Hootie Hoo Bay Bee

Tucked in the back of the bus, Rick has refused to let go of Chiyo’s hand, dragging her into the seat beside him and onto the next step of their plan. Dubois' voice attempted to draw in her attention, but she remained blissfully lost cataloguing every detail she could as her fingertips traced over any parts of Rick she could touch. 

She felt him shiver as she danced over the inside of his forearm, following his veins. It was only when he leaned over and used his free hand to wipe at her cheeks that she realized she was using her power. Confused, she began examining him with more urgency. With a chuckle, he dragged a finger down her jaw before it dropped to point at the now healing crisscross of scratches on his arm.

“You didn’t have to do that,” He muttered, keeping his head bowed towards hers, consuming her vision.

“I didn’t realize I was,” She replied in an equally hushed tone, gaze dropping as there was only so much of his fond puppy eyes that she could handle. It took some willpower to stop her from reaching out to follow the pattern of his tattoo with her fingers, not wanting to overindulge in fondling him.

She felt a shift in him as he closed the pitiful distance between them and rested his forehead against the side of her head.

“Waller told me something I can’t get out of my head,” He began, rubbing his thumb against her knuckles as she tensed, “You earned your freedom 3 missions ago.”

It was an admission, not a question, and she knew what he really wanted to say. Taking a sharp breath, Chiyo gave a small nod.

“There’s nothing for me out there,” She wanted to curl up on the seat and fought that urge down, a part of her finally relieved to have that in the open, “I’d just end up back in Belle Reve anyway. Lose control, kill people.”

A low hum came from Rick’s throat as he mulled over her answer. He shifted, leaning back so that they could fully look at each other. He held her in place with an understanding yet curious gaze, “Ever thought about helping people instead?”

Before she could answer, he reached up and smoothed over the furrow in her brow, “Just an idea. Let me know and I can look into strings to pull.”

Chiyo came to with a mouthful of dirt and feeling like every fiber of her being was bruised. An expected consequence of essentially doping on her own blood, manipulating the amount of oxygen carried by her red blood cells and using the exhausted remnants to form lethal constructs. She groaned, huffing out chunks of rock and saliva as she tried to get her knees under her. Wobbling, she faltered and landed onto her shoulder with a grunt.

The fuzziness on the edges of her vision clued her in that something else was coursing through her system. Her eyes fluttered closed as she focused and located the drug in her body. Forcing it to divert from its intended path, she used her blood to punch through her esophagus and vomited from the sensation, pushing the tranquilizer carried by her blood out of her throat. She patched the hole in her body with some coagulation.

Thinking clearly, she only then noticed that Harley was shouting threats from somewhere nearby. Keeping her eyes closed, she feigned weakness to give herself some time. Exhaustion dulled her senses, so it took longer than normal for her to pick up on the heartbeats of her captors. It was easy enough to locate Harley, her pulse had a unique sound to it, almost like a muted whistle of a firework rocketing into the sky. Chiyo had no idea what caused it, refusing to prod into the bodily functions of one of her few friends without permission. Neither of them had unlocked each other’s tragic backstory yet.

Chiyo opened her mouth, wanting to talk to Harley but all that came out was an airy croak due to her damaged vocal chords. Right. Digger. A heat pooled behind her eyes, but she pushed it away. There were more important matters to deal with first. A few minutes of focus later, she had repaired her body just enough to speak, being careful to reserve her already depleted energy.

“Harley?” She called out, ignoring the glare from a soldier patrolling around her pit.

“Chichi?! They got you too? But you were all demon mode back there.” Harley replied, and Chiyo felt relieved that she didn’t sound too worse for wear.

“Tranquilizer.” She explained while shifting to rest her back against the wall of the pit, peering up at the sky to try and get any hint of where they were beyond still in the jungle.

Harley eventually tired herself out and Chiyo took the time to rest, fading in and out of consciousness as the sun travelled across the sky. It was early afternoon when their situation changed.

Footsteps approached Harley’s pit first and she heard something light flutter in the air before landing, she assumed, in the hole. She wasn’t left wondering for long when a dress was tossed at her as well. Overhearing her captors arguing over how best to unbind her without giving her an opportunity, Chiyo took back in the blood she was using to hold together the severed rope around her. Realizing no one knew the extent of her power, she twirled her finger and smiled to herself when she recognized flashes of fear on their faces before they complied and gave her some privacy.

