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"There..." Karlach grunted, slotting the infernal iron into her engine. Gods, it was an uncomfortable process - not quite as painful as the actual act of having her heart ripped out on a stone slab while being held in place by a spell, but still painful and... rough. Her hands got clammy every time - nearly fumbling the precious metal they'd found, and gods above she didn't want to drop it... But no one commented on it, and depending on who accompanied her, most averted their eyes out of some kind of misplaced politeness as she tugged her breastband off to open the hatch installed in her chest. 'Most' excluding Lae'zel, who had watched the iron critically as if to check she was doing it right. But Lae'zel wasn't here today, off with Tav and the others talking to Jaheira (THE Jaheira!), with only Wyll walking to where Dammon was with Karlach. And both of those men were fixedly staring at the wood of the table, like it was the most fascinating thing on the planet.
It was almost endearing, if she was honest. Sure, her tits were out, but when devils and demons have had their hands inside you, tearing your heart out and tinkering with the stuff inside with little to no regard for how you feel about it, dignity becomes a luxury you can't afford.
She took a minute to breathe as the iron did it's job, her own fingers clumsily installing the upgrade far less delicately than it probably needed to be. But still, the sheer drop in temperature almost left her shivering, the effect immediate. She closed her hatch and tugged her breastband back down, the noise causing both Dammon and Wyll to turn back around.
"So... did it... work?" She found herself asking. Sure, she felt cooler, but she'd been hot enough to burn people. Her 'acceptable heat' levels were probably well off.
"Only one way to find out." Dammon smiled, seemingly just as nervous as Karlach.
Wyll turned to look at her, and Karlach looked back. She expected a finger reaching out to poke her arm, or maybe a full hand on the skin of her wrist - just to test it, to make sure no damage would be done.
Instead, Wyll reached out with both arms, one wrapping around the bare skin of her waist and the other cradling the back of her head ever-so-gently, tugging her into his body. She went willingly, brain not computing as he gently guided her head to rest on his shoulder, hands stroking her back and hair respectively.
When she remembered to breathe again, it was shaky, tears rising unbidden to her eyes. She closed them, burying her face in his shoulder, trying to savour the moment.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice wobbly with emotion. Neither Wyll nor Dammon commented on it, not even when Karlach smelled a slight smokey scent and found that one of her boiling tears had slightly singed Wyll's leather armour.
"I'm sorry!" One of her hands reached up, aiming to run over the singed area, but one of Wyll's own intercepted it to run his thumb gently over the back of her hand.
"You have nothing to apologise for," He murmured, voice soft. "After ten years of waiting, you've more than earned a few tears."
She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you," she murmured again, and Wyll - ever the gentleman - pressed a chivalrous kiss to her hand, like she was some dainty Upper City girl and not a flaming barbarian who had escaped Avernus.
She'd need to let go soon. To listen to what Dammon had to say, and try and accost the rest of her party at the Last Light Inn and see if she could convince a couple of them to give her a cuddle too.
But right now, with Wyll's thumb tracing soothing motions into her hip and the gentle thud of his heartbeat in her ear, she just closed her eyes and existed.
----------
The mood was, admittedly, a little sour as they walked back into the inn. Sure, Karlach was still buzzing with the knowledge that she could touch people again, but both she and Wyll were upset that it was either death or Avernus for her. Wyll, bless his heart, squeezed her shoulder gently, before setting off to find their leader to pass on what Dammon had said.
So Karlach picked her way through the inn, finding her way up to the room that had been set aside for their not-so-little group. It was a privacy few could be afforded - the inn itself wasn't particularly large, but it seems their planned assault on Moonrise Towers gave them priority. Karlach wasn't exactly used to being priority, so it still gave her that weird churning feeling in her stomach, but she ignored it.
Most people seemed to be out, or discussing something, as only Gale was in the room. He was stretched out on the bed, rolling his ankles while he read one of those big wizardly tomes.
