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Camp was bustling tonight with revelry. There hadn’t been any necessarily grand fights won today, but when tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed you took opportunities when they presented themselves. This opportunity in particular came from finding a bar called the Waning Moon. Like everything in the shadow cursed lands it had been abandoned in a hurry. Well abandoned by the mortals that is. There were plenty of zombies and an undead bar tender who turns out can’t hold his liquor. All it took was pretending to have a few drinks and telling some tales before he popped like a ballon. Theta had been quite good at telling tales while Astarion was able to subtly guide him in how to fake the drinks. They made a pretty good team. Down in the basement of the bar they found a large amount of unopened bottles of liquor. Wine, beer, ale, whatever they could want was theirs for the taking! Since they already had some bottles stowed away for their regular meals the group decided that tonight was a night to let loose a bit and have a few drinks. Well a few drinks turned into a few bottles…each. Who could blame them? They had been on this little tadpole adventure for awhile now and the camp could use some cheer in these desolate lands. The constant darkness was even getting on the nerves of Shadowheart, their resident dark princess.
The first to drop out of their impromptu celebrations was of course the Druid. Halsin only had two drinks at most before the guilt of the lands anguish around them killed any enjoyment he could have had. After Halsin retired to his tent the drinks flowed more freely and Theta started to play his lute.
Shadowheart was the next to drop out, her mind still mostly consumed by her mission. There was a Temple of Shar rumored to be around here, and after the signs of Dark Justiciar activity in the Grymforge she was more determined than ever to prove her worth to Lady Shar. After her departing that’s when Theta started to offer to teach others to play the lute. Not too many took him up on the offer though. Laezel said she preferred to practice with her blade than an instrument. Wyll hadn’t had enough to drink in order to fully let loose and decided to leave the music to the professionals. Astarion used the excuse of not wanting to mess up a nail or gods forbid get a callous on his hands. In reality he just wanted to keep hearing the bard play. If he was going to get a lesson he would prefer a more private one. Gale looked like he wanted to take Theta up on the opportunity but a quick glare from Astarion made him think better of getting close to the bard. It was Gale’s own confession of feelings for the bard that nudged Astarion to confess his own feelings and stake his claim on Theta. Best not to anger the resident vampire when he already had some contempt for him. Karlach on the other hand was delighted to try and learn. Ever since she got her engine cooled down enough by Dammon she was more than happy to indulge in the closeness of others. Astarion had nothing to worry about though as their closeness was purely friendly. Theta had been the first to hug Karlach after getting her engine fixed, happily giving her back something she longed for. Even still his heart remained with Astarion.
Laezel retired for the night not long after the lute lessons started. She prioritized being well rested for the fights ahead. Which fair. They all probably should be prioritizing that more often, but they had to have some fun sometimes. Singing started up around the campfire, though it was mostly Theta, Karlach, and Wyll doing the singing. Gale occasionally joined in, but preferred to listen mostly. Astarion tuned everyone else out besides Theta anyway so it didn’t matter to him.
Gale was next to bid everyone goodnight, his alcohol tolerance a bit lower than the rest. He also had to get up earlier than the others to prepare breakfast. Well he didn’t have to, but he preferred to be the one to cook. This is when the conversations started to become more about tales from their previous lives. Wyll and Karlach had the better stories of the group, but Theta did surprise them with some tales of being a traveling bard. It turns out he was getting into trouble even without the tadpole. Granted it wasn’t the murdering kind of trouble, but he put his innocent face to good use talking his way out of situations.
Astarion retired to his tent earlier than expected as they all knew he wasn’t going to trance yet. But some of the conversations started to get a bit personal and he was determined to leave before anyone asked him to spill any of his trauma thank you very much. Though if anyone asked he decided to leave after Karlach asked him if zombies were like his cousins. He did not find that amusing. He also liked to have a bit of alone time where he could work on the sewing that needed done or read a book. There was no shortage of them between Gale and Theta. Though he preferred Theta’s books to Gale’s as his were more fictional than educational. Although he did enjoy stealing Gale’s books just to agitate him. After Astarion left the other three decided that some dancing was in order. Wyll was now drunk enough to let the heroic Blade of Frontiers front down and just be Wyll Ravengard. Wyll apparently loved to dance and was quite good at it. He danced with both Karlach and Theta, but mainly Karlach. That was fine by Theta as he was able to play music for them to dance to.
The party didn’t last much longer after that, mainly because they were out of the alcohol they allotted for tonight. Karlach and Wyll stayed talking by the fire for a bit longer, but Theta decided to retire for the night. More accurately he said he was retiring for the night but instead of heading to his own bedroll he started towards Astarion’s tent. Both Wyll and Karlach saw, but neither commented. Everyone deserved a bit of happiness.
Astarion was reading one of the books that Theta had unknowingly leant to him when he heard some rustling by his tent. Normally he would draw a dagger and be ready to strike whatever was lurking outside his tent, but he knew exactly who this was. It wasn’t like he tried to be sneaky anyway. Well maybe he was trying but the alcohol did not help him at all. Theta stumbled into Astarion’s closed tent, cheeks flushed from alcohol. My my what a lovely flush of blood. He was hungry, but he would wait until Theta was trancing to have a bite.
“Staaaaar!” Theta called out in an over exaggerated whisper. He was trying to be quiet but wasn’t exactly succeeding. The tents were spread out so it’s not like they really had to be that quiet, but still.
“Yes my dear?” Astarion hummed, shutting the book. He gazed upon him with a fond smile, taking in Theta’s happy mood. It was usually Astarion who came and visited Theta in the night, not the other way around. Far be it from him to be complaining though.
