?” Astarion said with a devilish grin, “Do tell.”

“it's hard for me to explain.” Gale said hesitantly

“There's only a half chance we’ll remember anyway.” Astarion replied encouragingly, gesturing to the empty wine bottles.

“I..er well….sometimes…I mean… there are things… how do I explain… have you ever been in love?” Gale asked.

Astarion, just a bit too drunk for proper deception, answered far more honestly than he preferred. “I don't believe I ever have…” he frowned.

“oh… “ Gale blinked, “hmm.. er… well… maybe I should just show you…” he said and started removing his shirt. The damp purple cloth stuck to his skin. He struggled and got it nearly halfway off before he had to take a break to breathe.

Astarion laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Just- … trying to-...” Gale huffed, his arms trapped like a cocoon. “ Veni et iuva me ” he chanted, summoning a mage hand to help him get it off the rest of the way. Finally free of the shirt he was left wheezing, “That was far more difficult than I was expecting.” he said.

Astarion laughed again and looked him up and down, “Nice tattoo.” he commented, gesturing to the large dark orb in the center of Gale’s chest.

Gale was very silent. He placed a hand over his chest and closed his eyes. “That's what I want to confess. It’s not a tattoo.” he said softly, “it’s a curse.”

Astarion raised his eyebrows.

“I was young, in love, and a fool.” Gale continued, “Maybe a little arrogant too.”

“Don’t stop there.” Astarion encouraged.

“I really thought a grand gesture would be the perfect way to win back her love…But it didn’t work in reality, and I made a huge irreversible mistake.” Gale said.

“That wasn’t a particularly weighty secret.” Astarion said, disappointed.

After a long moment of silence Astarion decided to return the gesture. “I like coming here because touching the water reminds me of where I am.” he said brushing the water with his hands again.

Gale looked over at Astarion, this was important, he could tell. But he didn't know what else to say, what to ask. So he just smiled.

Astarion caught the gentle grin and narrowed his eyes. He decided he'd shared enough for today and dipped back into the water like a crocodile again, both to end the conversation and to better hide his contented expression.

Chapter 11: Conjuring a Smile

Chapter Text

Exhausted from a day of fighting, Gale was relieved to finally return to the quiet solitude of his tent. After quickly changing into his most comfortable attire, he slumped down onto his bedroll. Not quite ready to fall asleep, he let his mind wander and absently conjured an image of Mystra from the glowing stands of weave.

“That's a neat trick.” Astarion commented from the nearby armchair, peering over the top of his book.

Gale jumped up in surprise and quickly dissipated the illusion. “Good Gods Astarion! If you're going to come and go as you please, at least a hello wouldn’t be remis.” Gale exclaimed.

“Hello you. ” Astarion replied and returned to the book.

“Comfortable?” Gale asked, annoyance growing.

“Quite.” Astarion crossed his leg and turned to the next page of his book.

“Are you going to be leaving anytime soon? I was looking forward to the somnolence.” Gale said.

“Don't hold back on my account.” Astarion teased with a smirk, “I’ve seen people do far more deviant things than just relaxing with an image of a woman's face.”

Face flush with embarrassment, Gale replied with frustration, “I wasn't planning on- I'll have you know, she's not just a woman , she's the goddess of weave! And I’m sure you didn't mean to insult my entire religion but, suggesting a five finger shuffle with an image of Mystra is all but blasphemous!”

He huffed and brought his voice back down, “Besides, I'm far more talented a wizard than that. Mystra is weave, it all naturally wants to take her form. Just the slightest coaxing is all that's required to form her appearance. A talentless hack could conjure the face of Mystra!”

Gale digressed, “ A real test of talent would be to conjure up an image of someone else's face.”

The thought experiment began to take his mind elsewhere, “Yes… that would be much more difficult. To not just conjure an image, but a perfect replica in the weave would be quite a challenge indeed…”

Gale continued, “I suspect it would only be a matter of displacing that which is most familiar… “ Gale faltered, glancing over at Astarion. He was expecting Astarion to be covering his ears or rolling his eyes by now, but instead was shocked to find Astarion had long since put the book down and was listening intently to every word.

