Like Real People Do, Chapter 3

Like Real People Do, Chapter 3

Gale Dekarios x Named! Tav x Astarion Ancunín

Chapter Synopsis: Seraphina is healing her broken heart in a completely healthy manner. Chapter One. Chapter Two.

Learn more about my Tav, Seraphina.

Chapter Three: Moving On

“You do know how to make a damn good breakfast!”

Karlach.

“Well, thank you, Karlach! My mother would be glad to hear it.”

Gale.

“Send along our thanks to your mother, Gale. Good meals are hard to come by on the road.”

Wyll.

Seraphina was trekking back to camp from washing up in the river that morning when the voices of her companions reached her ears. Karlach had only joined them three days ago and having another exceptionally positive individual – especially another tiefling – lifted Seraphina’s spirits. 

A new companion, a balmy morning, and the mouthwatering scent of breakfast. She was convinced it was going to be a good day. Maybe good enough to find a solution to this tadpole in her head.

“Hey, soldier!” Karlach greeted. 

“Good morning!” Seraphina chirped. 

“What’s the plan for the day?” Karlach asked. 

Gale smiled sweetly at Seraphina as he handed her a plate of sausage links, potatoes, and tomatoes. 

“We have two main options. We need to investigate the rest of the village, which shouldn’t take long and it’s also on the way to Auntie Ethel’s house, or we can head towards the goblin camp,” Seraphina replied. She reached into her pocket and fished out her coin. 

“Is that your lucky coin or something?” Karlach inquired around a mouthful of food. 

“You haven’t seen our dear leader’s morning ritual yet?” Astarion asked as he sauntered over from his tent. He winked at Seraphina as he walked past her and settled across the fire from her.

“Heads for the goblin camp. Tails for the village and Auntie Ethel,” Seraphina said, taking a bite of potatoes before flipping her coin. The coin shot up, slightly past her head, and she caught it with her palm. “Tails it is!”

“Chk. You are wasting precious time and leaving our fate up to the chance outcome of a coin flip. We should be making our way to a creche,” Lae’zel interjected.

“We haven’t had any symptoms so far, Lae’zel, and we don’t know how far away this creche is. Auntie Ethel has offered to help us and, if she can’t, at least we’ll be going to get the druid soon,” Seraphina smiled at Lae’zel, whose scowl was unwavering. “I promise we’ll head there.”

“So, what’s this little tradition of yours?” Karlach asked, smoothly changing the topic back.

“I worship Tymora, Lady Luck. Tymorans lean into luck and chance at every opportunity. The greater the risk, the greater the reward from the Smiling Lady,” Seraphina replied. 

“Do you consider the tadpole a reward?” Shadowheart asked pointedly. 

Seraphina bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying what she wanted to say, something along the lines of asking Shadowheart if she considered turning into a mind flayer and losing her soul a welcome loss in the name of Shar. She and Shadowheart had made some progress in…diplomacy. It was difficult traveling with someone who worshipped a goddess who Tymora did not like. Seraphina could feel the Bright Lady’s discontent occasionally when she and Shadowheart shared a moment that erred on the side of friendly. 

“Unfortunate things happen to anyone, regardless of who they worship. That’s why we’re going to go see what Auntie Ethel can do to help us,” Seraphina replied evenly.

As the topic of breakfast chatter changed, Seraphina started going over her list in her head of what they needed for the day. After she finished eating, she hurried over to her tent, scooping some empty potion bottles and quickly beginning to craft.

She had crafted three healing potions when a pouch suddenly dropped in front of her. She looked up to see Astarion standing over her, his arms crossed with his signature smirk.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I picked up a few ingredients for you while I was hunting last night. I would’ve given them to you earlier, but there were more pressing matters when I saw you last night,” Astarion replied. 

“Oh!” Seraphina said, opening the pouch to see several bunches of balsam, rogue’s morsel, and wispweed. “Thank you, Astarion. That’s very sweet of you.”

He crouched down so that he was eye level with her.

“Not nearly as sweet as your blood tastes, darling. Your blood has made me curious if all of you tastes as enticing,” he murmured. Heat blossomed on her cheeks as she averted her gaze back to her mortar and pestle, but Astarion put a finger under her chin and, with the lightest pressure, lifted her face to continue looking at him.

“You know, Seraphina, I’ve been thinking –”

“Are we prepared to venture forth today?”

They both looked up to see Gale had approached, his hands clasped behind his back. Seraphina saw a flash of annoyance cross Astarion’s face as he opened his mouth to speak, but she jumped to her feet.

“Yes! Let’s go,” she smiled, putting the new potions, alchemy tools, and the new pouch from Astarion into her bag. 

“Astarion, I hope you won’t mind me borrowing Seraphina’s attention for a few moments,” Gale said.

Astarion scowled. “I assure you that I do mind since we were already having a discussion before you interrupted.”

“We will be together all day. There’s plenty of time to chat with both of you,” Seraphina interjected as Karlach walked over. The group started their walk out of camp and began heading in the direction of the blighted village.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Gale murmured as Astarion and Karlach trailed ahead. “I suppose it’s quite rude to demand your attention as frequently as I have.”

“I’ll tell you a secret,” Seraphina said, gesturing for Gale to lean in closer. 

“You’re my favorite person here. You can take up as much of my time as you wish,” she whispered, brushing her hand along his shoulder.

