I haven’t done Loki stories in awhile but feel free to read the ones I have done! Currently hyperfixated on Astarion from BG3 and Jurrasic Park! (Moment of silence for the trauma that got me to this point 😂)
Loki G/T
Shrinking Avenger X Loki
Close Encounters
Cabins and Curiosity
Cabins and Curiosity:2
Cabins and Curiosity: 3
Sad Loki with borrower
Bullied Borrower x Loki
Exploring Borrower x Loki
Loki and Thor x Tiny Reader
Secret Giant Loki x Tiny Reader
Prisoners Together
Broken Crutches
Captured
Words Can Hurt
The Fear of Heights
Use Your Words
Snow Days
It All Works Out in the End
Things Get Better
Misunderstandings
Trouble in Paradise
Art Games
You Gotta Kiss The Girl
Shrinking (Like the wasp) Avenger x Loki
Best Of Friends
Furry Friends
Don't Touch Them!
Shh... Just Sleep..You're Safe
It's okay...I'm here now
Don't Worry I'll be careful
What are you hiding behind your back?
You're about as intimidating as a teddy bear
I'm not that scary, am I?
You're going to be just fine I promise
“Is that what I look like to you?”
Astarion G/T
Tav gets shrunk due to a failed spell and Astarion, along with the rest of the party, assists Tav in finding out what caused the mishap.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
I thought since I had quite a few stories (and more on the way) that I should create a list so it is easier to navigate my blog! Enjoy!
Continuation of part 2. SFW g/t interactions between Borrower!Dal and the Doom Slayer/Flynn.
Things get a little steamy, no pun intended (really, it's steamy inside Flynn's helmet!) I was asked to include this drawing in the story so I obliged!
As the days went by, as far as Dal could tell from the inside of a space station, she started to see less of Flynn. Quite often he was gone for long periods of time, disappearing through a portal on the main deck and returning in his Praetor suit absolutely covered in blood and filth.
By this time, Flynn had set up a space on the main computer desk for his tiny guest to stay while he was gone. This way, she had access to talking to VEGA, the station’s artificial intelligence. VEGA had control of the entire fortress, and could even operate drones and machinery.
To keep Dal from getting too bored, Flynn gave her as many trinkets and crafts he could find- paper scraps, aluminum foil, pins, fabric, thread. He was very generous with her, much to her surprise. Borrowers were accustomed to having to steal everything in secret… it was almost blasphemous to be just handed the stuff.
Regardless, Dal busied herself with the materials, working with a pile of fur scraps. She couldn’t determine what sort of animal it came from, but it was a dense, glossy black fur.
As she worked on the desk, she glanced around the command station. It was very large, with high ceilings and a glass window looking out to the vast emptiness of space. Monitors and screens were arranged in a circular pattern around a pedestal in the middle, which Flynn would use to boot up the portal down the walkway.
“...Vega?” She called out, and after a moment, the AI replied to her.
“How can I assist you?” A soft, masculine voice responded from somewhere in the room.
Dal held up the fur scrap she was working on. She didn’t know where VEGA’s “eyes” were, but he somehow was able to see what was happening anywhere in the station.
“What kind of animal is this fur?” Dal asked.
“Unknown. It appears to be what remains of the Slayer’s cape, worn during his time with the Night Sentinels.” VEGA stated.
Dal’s eyes widened. She looked at the fur with new interest, now that she knew it belonged to Flynn.
“Night Sentinels?” She asked, poring over the fur with her hands.
“Yes. The Slayer was an honorary member of the Night Sentinels, who were Argenta that served the king. Originally from the planet Argent D’Nur, which has since been conquered by Hell.” VEGA said as an image was projected into the middle of the room for Dal to see.
A holographic model of the Slayer was displayed, and Dal gazed upon it in awe. He was in a neutral pose wearing full armor, though it looked slightly different from the armor he wore now. Namely he had a heavy fur cloak draped behind him and what looked to be a shield in his left hand with chainsaw blades along the edges.
“This was the Slayer’s armor during the Night Sentinel age. You can see the fur cape here.” VEGA said as the projected image slowly rotated in place.
“Wow. That’s really cool that you can do that, Vega.” Dal said as she continued to examine the armor. He certainly looked intimidating in his suit, his face completely obscured by the helmet.
“Thank you. The Slayer is returning, now. Readying portal.” VEGA said before cutting away the projection and powering up the portal gate.
Dal scrambled in her seat on the desk, pushing away the fur scrap so she could stand up and greet Flynn on his way in. She always got excited when he came back, even though he always went right through the station deck and cleaned himself up before interacting with her.
She didn’t mind. It was enough for her to know that he was safe.
The blue portal appeared and the Slayer stepped through onto the station deck. He was geared up in his usual attire of green and brown armor- the Praetor suit. He stepped heavily, his massive frame even larger and heavier with the weight of the armor combined with his own body.
The hulking tank of a man strode right up to the desk Dal was standing on and gave her a little wave. The borrower waved right back, craning her head all the way back just to see his tinted visor.
“Hi Flynn. Vega was showing me your old armor with the cape.” Dal beamed, gesturing to the scrap of fur remnants on the desk.
Flynn nodded slightly at that, glancing down at the fur.
“Ah, yes. That cape has seen better days.” He rumbled as he removed his helmet and set it on the desk next to Dal. “If anyone can make use of that little scrap of what’s left, it’s you.”
Just then, the entire station jolted. It became dark as all the lights went off at once, and everything was silent, including VEGA.
Dal had no time to react to what had happened. Flynn immediately snatched her up in his gauntlet and grabbed his helmet off the desk.
“Hold on!” The man said firmly as he brought his hand up to his face. He spread his fingers and pressed Dal’s tiny body against his forehead as he tilted his head back.
“T-to what??” She shouted, but his hand was removed and she found herself clinging to his brow, legs straddling the bridge of his nose.
Flynn then took his helmet and put it on, taking care not to bump Dal in the process. He kept his head tilted back as he sealed it with a click, trapping her inside.
The station shook again as a new voice spoke over the intercom system, a feminine one this time. Dal couldn’t understand what was being said, not while she was sealed in Flynn’s helmet.
“Flynn…!” She whined as the man leveled his head and was moving quite quickly through the dark fortress. His skin was slick with sweat, and she found herself sliding down the length of his nose while helplessly straddling it.
“Sorry. Just hang on.” He grunted as he moved, his breaths heating up the interior of the helmet and only adding to the moisture.
The station had been hijacked by the Khan Maykr, the leader of the Maykr race, which Flynn should have expected- the Fortress of Doom was of Maykr design after all. It was non-functional as long as the hack was active, which meant that the airlocks may fail, leaving the interior of the fortress exposed to the vacuum of space.
He couldn’t exactly explain that to Dal in a timely manner, but sealing her inside his helmet would keep her safe… for now. He had to restore power to the station by some other means.
Inside Flynn’s helmet, Dal found herself losing grip on his face. Her small size fit inside his helmet with plenty of room to spare, but the fact that she was slowly falling down was terrifying. The bottom of the enclosed space was still a far drop.
“I’m gonna fall!” She squeaked, and Flynn paused in his movements to tilt his head downwards, which dropped her off his nose and right against the inner mouthpiece of the helmet.
Dal yelped a few more times, her little voice muffled by her confines as Flynn shook his head a few times to ensure she was snug at the base of the helmet, between his chin and the air vents.
With her back against the metal, Dal’s entire view was filled with Flynn’s lower jaw. She had never been so close to his face before, especially not his lips. His breaths rushed out of his nose onto her body as he moved quickly through the corridors.
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Dal asked hastily, but Flynn only responded with a harsh grunt, his jaw clenched shut.
You’re going to end up in my mouth. Flynn thought to himself as he focused on keeping his jaw clenched tight with the tiny one in such close proximity.
“Okay…” She responded to his silence, bracing herself against the inside of the helmet as Flynn stepped quickly. She had never seen him so agitated before now, considering life on the space station was generally calm and uneventful. Whatever he did outside of the station that got him covered in blood was none of her concern.
Thankfully, the fortress’s power was not lost. Flynn retrieved a demonic crucible, a powerful weapon capable of channeling energy into a physical blade, from its storage and used it to power the station again. The lights came back on and VEGA was restored, whom immediately got to work securing the main systems.
Flynn exhaled and touched his fingers to the rim of his helmet. He felt just a small tickle against his chin every now and then, as the unfortunate borrower sealed in his helmet was jostled around by his movements.
