In My Blood

Chapter 2: Song of Tranquility

It doesn't take long for the party to start gathering more members. By the time they rest for the evening, they had picked up both an aggressive-aggressive gith, Lae'zel, and a love-sick wizard, Gale. After the sun has set, Delphnye walks over to a secluded part of the camp near a stream. She sighs contently as she sits on a large rock in front of a small pitch pine tree and pulls out a wooden flute from her backpack. Depictions of serpents are intricately carved along the sides.

It's quiet. Peaceful. Just the way she likes it. Listening to the sound of running water beside her, she quickly glances over at her new companions as they set up their tents for the night. At least Lae'zel and Shadowheart aren't fighting. She thinks to herself.

A tranquil melody spills out from the flute as she begins to play, her slender fingers delicately shifting along the center as she changes notes. She closes her eyes as Vesper and Pax affectionately slither around her body. As she continues to play, the barely visible grated scars on her forehead begin to glow.

***

Astarion sets up his tent deep in thought. Delphie is such a mystery to him. He's certain she is a ranger from the way she wields a bow and communicates with her snakes, but there is something different about her. He'd met a fair share of odd women in his past. He even slept with some of them, but Delphie was different, almost as if she was at war with herself. He can tell from the way she would open her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She wants someone to talk to, but she's afraid of something.

The way she attacked him earlier that day was animalistic. She attacked him like a predator hunting prey. Yet, once she realized his main goal was just to get his questions answered, she snapped out of her aggressive state. She looked upset, even. The weirdest part about the situation was she never looked like some sort of beast. She looked quite the opposite...like a goddess. A goddess of nature.

From the short amount of time he spent with her, he knows she doesn't have the personality of a goddess. She's socially awkward and has a conflict constantly brewing within her. How someone can be so caring and cold at the same time was beyond him, but then again, it seems like she's never conflicted about helping him. She hardly spoke to him since they met, but she showed subtle acts of kindness around him, like helping him pitch his tent. He can't understand why she would show this kindness to him. After all, he did admit to planning on killing her after they made amends. Yet, Gale has been a hell of a lot friendlier and she won't even as much as bat him an eye.

The elf doesn't know why these thoughts are flooding his brain. After all, he can use this knowledge to his advantage. He needs protection after all and if she cares enough about him, she would lay down her life for him. All he would have to do is pretend like he would do the same, make love to her, and whisper sweet nothings into her ear. It's a very simple plan, but why is his stomach knotting up at the thought? Or is he just hungry?

***

Astarion steps out of his tent, looking around at his new companions. Everyone is almost ready to settle in for the night. Well...almost everyone.

The pale elf follows the sound of the flute, slipping past the crackling flames of the campfire and around the blue tent they pitched as a study area. He crouches behind the crates in front of it, watching Delphie play. It's a beautiful sight to behold. The burn scars on her forehead are glowing with a golden luminescence, shining like metallic scales.

As soon as the wood elf stops playing, her forehead stops glowing and the burn scars return to normal. The lids of her eyes flutter open in Astarion's direction. It's useless to stay hidden, so he comes out of hiding and walks into the light emanating from the torch. Stretching out her legs in front of her, Delphie gives the man a curious look.

"How did you know I was here?" Astarion rubs the back of his neck.

The beautiful elf in front of him fidgets with her flute as the snakes slither back to her forearms. "I have a heightened sense of my surroundings," She begins coyly, tucking a curly strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe it's from twenty years of living in the wilderness."

"Twenty years?" The man repeats back as he takes a seat next to her. "That's quite a while. How did you deal with it?"

Delphie shrugs her shoulders. "It was better than living where I was before, I'll tell you that much."

The woman's pale face grows rosy as they sit there in silence for a moment, the sounds of crickets chirping and running water beside them. Astarion eventually turns to her with a smug expression. "You don't talk much, do you?" Delphie raises an eyebrow at him curiously. "I must say, you are quite interesting, my dear."

There she goes again...searching his eyes for any signs of insincerity. He isn't lying. He does find her interesting, but there is more to this interaction than he was letting on.

"I don't know. I've never really had anyone to talk to. It's all honestly a little novel." Delphie begins, pulling her knees to her chest and looking at her toes.

Before she can continue speaking, Astarion smacks his lips and points a finger in the air. "I'll let you in on a secret, darling: Curling up in the dirt and resting is...a little novel to me." A small chuckle escapes Delphie's lips and for some reason, it reminds the man that he needs to eat as his stomach begins to knot up again.

"You've never slept in the woods before, have you, Mr. Magistrate?" A genuine smile forms on her lips as she meets his gaze.

"It's all a little new to me, I'll admit. The night usually means bustling streets, bursting taverns." Astarion pauses for a moment as if going to continue speaking, but words never form.

"Give it a try. It's not as bad as you think." Delphie finally says, starting to stand up.

The elf beside her follows suit. "I'm in no place to rest yet. Today's been a lot. I need some time to think things through. To process this." Delphie nods in agreement. "You rest. I'll keep watch."

Delphie gives him a shy smile and nods. For a moment, he watches as she retreats to her tent. It's completely silent once again. The candles in everyone's tents are blown out for the night. At last, he would be able to hunt.

However, he's unaware of the soft footsteps trailing behind him moments after he left the campsite.