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Safira found Lae’zel at the edge of the cliff overlooking the canyon of the mountain pass. She’d chosen the furthest spot from the rest of the group, away from their pitying looks and words. As she descended to the gith’s side in the camp, Safira stepped louder than usual so as not to startle the other woman. Usually, she would’ve already noticed Safira’s approach, but today other thoughts consumed her mind. Thoughts of Vlaakith, Voss, and the future of the Githyanki.
“Hey,” Safira called out in gith, coming to squat by the warrior. Lae’zel looked at her from the corner of her eyes, silent and brooding.
“I have no interest in debating any more over Voss’ words. If this was your purpose, leave.”“No, no,” Safira reassured quickly. She looked over the valley below and contemplated how to word her idea. “I wanted to ask if you would perform with me a human gesture that is often used in times like these,” she explained.
“And what times are these exactly?” asked Lae’zel. It wasn’t an outright refusal, human traditions being somewhat of a curiosity to her now that she had to travel with so many of them.
“Times where one’s friend’s life is changing and one might want to offer support using physicality rather than words,” said Safira, “for actions speak louder than clumsy words.”
“I see, very well then. How do you call this gesture?”
“I don’t think there’s a good equivalent for it in the gith language.” Safira thought for a moment, looking at the clouds for an answer. “Perhaps 'gentle full-body wrestling’ would describe it best.” Safira could see the gears in Lae’zel’s head turning. Before the woman could think too long on the wrestling bit, Safira rose and gestured for Lae’zel to follow. “Let me show you.”
The women stepped away from the edge to the safety of solid ground. They assumed a stance where they were facing one another at about an arm’s length away, closer than they would during training, but far enough not to intrude too much on each other’s personal space.
“Now, there are various ways to do this gesture, but let’s start with the most common, front-to-front technique. A conversational distance like this is an excellent start,” Safira gestured to the space between them. “As with wrestling, the gesture assumes bodily contact between the partners. Often the initiating partner will cross this distance, but sometimes the partners will also meet in the middle.” Safira enunciated her instructions by first stepping uncomfortably close to the other woman and returning to her spot and then stepping only halfway and gesturing for Lae’zel to cover the remaining half. Safira expected the warrior to feel uncomfortable at the moments of physical closeness but Lae’zel was nothing if not focused on the task at hand and attentive to her instructions.
“The gesture itself involves wrapping one’s arms around the partner’s body. Gently.” Safira demonstrated by bringing both her arms together from the sides and making a circle between them and her body. Lae’zel imitated the gesture carefully.
The gith let out a thoughtful hum. “I think I’ve heard of this before,” she said while still holding the pose. “This is what Karlach wants to do with us once her engine is cooled. It was called a hug, was it not?”
“Indeed, this is a hug. You are incredibly insightful and a quick study. Gale was right about you,” Safira commented, smiling fondly.
“Somehow the two of you gossiping together does not surprise me,” the gith answered, squinting.
Safira laughed out loud at that and broke her stance to double over. She couldn’t quite imagine herself and Gale giggling and whispering like Astarion and Shadowheart. She hardly thought of herself as the gossip with all the language barriers between her and Gale.
“I was not making a joke,” said Lae’zel, confused by the laughter.
“We were simply agreeing on how lucky we are to have you as a companion, both for the conversation and safety,” said Safira, wiping a tear from her eye between the giggles.
“You are indeed lucky to have this chance to learn from the gith in both body and mind,” Lae’zel agreed, thinking of all their conversations on the road or around the campfire and the morning training and meditation together with the pair.
“Next,” Safira continued to the lesson and resumed her stance, “we have multiple ways to grasp the partner. Often, the hand positions come naturally, depending on the bodily cues of the initiator. The arms can be horizontal to your body, either around the partner’s chest or loosely around their neck and upper back.” She started from the base position and then raised her arms to demonstrate the lifted arm position.
“Then the remaining space between the bodies is closed by resting the head over the partner’s shoulder. Often the head goes to our right side.” Safira pulled the circle of her arms closer to her and leaned her face to the side. Lae’zel mimicked her movement. “Very good.”