“Should be safe now.” He uttered lowly as he tilted his head forward and loosened the helmet. Dal was slid into the channel of the mouthpiece as he pulled it off, then looked down into the empty helmet.
“What was that about?” Dal asked breathily as she sprawled on her back in the depths of the man’s helmet and looked up at his face. He seemed to be calm despite what had just happened.
“Power went out. Wanted to make sure you could still breathe, so I popped you in there.” Flynn said as he walked briskly through the corridors, carrying her along in the helmet. He found it quite adorable, seeing how small she looked inside.
“Oh.” Dal said as she looked up with wide eyes. “Does… that happen often up here?”
“No. And it won’t happen again.” Flynn said, his eyes darkening. In his mind, he was already preparing to face the one responsible for the whole thing. And he’d do so with shotgun in hand, as he always had.
“Well that’s a relief. I guess if you weren’t here I would have…” Dal trailed off as Flynn shot her a look.
“None of that. You’re safe.” He grunted. He didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if he wasn’t around to secure her at the time.
“Oh. Of course.” She bit her lip as she was carried along in his helmet. “You think quick, big guy.”
“Gotta keep my little stowaway safe.” He smirked playfully, rolling the opening of his helmet slightly towards his face as he walked.
“Stowaway? I’m no such thing.” Dal retorted, sitting up in the helmet to shoot him a glare.
“I stowed you away. You are by definition a stowaway.” He rumbled, finding her little glare amusing.
“But… I didn’t stow myself away… you stowed me.” Dal shook her head in annoyance. “Anyways, I’m not complaining… it saved my life after all.”
“Nah. You’re sassy, though.” Flynn said as he set the helmet down gently on the main bridge deck between his thick arms, tapping on the screen through several prompts.
Dal stood up inside, her tiny frame too small to reach the top.
“You’re not gonna let me out?” She asked, and Flynn smirked again as he kept his attention on the screen.
“I thought you weren’t complaining.” He replied as he tapped the screen.
“I… I’m not! You said it was safe, doesn’t that mean I can come out?” She leaned against the sloped edge of the mouthpiece, frowning dramatically.
Flynn was tempted to keep teasing her, but he relented upon seeing her sad little face and reached his fingers inside, hooking them under her little rear.
“Ah, fine. Stay close, though.” He said as he placed her against his neck, tucking her against the collar of his undersuit. He gave her a little pat with his armored fingertip before returning to diagnostics on the screen.
“Don’t worry about that…” Dal clung to his neck, the textured neoprene of his suit providing plenty of traction. Much better than the slippery metal of his helmet. She smiled triumphantly to herself, knowing that her exaggerated expression won her freedom.
In truth, Flynn didn’t need much of an excuse to keep her warm little body close to him. His smile persisted as he worked, her tiny frame clinging to his neck.
“Hnn, no? The little borrower’s gotten quite comfortable with me.” Flynn rumbled.
“I… yeah, of course I have! You’re so gentle with me.” Dal retorted, feeling her cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment.
“Gentle…” Flynn laughed. Another previously unused word to describe him. “You’re just so… tiny. Tiny and fragile.” He said as he brought his hand up and brushed his finger against her leg.
Dal gripped his suit harder as he touched her leg. Though his hand was covered in armor, the gesture was still the same.
“Yup… that part of me won’t change.” She uttered, leaning against his muscular neck.
“Mmm.” Flynn rumbled. He didn’t mind that.
“Besides, I can’t exactly live like a borrower here. It’s just you and Vega on this… huge fortress full of weapons and stuff that I can’t use.” Dal said, glancing around the rather Gothic interior of the station.
“Mhmm.” Flynn hummed in amusement.
“And I’m injured! I can’t move around a lot on my own…” She blurted, heat rising in her face.
“Are you blushing?” Flynn said, feeling her little hands against his neck warming up. He reached up with his fingers to pluck her off his neck.
Dal jolted and scrambled along his neck to the back, huddling against his nape of his neck in an attempt to escape his hand.
Flynn halted, his smile creeping wider as her delicate little form tickled the hairs on the back of his neck. It felt like a tiny animal was climbing on him.
“So shy.” He laughed as he withdrew his hand, letting her cling to his nape.
“So what?” Dal retorted, holding tight to the collar of his suit. “You’re teasing me! Is it not enough that I had to get crammed in your helmet?”
Flynn straightened up as he moved away from the monitor. He looked out at the windows of the main deck and sighed. With the demonic crucible now being used as a power source for the station, he had to go out and find another one… which meant leaving Dal alone once again.
“I could just keep you in there.” He laughed as he gripped his helmet in his hand. “Take you along with me to all sorts of places.”
He was teasing, of course. He wouldn’t needlessly endanger her life like that unless he had to keep her close for some reason.
“As if… the only sights I’d see is your stuffy helmet and… your stupid face.” Dal muttered.
“What was that?” Flynn said, turning his head back as Dal hid behind his neck. He had heard what she said, not that it bothered him. Putting her on the spot was too entertaining to him to pass up.
“N-Nothing!” The little borrower squeaked. She gripped his collar even tighter.
“Hmm.” Flynn rumbled as he fiddled with his helmet in his hands. “I do have to leave you here, little one. Come on, you can’t hide on my back forever.” He said as he brought his hand up to his shoulder and motioned for her to climb on.
Dal sighed in resignation and clambered across his shoulder, stepping onto his fingers which closed around her snugly. Flynn then held her up to his face, her tiny form even smaller in his armored hand.
“You’ll be back soon, though?” She asked, looking up at him hopefully.
“You’re not sick of me yet?” Flynn retorted, though there was no real bite to his tone. His green eyes gazed at her rather fondly.
Dal sensed his playfulness and brushed her fingers through her hair as she sat in the middle of his palm. Being close to his face was a lot less startling, now.
“Eh, not yet.” She shrugged, then tilted her head up at him. “Your face isn’t stupid, by the way…”
Flynn chuckled, shifting his weight on his hips as he regarded the little borrower in his hand. He leaned into his hand, bringing the tip of his nose against Dal’s middle, nuzzling against her tiny limbs before pulling away with a warm smile.
She was shocked, her face yet again flushed with color. The gesture was so forward, so gentle… she found herself wanting more.
“Y-you know, I don’t think anyone would believe me if I said I got cuddled by the Doom Slayer.” Dal stuttered, fiddling with her hands.
“Nope. They’d call you crazy.” Flynn hummed proudly. There was no real concern for him, considering his reputation for being Hell’s greatest foe for millennia was not likely to be shaken by a few moments of tenderness towards a tiny human.
“I’ll be back soon enough. You can always ask Vega to contact me if you need to, he has direct access to my suit’s systems.” The Slayer said as he walked Dal over to the command deck, where he had helped gather all her little things as well as piles of snacks and drinks to last her for months.
“Okay. I’ll try not to bother you, though.” The borrower said as she slowly climbed off Flynn’s hand and onto the desk.
“You kidding me? People bother me all the time. Always talkin’ in my ears. Don’t worry about that.” The man said as he popped his helmet on and tapped the sides of it.
“Hmm, alright! Bye, Flynn!” Dal said loudly as the armored man gave her a nod before turning and walking through the portal. She then sat down and looked around the empty space station and sighed.
He’d be back soon, surely.
Hours went by, and Flynn had not returned. Dal busied herself as best she could with her crafting projects, but as she started to get tired she realized she had no way to get to the barracks. Sure, she had plenty of commodities where she was, but the command deck was so bright and noisy with the whirring and clunking of machinery. Not the best place to sleep.
Flynn was usually back by now to carry her there, but not this time.
“Vega?” She called out, and for the first time, there was no answer. She called out again, only to be met with silence still.
She was truly alone, now. On an orbital fortress while her planet burned.
The borrower resigned to her little metal box house, curling up in the fabric nest. With no way to tell the time, she had no idea how much time had actually passed since Flynn left, or Vega’s silence. The Slayer was typically gone for just a few hours at a time, but it must have been almost a full 24 hours since she had last seen him.
She passed in and out of consciousness in the nest, too stressed to eat or drink. All she could think about was the worst; Flynn getting himself killed and leaving her to fend for herself in space.
Little did she know, Flynn was delayed this time because he was quite literally thwarting the Apocalypse. After confronting and killing the leader of the Maykr race, leaving VEGA behind in the domain of Urdak in order to warp him back to Earth, and taking down the gigantic demon, the Icon of Sin, the Slayer had a long and successful day.
