#taevis

Dual posted to my DeviantArt account, a non-sexual G/T vore story featuring adults along the lines of the lion and the thorn fable. There will be tons of hurt/comfort aspects, lots of safe vore. That is the primary focus in this.

Barrett is an adult giant standing 85ft tall and Hope is an adult human at 5ft 6. Barrett does not eat children at any point. 

Warnings: Safe Vore Mention, Fatal Mention

Future and Previous: While this part has no fatalities, future parts include fatal vore and violence. Barrett, the giant, is not a good guy, so will be doing some occasional bad things.

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Taevis walked for a bit into the woods, carrying the human girl in his hand. “It’s looking more and more like the situation is far more complicated than it initially seemed. He… may not treat you like an equal, but he also is extremely possessive and protective of you.”

Hope frowned as she sat in his hand. While demidragons could be scary, and were definitely more dangerous than a syor, he wasn’t nearly as scary and unpredictable as Barrett. Most interacted well with people, treated smaller races as people and not just food. Not to say if someone pissed a demidragon off it wouldn’t eat them, but that was the exception, not the rule. So she was having a much easier time talking to him, opening up about what happened. “When… I first found him buried by the rocks… He tried to catch me with his hand, eat me… but he couldn’t move enough to do anything. I felt… bad for him. Sure he wanted to eat me, but plenty of monsters and animals would eat a human when hungry enough. I didn’t really see it any different. Just like I would want to free an animal that was trapped, and just try to avoid getting hurt, I wanted to free him. I just had a little more hope that he would intentionally not hurt me after I helped. I have heard the old stories that people who helped syor are usually left alone by them… So I didn’t expect him to grab me and swallow me.”

Taevis nodded as he listened, “Well clearly swallowing you didn’t kill you, even though that’s normally how it ends for humans… No scarring from damage as if you were unprotected either. So he knew enough magic to keep you unharmed.”

Hope nods, “It was… unexpected. But scary. After weeks of working to free him, catching mountain sheep to feed him… He ate me. But didn’t hurt me. He let me out later when he found… other food. He brought back a wagon and a dead horse. I try not to think about what happened. A couple times I’ve tried to escape, but… I’ve given up on that. I don’t understand why he won’t let me leave… It’s been rather stressful. Syor… they don’t keep humans unless they have a use for them, and it’s obvious I would never just bait someone to him… it’s like nothing I’ve even heard of.” Hope was rambling a bit, clearly stressed by her circumstances, and grateful to have someone to talk to about it.

Taevis nods, “This sounds like a rather unique scenario… there is a difference between spending a few minutes or few hours to help someone and spending weeks… Of course I’ll have to hear from him to fully understand, but what I can be certain of is he really, really wants you alive and in his company. Usually only other dragons will dare challenge my kind, and he had no hesitation to threaten me over you. He was just as scared as anyone would be of an angry dragon, but still threatened me. That’s no small matter.”

Hope tilted her head to look up at the dragon man, a bit surprised he was so certain about Barrett wanting her alive. That was… not what she had ever heard about syor. They didn’t get attached to humans, didn’t care about whether humans survived… So she was quiet, considering her time with Barrett. It was… strange. None of it made sense. Him taking her to get clothes, showing her gems… and when she was sick… that was the big one. She didn’t remember all of it, but she knew he  had gotten ahold of medicine and soup for her.

Taevis picked up the moose, giving it a look over. A lot of meat on this, could make a few good meals. He turned to head back to camp, letting the young woman process her thoughts for a bit. Sometimes time to think in peace could help, and she hadn’t seemed to have much peace before. She had been too scared to actually think things through… besides, this period of quiet let him think about what recipes he might make with the different foods he had smelled in that cart.

“Maybe… you have a point.” Hope said, making Taevis’s ears twitch as she spoke up. He smiled slightly, “Of course. I am a dragon after all.” He saw her nod, pleased she clearly understood how smart his kind tend to be. Hope continued, “I… hadn’t had time to consider how… strange… he was acting compared to the stories I’ve heard about syor… but I don’t know what to do with this information.” Taevis nods, “I’ll need to see more to work out what to do next… For now let’s get some good dinner prepared.”

The relief on the syor’s expression was obvious when Taevis walked back into the clearing with Hope in hand. To Taevis, it was becoming more and more obvious the syor cared about this human. He wasn’t sure in what way… everything he heard said syor deeply looked down on humans. His behavior wasn’t that of someone keeping something because of potential use… it was far too caring for that. Perhaps along the lines of a pet? It was hard to be sure. Perhaps with work the syor could see at least one human as equal… perhaps a friend. It would take more observation and work to figure everything out.

He set Hope down on the ground, letting her head over to the carts of food supplies. She seemed eager to cook. He got his small bag, reaching in to pull out a pot far bigger than the small bag. He was a bit amused to see the syor’s eyes go wide. Apparently the syor hadn’t seen storage magic like that in use before.

Taevis watched the syor clearly showing curiosity as Hope approached Taevis without hesitation as she carried vegetables and herbs over to the pot. It was kind of amusing to see how surprised the syor was at her current behavior. Taevis thanked Hope for bringing over the foods, then turned to the syor, “So syor, you wanna bring over the cart of food? And perhaps you have a name other than ‘syor’?” The syor turned to the cart of supplies, muttering under his breath, “Barrett… My name is Barrett.”