Gale gave a short chuckle, his face reddening as he stood up straight again. “Don’t tell me that. I may never leave your side,” he replied.

“And I wouldn’t mind that at all. Now, was something on your mind?” Part of her hoped that he would finally tell her why he needed to ‘consume’ magical items. She wasn’t a fan of the complaints and grumbling from everyone else over the loss of powerful gear.

“Right! If it’s not too bothersome for you to recall it, I was quite interested in hearing your story of what you witnessed when Elturel was pulled into Avernus.”

“Oh! Well, I guess to begin, my presence as a Tymoran priestess was requested to assist some Hellriders with an investigation they were doing into some recent disappearances.”

* * *

Seraphina flopped onto a rock, chugging a healing potion, as she winced and breathed through the pain from her wounds. She, Astarion, Gale, and Karlach had just killed Gandrel, a monster hunter who was searching for Astarion. Seraphina was usually the first to suggest the peaceful or least aggressive route in any conflict, but when Astarion smirked at her and said, “We should do something about this threat,” she knew that he was, unfortunately, correct. 

She had sighed as she replied, “All right, kill him if you must.” Karlach was less than happy about the choice, but Seraphina knew they couldn’t risk having a monster hunter lurking so close to their camp, not when Astarion was so valuable to their team. Taking a life wasn’t something that Seraphina did lightly. She could only pray that protecting Astarion was the right decision. 

As Karlach and Gale went off to survey the rest of the swamp and ensure that Gandrel was alone, Astarion walked over and stood in front of her. 

“Darling, I was thinking about you before we bumped into that filth,” Astarion said. He gestured at the rock. “May I?” 

Seraphina looked at the rock, which truthfully was only fit for one person. She nodded and scooted over, her left leg hanging off. Astarion sat, so close that the sides of their bodies pressed together. She turned to look at him, slightly tilting her head back to avoid catching him with her ram horns. 

“And pray tell, what were you thinking about in relation to me?” She replied as she began applying her healing magic on the scratches and wounds on his legs. She could feel his eyes staring at her as she worked.

“Remembering our time together, the things we’ve shared – and I don’t just mean that lovely neck of yours,” Astarion admitted. Seraphina shivered as she felt a finger graze her neck, passing over the bite marks where Astarion had fed from just last night. The finger continued moving up until Astarion softly grabbed her chin and turned her to look at him. She felt like her whole body was ablaze as she looked into his red eyes.

“I’m growing to like the whole package, honestly. And you clearly like me too, so…” Astarion murmured, a smirk on his face. He seemed absolutely smug at her wide-eyed expression.  

“A lady never tells,” She replied coyly, attempting to gain some power back in this conversation.

“You don’t have to say a thing,” Astarion’s hand moved from her chin to cradling the back of her head. “I already know how you feel.” He looked at her lips and his gaze flicked back to her eyes. He slowly leaned forward, and Seraphina felt like she was being pulled on a string, closer and closer, until his soft, pink lips were pressed against her red-painted ones. 

The kiss was surprisingly tender until she felt Astarion’s fingers tangle into her hair and pull, simultaneously pressing her even closer. She gasped and Astarion took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, carefully stroking her tongue with his own. Seraphina could feel the butterflies in her belly when she finally remembered that she had hands, and she gripped his shirt. She pressed her thighs together as she felt arousal surge through her. When was the last time she had kissed someone? As quickly as the moment started, it ended as he pulled away, his hand trailing down her neck, shoulder, and arm. His smirk returned. 

“We could take an evening to ourselves. Get away from camp – get some privacy,” He murmured seductively. “I know somewhere quiet. Somewhere intimate. Somewhere we can…indulge in each other.”

“You’re lucky that I trust you, but I can’t lie that this all sounds mildly suspicious,” She laughed breathlessly. The kiss hadn’t even lasted that long, but she felt like Astarion had sucked all the oxygen from her lungs as easily as he sucked her blood. 

“On my honor,” Astarion started, his other hand creeping down to grip her thigh. “The only thing on my mind is depraved, carnal lust.” 

“Sounds like a good time to me,” She replied. She could hear Karlach’s roaring laughter and Gale’s measured footsteps growing nearer. 

“Once we can get away, I promise you a night you’ll never forget,” Astarion purred, squeezing her thigh once, before rising to his feet. Seraphina slowly stood with him as Karlach and Gale appeared below.

“Oi! We’ve got an appointment with Auntie Ethel, you slowpokes!” Karlach yelled. 

“Lead on, my friend!” Astarion hopped down to join them as Seraphina trailed behind, her lips tingling as she tried to throw water on the inferno that was raging between her legs.

Astarion and Karlach walked on, but Gale waited for Seraphina, sweetly smiling at her as she joined him on the path towards the teahouse. She almost felt guilty for what had just occurred with Astarion, but she quickly buried it. If Gale was taking his time with courting her – if that’s even what was happening between them – what was the issue with her indulging in the very direct attention that Astarion was offering? 

She felt like she deserved to languish in the attention and desire of someone else after what happened with Vadan. In the last few days, she’d been able to think about him without feeling a pain in her chest. Moving on was possible. She could see the light. She needed to keep pushing through this fog. 

CHALLENGERS (2024) + letterboxd reviews

aaaand i call this gifset “Seraphina serving charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent in any lighting”

astarion eating a watermelon 🍉

“Honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips

We should just kiss

Like real people do”

local vampire dies of hunger cold