At last, the demonic invasion was halted. Earth, though scorched and in ruins, was saved. Flynn left the planet, leaving behind a mountain of corpses, and manually activated his portal to return to the Fortress of Doom.
Despite the intense battle, Flynn looked no more worse for wear. He walked briskly across the command deck and glanced around the station. It was oddly quiet now, without VEGA. A short pang of sadness fell over him, thinking of the artificial intelligence he had to leave behind.
That sadness was quickly forgotten, however, as a familiar little face came into view. His tiny borrower guest clambered along the command desk and shouted his name.
“Flynn!” Dal yelled excitedly, and the armored man walked right over and let her climb into his hand.
“Miss me?” He smirked as he removed his helmet and held her up to his face.
Dal nodded enthusiastically, bracing herself against his thumb. A wave of relief flooded her as his huge hand held her.
“I couldn’t get through to Vega! I had no idea where you were or…” She said breathlessly, and Flynn’s face softened.
“Sorry. I had to unplug Vega and leave him in the sixth dimension.” Flynn said as he pulled up a rolling chair and sat down, still holding the borrower up to his face.
“The sixth…” Dal shook her head, perplexed. “So Vega’s just gone?”
“He’ll manage from there.” Flynn said as he looked out at the windows of the space station. The planet of Earth was still scorched in hellfire, but soon life will bounce back. “Earth is going to need time to rejuvenate, however.”
Dal followed his gaze to the windows, where her planet was in view. “So, the demons?”
“Gone. From Earth, at least.” Flynn said as he leaned back in the chair. He was beat. Taking down the Icon of Sin was not easy.
Dal turned back around in his palm and watched as the man heaved a sigh. He looked rough, sweaty and tired. No doubt he was on the move without rest for a long time.
She sat back in Flynn’s armored hand and gave his thumb a few sharp pats. “Hey. Thank you. For saving Earth and helping me.” Dal said earnestly, and Flynn glanced down at her warmly.
“Hmm.” The Slayer grunted in response. “Don’t mention it.”
“Well, I will, because you probably don’t ever get thanked.” Dal said more insistently.
“Killing things is a thankless job. Comes with the territory.” He shrugged.
“You really are unfazed by it, huh? It won’t kill you to say ‘you’re welcome’.” The borrower half-joked, already used to Flynn’s gruffness.
To that, Flynn just leaned back in his chair and set Dal on his forehead before draping his arms across his stomach with a rough sigh.
Dal braced herself on the big man’s head, sprawling on her hands and knees against his skin. “Right. Good answer.” She muttered as she slowly turned herself around to face his brows, then draped herself along the middle of his forehead.
Flynn smirked to himself, feeling her minuscule weight settling on his face. He closed his eyes and just sat in his chair, unmoving. He’d have to get up and scrub himself clean… eventually. He needed this moment of tenderness more.
Dal rested her chin on her hands, looking down the length of Flynn’s nose. He seemed content just leaning back in his chair, relaxing after whatever absolute terror he wreaked on the spawns of hell. She didn’t want to imagine it, even if she was curious about what he did whenever he left the fortress.
As she reached out and patted the bridge of his nose with her little hand, she had to smile to herself. To her, this was all she needed to know about the Doom Slayer.
Her gesture didn’t go unnoticed by him. Though her hand was extremely tiny, he could feel her petting him on a small spot between his eyebrows. His forehead, often tense and furrowed, relaxed under his tiny friend’s touch.
“Cute.” He muttered lowly, and Dal paused.
“Cute?” She asked, the word sounding so foreign coming from him.
“Mhmm.” Flynn rumbled.
“Uhh, what is? Me petting you?” Dal asked, hesitantly resuming her touch between his brows.
“Yeah.” He said, shifting slightly in his seat, his eyes half-lidded. “You’re so small. It’s like a little tickle to me.”
Dal felt herself blush a little in embarrassment. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to touch him in this way, and yet…
“I dunno, just feels right. It’s the least I can do at my size, when I’m literally laying on your face.” She huffed and hunkered down against his warm brow.
“Do whatever you want.” Flynn rumbled. “I like it.”
“Well, that’s a relief to hear.” Dal said as she smoothed out a few hairs of his eyebrows with her palm. From her perspective, she couldn’t see much of Flynn’s face aside from his nose and cheeks. Yet she caught a slight crinkle of his nostrils as he cracked a smile.
Flynn was beyond amused, his head tilted back in his seat, just sitting there and letting the little borrower touch his face.
“I do need to get up, though.” He said, tilting his head slightly forward. He’d have to be careful not to make her slide off.
“Aww… okay.” Dal said as she sat up on his forehead. She glanced around at his head, his short brown hair neatly framing his face.
“Come on. I’m sure you’re tired, little Dal.” The man said as he reached up and cupped his fingers around her, loosely securing her in his fist and lifting her from his face.
Dal shifted around in his palm, sprawling for a moment before righting herself back up into a sitting position as Flynn leveled his body and stood up from the chair, holding her against his chestplate.
“I am, actually… big Flynn.” She said playfully, and he shot her a sly look.
“Bath first. Then bed.” Flynn said as he walked briskly through the corridors of the Fortress of Doom, borrower in hand.
The rest of the evening went by rather quietly. Flynn went about the place, carrying Dal around from the bathroom to the barracks. He carried her little tin box to his bedside and placed it on the end of the desk, close to his head.
After setting Dal down on the desk, the big man stretched lavishly before sitting on the edge of his bed. “I feel like I can sleep the whole night this time.” He said as he removed his shoes and swung his legs over onto the mattress, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.
Dal stretched herself, watching as Flynn laid back and sunk into his enormous bed. She couldn’t help but smile at how relaxed he looked, more relaxed than she had ever seen him.
“Really? The whole night? How come?” She asked.
Flynn inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, his bulky chest rising and falling dramatically.
“Cause I’m off the clock. Finally.” He rumbled, draping one arm across his stomach.
Dal yawned and eyed her own little bed tucked away in the medical kit. Now that things had settled down, she felt more tired than ever.
“That’s good… I guess I’ll head to bed too.” She said as she slipped into the box and curled up in the fabric nest.
“Mmm. Night.” Flynn rumbled as he turned on his side and draped the blanket over himself. His eyes closed and he found himself comfortable, for once.
The two slept soundly, until Dal awoke in a panic. Another nightmare. Seems she was not off the hook yet.
The borrower got up and shuffled to the edge of the desk, looking out at Flynn’s massive, sleeping form.
“Flynn…?” She asked, with no response. The man was out like a light.
Urgently, Dal climbed off the desk and onto Flynn’s bed. She wobbled across his pillow, skirting around the man’s head until she came to his forehead again.
She hesitated, looking around at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful, how could she wake him? Instead, the tiny woman just huddled up to his brow and curled into a ball on his pillow.
Tired as he was, it didn’t take long for Flynn to sense her minuscule presence. Years of relying on instincts made sleeping impossible through any disturbance, no matter how small. His eyes opened softly, though he remained still. Dal’s tiny self was curled up, her back against his forehead.
The man carefully tilted his head, sliding his cheek against the pillow until his nose touched her back. From there, he could see her out of the corner of his eye.
Dal stirred with a jolt, glancing over her shoulder at the man’s left eye.
“You alright?” He rumbled, staring at her with one eye shut.
“Oh, Flynn… I didn’t want to wake you, but…” She wiped her face with her hands as she sat up a little. “...had a nightmare.”
Flynn blinked in understanding, then brought his hand up to his face, cupping his fingers around her.
“Yeah. You been through a lot.” Said the man who battled a beast the size of a skyscraper just that afternoon, along with countless other hordes of monsters.
But to the damn-near impossibly small woman against his face, he was no demon killer of legend. He wasn’t the Doom Slayer. He was Flynn, the big friendly giant. And her small little world, life as she knew it, would never be the same again.
There was no telling how long Earth would take to recuperate. Hell, even Hell itself could return with a vengeance. He didn’t have the heart to tell the quivering little borrower that she may never set foot on terra firma again. Maybe she knew that, already. Maybe the thought never even crossed her mind.
Flynn heaved a sigh, his fingers curling slightly further around Dal’s body. She really was so incredibly small. All the time the two had spent together was not enough to normalize the feeling of such a small human body against the bare skin of his palm. He wondered if she would be willing to make the most of her new home, here in the foreboding space fortress of the Doom Slayer.
