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"I wanted to keep you to myself, but they shipped you away."
Tav felt sick to her stomach, the familiar empty feeling of memories long gone overwhelming her. More events of her past that she would never remember. She was so tired of not remembering.
She had such a headache.
"What did you do to me?" her voice was more like a growl than anything else. Tav gripped her sword tightly, willing herself not to attack immediately. She would not falter here.
A thrill went up Kressa's spine at the sound of Tav's voice. A sinister grin crept across her face, several emotions making themselves known. Desire, wistfulness, and bloodlust. More than a little uncomfortable, Tav wavered.
Astarion glanced between the two, wanting nothing more than to put an arrow through this woman's skull. Nervous energy made him restless, a familiar feeling spreading throughout his body at this unknown woman's words. What she had done to his lover he didn't know, but judging by Tav's unconscious reaction and the woman's obvious delight at her discomfort, it was nothing good. He tensed, preparing himself for a fight.
"You can talk? How is this possible?" her eyes raked up and down Tav's frame, who shifted uncomfortably.
Actually, even after waking up on the mind flayer ship, it had taken her a while to form full sentences. Tav kept her mouth shut now, as she still had a hard time forming words every now and then, especially when she was nervous or upset. She did not want this woman to win, somehow. Her pride wouldn't allow this woman even a small victory.
"Oh, but what an arresting voice you have!" something in the woman's voice made Tav's skin crawl.
"Watch it," Karlach growled, taking a step forward. Astarion agreed heartily, but couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Tav put a hand out to stop her. She had to know what this woman knew about her.
"You're not supposed to be here, special one. That's not right. But I don't want to damage you," Kressa tilted her head wistfully, "You were my first, after all. I learnt everything about the parasites from you."
Tav said nothing, biting her lip.
"I remember finding you close to death, beaten black and blue on the floor of this sanctum. It must have been a few hours after the tadpole was placed in your skull. How you got here was a total mystery, but I stitched you up just enough to keep you alive, then placed you in your crib," Kressa didn't take her eyes off Tav, "I kept you as mine until you were needed by our superiors."
"Yours?" Tav repeated in disgust. She gritted her teeth.
Much as she didn't want to continue talking with this woman, she was being very forthcoming about Tav's past. Maybe she liked seeing Tav squirm. As long as she got the information she wanted. Astarion could respect wanting to get as much information out of her as possible before killing her, despite knowing Tav would probably regret hearing it.
"We had such a close bond! I opened you up endlessly with my scalpels, and got lost in your insides," Kressa looked blissful as she got lost in the memory.
Tav unconsciously placed a hand on her abdomen, where both she and Astarion knew countless scars were.
Astarion itched to attack this woman, to make her pay for what she had done to his lover. The lecherous way she stared at Tav made his skin crawl, reminded him far too much of Cazador. A look he knew all to well, and he needed to wipe it off her face, now.
He could see that their companions felt the same way, Karlach bouncing in nervous anticipation and Gale with his hand resting on his staff, a spell readily charged.
"What did Kethric need me for?" Tav asked carefully, her face giving away nothing. Her tight grip on her sword, however, gave her away.
For her part, Kressa seemed oblivious to Tav's bloodlust. Tav's hand twitched, aching to attack. She could control her urge for long enough to hear what this wretched woman had to say.
"The most important work, the nature of which I only heard whispers of," Kressa said dismissively, almost immediately changing the subject, "Truthfully, I'm not surprised you found your way back here all by yourself. I always knew you were clever."
Frustration grew in Tav's chest at being treated like a child.
"It has never been the same with another. All the other victims who come here just meekly obey. You thrashed, you fought, you were indomitable."
"You're sick," Gale blurted.
"Call me what you will," Kressa shrugged, "You people can't be down here either way. Sorry, sweet one. But I promise I'll stay with you after it's done."
"Unfortunately for you, that's not going to h- that's not going to happen," Tav drew her sword, all of her companions following suit, "You will die for wh... for what you did to me."
Tav's speech was halting as anxiety grew in her throat. She needed this woman gone. Now.
Shame flooded through her as she saw Kressa smile knowingly, feeling heat rise to her face at her own stuttering. A shiver went up Kressa's spine, and judging by her expression, not an unpleasant one.
