Like Real People Do, Chapter 4.5

Like Real People Do, Chapter 4.5

Gale Dekarios x Named! Tav x Astarion Ancunín

Chapter Synopsis: Gale is captivated by the wild mage that saved his life. He knows he's falling in love even though he's living on borrowed time and that's not fair to anyone.

Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four.

Read on ao3.

Notes: OooOOhhHH, it's a chapter from Gale's perspective. Definitely not required for the full narrative, but also definitely an itch my brain wanted to scratch.

Learn more about my Tav, Seraphina.

Chapter 4.5: Feels Like Magic

As Gale blinked awake that morning, he knew two things – it was early, and his body was still incredibly sore from the previous day’s conflicts. With it being so early, he was positive that he would be able to indulge in a soak in the river before anyone else woke up with questions about food for the day.

Slowly, wincing and huffing in pain all the while, Gale gathered his bathing oils into a small pouch and prepared to leave his tent. He nudged his head through his tent flap and blinked to adjust to the soft yellows and harsh oranges of the sun’s first rays. His shoulders had just crossed the threshold when Gale noticed the mortifying sight on the opposite side of camp.

There, past the ash of the long-dead campfire, was Seraphina, her crimson and onyx hair tousled, while Astarion had an alabaster hand delicately holding her cheek. Gale felt a blanket of dread cover him from head to toe as he watched Seraphina dreamily blink up at the vampire, like she was completely entranced. When he saw her push up and their lips touched, he wished the ground would swallow him whole as he quickly turned back into his tent.

Gale was wise enough to admit to himself that he had undeniably developed feelings for Seraphina and that it was an objectively quite foolish thing for him to have allowed this attraction to take root and consume his heart.

When that generous individual grabbed Gale’s hand from the other side of the portal, he could feel the Weave flowing beneath their skin, sharp and powerful as if he’d been shocked – unmistakably the arcane power of a caster. He wasn’t sure who he would see on the other side, but he wasn’t prepared for who he had to thank for saving his life in the slightest. The source of the powerful magic he’d felt was a petite tiefling woman with scarlet skin, hypnotizing bright orange eyes, and plump cherry-red painted lips surrounding a wide smile that made him blush.

If he was being honest with himself, Gale was enchanted by Seraphina from the moment he saw her. He took in her features as she scrambled to her feet after the force of pulling him out of the portal sent her tumbling. Instead of looking confused, disturbed, or angry, she just looked curious and amazed.

“Hello! I’m Gale of Waterdeep,” he proclaimed as he reached for Seraphina’s hand. He could feel magic crackling in the air around her and, as his hands closed around hers, it felt like he was holding a strand of the Weave itself – warm, familiar, safe. 

“Apologies, I’m usually better at this,” Gale pulled back, scratching his neck with one hand to try and replace the sensation that was flowing under his skin after touching her.

“At introductions?” the woman laughed, brushing dirt from her robes. 

“At magic,” he smiled. It was only now that he noticed the black-haired half-elf standing behind her.

“Well, I’m Seraphina…of Baldur’s Gate. Pleasure to meet you, Gale of Waterdeep,” the tiefling gave a little bow and seemed confident, but Gale knew from what he’d read of tiefling tail body language that she was nervous from how her red appendage curled inwards and nearly wrapped around her leg.

As startled as Gale was by being kidnapped by a mind flayer ship and being infected with a tadpole, it was somewhat comforting to now be taking on the task of finding a healer with other survivors. As they walked, Seraphina focused in on his use of portals, asking questions as quickly as an arrow loosed from an expert archer’s bow. “How did you make that portal?”

“How were you able to cast that while falling?”

“Did it require any material components?”

Finally, he interrupted. “You’re not versed in magic, are you?”

Seraphina paused and let out a sharp laugh as if she couldn’t believe he was asking it. “Magic runs in my very veins.”

Oh. Of course. She was a sorcerer. 

“Ah, well, my apologies. I should have asked if you’re studied in magic. Which you are not.”

Seraphina’s smile dropped into a scowl, and she rolled her eyes.

“What you wizards lack in social skills, survival capabilities, and pure arcane power, you make up for by being as insufferable as possible.” Seraphina picked up her pace and spoke again before Gale could reply. “Let’s look for more survivors of the crash.”