- - - - -

Barrett set down the cart next to the pot. It was… strange to see Hope acting so bold. So unafraid. As she went to the cart to pick out ingredients she seemed almost excited. He glanced at the demidragon as it spoke, “I introduced myself to her, but I don’t think I told you. I’m called Taevis.” Taevis picked up the moose, removing its head and passing it to Barrett, “To hold you over until the meal is prepared.“ Barrett was uncertain about all of this but nodded, moving to sit near the water to soak the electrical burns on his hand and arm while he sucked on the moose head a bit. May as well savor it if he was going to have to wait for anything else.

It was interesting to watch Hope pulling seeds from her pocket, naming off all sorts of unfamiliar things and debating which were best. She… had avoided demonstrating magic around him before now, but now it was more plainly obvious she was a terran, weaving magic to make mere seeds into adult plants ready for harvest. Not just that, but she seemed excited and happy. She had never shown such excitement before, not even when he showed her special gems or took her to find fancy clothes. It was strange… but he actually… liked seeing her happy. He didn’t understand it, but he wanted this feeling he now had more.

Now it seemed that demidragon, Taevis, was putting chopped up vegetables and meat into the pot together with water. He was gently taking herbs that Hope offered and seemed to be trying to get exact amounts of the ones she handed him into the pot before handing her back any left to carry back to the cart. Taevis then gestured to Barrett, “Hope is too small to stir this large pot. How about you work with her to stir it while I check out the supply situation to figure out what other meals we can make with what we have later. Besides, you clearly don’t like me being close to her so much.”

While a bit hesitant, Barrett started putting things in the pot at Hope’s instruction, and was truly surprised when she willingly climbed onto one of his hands and asked him to hold her where she could look in the pot. He of course positioned her how she wanted, stirring the pot according to how she asked as they made what was apparently called a stir fry. His ears pricked at her voice, “We start with the veggies to get the juices flowing so they sink into the meat to flavor it, especially since we plan to keep the cooking time low on the meat so that it’s still a little bloody, because I’m sure you’ll like that most. We’ll go for medium or medium rare.” Barrett didn’t know what it meant, but she seemed to know what she was talking about… and she was willingly in his hand! She climbed on herself! If it meant eating this weird food, it was worth it if it had Hope acting like this!

He glanced over at Taevis in shock at how Hope was acting, and was surprised to see Taevis just smiling. Had the demidragon expected this behavior or something similar? Even though Hope had been so nervous before? He would have to talk to Taevis about what else might get this kind of reaction from Hope. He liked this feeling he got with Hope choosing to climb onto him, Hope choosing to interact instead of just accepting. Hope didn’t get like this when he took her to try on and pick out fancy clothes, or when he showed her his favorite gems… Maybe he hadn’t found the right fancy stuff? He wasn’t sure.

Cooking took a while, and the smell surprised him. He never hung around syorian cooking areas but the smell of it was… fascinating. Maybe just because it was a dragon meal not a syorian meal. Syorian food couldn’t be that good… but this actually had a good smell to it. Maybe because Hope helped. Hope had proven she was special so maybe she did something to it that made it good.

When the food was done the dragon pulled bowls from his bag… Barrett wasn’t sure how so much fit in what was basically a waist pouch. The bowl looked bigger than the pouch itself. He decided it was best not to risk angering the demidragon with questions… Taevis already had been in a bad mood earlier. Barrett took the dish without complaint, watching him scoop food into it. It was a lot more than a single moose would have given him… but his kind didn’t usually eat this kind of weird stuff. Taevis handed him a utensil and Barrett frowned, hesitant to eat this weird food. 

He watched Taevis eat some, and was curious to see Hope actually climb onto Taevis without hesitation to fill her own bowl from his dish. Demidragons were more powerful, more dangerous than syor but Hope was entirely fearless of Taevis despite her fear of Barrett. The Taevis was even telling her a story where he ate humans! Something about a shipwreck and humans stranded on an escape vessel. She didn’t seem scared hearing Taevis ate humans and between bites of her food showed only mild disapproval… wishing he hadn’t seen it as necessary but glad the ones he hadn’t eaten made it safely to shore. 

“You should eat it while it’s still warm,” Taevis said, his attention now on Barrett instead of his story telling to Hope, “It’s best warm.” Barrett frowned, focusing again on his strange meal. Taevis was acting friendly now, but Barrett didn’t want to risk offending the demidragon when things had been so tense earlier. He was hesitant, scooping up some of the mix of veggies and meat and taking a bite.

The flavors… vibrant, savory, surprisingly meaty despite the vegetables. So different from anything he could have expected from something that seemed to be more vegetables than meat. As he slowly chewed he heard Taevis talking about something regarding animal fat flavoring the vegetables… but he wasn’t really paying attention. After swallowing the mouthful he immediately spoke, “It’s… nothing like I expected from vegetables… I guess dragon-style prepared food is special or something.”