When he heard Gale pause Astarion stood up and asked earnestly, “Can you do my face?”

Suddenly disgusted at hearing the eagerness in his own voice, Astarion quickly turned to pick his nails and followed up with, "Only for fun of course … To put your theory to the test and all that.” He flourished his hand at the last few words.

Gale didn't need any convincing to showcase his extensive talents and immediately rolled up his sleeves, poising his hands on either side of Astarion. “You'll feel a slight tingling.” He said and he hovered his hands a few inches from Astarion's arm. “Ready?” He asked with a grin.

Astarion braced himself and noded, “As I'll ever be” he replied.

Purple plumes billowed out from Gale's hands and onto Astarion's arms. The sensation snapping through his body felt similar to when he was poisoned by Gale's blood, but the feeling was much weaker, closer to a static shock than the burning lightening he felt before. He clenched his jaw and allowed Gale three seconds before interrupting, “That's enough.”

Three seconds was all Gale needed however and in that time he had pulled the weave up through Astarion’s shoulders, neck, and finally through the top of his head. “A perfect replica in the weave.” Gale said proudly as a glowing purple head formed in the palm of his hand.

“Fascinating .“ Astarion said, and jumped all around Gale's arm, looking at his own face from every angle. Not bothering to hid his excitement he asked, “Can you make it do other things, like move around and what not?”

Gale pondered the thought, “I'm not entirely certain how best to manipulate the image , although I suppose with a live input it could be done fairly simply.”

Astarion looked at him like he'd spoken nothing at all.

Gale corrected, "Er, that is to say, I'll need to touch you to make it work, the closer to your face the better the effect.

“Ah” Astarion replied. He hesitated but the opportunity seemed worth it. He stepped closer and allowed Gale to reach out.

Gale lightly placed his hand on Astarion's neck and let his thumb gently brush his cheek. Gale gave Astarion a soft smile and looked at him with the sparkling eyes of a lover, but all Astarion could think about was how easily Gale’s fingers could wrap around his neck and squeeze before he could ever reach his daggers. All fear faded to the background however as soon as he saw the conjured image looking directly back at him.

Astarion tilted his head back and forth and watched the image do the same. He parted his hair on the left and then again on the right, held open his mouth and looked at his teeth. He glared, then pouted, smirked, and smiled. He laughed and smiled even broader when he saw his own face beaming back at him.

“Fascinating .” He exclaimed again, “I really am a handsome devil aren't I?”

Chapter 12: Beggars can't be Choosers

Chapter Text

Astarion was arranging a few bottles on his side table when Gale stumbled over to him looking quite ill. He wasn't as bad off as the first time Astarion saw him like this, but was clearly struggling to stay upright. Just as Gale was almost close enough to say something, he winced and tripped over one of the decorative pillows, falling straight towards Astarion.

Astarion, seeing the look of pain on Gale’s face, felt a jolt of compassion that caused him to hesitate for a whole second before stepping aside to let Gale fall face first into the tent.

“Ouch.” Gale said flatly. The small pile of rosemary scented rags did little to soften his fall. He rolled onto his back. Moisture already beading on his forehead, he wiped it away and winced again before asking, “You wouldn't happen to have any magical artifacts to spare would you? I seem to have run dry.”

“Suppose I did, what would I get out of it?” Astarion asked as he used his foot to push Gale's sweaty body off of his bed.

“My eternal gratefulness?” Gale asked hopefully.

“I was thinking something with a bit more substance.” Astarion replied.

“Perhaps I could owe you one?” Gale asked, pleading with his big wet puppy dog eyes.

Astarion scoffed, but still caved to the request. “Fine.” he grumbled. He slinked to the corner of his tent and pulled out a small gilded chest. Inside he sifted through the piles of gold coin to pull out a necklace. “Here, I have no use for this one, lifted it off of Withers earlier.” he said as he handed Gale a small amulet.