Though he had no use for it, there was a room in the fortress with functional hydroponics, a greenhouse of some sorts, though nothing was yet growing in it. Nothing a little artificial sun lamp, some soil, and h20 wouldn’t fix. A garden sounded like a much more appealing place for the little earthling to explore.
As Dal nuzzled her way into the crevices of his fingers, he realized these thoughts were better spent for waking hours.
“You can stay right there.” Flynn urged, brushing his thumb against Dal’s side. “If that helps your nightmares.”
“Oh… Flynn.” She said in a small voice filled with relief. “Please, and thank you.”
“Uh huh,” He uttered with a sleepiness he had not felt in literal ages. His body was still, stalwart and poised to swat at the nightmares that haunted his little buddy without disturbing her from her place on his pillow.
His only duty now was to protect one little borrower. It was a job he awarded to himself, no permission granted from her- not that it would matter. Old habits die hard, and far be it for the Doom Slayer to not have a single mission on his agenda. Even in sleep.
Dal had become the world’s safest, most protected borrower in the history of borrowers. It was not difficult for her to fall asleep in the literal hands of her trusted friend.
This contains g/t (giant/tiny content) so if that isn't your thing, then I suggest you stop reading. Thank you!
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Chapter 1 || Series master list| Previous chapter
Summary: Astarion and Ria discuss some matters at the bar in the Last Light Inn and meet a rather mouthy tiefling wizard.
Pairing: Astarion x f!borrower!oc (Tav/oc) (slow-burn)
Warnings: swearing, mention of blood drinking, slight dehumanisation towards borrowers.
Word count: 1.7k
Taglist:@whatthisfemsheplikes@alexcutecolly@rose7420@empressxmachina@taters169@feral-sins@smolgloves@smolkuriboh27@junipers-teacup (if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to let me know!)
“What do you fucking want?”
Ria stiffened upon seeing a male tiefling wizard glare viciously at both her and Astarion. His words were slurred and his posture was slouched over as he stood behind the bar of the inn. He had long brown hair that was pulled neatly into a bun, and he was adorned in red and blue robes. Despite his regal appearance, his body language and tone of voice was anything but that. She felt herself almost shrink even smaller inside Astarion’s cold hands as the tiefling’s gaze was pinned to her small frame.
“Is it too much to ask for something to drink around here, Rolan?” Astarion said sharply, narrowing his eyes at the tiefling.
He must’ve been one of the tieflings at the Emerald Grove, she thought to herself, gingerly grasping onto Astarion’s thumb for support.
“Do I look like a fucking bartender?” Rolan spat, furrowing his brows. “I’m a wizard.”
“Well, you appear to be behind a bar, so one would assume that you are,” Astarion replied. “Otherwise, why in the hells are you there?”
Rolan heaved a very loud and dramatic sigh, his eyes practically rolling into the back of his head. “Ugh, fine. If it’ll make you go away, I’ll get you something.” His gaze flicked back to Ria, who had been very quiet during their small conversation. “Is that a bloody borrower? Where in the hells did you find that?”
Astarion pressed his lips into a thin line, his patience towards the tiefling was starting to deteriorate. “Yes. And she has a name, y’know, Ria. And she would like something to eat, too – something with no meat, I might add.”
“Hello.” Ria forced the greeting out of her mouth with difficulty, her mouth gone dry.
Rolan merely grunted in reply, barely acknowledging her at all. “And what do you want, Astarion?”
“Oh, something full bodied and red,” Astarion said casually.
Rolan’s eyebrows shot up for a brief moment upon hearing Astarion’s request, but he quickly relaxed.
“Oh, right, yes, you’re one of those,” Rolan grumbled, seemingly displeased. “Do you seriously think we just have blood on tap in this inn?”
Astarion pursued his lips. “Well, perhaps not on tap, but surely you have something that you can offer?”
“Absolutely not,” Rolan retorted. “The livestock we have are not going to be eaten by the likes of you. Go hunt something outside the inn.”
“Outside the inn?” Astarion exclaimed, completely exasperated. “You have got to be joking. Everything outside of here is undead and afflicted with the bloody shadow curse! I need something alive. Or, hells, even an old jar of blood would suffice.”
“Then you’re out of luck.” Rolan disappeared underneath the bar for a moment as he ducked down and returned with a small bowl filled with cashews. “This is for your borrower friend. You’re welcome.”
Astarion grumbled what she could only assume were some curse words under his breath as he gently lowered her onto the counter. Ria stared at the enormous bowl of cashews now situated in front of her. There were so many of them, and she really only needed one considering one cashew was like the size of a loaf of bread in her tiny hands. Still, she made the most of the free food and quickly stashed a few into her satchel for later.
“I’m sorry you have to go hungry,” Ria said quietly, rotating a cashew in between her hands. “I feel bad that there isn’t anything for you.”
Astarion heaved a sigh. “It’s quite alright. Cazador made me starve for longer than this, so I’ll live.” As soon as the words left his mouth, his stomach grumbled rather loudly in protest.
“I think your stomach disagrees,” she commented.
“I’ll just have to put up with it for now.” Astarion ran a hand through his luscious curly locks, his elbows propped up on the bar counter. “If you can’t get me proper food, can you at least get me some wine, Rolan?”
“I am not a bartender,” Rolan snapped, but despite his words he poured a glass of wine for the pale elf. He put the glass down on the bench and huffed rather loudly through his nose.
“Are you always such a delight to be around, or is this your usual demeanour?” Ria said rather boldly, her gaze fixing on Rolan.
Rolan faltered, a perplexed expression lighting up his face. It seemed he hadn’t expected her to throw some snappy words back at him.
“You are extremely arrogant for someone who could easily pass as a paperweight.” Rolan took a long swig of beer. “And if you keep it up, I will kick you out. Which won’t be hard at all.”
“So, you are a bartender after all.” Astarion chimed in somewhat smugly.
“Ugh.” Rolan scrunched up his nose in anger before slamming his mug of beer on the bench. “I don’t have time for this bullshit.” He stepped out from behind the bar and shoved past Astarion, his robes trailing behind him as he went.
“Jeez, what’s his problem?” Ria muttered.
“Hmm, I suppose it comes with the territory of being a terrible wizard.” Astarion took a sip of wine and immediately grimaced. “Oh, and he’s given me shit wine, too. I guess he can’t be a bartender, either.”
A small snicker escaped her lips. “You don’t seem to have much luck when it comes to wine.”
“I really don’t.” Astarion released a small sigh. “Oh, but what I wouldn’t do for some blood right now. It seems after having blood on a regular basis has made me soft.”
Ria slowly took a bite of her cashew, her brows furrowed as she thought about Astarion’s condition. There was really no other option for him to source any blood out in the Shadow Cursed Lands. Everything here was undead, and it seemed that him eating any of the livestock was out of the question. That didn’t leave him many options. Unless…
“What about me?” Ria blurted out.
Astarion nearly choked on his wine. “Excuse me?”
“M-me.” She swallowed thickly, her voice shaking slightly. “You can take some of my blood, Astarion.”
Astarion blinked, his mouth slightly parted open in utter shock as he processed her words. And then, after a small moment of silence, he erupted into laughter.
“Oh, now that is utterly ridiculous my dear,” he laughed. “That has got to be the stupidest joke you’ve ever said.”
“It’s not a joke!” she exclaimed. “I’m dead serious.”
Astarion immediately stopped laughing, his face falling.
“You…you’re serious?”
She nodded tentatively.
Astarion pursued his lips and placed his wine glass on the bench. “I know we’ve been travelling for a while now, but have you forgotten our very obvious size differences?”
Ria breathed deeply. “I know I can’t offer you a lot, but maybe it’ll be enough to keep you going for a little bit longer until you find some actual food. I just…”
“Absolutely not,” Astarion interjected, his brows furrowed. “You are far too small, not to mention borrower blood is…” He cleared his throat. “…is addictive to vampires. The last time I had your blood; I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Look, I know it’s risky, but we need to try something.” She padded across the bench until she was facing directly in front of him and placed a hand on his arm. “I hate seeing you go hungry. If things turn bad, then Shadowheart can always heal me.”
Astarion shook his head. “No, for the last time, we are not doing this. I can go without blood for longer than this and I am not risking your life over it.” He inhaled deeply. “Besides, we’re still working through your fear. Don’t you think that would cause you more unnecessary trauma if I fed from you?”
Ria pressed her lips together firmly, her forehead creased. “Maybe it will do the opposite. If you fed from me, and I’m okay by the end of it, wouldn’t that help overcome my fears?”
