#reining-disaster

ᒥ🎲ᒧ—         He stares at the other, eyes half-lidded and glassy with fever. "...A cleric would be a good fuckin' start...If they can't heal me, they can at least bless me for death..." A tad dramatic, but his brain was currently boiling in his skull from a wicked flu bug.

Melinoe would be remiss if she didn't admit that she enjoyed travelling and camping. She liked being able to explore new places and see new things. One of her most favorite spots was near the water, as it was. Specifically for the sun rises and the sun sets.

She had sat there for at least a few hours, simply staring off, until the blue sky began to fade into a dark purple. The tiefling hummed to herself, finally stirring from her spot to take to strolling from the riverside and just admire the way the woodlands adjusted from celestial day into an enchanting night. She was probably missed from the dinner circle as her companions gathered together around the fire, but she wanted to linger a bit longer. Surely Gale wouldn't be too upset if she missed some of his meal.

It was to her surprise when she finally did wander her way back towards camp that she wasn't the only one who had yet to return back from the privacy of the woods.

❝ Well, well, what have we here? ❞ she purred teasingly, approaching the barbarian from his side, carefully not to completely sneak up on him and have his guard put up.

Running water and vampires weren't exactly the greatest mix in the world, and yet Aurelia was down by the docks now, gaze sweeping across each of the fishermen that hauled in their kills for the day... and when she finally caught sight of the one man in particular that she was hunting for, Aurelia felt a smile sweep across her features.

"Being a barbarian doesn't make you invulnerable," Iveani pointed out with a gentle smile.

His initial perplexed facial expression told the cleric a lot. She understood that there were a lot of people who just weren't used to anyone caring, even in such a simple way.

Honestly, Astarion had no fucking clue what he was doing. Family didn't exactly have any positive connotations thanks to Cazador tainting the word. It left a bad taste in his mouth, a taste that was metallic and stale.

He was still get used to defining "family" as something supportive and loving, and learning that was a process every day. It helped that Annette was patient, ever so patient as the day he met her, but some days were better than others.

If only the Astarion from years ago could see him now. Playing house and building a family. Well, being adopted by Annie's family.

Which is thus what led Astarion to this point. Standing at the edge of the forest in the dark of the night, somewhat awkwardly as he counted his arrows, trying to find something to talk about with his beloved's brother.

❝ I spotted the bear cave not far from here. With any luck, the beast will be asleep and we'll have the advantage. ❞

He rolled his shoulders back, stretching in preparation for if said bear was, in fact, not asleep. By the gods, why did he feel so awkward about this all? He shifted from one foot to the other, taking a moment to let out a breath and tell himself that he was being utterly ridiculous. He turned then, finally regarding the other man face-to-face.

Rein looked so much like Annie, he realized then, and that brought him a sense of comfort. She trusted her brother, and he trusted Annie. As such, why should he not trust Rein as well?

“I was wondering when exactly someone would call you out about your smell. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven’t noticed yourself.” his arms crossed, seated on a pillow inside of his tent, annoyed. He also seemed to be rather disgusted at the idea of handling the other's hair. Lips pulling into a thin line as the thought of running his fingers through the incredibly long strands.