Chapter Text
The mountain pass, while a difficult trek, was incredibly beautiful. The views along their hike were breathtaking, looking into the wilds of Faerun and over many old ruins and small encampments. At night, the stars were so clear you felt you could almost touch them. It made the aches in Tav’s muscles from climbing up the steep paths feel worth it.
She had found her way to a clearing overlooking a drop-off close to their camp, but slightly secluded by the trees to give herself some much needed alone time. The sun was setting, and the land below was basked in golden light. She got right up next to the edge of the drop, dangled her feet over the side and took a slow, deep breath in. The mountain air was crisp and cold in a way that felt refreshing. Out here, her mind was as clear as it could be with the unwelcome passenger in her skull.
Before these misadventures, she had often preferred spending time alone. She enjoyed her companions’ company and would never have wanted to take this journey without them, but camp was not a great place to seek solitude. While she had her own tent she could shut behind her, she was often being called on to help with a problem or to play peace keeper.
As she gazed over the land below, she could hear the chatter coming from the camp behind her and smelled the food Gale was cooking over their fire. It smelled delicious, but her desire for space was stronger than her hunger at the moment. She knew he would save her some once he realized she had wandered off anyway.
She found herself smiling as she thought of the wizard. Out of all of her companions, his was the company she enjoyed the most. His optimistic demeanor and playful banter never failed to bring a smile to her face, even on the harder days. Theirs was an easy friendship. They could chat back and forth for hours, or just sit and read next to each other in companionable silence.
During their celebration with the Tieflings- under the influence of perhaps a bit more wine than she was used to drinking- she had boldly tried to push their friendship to be something more. Her face heated with embarrassment as she remembered the image she had passed through the Weave to him of them kissing. She had never been one to make bold moves when it came to romance, and she had been as surprised as Gale at her own forwardness. He had insisted it was welcome, but they hadn’t talked about it at all since that day.
The sun continued to sink over the horizon, golden light giving way to darker purples, pinks and oranges. The first stars were beginning to peak out of the darker parts of the sky, and the crescent moon was starting to make itself known. Tav wished she could stop time and make it last forever. She knew she would come to miss this when they entered the Shadow-Cursed lands and beyond. Baldur’s Gate was home, but there were no views like this.
She heard heard the sound of twigs snapping behind her and realized she’d been discovered. She sighed slightly and gazed longingly at at the sunset a moment longer before turning to greet her visitor. Gale stood behind her, a plate of food in his hands and a blanket slung over one arm.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your contemplation.” Gale said, an apologetic smile on his face, “But I thought you would want the food while it was hot. It’s also getting rather cold out here and I didn’t see you grab a cloak, so I brought this. No good in our fearless leader catching a cold, now.”
She laughed and began to pull her legs back over the ledge to stand, but he motioned for her to keep sitting. He approached and handed her the plate, which she eagerly took as her stomach betrayed her with a growl. Before she could reach up to grab the blanket, she felt it being placed around her shoulders. She smiled up at him gratefully and pulled it around herself, not realizing just how cold she had gotten.
He stood over her a moment, looking out at the view she had been enjoying.
“It really is beautiful,” he mused. “I can see why you snuck away.”
She smiled and patted the ground next to her, inviting him to sit. “You’re welcome to join me. This may be the last night we can enjoy such a sight before entering the shadow curse.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, surprised, “I know you value your time alone. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“It’s not an intrusion.” She promised. “I enjoy your company.”
He smiled softly at her, placing a lingering hand on her shoulder, “The feeling is quite mutual.”
He sat down, mimicking the way she sat with her legs over the edge. He released a contented sigh as his eyes roamed over the view beneath them. She scooted closer to him, offering an end of the blanket to wrap around himself, which he happily took. The two sat with their shoulders touching, sharing the warmth from their bodies and the blanket in comfortable silence. The only sounds were that of nature and the occasional clink of fork on plate as she ate.
“The sunsets in Waterdeep are beautiful,” Gale said after a moment, “But nothing like this. It feels as if you can see into forever.”
Tav hummed in agreement. “An ocean sunset is lovely, but we certainly don’t see stars like this in the city.”
The longer they sat, the more stars appeared, quietly blinking in the distance.
“Before my family moved to Baldur’s Gate when I was young, I used to love stargazing.” Tav confessed, “I learned all the constellations, their placements, the stories behind them…. anything I could get my hands on. The Woman Warrior was always my favorite.”
Gale chucked, “How very fitting.”
She smiled, releasing a small huff of laughter. “I suppose it is. When we moved to the city, it became harder to see them without a telescope, which we weren’t able to afford. So I fell away from it.”
She looked up at the now mostly dark sky, trying to orient herself and remember the old sky charts she’d had as a child. She finally saw two clusters of blueish white stars and pointed up at them, a smile tugging at her lips with pride that she was still able to remember them.
“The Double Daggars.” She said, “Known as The Eyes of the Watching Woman in the north. Though I think my favorite name for them is from the Western Heartlands: "Where Selune Looks Back." It always sounded poetic.”