Even to her unrefined sense of fashion, she could tell this was a nice dress. A shimmering emerald green knee length with sweetheart neckline and capped sleeves. It was the nicest thing she had, and probably ever would, wear. It was bizarre to feel pretty while trapped in a dirt hole with dried blood and clumped dirt caked in her hair.

Whatever sick joke this was, she couldn’t help but feel a pang in her chest when she stupidly reminded herself that she wasn’t going to live long enough to show Rick. There was no use ignoring her feelings anymore. Waller assigned them to a mission that was clearly supposed to kill them all. If it wasn’t these soldiers, it was going to be in a not so subtle accident, most likely during extraction.

As she climbed the rope ladder flung down for her, she tried to picture how he would react. But every time she conjured his face in her head, it blurred away as her vision swam. Hastily blinking it away, she refused to be so weak in front of enemies.

Harley engulfed her vision with her explosion of ruby chiffon and concern that melted into understanding when they locked eyes. As she was drawn into a suffocating hug despite the alarmed protests around them, Harley whispered, “We’re getting out of this. Both of us. I want to see the look on his face when he sees how drop dead gorgeous you are, doll.”

Chiyo let out a soft, wavering laugh and returned the hug. As they separated, Harley snatched her hand as they both faced whatever was ahead together.

Becoming princesses certainly wasn’t in the most obvious choices for what happened next but neither of them found the energy to complain. As Harley gushed and commented on the makeup choices made for her, Chiyo was too busy trying to reconcile the person in the mirror with how she knew she looked. The stylists had to be metahuman, she decided. Knowing that there was no other way anyone could get the viscera out of her hair and turn it into the shiny silky curtain that was carefully cascading over her shoulder.

When they stopped, Harley was gleefully relishing in their lavish treatment while Chiyo held tight to her skepticism, warily eyeing the corridor of stoic staff that lined their path. Armed guards gently guided them through the mansion, clearly under orders to not touch them as they did everything they could to avoid Harley’s exuberant outbursts and antics. It was only when they separated the pair by getting reinforcements and forming a human wall between them that the atmosphere threatened to change.

Snarling, Chiyo was herded into a study while Harley was ushered up stairs. Thick wooden doors shut before she could slip by, so she slammed her fist into them hard enough to hear them groan and crack. Someone cleared their throat behind her and she whirled, eyes searching for anything she could weaponize within reach.

“I apologize for the rough treatment you may have endured on your way here.” A well decorated officer spoke, appearing perfectly calm on the outside. The fluttering of his heart told a different story and Chiyo nearly smiled at the realization that he feared her. Good. She could use that.

Not fully understanding the amount of power she had in this conversation, Chiyo tested the waters by not replying right away. Slowly taking a turn around the room, taking opportunities to glance out of windows to assess her odds of escaping. The number of clearly armed military outside patrolling and her recovering state meant that she would have to play along and bide her time.

“Where have you taken Harley?” She pinned the officer with an icy stare, noting the single bead of sweat that rolled down the side of his face from his brow. He clearly had access to more detailed information about her than expected.

“El Presidente wished to meet with Senorita Quinn to discuss a mutually beneficial arrangement.” So they were at the President’s home. How interesting.

“And what does that have to do with me?” She turned, making sure she could still see the officer in the window’s reflection as she watched the world outside, searching for patterns.

“We- I was hoping to discuss a different mutually beneficial arrangement with you, Senorita Kurosawa.” When it was clear she wasn’t going to speak without reason, he continued, “You are currently working for your government due to your long incarceration, yes? We wanted to offer you an opportunity to work with us instead. The freedom you clearly desire would be granted for far less service.”

Anger flared through her body, but she didn’t show it. They certainly knew a few key details about her, but didn’t bother to ponder her motivation. Freedom was an easy option for her to take, and wasn’t what she wanted. Purpose was something a creature like her could only hope to find. Being at Rick’s side, doing things only she could, was where she belonged and where she would stay. They wanted to be handling a bird trapped in a cage, so she would give them that show.

