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"So," Keyleth begins, trying to start a conversation. She's never been good with silences, something Percy has always excelled at. He's been drinking a glass of wine alone for the past hour, and has offered her to do the same. She holds it in her hand, staring at the liquid move. Drinking has never been her thing, but she's never been much of a fan of wine. She's never tried it a lot of times, either. "We got paired together, hm?" She chuckles nervously.
"We have. It's odd, despite being in the same team, I feel like we don't talk as much as we should," Percy answers, turning to look at her. The light of the moon and the weak flame of Keyleth's fire that keeps them warm are the only things illuminating their faces. "How have you been doing, recently? I feel like I haven't asked you."
"Well, I…Hah, I don't know," she mutters, her nervous smile disappearing as the tone of the conversation gets more serious. She sits down on the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I don't like Raishan. I know she's going to betray us, and it's like no one is listening to me," she complains, looking away. "Going to hell for a piece of armor? It's going to get us all killed!" She raises her voice more than necessary, immediately toning it down to prevent waking up anyone else.
He chuckles with sympathy, sitting down next to her, with his back against the railing. "We need those vestiges one way or another. I don't trust her either…" he admits. "But we have no alternative. We'll end up killing her, don't worry," he assures, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we need to take the other dragons down first.
He sounds lighter than usual, whereas eye bags have begun to form under her eyes. When they first met, it was the opposite. She was the sunrise of the group, and he was an odd sense of darkness they all felt. And now they've reversed roles.
"I know. I know it's stupid, but—ugh." She leans into his touch. "When she betrays us, and we have to kill her, I'm going to—I don't even know what I'm going to do. The biggest 'I told you so' ever. It especially annoys me with…" She doesn't even know why she's telling Percy this. She feels as if she can tell him anything, and she's barely spoken to him since the Feywild, and that wasn't even a deep conversation. "It's like he won't risk anything for me."
"Then he's stupid," he huffs, taking a sip of his wine as he refills her drink. He pours the liquid courage carefully, only filling half of the cup. He knows how Keyleth is when drunk, and she already threw up on his coat once, back when they first met. So much has changed since then. It's like they don't speak anymore.
"That's…That's really nice of you to say," Keyleth giggles, but her smile quickly fades, as a thought pops into her mind. That can't be, right? "Did you—Were you saying it seriously? Do you really think that?"
"…Yes? Why wouldn't I? I think you're worth taking risks for," he simply explains, as if that doesn't have tons of implications.
"I…That's very sweet. Very…romantic," she throws in the world, awaiting his reaction with his heart beating fast.
"No—Well—I," he blushes, looking away. Whatever he's about to say, he's battling with his pride. She goes back to the times when people had blushed before her as they struggled to say something. Oh no. No way.
"Please don't tell me you're in love with me I can't handle more relationship drama I don't want problems with Vex—" She blurts, before he can say anything. His eyes widen, recoiling slightly.
"No! It's not that," he yelps. "My eyes are already set on someone, and you know it," he mutters, and it's pretty obvious who he's referring to. "It's just—" he sighs, looking down with a sorrowful look. "I admire you. Deeply. And I've been trying to get closer to you lately because again, I think you're amazing, but I'm…I'm really bad at this," he confesses. "I just want to be your friend." He feels like a little, shy kid fixing his glasses while asking the cool kids if he can play with them, awaiting being mocked and rejected.
Blush rises to her cheeks, eyes widening. Oh, gods, it's mutual. It's really mutual. "I'm…also kind of a big fan of you!" She chuckles, hands flying to comb her hair with her fingers, something she does when she's secretly begging the earth to swallow her. "Yeah, fan is a good word. I…I don't know, you're like—the coolest guy I've ever met! Yeah, you're so cool, there's no other word for that! And…I would also like to be your friend." She murmurs, shyly looking away. This has got to be worse than a love confession. She feels like she's about to die.
"Wait, really?" He says, sounding astonished. "You haven't met a lot of people, have you? How am I the coolest?"
"No, it's like—You're so secure in yourself! So confident, so good at what you do, and I just wish I could be like you!" She exclaims, hiding her face in her hands. "The way you do everything—It's like you know you're awesome! And you are!"