Astarion’s mouth parted open slightly, seemingly lost for words as he processed what she had said. He tapped a finger on the bar bench, deep in thought. He heaved another deep sigh that ruffled her auburn hair.
“I don’t like this, Ria.”
“I know. But it’s my idea. And all you’ll need to take is a drop.”
“But that’s precisely the point!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know if I can control myself. Your blood is…utterly delicious. I’ve never tasted anything like it in my entire life.” He buried his face in his hands. “I don’t trust myself. I’m afraid I could seriously hurt you, or worse.”
“But I trust you,” she replied. “We’ve been travelling together for so long now, and we’ve been spending a lot of time together. I just thought that…maybe…” The words died on her tongue, her eyes glued to the floor.
“Maybe what?” Astarion asked softly.
“Maybe…” She stiffened, her heart pounding in her chest. “I thought that maybe after being around me for so long, you might be used to me. Including my blood. I mean, you haven’t tried to eat me since we met, right?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Astarion said. “But I still don’t trust myself being exposed to your blood. The hunger of a vampire is a dangerous thing, and you’re so small. How would it even work without me swallowing you?”
“We’ll be careful. I’ll prick my arm or something, and you can…um…” Heat flushed to her cheeks. “Lick me.”
Astarion’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes growing wide upon hearing Ria’s words. A sly grin played on his lips, his pristine white teeth flashing for a brief moment with a hint of his sharp fangs. Ria almost regretted saying the words as soon as she had said them, her face now flushed a deep scarlet.
“Well, I suppose this wouldn’t be the most intimate we’ve been,” he responded with a smirk. “But alright, fine, since you are so eager my dear.”
“That’s not what I meant!” she spluttered, her face burning as hot as a furnace. “I didn’t mean it like that, gods above!”
Astarion tapped her lightly on the head with the tip of his index finger, still grinning as smugly as a cat. “Oh, I would stop now darling, you’re only making it worse for yourself. But we are going to get some scrolls in case things decide to go to shit.”
Ria’s face was still burning, but she managed to push Astarion’s finger off from the top of her head.
“Fine. That’s probably a good idea.”
“Excellent,” Astarion smiled. “Let’s go find some scrolls, shall we?”
So at this point in the story, the magical and human world are at odds with each other, with the royal family of the human world wanting to harness the power of the fae to fuel their desire for power over everyone in the region. So Bryn and Kayde have decided to team up together and do a bit of recon at a nearby human village. In hopes they can gain info on how to stop them.
Kayde can easily slip into any town, especially since he was a knight of the royal court (currently ex-knight actually, since he is against the views of the royal family at the moment). But Bryn on the other hand, can't easily slip by since the guards to the village are specially trained to detect magical beings (I know silly shes so small how can she not slip through, lets just say fairies give off magical energy when they fly which the knights can detect, still figuring that part out lets just roll with it lol). But Kayde finds an ingenious way to slip by (even if Bryn clearly objects to it)
This contains g/t (giant/tiny content) so if that isn't your thing, then I suggest you stop reading. Thank you!
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 || Series master list| Previous chapter
Summary: Astarion and Ria enter the Last Light Inn, and are met with a rather devilish guest.
Pairing: Astarion x f!borrower!oc (Tav/oc) (slow-burn)
Warnings: swearing, mention of blood drinking (Astarion is hungry), dehumanisation towards borrowers.
A/N: Some dialogue is taken directly from the game as well as past references to certain characters/lore.
Word count: 2.6k
Taglist:@whatthisfemsheplikes@alexcutecolly@rose7420@empressxmachina@taters169@feral-sins@smolgloves@smolkuriboh27@junipers-teacup (if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to let me know!)
Astarion felt his stomach clench the moment he stepped inside the Last Light Inn. While they had been traversing through the Shadow Cursed Lands, there hadn’t been any living creatures for him to feed on. All of the monsters they encountered were undead creatures like him, or had no blood to speak of. It had been several days since his last meal and he could feel his strength waning. The last battle had taken a fair chunk of his energy, and his stomach rumbled as the waft of fresh blood and the sound of pulsing heartbeats flooded his senses.
The warmth from the inn was a welcome change from the burning cold of the Shadow Cursed Lands. His mind flickered to the tiny passenger safely stowed away in his pocket; her tiny heartbeat was beating wildly against her chest. This was probably the first time in a while since Ria had been around so many large people, so naturally she would be nervous. Wetting his lips, hunger stabbed through his stomach once more as he picked up on the throbbing pulses from all of the people inside of the inn. Astarion thought he had been getting a handle on his bloodlust seeing as Cazador had made him endure so much worse. There had been a time when Cazador had locked him away in a tomb for a year with absolutely nothing to eat, and while it had been utter torture and torment, he had managed to survive, albeit barely and with many mental wounds. So, now that he was faced again with an immense banquet of necks to pick from, he felt a wave of disappointment in himself. It seemed that only feeding his insatiable bloodlust well for the past month had made him weaker to his cravings.
His mind returned back to the tiny borrower that he was carrying. Since they had become closer, he had started to grow accustomed to her scent. Sure, she still smelled delicious to him, but he was able to keep himself in check while in her presence. But now, after feeling true hunger for the first time in a while, worry began to flare in his chest. Was it even safe for her to be around him right now? He needed to find a source of blood, and quickly.
“Hey look, there’s Dammon!” Karlach exclaimed, pulling Astarion out of his thoughts.
Glancing over his shoulder, Astarion saw the familiar tiefling blacksmith outside in the barn next door. He was tinkering away on some metal on top of an anvil, most likely crafting some kind of weapon.
“We should go say hi!” Karlach beamed, excitement radiating off her as fiercely as her flames. “We’ve got some Infernal Iron, Dammon might be able to do something about this engine of mine.”
“I’ll come with you,” Shadowheart added, sharing Karlach’s excitement very obviously. “It’s about time we had that engine properly looked at.”
“Fuck yes!” Karlach pumped the air and skipped off with Shadowheart towards Dammon.
If Astarion wasn’t grappling with his own internal battle, he would’ve joined them in celebration. If Dammon could at least tamper with Karlach’s engine, then it would mean everything for her. She deserved something good for once after all she had been through. But he had more pressing matters to attend to, such as finding something to eat. Wyll, Gale, Lae’zel, and Halsin went off to discuss matters with Jaheira, who was waiting patiently for them with a glass of wine in her hand.
Astarion’s gaze scanned through the enclosed area. He recognised several faces from the tieflings that he and the others had rescued at the Emerald Grove. The colourful tiefling bard, Alfira, sat near the bar with a weariful expression painted across her features. Past Alfira, Astarion spotted a face that he hadn’t been expecting to see. A human man with combed back dark brown hair sat in a chair in front of a game of chess. He was dressed in rather elegant clothes and there was a faint red blemish to his skin, suggesting that he was more than what he appeared to be. Mol, the young tiefling girl, sat opposite him on the other side of the table and was pondering her next move on the game of chess that they appeared to be playing.
The man standing before him, Raphael, was a cambion, a creature that was half mortal and half devil. Astarion and the others had encountered Raphael back in the Emerald Grove, before Ria had joined their group. At the time, he had promised that he had a cure for the parasite in their heads, which Astarion did not believe in the slightest. He knew enough about devils to never trust their contracts and they had all declined Raphael’s offer at the time. And now, of all places, the devil had followed them all the way to the Shadow Cursed Lands. Perhaps Raphael could decipher the markings on his back. After all, Raphael was a devil, and he would be the only person who Astarion knew who could read his scars. He wasn’t ecstatic about conversing with a devil, but if this is what it took to fully decipher his scars, then he would have to take it.
“Astarion? What’s going on?” Ria whispered from inside his pocket.
“Just hold on a moment,” Astarion hissed under his breath, stepping towards where Raphael was sitting.
“Your move, Mol,” Raphael said, completely ignoring Astarion who was standing close by.
“You trapped me!” Mol grumbled, the corners of her mouth turning downward. “I didn’t even wanna take this one.”
“Calimshan rules, my dear,” Raphael answered. “The first piece touched is the first piece moved.”
Mol’s frown only deepened and she flashed a fiery scowl at the man sitting opposite her.
“That’s garbage. No matter where the knight goes, I’m gonna lose it.”
“Then make the sacrifice useful.” Raphael waved his hand about with a rather extravagant flair. “Guard your Mystra, or come for my Cyric.”
Mol narrowed her eyes, deep in thought over what her next move should be. As she was pondering away, her eyes flicked over to Astarion, and her face lit up almost instantly.
