Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Deep in the woods around Whitestone, a dark-haired young half-elf woman and a white-haired young human man lie together next to a gently crackling flame. The young woman is crying quietly, curled against the young man, who is cradling her head in his arms and whispering to her. A bow and several guns lie within reach, but nothing will attack them this night. The woods are familiar to the young couple. They both know the forests of the area intimately. Yet tonight, the woods are as alien to both of them as the Plane of Pandemonium, because her brother, his dear friend is no longer skulking in the shadows just out of sight, but instead a plane away. 

In a room of the castle of Whitestone, a red-haired Ashari woman sobs into the now-matted flank of an armored bear, clutching a raven feather to her chest. She in equal parts yearns for and dreads her upcoming return to Zephrah, where she will be named headmaster of the Air Ashari, the Voice of the Tempest. She does not want to lead her people without her boyfriend by her side to help her through it. Although she has blossomed into a fine leader in her travels, she can’t shake the feeling that nothing will ever be the same without him. 

In another room of the castle, two gnomes, a man and a woman, lie in bed together. Neither is asleep. Both stare at the ceiling of their room. They are holding each other tightly. The man is still wracked with guilt over his inability to change his friend’s fate, even after the words of his friend. He cannot believe that he did everything he could’ve. The woman tries to give him as much comfort as she can while she wonders what she can do for the rest of her friends. She has taken her friend’s words to heart. She will strive to do all she can to be the light for her friends. And she sends up a prayer to the Everlight that all her friends will find healing. That she can. 

In another part of Whitestone's woods, a hulking goliath man paces through the forest punching trees that look sturdy enough to take it. That feeling is at least familiar to him, but everything else is different now. He wishes that his friend were here. He isn’t sure whether he’d want to pants the stealthy motherfucker or hug him. He knows that he’s not the smartest one in the party, but even he can see how much their friend’s absence is hurting everyone. Growling, the goliath grabs his axe off his back and stalks off to find more trees. Somebody in Whitestone’s going to be getting a shitload of firewood tomorrow. And maybe, if he’s lucky, he’ll find something to fucking kill. 

In Vasselheim, many drink to the name Vox Machina. An enormous earth titan stands motionless, one foot in the air, and people are already starting to use it as a monument to Vecna’s defeat. People rebuild. Some lie dead in the streets, and many are mourning steep losses: their homes, their businesses, their friends, their family. Healers work overtime, trying to save as many as possible, and the many temples of Vasselheim, or at least the ones still standing, are clogged with worshipers thanking the gods that they still live, praying for comfort, praying for healing for themselves or a loved one, praying for a return to normalcy.

A plane away, the Champion of the Raven Queen holds the memory of his sister’s embrace, his girlfriend’s final kiss, and all his friends’ love in his heart. 

Chapter Text

“And Vesper is getting a bit older now, darling,” Vex said over her shoulder. “Isn’t it about time we think about getting her a tutor?”

All at once, Percy’s blood ran cold. Visions of Professor Anders swam in his mind: his casual and very obvious contempt for him and Cassandra. His carelessness with his residuum demonstrations—or perhaps, more likely, Anders had wanted him and Cassandra to be hurt in the explosions that always happened. Anders helping the Briarwoods murder his family and drive Whitestone into the ground. Anders slitting Cassandra’s throat—

“NO!” Percy felt tears come to his eyes as rage and grief and panic warred within him.

Vex whirled. “Percival, you do not take that tone—” she broke off, her eyes widening as she took him in. “Percy, darling, come here,” she said, rushing to him, her voice much softer, much gentler. 

He collapsed in her arms and felt sobs wrack him as Vex rubbed his back. For a long while, Percy sobbed into Vex’s chest. He couldn’t get the image of his parents’ and siblings’ faces out of his head—bloodless. Lifeless. And though Cass’s death had only been an illusion, there had been so much blood on the floor. From her mouth. And the look in her eyes… 

The vindicated, triumphant look on Anders’ face on the day of his family’s murders…

And the thought of Vesper suffering the same fate at the hands of a tutor; somebody she trusted… no. No!

“I won’t let her be hurt,” Percy choked out.

