Like Real People Do, Chapter 5

Gale Dekarios x Named! Tav x Astarion Ancunín

Chapter Synopsis: Discussions of the past help Seraphina grow closer to Gale and Astarion.

Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Four and a Half.

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Notes: This one came out kinda long! Guess I got too into it. Word Count: 3.3k

Learn more about my Tav, Seraphina.

Chapter 5: Fragments of the Past

After a raid of the jail at the goblin camp, the party returned to camp with three bottles of firewine to end their night, a deserved reprieve after learning that Halsin wouldn’t be able to remove their tadpoles and a nice, if not slightly unwise, prelude to defending the Grove the next day.

Seraphina couldn’t tell anyone how much she was panicking. Everyone was looking to her for leadership and so far, she had only led them on a chase for a cure for the tadpole that just kept getting longer and longer all while everyone had their different requests for their party’s direction. She knew that Astarion and Shadowheart wanted to immediately start on the path to Moonrise, the location that Halsin had mentioned that the cultists were traveling to. Lae’zel wanted to get to the crèche. All three of them were upset that they were ‘wasting time’ at the Grove, but Seraphina wasn’t about to abandon her people, especially not tieflings from Elturel.

She had only spoken with Gale about her journey into Avernus and the group of heroes she traveled with to rescue Elturel. The nightmares of Avernus had become less frequent since the stress of the tadpole had taken over Seraphina’s psyche. However, she would never forget what that was like. She wasn’t going to turn her back on the innocent civilians who had survived that place, and she was grateful for Gale, Karlach, and Wyll’s support in staying to clear the road to Baldur’s Gate for the tieflings.

“Okay, okay. How about this one then?” Karlach bellowed. “Seraphina, my good luck charm, my friend,” she continued.

Seraphina turned away from her discussion with Gale on the last book he’d gifted her. She held up her goblet. “Go on, my friend,” she beamed.

“Soldier, when was the last time you were in love?” Karlach asked.

“This should be good,” Shadowheart teased.

Seraphina felt her chest get tighter. Everyone was looking at her and she felt like her skin was crawling. She looked at Astarion, who lifted his eyebrows and nodded for her to get on with it. It wasn’t until she looked at Gale, sitting right next to her, that she felt the confidence she needed to answer flow through her veins. His face looked so soft, so open, and intrigued. She held his gaze, letting it calm her, as she took a deep breath before she averted her gaze to look at the others.

“The last time was last summer,” Seraphina said wistfully. When she blinked, she was suddenly back in the temple, sobbing and tripping over her dress as she paced back-and-forth, staring at the clock as the minutes ticked by. She blinked again, suddenly back at the fire surrounded by her newfound friends, and she surprised herself when a laugh burst its way forward from deep in her belly.

“I was supposed to get married, actually.”

Gasps and shocked shouts quickly followed.

“Married?” Gale balked.

“Who in the world managed to convince you that was a good idea?” Shadowheart asked.

“Tying yourself to another for life? Chk,” Lae’zel scoffed as she took a swig of her drink.

Seraphina giggled. It all seemed so ridiculous now. Or it could just be the wine.

“Well, go on. Tell all, darling,” Astarion said. “I’m sure this is a love story the bards of the Sword Coast will sing about for ages.”

Seraphina rolled her eyes.

“The abbreviated version of the story is that we met on a contract in Neverwinter two years ago in the summer. We were protecting some people and their cargo, and it was a long trek. We spent a lot of time together and, once the contract was done, we just kept traveling together,” she began. “He asked me to marry him on the winter solstice. We had to go our separate ways for a while, but we wrote each other letters constantly.”

She shifted slightly, trying to keep up her usual bright demeanor as she tried to wrap up the story as quickly as possible.

“Anyway, he came to stay with my family in Baldur’s Gate and we planned the wedding. The wedding day came that summer and he didn’t show up at the temple. He wrote me a letter apologizing, but I haven’t seen him since,” Seraphina finished, grabbing a bottle of firewine, and filling her goblet.

“Seraphina, I’m so sorry,” Gale said in a hushed tone. “Such heartbreak must’ve been…well, nothing short of devastating.”

“That’s truly horrible, but it seems like he was a coward. He obviously wasn’t worth your time, though few long-term romances are,” Shadowheart said sympathetically.