“Look who made it!” she exclaimed, a toothy grin spread across her face. “For once I saved your pale butt out there, didn’t I? We’re square now, chief.”
“Yes, I suppose we are even now,” Astarion muttered. “I do apologise for the interruption, but I need to speak with Raphael.”
“Oh? In the middle of our game? How delightfully rude,” Raphael sneered, but he didn’t protest to Astarion’s request. “Fair enough, I will allow it this time. I can sense that you have been wanting to ask me a question.”
“Phew, I’m fine with that,” Mol murmured as she hopped down from her chair and scurried away towards a group of tiefling children. “Thanks, Astarion!”
Astarion sucked in a sharp breath, returning his attention to the devil. “I do. I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?” Ria exclaimed from inside his pocket, her tiny head now poking out for everyone to see. “What do you mean, Astarion?”
Something hellish flickered in Raphael’s eyes once he saw Ria safely tucked away in Astarion’s pocket. A wicked grin spread across the devil’s face as he drank in her features.
“Oh my, what a pretty little plaything you have there,” Raphael grinned maliciously, his gaze dancing over Ria’s small frame. “I assume you are saving her for later, vampling. I am surprised you have resisted the temptation for so long.”
“Do not bring her into this,” Astarion snapped. “This is between you and me, devil.”
“I am not a plaything,” Ria said fiercely, her tiny face scowling at Raphael. “And you might just be the saddest excuse for a devil I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh! This one has bite,” Raphael chuckled. “You might want to keep her in line, Astarion. Or you might find yourself with a very light pocket soon.”
“Ria, now is not the time,” Astarion hissed under his breath. “Do you have a death wish?”
“Just exactly who is this guy?” she questioned. “You keep calling him a devil, but he just looks like an ordinary human to me.”
“Trust me, he’s not. Devils can change their appearance if they wish.” Astarion sighed. “But Raphael can do something for me that nobody else can.”
Ria narrowed her eyes, her mind racing as she tried to process just exactly what Raphael could offer to him. After a moment, her eyes widened as realisation lit up across her face. “Wait…is this about your scars?”
“Oh, this sounds positively delightful,” Raphael chimed in, standing up from his seat so that he was directly in front of Astarion. “Do you have a poem for me, little vampling?”
“Something like that,” Astarion said. “My old – well, a long time ago, someone carved infernal runes into my back. I’d like to know what it says.”
Raphael’s dark eyes darted to the ceiling as he pursued his lips.
“Hmmmmm.”
“Quit playing games with him,” Ria snapped. “Help him out.”
Raphael’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Oh, my! Such insolent behaviour from a creature that I could squash beneath my heel. Be careful of your tongue, borrower.”
Ria bristled from inside Astarion’s pocket and he swore that he could feel the faint spark of static against his clothing.
“It is something very important to your master. But is it a love letter, a warning, a deed of ownership? I could give you all the gory details,” Raphael smirked. “But of course, you’ll have to do something for me first. Let me think about it and get back to you.”
“You’ll ‘get back’ to me?” Astarion huffed. “This is important, devil.” A few seconds of silence passed as he inhaled deeply, a solid pout was now prominent across his face as he released a huffy sigh. “When?”
“Don’t worry – I’m motivated to help you.” Raphael clenched one of his hands into a fist, giving it a clear shake as if to demonstrate that he was ‘passionate’ about Astarion’s cause. “Scars often tell such wonderful stories – I think yours might be truly exquisite. I’ll see you soon.”
A cloud of smoke suddenly encased Raphael’s form, and then in a matter of seconds, he vanished into thin air as if he had never been in the room at all.
“What a freaking weirdo,” Ria muttered, shaking her head. “He made my skin crawl. Just who exactly was that? How do you know him?”
“Myself and the others met him back in the Emerald Grove, before you came along,” Astarion explained. “At the time, he promised that he had the cure to purge us of our mindflayer parasites. Obviously, trusting a devil is out of the question. Any contract a devil conjures up is guaranteed to have you giving over your soul to them.”
“Then why are you trusting him now?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest. “I know he can read your scars, but surely there must be another way to do it.”
He pressed his lips together tightly, his brow creasing. “No, Ria, there simply isn’t. I need to know what these scars say, and Raphael, as much as I dislike him, is the only person who can decipher them for me.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she answered quietly. “Whatever Raphael wants, we’ll be needing help from the others.”
Astarion sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “Fine. I suppose telling them about this wouldn’t be the end of the world. And I need all the help I can get.” He paused, his brain almost buffering for a second as he digested Ria’s words.
“Hold on a moment, ‘we’?” he echoed, his brows raised. “Darling, there will be no ‘we’ in any of this. This hardly concerns you.”
“It does concern me!” she exclaimed. “I…I care about you, Astarion. Remember I told you that we would figure this out together. I meant what I said. If it means we have to do some dirty work for a devil, then count me in. Nothing you say will stop me.”
Astarion faltered, rather taken aback by her words. Something stirred inside his chest, a feeling of warmth blossomed throughout his undead heart as he gazed down at her. Each day, she continued to surprise him with her endless kindness towards him. He knew he didn’t deserve a shred of her compassion, yet she continued to support him through everything despite what he had done to her.
“You…you really meant that?” His words were barely a whisper.
“Of course I did,” she replied softly. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
Without thinking, he reached into his pocket where she was safely tucked away and gently curled his fingers around her small body. He lifted her up and deposited her safely into the centre of his palm, his eyes glued to her frame.
“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” Astarion said gently, his warm breath ruffling her soft hair.
“OH, FUCK YES!”
Both Astarion and Ria almost jumped out of their skin as Karlach came barrelling through the inn with Shadowheart not far behind her. The two were holding hands and had smiles that were beaming from their faces as fiercely as the sun.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to do this.” Karlach placed her hands around Shadowheart’s waist and pulled the half-elf towards her body. She caressed the side of the cleric’s face before swooping in for a direct kiss on the lips.
As they slowly pulled away from each other, a deep shade of red bloomed across Shadowheart’s face.
“I think it’s safe to say that it worked,” Shadowheart grinned. “Whatever Dammon did, he did a brilliant job.”
Karlach was absolutely ecstatic. She giggled softly; an incredibly giddy expression painted across her features as her burning gaze flicked back to Shadowheart. “Hey, Shads, can we go to bed now?”
“I couldn’t think of anything better to do,” Shadowheart beamed, lacing her fingers into Karlach’s hand.
The fire that burned across Karlach’s skin, while normally a fiery red, turned into a glowing shade of blue. Steam was practically coming out of the tiefling’s ears at this point as she began to burn at Shadowheart’s confirmation.
“You don’t need to tell me twice, soldier.”
The two of them immediately dashed upstairs with lovestruck grins plastered across their faces.
“It looks like Dammon fixed Karlach’s engine,” Ria smiled. “I suppose this means bunking with Shadowheart tonight is out of the question.”
Astarion cocked an eyebrow, flashing her a brief sultry look. “Hm, I can think of someone else who you could bunk with, darling.”
Ria almost squirmed in the centre of his palm. He instantly felt her heartbeat spike with his attuned hearing and her face quickly turned pink. A part of him enjoyed watching her become so flustered by his words.
“Are you suggesting…” Ria’s voice trailed off, the words dying on her tongue.
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, come now, it’s not like you haven’t shared sleeping spaces with me before.” His index finger ever so slightly curled around her frame. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”
“N-no!” she quickly said, her face growing redder by the second. “I…I would like that.”
A playful smirk danced across Astarion’s lips. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, a deafening growl resonated from his stomach, immediately killing the entire mood. Now it was his turn to be the flustered one.
“Hah, that was really smooth,” she chuckled. “I guess we should get you something to eat first.”
For once, Astarion had no witty remark to respond with and merely grumbled.
I’m curious, how would Dave’s moms react to meeting Rory?
Maybe they come over to the cottage unexpectedly while Rory is there for a visit. I feel like Dave would try to kick his parents out to avoid them meeting. (Or alternatively, tries to hide Rory.) While Rory just jumps in head first and introduces herself. Lol
Ohmygoodness, sorry for responding to this so late @podado-t-memes ! But this ask was so fun I wanted to have time to write out a whole short for it! Thank you for reading and sending the ask!!
So onwards! To the meeting of the mums!
The Mums
A Beanstalk Short Story
Sunlight drifted through the window of the kitchen, catching on the lavender hanging to dry above the sink and making them glow. The air smelled of the herbs and a deep, rich undercurrent of basil and the cinnamon Dave had been baking with earlier that morning.