"Ah, Karlach!" He grinned as he looked up, "How fares the engine?"
And, well, really he was just inviting this. The sheer terror on his face as Karlach launched herself at him, crashing full body on top of him with a hysterical laugh, only had her laughing harder.
"Sorry, soldier!" She grinned, rolling off him and letting him recover the tome. "I just had to!"
"My book may never recover," Gale was shaking his head mournfully, but he was grinning too. "But that is marvelous news!"
"Yeah," She smiled, letting him rearrange himself on the bed before laying down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "There is some bad news, but I don't want to think about that right now. What are you reading?"
"Hmm? Oh, this old thing. It's one of the books we found in that old tomb that held Withers - rather a dry thing even by my standards. I was hoping to find some gem of wisdom that may assist us in the fight to come, but it is starting to seem like a fruitless endeavour."
"Damn. And you're like... smart smart. I don't stand a chance."
"Hmm..." Gale pushed the book aside, and reached over to grab another one. "I feel this one will be more up your alley. A fantasy novel, with a marvelous adventure and an unlikely troupe of heroes."
"Our biography?" Karlach joked, and Gale chuckled.
"Maybe one day, although I certainly wouldn't be the one to write it. Most people find me a little too verbose."
"Sucks to be them."
Gale shook his head fondly, and instead of passing the book to Karlach like she had initially anticipated, he settled back into the bed, crossing his legs and opening it to the first page. This book was better taken care of - presumably one of his own that he'd had on him when taken by the mindflayers.
He cleared his throat, and started to speak. "When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
Oh. Oh this was nice. Made even nicer by Gale using his magic to hold the book in place, reaching down with one of his hands to stroke up and down her shoulder while the other flipped the pages.
Gods, she'd missed this kind of casual affection. She readjusted herself, making sure not to scratch the wizard with her remaining horn, and buried her face into his shoulder, closing her eyes and just listening.
Gale's voice was pleasantly soft, the occasional thwip of a page being turned soothing in its own right. And sure, there were more than a few words she didn't fully understand, but that didn't matter when things were so peaceful. You could never get away with doing something like this in Avernus - too many fights, and even when you weren't fighting the screams of imps and the damned weren't exactly comforting noises.
It was an entirely new feeling to Karlach, and one she found herself quite enjoying. So much so, in fact, that she seemed to drift off, head still buried into Gale's shoulder as Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee started their journey.
----------
"So, you can finally touch people." Shadowheart's voice dragged Karlach out of her doze, the tiefling looking up with a grin at the half elf. "About time, to be truthful. How else am I supposed to be rescued when the fight gets tough? No one else has your muscle mass, save Halsin, and I don't think he would play the dashing hero quite as well. Speaking of Halsin, Gale, he and Tav requested you go downstairs and look at some of the alchemical components Jaheira has squirrelled away. See if you can think of any new uses for them that might help in the fighting ahead."
"Very well," Gale placed a bookmark in the page, closing the book with no small amount of disappointment. "We shall continue our tale later, Karlach."
"Fabulous. Now off you go, Gale, wouldn't want to keep them waiting. Jaheira seems tense as anything - not without good reason, I suppose, but keeping her waiting is probably not a great idea."
Gale grumbled, something about not rushing a wizard and never would have happened in Waterdeep, but he got up and left regardless. Shadowheart, meanwhile, perched next to Karlach on the bed, looking down at her poorly-disguised curiosity.
"How do you feel?" She asked, one hand hovering like it wanted to reach out.
"Cooler." Karlach admitted, "I think I'm still warmer than average, but no one's complained as of yet. But I've only seen Gale and Wyll so far - well, and you."
"Hmph. Gale and Wyll are nice, but hardly the right people to check if everything is moving ok. Come closer, let me have a look." Her tone offered no room for bargaining, so Karlach reluctantly moved from her cosy position on the bed to sitting cross legged next to her. Shadowheart's hands cautiously touched her arms, moving up to her shoulders slowly. One hand slipped around the back of her neck, eyebrows furrowed like she was trying to see if there was any noticeable temperature difference. Eventually, a hand hovered over the glowing part of her chest, both pairs of eyes meeting before it gently rested on top of it.
