Shattered & Broken

Thayne looked down and cocked a brow in quizzically. Why did the man look so surprised that a big man was carrying him this way? “No problem, you’re a light-weight.” He teased and gave him a wolfish grin. Thayne then let the man do whatever he needed.

Halsin gave his mate a soft squeeze, a silent show of thanks for not reacting negatively to Astarion's slip. Halsin hoped that seeing first hand what the vampire was trying to overcome would help his mate understand the situation better.

Haldir felt the slight twitch and he eased his old a bit to make sure he wasn’t feeling trapped in any way. The man seemed a bit jumpy with touches. He didn’t seem to have those, or as often with Halsin, but they knew each other longer. Still, the younger druid wanted him to feel safe here, even if Astarion didn’t had quite the reason to feel so with Haldir, other then he and Halsin were mates.

Astarion probably shouldn't have taken as much comfort as he did from that threat but he found himself smiling slightly in response to the words. It was... nice... having someone watching his back like that who was willing to actually act to protect him.

And Caligo’s threat wasn’t an empty one. It might have been empty if he made the same kind of threat toward his father… The man scared him, even if he didn’t have any power of his own. But Cazador… He had hurt Astarion and the Tiefling cared more about his life then his own. Healthy? Probably not. But it was already growing to a bit more stability. Caligo wouldn’t call it healing yet, but there was progress. They were trusting each other more and more. And the fact that Astarion’s back was against his chest, meant a lot.

Astarion purred in approval when his pet came and turned off the vibrations so as not to push things into painful territory. They would be getting to that point soon enough regardless simply because the night wasn't over yet.

Caspian’s body was a bit tense for a moment longer, but when he was able to catch his breath and was slumped into a comfortable position. His breathing started to even out as good as possible, since there had been many orgasms and his body was very, very sensitive.

Damon’s baby blue eyes followed Astarion’s hand, not sure what to expect, until he realized the vampire lord was feeling him up and that made the scent spike a bit more. As the other explained how he had been starved, Damon looked back up again. “Not quite how it went with me…” The muscles around his jaw ticked for a moment. “There was this… woman… Katherine Pierce… Me and my brother had a thing for her, little did we know that she was a vampire. We did at some point, she didn’t have to compel me to drink her blood, my brother had to be compelled. Always Stephen… Anyway. Our dad shot us, we came back, we thought she had died so I didn’t want to complete the transition… My brother forced me to do so anyway. And I promised him many life times of misery… Stephen ended up with a blood addiction. He became a ripper.” He shrugged. Damon was unsure why he was telling him that, but Astarion gave a bit, so Damon returned the favor.

At the question Alucard gave him a quizzled look. "You are in a castle and I'm the only one living here. It's no issue giving you one of the nicer rooms." He explained with a smile. "There's quite a few advanced amenities the castle has."

The Witcher actually smiled a little at that. That he would have these little luxurious moments of a nice room and warm water. Right now, he was quite glad that he bumped into Alucard, even if the first moment wasn’t the best.

Geralt listened for a bit longer and didn’t catch any frantic wings going about, or angry kind of sounds, so… maybe Alucard was right and there was no point for confrontation. Geralt took Alucard’s word for it.

And naïve he was. Caspian had been living between walls for a long time before he jumped from the nest and went to see the world. That didn’t mean everything had been roses and sunshine, but nothing too drastic that could traumatize him.

Halsin had a bit more of the honey than the other two but he was also larger so it took more to effect him. Still he was pleasantly warm and relaxed as he held the smaller males even closer.

Astarion made a soft sound at the closeness and for just a moment his position shifted to something more suggestive before he seemed to catch himself. For a moment he was tense before gradually relaxing again curling up tighter against Halsin in search of comfort.

Haldir was too mellowed to respond the to the suggestive movement, but he did notice that Astarion was getting tense with himself rather than what either of the druids was doing. He realized he just witnessed the past surfacing before it ebbed away. Becoming clear to Haldir that his movement was unintentional.

"If the price is his death then I wouldn't mind that. I know he's unlikely to stop hunting me if I don't. Especially since whatever's on my back must be important for him to have already sent that first hunter after me." Astarion replied since that seemed fair enough to him and he wasn't sure he minded the Warlock's patron getting some power in the deal.

“What a prick… anyone daring to come after you, I’ll burn them alive…” He whispered. As they stayed like this, there was a bit more weight that leaned against the vampire as the warlock was having a hard time to fight off his exhaustion.

"Good boy. Such a perfect little pet for me. There will be no getting away from me now." Astarion purred with a smirk that was possessive and a bit cruel as he leaned down to nip at the Tiefling's ears while increasing the vibrations a bit more.