The day was a lazy, warm one as spring shifted into summer. It was the kind of day Rory never really had much of before but was now starting to look forward to. The kind of day where she didn’t have to sleep on the ground while on a mission or quickly rush from one adventure to the next with only a warm pub at night the only thing to look forward to before she rushed off again. No, this kind of day, where she could take her time and indulge in it, was something completely new and lovely to her. No matter how many days she had with Dave like this, Rory still couldn’t believe it. It was absolute perfection.
And what made these days even more special was, of course, the person (or rather, giant) she was spending it with.
It was because Rory was getting used to this feeling of safety that she found herself going on a stroll out of the living room and into the kitchen. Dave had gone outside a little bit ago to start relocating weeds out of the garden and Rory had opted to finish her nap on the slice of sunlight on the couch. Well, she didn’t remember actively deciding to finish her nap, she guessed she’d just been so exhausted from the latest quest of rescuing a duke from a particularly angry dragon that she’d passed out again before she could tell Dave that she’d love to help him in the garden again. At least there was next time.
‘I obviously needed the sleep,’ she thought to herself as she walked toward the wooden table. The stone floor beneath her emitted coolness despite the way the newly summer air warmed the rest of the room. Each tile of stone was a huge block compared to her, and the wooden leg of the table rose up before her like a thick, impressively tall tree. Everything was tall to Rory here on Dave’s world. She didn’t think she would ever get used to it.
Outside, the heavy thud of giant footsteps broke through Rory’s thoughts, and she immediately brightened at the thought of Dave coming back inside. Mutterings filtered through the cracked window – mutterings plural, meaning multiple giants– not Dave.
Oh. Not Dave.
The thought shot through her like ice, and Rory snapped out of her lazy daydreaming and abruptly came to the realization that she was not in a happy bubble of safety, and she was, in fact, actually out in the open of a huge, expanse space with no real good place to hide. Gods, had a few months filled with cozy, cat-nap days really undo the years of in-depth training and honed skills as a Jack? Rory had time to shake her head in disbelief at herself before shoving away the berating thoughts to focus on getting somewhere safe to hide before there was a chance the new giants saw her.
Rory startled forward just as the giant footsteps thundered and rumbled outside the cottage. The voices grew louder as they made it to the front step – and a rush of déjà vu flooded over Rory as she realized she wouldn’t make the run from the kitchen to the couch in the living room. Just like her first day in the cottage right before she met Dave.
She was not going to make that mistake again. Giving up on making the hike, Rory ran back to the cover of the table’s shadows, pinning herself up against the wooden leg. Its cold surface pressed into her back, and she took in a deep, panicked gasp before quelling it. Dave hardly liked visitors. They probably wouldn’t even stay long, whoever they were.
But before that thought could comfort her in the slightest, the front door creaked right open, and the giants walked right in.
Immediately Rory’s thoughts went to Dave – “He better be okay! He never lets anyone into his house…’ even as the footsteps started to shake the table, she only thought of him. She pressed herself harder up against the wooden table leg, trying to blend into the shadows.
“Oh, would you look at this place?” a warm, feminine voice broke through the air. “Dave always does a wonderful job keeping his home perfectly welcoming.”
Shuffling. Then another woman’s voice. “He does. He has a great touch for it. He’s such a sweet man.”
Wait a minute… Rory’s breath caught. ‘Sweet man.’ ‘Wonderful job.’ These weren’t strangers breaking in… These two voices could only be from –
The door burst open again, and another set of footsteps rushed into the kitchen. “Mother! Mum! You stopped by!” His voice was tense and rushed with surprise, also but tinged with a little stress and worry. “What an unexpected surprise!”
Dave’s mothers.
Rory’s shoulders unclenched a little now that she knew random giants weren’t in the house. But the tension didn’t quite leave entirely. She was still in the house with two new giants, even if they were Dave’s mums. Rory knew Dave had told them about her, but she hadn’t made the trip with Dave to formally meet them yet.
“Well, we were at the farmer’s market this morning and thought we would go on a little stroll down the lane to pop in.” The first voice said, lyrical in its tone.
“We feel like it’s been ages since we saw our boy,” the other said, low and warm. “Our handsome man.”
Rory face lit up in a cheeky grin at that, imagining how red Dave’s face was getting at that comment when he knew that she was around here somewhere to overhear it.
His feet shuffled, lightly and carefully as he slowly made his way past them, as if he was on the lookout for her without bringing attention to it. “Aw, uhm,” he cleared his throat a little nervously. “It hasn’t been that long – and wait a minute, this isn’t a ‘little stroll’ from the farmer’s market. It’s a good full-morning hike.”
The second voice responded, “Alright, you caught us, we just wanted to come by.”
“Just to see how you’re doing. Catch up on your stories,” the other agreed. “We brought you some new tea!”
Dave’s feet rounded the table, stepping precariously near to Rory now. Her heartrate sped up. ‘Just step out, into the light, and introduce yourself.’ She clenched her eyes shut, trying to work up the courage. ‘They’re Dave’s mums for goodness sake! They will be perfectly civil and kind. No one’s going to scoop me up or poke me or…’ Gods, now memories from Richard grabbing her roughly flashed through her mind, making her worries dive into full-blown panic. She was frozen. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t willingly step out and stare up at new giants from the floor like this. She couldn’t.
Rory was a Jack. A hero. She never froze in the face of new challenges.
But here she was, glued to a table leg as kind women chattered about the lovely weather and how amazing Dave’s plants looked, her chest heaving.
Scared of mothers?! What had she come to?
Then, her neck tingled.
Rory’s eyes flew open, and she jerked her head up to find Dave had spotted her. His impressive, large frame towered right above her, making her a little dizzy to look straight up at him like this in her panicked state. He was so huge, but he had found her hiding up against the table leg with ease, as if he had an inner sense of where she always was.
Dave’s face lit up in a bright smile at the sight of her, before his face clouded with a frown, his eyebrows scrunching up. He must have noticed her freaked-out expression and panicky breaths.
In a second, Dave dove down. The towering giant crashing toward her. She gasped a little at how fast he was as his knee thudded to the ground in a kneel, but she wasn’t afraid of him.
He gave her a concerned look and a wordless expression that asked if she was okay.
She shook her head, biting her lip.
Dave’s hands rushed forward even as the voices above them went on about the new tea flavors. Rory let herself be enveloped in his hands as he cupped them around her, keeping her in a safe cave of warmth.
“Sorry – dropped something!” Dave’s familiar, rich voice rumbled above and around her. She clenched her eyes shut again as he rose to a stand. “But I, uh, found it.” The world spun as he started to briskly walk out of the kitchen. “I just remembered that I forgot something in, uhm, in my bedroom!” he threw over his shoulder as he made his escape. “Just stay where you are and I’ll be back in a moment!”
The world whipped by fast again, and then Rory opened her eyes just as Dave opened his hands enough to peer inside while still keeping them cupped around her. She was grateful for that, as the familiar scent of him and his warmth had already started to calm her down. It was the smell and feeling she had somewhere along the line attributed to safety.
“Are you alright?” Dave asked softly, his thick black eyebrows scrunching together with worry over his glasses. “You didn’t get hurt, did you? I’m so sorry – I didn’t know they were going to stop by like this or I would have warned you.”
Rory took in a deep breath and released it slowly, sinking down into a seat in his palm. His fingers curled protectively around her impulsively, but she welcomed their comfort. “I’m alright. They just surprised me is all.” She shook her head, embarrassed. “I can’t believe I panicked like that. Your mums seem like the sweetest.”
The air shifted around her as Dave sat down on his bed, keeping her raised in front of his face. “No, you don’t need to be embarrassed. That’s a perfectly rational reaction. I can’t even imagine what it’s like, being on the ground like that when new giants are around. I’m starting to get panicky myself just thinking about it.”
She placed a hand on the top of his palm, feeling the grooves of his life and love lines, and peered up at him with a soft laugh. “Great, now we’re both panicky.”
A grin spread across his face, and his brown eyes softened. “Would you like to wait in here until they’re gone?”
Rory’s stomach tightened at the thought of going back out there, but she knew she didn’t want to stay in here and put off meeting them. Steeling her resolve, she shook her head. “No, I’ll go back out with you – if that’s alright.”
His face lit up, eyebrows shooting up. “Are you absolutely positive? You can meet them another time. I mean, I’ve already told them how amazing you are so they’ve been dying to meet you, but they can wait a little longer. They probably think you’re away on another adventure right now.”