“It is funny that you say that. He’s a Harper,” Seraphina added. The entire circle began to laugh. “Truly a vision of the bravery of those who’ve assigned themselves to defend the Realms.”

“Soldier, if we ever see his face, say the word and Mama K will take care of it,” Karlach said.

“Did you at least keep the ring?” Astarion joked.

“I sold it, and I gave the gold as an offering to Lady Luck. But enough about me. Wyll!” Seraphina shouted. “Tell us about the least threatening monster you’ve had to kill.”

As Wyll instantly began his tale and attention shifted, Seraphina stood, walking over to her tent, and gulping down her wine. Her thoughts started to swim with memories of all the times she thought she would die in Avernus and how her thoughts swam with visions of Vadan amongst all the flashes of the faces of her family.

“Seraphina,” Gale called out. She turned and he was rising from the campfire. As he walked up to her, she watched his features as they transitioned from being under the orange glow of the fire to the ethereal light from the moon. She felt her knees go weak. He was devastatingly handsome, and she thought she might whine from how desperate she was to kiss him. Maybe it would silence her churning thoughts.

She probably shouldn’t have refilled her goblet.

“Hello,” she murmured with a gentle smile and only a slight slur. She sat down on the rug outside her tent, and he joined her, grunting as he bent down.

“Hello,” Gale returned her smile. “We don’t have to dwell on it, but I just wanted to tell you that your former beloved sounds like he was nothing short of a fool.”

“I don’t disagree.”

“The only thing he did right, clearly, was win over your affections. Though he obviously wasn’t deserving of them.” His intense gaze gave Seraphina butterflies.

“Thank you, Gale. I really appreciate that,” she elbowed him gently, and he smiled as he leaned into her, resting his arm against hers.

“To have captured your heart so completely and then to hurt you in such a way. I could never imagine doing such a thing to you.”

Gale’s lips suddenly clapped shut. Seraphina watched pink flood across Gale’s nose and cheeks, and she couldn’t help but grin.

“I’ve clearly had too much wine. I beg you to forget I said that. My verbosity can make me blabber far too much. We don’t have to continue discussing him,” Gale murmured, turning to avoid looking at her.

“It’s okay, Gale. I honestly haven’t had or taken the time to talk about what happened between us and that’s been hard because I…I associate him with a lot, unfortunately. When we met, my trial from Tymora had just begun. I fumbled with a sword more than I used my magic because I was so scared. He –” Seraphina cut herself off to clear her throat.

“It’s alright,” Gale whispered, his hand reaching up and rubbing soothing circles on her arm.

“When I was too scared to use my magic, he taught me how to use a glaive. He eventually helped me stop being afraid of my magic and I never felt so alive as when I started practicing again with him by my side. He was so kind in the beginning that I never could’ve been prepared for how we ended.”

“Take comfort in knowing you aren’t alone when it comes to having a former lover who struggled with tact,” he responded as he looked up at the moon.

It was only earlier that day that Gale had admitted the truth about the nature of the orb in his chest and his former relationship with Mystra. She couldn’t fathom defying her own goddess as he did, but Seraphina’s heart broke listening to his story and it broke again because of how long he had hidden this danger from her and their party.

“I care too much about you to abandon you now, Gale.”

It slipped out in front of everyone and once she said it, she couldn’t take it back.

“May Tymora bless our futures with virtuous and tactful lovers,” Seraphina replied, raising her goblet.

“May the Smiling Lady shine on us,” Gale laughed as he clinked his goblet with hers and they both finished their wine. He stood and Seraphina rose with him. She wasn’t even sure why she did that. She was drawn to him as if the damned wizard had charmed her. She awkwardly took a step back.

“I see I was successful at putting you in a better mood before bed.” He pointed behind her and Seraphina became aware of how hard her tail was wagging back and forth.

“Well, yes, you did do that,” Seraphina admitted sheepishly, her tail curling in to wrap around her leg. “Goodnight, Gale” she said as she opened her arms. He hesitated for a moment, and she considered curling into a ball and requesting Karlach to launch her into the river.

