#t!tav

Truly they hadn’t been expecting a fight at all.

Gale frantically cast out magical missiles at the goblins that had ambushed them. One fell to the miriad of blows, but the larger one just growled in anger. Blood pooled in Gale’s robes from the arrow still lodged in his side, but he couldn’t stop to look at the damage just yet.

They’d been on their way to set up camp for the night when they were attacked.

Arrows flew out through the trees before any of them could react, and after such a long trek they were too tired to put on a good fight. Out of the corner of his eye Gale saw Karlach whipping her axe around wildly, although her face showed the strain it was taking on her, and Astarion was slower than usual to slice through one of the smaller goblin’s throats.

“Fuck,” Gale hissed as he pressed one hand to the bleeding wound at his side.

He could feel his magic starting to run low, if he didn’t rest soon he wouldn’t be much use at all, but until the goblins were gone he just had to push through it.

With a yell a burst of flame appeared in his hand and shot out at one of the goblins circling around Shadowheart. The goblin screeched in pain as its clothes caught fire, and not a second later Lae’zel had ran it through with her blade.

They were doing okay, but they were all taking too many blows for his liking. Gale’s eyes shot up at the sight of a new goblin running out from the trees, rusted dagger in hand. It ran at Astarion who had just helped Wyll finish off the largest goblin, but before Gale could yell to warn him the dagger sliced through Astarion’s back.

Astarion fell to the ground with a hiss of pain before he turned to angrily stab through the goblin’s leg. The goblin fell with a loud cry, and while that was enough for Astarion at the moment, he wasn’t dead.

Typically, that wouldn’t be much of a problem. In most cases a downed enemy was as good as dead.

But one glance was all it took for Gale’s heart rate to shoot into a panic. The downed goblin growled and clawed at his blade trying to push himself back up when its eyes locked on the same thing Gale’s did.

Tav had fallen out of Astarion’s pocket.

The goblin’s eyes darted between the vampire now a few feet away and the tiny before a gnarled green hand darted out to grab her.

In all his life, Gale had never reacted so fast before.

His mind drew from the last reserves of magic he had to conjure up a glowing blue hand that quickly darted out to grab Tav. The goblin’s hand missed by only a hair before the mage hand glided away back to Gale’s side. Gale wanted to check on the tiny to make sure they were okay, but the goblin’s eyes were now trained on the wizard, a violent snarl painting their features.

With a flick of his fingers he guided the mage hand to drop Tav in his pocket, and kept the spectral hand floating near in case she fell out again. He spared one glance down at the tiny who was clearly shaken, before throwing another bolt of flames at the goblin.

The goblin fell with another shrill scream as he burned and writhed on the ground. He wouldn’t be surviving that.

Gale frantically looked around at the others to make sure everyone was okay, and saw Lae’zel finishing off the last of the goblins with a victorious yell. Only when the goblin took its last breath did the wizard allow himself to relax.

Subconsciously, his hand reached into his pocket to thumb at the tiny’s head. Their warm presence felt relaxing.

“Gale,” the small voice said, “Are they gone?”

The tiny attempted to peak their head out of his pocket, and before Gale could even register that he’d commanded it the spectral mage hand pressed her firmly back down into his pocket- back to where it was safe.

He blinked in realization and embarrassment at the protective instincts, and with a muttered apology waved off the glowing blue hand.

Gently, he reached into his pocket with an open palm- an invitation. Once he felt all of Tav’s weight in his hand he curled his fingers around her form gently and brought her out.

“Yes, they’re all gone I believe,” Gale sighed, “Unless more of those bastards are hiding in the trees.”

“They’re better not be,” Karlach grumbled at that, her tail swinging side-to-side angrily, “I need some food and a fucking nap.”

The tiny laughed in Gale’s palm at Karlach’s words and the softness of it brought a smile to Gale’s face. He was glad she felt so safe in his hands.

However, the domesticity of the moment was quickly broken by Astarion yelling.

“Tav?” he yelled, his eyes darting around frantically.

“Don’t worry I’ve got her,” Gale called out to the vampire, watching as Astarion’s shoulders visibly relaxed at the sight of her in the wizard’s palm.