The next few hours were spent with her spinning a web of what he wanted to hear, her eyes sparkling with fake longing and eagerness. Gradually the distance between them closed as she carefully drew him in, playing the damsel, until they were sitting on the same gaudy sofa.

Night had fallen and it didn’t take her a few guesses to figure out who was causing all that ruckus above her doing what. Forcing a blush across her cheeks, she acted flustered and demure, innocent yet desirable. The movement of his blood sealed his fate as he reached out and touched her jaw. A deadly romantic gesture as his body began convulsing as she sunk her nails into his hand, pulling it off her skin.

Red ran down her face as she felt his heart stop, all the blood inside congealing under her command. Through her scratches, she pulled the remainder of his blood from his veins once she heard a single gunshot from above.

Making quick work of the door, she used the distraction to take the officers on the main floor by surprise. By the time they noticed the pool of blood by their feet, it was too late. Her orb of swirling crimson had grown to a wave as she ascended the stairs. The hallway of officers arresting Harley froze at the sight of her. As they struggled to comprehend what they were dealing with, a gold javelin floated along a current of blood to land on Harley’s feet. Their shared grin was the last nightmare those men would ever see.

The pair exited the mansion without a hair out of place, with their arms linked. Chiyo took the time to extract any of the blood splatter from their dresses and Harley pressed a playful kiss to her cheek. They both watched as Bloodsport and Rick ran across the street, painfully obvious that they were trying very hard to not be seen. Turning the corner, Harley gently maneuvered Chiyo behind her before they approached the men.

“Whatcha doin’?” She asked cheerfully, twirling the javelin mindlessly.

Rick lamely dropped the walkie to his side and pouted as much as a hardened soldier could, “Rescuing you?” He rubbed the back of his head before mumbling, “It was a good plan.”

Clearly touched, Harley guiltily offered, “Well, we could go back inside and you can still do it?”

“We?” Rick quietly asked, a spark of hope lighting his face.

Chiyo shyly peeked out from behind Harley, eyes clearly not sure of where to land as they fluttered around Rick before finally locking gazes. Neither of them noticed Harley stepping out of the way and pulling Bloodsport into a one sided hug.

She took in Rick’s slack jawed awe that morphed into a smile that felt like home for only a few seconds until her tears blurred her vision beyond recognition. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close as he buried his face into her hair. Her hand snaked between them, reaching up to touch his neck, her fingers finding his pulse. Finally able to properly breathe, a shudder racked her body as the past few days caught up to her.

“I-I” She tried, gasping too hard to speak.

“I thought I lost you,” Rick whispered so quietly only she could hear the thin waver in his voice. She could only nod, trying to let him know how she felt without saying it.

Gently, he shifted to rest their foreheads together, his warm hands cupping her face, thumbs wiping the tears from her cheeks. She kept a hand on his neck, the other moving to hold one of his as she nuzzled her cheek into his palm.

“Not to interrupt,” A gruff baritone completely interrupted, “But we’re still on a mission.”

With a stifled sniff, Rick pressed a light kiss to her forehead, grinning as her brows furrowed in confusion and disappointment. He leaned down to whisper in her ear coyly, voice raspy with promise “Once we’re out of here, we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”

Completely submerged in the inky black sea was a strange comfort. Finally the world was quiet. It was hard to not think of Nanaue, how much he would enjoy this. She wanted to talk about the ocean with him when she got back. Ignoring the growing burn in her chest, she tried to sink deeper into the silence, fighting against her instincts for as long as possible. A rough yank against her shoulder harness stole that choice away.

They broke the surface with a gasp and Digger slapped the middle of her back in an attempt to get any water out of her, “C’mon girlie. Can’t have the Colonel blaming me if you drown.”

Chiyo knew the words were just a front, a prickly shield that was betrayed by the shine of concern in his eyes after watching her cough and spit out salt water on the beach. Again, he used her harness to tug her into cover, giving her back a couple good whacks until she rammed an elbow into his side. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled, eyes frantically scanning the shore before Digger’s finger guided her vision to Rick and Harley ducking behind a nearby rock. The relief only lasted for a second as Blackguard called out to the tree line with his hands up.