She glanced back at Gale to see his warm brown eyes gazing softly at her, a look on his face she couldn’t quite place. She suddenly felt self-conscious and she glanced away, clearing her throat slightly.
“I could be wrong,” She admitted quickly. “As I said, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to look.”
“You’re not,” Gale assured her, a warm smile gracing his features. “I had no idea you were such an astronomer.”
She shook her head, smiling, the heat on her face increasing. She had to be bright red by now. She hoped it was dark enough that Gale didn’t notice. She had never been one to get flustered around anyone, not even people she admired, but Gale was hardly just anyone.
“Hardly,” she replied. “I’m an ameture at best. I’m mostly just good at swinging swords around.”
Gale knocked into her with his shoulder, “Oh, come now, don’t sell yourself short. You’re also quite talented at keeping Lae’zel and Shadowheart from killing each other.”
She laughed outright at that. She had tried to keep it quiet that they had been mere moments away from having a dead Githyanki on their hands, but the news still spread around camp quickly. Karlach had poured her a hefty shot of something strong the next morning in a toast for her troubles, and Wyll had applauded her peace-keeping capabilities.
The two of them settled into comfortable silence for another moment, both in their own thoughts. The sun was long gone now, and she was beginning to get tired. She felt herself starting to lean more heavily into Gale’s side and her eyelids were heavy.
As if reading her thoughts, Gale asked, “Are you tired?”
She hesitated a moment before admitting, “A bit. But I don’t want this to end.”
“The stars will be there for us once we leave the shadow curse.” Gale promised, “You should rest. It’s been a long day.”
“The stars are lovely,” she agreed, “but I’m talking about this. Us. We hardly ever get a moment alone together. It’s nice.”
His eyes widened a fraction in surprise. Despite their previous flirtations and stolen glances throughout their journey, he still seemed surprised she was interested. It tugged at her heart a bit that someone admiring him seemed like such a foreign concept.
“It is nice.” He agreed. “In truth, I’ve been meaning to speak to you since the party.”
She felt her pulse quicken nervously. He had insisted her flirtations were welcome, but maybe he had changed his mind. They were fighting for their lives, after all. It was hardly the time to focus on things like romance.
“I hope you know how much I care for you.” He continued, his eyes earnest. “If I responded anything less than enthusiastically, know that it was not because I do not reciprocate.”
He reached down and picked up one of her hands, holding it in both of his. “I very much do. More than you could possibly know. After spending so long in solitude, I am having to relearn how to navigate all this. And with the orb…”
“You don’t have to explain.” Tav assured him, feeling slight relief that he did, in fact, feel the same way she did. “Our circumstances are unusual to say the least. I don’t expect anything. I just enjoy spending time with you.”
He smiled at her, though sadness tinged his gaze. “Thank you for being patient. I wish it was different. That I could dive in headfirst. You deserve someone who is able to give you everything you want.”
Tav squeezed his hand and lay her head on his shoulder, her gaze drifting back to the stars and the lights from villages and campfires dotting the landscape beneath them.
“Well, as luck would have it,” she said, “what I want right now is to sit here and enjoy the stars with you. So I’d say you’re on the right track.”
He chucked softly and she felt his arm wrap around her, his hand settling at her hip. “You’re extraordinary, did you know that?”
Tav grinned as part of their conversation from the party drifted into her head, “Oh don’t stop now, what else do you like about me?”
Gale laughed, and his head came to rest on hers, “As I told you the other night, if I were to go through everything on that list, we’d be here a very long time. Many, many things.”
They sat there leaning on each other for a while longer until Tav’s exhaustion caught up with her and she nodded off. Gale gently woke her and insisted that they call it a night, despite Tav’s protests that she was perfectly happy staying there until dawn. They two gathered the blanket and Tav’s dishes and made their way back to camp. They waved to Karlach who was on watch and pointedly ignored her waggling her eyebrows suggestively at them as they headed back to their respective tents.
“Thank you for coming out to sit with me.” Tav said before they parted.
“Thank you for allowing me to intrude.” Gale replied, “I know how much having a moment alone can mean to you.”
“You’re always welcome to intrude. I don’t mind.” She promised.
She was somewhat shocked at herself for saying it, but she found that it was true. More and more, she was finding she was enjoying time with Gale even more than spending alone.
They said their goodnights and Tav headed back to her tent, smiling to herself the whole way there.
The next morning, Gale cooked everyone a hearty breakfast to prepare them for the long road ahead. Tav chatted with Halsin about how to best prepare to enter the shadow curse for a bit before she finally made her way to her tent to pack everything up. As she entered, she saw a book sitting on her bedroll alongside a note that had not been there earlier. She picked both up, and grinned as she saw the title of the book in her hands: Stars and their Meanings.
She flipped through the first few pages to find various star charts and encyclopedic entries on other celestial bodies. She managed to tear her eyes away from it to focus on the note, which she recognized to be in Gale’s scrawled script.
“For my favorite astronomer. May we enjoy the stars together again soon.
-G”