“Fuck okay, good,” Astarion exhaled slowly, “My apologies little love, I didn’t anticipate for another one of those bastards to be in hiding. Usually they’re not that smart.”

Tav just laughed and waved him off, “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

Astarion smiled, softer than normal due to the exhaustion from the day.

“Well I believe we might as well just set up camp now,” Astarion hummed, “After that I doubt we’re making it that much farther anyway.”

Everyone agreed with nodded heads and soon the tents were set up and a campfire was burning. Gale had almost forgotten about his injury until Tav said something.

“Does that hurt?” Tav said pointing up at the wound from where they sat on the soft rug in his tent, “You should get Shadowheart to look at it.”

Gale looked down at the tiny on the floor next to him and then down at the wound in his side. He had pulled the arrow out before starting to set up camp, but the adrenaline from the fight had almost made him forget.

“Ah, yes,” Gale frowned as he touched at his blood-soaked side, “I believe I got a bit carried away. No need to bother Shadowheart now though, she’s just as drained as the rest of us.”

Tav frowned in response as she started to climb up Gale’s pants from where he was sitting cross-legged on the ground. He barely breathed as she climbed him, afraid of accidentally knocking the tiny off.

Once Tav was close enough she peered at the wound through the hole in his robe.

“It looks pretty deep,” she grimaced, “At least take a healing potion, wouldn’t want it to get worse.”

Gale blushed at the proximity to the tiny as one of her minuscule hands brushed against the skin around the wound.

“Yes- yes of course,” he stammered, looking away from where the tiny was perched on his leg, “I think I have a few extra.”

Tav nodded at that, seemingly pleased that the wizard agreed to take care of himself and plopped themselves down on his leg.

“You didn’t have to help me like that you know,” Tav said softly after a few moments of silence, “I could have managed.”

To accentuate her words she opened her palm where a small burst of magic appeared. Of course Gale knew she wasn’t defenceless, the tiny had proven herself to be useful enough times already.

But something about seeing the goblin reaching for her, about seeing his eyes dripping with malice… Gale couldn’t let him touch her.

“I know,” Gale said, tilting his head in flushed embarrassment, “Just…I wanted to. I want to keep you safe. I apologize if it seemed like I didn’t think you could fend for yourself.”

Tav laughed softly, and patted their hand against Gale’s thigh from where they sat.

“It’s alright,” Tav smiled, “And regardless it would be rude of me not to thank you.”

Gale flushed again, not used to the kindness in her words. He tried to look away to hide it but he knew the tiny saw it when she laughed again.

“You know I’m never opposed to being held by you,” Tav smiled slyly, “Mage hand or not it’s quite nice.”

Her words only caused Gale to flush more, “Well then, I um…I suppose I can hold you more. If you’d desire it of course.”

Gale (+Tara):

Gale is extremely careful and gentle with Tav, letting them sit with him while he reads in his tent. He’s spent a long time writing and using his hands for magic, so he’s very well-practiced in careful movements

He is nervous that Tara will go after the tiny so he sits her down to talk about Tav NOT being food. Tara is upset about it at first, but starts to like the tiny once she realizes she can get the best ear scratches from the tiny.

Gale loves learning so he takes any chance he gets to study Tav. It gets a little weird for the tiny sometimes because he asks a ton of questions but overall they find it endearing

As the resident cook of the group Gale is all in on making sure Tav eats well. At first he’s not super sure about how much they should eat so they end up with a portion way too big for them. He gets better over time at making sure the portions are right but Tav will never complain about there being too much.

If Tav is in trouble or noticed during a fight he conjures a mage hand to whisk them away. The first time it happens Tav is terrified until they’re dropped into Gale’s pocket away from danger, and any time they try to look out to see what’s happening the hand pushes them back into the pocket

Astarion:

Astarion is extremely unsure about Tav at first. He doesn’t understand the point of keeping someone around who can’t really help much in fights, and he doesn’t like the idea of wasting resources on them (even small amounts).

