Gang of Weirdos

seventeen - glow of a fairy

(a/n: hey y'all! I've been focusing more on my resist durge playthrough, and painting. Pic of my current WIP included. Love you!)

When I awoke, Astarion was laid on his side. He was propped up on an elbow, his face resting in his hand, watching me with a small smile on his face. I raised a brow at the sight of him. Before I could stop it, an amused laugh bubbled out of me.

"Do you always watch me sleep like this, you weirdo?" I asked while a large grin spread over my face. Surprise flashed over Astarion's features, and then he smiled widely again. I stretched my arms out over my head, and arched my back, straightening my legs. Gods, it felt good to stretch out upon waking.

"Of course, little love," he said quietly. "I have to watch over you; it wouldn't be right if I didn't."

It dawned on me then. I relaxed and turned back to look at him.

"Do you- do you even sleep?" I asked. I furrowed my brows, thinking hard to recall if I'd ever seen him sleeping. Astarion burst into laughter, rolling onto his back.

"Of course I sleep," he said through his laughter, wiping at tears on his cheeks. "Oh, darling. I may be undead, but that doesn't mean I no longer need to sleep. But I am an elf, same as you; I only need to slip into a trance for four hours."

"Oh," I said simply. I flushed then; I had definitely been actually sleeping as of late. Astarion rolled back to face me, and gently ran the back of his fingers down my cheek. There was a warm smile on his face.

"You rest whatever way you like," he said, as if reading my thoughts. "I won't judge you for it. Now, we'd better get dressed and head downstairs."

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my face. Astarion laughed again and pulled it away from me, placing a swift kiss to my forehead before arising out of bed.

"Do we have to? I bet the others are going to make fun of me for the sounds they heard last night," I muttered.

"Come on," he said with another chuckle.

They did. But the jabs and laughter were soon forgotten, because Jaheira had more to say about the adventure we were about to embark on.

"Unfortunately, even Isobel's blessing has its limits," she explained. "You will need to find yourself a moon lantern. It just so happens we've tracked down a convoy for the Absolute, and they have one- my harpers are willing to help you retrieve it, but they will go no further than that."

We looked between us, and then began to discuss who would go with the harpers and then to moonrise towers, and who would stay behind. It was quickly agreed that Astarion, Shadowheart, Gale, and myself would be traveling on. Halsin wanted to stay at the inn with the unconscious man muttering about a boy named Thaniel. Wyll and Karlach weren't too keen on venturing further into the shadows, though Wyll expressed concern for his father.

And so after breakfast, we went on, to ambush the convoy that Jaheira had spoken of. We came across an old, decrepit building that made for the perfect spot to hide.