Her catastrophizing ended as Gale smiled and leaned closer to her, slightly bending down to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her in. She tilted her head to avoid her horns harming him, wrapping her arms around his neck. They stayed like that, swaying. She could feel his heartbeat hammering against her chest, the warmth of his arms and the strength in his grip as he pressed their bodies together, and his scent overwhelmed her senses. It was as if she was surrounded by Gale.

He squeezed her and sighed happily as he pulled away, a dim purple glow peeking out from under the collar of his nightshirt.

“Goodnight, Seraphina,” He smiled one last time and turned to go his tent. As he walked away, Seraphina saw that everyone was also heading inside of their tent.

She walked over to the sandy shore near the river and kneeled, clutching her Tymoran pendant in her hands as she bowed her head in prayer.

Lady Luck, I thank you for your guidance today. It was your light that helped us –

“Can you make a request to your goddess for me, my dear?”

She snapped her head up to see that Astarion had silently approached and fully sat down next to her without her even hearing a thing.

“She listens to all who call out to her. I can pray with you if you wou –”

“Oh, there’s no need for all that,” he waved his hand dismissively. “I prayed to every god in the pantheon while in Cazador’s kennels. None ever answered. I doubt they’ll do so now.”

“I’m so sorry, Astarion.”

“But at least one clearly listens to you. I just think it would be nice to stumble upon some good fortune and find someone who can read bloody infernal. I don’t understand how anyone reads that garbage,” Astarion said. “If Tymora can send anyone like that my way, I could consider viewing the Goddess of Luck in a different light.”

“For some people, infernal is in our blood. If…if you want to know what your scars say, I can tell you. I just thought you weren’t interested in knowing what the poem said,” Seraphina replied slowly, carefully choosing her words to avoid offending Astarion and sending him scurrying away, his mask and walls back up again.

His eyes widened at first, his eyebrows lifting. He must’ve forgotten or didn’t know that tieflings could read infernal. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she could feel him observing her face closely.

“Hmm. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” Astarion finally replied. He turned his back to her, and she swore she saw his fingers tremble as he removed his shirt with one hand in a singular fluid motion.

Seraphina held back a gasp as she looked at the scars on his back. They looked even more grotesque from this closer view. She felt her skin crawl as she imagined how torturous it must’ve been to endure and she felt rage for his former master bubbling inside her. She scooted a little bit away from him and began to draw out the infernal in the sand.

“If you want to see it, here it is. But it’s all infernal legalese. It’s just a small part of a bigger text,” she explained as he turned around. His eyes widened again in horror.

“That bastard. What in the hells did he do to me? What was he up to?” Astarion shook his head in disbelief.

“You never saw him write in infernal before?”

“No. But…” he hesitated and, as he put his shirt back on, he looked at the drawing again before looking up to meet her gaze. “Thank you. This is…well…it’s something.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

“Aren’t you sweet?”

“I try to be.”

Astarion chuckled as he reached for her, gripping her waist and pushing her into the sand, forcing a giggle out of her. He hovered over her, caging her in with his arms before slotting his hips between her legs.

“You deserve a reward for being so kind,” he murmured, his words dripping with seduction as he leaned down and began to kiss along her jaw and neck.

“You don’t have to reward me for being nice to you,” she gasped as he began to softly nip, never breaking her skin.

His responding laugh rumbled through her body as he continued pressing wet kisses to her neck, his cold lips making her shiver.

“We both know you want something, so let me give it to you. Now, shall we go somewhere more private than this beach?”

“Maybe I just wanted to talk to you.”

Astarion laughed again, lifting his head to look at her. “You would rather talk?” All mirth left his face as his smile dropped. “Do you need to be enticed out to that clearing with me, darling? Surely, I haven’t fallen out of your favor.” His body stiffened.

“No, you haven’t,” she hummed as she reached up and tucked a few stray white curls behind his ear. She let her fingers trail down his high cheekbones and down his jaw. He was still tense, and she cursed herself as she started to pull her hand away. If this was all just a fling, she was getting too affectionate.

“So why deprive me of the sweetness between your legs, lover?” Astarion asked, taking one of her fingers between his lips and gently sucking, his tongue flicking over the pad of her finger. She let out a breathy sigh, nearly a moan, as he slowly grinded his hips against hers.

Truthfully, a romp with him would distract her from her growing anxiety. However, she still needed energy for the morning.