Barrett said no more, instead digging into the meal ravenously. Food could be scarce, so having large quantities was a real treat. Since it wasn’t horrible, best to take advantage of a good meal. 

When they finished, Taevis demonstrated washing off dishes in the lake so they would be ready for next time, and put a metal cover over what was left in the pot. Barrett cocked his head as the demidragon tapped the lid and muttered something, a shimmer of magic passing over it. Taevis noticed Barrett’s interest, “It’s a spell to keep it fresh so we can have the rest next time we are hungry. Would you like to talk a bit while Hope is over at the lake? She wanted to work on something alone for a bit and I figured it would make a good opportunity to talk to you.”

Barrett hesitated, “She… acts very different with you. You are more dangerous than me but she is not afraid, even though you confirmed you have eaten humans.” 

Taevis pondered a moment, “Well that’s for a few reasons. I suppose the story I told would be the most extreme example of why you are surprised she doesn’t fear me. But the context matters. The pair of people I ate had literally just tried to kill someone also on their escape boat, threatening any who didn’t go along with the plan, so even if she didn’t approve of how I handled it, she could understand a point of view of the humans having earned death for having attempted to kill. She also understood the humans who had been cruel had been desperate, tossing someone over to drown because they had little supplies and didn’t think they’d survive long enough for rescue with that many people. She’s a compassionate person, so won’t approve of such behavior, but she can accept it doesn’t make me a threat to her.” 

Taevis sighed, “She doesn’t trust you because she doesn’t see you as having any restrictions on what humans you eat. It makes it a lot harder for her to understand she is an exception when it seems no other humans are. Small steps will help earn trust. Things like letting her choose to climb onto your hand instead of just picking her up. Letting her come to you instead of forcing interaction. Little things like that will help her see you want to be good to her.”

Barrett frowned, “It’s… strange. I never cared about how humans felt before. Sure it could be entertaining when they fought and squirmed, but this is so different. I don’t know why but I don’t like her being scared of me.” Taevis nodded slowly, “She’s pretty special huh? You’d never expect a human to help a syor.” 

Barrett nodded, “Not just help… it took her weeks to help me move the stones. I was half starved. Restrained too much to even force the rocks to move with magic, and by the time I could move enough too, I had been too weakened by starvation. Even when she was too tired to keep tying rope to stones to help me pull them loose, she would sit and talk to me. I doubt even a fellow syor would sit to talk like that when helping another. Just leave to go sleep in a nice bed and come back later to work. And the work had to be so hard for one so small. It was so… different… from anything else.”

Taevis considered this a moment, “Sounds pretty special. So that convinced you she needed to be protected? Would I be correct in saying you miss how she acted then?” 

Barrett immediately nodded, “Exactly. I miss how she listened and talked then. The day it hailed and she came to lay in my hand and let me cover her and provide shelter… I think that’s when I decided after I got free I would keep her safe. But she changed and became so scared… at first even tried to run away from me.”

Taevis stroked his goatee a moment, “So basically you want her to act towards you like she has been me. That… is something I can help with. My current plans don’t really have a set timeline and this is a rather interesting situation. I suppose I can stick around and help work this situation out with the two of you. I think Hope wanted help anyway but was too nice to risk messing up any plans I have. But first thing is how to handle tonight. We’ll go to town tomorrow for some healing for your hand, but for tonight… You helped with cooking and that may have helped Hope relax. Give her a chance to approach you on her own tonight. Let it be her choice, and make sure she is able to walk away if she wakes up before you. Letting her have more choice will help.”

Barrett was uncertain with this idea… But dragons and demidragons were known for being smart, so it was probably best to give it a chance. He wasn’t sure if he could agree to making it possible for her to walk away in the morning… but he could manage letting her choose to approach. Probably. He would try.

Barrett was quite surprised when after Hope had washed up at the water and changed clothes, she actually approached Barrett, and when he put his hand out on the ground for her, she climbed on and laid down. When he glanced up at Taevis again, th demidragon gave a slight smirk, clearly a little smug he was correct about Hope approaching Barrett if he gave her space. But what really surprised Barrett was how it was so… nice… to have her willingly approach. More so than he expected. He really liked having her choose to come to him. Barrett got up and walked over to lay on the cot in the tent, but paused. Being on th cot would be elevated, she would not be able to choose to walk away in the morning and Taevis said that was important to getting her to be more willing to be around… So he pulled the sleeping roll off the cot and lay it on the ground with his free hand, laying on it and leaving the cot for Taevis. 

Barrett saw the demidragon give a nod in response to Barrett doing this. The dragon better be right that this would make Hope more comfortable… if something happened because Hope wandered off he would be angry enough to face a dragon even if it was a death sentence… But for the moment it was so cute seeing her curled up in his hand that rested against the ground. She looked… peaceful. More relaxed than previously. Definitely not fully relaxed, but better than before. He would need to figure out what exactly from today had helped… but clearly doing things differently made a difference.

CHAPTER 53 OF TIME AND AGAIN IS POSTED

Long chapter with a cliffhanger because I'm a bastard.

