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Astarion never thought of children. Not when he was alive, and certainly not in the two centuries that followed under Cazador’s thumb. Vampire spawn were sterile—Cazador made sure he knew that—so there had been no reason to imagine tiny hands reaching for him or voices calling him “Papa.” That part of life had been shut away forever.
Until her.
Felicity changed everything. Somewhere between chasing tadpole cures across Faerûn and searching for a way for him to walk beneath the sun again, she made him start wondering. It was Withers, of all people, who finally brought them hope—not just for sunlight, but for something Astarion never dared to dream of. A chance for life. For lineage. For a legacy.
Astarion remembers the first time Felicity spoke of children to him. They were taking a walk away from camp, just the two of them, when she spotted a mother fox and her six kits exiting their den. Astarion couldn’t help the soft smile as he watched his little druid count the kits and get a faraway look in her eyes.
“I think five would be just right,” she said before walking ahead of him.
Astarion’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Five?” he asked,” Five what, darling?”
Felicity only giggled as she ran ahead of him, making him chase her as he continued to ask what she meant. It wasn’t until he recounted to Karlach about their walk that he learned what Felicity meant. Five children. Their children. For the first time in 200 years, Astarion found himself wondering what it might be like to hold a child with her eyes, her smile…or his. As they lay in his tent later that night, Astarion holding her close, he whispered in her delicate ear.
“Five children, my love?”
Felicity made a soft hum in her sleep as she cuddled closer.
“One for the Earth…One for the water…One for the stone…One for the flowers…and One that’ll surprise us,” Felicity mumbled,” Five…would be just right,”
Astarion chuckled,” My sweet, we haven’t even survived the tadpoles yet,”
“We will…I know we will…,”Felicity murmured,” I want what that mother fox had…A legacy that runs barefoot through the grass. That dances and climbs trees and comes home covered in moss…,”
He didn’t answer right away. He didn’t want to crush her hope in that moment. Instead, he stroked her hair and laid his head back to stare at the top of the tent.
“Five,” he repeated in a whisper before saying out loud,” That’s a dangerous number, darling,”
Felicity giggled and then smirked in her dozing state,” You’ll survive it,”
And gods help him-he knew then in that moment, if they survive the tadpoles, he will find a way to give her that dream.
Thankfully, through Withers and their journey to find a way for him to walk in the sun again, they found a way. It took them a year and a half of trying, but they were blessed with the start of their legacy: Orion, born for the Earth, their little miracle they tried so hard for. Four years later came Celestia, born for the water. Two years after that was Selene, born for the stone. And finally, three years later saw their final two, twins, Caelan, born for the flowers, and Lyra, the one that surprised them. All five of them precious miracles, links in their legacy. Astarion’s legacy
Now, Astarion looks out at the glade behind their cabin that saw the birth of all five of their children as the sounds of laughter and running feet filled their once empty lives. His scarlet eyes scanned the area as he saw his five offspring engaged in what made them special. Orion was practicing his solo for the upcoming festival. Celestia was braiding her younger sister, Selene’s hair as Selene played with some scarps of fabric that was tied together into a type of stim object. Caelan was attacking the training dummy Astarion made for him with a wooden sword. Lyra was laying by the garden sketching the clouds in the sky.
All five born in nature. All five a piece of their parents. All five a piece of a dream they thought would never come. And Astarion, arms folded and mouth twitching upward, could only marvel at the kind of peace he and Felicity built compared to where they both started. Him under Cazador’s command. Her caged in a brothel. Now, their children can grow without worry of such things.
“Still think five is too many?” a voice teased.
Astarion turned to see Felicity walking up to him, arms folded behind her back as she approached her husband.
“…No,” he murmured as he held his hand out to her,” You were right,”
Felicity took his hand in her’s and he gently tugged her into a hug before saying softly into her ear:
“Five is just right…,”