“You have an infernal pact on your back that I think is more pressing to discuss,” she gasped as a fang nicked her finger. Astarion’s tongue swirled around her finger, sucking up the blood before he released it with an audible ‘pop.’

“That doesn’t concern you, you know,” he murmured.

“I know. Now let’s try and figure this out.”

He sighed, moved off her, and sat up, looking towards the water. Seraphina moved into a seated position, her body humming from his touch, but she wasn’t going to let him use seduction to weasel his way out of this discussion.

Suddenly, Seraphina felt the skin on her neck quiver. At the same moment, she saw Astarion’s ears twitch, and his head quickly spun towards the forest.

A beat of silence.

“Someone’s watching us,” she whispered.

“Stay here,” he commanded. He leapt to his feet and in a flash, he had disappeared into the trees. Seraphina slowly rose to her feet, straining her ears. She couldn’t see anything moving, even with her ability to see into darkness a great distance. ‘Ardere’ danced on the tip of her tongue as she prepared her hands to cast the spell, creeping closer and closer to the tree line.

As the minutes kept passing, she considered waking the others and going in after Astarion. She saw a shadow move and then, in a flash of white, Astarion leapt in front of her. She jumped and a small bolt of fire flew towards his feet.

“Nothing,” Astarion said.

“That…was strange,” Seraphina replied, her heart racing. “I know what I felt.”

“I heard something too. Go rest. I’ll keep watch,” Astarion said, looking over his shoulder into the woods once more.

“Let me stay with you for a little while,” Seraphina said, a little too quickly. “We aren’t done talking.”

Astarion scoffed. “Fine.”

He led her closer to the dying campfire and they sat facing the woods. Seraphina cleared her throat.

“So, what’s on your back is just one piece of a contract. Can you guess where the rest would be?” she asked.

“I wasn’t Cazador’s only spawn. He tortured all of us, so I don’t think it would be outrageous to assume that the rest are also carrying a piece of this…contract,” Astarion mused.

“How many others were there?”

“Six. He considered us ‘brothers and sisters.’”

“That’s a lot of text,” Seraphina sighed. “Alright. We’ll find someone who knows something. I swear that to you.”

“Maybe,” Astarion sighed.

The silence hung in the air for a moment. Astarion was staring into the forest, his head slightly moving as he carefully analyzed the perimeter, his eyebrows furrowed. His fingers tapped the log they sat on. Seraphina hadn’t seen him so deep in thought before.

“Your… ‘brothers and sisters’…did you all act like siblings?”

“I don’t exactly know what that’s like, but I doubt it includes torturing each other.”

Seraphina winced.

“Did you have siblings before…”

“Before Cazador turned me?” Astarion let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Darling, I don’t even remember what color my eyes used to be before they turned red. If I had siblings, I don’t remember them.”

“It’s one of the most unique relationships you can have with someone, I think.”

“Ha! Well, we all certainly had a unique dynamic. I assume you have them?”

Seraphina grinned. “I have six siblings as well. I’m the youngest.”

“What are their names?”

“You first.”

Astarion hesitated.

“Aureila, Yousen, Violet, Leon, Dalyria, and Petras,” he said, the tension in his jaw slowly leaving. He nodded at her.

“There’s Draven, the twins Kyakos and Maven, Sylvera, Kalista, Malachor, and then me. Draven is the oldest and I’m not as close as him as I am with the others, but he went with me on my first adventure. He did that for all of us. It was kind of his ‘big brother duty,’” Seraphina started. “I’m closest with Malachor. I actually think you two would get along quite well.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“I could see you two getting up to mischief together. In fact, he taught me how to pick a lock.”

“Well, you’re not that good at it, so he probably needs some pointers. I have him to thank for how many tools you’ve broken trying to open chests and doors without me.”

“On second thought, maybe it would be a bad idea to put you two egotistical bastards in the same room.”

The sky turned from black to gentles hues of purple and orange as they talked. They didn’t hear anything else from the woods. Eventually, Astarion directed her to sleep, reminding her that she needed far more rest than he did. She didn’t want to tell him the truth that talking with him was a pleasant distraction from the terror that was starting to eat her alive.

Tymora did not look highly upon cowardice. Fortune favors the bold.

She would show no fear.

Like Real People Do, Chapter 5

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