“Now, we have to take into consideration the height difference between the partners. For a quick hug, the shorter partner’s arms will mostly go around the taller partner’s neck, while the taller partner will lean down and pull the shorter one closer by surrounding their chest.” Safira demonstrated the movements again for hugging the tall and the short of stature.
“Alternatively, for a more comforting and intimate hug, the taller partner can bend their knees to be at the shorter partner’s height and then grasp them around the chest.” Safira called for Scratch, who was watching their lesson, and gestured for him to come over. At a sufficient distance, Safira leaned down on one knee to demonstrate the hug. She pulled away and praised the dog, petting his head.
“As I understand, the aim of the quick hug is to have partners be at equal height. So there is a medium duration and long hug as well?” asked Lae’zel to clarify the situation.
Safira hummed in thought. “I think the hug can be separated into a quick and a long one. The quick hug lasts a few seconds. Long hug…well, the long hug can technically be held for days at a time, if truly necessary. I think from 10 seconds onward it would be reasonable to take the stance of the long hug.”
“In which cases must the partners hold the hug for days?” Lae’zel asked in confusion.
Safira went through her myriad of life experiences. “It can be a technique for torture if the partners dislike one another, or if one is forced to use the hug with a corpse, for example. But mostly it’s used to prove a point.”
Lae’zel scrunched her nose. “You humans have such inefficient methods of torture. Surely, ripping off nails or scraping the eyeball would illicit a faster reaction.” The gith suggested. Safira merely cleared her throat, not willing to continue that discussion.
“During the long hug,” she enunciated, “it will be the shorter partner grasping the taller one around the chest or as high as they can go. Here, the taller partner won’t have to bend their knees nor lean down, as it would be uncomfortable. Now, let’s try it out.” The women released their stances.
“Let’s start with the quick hug. I, as the initiator, will give you the cue for how to position your arms,” said Safira. She approached the taller woman, lifted her arms around her shoulders, and leaned her head to the side, ready for Lae’zel to assume her stance.
The gith seemed slightly uncomfortable but put her arms around Safira’s chest and leaned down. They held it for a second.
“Good.” Safira released her grip.
“How will I know when to bend my knee and when to lean down with a shorter partner?” asked the gith, confused about the exact science for positioning the body.
“It is up to you. Most have their preferred method. I think we should try the knee bending next to test how you feel about that.”
Safira moved in again, raising her hands up. Lae’zel bent her knees to be at face level with her mentor and grasped her across the chest again. They leaned closer together, Safira taking another step towards her to stand between the bent knees. She placed her chin on top of Lae’zel’s shoulder and breathed in, releasing after a second.
Before she could get too far, Lae’zel inquired with a furrowed brow: “Is the head pat a required part of the hug with the bent knees?”
Safira was confused for a moment. “Oh!” she exclaimed and smiled at her endearing companion, now understanding. “No, it is not. That was for Scratch specifically.”
“But how did this hug feel?” she continued.
Lae’zel thought for a moment. “It felt indeed more intimate, but I’m not yet sure which method I prefer, or if this gesture is indeed more useful than words.”
Safira let out a laugh. “Of course. This gesture can take getting used to, and some people dislike it. As with all physical, it’s polite to ask whether the partner consents to such a touch. I suppose I, myself, did not ask for your consent before we started this, not truly. I apologise,” said Safira, looking down in her shame and fault. “If this makes you uncomfortable, tell me and we don’t have to continue. You learned all the essential techniques.”
“No, this is good. I wish to make an informed decision if someone approaches me for the hug and the more I learn of this touch, the wiser I am. Let us continue,” answered Lae’zel.
Safira nodded in confirmation and approached Lae’zel again. She raised her arms to the height of the gith’s and waited for her to follow the cue. Understanding the difference, Lae’zel raised her arms around Safira’s shoulders and pulled her close. In hindsight, she should’ve asked for the general duration of the long hug when Safira was explaining the technique.