All hell broke loose but all Chiyo could focus on was the sight of blood seeping from the hole Blackguard’s face used to be. The crimson staining the sand and her power crying out for her to run to it, not let it go to waste. In a trance, it took Digger pulling her back once again to snap her out of the stupor.

“You with me now, Nosebleed?” He spoke while drawing his boomerang and sliding his thumb along the metal, its glow and hum following his touch, “Get to Flag. I’ll cover ya.”

A shove left no room for argument and she sprinted across the sand without looking back. True to his word, Digger assessed the gun fire and took out the targets shooting along her path with a devilish grin.

Only focused on speed, Chiyo slid into cover lacking control and slammed into Rick who was waiting to catch her. Without missing a beat, his arms wrapped around her, a hand cradling her head as he absorbed the impact into his chest. As Rick shouted into the coms, clearly getting no response, Harley reached around him to stroke Chiyo's hair.

“Don’t worry, doll. Once we get back, girls night, you and me. We’ll get facials!” Harley became affronted as both Rick and Chiyo looked at her in disbelief until it hit her and she shrugged, “Bad timing.”

Righting herself, she didn’t register that Rick kept hold of her arm as he took in the situation, visibly struggling to form a plan with options rapidly deteriorating.  TDK did whatever the fuck his asset was, much to the disgust of the trio. As Rick and Chiyo were distracted by Mongal flinging herself at a chopper, Harley saw an opening and took it, sprinting away. 

Following the trajectory of the crash, Chiyo recognized the danger first and screamed, “Digger!” He turned to face her, expression stalling for a split second of confusion until he was riddled with spears of destroyed trees like a macabre hedgehog. Still grinning, he buckled and dropped to his knees in the sand. Rick’s grip on her arm was ironclad and she struggled against his hold, desperately thrashing, knowing if she could get to him she could do something. As long as his heart was pumping there was still hope. Then he was engulfed in flame.

Going limp, she then felt how raw she had torn her throat from screaming. The world fell into a haze as her pulse thundered in her ears. Her vision swam red. Rick watched as her skin grew hot and a river of blood ran down her cheeks, knowing she was too far gone for words.

“Chiyo,” He still tried, scalding his fingers by touching her face, wanting her to look at him.

“I’ll clear a path,” Her voice was garbled as blood bubbled up her throat. She spat into her hand, forming a jagged crimson dagger before her head unnaturally jerked to the tree line. No longer seeing, she felt her victims, drawn to their beating hearts. Her own heart working overtime, power imbuing her body with superhuman speed. The ones she couldn’t sink her blade into simply required a touch to erupt into scarlet geysers. Bathed in their rapidly cooling blood, she didn’t register their screams of retreat and chased them further into the forest, consumed by the instinct to kill. She didn’t see or feel the tranquilizer dart lodge into her chest.

The fact that she was the first on the plane but the last to have anyone sit beside wasn’t surprising, but that didn’t make it sting any less. Not that she could blame them. Even the screaming weasel had the sense to avoid her and it was one of the few that hadn’t been on a mission with her before. It was rather hard to get the image of her drenched in blood out of anyone’s head.

Being unable to curl up in her seat led to her feeling antsy, swimming through the thick memories in her head as her hands fretfully traced patterns along her thighs. Until calloused fingers caught one of them mid dance and forced her attention to come back into focus. Chiyo stared at the fingerless gloved hand dumbly for a moment, then remembered who it belonged to. She was torn between wanting to pull away or relishing the rare feeling of someone willingly touching her.

Only two people were brave enough to, and Harley was currently flirting with the walking compensation from the other side of her. Chiyo’s eyes followed up his arm, instinctively guided along the veins until being interrupted by his face lowering into her view. Inquisitive hazel eyes peered at her and she found another reason to be pissed at Harley as she tried to put some distance between them but couldn’t.

“You were almost making me nervous, fidgeting like that.” Rick quipped with a lopsided smile, not making a move to let her hand go.

“Sorry,” Chiyo mumbled, tearing her eyes away from him to stare at her boots, missing the shadow of disappointment falling over Rick’s face. 