"Oh, I did miss you so..." she stared wistfully at Tav, who raised the tip of her sword to Kressa's throat, "It really is such a shame. Lashers! Bring this one to my table. And get ready for a long night of experiments!"
Astarion snarled, preparing himself for a fight. Suddenly Kressa was gone, far across the room and away from Tav's sword. Tav wasted no time, rushing towards the woman. Astarion tried to run after her, but he and the others were swarmed by Kressa's henchmen. Keeping an eye on Tav as she swung at her ever-dodging foe, Astarion an the others fought off their attackers. He saw a blinding light as Tav imbued her sword with divine energy, only for Kressa to dodge out of the way of the powerful attack, laughing. Had Tav managed to hit her at all?
"You're putting up such a fight, my pet," Kressa cooed lovingly, "Perhaps I may keep you alive, all to myself, and we can have so much fun together..."
Tav snarled, her control slipping more and more by the second. Finally, she broke through the older woman's defenses, landing a hit on her shoulder.
As soon as Astarion was sure Tav was able to land a hit on her, he focused on his own attacker. While Karlach had made quick work of the bugbear, Gale was struggling with the halfling and the human man who had ganged up on him, fighting in such close range so the man had no choice but to swing his staff at them. Working together, and Astarion quickly dispatched the two attackers. In the meantime, however, Kressa had planted several necromites while they had been distracted.
A sudden, guttural growl filled the air. Astarion stilled as he remembered the sound, vividly. A sound he had heard over and over again over a long, sleepless night spent worrying over his mad love.
Tav kneeled over Kressa, who was still alive. She was straddling the woman, knees on both sides of her abdomen. Tav's sword had been thrown to the side, in favor of her own hands and teeth. Tav's fingers curled, sharp claws poised over the woman's eyes. Her sharp, tiefling teeth were bared, ready to rip Kressa's throat out.
Astarion wanted nothing more than to see this woman dead, but not at the cost of his lover's sanity. He knew that if Tav were to kill this woman, or really anyone, she would want to be sane for it. She would want to remember it.
He did consider just letting her do it. After all, they were going to have to kill her either way. He did make a promise, though, to help the tiefling beat her urge. They all did. It wouldn't do to let her give in now. She would want him to at least try, annoyingly.
Astarion almost snorted at himself. If he had heard himself say any of that only a few short months ago, he would have accused himself of being replaced by a sappy doppelgänger. He disengaged from the undead, Karlach blocking the creature when it tried to go after him.
He stuttered to a stop a few feet away when Tav's eyes flew to him, whipping her head around to face him. She didn't look like herself, more like a predator who had just discovered it's prey. Teeth bared, sharp claws poised to attack. Taking a deep breath, Astarion readied himself.
"My dear..." he began, "Get a hold of yourself, won't you?"
Kressa began to chuckle beneath Tav, whose eyes didn't leave Astarion. She was unmoving, not even blinking, just staring at Astarion with wide, empty eyes. Astarion ignored the almost instinctual fear in his gut and continued talking.
"Didn't you promise you'd 'be the person I thought you could be' or something?" Astarion glanced back at where Gale and Karlach were finishing off the necromites, "Don't lose yourself now. Snap out of it."
A flicker of recognition in her eyes, followed by a snarl. She looked ready to pounce.
"Now this is what I remember, sweet one, this... beast," Kressa seemed unaware of the peril she was in, reaching up to caress Tav's cheek. Tav grabbed at one of her shoulders to keep her down. Her claws dug in to the woman's unprotected skin, unable, or more likely, unwilling to control her own strength. Blood leaked sluggishly from the wound.
"Please, my dear, you know I don't like to beg," Astarion was starting to wonder if he would be able to control the other Tav, "Come back to yourself. For me?"
He had been certain it wouldn't work, but recognition flashed within her eyes. Tav's body language shifted ever so slightly, her flexed fingers relaxing, her mouth closing. Eyes softening, Tav completely relaxed, back in control of herself.
Beneath her, Kressa's eyes sharpened, and within a second of Tav regaining herself, kicked out at the disoriented Tav and switched their positions. A malicious grin widened on the older woman's face as everyone stepped forward, weapon in hand.
