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She had arrived and picked a table already, and as I stepped onto the cafe's terrace, she stood up with a wide smile.
"Raven! Gods it's good to see you again!" She said, and we hugged for a long moment.
"Shadowheart! It is still "Shadowheart" right?" I said with a wide grin, and sat down with her at the table.
She idly toyed with her white braid.
"Heh, well yes. At this point I'm too used to it for anything else to feel right."
When I had first met her, she had been dedicated to an, in my humble opinion, evil, cruel deity. As we had discovered, said deity had tormented her, taken her from her parents, taken her memories, and indoctrinated her into their service. When the untruths had been revealed, she had confronted her beliefs, and her faith had shifted toward the gentle embrace of Selune, goddess of the moon. She seemed happier now, less terse, less mean, smiles coming easier to her fine-featured face.
"So you're a traveling cleric now eh? What's that like?" I said, while trying to catch a waiter.
"It's... Nice. Honestly I don't mind getting away from Baldur's Gate on these travels, after we became exulted heroes of the city, I've been somewhat... Attention-grabbing." She said with an awkward smirk.
"I'd imagine, I think we m-" I said, as I managed to flag a waiter down to order two cups of herbal tea.
"Karlach and I managed to avoid that, but Wyll and the others have definitely been talking about it." I said.
She pursed her lips and eyed me.
"Ah yes. Speaking of that, how the hells did you manage to cross Zariel? Selune above, as if fighting a mindflayer demigod wasn't enough. I need details, when I heard that you had returned I was months of travel away, but I had to come." She said, bewildered.
I smiled a little nervously, chewing on the inside of my cheek. We had been forced to take a trip to Avernus to buy time to figure out how to fix Karlach. Wyll had been thrust in there by Mizora, his patron devil, too, and together we had... I shuddered.
"Well... It was certainly the second most horrifying thing I've ever experienced. I had thought the fighting to save Baldur's Gate had been constant and ruthless, but that was comfortable, compared to Avernus." I said, chewing on my fingernail.
Our tea arrived, and I was happy for the brief distraction.
"I can only imagine. I wish I could have gone to help, but you were already gone before we knew what had happened..." She sipped gingerly at the tea with a frown.
"Don't, I wouldn't wish that place on my worst enemy. It wasn't until I went there myself that I could truly appreciate just how terrifyingly strong my dearest is. Honestly she was incredible, truly a survivor at heart, but... She was sad. Terrified. It hurt to see her like that." I said, staring into my teacup.
"Terrified? I'm not sure I could imagine that..." Shadowheart said carefully, I appreciated the care. It was hard to think about.
"I think... You have to know her. The signs are subtle, but there. And of course she'd also tell me directly that she was terrified, there's not much of a filter on her." I chuckled, and Shadowheart laughed too.
"That, there is not. Out of all of our friends, you and her are the ones I missed the most." She said, a somber note entering her voice.
"We held a little wake, you know. For you, Karlach, and Wyll. Even Lae and Astarion shed tears." She muttered, her eyes shining with emotion.
"I didn't know. That's... Thanks for telling me." I said, my voice a little thick.
We sipped tea in silence for a somber moment.
"But! Enough about the sad. We made it through, and there are currently no mind-rendering terrors skulking towards us." I said with a small smile and a shrug.
"Mm," Shadowheart agreed, "We've seen enough sadness to last several lifetimes."
Her voice lowered, and she leaned in with a little wry smile.
"So... Domestic life with Karlach huh? What's that like?" She said.
I blushed happily as memories of my newfound life in Baldur's Gate chased away memories of dark infernal pits.
"Sincerely, I some times wonder if I died at some point and went to the highest of heavens. I'm so happy I'll burst out in tears at random points, still. She finds it very concerning every time, despite knowing why I cry." I said with a deep, fond smile.
"Aw, she's such a sensitive person, I can just imagine her fussing over you. So you found a home in the city?" She asked.
"Yeah, turns out that while the good people of the city may not know those of us who didn't show up at the ceremony, the old duke Ravengard doesn't forget so easily. Our only request was a home in the city, and the lot he granted us isn't anything fancy, but it's nice and big, the ceilings are tall, and the construction is rock solid." I said, idly remembering the absolute state of dirtiness the house had been in when we had first arrived.
"Well, furniture and such we had to figure out ourselves, but hey, after years on the road and the months in Avernus, sleeping on a thin bedroll on wooden floors with four walls around us, that was luxury enough. Also my parents are carpenters, they've been a great help in getting us some good deals from the guild." I said.