Chapters: 54/? Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Zevlor (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Halsin (Baldur's Gate)/Original Character(s), Tav/Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Cerys/Rolan (Baldur's Gate), Dammon & Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Original Character M/M Pairing, Karlach (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Lia/Rikka (Baldur's Gate), Cal/Geraldus (Baldur's Gate), Featherweight Falson/Barcus Wroot, Okta (Baldur's Gate)/Original Male Character(s) Characters: Zevlor (Baldur's Gate), Dammon (Baldur's Gate), Halsin (Baldur's Gate), Rolan (Baldur's Gate), Lia (Baldur's Gate), Cal (Baldur's Gate), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Mattis (Baldur's Gate), Mirkon (Baldur's Gate), Ide (Baldur's Gate), Umi (Baldur's Gate), Alfira (Baldur's Gate), Lakrissa (Baldur's Gate), Tav (Baldur's Gate), Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate), Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Jaheira (Baldur's Gate), Minsc (Dungeons & Dragons), Lae'zel (Baldur's Gate), Gale (Baldur's Gate), Cerys (Baldur's Gate), Tiefling Refugees (Baldur's Gate), Rikka (Baldur's Gate), Guex (Baldur's Gate), Okta (Baldur's Gate), Gerson the Bent (Baldur's Gate), Nerela (Baldur's Gate), Chell (Baldur's Gate), Zae (Baldur's Gate), Damays (Baldur's Gate), Nymessa (Baldur's Gate), Pandirna (Baldur's Gate), Francesca (Baldur's Gate), Jeorna (Baldur's Gate), Arron (Baldur's Gate), Rion (Baldur's Gate), Jord (Baldur's Gate), Geraldus (Baldur's Gate), Barcus Wroot, Featherweight Falson (Baldur's Gate), Original Non-Binary Character, Vellyne Harpell Additional Tags: Post-Game, Ensemble Cast, Slow burn is best burn, stupid bastard incubus patron, Shifting Narrative, POV Third Person, Tiefling Biology (Dungeons & Dragons), Tiefling Tav (Baldur's Gate), Post-Canon, Post-Game: Baldur's Gate 3, Dragons, Action/Adventure, Angst, Humor, Fluff, a little bit of everything all of the time, Resurrection, Found Family, Character Development Series: Part 1 of Time and Again Summary:

After the fall of the Elder Brain, Baldur's Gate rebuilds. In the months after, the heroes and their allies alike start to build their new lives, finding their places in this new version of the Gate. The funny thing about Faerun, though, is that things are never quiet for too long. Even though the hero's party may be scattered, and some indeed done with adventuring, there is always a need for brave adventurers to face the danger head on. Who will step up to answer the call? How will the new Archduke and Duchess handle running the city? And how do the newest citizens adjust to life in their new home?

Time and Again is an ensemble fanfiction with a shifting narrative, starting two months after the defeat of the Elder Brain, working its way to the epilogue, and beyond. What lies in wait in this strange cycle of destruction and heroism?

--

The first is that I've updated Time and Again, which is now up to chapter 52. We continue on our progress toward the finale~ Featuring more with Taevis, Zevlor's cute little family, and Astarion's story.

Dual posted to my DeviantArt account, a non-sexual G/T vore story featuring adults along the lines of the lion and the thorn fable. There will be tons of hurt/comfort aspects, lots of safe vore. That is the primary focus in this.

Barrett is an adult giant standing 85ft tall and Hope is an adult human at 5ft 6. Barrett does not eat children at any point. 

Warnings: Fighting; Fatal Mention; Characters in Distress

Future and Previous: While this part has no fatalities, future parts include fatal vore and violence. Barrett, the giant, is not a good guy, so will be doing some occasional bad things.

Editor: @vore-scientist

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Since what happened with the thieves, Barrett did not like being away from camp for long. He didn’t like the idea of Hope being vulnerable or at risk, but taking care of her during her illness hadn’t let him hunt as frequently as usual. He didn’t want to leave her alone, but she also clearly didn’t like seeing when he ate humans, and he suspected she would react similarly to seeing him eat any other sort of small folk. But he needed food, and going hungry longer than usual meant he couldn’t afford to be picky. Which unfortunately meant leaving Hope at camp and hoping the smell of a syor living there would scare off most things. At least today had been a good hunt. A nice moose was caught, not a common find, and large enough to be rather filling. He paused on his walk back and his ears flicked as he heard an unfamiliar male voice. And he dropped his catch and charged forward. He flicked up the tertiary eyelid organ to see past the trees…something larger than Hope was at their camp. His feet moved with instinct before thoughts even formed. 

Another predator was in camp. Another predator was with his Hope.

“MINE!”

-----Earlier....-----

Hope was rather startled when a large naga, standing probably about 25 ft tall or a tad shorter, came through the trees. He had long curly hair that was so intensely black it was as if dipped in ink, but there were streaks of gray despite no other outward signs of great age.. From his vibrant blue coloration, and his thick build, he wasn't one of the native varieties. She wondered if his kind, like native nagas, had the potential to be dangerous predators. He very well could be, but if he was, he wasn't hunting her, instead he smiled warmly, “Hello there! I think I got a bit lost. Can you tell me where I am?”

