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“Gale, darling…?”
The wizard looked up from his bedroll that he was sitting on reading one of his books at the voice that was coming from the other side of the tent flap.
“May I come in…?”
“Of course you may, Astarion.” Gale smiled softly as the tent flap opened and his lover stepped in silently. “What can I help you with this evening?”
“Well, I…” The vampire sat on the floor, eyes darting down and unable to look Gale in the eyes. “I may have a bit of a problem…”
“Oh?” Gale hummed as he set his book aside to give him his full attention. “Anything I can help with perhaps?”
“I was rather hoping you could.” Astarion sighed as his ears flushed a little, indicating to Gale that the vampire had fed recently. “It might be better just to show you rather that trying to explain.”
Gale blinked as he watched Astarion open his mouth and he stared for a moment, until he spotted what the vampire’s issue was and he couldn’t help but let out a startled laugh at how absurd it seemed to him.
“How in the hells did you manage that?” Gale snorted.
“Oh, shut up…” Astarion pouted at him as he snapped his jaws shut. “It’s nothing to laugh at.”
“I’m sorry, love.” Gale smiled as he reached out to take Asatrion’s hands in his own. “It’s just… a vampire managing to break a fang?”
“I know, I know!” He sighed and looked down. “It was a particularly tough boar hide…”
“Has this sort of thing happened to you before?” Gale asked as a thumb stroked Astarion’s hand.
“Only once or twice.” Asatrion sighed. “But Dal was always there to fix it; she’s got some basic healing spells and was willing to help me…”
“Dal?” Gale asked as jealousy sparked. “Who might that be?”
“Dalryia.” Astarion nodded. “She’s another one of Cazador’s spawns and the closest thing I have to a sister. The only other spawn I could tolerate while under his thumb.”
“Oh.” Gale hummed as the flames of envy quickly evaporated. “She used healing magic to fix broken fangs? Would Halsin or Shadowheart not have been a better fit than me…?”
“Oh, hells no!” Astarion exclaimed. “Well, the druid might have been a better choice given the circumstances but I wouldn’t ask him for something so trivial… And Shadowheart? I would imagine she would just mock me for it.”
“My love…” Gale blinked. “Are you too embarrassed to ask for their help?”
“What? No!” Astarion balked. “I just thought that I might ask you… you know, since you’re the one I trust to keep this quiet…”
“I don’t quite understand why you need to keep this quiet but…”
“Darling, how would you feel if people knew you were a vampire with one fang!?” He exclaimed. “Oh, this is so stupid; I should just go and look for a scroll to fix this myself.”
“No, no.” Gale sighed as he tugged the vampire into his arms. “I’m sorry, love. I’ll try to help as much as I can. I don’t know any healing spells but give me a day or so… I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Gale…” Astarion whispered as he wrapped his arms around him.
“…So, is your fang still stuck in the boar?”
He groaned.
The sun was rising over the camp and Gale hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.
He groaned as he rummaged through bags and books alike trying to see if he could find anything to help fix his lover’s aliment. The vampire in question was curled up and sleep in Gale’s bedroll, deep within his trance and quite unlikely to wake up within the next couple of hours. He sighed and quietly snuck out of his tent, wincing at the early morning sun as it beamed down upon them.
He glanced around the camp, noting that some of their group was already absent; likely dragged off by their leader to explore the area surrounding them. He did, however, spot Halsin over by the campfire and he sighed and pinched his nose as he braced himself. Ever since Astarion had spoken to him and he’d rejected Halsin’s offer; the larger wood elf had kept his distance from Gale in order to keep things civil between them for Astarion’s sake.
“Halsin!” He called out as he walked over. “May I have a moment of your time, friend?”
“Ah, Gale!” The wood elf smiled. “How many I help on this fine, crisp morning?”
“Well, I was actually hoping for a bit of advice.” Gale rubbed the back of his head. “You see, Astarion approached me with a rather… unusual problem last night hoping that I would be able to fix it. I have spent all night and the early hours of dawn going through all of my books and scrolls but unable to come up with a solution… and so I come to you, in hopes that you might have more of an idea than I do in fixing his issue.”
“I see…” Halsin nodded. “Can you tell me what ails our fanged friend? The more I know, the most likely I am to be able to help.”
“Ah, well… he was rather embarrassed to tell me; I don’t know if I should say…”
“Gale, I promise I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone else.” Halsin said as he took Gale’s hands in his own. “I am aware that you did not want me to pursue Astarion but I still care for him and no not wish him any discomfort or embarrassment. I simply want what’s best for him… for him and for you.”