Her fingers shifted without her realizing, slipping under the cuff of his sleeve to press against his bare wrist and feel his pulse. Tension visibly slipped away as the racing of her body instinctively slowed to match his. Which also meant she felt his heart beat jump when her head rested against his shoulder as she was lulled into a rare moment of relaxation.

As her eyes closed, over her head, Harley gave a salacious wiggle of her eyebrows to Rick, doubling down to puckering her lips when he glared back in warning. As if tuned to being present in the worst possible moment, Harkness caught sight of them holding hands and started laughing, slapping a hand down on his thigh to draw in the most audience.

“Careful doing that, Flag. She’s gonna know what you’re packing. Get disappointed.” Boomerang finished his sentence with a large pout.

Blackguard scowled before grumbling, “She’s full of shit anyway.”

Despite her appearance and desires, Chiyo was not asleep and took the opportunity to join the conversation. Sitting up, she slipped her hand out of Rick’s to hold her hands apart but not by much, “Be careful who you’re calling a disappointment.” 

Leaning forward, she made sure to catch Blackguard’s eye while holding out one hand with her thumb and index finger not very far apart again, “At least you’re not alone in that department.”

The plane erupted into laughter and shit talk as Chiyo settled back into place beside Rick, arms crossed over her chest and defenses back up. Taking a moment to give a sidelong glance that wasn’t returned, Rick gathered his attention back to a tablet and reviewed the mission briefing. Meanwhile, Harley threw dagger sharp glares at Harkness before rolling her eyes at his confused expression.

Sitting beside Nanaue in the yard was the only time Chiyo ever felt a sense of peace in the penitentiary. His blood was different, flowing in a rhythmic pattern that was easy to predict. His heart was large and so it's pumps were louder and able to drown out everything else. She had no idea what he got out of the arrangement, she wasn't even sure he was aware of the habit. And it left the two monsters out of everyone else's way.

A shadow fell over her face, darkening the hazy orange landscape of her eyelids, causing them to crack open. Harley was grinning at her like a cat with a canary and it made her frown.

"Don't be such a sour puss before I even say anything'!" Harley pouted, already clasping her hands around Chiyo's wrist and tugging upwards, "we need a tie breaker."

Now standing, Chiyo let herself be dragged away but not before turning back to wave at Nanaue, who was occupied with watching the clouds and didn't notice. As they approached a table, she couldn't help but sigh as Boomerang and Blackguard kept raising their voices over each other. 

She didn’t focus on what they were saying, the world being consumed by the furious heartbeats and rushing of blood. The sensation of ventricles flaring and the sheer mass of arteries nearby was singing, near screaming, to the dark parts of her mind that salivated at the urge to let it all go. Flashes of being consumed by the eruption of scalding crimson waves pushed her miles away for seconds at a time. It would feel delicious. Toeing the precipice of it all being too much, she felt warm hands approach over her shoulders and cover her ears.

Chiyo’s eyes reflexively shut, which made her notice the wetness running down her cheeks. Never tears, but blood dripped down her chin, a warning to everyone around that her powers were hungry. As she focused on the steady pulse encompassing her, her hand moved to tap at the impromptu earmuffs. Rick stepped away from her, passing a disappointed glare across the entire table.

Before the tension of kids getting caught in the cookie jar overflowed, Chiyo wiped at her cheeks and looked at Harley with a tired gaze, “tie breaker for what?”

The shadow of guilt evaporated from her face and Harley was back to her usual self, bouncing over to latch onto Chiyo’s arm and leaning in conspiratorially, “who has the bigger dick? Boomie or Blackguard?”

Chiyo simply stared between Harley and the rest of the table all staring back at her expectantly. Harkness had the gall to wink. From beside her, Rick let out a single syllable of a question before sighing and dragging a hand over his face. Unfortunately, that landed him with Harley’s attention, whose grin grew wider with an idea.

“Or! Mista America’s Finest?” Harley watched as both Chiyo and Rick flushed at the realization, with Chiyo quicker to recover and sport her usual scowl.

“If I do this, you’re leaving me alone for the rest of the week.” Chiyo held out her hand with her pinkie finger up and sighed as Harley giggled while hooking their fingers in promise. 

