Work Text:
Between the four (five? He was never sure if The Devil of Caroc counted) of them, Aloth was positive they’d be able to revamp the entirety of Caed Nua and then some with the amount of random junk they picked up only to sell the moment they found a vendor willing to take any of it.
Just that morning alone, he'd been witness to The Watcher's curious- if slightly concerning, -ability to scavenge rooms for valuables. Mara, as they'd all come to know her, was a Godlike, and built like an Aumaua, so her hauls were more than generous when he watched her shove several blades and weapons into Edér’s hands to stow away into one of their bags, and then stashed an impossible amount of regents into Hiravias’ pockets. The Wildling had, of course, taken the opportunity to make an innuendo that made Mara’s face flush a brilliant violet under her blue skin, while The Devil made violent retching noises that Aloth was inclined to voice his agreement with, though he was glad that a
t least it wasn’t food, this time. Call him picky, but he didn’t like to gamble his health on snacks found in suspicious locations.
Aloth was sure he’d turned a dull shade of green the last time Mara had offered him a strip of wit dyr jerky she’d found on one of the many corpses throughout the day, while Edér had shrugged and simply ate the elf’s share for him.
-
The day had been rather leisurely, for once; after descending a couple of floors in the endless paths underneath Caed Nua, and a jaunt over to Copperlane to sell the many, many items they collected and check in on a couple of leads, they’d spent the rest of the afternoon trekking the woods just East of Caed Nua, foraging and hunting.
Mara led the group, flanked by The Devil and Edér, while Hiravias often went off on his own and returned at irregular intervals. Aloth hung back, watching the Watcher chat with the murderous automaton with unease prickling the back of his neck.
There were multiple periods where Mara would pause their search and scribble notes down in the small leather-bound journal she kept, no urgent threat in the forest to keep her on her guard. Several times she’d lean over to Edér and they’d whisper between themselves, and Aloth would catch himself paying too much attention to Mara’s expression, trying to remind himself that whatever they wanted to talk about so closely was none of his business, even if Mara kept glancing back at him and looking away every time he caught her eyes. He only realized he was frowning when his brow started to ache from how long he’d been unconsciously pulling the expression, shaking his head as if the motion actually helped reset his face and mind; She hadn’t necessarily been ignoring him lately, but there had been a change in how she talked to him- and how frequently. Previously, the Godlike had often sought him out during their breaks to chat, asking questions about things they’d come across or offering her own stories in exchange for learning about him. Now, there’d been a distinct lack of moonlight in his downtime, and much less chatter during their quests.
That was alright, he supposed. He had never intended on making friends, anyway, this just meant everything was going to go as he’d originally planned. They’d eventually part ways when Mara found what she was looking for, and Aloth would continue his personal mission alone, after whatever lay at the end of this journey.
That was fine.
Honestly.
The second they reach Caed Nua, The Watcher split off, darting towards the Keep where the Steward was located with a wave over her shoulder and a grin. Hiravias and the Devil hung around for maybe two seconds, each, before dispersing to their respective favored locations. It was no skin of of Aloth's nose, he was sure. Neither The Devil nor Hiravias were his first choice in comradery, especially after spending so much time with them as it was.
Being the only two left, Edér gave Aloth a hearty slap on the back that caused the elf to stumble slightly at the unexpected force and fix the blond with an annoyed look that was promptly ignored.
“Y’know, Aloth, if you didn’t squirrel yourself away so often to read or whatever it is-“
“I happen to like to read," Aloth interjected, "and I've never 'squirrel'ed anywhere."
It was a deflection on his part and they both knew it; Aloth was not entirely the social butterfly that some of his companions seemed to be, but, as gracious as ever, Edér simply held his hands up in faux surrender.
“All I was sayin’ is you should join the Watcher and me fer cards after dinner, sometime. Games would be a lot better with someone else with us who doesn’t cheat like Hiravias. Eothas knows why she lets him play.”
Aloth raised a brow as if it would point out what he thought was obvious, but didn’t comment on the druid and Watcher’s relationship, instead choosing to shrug lamely.
“Thanks for the offer, Edér, but I don’t believe I’ll add much.”
Later, lying awake in his bed, his attempts at sleeping proving fruitless, Aloth remembers Edér’s offer— ‘it’s too late,’ he thinks, even as he slips on his shoes, ‘for them to actually be still playing cards’. The torches set up around the derelict buildings cast long shadows as he walks the short path from Brighthollow to the Keep, one of the heavy doors still propped open.
Just from the entrance, he could see where the game had been played, cards still laid out and leftover cups still sat in their places, but unsurprisingly the seats were void of people.
Aloth tried to keep his footsteps quiet as he entered the Keep, despite knowing that the Steward would know he was in there, whether he was quiet or not, and approached the table; he’d just reached out to gather the cards and stack them when the sound of footsteps made him pause. It was the glow of moonlight he saw first, before the Godlike it came from. Mara stepped through the doorway leading to the treasury, carrying something in her hands and stopping short when she saw Aloth.
It didn’t take her long to smile at him and approach, and as she did he realized it was a St. Gyran’s Horn in her hands, the stem gently twisted and untwisted between her fingers. It was bright blue, and Aloth found himself comparing the color to the blue of her skin; it was a deeper shade than her, he realized; the center turning into a rich purple; the petals were speckled with gold flecks that caught the cold light of her horns when she turned it this way and that in her hands.
“I was actually just going to see if you were still up,” The Watcher admitted, her voice softened in the still of the evening, as if afraid she might speak too loud and break the spell that the nighttime seemed to cast.
When he doesn’t say anything in response, she steps forward slowly, like he might spook if she moved any faster, shortening the distance between them and reaching out to tuck the flower gently behind his ear. He can physically feel his brain short-circuit when her fingers brushed against the shell of his ear, breath catching in his throat. Isylmere thankfully doesn’t blurt out anything stupid but he knows she wants to- anything to get him to stop gaping up at the blue woman, her fingers lingering near his cheekbone. There are a million things he could’ve said, wished he had- “ This is the nicest gesture I’ve ever received ,” or “ Why me? ” or “ How am I only now realizing you can take me apart so easily without saying a word? ”. It seemed ridiculous for the gesture to mean so much when he knew that their paths would inevitably split.
He should’ve spilled his guts right then and there about The Leaden Key. Asked her to hold on to him before he got swept up in the current that was tugging on his life, the one that had pushed his actions in the direction of the Watcher. Said; “ Please take my hand”, maybe . “Don’t let go of me.”
Instead, as he’s caught somewhere between honesty and pride, he managed to croak out a “What?” before Mara stepped back from him and smiled.
“It was pretty, and reminded me of you a little- Edér thought I should give it to you when I told him, so if you hate flowers or something, blame him. I mean it as an apology for being distant lately, dealing with… Well, Watcher things." Her eyes drifted briefly, and he knew she was referencing her frequent episodes of spirit-talking and memory-watching.
"Thanks for sticking with me.”
She hesitates a moment before finally withdrawing fully, her hands meeting to nervously, absent-minded, rove over each other. Giving him a nod that really seemed more for herself, The Watcher slowly made her way to the open Keep door, looking back at the elf still standing there with a dumbstruck expression and waving slightly, disappearing into the night and leaving Aloth alone once more with his thoughts- now more crowded than ever in his head.