“Well, I uh…” Gale blinked and his face flushed as Halsin’s warm hands held his own. “If you promise not to breathe a word…”
“Of course, my friend.” Halsin nodded and gave his hands a gentle squeeze before letting go. “What is it that ails him?”
“He… well, he went out to feed last night and came back to my tent with a broken fang.” He sighed at the loss of warmth. “He’d mentioned it had happened, before we were taken, but his sister fixed it with healing magic. I am unsure what kind of healing magic would fix broken teeth though, if I am being perfectly honest.”
“Ah, I know the exact spell you need for that one.” Halsin smiled. “Follow me.”
“You do?” Gale blinked as they stepped into Halsin’s tent and the elf picked up a bundle of scrolls.
“Oh, yes.” He nodded as he looked for one scroll. “Many of the children in the grove would come to me after a scuffle or a fight and I would patch them up and send them on their way. Many of them would either have broken or missing teeth-- ah, here we go.” He said as he pulled a scroll out of the bundle and held it out to Gale. “A scroll of lesser restoration should work.”
“Oh, thank you…” Gale said as he took it. “I’ll study it and hopefully learn it; it may prove a useful spell to have within my arsenal.” He gave Halsin another smile. “Truly, thank you very much; how can I repay you for this.”
“It’s no problem, my friend. No repayment necessary, I promise.” He smiled back. “I just wish Astarion a speedy recovery.”
Gale nodded as he turned to leave the tent but paused for a moment to look back at him.
“Halsin…” He sighed. “I am sorry for rejecting your proposal to Astarion outright. I have only ever had one lover in my life at a time and so the thought of two… my mind rejected the notion before I even had a true moment to think about it. However, I still see how deeply you still care for Astarion… and perhaps for myself. I am not saying yes to the three of us right this moment but…” He blushed. “Perhaps one day soon.”
“I… that is more than I could have ever wished for.” Halsin replied with a blush spreading across his own face. “I very much look forward to that day.”
Gale nodded quickly and fled the tent before his face went up in flames.
“Mm…” Astarion hummed as he woke up from his trance to find Gale looking at the scroll. “Darling…? What time is it?”
“Good morning, my love.” Gale smiled. “Or perhaps I should say good afternoon. It is just past midday, if my sun tracking abilities are correct. Our leader has taken some of our campmates out early this morning and left us to our own affairs today.”
“Ah.” Astarion nodded as he looked up to him. “What do you have there, darling?”
“This is a scroll of lesser restoration.” He smiled. “I had tried to find a solution myself but was unable to think of anything, so I went to Halsin earlier today. As it turns out, the druid children often came to him with injures from fighting which included broken teeth.” He explained and then sighed. “Don’t look at me like that… I swore him to secrecy.”
“I just wish you’d asked first, darling.” Asatrion sighed as the scroll glowed and Gale absorbed the magic. He got up so he could sit on Gale’s lap. “I do see where you’re coming from but…”
“In the future, I’ll ask you before going to anyone else.” Gale nodded as he cradled Astarion’s face in his hand. “Alright? I just didn’t want to wake you up, you looked so peaceful…”
“Alright, darling…” He nodded softly. “I forgive you.”
“Speaking of the future…” Gale hummed. “I spoke to Halsin about that as well. I apologised about my rejection when you came to me and that, while I’m not ready just yet, there might be room for him to join us one day.”
“Oh, darling…” Astarion whispered as he lent forward to kiss him.
“Mm…” Gale hummed as he kissed him back. “That’s for us to figure out later. For now, let’s see if I can fix your problem. I felt that wince of pain, after all.”
“I might be undead, but it seems like I can still suffer from toothache.” Astarion sighed as he leant into Gale’s hand that was starting to glow. “It’s rather irritating…”
“Just hold still for a moment then…”
Astarion let out a small sigh of relief that bordered on the edge of a purr as he felt the familiar pulse of healing magic wash over him and the odd effect of his fang regenerating thanks to Gale’s touch. The magic faded and he poked at the fang with his tongue, smiling as he felt the familiar point once more.
“What is a vampire with only one fang, darling?” He hummed. “Incomplete. Thank you for this, my sweet. I won’t forget what you’ve done for me.”
“Can… I see, love?” Gale asked as his face flushed. “Just to make sure all is well.”
“Of course.” Astarion chuckled and smiled for him, both his fangs peeking out. “How do they look?”
“They look perfect, my love.” Gale said quietly. “Just like the rest of you.”
Astarion could only grin and then wrap his arms around him as he kissed him deeply.