Approaching Boomerang and Blackguard, blood ran down her cheeks once again as the world became red. Touching the two men’s necks, she suppressed a shudder at the temptation of controlling them. Harkness let out a goofy chuckle once it became clear how she was able to evaluate them while Herntz swore and squirmed in his seat.

She removed her hands and cleaned her face before looking at Harley and deliberately avoiding eye contact with Rick, “Boomer.”

The winner let out a cheer as Chiyo tried to disengage with the group only to be snared by Harley, “You only did 2 of the 3 options.”

“I answered the original question.” She shouldered past everyone in a huff, returning to Nanaue’s side. 

From across the yard, she watched Rick scold Harley, who never learned her lesson. As their eyes met, Chiyo ducked her head, suddenly intensely interested in the line of ants nearby. She only looked up once she heard the door to the yard slam shut and watched Waller approach Rick from the door’s window. From the squaring of his shoulders, she could tell it was a new assignment.

“Bored.” Nanaue grumbled around one of his fin-finger-things digging around his teeth.

As the stars took their claim across the sky, Astarion settled against the trunk of a nearby tree and pulled his book from his rucksack. To the group, he was reading as part of his routine, however he opened the page that concealed the pressed gardenia and reflected. He was not some blind out of touch fool that allowed his emotions to surprise him, and knew full well that he was utterly fucked. Smitten was the more polite word but that damned druid had wormed her way into his dead heart and took far too much of his mind with her.

Even now, he was distinctly aware of her despite his best efforts. The firelight danced across her skin, casting shadows that caressed her delicate features in ways he never could. A dark and dangerous beast inside him roared as he watched Gale reach out and drag his fingers along her arm. It didn’t matter that he was checking on a wound gained during their last fight. Someone dared to touch what was his and he was too weak to punish the transgression.

Giving his head a shake, he swallowed thickly and glared at his book while tamping down his urges. Gods he needed to feed on something tonight. Preferably something that wouldn’t cause the torches and pitchforks to come out. So he waited, feigning a trance as his companions retreated from the dwindling campfire with yawns and mumbled good nights.

He felt a shadow cast over him and heard the crunching of twigs and leaves from beside him. A light poke to the tip of his nose had him blinking open his eyes, his glare softening to a stunned look as his vision was taken over by her. Her pink hair cascaded over her shoulder, creating a curtain of privacy for them and she was close enough he could count the freckles that dusted across her cheekbones. He forced himself to breathe shallowly, not trusting himself to actually fight against the siren song of her pulse in his current starved state.

“I can take the first watch if you want,” She offered despite her own deep shadows under her eyes and the fresh bandage on her arm.

“Don’t be silly, my dear,” He clicked his tongue, gently chiding her for offering something so ridiculously kind, “I’m not the one who couldn’t dodge an arrow today.” He reached up and poked her nose in return, “You can stare at my beautiful face some other night.”

She gave him a tired smile before nodding and asking with a playfully hopeful tone, “promise?”

A rich chuckle rolled from his throat, and he grinned back at her, “of course, darling. A privilege I only grant to my favourites.”

“I knew it,” she retreated to her bed roll with a satisfied smile, settling in for the night after giving him a small wave.

He watched her slip into a comfortable position, not needing the light of the dying fire to drink in the sight of her. His thoughts wandered to impossible scenarios fueled by his hunger. Her surrendering in his arms with his lips on her throat. Musing about the noises she would make, how she would writhe against him. If she would taste like sunlight. When he blinked he was looming over her, a hand on either side of her head, hot breath spilling across her neck, eyes locked to her startled gaze.

“Shit.” He hissed and shakily retreated, carefully keeping his hands in front of him, desperate to not spook her, “This- uhm, well, I can explain.”

“You’re hungry,” She whispered simply, sitting up as he crouched beside her.

“You see, I- wait. You know?” He stared at her bewildered, still cautious about the possibility of her screaming.

Her expression melted into something gentle as she gathered her hair to one side of her neck, her fingers combing through the strands casually as if she wasn’t the most enticing sight he’s ever seen in his long life, “You’re not very subtle about it.”