“You got it from who?” Gale asked in surprise, glancing skeptically at Astarion. He took the necklace but quickly handed it back, “This is far too valuable, don't you have anything a bit less useful?” Gale asked, “Say what about those gloves you have on?”

Astarion moved his gloves far from Gale's reach and glared at him, “Absolutely not!” He spat out. “You must be really sick.” he said spitefully. He mumbled something about beggars being choosers but returned to the chest anyway, and pulled out a small green ring, “Here you are Mister Fastidious, this should suit your tastes. I earned it from a disgusting tasting ox, it's completely useless.”

He dropped the ring directly onto Gale's face.

"Ow?" Gale said, rubbing his forehead. He picked up the ring and inspected it for a moment, “Halsin might disagree but it's far better than losing Speak with Dead.” he replied as he held the artifact to his chest.

Astarion rolled his eyes at the comment, "There's simply no pleasing you." he said.

As the purple light faded Gale relaxed and said, “Thank you Astarion.” He sat up and looked at Astarion earnestly, “Really. You didn't have to help me but you did, I appreciate it.”

“I didn't do it for free.” Astarion replied with a glare, folding his arms over his chest, “You owe me.”

“Sure, sure.” Gale said with a boyish grin and a flourish of his hand, “Your wish is my command.”

Chapter 13: A Day Off

Chapter Text

As he emerged, he noticed something out of place on his side table. In the very center of it was a lovely blue bouquet of flowers. On them was a note that read:

To my Dear Wizard,

I saw these and thought of you.

Sincerely,

Astarion

Upon seeing the sender, Gale looked down at the flowers suspiciously, something was definitely off about these. He attempted to incinerate them to no avail. It seemed his magic was completely muted. He hastily crumpled up the note and plodded over to the campfire to join the rest of the team.

“Not exactly.” Gale said, “Physically, I’m intact, however, I can’t seem to be able to locate my magic.” He said flatly.

The team gathered their things and got ready to head out. Just as they started walking, Astarion came up and greeted Gale from behind. “Gale darling, I simply love what you’ve done with your hair.” he said while slapping Gale hard on the back. “I heard the thin stringy look is coming back in style.” Astarion snickered.

“I know this is your doing.” Gale said with a glare.

“You don’t like my gift? I’m hurt.” Astarion said with a fake pout.

“Gift? More like a curse.” Gale scoffed. “Come on Astarion, just tell me what you did so I can go back to being useful.” Gale pleaded.

Astarion picked up on the unspoken honesty in Gale’s request and felt more determined than ever to mess with him.

“I’ll never tell. You’ll just have to figure it out without using any magic.” He said with a devlish grin.

“Gods damn it Astarion.” Gale swore and charged on ahead of him.

After an entire afternoon of missing arrows and barely beating back enemies with the back of his staff, Gale was exhausted. He only had one idea left to try. Perhaps something in his equipment was out of sync. He wasn’t well equipped to handle heavier armor, perhaps one of the items he put on had been mis-labeled?

He slowly removed his equipment one by one but to no effect. The only item left he had on was his robe. Reluctantly, he removed that as well and suddenly he felt lighter.

“Are you kidding me?” He shouted in frustration. Finally after having stripped down to nothing but his netherese briefs, he was able to cast spells again.

“Bold, I like it.” Karlach commented with a laugh.

“I commend you Gale.” Lae’Zel said, “ A true warrior knows he needs not equipment to put up a good fight.”

The rest of the evening Gale was able to participate fully in battle. He easily cast fireballs, acid arrows, and lightening bolts all the whole way back to the Myconoid colony. Astarion and the team laughing at him the whole way.

“We have a few. “ Blurg said and reached into his travelers chest to pull out a few bottles. He looked over at Gale, “This might seem obvious, but did you check your pockets for sussur flowers?”