"Definitely warmer than average," Shadowheart concluded, "But I have very little experience with tieflings so a part of that could be normal. The warmest place is, obviously, the engine, which still doesn't burn - at least, not through your skin. Dammon has done a fine job."
"He really has." Karlach sighed happily, "Wyll hugged me for nearly ten minutes down there, and I've been laying on Gale for gods know how long."
Shadowheart actually smiled at that - a small thing, but genuine. It made Karlach's next move a little bit easier, as she hesitantly raised her arms. "Can I?"
"Oh, fine. If you must." Shadowheart didn't sound nearly as put out as she pretended to be, leaning into Karlach's arms and hooking her chin over her shoulder. She only sat like that for a moment before she shuffled around, her back to Karlach's front, seemingly more comfortable with that position.
Karlach really didn't mind, hooking her own chin over Shadowheart's shoulder and letting her wriggle as much as she wanted. Shadowheart wasn't particularly affectionate, so anything she got she'd take. Eventually, Shadowheart picked up one of Karlach's hands and started fiddling with that instead.
It was somewhat ticklish - the light tracing motions as the half elf followed the lines on her palm. The pale hand flexed on top of the red one below, seemingly comparing sizes, before going back to tracing the lines and scars. Her hands twitched a little as Shadowheart traced just a little too gently, Karlach burying her face into her shoulder in response to the question in Shadowheart's tilted head.
"Tickles." She mumbled shyly, and she could feel the half elf giggling.
"Your nails are so long." Shadowheart mumbled, lining up their hands so she could compare the lengths.
"More claws than nails," Karlach nodded, "Part of the demonic heritage. Granted most tieflings tend to maintain them better than I do - I didn't get to take my claw care kit with me to Avernus. They're a bit snaggly at the ends. I've been trying to file them down where I can but since I couldn't touch anyone I didn't really bother too much."
"Well that won't do. Give me a minute." Shadowheart got up and rifled through her pack, finding what she was looking for and returning to Karlach's side. She grabbed a pillow, placing it on her lap and pulling Karlach's hands to rest on it, before opening what seemed to be her own nail care kit and pulling out a file.
"I'm assuming you don't want rounded edges like mine?"
"I don't think your file would be able to get them that low!" Karlach grinned as Shadowheart giggled. "Just a little duller should do the trick, so I don't accidentally scratch anyone."
"Ok."
Shadowheart started filing, and Karlach looked down to make sure she didn't go too far. Much like in cats, tiefling claws had what was known as a quick - a sensitive vein running through them. She quickly got distracted though, noticing Shadowheart's own nails were painted a deep purple-ish black.
"I like your nails." She blurted out, "What's on them?"
"Oh, this? A mix of alchemical ingredients and a couple of dried flowers for the colour. Do you want me to paint yours?"
"Do you think it'll work?"
"We can give it a try."
Once the filing was done, Shadowheart pulled out a small tub. She took a dollop of the mixture, depositing it on a wooden board, before opening up a small box of dried petals.
"Colour?"
"I mean, black is a pretty obvious one, no?"
"One day, we'll broaden your colour horizons. I'm going to stick you in the pinkest dress possible."
"I'll look forward to it!" She laughed, "Just don't get it stuck on my horn. I remember my mother trying to pull a few over my head and ripping them accidentally."
"We'll hang some daisy chains from it, those should remind us to be careful. Speaking of..." She pulled a dried daisy out of the box, placing it on the black liquid on her pointer finger before repeating the process with her other finger. Then a clear layer was applied over the top, Shadowheart examining her fingers critically before nodding in satisfaction.
"There. Perfect. Normally it takes a few hours to set hard but with your raised temperature it shouldn't take as long. Now... what do you think about the tension between Astarion and Gale lately?"