He tore his eyes away from the fluttering flesh above her pulse and felt his teeth loudly click together as he forced his mouth shut. Staring a hole into a nearby tree, his fingers sunk into the ground as he desperately stayed still. “Darling,” He whined, “you’re being very cruel.”

“You’re being very dense,” She countered, reaching out to guide him to face her again and he nearly swallowed his tongue when he noticed she had loosened the collar of her shirt to the point of it falling off her shoulder. He felt his fangs burn as they elongated and prodded at his bottom lip, eager at the hope of her invitation.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Her voice was soft, dripping with understanding and care. Part of him nearly went mad as she expected him to carry on a rational conversation while she all but offered herself to him on a silver platter. He knew he stared at her openly wild, practically salivating and vibrating against the last vestiges of his self restraint. There was no hiding his true monstrous self from her now and as much as that terrified him, he was so relieved to be actually seen. Better yet, she didn’t appear scared.

“The boar,” He admitted, turning his head just so that her wrist pressed against his lips, inhaling deeply as if he was enjoying a sample of wine. Unable to help himself, his tongue traced along the vein, relishing in the feeling of her life dancing just below her skin. Her breath hitched.

“Astarion,” She sighed, withdrawing her wrist from him, watching him lean forward as if to chase it, “You should’ve said something sooner.”

As his brows furrowed, about to open his mouth to respond, her finger tapped against his lips, so he simply stared at her.

“I won’t be enough to sate you, right?” She asked as her finger drifted to curiously scratch her nail along his fang, being careful to not let any of her flesh touch it. He shook his head, gaze dropping as he realized through the cloud of his hunger that if he fully indulged he was going to kill her.

“Just enough so you can catch something then.” His head snapped up at her offer, a protest dying on his tongue at her open and trusting expression. Gods, what had he done to deserve her.

“Not a drop more.” He vowed, slowly moving to sit on her bedroll with her, “Please make a tree punch me if I lose control.”

With a warm smile, she shifted and settled so that her back rested against his chest, the expanse of her bare neck shimmering in the moonlight. His arm naturally curled around her waist, drawing her snuggly against him, while his other hand cupped her jaw. If he wasn’t going to indulge fully on her blood, he was at least going to indulge on her in other ways. His lips dragged along her skin, gently pressing on her pulse. She let out a soft gasp at the sensation, one of her hands resting against his on her waist, fingers tracing his knuckles.

“I’m sorry. It will only hurt for a moment.” He murmured into her neck, his fingers separating to let hers slip between them, entwining their hands. His other hand moved to cover her mouth as his fangs sunk into the vein. A divine bouquet of warmth exploded into his mouth once his fangs retreated and his lips latched onto the precise wounds. They both moaned, clinging to each other to grasp onto some sense of control.

With every passing second, he felt his strength return to his body. Her writhing becoming easier and easier to contain. She tasted like everything he dreamed of and more. But at the feeling of her teeth sinking into his palm, he tore himself away, his tongue darting out to catch the droplets that escaped the corner of his mouth in his haste.

Panting heavily, he rested his cheek against the side of her head, reaching up to gently wipe away the welling blood from her neck with his thumb. As she recovered against him, he sucked his thumb clean before pressing a kiss into her hair.

“Thank you, love,” He moved to catch her gaze and watched her dreamy, distant expression eventually focus on him, clarity gradually returning, “I will never forget this gift you’ve given me.”

“What kind of favourite would I be if I let you starve?” She mumbled, clearly exhausted from her generosity. He warmly chuckled as he gently detangled himself from her and placed her comfortably on her bed roll.

“I’m afraid I cannot stay for pillow talk, my dear,” He trailed the back of his finger along her cheek as her eyes fluttered closed, “You are invigorating, but I need something more filing. Time to terrorize the animals so I don’t have to ask you for any more favours.”

“We need to talk about that in the morning.” She grumbled as he stood taller than he was able to in the past week.

The early morning sun transformed the forest from his playground of prey into something truly extraordinary. Well, he supposed it depended upon perspective. To the unafflicted, this was ordinary and expected. As he remained rooted in place, transfixed by the shimmering sunbeams that turned the river into molten gold, he was struck with a ferocious envy for the mundane creatures that were spoiled by the beauty they could choose to ignore.