Vex carded her fingers through his hair. “Darling, nobody will hurt Vesper,” Vex whispered. “Nobody.” 

“I just thought…” Percy squeezed Vex tightly. “Anders. And I hadn’t thought about him in so long.” Tears were still falling and Percy couldn’t stop them.

“It was a betrayal. Perhaps the worst of any on your List, darling. He was supposed to care for you, and…” Vex trailed off. She was silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, there was an undertone of steel. “Nobody will ever harm the de Rolo family—our family—ever again. Percy, darling, remember this: the Briarwoods are gone, and so is Anders. And any other threat that may come… well, Vesper already has four devoted bodyguards if we need them: Grog, Pike, Scanlan, and Keyleth. And Keyleth would be through the Sun Tree with the others as soon as we alerted her anything was wrong. Percy, you know that Vox Machina can take on anything. We killed five dragons, and four of them were ancient dragons. We stopped Vecna in his ascended form, darling. Plus, even without the rest of them, we’re pretty fucking formidable just the two of us. I’m—of course, I don’t mean to brag—a pretty good shot with Fenthras, which is, if you’ll remember, a fucking Vestige, and of course, we do have Trinket the wonder bear. And you invented fucking guns, darling, which you can power up with your very own Vestige. Hear this, Percy: you’re not helpless anymore. And don’t forget, Cassandra is learning to fight, too, and we have friends in high places.” Vex put a hand to his cheek. “Vesper will be the most well-protected child in all of Exandria, darling. I promise. No harm will come to our daughter. We’ll make sure of it.”

Percy managed a smile. He took her hand in both of his and kissed it. “Vex’ahlia, have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Vex smirked. “You could stand to mention it more.” Then her smirk softened into a loving smile. “Whenever you’re ready, darling. It won’t hurt Vesper to wait a little longer to start her education.”

Chapter Text

Vex’ahlia sat on the bench Pike had built for Vax in the woods. Trinket was sniffing some tree roots, and she watched him, trying to take her mind off of the anniversary of her brother’s…

Well, he wasn’t dead , was he?

But he wasn’t alive. And he wasn’t there . Not there to meet Vesper. Not there to celebrate Velora’s birthday, to rebuild his relationship with their father. Not there to see the improvements she and Percy were making to Whitestone. Not there to meet Trinket’s cub.

She hated the Raven Queen so fucking much. 

And yet… she visited her shrine enough for any onlooker to believe Vex was a devout follower. But she only went to speak to Vax. She desperately wished she could hear his voice again. Just once. To look up and see him there, leaning against the wall, spinning a dagger idly between his fingers. 

Vax was honorable and loyal. He’d pledged himself to the Raven Queen in exchange for her soul. He’d—he’d been at peace when he’d gone, after Vecna. 

She hoped…

“Are you alright, Vex’ahlia?”

She looked up. It was Percy. 

“O-oh. Hello, darling,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I’m…” she swallowed. “I just miss him so much,” she finally choked out.

“I miss him too,” he said quietly. 

“Do you think…” Vex swallowed. “Do you think he’s happy?”

Percy sat down beside her and put his arm around her. He was silent for a moment, and then he said, “I think he caught up with your mother. I think…” Percy paused. He squeezed her around the shoulders. “Your brother was a man who valued purpose. And he has one, now. The Raven Queen—”

“Bitch,” Vex muttered.

“Yes. And she’s a bitch who craves companionship. She would not be cruel to him.” Percy was silent for another moment. “I think he misses you and Keyleth greatly. I’m sure that grief weighs on him, just as it weighs on you and Keyleth, and the rest of us. But I know well that there are moments in between the grief, and in those moments… yes, I think Vax is happy. Because… Vex’ahlia, I am happy here, with you.”

Vex rested her head on Percy’s shoulder. Tears still fell; she let them. “She took a piece of me when she took him. But…” Vex took a shaky breath. “It’s like he said. He has that part of me. And I will always carry part of him. And I just hope he’s happy.” Vex stared out at Trinket, who came bounding over and gave her a sloppy bear kiss. “Thank you, buddy,” she said, massaging his jowls. She sighed. “I know he’d want me to be happy as well. Thrive without him .”

“And are you, dear?” Percy asked. “Happy.”

