Chapter Text
With the tiefling party winding down, everyone drifting off in twos and threes to return to the Grove for their final night before moving on, Rhian searched the clearing of their camp for Shadowheart.
She found Lae’zel and Astarion slipping away together— something Rhian was decidedly not going to address nor ask about, so long as they were both alive and, well, she’d settle for just that, come morning— before her gaze settled on the cleric, standing at the edge of camp, near a little deer trail into the woods.
She met Rhian’s eyes when she found her looking, cocking her head with the slightest smile, gesturing to a ledge up above Lae’zel’s tent, near the waterfall. Rhian inclined her head in understanding, moving to join her, heart hammering in her chest.
She made it all of three steps before Alfira intercepted her, the bard supported by another tiefling— Lakrissa, Rhian recalled, having met her briefly earlier that night— both clearly having been drinking, but Lakrissa was still more lucid.
“Oh, Rhian,” Alfira was slurring her words, tugging Lakrissa over to speak with her, “I have so-o-o many ideas.”
Rhian offered her a bemused smile, looking to Lakrissa for just what the bard was talking about, “Oh? That’s… good.”
“For your song, silly,” Alfira clarified, lightly hitting her on the arm; Rhian flinched.
“Right,” Rhian remembered now, recalling the conversation they’d had earlier that night, “Song, yes, I- I can’t wait to hear it, maybe once… Once you make it to Baldur’s Gate.”
“Mhmm,” Alfira, “In Baldur’s Gate, thanks to you.”
The continued praise from everyone still made her uncomfortable, her eyes darting back to Shadowheart, except she had disappeared.
“C’mon, ‘Fira,” Lakrissa dropped an arm over her shoulders, gently guiding her away, “Our friend’s done enough for us, we should let her get some rest. As should we, there’s a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Alfira sighed, leaning into her with a sleepy sigh.
”Enjoy your night, hero,” Lakrissa tossed back over her shoulder with a wink, and she felt herself go red. She hadn’t meant to be so obvious in wanting to get out of the conversation, but apparently the tiefling knew of her intentions for just how she wanted to spend the rest of the night.
She owed her more than the silly bet they’d made, and hoped she’d see her again.
Waving to the tieflings, Rhian turned to make her up to Shadowheart, where she could see her silhouette up above camp, under the bright light of the full moon.
Making her way down the narrow path, Rhian brushed aside a couple of final branches, coming up on the cliff where her friend waited.
Shadowheart turned at her footsteps on stone, a glass of wine already in-hand, the bottle next to her with another.
“You made it,” she called over, a smile crossing her face, and Rhian’s heart fluttered again, “Come here— sit with me.”
She didn’t need to ask twice; Rhian moved to sit next to her, dropping onto the cliff side, legs dangling into open air. “I wouldn’t dream of missing it,” the admission came easy.
“So eager,” Shadowheart laughed, “I’m surprised it took you this long.”
“Alfira and Lakrissa stopped me on my way out of camp,” Rhian lamented, sidling closer, leaning toward her.
“Well, no matter,” Shadowheart poured her some wine, handing over the glass, “To begin, I think a toast is in order. Any suggestions?”
Rhian took the offered glass with shaky hands, tilting it to study the dark liquid as she thought. A toast… They’d already celebrated plenty, had the tieflings singing their praises for helping to defend the Grove. She didn’t need to toast their victory again.
She eyed the half-elf sitting beside her; a stalwart friend and a comforting, if surprising, presence at her side through it all so far. A toast to friendship would be appropriate, she supposed, but…
It was just the two of them out here, after all, and it wasn’t exactly friendship that had had Rhian accepting the invitation.
Lifting her glass, Rhian declared, “To us.”
Her response seemed to surprise Shadowheart, eyebrows shooting upp. “Bold. What does ‘us’ entail?” she mused, “I suppose I’ll find out.”
She lifted her glass, tapping the side of it to Rhian’s, “To us.”
Rhian took a sip, grateful that Shadowheart had managed to wrangle up a better bottle than whatever swill Astarion had been drinking.
“Now,” her companion started, setting aside her glass, “tell me something about yourself. And no tadpoles, dragons, marauding goblins, or anything like that. Something about you.”
Rhian thought for a long moment, trying to come up with something interesting. There was one thing she could tell her, a larger truth that she’d want her to know, depending on how their future could unfold. Out of the corner of her eye, Rhian could see Shadowheart watching her, quietly expectant.
Rhian leaned her arm on her knee, leaning forward. “I was married, once.”
That seemed to shock her companion, and suddenly Shadowheart looked unsure. “Oh? What happened?”
Swirling her glass, Rhian kept her eyes downcast. She smiled sadly, “She was human.”
Shadowheart was quiet, like she didn’t know what to say. Breaking the awkwardness, Rhian explained. “It was… a long time ago, now. I just, wanted you to know, I guess.”
“What’s a ‘long time,’ for an elf?”