He starts to get along with them when he realizes they’re upset about not feeling like they have much control over their life. One night when drinking they tell him about how they’re used to being used and controlled by larger people, and after that he can’t help but relate to them. And if he is a little nicer to them after that none of the other companions have to know

He definitely teases them about biting them, even though they know he wouldn’t actually do anything to them.

Astarion is also surprisingly gentle with them. His experience with picking locks means he is often the best at holding them without jostling them around too much. Whenever they’re on long walks to their next campsite Tav often lets him hold them since it’s usually the most comfortable. He always complains, but he never actually turns them down

Lae’zel:

Similarly to Astarion, Lae’zel also doesn’t like Tav much at first. In her opinion the tiny is nothing more than a liability in a fight, and she doesn’t understand the appeal of having them around.

Lae’zel typically avoided interacting with Tav, and if she had to pick them up she wasn’t very nice about it

However, after visiting the crèche Tav comes to talk to her and make sure she’s okay, and the tiny starts to grow on Lae’zel. After realizing that some of the githyanki ideals she’d been taught weren’t right, she starts to find the tiny’s company nice- even if the tiny still can’t help much in a fight

Lae’zel absolutely tries to teach Tav how to fight. She gives them a needle as a makeshift weapon and while it can’t do much damage she teaches Tav all the best places to stab.

Wyll:

Wyll is one of the first to support the idea of allowing Tav to stay with them. He’s always wanted to help other people, and when they find the tiny he can’t help but want to protect them.

Whenever Mizora shows up at camp he hides Tav away because he’s always worried she’ll do something to them to keep Wyll under her control

Wyll reached Tav how to dance once he finds out that they don’t know how. It’s awkward since they’re smaller than his hand but he’s still able to at least teach them the proper movements

Tav loves to hear Wyll’s stories about the people he’s protected before and will sit in his tent to keep him company to listen to him

Wyll is very nervous about holding Tav. He’s always worried that he’ll hurt them somehow or that they’ll fall or he’ll squeeze too tight, but Tav always reassures him it’s okay. He gets better about it throughout their travels, but he still doesn’t hold them often out of fear

Shadowheart:

Shadowheart loves Tav almost from the start. She’ll talk to them constantly, and sit them on her shoulder for company throughout their travels.

Shadowheart is very keen on training the owl bear cub and Scratch to not hurt Tav. When they finally get to a point where Tav can be around them with out constant monitoring Shadowheart is extremely pleased with herself

After fights Shadowheart also checks on Tav first to heal them if they need it, always worried something bad will have happened to the tiny while she wasn’t looking.

Astarion is the first to spot the little borrower following their group around. He’d been able to smell something vaguely human while on their way to the grove from the nautilus crash but he’d just assumed it was the stink of the corpses that hadn’t survived the crash. It wasn’t until they finally had a calm night that he really took notice.

They had set up in a nice meadow nestled safely away from any major trade routes, the only sounds came from the vampire’s fellow companions and distant animals hunting somewhere in the forest. But, as everyone else sat down in a circle to eat whatever food Gale had prepared for the night, Astarion headed into the trees. They all knew about his condition at this point, and while most of them had reacted better than he thought they would, he still was relatively cautious about letting them see him hunt. So while they were busy eating whatever muck Gale could throw together with their scavenged ingredients, he snuck away into the trees beyond looking for something to drain.

He wandered for a few minutes, careful of the sound of cracking leaves under his feet, but it wasn’t long before he caught a scent…a familiar one. He couldn’t quite place it, but he knew he’d smelt it before. Eagerly, he followed its trail until he came upon an old mangled tree. It was so close he could still see the lights from camp through the trees.

He paused for a moment, listening to the small sounds of whatever was moving in the tree before darting his hand in to grab it. However, when he pulled the writhing screaming thing to his face he wasn’t anticipating to be met by the face of a person…or at least what looked like one.

“Let me go!” the tiny girl screamed, “Fuck off!”

Interesting, she knew common, he thought.

“And what exactly are you little one?” Astarion smiled slyly as he held the tiny between his thumb and forefinger. The little thing hissed and scratched at his fingers, but it was to no avail.

“None of your fucking business,” she spat, “Put me down, NOW.”