It hardly mattered that she wasn’t formally trained in magic as Gale quickly learned when they stumbled upon goblins attacking adventurers outside the Emerald Grove. The raw power that Gale felt was on full display as Seraphina eviscerated their foes. As if that wasn’t enough, this new ally continued to impress him over and over again. 

She showed remarkable bravery and diplomacy as she connected with Zevlor, urging him to ignore Aradin’s taunting, as she stepped between a crossbow and a goblin prisoner, and when she talked Kagha into releasing Arabella. She even reacted to Nettie’s poison attempt with almost odd patience, leaning into empathy and being understanding of Nettie’s stream of thought.

Seeing how level-headed and kind she was made it easy for Gale to tell a nugget of the truth about his condition. Of course, kind soul that she was, she jumped to offer her healing magic. Part of him expected an adventured traveler like her to be more upset at having to part with magical items, but she agreed to help him without needing convincing. Of course, naturally, she had a million questions, but Gale was grateful that she was able to control her curiosity. 

He didn’t have it in him yet to admit how dangerous he was. Gale knew his odds of removing the tadpole were higher with this group and, as long as the orb remained stabilized, he’d be able to keep himself from becoming a threat. At least, until the tadpole was removed and then he could find somewhere isolated to await his fate. 

There was also the very selfish desire to want to spend time with Seraphina. He was quite enjoying getting to spend every night deep in conversation with her, with only the moon and the stars as witnesses. After all, with how much she was sacrificing to keep him alive, the least he could offer her was good company, right?

As they traveled together and grew closer, Gale struggled to swallow a seed of insecurity as Seraphina shared anecdotes about her past, specifically past lovers whenever a random circumstance, place, or item reminded her of them.

A statue in the Grove reminded Seraphina of a druid lover from Amn who kept a similar fox statue in her tent.

A Selûnite necklace in a destroyed village made her recall a lover who followed the Moonmaiden so passionately that she refused to make love during the day. 

Alfira reminded her of a bard she used to travel with that wrote a new song for her every morning. 

Seraphina was an adventuring cleric by trade and wandered the Sword Coast and occasionally across Faerûn, accompanying parties on their journeys to bestow blessings from Tymora for safety and success. She had had dozens of loves in her travels, and she didn’t shy away from flirtation, which only made it harder to sidestep outright rejecting or accepting her advances.

Gale saw and felt her desire that night in the Weave and he was nearly ready to sacrifice the lives of everyone in camp, nearby in the Grove, and all the souls around them for just a few moments of kissing her and feeling her lips against his own. 

But Seraphina didn’t know the truth of him, his failure. If she did, she wouldn’t want him. Even if they miraculously removed the mind flayer tadpoles from their brains, with the orb, he wouldn’t be alive much longer. Why would she waste her time with and risk her safety for someone whose death was on the horizon? 

Despite his best attempts to stay focused, Seraphina very quickly became a distraction. As they took their walks together, he often found himself unable to look away from the sway of her wide hips beneath her blue and silver robes. Or he would face the embarrassment of being caught staring at her red painted lips as she spoke. Or he would do something stupid in the name of keeping her from harm.

When they were battling Auntie Ethel in her lair, Seraphina experienced a wild magic surge that polymorphed her into a sheep, making her unable to see the mine directly in front of her snout.

Gale’s arm was raised, prepared to send several magic missiles at Auntie Ethel and finish the fight until he saw sheep Seraphina stumbling in the direction of the mine. He felt as if someone was squeezing his heart from inside his chest as time slowed down. He turned and ran towards her, pushing her away from the explosive. In that second, Auntie Ethel, with a cackle, duplicated herself once again, her clones surrounding them in the lair.

“What were you thinking, Gale? Aren’t you the super smart one here?” Karlach scolded later as they stood over the hag’s corpse, the entire group exhausted and nearly beaten after the day they’d had. “Seraphina would’ve been fine. A soldier taking a hit happens, but it doesn’t mean we have to abandon our course.”

“We’re all okay, aren’t we? And Ethel is dead, so it’s fine,” Seraphina spoke up. “I’m quite glad Gale was thinking of me. Now, let’s go check on those people she had trapped here.”