"You know I actually don't think I've ever heard that your parents were carpenters. That... That fits, somehow. You have a very practical side." She said with a smirk. At this point both our teacups were empty and she flagged down a waiter again.
"Want anything to eat?" She asked me as the half-orc waitress approached the table.
"Hm. No I'm good. But maybe a mug of mead?" I said, glancing over at the menu.
"One mead, and a mug of wine for me. Red, please." She told the waiter and turned back to me.
"So. I imagine you had to get a very solid bed," Shadowheart asked with a smirk.
I giggled, a little nervous excitement fluttering through my body.
"Shadowheart! You gossipy little bint!" I teased, as our drinks arrived.
"You know me." She said, sipping from her mug with a pleased sound.
The mead was sharp, yet warm, and very sweet. I felt its warmth spread through my body pleasantly, the weather had gotten a tad chilly. I rolled my eyes mildly.
"... Solid oak. King-sized. Thick mattress. We've had to repair the legs a couple of times though." I murmured at her with a cheeky grin.
Shadowheart huffed out an amused little sigh.
"You two haven't changed a bit. Since the moment you could touch you've been inseparable for each other." She said with a satisfied nod.
"And a little time before that, actually. I invented this ice spell which..."
"I get the picture, no need to finish painting it. Heh, you've changed personally though. I seem to remember a Raven that would have turned red as a beet at sex talk." She said frankly.
"I guess I have changed, huh. Gods, I can barely remember the person I was back then. I suppose enough trauma can whip anyone into shape." I said with a sigh, leaning back and sipping my mead.
"Not just anyone, Raven. Don't sell yourself short, most people failed two steps out of their illithid pods. You always had guts." She said gently. I smiled at that.
"I suppose. Thanks, Shadowheart. For everything, I mean." I said.
"I must thank you right back though. You helped me see through Shar's lies." Her smile turned a little sad, but she shook her head, white hair swaying.
"Anyway. There's another matter I can see we need to discuss." She said cryptically.
"There is?" I frowned, emptying my glass of mead. I felt a little fuzzy.
"I see you've a new ring on your finger." She grinned.
My heart soared at the thought, and I touched the simple, brilliant band on my finger. As a temporary adventurer, and general fan of sparkly things, I had usually adorned my fingers with several rings of varying sizes and shapes, but now those had been abandoned in favor of a single band of an opalescent metal with a brilliant green emerald in it. I could barely contain my excitement.
"Yes! I mean, yes. Isn't it beautiful?! I can't imagine how she got ahold of it. I think she might have found an elven goldsmith." I babbled, my voice a little too loud.
"So are you...?" She said, indicating with a hand for me to continue.
"We're engaged! Karlach proposed to me right in front of my family! Gods, to have this future ahead of us..." I said, and I could feel happy tears threatening to blur my vision.
"Not many lovers can claim to have such a truly epic history of love for each other. In the literal sense. Your children will never believe your stories of how you met. Provided you want children, of course." She added hastily.
I blushed. Probably just from the mead.
"We... Haven't really talked about it yet. I think for the moment, I'm content with it just being us, and however many cats we can fit in our little home."
"Of course. It's a big responsibility. Do you you know whether she can... Conceive?" She asked in a low tone.
I sat there stunned in my chair for several moments.
"I... Gods why have I never even considered that? I mean I've been taking the leaf of course, so we never really had to wonder about it."
"The leaf", was the common name for an herb native to the sword coast. It had several medicinal uses, but chewing a leaf once a month would leave your seed barren. We had a little pot of it growing beside our bed.
Shadowheart cocked an eyebrow at me.
"You're serious? Gods Raven, some times it's hard to remember that you're a studied academic," She said with a smile.
I frowned, thinking.
"I... Well even if she can't, there are other ways. Potions that could let me carry instead of her. Or we could adopt. There are some times babies abandoned to the monastery."
"Regardless, I believe you'll do what's best. And for what it's worth I think you're wise, to just want it to be you together like this right now. You've still been together in the city for much shorter than we've known each other, there's a lot of lost time to make up for." Shadowheart said, draining her mug.
Karlach was impossible to miss, towering over most others in the busy street, wearing a simple leather top and pants. She was waving at us with such enthusiasm that people went a circle around her, tail flicking through the air uncontrollably.
"HEYYY!" She yelled, and bounced up the stairs to the cafe three steps at a time.
"Kar!" I shouted back, rising to fall into her arms.
