Chapter Text
She walked a few steps behind her group, her tail twisting in response to her agitation at the bickering in front of her.
Since her and the woman Shadowheart had stumbled over a pale elf calling for their aid in killing something. That something had turned out to be a boar, it´s right tush missing and the left eye was a milky white. It had fled when she had neared the bush it was rustling in. She had felt a stab of irritation and annoyance. She had been preparing to turn around and confront the lie, but she had been tackled to the ground, a long dagger held to her neck.
Flashback
She felt a stab of fear, for a moment her body froze under his and she was hyperaware of the places his body pressed into hers.
It had all lasted but a moment before she had gripped his dagger hand and a small electric current had flowed through her and struck the pale elf. The man had quickly changed tactics after that. He had introduced himself as Astarion and held his hand out for her to shake. She had for another brief second considered ripping it off, the mad voice in her head crowing with glee, but she shook her head, at the thought. He would be of no use to her and the other woman or himself if she mauled him.
But.
Something had connected them, causing a sharp pain in her head to spike as it seemed like she had connected her mind to his, strange whispers filling her head. She didn’t understand and raised both her hands to shield her face as she took a step back.
“Well, I´ll be damned,” Astarion said to her, and she spread her fingers covering her eyes, just enough to be able to see the look he shot both her and Shadowheart.
“You´re infected too, aren´t you?” She could hear an almost incredulous laugh in his voice, almost like he couldn’t believe what had happened.
She didn’t really believe it either.
Infected? What was he talking about? Infected with what, rabies? She didn’t understand and she shot around to look at the other woman, catching a pitying glance in her eyes before it was gone.
She shook her head madly in hope of getting rid of the tickling sensation in her head, but as she did that, she stumbled and moved both hands to grip her hair, pulling in a wain hope that it would end the confusion that plagued her. It didn’t help, if anything it made it worse and she squeezed her eyes shut till she saw colors.
She dragged her feet as she took a step back. She could already feel the headache come.
She took another step back and tripped over a loose rock or a patch of grass, she didn´t know.
She didn’t hit the ground, pale hands caught her, one hand between her shoulders, the other down at the small of her back, the fingers curling into her green dress.
“Up you go,” a far to chipper voice sounded and the hands shifted to hold her under her arms, lingering there with their coolness.
She snorted, her headache had now truly begun pounding behind her eyes, which she had opened when she had fallen. She shook her head, her entire body shaking. She hugged herself, a little difficult when the man called Astarion had his hands under her arms.
“Woah there darling, no need to gore me,” A hand reached to her head and took a gentle grip on one of her horns to prevent her from hitting him with them.
“Astarion,” she mumbled.
“Yes darling, it´s Astarion,” no chipper tone answered her this time, instead his voice had turned just a little bit softer than it had been before, almost velvet, and his hands still hadn’t left her but had shifted so he held her shoulders instead of under her arms.
Like a beaten dog, her tail had fled between her legs and under her dress, curling around her leg, the end of it, the end of it, awkwardly petting her thigh in a poor attempt at self-comfort.
Soft footsteps moved in her direction and stopped at what she assumed, right in front of her.
“Let me try,” a soft feminine voice spoke, and the hands around her shoulders left, leaving her mourning their coolness against her heated skin.
“Shadowheart,” she mumbled.
The voice didn’t reply, instead a cooling sensation ran through her entire body, taking the headache and whatever small aches, she had gotten with it.
“Why didn’t you say you were in such pain,” the other woman demanded to know.
She sighed and finally opened her eyes. Astarion had let go of her and moved to stand beside Shadowheart, his arms crossed and a frown marred his face, he looked much older all the sudden.
“I… “ She coughed and took a step away from her two companions.
“I didn’t know,” she said quietly as she looked each of them in the eyes. Neither of them looked like they believed her. Astarion, if it was even possible, frowned even harder and Shadowheart gave her that look once more, a mix of pity and I know you lie but I wont rat you out kind of look.
The silence lasted some time, all of them unwilling to let things go. It was Astarion that finally broke it by uncrossing his arms and looked briefly up at the sun.
“Very well, if nobody is going to talk, let’s move on, I feel like bait being out in the open like this. Perhaps we may even find a place to get clean in, Devil knows some of us could use it,” he said and starred pointedly at my dress, before he started walking away from us.