 He trembled and moaned as the vampire held him, whispering things, purring and nipping his ears. Then the vibrations increased and so did his trembling. Hearing him say such deliciously possessive things, keeping the bard for himself.

"Do you think you can keep an eye on this one for a few minutes?" he asked it, smiling fondly at the cat. It meowed at him, weaving around his legs before sitting in front of Essek. Caleb watched it for a moment before rising to his feet. "I will be back."

With that, he left Essek alone with Frumpkin. Essek would be able to hear the discussion beyond the door. Most of it was muffled, but occasionally someone would get loud enough for him to hear. Beau didn't trust that Essek wouldn't try to pull a fast one on them when they removed his armor, and there was some argument as to why they needed their guest to be comfortable or not.

Ultimately, they did decide that they would remove Essek's armor. The whole group came in as a precaution and Essek would be able to see the diverse group of individuals he was traveling with. They were a colorful bunch of misfits, and honestly, he fit right in with them.

The group surrounded Essek with varying degrees of readiness to fight should he try anything. Caleb was the one to take the initiative and undo the chains. They fell loose and rested around the chair. "Do you need help removing your armor?" he asks. "Of course he needs help! We're not risking him having some hidden weapon," Beau growls. "We searched his person, he didn't have--" but Caleb was cut off. "Caleb, do you want me to do it?" Beau asks, a stern expression on her face.

With a sigh, Caleb mutters something in Zemnian before moving to help remove the pieces of armor. With each piece removed, Essek looked less like an intimidating warrior and more like himself. It was as he was removing the last piece that they heard a knock at the front door of their abandoned farmstead they had found themselves hiding in.

Everyone froze, looking around at each other with a look of uncertainty. Molly and Nott went to slip out and see if they could catch a glimpse of who might be there, while Jester chased after Fjord who said something about getting her bag.

Caleb tries to calm his breathing and his beating heart, trying to listen to whatever was here and waiting them. He didn't need to strain his ears too long however because he could hear the front door suddenly burst open. "Scheiße.." he curses, noting that smoke was also coming in from somewhere. Beau had run out when she heard the door and Caleb could hear Nott yelling to scramble.

Essek watched how a familiar was cast to keep an eye on him. There was a small ‘hmm’ with a slight interest tilt with his head as he studied it and then turned his head to watch Caleb leave.

His ear twitched to try and catch some of how things were going behind the door. A lot was muffled but there were words that came through. This group seemed to have some issues because it sounded deeper than it just being the prisoner.

When they finally made a discission and walked back into the room, he instantly saw the wide range of race and color. “Interesting…” He muttered.

Chains were being removed and he stood up, then Caleb asked if he needed help, which he was about to decline as it was just awkward, not that he was hiding something. Though, Essek wasn’t given the chance to response when the Monk said it in a manner-of-fact way that he did. The drow didn’t argue, but he did roll his eyes at the whole debacle.

Feeling awkward, he and Caleb removed his armor. When done, his form was quite slimmer, a dark wizard’s robe with detailed silver embroidery. At the knock, he turned his head in suspicion and alarm. “Are you expecting someone?” His eyes roamed over the party and counted the ones that were named.

Essek was pulled along until their path was blocked, with the other wizard physically trying to remove it. “Step aside please…” He said before making some movement with his hands, muttering a spell before lightening the gravity of those objects that blocked their path and moved them aside and caused them to block the path where whoever might come to be held back for at least a bit.

"A sound plan." Halsin agreed although he wasn't terrible concerned and put a thin layer of the honey of a bit of bread to eat. He took small bites and ate a few other things as well. He felt the pleasant warmth in his gut and relaxed further into the nest while wrapping an arm around the men on either side of him and letting out a pleased rumble of his own.

Haldir enjoyed a few snacks without the honey, then had some tea where he did add a small spoon of it that really added to the warming effect inside his body. When full of all the snacks and the sweetness did it’s job, he nestled against Halsin’s side and had this soft purr of pure relaxation going. Haldir had laid an arm around his mate’s waist and wasn’t too far away from Astarion’s limps.

"As long as the price he asks isn't too high that may be our best option." Astarion admitted since it did seem likely that the Warlock's patron would be willing to aid them but there was no guarantee that the fiend had the information. But it was worth a shot at the very least. "Perhaps we can ask tomorrow."

Caligo was silent for a moment, trying to think what would be asked of Astarion. “Revenge related, like a contract that does force you to complete this revenge, upon completion, he will be getting the power of it. I asked for power… So he demanded revenge and I swore I would get that revenge. But instead of you asking powers, you’d ask for information. Vorrak, though a fiend, is honest as far as I know, there are no small lettering in his contract… He’s been betrayed himself and has no desire to betray those who align with him.”