“Oh my god, are you guys hugging?!” came Karlach’s incredulous voice from up above where the rest of the group was camping. The women were startled, but as Safira kept her hold, so did Lae’zel.
“I’m so jeaaalooous!” the tiefling exclaimed again and let out a long groan. Safira pulled away from the hug, laughing.
She’d noticed Shadowheart watching some time ago, but now Karlach had effectively gathered the whole of their little troupe to inspect the spectacle.
Lae’zel answered the group in Common, explaining something about the importance of being prepared in communication. Astarion could not hold it in after that and burst out laughing, saying something in Common that Safira couldn’t catch between his giggles. More giggles and cheerful smiles and chuckles followed from the rest of the group. Mood improved significantly after the gruelling ordeals and revelations that the day had brought. They had not found a cure for the tadpoles, but recovered something even more important—laughter and hugs.
Halsin spoke something as Astarion left the spectacle to laugh in peace. Lae’zel looked thoughtful and gestured for Halsin to join. Good to see another demonstration she had said from what Safira could catch.
Halsin approached and instead of going for Lae’zel, who seemed deep in thought, turned to Safira. “May I?” he asked. Safira nodded.
She put her arms around Halsin’s waist and leaned her cheek on his sturdy chest as he pulled her closer around the shoulders and leaned gently down towards her. Halsin hummed in contentment and Safira took a long breath in before they parted. She looked up at him as his hand lingered and gently squeezed her shoulder. They hadn’t travelled together for long and Safira was not yet sure what to make of him. But the hug shifted something between them. He had felt like safety and she could see a gentle glint in his eyes, perhaps realising in turn that she was not as cold as she might seem.
“Why did you use the long hug stance when it had the duration of the short hug?” demanded Lae’zel, breaking the moment.
Halsin seemed at a loss for words and looked at the two women. “Sometimes stance can change if partner prefers so,” she tried to explain.
“Stance?” Halsin repeated.
“Yes,” Safira confirmed. And then gestured in the air, showing what she had taught: “Low hug, high hug, knee bend hug.”
Halsin smiled at that. “Dear lady, you have made hugging into a science.”
“It is a most difficult science,” argued Lae’zel and continued to explain what she had learned. Safira only laughed as she and Halsin were made to hug this and that way, all according to Lae’zel’s instructions. How quickly the student had become the master.
Lae’zel approached Safira later that evening, after the dinner was finished, and Astarion stopped laughing whenever he saw the two of them in each other’s vicinity. The warrior came to stand by her side as Safira was watching the logs burn down in the campfire. A snort sounded from somewhere suspiciously close to Astarion’s tent and the women let their most vicious glares loose in its direction.
“I understand you wished to comfort me with the hug. And while it can be an effective technique, perhaps even on the gith physiology, I must stress that it is unnecessary. I am capable of fighting my own wars, making my own choices, and need no comforting.”
Safira looked up at her. “I know,” she answered simply, and looked back at the flickering flames. “The hug was for me.”
Lae’zel hummed in acknowledgement of her answer.
“Thank you for indulging me,” said Safira, and looked at the woman beside her, a sad smile gracing her lips.
Lae’zel said nothing, but sat with her for a while.
Scantly a day later, Lae’zel approached her again. The group had settled into the same spot for the night as it proved to be the safest in the mountain pass. The blows kept hitting them. Not yet recovered from their ordeal with Vlaakith, the group had played host to Elminster and learned of the fate that Mystra had thrust upon their companion.
The warrior came to stand by Safira’s tent as she was trying to make sense of a book that Gale had claimed to be easy enough for a child to read. Safira could not guess what kind of children Gale had been around, but she certainly was not on their intellectual level. The letters swam on the page and refused to make up coherent words that she could then spell out and translate.
“I believe Gale could use the hug,” the gith proclaimed and looked towards the darkened alcove that Gale resided in.
Safira did not train for years to control her emotions and the nervous system just to snort at her earnest friend. So she battled it down valiantly. Beat the snort into submission in her mind and locked it into a cage where it could be kept until she had a private moment to release it again.