For long moments, nothing else existed in the world but her. I pressed my face into her strong chest, then looked up to receive several smoldering kisses. Her body wasn't feverish any more, not like it had been, and the glow of her engine was a lot subtler these days, now that she had been calibrated to operate indefinitely on the material plane.
"Sorry! Shitty boss kept nagging me. "You can't punch the customers Karlach, that's bad for business." Well creepy guys getting handsy with the waiters is bad for their teeth." She grinned ferociously while I swooned in her arms.
"Oi! Shadowheart! Long time no see!" She waved at the white-haired half-elf, our old friend. Shadowheart rose to come over.
I pushed away from Karlach, so she could give our shadowy friend a bone-crushing hug.
"C'mere you lil rascal," Karlach chuckled.
"Gods, I'm so happy to see you both again," Shadowheart wheezed, and Karlach released her from the enthusiastic embrace.
"Saame. You still doing the Selune gig?" Karlach said with a grin.
"Well yes! And I hear that you two are engaged." Shadowheart said as we got seated again, Karlach dragging a chair to the table to sit next to me.
She put up her hand with a grin, flashing a large, dark red, band inlaid with a single fiery orange stone that pulsed slowly. I had acquired the stone myself, with no small amount of research, and paid a small fortune to the city's prime goldsmith to have the metal worked. It was incredibly tough, and thus very hard to work into a ring, but it was perfect for my dearest.
"Fuck yes! Hah, you should have seen their face. I was on my knees in front of their parents and everything, it took like ages to get all the way out there, totally worth it for their reaction!" Karlach said, waving a waiter over to order a bit of food.
"Gods I'm starving," She said, and then ordered an ale with it, "You guys want anything?"
"Mead!" I chanted, making her laugh.
"I'm good, thanks," Shadowheart said.
She was just looking at us, taking in the passionate energy Karlach and I had between us for moments. I looked up at Karlach, and she looked down at me with a smile. I never got tired of gazing into her smokey eyes.
"Heh. Well how the hell have you been Shadow? Treading the roads of the Sword Coast thin, spreading the good word?" Karlach asked enthusiastically.
"Lovely, actually. It's not glamourous, but then again I was never one for glamour. Somehow during the course of our heroic quest, I suppose I developed a taste for helping people. I wonder who could have caused such a thing." She said, smirking and looking at me.
"Hahh, Withers, of course." Karlach said and we laughed heartily.
"Ahh. Anyway, I have a very important question for you both," Shadowheart said, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.
"Ask!" I said, as my mead and Karlach's dinner arrived. She dug in with enthusiasm.
"Well, you see... I mean I am an ordained cleric of Selune now. I can give the dead their rites, remove curses... Ordain weddings."
Karlach was about to shout something but choked on her food and coughed. I clapped her in the back, an excited flutter in my chest.
"Of course! I can't think of anyone more fitting!" I said, while Karlach inelegantly harked up a piece of chicken onto her plate. I couldn't help but laugh at her face, she looked like a cat wheezing up a hairball.
"Ohh gods, ow my throat. Oh! Yes! Hells yes! Bet Selunite weddings are a proper bash!" She got out, her voice still a little rough.
"I've never seen a wedding of Selune before..." I said dreamily.
Shadowheart smiled wide and clapped once.
"Excellent! I've officiated a few weddings, oh they're beautiful. Under the full zenith of Selune herself, glittering lights, warm fires... It is a sight to behold!" She said, her pride in her Lady plain on her face.
"It was full moon just a day ago, so we'll have to wait for the next one, if that's okay with you?" She continued.
"Totally!" Karlach grinned, and chewed her food a little more carefully.
"We hadn't even come up with a date yet," I agreed, "Besides, getting my parents to town will take a little time and forewarning anyway, they're pretty busy at all times of year."
"Ohh I know! We should invite the others! Hells we could even invite Astarion, if we're doing a night party!" Karlach said, "I know you never liked the poor sod much, but in the end I think he appreciates you. In his pompous, bitey way."
"He would never admit it though," I hedged with a little smirk, "But I agree. Everyone means everyone. Not... Totally sure how to even contact Lae'zel, but I can look into it."
"Ooh my gods I'm so excited I could burst!" Karlach said with giddy jumps in her seat.
I took her large hands in mine over the table. Our rings gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, as we gazed into each others' eyes and exchanged a slow, passionate kiss.
"Ahh... Swoon." Karlach said, and we all laughed again.
We spent the afternoon and evening bantering with Shadowheart, exchanging stories and having a fantastic night. Everything was good.