A dagger, small but deadly, was held at Tav's throat. Kressa pinned one of Tav's wrists above her head with her free hand. As Tav's other arm reached for her abandoned sword, Kressa brought her knee down on her forearm, effectively pinning her in place.
Astarion hesitated, eyes flickering between the dagger at Tav's throat and Kressa herself. He was confident at least one of them would be able to take her down, but could they get to her before she took Tav down with her?
Tav struggled beneath her captor, who with her usual strength she would be able to knock off with ease, but the switch between her and her other self left her disoriented. Her headache was pounding, the pain making her vision blurry. The knife at her throat wasn't helping her state, either.
"Really?" Astarion asked, voice not betraying his fear, "This is so stereotypical."
Tav stilled when she heard Astarion's voice, her eyes settling on the elf, her expression calming as she came back to herself fully. Her breaths, which had been quick and panicked, slowed. If he could think about anything other than the knife at his lover's throat and the glaring absence of Shadowheart's healing magic, Astarion would have been touched.
"Drop your weapons," Kressa commanded. Tav rolled her eyes at the woman's cliche demand.
"Oh, please," Astarion scoffed. A small grin formed on Tav's face.
"Asta-"
"Do it!" the knife dug deeper into Tav's skin, blood beading along the gleaming silver of the knife. Tav choked at the sudden sharp pain, flinching and kicking her feet, trying to land a hit.
Astarion immediately dropped his weapons, as though he had been burned. Karlach dropped hers just as quickly, while Gale slowly lowered his staff to the ground. The wizard and the tiefling were a few feet away, undead bodies littered around them.
Tav's eyes met Astarion's once again, flicking to something next to her. Her tail, inching towards Astarion's dropped dagger. It was too far away now, but if he could just nudge it forward...
"You're just as feisty as I remember..." Kressa licked her lips, the dagger dragging shallowly across Tav's dusty blue skin, "And now you have friends."
The dagger traveled up to Tav's cheek, just below her false eye. Kressa hummed, leaning in to get a closer look at the eye Volo had given her.
While the woman was preoccupied, Astarion carefully slid his dagger closer to Tav's tail. His eyes did not leave Kressa's knife as it bit shallowly into Tav's cheek, too close to her eye for comfort. Even if it was her false eye.
Tav slipped her tail under Astarion's dagger and pulled it in, unable to actually pick it up with her tail. She pulled it in slowly, careful not to make any noise. Now she just needed one hand free.
"More than you can say for yourself, surely," Tav commented. Astarion couldn't stop a small smile from spreading across his face.
"Here's how this is going to work," the woman ignored Tav, "I'm going to walk free, and my little pet gets to live. Deal?"
"She isn't your pet," Karlach growled. Her body was on fire, flames leaping off her in anger for her friend.
"How do we know you won't bring back more cultists?" Gale asked suspiciously.
"You'll just have to take that chance if you want her to live," Kressa replied sweetly.
The knife sliced across Tav's cheek, a deep, clean cut. Tav flinched, but made no noise. Kressa let go of her wrist to smear the blood across Tav's cheek, lifting her thumb to her mouth and licking the blood. She was grinning lecherously, like all she wanted was to have Tav back under her control.
Astarion doubted the woman would actually let Tav go. The way it seemed to him, all this woman wanted was to continue her experiments on her favorite subject. He clenched his fist.
As soon as her hand was free, a flick of her tail sent the dagger straight to her hand. She sunk the blade into the woman's back, who let out a surprised gasp. Despite the dagger in her back, the woman grinned. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth, dripping onto Tav's face. Kressa fell forward onto Tav, dead.
"Ugh," Tav grimaced and pushed the woman off her.
Astarion was quick to help her up, Karlach and Gale not far behind. Her right cheek was covered in a thin layer of blood and still bleeding sluggishly, and her neck wasn't looking much better. At least the cuts on her neck had stopped bleeding.
"Well she was a fucking tit, wasn't she?" Karlach commented.
"Couldn't agree more," Tav smiled at her.
Astarion hovered, still holding on to Tav's elbow and unsure of what to do. She smiled at him and gently took his hands in her own. They were warm, and slightly wet.
"But..." Tav looked away, shaking her head as though banishing a thought, "She didn't.... It wasn't her. Someone else messed up my brain. She just got to me... after."