"Really, soldier? Gossiping?" But Shadowheart's eyes were glittering mischievously, and she couldn't help herself. "Ok, so listen..."
----------
Eventually, Shadowheart had to leave, her own knowledge being required as a few locations dedicated to Shar had been found within the shadow-cursed lands, leaving Karlach alone in the Inn. She found herself admiring her nails, shiny and hard in a way they had never been. She was so caught up in her nails that she didn't notice Lae'zel entering, jumping slightly as the familiar sound of a blade being sharpened met her ears.
"Gods! Sorry Lae, I was in my own world then."
"Tsk'va," Lae'zel's voice lacked the irritated edge it had when she dealt with some of the others, "Your prowess in battle is remarkable, and yet your attention during the quiet is lacking. See to it this... daydreaming of yours does not affect us."
"Um, right, will do."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the sound of Lae'zel's blade being sharpened echoing around the room.
"Your engine... It is fixed now, no?"
"I mean... kind of?" Karlach sighed, pulling her knees to her chest. "Temporarily."
Lae'zel's head snapped around, a frown marring her face.
"Old rusty here isn't designed to work outside of Avernus." She explained, looking away from the githyanki as her eyes started to water slightly. "It'll burn up. Maybe even before we finish what we're doing here... Unless..."
"Unless you return to Avernus." The words were blunt, not in a cruel way but in that matter-of-fact way Lae'zel had.
Karlach swallowed. "Yeah."
"Will you return?"
"I said I wouldn't. I don't know if I could do it."
Cool hands placed themselves on her shoulders, moving so they didn't cover the vents. Awkwardly, as if unsure of what she was doing, Karlach could feel Lae'zel's thumbs rubbing circles into the nape of her neck, the pressure somewhere between too hard and not hard enough.
"I have met many istik in my time on this plane," She stated, "None have impressed me like you. Should you choose to return, you will survive. Should you choose to die, you will certainly be remembered. I will make sure of it."
"Thank you," she mumbled, both ignoring how wet her voice sounded although Lae'zel's thumbs dug harder into her back. The githyanki caught herself, gentling her touch so that Karlach relaxed instead of tensed.
It was very Lae'zel - awkward and clumsy in the sense that she hadn't been socialized with the same affection as most people, but entirely genuine. And to Karlach? That meant the world.
"There is food downstairs." Lae'zel eventually broke the silence.
"Maybe in a minute." Karlach leaned her head back, resting it on Lae'zel's shoulder. "This feels nice."
Lae'zel tsked under her breath, but didn't move.
----------
"Well then, our dear fiery Karlach is touchable once more." Astarion sauntered into the room, a small bag in his arms. "Now, forgive me if I don't allow you to hug me darling - I've taken a few too many hits today for something quite so physical - but your hair is a tragedy."
"What's wrong with it?" Karlach frowned, looking at the part she could see. Astarion just looked at her disapprovingly.
"Split ends, overly dry and overall just poorly maintained, my dear. And that's me being nice. Now, I held my tongue as there was nothing we could do until you stopped being quite so hot, but we simply must rectify this disaster. Now, come here and lay your head in my lap."
"You sure, fangs?"
"Do you think I offer this to just anyone, my dear? Now hurry, before I change my mind."
She grinned, laying her head softly on the pillow he had placed on his lap. She felt him undoing the small braids in her hair, gently taking out the decorations and placing them in her open palm.
"I never noticed they have a pattern on them." He mused idly, looking at one.
"They're rather faded by now." She smiled sadly, "I don't even know what they meant. They were passed down in my family, but mum died before she could explain the meaning to me."
Astarion hummed, placing the last one down in her palm. "They suit you." He said softly.