She had saved Gale from needing to explain his actions. What would he have even said? What battle strategy pushed him to not take aim at the enemy? As they made their way back to the top of the hag’s lair, even with Seraphina safe in front of him, he could still feel the fear that had gripped him when he saw her nearly step onto that mine. He wanted to take her into his arms, but, while his body had been spurred to action on its own earlier, it froze now.

He was unable to speak to her for the rest of the day. As he handed her dinner that night, he avoided her eyes, but then she did the worst and best possible thing. As Gale kept his eyes on the bowl, she, with her hands that could eliminate as easily as they could heal, touched his hand, her fingers sliding up his wrist and under his sleeve. 

Gale could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

“Gale,” she said, and he wanted to hear her voice say his name a hundred more times.

He looked up and her amber eyes pulled him in, trapped in them as if it was a sweet honey trap that he fell for. 

“Yes?”

“Thank you for keeping me from blowing myself up today. Polymorph is really the most frustrating wild magic effect of all of them,” she laughed.

“Of course. I am quite glad that you are alright.” 

“Do you think we could talk tonight after everyone else goes to sleep? I would really enjoy some alone time with you,” she whispered. Gale could see every detail of her face – the way she blinked up at him through her lashes, the seductive smirk of her full lips, and the way her nails lightly ran along his skin as she grabbed the bowl and pulled her hand away. 

“Perhaps,” he smiled, knowing full well that he couldn’t talk to her tonight because if they were alone, surely the orb would erupt. He turned and ate his dinner on the other side of the campfire. He couldn’t keep talking to her, not until he got himself under control. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to speak to her without all the words he wanted to say pouring out of him. 

You are becoming so very dear to me.

I want to spend nearly all my time with you.

If we were not at risk of turning into mind flayers, if I was not already destined for destruction, if we had more time, I would show you every wonder all the planes have to offer.

You occupy my thoughts from the moment that I open my eyes to when they close for the night, only for my dreams to be filled with images of you. All that to say that you never leave my mind. You have enthralled me.

Gale was all too aware before he had even witnessed that intimate moment between Astarion and Seraphina that he wasn’t the only one in their little band of tadpoled misfits who was interested in their leader. It was hard not to notice that Astarion had been spending more time with her. He didn’t trust a single thing that the vampire said, but it was obvious his honeyed words had lured the wild mage straight into the predator’s jaws. 

“So, Gale, how is your hopeless pining going?” 

Gale’s head snapped to look at Astarion, his smirk looking even more smug than usual. They were standing in the goblin camp, surrounded by filth and debauchery. Seraphina, Shadowheart, and Karlach were giving their rapt attention to the performance of that poor kidnapped bard. Lae’zel and Wyll had wandered to bargain with a goblin trader.

Gale thought once again of the kiss he’d seen that morning. Did Astarion know that Gale had seen it?

“I’m not sure what you mean. It’s been more than a year since Mystra cast me out,” Gale replied.

Astarion chuckled.

“My dear wizard, I wasn’t talking about Mystra. Though the person I’m referring to is still quite magical.” The vampire wasn’t looking at him anymore. Gale followed his gaze, fully knowing where it was going, and he felt his breath hitch anyway as he looked at Seraphina. She was applauding the bard, a big smile on her face. 

“She is magical. I think many of us see that, but it seems you wasted no time in pursuing your quarry.”

“There really wasn’t much pursuit required. She enjoys pleasure, a good time, and embraces her desires. She’s a priestess, not a wizard after all.”

Seraphina turned on her heel and Gale’s retort died in his throat. Her face was that of sharp determination, her jaw set as she leaned forward and whispered to them.

“We have a bard, an owlbear cub, and a druid to save,” she declared.

Astarion scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You really insist on creating more unnecessary labor for us at every turn,” he complained.

Gale simply smiled at her.

“Lead on, my friend.”

i saw other people’s cute versions of this so naturally here is seraphina and gale 🥺

2 absolute idiots in love

picrew

I’m loving Season 2 so far!

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. 

Normal vampire lord behavior.

i found the tenth circle of hell: it's where your fave blows up on tiktok