“Are you coming?”
End flashback.
She sighed, something that seemed to turn into a habit, when she was in present company.
“Do we even know where we are walking?” her voice had turned even raspier and she reminded herself that perhaps water shouldn’t be too far away in their thoughts.
Both of them turned around and blinked at her.
“Well, not really,” Shadowheart said, a frown marring her face.
She sighed and looked around. Nothing but dry sands, a few bushes and what looked like someone had died here but all that remained was a broken cart and blood as dry as the sands upon which it had once been spilled. Not even the strange voice in her head perked up at the sight.
Astarion had moved over to a green bush and had begun to fiddle with the green leaves, frowning yet again. Perhaps if he did that enough times, his face would get stuck that way? She couldn’t stop her grin nor her small burst of laughter and the sound drew the pale elf’s attention.
“Something amusing to you darling?” he asked, the frown remaining on his face.
“No, I was quietly hoping you may have seen something while you waited to be saved from the big terrible boar?” She replied grinning. While it hadn’t been funny or even amusing at the time of the event, she found that now she could laugh at it. Or was she laughing at him?
Shadowheart was looking from her to Astarion, a small smile gracing her lips.
Astarion looked at her and blinked a few times before he finally stopped frowning and replied.
“Well, my dear horned friend,” he began and closed a bit of the distance that was between them.
“It just so happens that while I was waiting for someone to come ´rescue´ me, I heard voices, just two of them but they perked my curiosity and so I moved closer to them, remaining hidden of couse, and listened to their talking.”
He smiled like he held all the answers to our problem. Shadowheart opened her mouth, but Astarion continued before she got a chance.
“They were Tieflings, like you are darling, only not as beautiful. One of them had a small sword and the other had a bow. They had little armor on them, I don’t think they were soldiers, but they spoke of a leader and of a grove, whatever that means-“
Shadowheart couldn’t hold back anymore and blurted out, “A grove? That means druids, they may have someone capable of helping us!” her voice was excited and a small glint of hope shone in her dark eyes.
Astarion looked over to the other woman before he returned his gaze to her.
A grove, druids. She shook her head. There was still so much she didn’t understand, still a large gap in her memory, filled with darkness and nothing.
But tiefling. She was one herself. She smiled as she remembered back to her excitement at the discovery on the beach.
She tried to shake the uneasiness off, but it didn’t work and her thoughts kept returning to Shadowhearts and Astarions words.
“What’s the matter,” Shadowheart asked her. She must have been silent for too long.
She shook her head and moved to sit on the broken piece of wagon. She didn’t know how much she should tell them, she still vividly remembered her fit earlier, back when they had just met Astarion. The man’s eyes remained trained on her, his red eyes following her every move.
“I don’t know the words you speak,” she settled on.
“I hear them, but I don’t know them. You speak of druids and groves like its common knowledge but they mean nothing to me,” she gasped after breath, her hands twisting together and her eyes fixed on the dirt beneath her feet, gods, she didn’t even have shoes.
She almost covered away from them, debating on if she should continue before they could say anything.
“I don’t even know my own name,” she whispered, a lone tear making its solitary journey down her cheek.
Silence greeted her.
She heard footsteps walk towards her and flinched, just barely not raising her arms to protect her head, her heart hammering in her chest, its beat now echoing in her head once more.
The steps stopped in front of her, and she moved her head just enough to see a pair of black boots, Shadowheart then.
“I will not pretend to understand what ails you beyond the worm in our heads nor your fears. But you are not alone, we will help you and we will not leave you alone in the dark and as for a name, well, your skin is reddish, why not start simple,” she finally lifted her eyes to look at Shadowheart and a cautious smile grazed her lips.
“I think,” she stuck her tongue out to wet her lips, “I think I´ll think about it,” she whispered.
The other woman sighed and she turned her head to look at Astarion who had not moved since she sat down, but he frowned again. She looked back at her.
“A grove is a gathering of druids, it´s where they live in harmony with nature and The Oak Father, their ´God´. A druid is, well, it´s a being that got magic that they get from nature. I don’t really know how to explain it, it wasn’t included in my teachings but perhaps you can ask them when we get there?”
Shadowheart smiled and as she stood up, she reached a hand down to help her up.
She looked at the hand and then up at Shadowheart, and she gripped the hand and let her pull her to her feet once more.