It was a sight so gorgeous he could almost forget the crushing waves of hunger lapping up his throat. Nostrils flared, searching for something small and nearby that he could drain to last him one more day after his fruitless night. The boar from a few days earlier was finally running its course through his system, leaving his body sluggish and his senses dulled. His pathetic state had a singular benefit of making it easier to blend in with his travelling companions, unaware of their fragility. It was a rather humbling experience, having to bide his time and rely on others for a change. He despised it all.

Well, there was one exception, that little treat of a half elf druid was fascinating. Surprisingly quick to forgive him after the whole introduction at knife point was how she initially caught his attention. At first it was to determine if she was naive, insane, or allergic to self preservation. And after travelling with her, he honestly couldn’t answer confidently in any way. However, he was certainly having fun watching her and appreciated how the days no longer bled together with their routine. That soft heart of hers was going to get her killed one day, but he could enjoy the distraction while it lasted.

The approach of soft footfalls drew his attention and he instinctively sunk into the shadows of the trees to observe. Speaking of the devil, the druid wove through the underbrush, her fingertips gliding across leaves and bark as if searching for something solely by touch. She crossed into a nearby clearing and finally came to a stop, inhaling deeply with her entire body before dropping from his vision. Tugged by curiosity, he silently stalked closer to watch her get settled comfortably on the grass, a circle of wildflowers growing around her as her fingers sunk into the dirt. He remained tucked away in the trees, not wanting to disturb whatever was transpiring, getting the sense that it was something important to her by the serene bliss in her expression as she tilted her face to the sun.

In this moment he was struck by how much she belonged there. The light breeze wove through her pink hair creating shimmering waves of a sunrise that looked richer than the most luxurious silks in the market. His fingers itched with the need to feel if the locks were as soft as they looked. The realization left a bittersweet taste on his tongue as he knew it wasn’t his place to intrude into her sunlight, that he truly belonged to the shadows and was visiting her domain as a temporary accident. As he lingered long enough to tip into the unfun side of voyeurism, he began to turn and retreat.

“Good morning, Astarion,” her voice chimed cheerfully, snaring him in place.

Stunned for a second, he peered back at her to confirm that her eyes were still closed. Chalking it up to a druid thing, he took her invitation and drew closer. He hesitated for a split second as he toed the line between the shade and the light, wrestling with his natural fear of disintegrating into ash.

“Good morning, darling,” He surprised himself with how at ease he kept his tone, falling into their playful cadence as he came beside her. Being mindful of her flowers, he kept a safe distance, letting her occupy his periphery as he surveyed the meadow, “Please tell me this little ritual of yours doesn’t require a sacrifice.”

She let out a twinkling laugh, giving a shake of her head that freed some of her hair from its place tucked behind her ear. He had to distract his hands, occupying himself with examining his fingernails before he did something stupid like touch her.

“I certainly wouldn’t sacrifice you, even if it did.” As he was too busy wrestling with his thoughts, he didn’t notice her rising from the ground, hands full of her wildflowers. He flinched as movement approached his periphery, forcing himself still as he realized it was her hand. She wordlessly tucked a red gardenia into his hair before letting the breeze scatter her remaining flowers. They both watched them float away, her with an unreadable expression as he memorized every detail in case he wasn’t going to get a chance to see anything like it again.

His fingertips gently traced along the soft petals tickling his ear, catching her watching him with a knowing smile. Giving her a smirk, he gestured to the bloom with a flourish, “Does it bring out my eyes?”

“Of course,” She affirmed with a giggle, spinning to head back to camp and carefully step over the ring of mushrooms left in the wake of her communion, “If we dawdle, the others will start gossiping.”

“They already do, darling,” he lingered behind, greedily holding onto the shared moment a little longer as he drew the stem from behind his ear and examined the flower, “Everyone knows that I’m your favourite.”

Her laugh drew his attention back to her, finding her holding out her hand to him from the tree line. Goodness that soft heart of hers was going to kill him one of these days. Replacing the flower behind his ear, he joined her in the shadows of the trees, lifting her knuckles to his lips with a wink.

Her hand slipped from his as she danced through the forest, never out of her element, “You’re too easy to please, Astarion.”