Still, she was a bit wary. This could be a trick. And yet… How long had it been since she’d talked to someone? “I haven’t seen nagas your size in this area before. Too close to a syor settlement for them to thrive.”

The naga paused, considering, “Then I must be very far off track... May I sit here?” he asked as he gestured near where she sat on the shore of the lake.

 Hope nodded, “I don’t mind... but you may not want to stay long. There’s a syor in the area, and I doubt he would react well to you.”

The naga nodded in return, then curled up in a seated position near her before reassuring her and introducing himself, “That’s alright. I’m quite confident I can handle myself. I’ve studied quite a bit of magic. I’m Taevis by the way.”

The potential overconfidence didn't do much to assuage Hope’s concerns. But they had just started talking and it was going so well, and Barrett was probably still hunting decently far away. “I’m Hope. You say you studied magic but didn’t mention the college... Did you study somewhere else? Like I heard there’s places of study on the far continent... I hope you are right about being able to defend yourself from a syor. He will come back for me... so far doesn’t seem to intend to eat me, but that could probably change at any time... but he definitely isn’t going to let me run off. He left me here while he went to hunt, you can see the tent he uses right over there. If you want, I have a pretty good idea of the direction of the nearest syorian town. They can help you get your bearings there.”

Taevis listened attentively to her, frowning a bit at her ramblings. “If you want me to leave that badly, I can head off... but I was enjoying your company. I’ve been wandering lost for a while now.”

Hope’s eyes widened as she realized her rudeness and she shook her head vigorously, “Oh I definitely love the company. Since that syor has decided to... I don’t know... keep me? I haven’t had much chance to speak to people. Mostly just him, and that’s mostly me hoping every day that he doesn’t change his mind about keeping me alive. I just worry about your safety is all. If you are that confident you can defend yourself, I really do love having someone to talk to. I’ve missed it.”

Taevis’ face flushed slightly, “I don’t intend to scare, but I’m pretty confident I’m one of the most dangerous things around! I’d be far more worried about being lost than about the syor. But even if I’m dangerous, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m really glad to have run into someone so helpful to a stranger!”

 “I like to help people... but my desire to help others has gotten me in trouble a few times,” Hope chuckled nervously, “Like the fact these days I rarely get to see or talk to anyone. Last time he found a traveler, he just ate them. Can’t exactly have a conversation if the person immediately becomes food... And it’s not like I can have much conversation with the syor... I’m still not sure how long he’s going to keep me around before I end up like that traveler.” Hope shrugged and took a deep breath , “But nothing I can do about it, so at the very least I can be kind to the first person I’ve had a proper conversation with in... I’m not even sure how long anymore. Two months? Three?”

Taevis considered her words then smiled down at Hope, “You could always come with me. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t go around eating travelers, at least. I have no real idea where I’m going at the moment, but it sounds better than staying here!”

Hope sighed even deeper and tried to laugh but it came out wrong, “That’s very kind of you, but I guarantee the syor won’t let me go. But until he comes back, if you want, I have plenty of food. He’s been taking everything the travelers carry, and the amount of food... it’ll go bad before I could ever eat it all. It’s in that cart over there. As for directions... following the lake shore that way will lead to a river. There’s a town just upstream,” she pointed in the direction of the town. 

This new revelation surprised Taevis, “He eats travelers and makes you use their stuff? That’s kind of fucked up! And it seems a proper comb hasn’t been in those supplies. How about I help you with your hair a bit, since you’ve helped me with my problem of being lost?”and he pulled a human sized comb from one of the pouches at his waist.

Now it was Hope’s turn to be surprised, and she nodded hesitantly. She tensed up when he put his hands around her to pick her up and set her on his coils, if he was hunting her she was now in his clutches. At least she knew Barrett would avenge her. Then her fear melted away as the comb went through her hair.  The strong but delicate hands held her secure and though the comb pulled a bit, it felt nice rather than painful. She didn't even flinch when he took out a knife to cut the dead ends. How long had it been since someone had been gentle with her?

Hope was so relaxed she didn't hear Taevis ask her about her life before ending up in her current situation. He had to repeat the question. Now she genuinely smiled, not a shred of discomfort left, “I had a beautiful farm... I actually came out this way to get some new...”

“MINE!”

The roar came as Barrett charged out of the trees.

The naga hissed and slithered back rapidly and held himself tall, knife in one hand, and with the other… Well he tried to put Hope behind him, to protect the vulnerable human. But she ran out and stood between the two monsters. 

Hope was determined to defuse the situation without bloodshed, and she knew Barrett’s first instinct would be to grab her, though she was worried that Taevis would attack as she was lifted up by the syor. Thankfully he didn’t. And more thankfully, Barrett, who was running on pure possessive instinct, didn't crack any ribs snatching her up. 

With Hope in hand Barrett’s eyes looked down upon the naga, taking its smaller size and making quick judgments as to how dangerous it may be. His predator calculations worked quickly to give him an answer. “Looks like I don’t need to hunt anymore…”

A deeper hiss, almost a growl, came from the naga, “Listen, syor. I did not come seeking a fight, but it will not go well if you press the issue.” 