Astarion laughed softly with a condescending smirk, “That’s no way to talk to someone who quite literally holds your life in their hands darling.”

The tiny glared up at him, eyes wild before seemingly giving up, her head falling down to her chest.

“It’s a curse okay? I…ive never been stuck for this long though,” she muttered.

Astarion gifted her a sly smile in return, “Yes but that doesn’t explain why you’ve been following us now does it? I do believe I’ve smelt you before darling. You know most people that small wouldn’t choose to stay close to a vampire.”

The girl shuddered in his grip, glaring up at him intensely, “I fell off the ship too…the nautiloid. I saw your little group and felt the tadpole’s connection and well…it felt at least a bit safer to be near people, and it made it easier to actually get food.”

Astarion’s raised a brow at that, so she was one of them.

“So you’ve been stealing our things have you?” Astarion smirked, holding her a little closer to his face and showing his fangs with a smile.

The girl visually tensed up filling Astarion with a small sense of glee.

“Just little things, I promise,” she stuttered out, “Nothing big, I wouldn’t.”

Astarion laughed again investigating her closely, “Well I would assume nothing big. You’re far too small to carry much more.”

The girl simply nodded in response, the action quick and tense in his hand.

“Just…please,” she whimpered, “Please let me go.”

Astarion tilted his head as if thinking about it. Truly he had no intentions of harming her, not really. With how small she was draining her would be barely more than a snack…but he could still have some fun.

“Hmm, but I took so much time to find a meal,” Astarion said, “It would be a shame to put you to waste.”

“No!” the girl yelled as he pulled her closer to him, “I…I’m too small it wouldn’t be good, please.”

Astarion smiled down at her panicked expression and tilted his head, “Hmm, perhaps you’re right.”

The girl just stared at him, eyes wide and body tense as if waiting for him to snap at any second. His companions would surely be upset with him for teasing her, but while he was alone he could have some fun. He deserved it after all they’d been through.

“Although, I do believe if I don’t have a taste something else probably will,” Astarion said with a sly smile, “You stink you know?”

Slowly, he placed the tiny back down in the tree and raised his brows at her questioning.

“I…yes I know,” she muttered, seemingly frozen between the decisions of staying to talk or fleeing, “Usually I’m only like this for a day at most…this is…more than I’m used to. I think it’s maybe due to the tadpole.”

Astarion tilted his head curiously, “That makes sense, the tadpoles seem to be messing with everyone. Although it seems to just have made you more snack-sized.”

The girl frowned at him, subconsciously taking a step away from the giant vampire.

“Oh stop that,” he shook his head, “If I wanted to eat you I would have already darling, but as is you’re far too small to be worth it.”

The frown on the girl’s face deepened at the implications that if she was bigger he would have considered it, but she still stayed still, staring up at the giant man.

“Don’t…please don’t tell the others about me,” she forced out after a second, “It’s safer without anyone knowing.”

“Are you quite sure about that?” Astarion asked, his eyes glancing over to the camp’s lights, “If you stay here you’re liable to be picked up by a bird or rat as soon as they catch a whiff of you.”

The girl shrugged, her expression tight, “I just…Maybe the curse will stop soon. I hope at least…I don’t want people seeing me like this.”

Astarion looked her up and down and frowned, in a way it reminded him of when he was still stuck under Cazador’s power. He hated being seen like that too, although he hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter.

“Very well then,” Astarion shrugged, “Try not to get eaten dear, I don’t want to find out what happens if some beast gets a tadpole in their system. And if you change your mind I’d never be opposed to a little tasteful company.”

He grinned with a flash of his fangs to accentuate his words as he turned from the tree with a well practiced turn. The girl frowned at him but didn’t say anything in return, just crawling back into the small hole she’d been in before as Astarion went on his way to find something else to eat.

As much as he hated it his other companions had made him soft. The tiny girl offered him almost nothing practically; however, in the smallest recesses of his mind he hoped she’d change her mind. It felt nice being able to have someone close that couldn’t take advantage of him. At her size she wouldn’t be able to do anything to him he didn’t want, although he surely could do the opposite.