Gale blinked. Sussur flowers, of course, that’s what those were. “I’ll have to take a look when we return to camp.” He said.

Shadowheart finished her purchases, thanked Blurg and they all returned to camp for the night.

At their arrival, Gale quickly returned to his tent to empty the pockets of his robe. Sure enough, they were filled with more of the deep blue flower and another note.

My dear Wizard,

Congratulations, you figured it out!

Did you enjoy your day off from Mystra?

You can thank me later.

Sincerely,

Astarion

“Gods damn it Astarion.” Gale hissed under his breadth but a small smile crept up the corners of his mouth. He put the robe back on and took all the flowers to be burned in the campfire.

Chapter 14: Bloody Drought

Chapter Text

On their first night after exploring the underdark, Gale started to suspect something was off about Astarion. Most days he preferred to prowl ahead and would often be the first to warn the team of traps, but lately Astarion was lagging behind.

By their fourth night, Gale was certain something was wrong. On their way back to camp they ran into a flock of Hook Horrors and Astarion had failed an easy dodge, taking a huge slash to the gut. They were able to bring him back to camp alright, but when it came to healing the wound, it just wasn't closing properly.

“I don't understand, I've exhausted every healing spell I know.” Shadowheart said. “I'll have to go see if Derryth can supply us with a few more potions.”

“It's alright.” Astarion said weakly, “I just need to sleep it off.” he sighed and leaned back onto the small bundle of rags he called a bed.

“At least have something proper to keep you warm.” Karlach said, offering Astarion a bedroll.

“I prefer this thank you.” Astarion said behind closed eyes.

“I shall stand watch over you, should you need anything. “ Lae'Zel said.

Astarion started to let his annoyance show through, “Can you all just leave?! Honestly! What does it take to get some peace and quiet around here!? I'll be fine in the morning. Just Go. Away.”

“Fine.” Shadowheart said and stalked off.

"If you think you can survive it." Lae'Zel taunted and followed closely behind.

“If you need anything, I'll be just a tent away.” Karlach to him with a kind smile before turning to leave as well.

Gale however, refused to leave. He was still pacing back and forth outside Astarion's tent, unable to think of anything other than concern for his vampire friend.

“I said Leave. Me. Alone .” Astarion growled.

Gale interpreted the warning as an invitation and barged into the tent instead. "Please excuse the interruption.” he said. “In my musings on the current situation, I couldn't help but observe that you've taken on a distinctly languid pallor as of late.” Gale stated.

“How kind of you to notice.” Astarion replied sarcastically. “Did you barge in here just to tell me I'm ugly, or is this going somewhere?”

Gale continued, “Ah yes, well, I was beginning to become concerned that perhaps the unusually low mammal to fungal ratio in this area may have had an influence on your current condition.”

“My condition is none of your concern.” Astarion said dryly.

“Look,” Gale said in a low voice, crouching closer to Astarion, “I know what it's like to have an insatiable hunger. Let me help you. When was the last time you had anything proper to eat?”

Astarion took a long look at Gale. His expression was serious and earnest.

“Eight days.” He replied after a long pause.

“Over a week!?” Gale outburst in shock.

“Tell everyone why don't you?” Astarion hissed.

"Sorry." Gale said, lowering his voice back to a whisper, “That's far longer than I expected." He paused and looked down at Astarion's wounds, "If you have something to eat, will you be able to recover?”

“I will recover eventually regardless. I technically don't even need to eat anything at all.” Astarion replied, waving Gale away.

But Gale wouldn't leave. He was staring quizically at Astarion. "Is that true?" Gale asked, "Everything I've read about vampires implies the opposite. Why even bother to hunt if it's not necessary?"

Astarion was getting annoyed again. He furrowed his brow and looked at his hands, slowly clenching and unclenching them. He sighed and replied quietly, "We don't die without blood, just... slowly lose control."

Gale looked at Astarion solemnly, “Would you like me to approach someone in camp for you?” He asked.

