#naturesaarrow

Rowan looked over at the ranger, well, ranger-druid now, she reminded herself not at all spitefully. They had saved the archdruid Halsin from the goblins and saved the grove. Unfortunately for them, despite Nettie’s assurances that he ‘would have it out like that’ he was unable to remove them. He did tell them where the next point on their journey should be: moonrise towers. He had also offered to continue Rina’s druidic teachings from her childhood and she had accepted. He had also offered to continue Rowan’s when he heard that she had just become a druid herself. So now there were two Druids in the party, and one had far more skills, history, knowledge, and experience than the other. And that person wasn’t Rowan.

She wasn’t jealous. Not at all.

She was simply… concerned for her space in the group.

So she showed up to the lessons: even though Halsin was incredibly boring and was more focused on teaching her philosophy instead of teaching her about turning into a bear and decimating her enemies! She told him she already knew those things, and showed him her scrolls and books as proof, but he had said something about ‘being able to quote them wasn’t enough’ and her ‘not embodying the lessons’ which was a bold thing to say to the woman who helped save your grove while you were imprisoned by goblins but whatever.

But now it seemed like Rina was having trouble with her magic, which came as a surprise. Maybe ‘embodying the philosophies’ wasn’t all it was cracked up to be Halsin.

“Can’t do what?” Rowan asked.

From @naturesaarrow (I have no one to ship with so this is the best way I can do anything valentines related 😔)

Jaheira blinked at the question, momentarily caught off guard. "Yes, I’ve had lovers before."

That much was obvious. What wasn't obvious — at least not until this very moment — was that she was horrible at giving gifts. Truly, an embarrassment.

Her idea of a romantic gesture? A well-crafted dagger for Astele. A sturdy set of boots for Khalid. Once, she’d even gifted Lyra a reinforced tent because her old one had been full of holes. Practical things. Useful things. Honestly, it was a wonder she'd managed to keep relationships for as long as she had.

She cleared her throat, mulling it over before finally speaking. "It’s not really about the object itself," she said, glancing away with a touch of sheepishness. "It’s about what it means. Pick something that reminds you of them. Something that says, 'I see you. I know you.'"

A pause. Then, with an almost self-deprecating smile, she added, "And if all else fails… a good bottle of wine never hurt anyone."

Stop gawking at the decor. This place is dangerous.

- from the bg3 party banter prompt list :)

"But they have grapes!" Nyssala knew they had a mission, but her mind couldn't stop thinking about the perfect, plump little fruits like they were the real prize of this whole hellish excursion. Come oooonnn, why did Rina always have to be such a mood killer? Okay, sure, they were in the Hells. And yes, the House of Hope was technically a deathtrap. And fine, they were here to steal the hammer and save the world. But couldn’t they take just one little moment to enjoy the finer things? Like free snacks?

"I mean, you do remember the first time Raphael brought us here, right?" she added, glancing at Rina with a hopeful grin. "Oh! I wonder if they have cake this time! It’s been soooooo long since I had cake!"

Because priorities.

Fever

"That guy looks like he's about to piss himself"

Whisper something in my muse's ear

Be subtle, Jaheira told herself. Be subtle be subtle be subt— gods, her head snapped toward the man before she could stop it, and Rina was right. He looked like he was about to piss himself. All pretense of politeness or respect fled as a snort escaped her. So much for a fearsome Banite, a loyal servant of Enver Gortash. "Looks like the poor fellow will have to hold it a while longer — this coronation circus doesn't seem anywhere near finished."

At her voice Rowan shot up trying to appear alert,

“Huh- what? Oh, Rina, good morning… oh gods it’s morning.” She rose to her feet as she noticed the sun had, in fact, risen. She had been unable to sleep due to the urge putting thoughts she did not want in her head, and considering what happened to the bard girl when Rowan had been asleep it didn’t seem like a good idea so she made the decision to simply stay awake until she felt better. She ended up staring into space for the entire night while her bedroll remained untouched beside her.

“I guess I was,” She replied simply as her tired mind struggled to catch up, “couldn’t sleep.” She stared at the elf blankly as she couldn’t conjure up anything else to say. The only thing going through her mind was ‘tired’ but she could still fight she was sure.

“I suppose it’s time to start the day,” She remarked as she went to grab her quarterstaff, and missed. It took a moment to process the fact she hadn’t actually grabbed it where she stood there with her arm extended as if the fact her hand was empty and not holding a quarterstaff was a deeply puzzling mystery. She succeeded in grabbing the staff this time, and started wandering towards the campfire for breakfast.

Jaheira had not expected a fully morphed druid to simply climb into her lap, but with Rina, expectations were often useless things. If she had chosen feathers or fur and sought her out like this, then the day had been long indeed.

Jaheira was not always good with words. At least not as much as she'd like to. Command came easily. Strategy came easily. Comfort, at times, did not. Yet motherhood had taught her that presence could be far more valuable than eloquence, sometimes even mending what speeches could not.

So she said nothing.

She adjusted her posture to better support the small, warm weight against her, and her hand began a slow, steady stroke along Rina's back. Each pass of her fingers meant to say what her tongue did not:

You are safe. I am here. It will be well.