Rhian furrowed her brow, it was a fair question. How long had it been? She mentally counted off the years; she’d left home shortly after Zorah’s death, wandering for a while on her own, before she’d eventually made the decision to move to Baldur’s Gate— somewhere noisier, where she could get lost in the chaos. “She died… seventy, eighty years ago?”
It was something of a guess, with the time she’d spent wandering, mostly wild shaped. She turned to gauge Shadowheart’s reaction.
Her friend was quietly studying her, head titled to the side.
“Thats… not quite as much as I expected.”
Rhian laughed softly, “Give or take a decade.”
“Well, don’t stop now,” she insisted, more at ease.
“What do you want to know?”
Shadowheart shrugged, “Whatever you’re willing to share, I suppose.”
“We grew up together in our enclave, I was a couple years older, but, y’know,” she gestured to her ears, “not much of an issue there.”
Shadowheart kept her amusement mostly restrained, sipping from her wine as she listened.
“When we were both a bit older, she always joked I wasn’t allowed to fall in love with her,” Rhian grinned at the memory, “Said that she couldn’t have me moping about without her for a few centuries.”
“Clearly you have a track record of not listening then.”
“Ouch,” Rhian scoffed at the insult, feigning hurt, “And yet… you know me.“
She continued, “But yes, you’re correct, I did not listen. I think Zorah had already caught feelings by that point, and she knew where that would leave me, if we decided to act on them.”
Rhian did a double take when she found Shadowheart watching her unabashedly, and then waved her off. This was more personal than she’d intended to let the night get, yet Shadowheart had a habit of pulling the rug out from under her. “But enough about my scars, as I said, it was a while ago,” Rhian flipped the conversation back to her, “Your turn— I insist. A little give and take is only fair.”
Her friend suddenly looked uneasy, and Rhian had a moment of doubt when Shadowheart said, “Don’t laugh… but I’m not quite sure I have anything to share.”
Rhian stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.
“When you worship Shar, secrecy is everything. We’ll sacrifice our own memories when ordered to. A lot of the little things… they’re lost to me right now.”
Rhian remembered a conversation they’d had— maybe a week after the nautiloid, when she had managed to talk Shadowheart into sharing a little more about herself. Sliding closer, she lightly elbowed her before leaning back, “Wrong. You like night orchids and can’t swim. You told me once.”
That seemed to lift her spirits. “Heh, I did! And you remembered,” she wrapped her fingers around the stem of her wine glass, “You’re sweet.”
She grabbed the bottle, refilling Rhian’s cup. “There’s still plenty of wine and the whole night is ahead of us.”
Blinking, Rhian tried to regain her bearings. Her mind was still fuzzy with the buzz of celebration, but she found Shadowheart lying next to her, eyes trained up at the stars.
“Nearly light. The others will be awake soon…” her companion said, turning to meet her gaze.
Looking at her through half-closed eyes, Rhian quickly realized she didn’t want the night to end just yet.
“What?” Shadowheart asked, the slightest curve to her lips at seeing Rhian’s attention.
Just checking for signs of ceremorphosis, Rhian nearly joked, but stopped herself, not wanting to chance ruining the mood after a wonderful night.
“You’re beautiful.”
“I know,” she sighed, and Rhian bit down on her laugh, “But you’re sweet to notice. Thank you for last night.”
“I hope there’ll be more to come,” Rhian admitted.
“Me too,” she replied softly.
Rhian could see an invitation in Shadowheart’s eyes, a slight blush across her cheeks, her gaze dipping down to rest briefly on her lips before darting back up.
“You know,” Rhian gave a gentle laugh, surprising even herself with her next words, “If you want something… I think you should take it.”
Shadowheart reached for her, and Rhian met her, sliding closer and tangling their fingers together. She leaned in, and Rhian’s heart started hammering in her chest, eyes falling closed. The first brush of Shadowheart’s lips against hers was soft and tentative, causing butterflies to explode in her stomach.
Shadowheart pulled back first, eyes unsure, darting across Rhian’s face. Rhian could only smile stupidly at her, squeezing her hand. Shadowheart softened, leaning back in and kissing her again with more intent, and Rhian melted into her.
When they broke apart, Rhian nearly kissed her again, but she didn’t want to push too far too fast, and reluctantly let her go.
“That didn’t hurt, did it?” Shadowheart asked, rubbing the back of her hand.
“No,” she whispered, watching for any signs that Shadowheart’s wound was flaring up, reassuring her, “Far from it.”
“Good to know. For the future…” she seemed almost like she wanted to say more, a blissful smile on her face, the cleric seeming softer, more at ease, but, “Let’s head back. If we must.”
For the future.
The words rang in Rhian’s ears, hope flaring in her chest. She got to her feet, legs unsteady from more than just how she’d been lying on the stone, and reached to help Shadowheart up next to her.
She kept hold of Rhian’s hand, intertwining their fingers as they returned to camp.