“Oh, I just wanted to say hi.” Theta grinned. He flopped down next to Astarion, one arm over his chest and his head resting on his shoulder. They hadn’t officially been committed to each other long, but his body naturally fit well against Astarion’s. They had been intimate well before any commitments or real feelings developed, but now it was moments like these. Quiet innocent touches and a sort of domestic intimacy. Astarion was healing and Theta was going to do his best to show him that kind loving touch did exist, and he deserved it.
“This seems to be more than just a simple ‘hi’ darling.” Astarion pointed out with a chuckle. He didn’t mind this at all. It was nice to just hold and be held.
“Well I did tell Karlach that zombies are not your cousin!” Theta grinned, looking at Astarion for approval. Astarion simply rolled his eyes and huffed. “Honestly a bit insulting that it was even a question. We may both be undead, but zombies sure smell the part. I wouldn’t be caught dead, well figuratively speaking, with a stench like that. However can I repay you for setting the record straight?” Astarion asked, mostly joking. Theta was staring at him as he spoke, blinking a bit. “I uh, don’t need anything in return.” Theta said, though the want in his eyes gave him away.
Astarion picked up on that want immediately. He spent nearly two hundred years looking at people with the same look in their eyes. The look of someone who wanted something from him. “You may say you don’t need anything, but I can see in your eyes that you very much want something.” Astarion purred, falling into old habits. At Theta’s blush he took that as all the confirmation he needed. Of course it was only a matter of time before Theta would want his body again. He had been foolish enough to fall for honeyed words that said they would go at whatever pace he needed, that sex wasn’t something he needed to provide.
“Well then darling, take what you want.” Astarion smirked, going pliant under Theta. He could get through this. He always had in the past so what was the difference now? It did sting knowing it was someone he cared for truly doing this instead of a stranger, but he would endure. He closed his eyes, already starting to space out slightly. Well he started to until a spot of dull pain bloomed on his jaw. He blinked his eyes opened, startled by what he just felt. Did he just feel teeth on his jaw? Wait did Theta just bite him?
Theta was watching Astarion as he opened his eyes. His hands had made no move from where they previously had been. The only part that had moved was his head leaning in closer to do just what Astarion said. Take what he wanted. So he bit him. That’s what he had been thinking of so he did it. “What?” Theta asked, seeing Astarion’s bewildered expression.
“Did you just bite me?” Astarion asked, still in shock. Why the hells would he bite him? “You said to take what I want.” Theta shrugged a bit like it was no big deal. He truly didn’t realize what a loop he through Astarion for.
“Why?” Astarion asked, unable to make sense of it. Was he mocking him? If so you would think he would go for the neck then. Although he was very glad he didn’t, especially so since his scars from Cazador’s bite were on the same side as him. If he had bitten over those scars he didn’t know what reaction he would have. It wouldn’t have been good though.
“Well I’ve been thinking…” Theta started to explain. “Well that’s never good.” Astarion interjected, causing an adorable drunken pout from Theta. “Apologies my love, continue.” Astarion said, shaking his head with a fond smile.
“I was thinking about how you bite me and how it makes you really happy. I wanted to bite you and see if it made me really happy.” Theta said honestly. Gods he must be drunk. Astarion stared at him for a moment before laughing. “Darling, I believe you are forgetting the whole blood drinking part of me biting you.” Astarion pointed out.
Theta had a moment of drunken clarity as he reminded that Astarion was drinking his blood and not just biting him. “Oh. Maybe I should another time. I shouldn’t have anything else to drink tonight.” Theta nodded thoughtfully, resting his head back down on Astarion’s shoulder. Yes because the amount of liquid he’s had tonight is the reason why him drinking blood is a bad idea. Drunken logic really was something special.
“You can still bite me and drink though. You didn’t have as much.” Theta said after a moment, opening his neck up to Astarion. Well Astarion wasn’t going to say no to that. He gently cradled Theta’s head to keep him still before leaning forward and biting. He sunk his fangs into him, taking greedy swallows. He had a better handle on his hunger now so he didn’t drain Theta down too far. Nightly offerings from the sweet bard in his arms helped that cause, but he still felt a needy rush at the first drop each time. He could taste the alcohol in his blood, contrasting nicely to the sweetness that his love tasted like. He eventually pulled away, licking clean any possibly drops he could have let slip out. With a final kiss over the spot he fully drew back to look at him.
Theta had a content dopey smile on his face as Astarion looked at him. He really enjoyed feeding Astarion. The thought of his blood flowing through his love and making him stronger always warmed his heart. It was intimate in a way only he and Astarion could share. He cuddled further into Astarion’s embrace, fully planning on sleeping there.
Astarion looked down at Theta in his arms, one thought still keeping him from fully enjoying the moment. “Theta, why didn’t you bite my neck. Not that I want you to, just if you were truly trying to imitate me then why didn’t you go for my neck…?” Astarion asked quietly. Theta was nearly asleep when Astarion asked the question, so he didn’t even open his eyes as he answered. “Because you have bad memories there and I don’t want to be associated with them. I want to only make good memories.” Theta mumbled. If he looked up he would have seen a small unshed tear in Astarion’s eyes. Even when inebriated he was still thoughtful of what Astarion needed, even if he didn’t know he needed it himself.
“Once he’s dead though I will if you want…” Theta murmured, trailing off. He made an attempt to bite Astarion’s shoulder where he rested, but he barely opened his mouth due to his tired state. It was more like a slight rustle of fabric that he accomplished, but it made Astarion smile all the same. “Yes darling.” Astarion whispered, closing his eyes to trance.