Vex’ahlia was silent for a while. She stroked Trinket’s head, and she looked around the forest. Sunlight filtered through the trees. She could see the Sun Tree towering over everything, and the clock tower Percy had built. Beyond her range of vision was their home, and inside, Vesper and Cassandra—their family. 

She felt Percy beside her, rubbing her shoulder. Felt his warmth and steady presence and enduring love. She thought of how he had changed from the man he was when she found him in that prison cell all that time ago to the man sitting beside her today. She thought of how much she loved this man next to her, the child they had together, and the life they’d built. 

“Yes,” Vex answered finally. “I am happy. In between the grief.”

Percy gave her a squeeze. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

“But—” her voice broke. “I do so miss Vax, Percy.” 

“Of course,” Percy said. He began to stroke her hair.

“I’ll never stop missing him.”

“I know.”

“Does the hurt go away?”

“No.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But you grow, dear. And the hurt stays the same. And eventually… you outgrow it.”

“When?”

Percy shook his head. “You’ve spent enough time with me to know that it’s a fucking process. Hopefully, you handle your grief… differently.”

Almost despite herself, Vex’ahlia laughed. “You mean, don’t make a deal with a powerful and vengeful entity and sign my soul away to make the pain disappear?”

“Yeah, bad choice,” Percy agreed. “And anyway, you’re much smarter than I am. And you’ve always made much better choices. We’ll push through.”

“Thank you, Percy,” Vex said. “Truly.”

“I’m always happy to be of service,” he told her.

They sat on Vax’s bench together for a while longer in silence, her head on his shoulder. Then Vex said, “Do you remember when he first got Whisper?”

“And he teleported all over the room? Dick!”

“Just to be fucking annoying. He found out what it did the first time, and then he was just having fun with it.”

“And we were trying to plan our next move!”

They both laughed, and they spent the next few hours telling Vax stories. And it made Vex feel a little better because it made Vax feel more alive . And it felt nice to make fun of him again. Maybe that was part of the growing.

Chapter Text

Keyleth saw feathers and ravens everywhere now. The raven that came to visit her every day often left a feather or two behind, but it wasn’t just that. 

Vax had disappeared in a swirl of feathers. 

She saw them in the shadows. He was so good at hiding—the stealthiest member of Vox Machina, an expert rogue. Sometimes Keyleth could convince herself the movement in the shadows she saw out of the corner of her eye—usually just an animal; so many followed her around—was Vax, and he was going to ambush her with a kiss like he’d done so often. She kept the feathers the raven shed in a little bowl by her bedside. 

The raven was Vax’s—or, a part of her insisted, Vax himself, though she had never been brave enough to cast Speak With Animals and check. So she wanted to keep that part of him. 

Sometimes, though... sometimes she’d transform into a raven herself to sit with Vax’s raven. To feel that much closer to him, the Raven Queen’s undying Champion. 

Sometimes she wore a raven feather or two in her hair, like how Vex wore her blue feathers. Because of that, the children of Zephrah seemed to think ravens were her favorite animal. Once, a young teen even approached her with a gift. Their name was Tinesi, and they had painstakingly made a raven charm out of wire, painted it black, and strung it on a lovely necklace for her. 

The whole thing was adorable, gratifying, and extremely painful. Shyly, Tinesi had approached her. 

“Tempest, I…” the teen bit their lip and glanced back at their mother, who made a ‘go on’ sort of motion. They seemed to steel themself. “Tempest, my name is Tinesi. I made you this!” They handed the necklace over tentatively. “I hope you like it! I always see you with that raven feather, so…”

Keyleth had forced herself to smile back and thank Tinesi graciously and make polite conversation for a few minutes until it was appropriate to excuse herself, at which point she’d fled back to her room to cry, the raven charm clutched tightly in her hand. 

She wore the necklace. Not every day, but often it hung next to her heart, a symbol of her love for her people and for Vax. 

She spent a lot of time under the Raven Tree. Those feelings were deeper. That was love for Vax, for Zephrah and its people, for Vox Machina, for Whitestone and the Sun Tree. It made her think of her Aramente, all her journeys with her friends, and all the people they’d helped. 

Huh.

Maybe ravens were her favorite animal.