“I really don't need it." Astarion said and turned onto his side, away from Gale.

Gale pressed, “Perhaps Wyll or Shadowheart would be willing to help if we asked? After all you've done for me, I would offer my own blood, but that's obviously the opposite of help."

“Actually…” Astarion started, then stopped himself. He needed to think carefully on this.

Gale perked up, "Yes?"

Astarion rolled back over and propped himself up with a groan. On the one hand, bringing in a third party was a liability, would Wyll or Shadowheart be accepting of a Vampire in camp? On the other hand, as powerful as Gale's blood made him last time, it was literal poison. What he needed was a guarantee.

"I need to cash in on my wish." He said after careful deliberation.

Gale recalled the agreement they'd had previously and replied jokingly, "You know, I'm actually a wizard not a genie right?"

"But isn't the power of wish just as magically binding?" Astarion asked.

"Are you serious?" Gale looked taken aback, "I can't cast wish! I’m already weak, I might never be able to cast again!”

Astarion argued, “Everyone knows the risks are greatly diminished on simpler requests.”

“Hang-on, Are you telling me, you want me to cast a Hand of God level spell for something mundane?!” Gale was seething.

“I just need some extra assurance.” Astarion replied.

“Well then. What exactly do you want assurance on?” Gale asked skeptically, folding his arms over his chest.

“I want to be certain that you'll heal me from your blood poison.” Astarion said.

After a brief pause Gale looked at Astarion in realization, “Are you asking me to do all this just because you want to drink my blood?” Gale scoffed.

"Maybe.” Astarion replied, eyes narrowing.

“Doesn't this all seem unnecessarily excessive?” Gale asked. “We could just ask someone else in camp, I'm sure they-” he started.

“Are you going to help me or not?” Astarion impatiently interrupted.

“Fine, I'll help.” Gale said grumpily, “But I'm not using wish. You could just ask and I'd heal you, no need to bring divine intervention into it."

“If that was enough, I would have asked you already.” Astarion retorted.

“Wow, ok. Still don't trust anyone do you?” Gale shot back, “That stings you know.”

“If you don't like it, leave.” Astarion replied with a glare.

“Fine.” Gale said and stood up, “I have somewhere to be anyway.”

For a split second Gale thought he caught a look of shock and hurt in Astarion's eyes as he turned to leave the tent. Just in case, he added “I'll be back.” and left Astarion alone.

Chapter 15: Insatiable

Chapter Text

After nearly an hour Gale returned to Astarion's tent, continuing the conversation as if he'd never left. “It took me forever to find this.” He said, “Forgot I was using it to mark my page in Shattered Seldarine."

Astarion looked down at the wrinkled sheet of paper, “What is this?”

“It's a scroll copy of Contract of Nephthys.” Gale replied matter of factly. “It's a rare contract spell, it's not perfect, but hopefully enough to ease your worries.”

Gale leaned forward and reached for Astarion's head.

“What are you doing?!” Astarion swatted at Gale's hand but he was too slow. “Ow! What in the nine hells Gale!?”

“I just need some of our hair for the contract.” He said, placing a few curly white hairs on top of the wrinkled parchment. Then he pulled out a few of of his own hairs, grabbed a handful of gold coins from his pocket and dumped them all on top of the scroll.

“Are these types of spells normally this... chaotic?” Astarion asked.

“No, this show is just for you.” Gale said with a sarcastic grin. “Now, write down what you want on the corner of the parchment.” He said curtly, handing Astarion a quill.

Astarion slowly leaned forward and scrawled the word healing in the only corner of parchment not completely covered by hair and coin.

Before he could properly react, Gale grabbed his arm and said, “I hearby declare that, I, Gale of Waterdeep will always do my best to heal Astarion of my poisoned blood. EXEQUOR!”

The parchment and all the contents vanished into a puff and a shimmering green circlet appeared on both their wrists before fading from view.