The silence between them was somewhere between fragile and comfortable. Both of them were far out of their comfort zone, what with Astarion being openly affectionate and Karlach knowing that at any disturbance he might feel trapped and want to leave again. But there was an undoubted tenderness there - in the careful way he brushed her hair, making sure he didn't tug at her scalp, and how he only trimmed off the split ends, keeping her hair as long as it ever got. He gently massaged oils and potions into her hair, the dampness soothing against her dry scalp. She couldn't help but groan as sharp fingernails scratched her scalp, an itch she'd never known was there finally being soothed.
"Feeling good?" Astarion chuckled. "No wonder, of course. My hands work marvels when I feel so inclined."
"Feels great," she grunted, "Should do this professionally."
"Well, if my jobs as 'vampire spawn' and 'common whore' don't work out, I may just consider it."
"You're not a whore, Astarion. You know this."
"Yes, yes, your endless quest to instill self-worth in me." He sighed, "It's a joke, my dear."
"I don't like it when people make mean jokes about my friends. Only I get to do that."
Astarion tutted under his breath, fingers moving to gently pull her hair out of the way. "Very well. I won't ruin your special day, darling."
Knowing that was as close to a win as she would get, Karlach let it slide, even as his hands retreated to grab something else. Her eyes opened as she felt the unmistakable feeling of something being smeared on her good horn, the scent of coconut oil greeting her nose.
"Who told you about horn care, fangs?" She asked, half-amused and half-delighted.
"My dear, I have been around tieflings before." He sniffed haughtily, before cracking a slight smile. "I definitely didn't ask that pretty little tiefling bard downstairs."
"Alfira? Her horns are nice." Karlach's eyes fluttered closed as Astarion massaged the base of the horn, humming in delight. "I'm surprised she doesn't have any jewellery for them, you know. Even I used to have some chain loops for nice occasions before I was sent to Avernus."
"Chain loops?" Astarion sounded invested, hands trailing the curve of her horn. "I can imagine those. A beautiful gold, dangling down. Oh, what a curse I wasn't born with any horns to adorn."
"You wouldn't want gold." She said, "You'd want silver. You can get these horn gems embedded in to the base of your horns, and then dangle additional jewellery off that, but silver is much easier to do it with than gold."
"Silver it is then." He chuckled, "You have some grooves that are filled with dirt. Would you like me to clean them out? A needle would do the trick, if it wouldn't hurt?"
"Go for it. Those will be the infernal script Zariel carved, I bet. Never seen them myself."
"I'm sorry, infernal script?"
"Her way of marking her property. Well, favoured property. Let's people know not to mess with us too much or they'll face her wrath."
"Hmm. Seems both of us were marked visually by our old masters." Astarion's voice was unusually quiet, and they sat in silence for a few moments, the only sound the noise of the needle gently clearing much from the indentations.
"Here's to killing both of the evil fuckers." She eventually mumbled as he turned her around, massaging more coconut oil into her broken horn with tender care.
"Indeed."
----------
When she finally emerged from their room, she must have looked a picture. Hair no longer dry, horns practically gleaming (Astarion had held a mirror for her and by the gods it had been so long since her horns had looked this healthy), claws filed and painted alongside having had a nice bath that didn't turn into steeping a Karlach-tea... Yeah, she was feeling a lot better than she had in a while. So much so that she ended up touching so many people. She roughhoused with the tiefling children, greeted Alfira and Dammon with quick friendly hugs, and even shook Jaheira's hand (THE Jaheira! She shook her hand!!). But when she caught sight of who was sat in the corner, she headed over, tilting her head slightly.
"Hey, Halsin. You ok, soldier?"
"Ah, Karlach!" Halsin smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm just fine, my dear. These lands just take a toll on me - the lack of living nature is disconcerting at the best of times. But no matter - how are you faring? I understand that engine in your chest has been worked on, judging by the way you've been walking around tonight?"
"Yeah," Karlach grinned, looking down at the glowing portion of her chest. "I've been spoiled today, you know. Seems like everyone's trying to fix those ten years of loneliness in ten hours, and it's working."
"Wonderful news!"