Barrett growled lower, “You were messing with something that belongs to me. I know you could smell I have been here a while and she is mine. Besides, I still need a meal.”

“I recommend hunting elsewhere,” Taevis warned, eyes flashing.

Barrett smirked, confident as he extended his claws, “But I just found something large enough I won’t have to hunt for a few days… Why would I walk away from such a substantial meal?”

The naga exhaled a cloud of frosty mist, intending the elemental magic to be sufficient warning and make it clear to this syor that physical size won’t win this fight. A miscalculation on his part, the syor charged forward and slashed with his claws. The unexpected stupidity caught Taevis off guard and he felt pain as the claws made contact. Then the lightning Taevis had been preparing struck Barrett’s arm, making the syor jerk back as his skin burned and muscles seized with electricity and pain. 

Barrett hesitated to charge again, his predator brain re-calculating. While a large meal was good, getting Hope away from this other predator was top priority. It was time to leave, or convince the naga to leave. Cursing from the pain of the attack he spat at the naga, “What the fuck… nagas don’t do that… Just… get out of here. I’ll just eat the human.”

Taevis let out a very un-naga-like growl, “I was afraid you’d say that,” and lunged forward with another bolt of electricity. At the same time Barrett pulled a dagger from his waist, snarling. 

Barrett charged again, slashing the dagger at the naga’s face and cutting him across the cheek. This time he knew he lacked the element of surprise, and making contact with the knife wasn't his true goal. As Taevis moved away Barrett anticipated the direction and kicked at the naga’s serpent body, punting it into the lake. It landed with a satisfying splash and Barrett allowed himself a self congratulatory purr. Until the surface of the lake bulged, a hill as large as himself made of water rose up, and broke. 

Instead of a naga emerging from the water, a horned humanoid that was, to Barrett's acute dismay, well over a head taller than he was. Horns curved back on the head, bluish silver scales visible on the cheeks under the gash from the dagger. Decorative metal decorated the horns as well as earrings and even gold cuffs on the draconic wings spreading behind him. A long reptilian tail, adorned with those silver scales and fins on the end lashed back and forth creating waves taller than Hope in the water. True vicious talons on the hands made Barrett suddenly aware of his own less substantial retractable claws. A demidragon. Offspring or descended from true dragons, and no less dangerous than the full blooded sort.

The demidragon stepped out of the lake, clawed feet furrowing the damp ground, and Barrett struggled to not show apprehension as Taevis spread his wings to further emphasize his superior size. Barrett was determined to deny Taevis the satisfaction and showing any fear. And Barrett was afraid… but Hope was his and only his, so he tightened his grip on his blade, and held Hope to his chest. “Just leave! I won’t let you take her!” Focusing on his own abilities, Barrett decided to demonstrate the magic syor did have. He flung the dagger, using his natural magic to shoot it towards Taevis’ wing joint. But the demidragon, with an agonizingly casual motion, blocked it with an arm.

With his focus split between his dagger and his Hope, even his quick reflexes failed as Taevis quickly turned his thick tail, sweeping Barrett’s feet out from under him, followed by a horrible loud THUMP and CRACK as Barrett landed on his back. “Don’t you fucking touch Hope! I’ll cut your throat!” His voice broke with fear instead of aggression as he tried the knife again, flinging it wildly at Taevis. 

Having announced the second attack, Taevis was easily able to grab the dagger from mid-air. He ignored the blood dripping from his palm and electricity crackled through his hand, heating the knife white hot and deforming it in the shape of his grip.

Taevis let it drop as he stepped forward, placed a heavy clawed foot on Barrett's chest, knelt down, and got his talons around the wrist which held Hope. Barrett’s eyes narrowed and he growled, “I’ll bite your throat out! I won’t let you take her!” 

Taevis ignored him and spoke words that Barrett did not recognize, summoning gleaming magic that wrapped rapidly around the syor. Once the syor was thoroughly immobilized, Taevis growled, “You want to eat her. I’m not going to let that happen.” He pressed his talons into the soft underflesh of Barrett's wrist and with his other hand pried open Barretts fist. It wasn't that hard, the syor was not crushing the human; not that surprising since they like them alive and squirming after all. 

Barrett snarled at the demidragon, “Like I would actually eat the woman who saved my life!” 

That piqued Taevis’ interest and against his better judgment he let the syor continue to breathe and speak. 

“But saying that makes other syor back off so I thought it would work with other predators!” 

Taevis studied the syor’s expression, thinking. He wasn’t from this region, but had heard from travelers that syor were unusually honest, unless deceit was needed for extreme situations. Keeping a human was not an extreme situation.. Protecting kin, mates, and other giants that were close might qualify and thus force abnormally honest creature to lie… But he did not have enough experience with the species to be sure. 

“Hmm… Do not try to get loose from your bindings.” He moved to open his own hand that had taken Hope from the syor, holding her on upturned palm to try to make her feel less restrained, “Hope, is what he saying true? He threatened to rip my throat out… which was… unexpected.” He could see Hope was nervous with his larger size, so he further adjusted his hold and she relaxed a bit more. 