“There, it's done, happy?” Gale said while releasing Astarion's arm.

Astarion pulled his arm to his chest with a frown, rubbing his wrist where the green circlet had faded. "Perhaps, but how do I know you didn't just curse me?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ugh." Gale shook his head. "You were never going to trust me, why did I bother?" He said, throwing up his hands.

Astarion did trust him, sort of. Gale had been helpful and kind from their first meeting. Sure he had a few secrets but he'd never given Astarion any reason to not trust him. It was just, he needed to be completely sure. He rubbed his wrist again, the spell seemed genuine enough, he thought.

As Astarion's mind began to relax, he could feel his body starting to tense. The sound of Gale's heartbeat was drumming louder in his ears. He could barely hear Gale's ramblings.

"What a waste of a perfectly good contract scroll..." Gale lamented.

Astarion watched Gale's mouth moving, not really listening. He noticed the pulsing along the arteries at the side of his neck. He couldn't feel the pain from his wounds any longer. Now his mouth watered and he could think of nothing but satisfying his hunger.

Gale rambled on, " Are you aware of how hard it is to get your hands on one of those scrolls?"

Astarion's eyes dilated, focusing on Gale's corroded. His body coiled, ready to pounce.

Gale continued, "Extremely. I happened to acquire this one from a rare apprenticeship at one of the temples in Skuld."

It was then Gale finally noticed the change in Astarion "Only after six months of study they finally let me buy a scroll..." He trailed off, looking into Astarion's deep red eyes.

The two were locked in a stare for several seconds before Gale started to nervously roll up his sleeve. Astarion swallowed, his mouth watering again as he watched Gale hold out his arm to offer his wrist. " Just... be careful.” Gale cautioned.

At the permission, Astarion lunged and instantaneously sank his teeth deep into Gale's neck.

Gale yelped out in surprise, but the shock and pain was only momentary. The anxiety and stinging began to mix with pleasure.

Astarion's fingers raked through Gale's hair and pulled his head back for better access. His lips pressed firmly against Gale's neck. Maybe he was just hungry, but the flavor of Gale's blood was even more delicious than he remembered.

Gale too, unexpectedly found himself enjoying the sensation, he was overwhelmed with the desire to let his body relax and lean into Astarion.

The moment didn't last long though. The glowing green contract bracelet began to burn him, reminding Gale of all that was at stake.

If either one of them let it get too far they could die, and with his hunger likely taking control, Astarion might not be able to hold back. Gale needed to be the one to stop before it all went too far.

He looked down at Astarion and realized it might already be too late.

Tiny blue streaks of lightning were crackling up and down the vampire’s arms and a burning heat was coming off his normally cold body. Astarion was clearly shaking from the pain, but wouldn't let go.

“Astarion.” Gale said gently, but nothing happened. “Astarion!” He said more forcefully and tried to push him away.

Astarion gripped Gale tighter in response, pulling his body closer, drinking deeper. The pain of the poison was carving him up from the inside but something in the taste was like a drug, he wanted more. He felt hungrier than when he started. He fought through the burning heat to take another bite.

Gale’s blood tasted of the finest delecacy, yet every drink had an after-bite that felt increasingly worse. He swallowed again and the white hot electricity shocked through his body. At the pain, a moan escaped his lips before he could stop it. Yet he still returned for more blood.

“f*ck.” Gale breathed out. He'd always wondered the appeal of vampires, how they could so easily take their victims, but it all made sense now. If his heart could beat any faster it would. He'd never felt more alive yet logically he knew he was being drained closer to death.

Under any other circ*mstance he might have just let Astarion continue, but thankfully the burning of the contract bond anchored him to reality and he was thinking clearer than ever.

He gave Astarion a hard shove, “That's enough!”

Astarion jerked his head back and looked down his nose at Gale blankly as if in a trance. His jaw was slack and lips were stained bright red with a single streak of blood dripping from his chin.