Tav was silent as she searched the rooms for loot, having released Astarion's hands almost as soon as she grabbed them, realizing he probably didn't want to hold her blood-soaked hands. Astarion followed closely behind, the desire to comfort Tav settling uncomfortably in his gut. Her unusual silence was deafening.
He just didn't know how to help. It wasn't like he had ever done anything like that for anyone else, not even before he turned. She was the first person he had ever truly felt like this for.
"If you're worried I'll go crazy again, Star, don't be," Tav said as she examined a note that had been left behind in distaste before ripping it apart. Astarion opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Gale.
"Here," the wizard held out a wet handkerchief, "For your face and neck. Got nasty there for a moment."
Taking the handkerchief, Tav replied, "Yes, no thanks to you, wizard."
"Hey, who's to say she wouldn't have heard me cast the spell and killed you before I got her? You're the one who's always saying I 'cast too loud'," Gale raised his hands in mock offense.
"Whatever," Tav waved him off, smiling, "Just go see if you can find any more money. We're broke."
"Correction, my friend, you're broke," Gale responded, before walking off to join Karlach.
It was such a simple thing. A handkerchief to wipe the blood off. Even Astarion had one of those, and bottles of water in his pack. He bit his lip, cursing his own lack of awareness of these things. It was such a simple thing, but he would have never thought to do so.
Tav would have done it for him.
"Yeah well, my money is our money, but your money is yours, apparently..." Tav muttered as she set to work wiping down her face and neck.
"Here, let me do that for you," Astarion took the handkerchief from her, "You're missing..... well. Almost all of it."
He didn't know what to do with himself other than this. Whenever he was distressed, no matter how much he tried to wave her off, Tav was there for him. Despite himself, she made him feel better. He wished he could do the same, do something for the woman who had just met and killed her past torturer.
Wisely, Gale and Karlach had distanced themselves from the two, giving them space.
Tav leaned in to his hand, "It's cold."
"Just smile and say thank you," Astarion responded as he wiped the blood and grime from her face.
Gale's blue handkerchief was muddy red by the time Astarion was able to get Tav decently clean. He was certain the rest of them looked like absolute shit, but at least she was clean of this whole endeavor.
"Ummm..." Tav looked like she was grasping for something to say, "Well, the good news is that I don't remember anything she talked about."
Great. Now Tav was trying to comfort him.
"The better news is that she's dead now, darling," Astarion responded, "She can't hurt anyone else ever again."
"Hmm..." Tav's mismatched eyes looked curiously into his own. She leaned in closer to him. Her short, black hair tickled his cheek.
"She can't hurt anyone else again..." she was almost whispering, "Or she can't hurt me again?"
Astarion willed himself not to move away in embarrassment, "Ugh. You know what I mean."
She had said the quiet part out loud. Tav almost grinned at his embarrassment, but held herself back. He wouldn't ever open up to her if she teased him too much.
After a moment, Astarion muttered, almost indiscernibly, "I was... scared. That I would lose you."
"Oh," Tav pulled back slightly in surprise, now standing upright again. She was only slightly taller than Astarion, not counting her horns.
"It's humiliating," Astarion seemed frustrated with himself, "The first person I've ever.... cared for, and I can't even protect you. Gale did a better job of comforting you than I could! Gale!"
Tav was floored by his sudden honesty. She was used to reading between the lines with him. A faint purplish blush rose to her cheeks.
"Uh, well, I'll try not to almost die again," Tav wished she knew how to respond to this.
"Do," Astarion wrinkled his nose, "This will not happen again."
The resolve in his voice was clear. Tav couldn't help herself. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He stepped back indignantly. She could see the corner of his mouth turned upwards before he controlled his expression again.
"And don't worry about comforting me," She rocked back on her heels, "You comfort me by just being here."
Astarion stared at her with doubt.
"For real!" she smiled, moving even further into his personal space. He found that he did not mind.
"If you say so..." Astarion couldn't help but feel that she was just saying that to make him feel better.
"I do," Tav took his cold hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. Astarion felt that the wrong person was being comforted here.
"Now that I'm done being sappy, can we get back to killing?" Astarion asked. Tav grinned, deciding she would let him change the subject to deflect his embarrassment.
This time.