She shuffled on her feet in front of him, weighing up her options. "... Can I?"
Halsin chuckled, opening his arms, and Karlach immediately fell into them. He still smelled of nature - of grass and earth and... was that balsam? Maybe a little bit of that bear in the under notes as well. She was caught off guard when he slipped a hand under her legs, tugging her into his lap like a princess. The noise she made - somewhere between a squeak and a scream - set Halsin (and a few others nearby) off laughing, and she could feel her face flushing slightly.
Not that she was upset at it, though. Her arms wrapped around his neck, face buried into the side of his neck while he rocked her gently, humming all the while... Gods, if it didn't remind her of her father when she was a kid. It wasn't often that Karlach felt small anymore - not when she was big and brawny and capable of holding her own in a fight and literally on fire. But Halsin was big enough to almost entirely surround her, his big arms holding her without her having to touch the floor in any way to alleviate the weight, and he felt safe.
One of the kids ran by, pausing curiously in front of the two of them before tugging her tail playfully. Halsin gently ushered them away, twining the tip of her tail around his arm and returning to cradling her.
"You can sleep if you want," he offered gently, "I will be here when you awaken."
"I don't want to," she admitted under her breath, "I feel like I'm going to wake up and it's all going to be a nice dream."
"I assure you, my dear, you are very much awake." He smiled, "But it is getting close to the night, even if you can't see it outside of the windows. No one would fault you for it."
And she would respond, but he was looking down at her like she was something sweet and precious, and she really didn't want to be released yet. So instead she got comfy, resting her head on his shoulder and listening to the soothing thump thump thump of his heartbeat. And if she closed her eyes for a moment or too... well, they'd call her if they needed her, right?
----------
She woke up to a tired voice above her, and a soft swaying movement. To being placed down on something soft, to a door closing while someone else moved around, muttering quietly under their breath. She blinked blearily, wiping her eyes and peering around the room.
"Tav?" She asked, voice hoarse.
The footsteps stopped for a moment, before Tav's head popped around from behind the privacy screen with a soft grin.
"Hey, lovely." They smiled, clearly finishing getting changed before they walked over to where she was on the bed. "So, your engines fixed, huh?"
They didn't wait for her reply, cradling her face in their hands before setting upon her with thousands of tiny little kisses - cheeks, nose, forehead, chin - until she was giggling. A quick raspberry just under her ear had her squealing, Tav chuckling under their own breath before finally slotting their lips against hers, soft and loving and everything Karlach had ever wanted.
"I love you," Tav whispered, pressing another soft little kiss to her mouth.
Karlach whispered it back, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around their body.
Tav rolled them over, tugging Karlach until she was flat on top of their body and holding her to their chest. Their legs intertwined, her tail wrapping around Tav's ankle automatically, while Tav's hands roamed her body, touching every part of her they could reach with a silent sort of reverence.
"I'm heavy." She whispered eventually.
"Never too heavy for me," they responded, kissing the top of her head before tilting her chin to press another kiss to her lips. Karlach pressed a kiss where their heart was, before plastering her ear to it.
"Love you." She whispered, and Tav whispered it back.
They must have fallen asleep like that, because when Karlach woke up, Tav was snoring beneath her. Clive had been tucked into her arms, the bear's stitching suddenly reinforced and his loose eye secured on his face, with a dashing little bow tie made out of a deep green fabric secured to his little neck. A warm blanket had been tugged over the two of them (not like they needed it), and the candles in the room had been snuffed.
And Karlach would have closed her eyes and gone back to sleep, but Scratch's cold, damp nose touched her arm hesitantly, before the dog perked up and dashed off to grab his ball.
And, well, who could say no to Scratch right?
Especially when on his return, he pressed his cold, damp nose against Tav's face, causing them to shriek themselves into lucidity and Karlach to almost cry laughing on the floor as Tav got tangled in the blanket and accidentally dragged a candlestick off the bedside table in their sleep-deprived panicked state.
Good times!