Gang of Weirdos

eight - no elves were harmed in the making ... okay well maybe one

We were all exhausted again and ready for another night's rest, after we'd made it to the underdark and fought off a few minotaurs. Of course it was actually impossible to tell if it was night down here, save for the setting sun we'd seen in the sky before entering the ruin and descending. Anxiety had built within me all day.

We hadn't discussed what occurred at the tiefling party, beyond the quip here and there designed to make the other blush. I began to worry, to falter. What did that make us? What if the pale elf had never actually thought of me in the light I was seeing him? What if I was just a means to an end?

After we'd all set up camp and started dishing out food, I decided to sit with Halsin. Something about him was just warm, inviting- calming. I stabbed a piece of meat with my fork, rotating it around in my fingers as I thought.

I must have sat like that a while, because Halsin noticed and spoke up.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Ah- yes," I started. I paused for a moment and he waited patiently. "Just a lot on my mind- and, well, in it."

Halsin frowned and rested a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, setting my fork back down on my plate.

"We will find you a cure," he said quietly. "I will do all in my power to see to it that none of you will have this affliction much longer."

"Thank you," I said with a nod. "We're mere strangers to you. So really: thank you."

"I have my own motives as well," Halsin said with a nod, retrieving his hand. "Far too long I have hoped nature would right itself. It seems I must assist in returning balance to these lands."

He stood up then, tossing the scraps of his meal to Scratch- the dog we'd found in our travels. The happy pup ate them eagerly.

"I hope you have a wonderful rest of your evening," Halsin said before retreating to his tent.

"Good night," I said, watching after him.

My heart gave a jolt when I noticed Astarion watching me from across the campfire. I nearly dropped my whole plate to the ground. He smirked, lifted his wine glass toward me, and then took a drink from it.

"I suppose you two are becoming a thing now," Shadowheart said with a grin, and I startled even though she'd been sitting with me the entire time.

"I- what?" I coughed, smacking my chest with my fist.

"Oh please, it's so obvious," she said, her grin turning almost as wicked as Astarion's. "He's been making eyes at you since we first found him."

"That's ridiculous," I said, rolling my eyes. Had he though? "We've barely known each other long- more likely I'm just some passing entertainment for him."

"If you're sure," Shadowheart said with a raised brow.

I sighed and set my plate aside, standing up. I brushed off the front of my pants, and gave a little bow to Shadowheart before making my way over to Astarion.

"Hello, darling," Astarion said. His voice was his typical low, sensual purr. "A pleasure to see you on this fine evening."

I looked over to Shadowheart; she was watching with a knowing smile. I shot her a glare and grabbed hold of Astarion's shirt collar, maintaining eye contact with her. What I was trying to prove, I wasn't sure.

But the pale elf didn't protest when I yanked him upward off his log seat and dragged him over to his tent.

"Oh my, so eager," he drawled.

"This- this isn't a sex thing," I hissed under my breath, waving exasperatedly around with my free hand. "This is just because- you know, we're in the underdark. Those minotaurs were tough. We need you at full strength."

"Very well," Astarion said, pulling my hand free from his shirt. "But allow me a moment to make things more... comfortable, for you." He waggled his eyebrows and didn't give me a chance to object, quickly ducking into his tent.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, my heart pounding. I looked back over to the campfire, but Shadowheart had already made her way to her own tent. Wyll and Karlach were the only ones still about; talking quietly amongst themselves, tuning the rest of the world out.

A tender warmth filled my chest at the sight of them. Wyll was a sweetheart, and Karlach was such a bubbly personality; they really suited each other.

Astarion cleared his throat then, and I turned back to look at him. He held the flap of his tent open.

He had several candles lit, and a pile of furs arranged on the ground. I ducked into his tent, and he followed in after me, letting the flap fall shut again.

It was quiet in here. It made me even more nervous.

Astarion sat amongst the furs, and then patted the spot next to him. There was no usual grin on his face then, just a look that beckoned me over to him.

I sat with him amongst the furs wordlessly, our gazes still locked. Nothing needed to be said here; I'd already stated my intentions. But I began to question my intentions as he slid over me, carefully laying me back, cradling the back of my neck in one of his hands.

I looked up at him in the firelight, admiring the way it cast shadows over him. His free hand was planted firmly by my head, near my own. If I were to reach out just a little further, our fingers would brush each other...

Astarion hovered there a moment longer. He was studying me; possibly looking for any sign that I'd suddenly call the whole thing off even after the handful of nights we'd shared. He leaned down halfway and then paused, his gaze lowering.

He was looking at... my lips? Perhaps my neck...

His thumb gently rubbed up and down the back of my neck, into my hairline a little. I shuddered at the feeling, my eyes closing for a moment.

When I opened my eyes again he met my gaze once more. I brought a hand up to touch his face, to trail soft fingertips over the skin there.

Something shifted in his eyes. Momentary pain? But why?

He leaned down further and my hand shifted to rest on his shoulder instead. He ran his cold tongue slowly over my neck.

"Astarion," I sighed, my fingers weaving into his hair.

And then his teeth pierced my neck, and that sharp pain I'd started to get used to faded away quickly.

He drank slowly, savoring the moment, bringing a knee up to part my own. But rather than grinding against me, he simply pressed his body closer, his grip on the back of my neck tightening. Astarion let out a satisfied little moan, and I shivered under him.

There was something different tonight, in the way he held me. My heart raced. My other hand came up to grip his back, fingers knotting in the fabric of his shirt.

Once he'd had his fill he pulled back, completely disheveled. His ruby eyes were dark and unreadable.

"Stay the night with me," he whispered. My breath caught in my throat.

"Okay," I said quietly.

He shifted downward, laying at my side. He pulled me up onto him a ways, cradling me in his arms. I rested my ear against his chest and for a moment I wondered why it felt odd; eerie. And then I remembered he had no heartbeat.

I nuzzled down into him anyway, enjoying the warmth my blood gave him for the moment. And I was so, so tired. I wondered about what the future would be like as I drifted off to sleep.