"No, no, I wish I were more like you," he retorts. "You're so strong and so powerful, you've been saving us since day one, and I just wish I were as good as you. I can barely do anything against dragons, and I'm still terrified of Ripley. But when the people you love are in danger, it's like all your fear disappears, and—I just wish I had that leadership."
"Leadership? First, we're all terrified of Ripley, trust me. And second, Percy, if there's one thing you're great at, among many others, you're a leader! Remember Whitestone and the rebels? They immediately knew who was in charge! You even managed to get Grog's herd to listen to you! You managed to get a group of goliaths to actually follow your plan!"
"A plan that didn't work," he reminds her, with a self-deprecating laugh.
"No! It was going to work, it was great! You know what you do well, and you never doubt that, you know you're great with guns, and you're not afraid of being a little arrogant, and that confidence you have even when they—"
"Even when they tell me to shut up and I end up looking like a prick?"
"Yeah!" She nods frantically. "It's like you know how much you're worth, and no matter what they tell you, you still keep going and—And I wish I was like that! It's like—It's like I suck at everything I do, and I'm so scared of not being enough for—and I—" She trips over her words. She's awful at this.
"Excuse me?" Not it's his time to remind her how wrong she is. "Suck at everything? Do you hear yourself? I am the one who can barely make it out alive, whereas you're—transforming into animals, and controlling the earth, and— And you were amazing in Pyrah! The way you—The elemental, the—Everything! You're amazing! You're vital to the group!"
"I—You've saved us so many times, too! Remember—Remember when Vex was about to get eaten by the dragon, and you shot it? Remember when you got rid of that giant in Whitestone?"
"Remember when you killed Sylas Briarwood on your own?" He cuts in with a cheeky smile, making her laugh too.
"I wasn't on my own, Grog was holding him, and Pike and Scanlan were keeping Delilah at bay! It was a team effort! So-So, remember when you saved Vax from the Feywild water thing?"
"You weren't even there. Who told you that?" He laughs, refilling his drink.
"Vax! And remember when you killed Anders with that insanely amazing shot?" She continues, taking a long sip of her wine, holding her glass up. She's beginning to understand the appeal of this drink.
"And remember when you saved us from those wraiths by creating sunlight?"
That's when they both realize they've been laughing and telling the other how amazing they are for the past ten minutes. It's odd having someone like that, but it's nice, really nice. Who would have told them their little selves, crying after realizing they have no friends, that they would find their soulmate years later, in the form of a white-haired human with poor self-care habits who never forgot how much he was worth despite the hardships, and an insecure druid with self-worth issues who could kick ass when those she loved were in danger?
"…We should be friends," Keyleth mutters, once the liquid courage has already done its thing.
"Aren't we already? We've fought by each other's side
"Yeah, but like…Like Grog and Scanlan or Pike, or Vex and Vax. I don't know. Something like that. Forget it, it's stupid—"
"No, no, it's a great idea. I didn't have many friends growing up, so forgive me if I struggle with this—" He apologizes, rubbing the back of his head and finishing his glass. He goes to refill it, but Keyleth is already doing it for him.
"I didn't have any friends either!" She excitedly cheers. Despite that not being the best thing to have in common, they do have it in common! "I was so awkward as a child, I barely knew how to speak to others—"
"Oh, it happened to me too. Who would even want to hang out with the De Rolo's kid? What if they did something wrong and I got their parents sentenced to death in revenge?" He laughs, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. "I was considered really creepy as a kid."
"I was too absorbed in my studies as a kid—"
"Me too."
"—But the worst part was that I wasn't even absorbed in a good way. I was trained to become the Voice of the Tempest at a very young age, and so I had a lot of responsibilities and stuff, but the worst part is that I wasn't great at that either! I can barely remember anything I was taught. If only I had paid attention…" She laughs, staying close to him. Their shoulders are touching, and despite Percy not usually liking physical contact, he's rather comfortable here. It feels nice. He's laughing with a friend.
"We would have been unstoppable if we had met as children," he laughs, taking another sip of the wine. With the orangy light of the fire, she can see how he's already a bit drunk. She is, too, the way her movements are getting clumsier. Not that she's the most agile one in the group, but she's feeling especially bad now.
"We can be unstoppable now," she hiccups, placing her head on his shoulder. "It's like I was meant to find you," she laughs. "Destiny, faith, pick your poison."
"We'll be unstoppable now," he agrees. "I love you, Kiki," he murmurs.
"I love you too."