Instead, she answered. “Go right ahead.” And took a bite of the apple she’d chosen for an evening snack.
The gith shifted on her feet beside her. “I was thinking that perhaps you would be a more suitable candidate to offer comfort.”
Safira whipped her head up to look at her, eyes wide. “Why’s that?” she asked around the mouthful she was chewing. Her heart was suddenly thundering.
“Gale is a human. You are a human. As much as it pains me to admit, I am still a novice in the ways of your communication. He might need an advanced form of the hug,” the gith clarified. Safira calmed down at such a reasonable explanation and turned back to her reading.
“Phis-posh,” she answered and waved the warrior away.
Safira observed them quietly from her spot. Luckily, with her placement in the camp, she only needed to stick her head out of her tent to see what Gale was up to. She was not close enough to understand any words that Gale exchanged with the others but could watch in secret as much as she pleased. It was well too, as she could monitor how he was feeling (progressively worse since the magical items stopped easing the orb’s hunger), call him over when grappling with a difficult word (there were many), or just smile back once in a while that Gale happened to look her way (more and more often each day). Since Elminster’s visit, his smiles had naturally become more strained, even when his complexion and the fluidity of his movements seemed to improve by the hour.
Usually lost in thought or words, Gale noticed Lae’zel’s approach immediately. Whatever had been on his mind, it was not the book that he was holding open. He closed it as he exchanged pleasantries with the gith, which were promptly brushed aside. He looked quite startled at something that Lae’zel had said. His surprise turned into an amused smile.
The gith asked him a series of questions to which he gave rather short answers. None could accuse Lae’zel of not getting straight to the point and accepting vague answers. After receiving the necessary information, the warrior approached the wizard for a hug. A little stilted, she put her arms around his chest as Gale’s arms cradled her close.
They were of similar height, but the gith’s sinewy build, void of armour, made her seem smaller in the man’s arms. Though Gale could by no means compete with the security and comfort that Karlach’s or Halsin’s hugs could offer, he did have rather wide shoulders and big hands that made his embrace inviting. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so hasty in refusing Lae’zel’s suggestion to go hug Gale.
After a few seconds, they parted. Gale’s mood seemed to have improved. After a few concluding words, Lae’zel turned from him and walked back to Safira.
“How did it go?” she asked, looking up at the approaching gith.
“The act itself was awkward and needs practice, but it seemed to have worked well enough,” Lae’zel stated.
“It’s the thought that counts,” Safira answered.
Lae’zel came to stand next to where Safira sat and looked back to Gale’s tent, her gaze thoughtful. “I suggest we set up a routine for giving the wizard the hug. While it was adequate, I can see that it was not enough to improve his mood significantly in the long term and I cannot be the only one to bear his weight in this matter.”
Safira thought she was used to Lae’zel surprising her with most thoughtful observations that led to bewildering confusions and actions. Yet she had to do a double take to see if the woman was serious. “That’s very considerate of you,” she settled to answer, encouraging the gith’s emphatic side.
“His moping makes him unable to focus in battle and, as such, a vulnerability to the entire group. We should snip this weakness in the stem before it costs us lives or limbs. I would rather not have the Sharran’s hands on my back because the wizard was too distracted to cast a fireball at the goblin coming at me,” the warrior reasoned.
Safira could not argue with that, the commander in her knowing that Lae’zel was describing a very real possibility. A hugging routine was not a solution that she would’ve suggested, but Safira knew well enough that sometimes unorthodox methods led to groundbreaking discoveries.“I see the reason in your words. Very well. I’ll take the next hug. Tomorrow then?”
“I think now is the most critical time to act, if we are to eradicate the weakness before it takes root. I suggest you approach him today still. Perhaps after the evening meal.”
Safira huffed out a laugh and rubbed her forehead, not quite believing what she had agreed to.
“Alright then.”
The women looked over at Gale. Lae’zel determined, Safira equal parts amused and horrified. He looked back at them, raising a questioning eyebrow at their intense looks before turning back to his book, wizard senses tingling.