It still took a moment for her to find her voice, “I… did save his life. That’s what I meant by helping others ending badly… I was about to tell you before he showed up… and… he has said he’ll eat me to another syor who tried to grab me once… but I’ve never been sure if saving his life was enough that he wouldn’t change his mind about keeping me alive…” 

Barrett was surprised by the last part of what Hope said, “I was half starved after you spent weeks freeing me from that rockslide and I didn’t kill you then! Why would I kill you now when I’m not half starved to death?”

In an attempt to reassure Hope, Taevis cupped his hand slightly to provide a cage of talons between her and the syor. His eyes flashed as he glared at Barrett, “I was speaking to the young woman. I am not going to trust you until she corroborates your claims… Besides, can‘t hardly blame her with your kind’s reputation.”

To Taevis’ surprise, Hope peeked over his hand to look at Barrett, “Your kind is notorious for having no regard for human life, and the way you have been hunting travelers makes it clear that hasn’t changed!” her harsh expression turned to surprise as she heard her own torrent of words. She sighed, sitting down on Taevis’s palm as she considered what else her new… friend? captor? wanted to know, “I… I don’t know. I’ve been stuck with him this long and… I just don’t know. He acts sorta nice, for a syor I guess… but also won’t let me leave… It didn't exactly help matters when he tortured and ate my father right in front of me…”

Barrett’s ears twitched at the mention of her father, “I do not regret eating your father. When I brought him back because he smelled like you, the look of pure fear on your face at the sight of him made it clear what I had to do.”

“Should I give you two some privacy?” Taevis narrowed his eyes, “Or perhaps it is my having her safe from you that allows such a discussion…” His tone softened a bit, “If so can at least get more comfortable…?”

Barrett let out a deep hissing sigh, “Hope barely says a word to me these days. The last time she has said this much was when I was trapped under those rocks. I do not like these restraints and I do not like you touching what’s mine… But Hope is actually talking to me for once.”

Hope looked down briefly as she thought about the situation, then at the hand around her, then up at Taevis before looking back down, “Well… a demidragon is strong enough that if you did lose your temper, you couldn’t hurt me…” She turned her eyes to meet Taevis’s, “Please don’t leave me alone with him…” 

Taevis nodded, “Well then, Hope… if you are confident enough in my protection, would you mind if I released his restraints before I lose feeling in my knees? I won’t leave, and I won’t set you down until you are ready.” Hope took some time to consider and nodded. Taevis gestured and released the magic restraining Barrett however hee tensed in preparation as Barrett sat up.“I recommend sitting near the lake, the cool water will ease the electrical burns.”

Barrett hesitated, his instincts to care for his wounds at war with his aversion to moving even a few steps further away from Hope. Finally the pain won and he knelt by the water to soak his wrist.

 Hope expressed a bit of surprise, “You burned Barrett?”she glanced back at his tail again. 

Taevis only glanced briefly at hope, keeping focused on Barrett, “So that’s his name? And yes. While my tail may have the fins of the oceanic dragons, I’m a mix of silver and oceanic..” -

Hope nodded as she thought over that explanation, “That explains the lightning. I’ve met silver dragons and demidragons before. Even had some visit my farm on occasion.” 

Taevis smiled slightly, “I heard some of my kind live around this continent, but I actually traveled here from quite far away, This is my first encounter with one of his kind” meaning syor, “I’d heard stories of these ‘evil giants that treat smaller races as food’. I thought it might be an exaggeration, but he has proven me wrong.” He turned to look at Barrett with a slight glare, “I now suspect you could tell I wasn’t threatening her and you were using ‘protection’ as an excuse to make a meal of me before you knew what I am. With that kind of behavior, I don’t blame her for fearing a change of heart!”

Barrett gave a snort, “You aren’t her. She’s special. She spent weeks saving my life, so I intend to protect her. You were a potential meal. Good meat ain’t always easy to find.”

Taevis thought for a moment as he calmed, “While I understand protecting those you care about, and getting a nice treat as a bonus… that doesn’t seem to be what you were actually doing. It is curious that you would act as if it was…I heard syor aren’t big on deception, and the only one you would be deceiving is Hope… meaning.”

Taevis waited to see if Barrett would continue and when he didn’t, “Meaning… you do care about not upsetting her enough to go against your normal straightforward nature.”

Barrett grumbled under his breath a bit. Clearly unhappy with the implication he was being dishonest in some way, but also not outright denying it. It was true that syor tended to be true to their word and not all that inclined to lie. Occasionally lying to give false hope to humans they caught, that he had done. But that’s not what Taevis was talking about. Protecting a human’s feelings was simply not done. “Still not happy about you touching Hope…”

Hope frowned, “I don’t see what the big deal is, he’s been very kind and friendly.”

Taevis rolled his eyes, “and Yet at you do seem happy that she is more open to talking. But perhaps you will be in a more amicable mood after having some food.”

Barrett gave a slight snort, “Well the bull moose I killed before I saw you is enough for me and Hope.”

This, for reasons Barrett couldn’t understand but Taevis could, angered Hope, “Wait, you were successful at hunting, but you still tried to eat a naga?” 

Barrett shrugged, “Bull moose is a meal for one day, naga is a meal for several.” 