Gale saw the exact moment when Astarion regained full control as suddenly his eyes grew wide and his face flushed with shock, disgust, then fear.

Then he collapsed.

“sh*t.” Gale hissed and he worked quickly, brushing the weave throughout Astarion’s body back into the correct alignment.

“This was a stupid, stupid idea.” He berated himself as he finished sweeping the magic through Astarion's limbs. “Please Mystra, let this not be a horrible mistake.” He prayed, stepping back to watch Astarion anxiously for any sign of consciousness.

Suddenly Astarion’s eyes snapped open. He leaped to his feet and was on top of Gale in an instant. His vampiric powers were back full-force and then some.

He held Gale's gaze with unblinking red eyes, and slowly reached out a finger to swipe a stray drop of blood from Gale's neck. He brought it to his lips and licked it away slowly before letting his lips curl up into a devilish grin.

“Definitely not a mistake.” Astarion drawled before dashing out of the tent at lightning speed.

Gale stood stock-still. In another life he was certain he would have let Astarion kill him. “Mystra’s Grace protect me.” He whispered.

Chapter 16: Just like old times

Chapter Text

The next morning Astarion was no where to be found.

“I think we’ve waited long enough.” Shadowheart announced. “Let’s pack up and head out.”

“Finally.” Lae’Zel said, slinging her pack over her shoulder.

Gale looked over at Astarion’s tent.

“We’ll leave a note so he can find us.” Karlach said, reading his mind. “Help me pack it up?” she asked.

Gale snapped his fingers and in a whirl the assortment of items condensed into a small bundle.

“Whoa, way to go Magic man!” Karlach clapped, and moved to pick up the pack. “When did you learn to do that?”

Gale looked down at his fingers in surprise, “Technically, decades ago, but I haven’t had access to those powers in a long time.” He wiggled his fingers again and felt his connection with the weave was strong.

“Where are we headed today?” He asked, hoping for somewhere especially challenging, so he could test the limits of these regained powers.

“Straight to Moonrise Towers.” Shadowheart replied.

“Hang-on. “ Wyll interrupted, “I thought we agreed to help the Myconids first?”

“Same difference.” Shadowheart shrugged.

“Let’s go fight some bad guys!” Karlach cheered.

They followed the path to the beach but got turned around.

“This place is a maze!” Wyll lamented, “I swear we’ve passed that mushroom stalk three times already!”

“Silence! “ Lae’Zel whispered with authority, “There is a large creature up ahead.”

They all crouched down to get a closer look. Up ahead on the path they saw a large Minotaur ripping a captured Hook-Horror to shreds.

“Whoa, that thing’s HUGE!” Karlach whispered loudly.

Too loudly.

The Minotaur dropped its prey and turned to charge straight for them.

Gale ready’d his spells. He felt the weave everywhere around him, channeling it easily. Purple sparks crackled from his finger tips.

“Ignis! ” He commanded, scooping the thick blankets of weave into a ball of blue flames and throwing it at the Minotaur.

BOOM

In a single shot, nothing was left but a smouldering crater.

“Nice one Gale, You've been holding out on us!” Wyll congratulated.

Gale grinned, he forgot how much he missed this power.

“sh*t! Gale, your 8 o’clock!” Karlach yelled out.

Gale whipped around to see a another large Minotaur looming directly behind him. He quickly pulled on the weave to try and defend himself, but found he didn't have to.

A flash of white curly hair blurred past and leaped onto the Minotaur and in one swift motion the creature was beheaded.

“HahahaHAhahaha!” Astarion was bent over laughing maniacally, his face and body covered in blood, holding up the minotaur’s head in one hand. “Hahahaha! That was too easy!” He laughed.

“Astarion?” Gale called out.

“Oh you've finally caught up!” Astarion said gleefully. “Did you see that? Aren’t I amazing?”

“That was impressive.” Lae’Zel commented.

Astarion grinned, “There’s so much more where that came from.” He flexed. “Come on, let’s go kill something else!” He invited with a grin.