Taevis glanced around the campsite, “I don’t see anything for you to prepare the moose… Where is your cooking fire?” 

Barrett rolled his eyes, “Why would I waste time cooking it? The only reason I didn’t eat it immediately was to see if Hope wanted some.”

Taevis pinched his nose, “You are saying that all these piles of supplies and you don’t even prepare proper meals for yourself? No wonder you are so scrawny and hungry.” He surveyed the piles, “Hope will never use the supplies before they go bad, so why not combine the moose with some veggies that are about to go bad and make something that will last both of us a couple days?”

Barrett was rather confused at the suggestion, “Mix the meat… with something else? You mean like the syorian do? I’m not a wimpy syorian. I don’t do that. I hunt like any proper syor.”

The look of astonishment on Taevis’ face made Barrett uncomfortable, and Taevis’ response didn’t help “You.. aren’t familiar with cooking…” he said with concern before grinning with all his teeth. A mouth full of vicious fangs. “Well I happen to be a very good cook. It will keep it from going bad and be much more filling.”

Hope piped up, “There’s a ton of metal cookware in the carts! If we combine all the metal we have we can make a great pan to cook with! Oh I would love to share some recipes! I wonder if they would turn out as good when done at such a large size…”

Barrett was taken aback by Hope’s boldness and excitement about the prospect of cooking yet he was still hesitant. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not, “You want me to do what syorians do with food…”

Taevis arched a brow as he looked at Barrett again, “Like demidragons do. Like many scaly dragons do. You aren’t saying your kind are better than dragons, are you?” he flashed his teeth again. 

Barrett frowned and looked away, not sure how to respond. Taevis stood. “I’m going to go find that dead moose. You keep soaking that hand. Hope seems to want to stay by me at the moment, but we will remain close, I can smell it is just beyond those trees.”

Barrett gave a slight snarl, “I don’t like you having my Hope… But she…” his words faltered so instead he growled, “Try to steal her and demidragon or not I will hunt you down.”

With a shrug of his wings Taevis turned to walk back into the woods, and hoped to have a private conversation with Hope before their return to the clearing, assuming the syor stayed by the lake to soak the burn. 

Chapters: 48/? Fandom: Baldur's Gate (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Zevlor (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Halsin (Baldur's Gate)/Original Character(s), Tav/Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Cerys/Rolan (Baldur's Gate), Dammon & Karlach (Baldur's Gate), Original Character M/M Pairing, Karlach (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s), Lia/Rikka (Baldur's Gate), Cal/Geraldus (Baldur's Gate), Featherweight Falson/Barcus Wroot, Okta (Baldur's Gate)/Original Male Character(s) Characters: Zevlor (Baldur's Gate), Dammon (Baldur's Gate), Halsin (Baldur's Gate), Rolan (Baldur's Gate), Lia (Baldur's Gate), Cal (Baldur's Gate), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Mattis (Baldur's Gate), Mirkon (Baldur's Gate), Ide (Baldur's Gate), Umi (Baldur's Gate), Alfira (Baldur's Gate), Lakrissa (Baldur's Gate), Tav (Baldur's Gate), Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate), Wyll (Baldur's Gate), Jaheira (Baldur's Gate), Minsc (Dungeons & Dragons), Lae'zel (Baldur's Gate), Gale (Baldur's Gate), Cerys (Baldur's Gate), Tiefling Refugees (Baldur's Gate), Rikka (Baldur's Gate), Guex (Baldur's Gate), Okta (Baldur's Gate), Gerson the Bent (Baldur's Gate), Nerela (Baldur's Gate), Chell (Baldur's Gate), Zae (Baldur's Gate), Damays (Baldur's Gate), Nymessa (Baldur's Gate), Pandirna (Baldur's Gate), Francesca (Baldur's Gate), Jeorna (Baldur's Gate), Arron (Baldur's Gate), Rion (Baldur's Gate), Jord (Baldur's Gate), Geraldus (Baldur's Gate), Barcus Wroot, Featherweight Falson (Baldur's Gate) Additional Tags: Post-Game, Ensemble Cast, Slow burn is best burn, stupid bastard incubus patron, Shifting Narrative, POV Third Person, Tiefling Biology (Dungeons & Dragons), Tiefling Tav (Baldur's Gate), Post-Canon, Post-Game: Baldur's Gate 3, Dragons, Action/Adventure, Angst, Humor, Fluff, a little bit of everything all of the time, Resurrection, Found Family Series: Part 1 of Time and Again Summary:

After the fall of the Elder Brain, Baldur's Gate rebuilds. In the months after, the heroes and their allies alike start to build their new lives, finding their places in this new version of the Gate. The funny thing about Faerun, though, is that things are never quiet for too long. Even though the hero's party may be scattered, and some indeed done with adventuring, there is always a need for brave adventurers to face the danger head on. Who will step up to answer the call? How will the new Archduke and Duchess handle running the city? And how do the newest citizens adjust to life in their new home?

Time and Again is an ensemble fanfiction with a shifting narrative, starting two months after the defeat of the Elder Brain, working its way to the epilogue, and beyond. What lies in wait in this strange cycle of destruction and heroism?

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