Rory smiled. “I’m okay now. I can do it.”
“I know they’ll love you! But maybe we should have a secret word or something that you could say if you ever get too overwhelmed and need to get out of there. Like, I don’t know, artichoke!”
Rory’s eyebrow rose, unconvinced. “Artichoke? How am I supposed to fit that naturally into a sentence?”
The surface beneath her feet moved imperceptivity as he sat up a little more, eager to argue his point. “You could say something like, ‘Wow talking to everyone is so much fun, but I sure wish I had an artichoke to snack on.”
Rory made a face. “I don’t think I’d ever willingly eat an artichoke.”
Dave nodded enthusiastically. “That’s why I’ll know it’s the code word. It’s perfect.”
“Okay, alright, you sold me on artichoke!” Rory laughed, shaking her head. She felt so much better and more like herself now. He always knew what to do or say to make her feel better. “Let me go meet your parents.”
And so, Rory found herself on the table in front of two older female giants as they sat with tea. Dave cleared his throat as he slowly opened his hands from around Rory, exposing her to their gazes. “Mums… I’d like you to officially meet Rory. Rory, meet Amelia and Jocelyn.”
She tensed, bracing herself for the cooing, patronizing remarks of how ‘adorable’ and ‘cute’ she was for ‘such a tiny thing.’
But these were Dave’s parents, so nothing of that sort came out of their mouths – Rory should have known better.
“My, aren’t you just beautiful. And so incredibly brave. Dave told us about how brave you are. You have an aura about you,” Amelia, the mother with the light brown hair and light skin said. Her voice came out soft and sweet, and a smile crinkled the corners of her eyes.
Jocelyn, the one who shared many of Dave’s physical characteristics, including his warm, brown eyes, nodded earnestly. “We’re so grateful you were there to help Dave maneuver through the entire situation. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up.”
Rory’s cheeks heated from their compliments. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think I ended up tilting his world upside down when I showed up and dragged him into everything.”
“You didn’t drag me into anything, even if I was a little hesitant at first,” Dave assured her, shaking the world a little as he pulled out the chair next to her and sank into it. His comforting presence warmed her. “It was my beans that started the whole thing anyway.”
“Besides, his world needed a little tilting,” Jocelyn said with a wink.
“We love our boy dearly, but we worry when he’s alone so much. I know – I know,” Amelia waved Dave’s protests off. “You have a lot of work to get done and nothing is wrong with enjoying your own company. We just always wanted you to have someone special. And you both have your own great life’s work to support each other with.”
Rory’s eyebrows rose and she shot Dave a look over her shoulder. She thought his mums only knew about the story of their meeting and their friendship from the adventure they had gone on… Not what it had turned into. Rory thought his mums assumed they were great acquaintances and representatives for each other’s world. Dave and Rory hadn’t wanted to tell them yet in case it was too much at once.
He gave her a surprised look as if to say that he hadn’t told them a thing.
“It’s okay dears,” Jocelyn said with a warm smile, looking at the both of them. “We could tell by the way Dave talked about you, Rory, that there was something else going on between the two of you. No explanation needed. He is utterly enamored and very bad at hiding his true feelings.”
Amelia tucked her light brown hair behind her ear and nodded, her own smile lighting up her face. “We couldn’t be happier for you both.”
Pinpricks of tears stung at Rory’s eyes before she even processed how she was feeling. She never had support from a family before. “I…” she wiped her eyes quickly. “Thank you. I’m so grateful you both know and support us.”
Dave reached his hands around her and grasped each of his mum’s hands in his own. “Thank you. I love you both.” He sniffled but tried to hide the emotion in his voice. “But really! Can I really not hide anything from you both? Are you serious?”
Jocelyn laughed, shaking her head. “You’re like an open book, David, I’m sorry.”
Amelia turned to Jocelyn with a grin. “Do you remember that time he turned the barn into a wild animal sanctuary? What was he – nine? Ten years old?”
Dave took his hands back, eyebrows scrunching together. “We don’t need to bring up past stories… I’m sure Rory doesn’t – “
“We caught him telling us he had a very boring day and had to be getting off to do the chores – “ Jocelyn continued. “But he had an entire nest of baby mice in his pocket! He looked us right in our eyes with his shirt squirming around and pretended to be none the wiser.”
Amelia touched Jocelyn’s arm fondly. “He had gotten away with that one for a little bit, but after the squirming shirt we went out to find the barn was filled with birds, gophers, and a little fox. He would go out of his way to rescue anything that needed help.”
“Oh, what about the time when he wanted to learn how to turn himself invisible, so he – “
“Alright – alright! I’m sure Rory doesn’t want to hear any more embarrassing stories of me,” Dave cut in before they could get to the really good stuff. “Y’know what? How about we brew this tea you brought over, and for a snack we can have, oh I don’t know - some artichokes.” He looked down at Rory in exasperation. “Artichokes!”
The sky was a spectacle of gold and pink—a veil of delicate clouds, dyed in the same colors as Iris’s hair. It seemed that the firmament itself, in silent complicity, was trying to imitate her. The sunset bathed the world in a gentle warmth, like a caress without hands, while the sea whispered its calm refrain against the clear sand of the beach.
There, on that little-visited stretch of coastline, where time seemed to slow down, Atlas rested. Lying on his side, his colossal head rested gently on the fine sand, and his half-closed eyes shone in the twilight light. The sea breeze passed through his thick hair, raising purple waves among the thick strands like the roots of a living mountain.
And then, she came.
Iris. With her light, short dress dancing in the salty wind, she walked barefoot on the damp sand. Her curly pink hair—voluminous like cotton candy clouds—was tied up in a high bun, though a few loose strands floated around her face like living petals. She was only 5'7", but her presence was as immense as the titan's heart. And even though he was a giant over a hundred meters tall, Atlas's eyes followed her as if she were the center of gravity itself.
Iris stopped beside his face.
Atlas turned his head slightly toward her, causing a whisper of sand to rise around him. His lips—thick, wide, marked by soft lines—curved into a sleepy, passionate smile.
"Are you comfortable?" she asked, her voice mixing with the sound of the waves.
"With you here… I always am," he replied, in a tone so deep and soft that, although almost imperceptible to him, it sounded to Iris like a subtle earthquake, vibrating deep in her bones.
She laughed. Her heart raced.
With her feet planted firmly in place as if preparing to climb a miracle, Iris approached his face with the delicacy of someone stepping on clouds. She climbed the natural folds of sand that accumulated under his chin, then rested on the soft contour of Atlas's cheek, and finally, on one of the gentle wrinkles that marked his face. Those colossal lines, even in size, had heat — they pulsed with life.
She reached the edge of his lips.
His face, vast and serene, seemed like an altar. Before that wall of warm, living flesh — firm, but incredibly soft like silk warmed by the sun — Iris stopped for a moment. Atlas's lips, so close, seemed like a continent. Up close, she saw the small lines that marked them, like trails in an landscape.
She looked at them tenderly, overflowing with love, desire, and a calm certainty: she understood him. He, with all his size, fit inside her.
For a moment, Iris simply breathed—feeling the wind and the soft warmth of the titanic breath that came out of the lungs of that colossus. Atlas remained motionless, looking at her with such immense affection that it seemed capable of suspending time.
Then, she leaned in—slowly, as if surrendering an ancient secret—and kissed him.
The contact was subtle, like the touch of a breath. Atlas's lips had a warm texture, slightly rough, but with a gentle firmness that surprised her. Iris had to lie down against the lower curve of his mouth, embracing it with her arms. She found a spot there—a small part of that immensity—and kissed it with a tenderness that carried the weight of an impossible and yet real love.
And then, he reciprocated.
Atlas took a deep breath, making the sea wind curl around them. With a control almost impossible for such an immense being, he moved his lips. He tilted them slightly, as if the pink sky itself were reaching out to touch her. With unimaginable care, he adjusted them slightly to receive her. A tiny gesture for him—but immense for her—he molded his mouth to her with careful, delicate pressure, like the touch of a giant petal.
Íris felt her entire body vibrate with the subtle reverberation of that movement. It was like kissing the ocean: vast, powerful, yet mysteriously sweet. It was the universe itself bending to love her. His mouth, monumental, molded to her touch with a tenderness that seemed impossible in something so colossal.
He tilted his face slightly, as if trying to fit even more into her gesture — and the sea around him seemed to rise silently with the tremor of his movement, as if in reverence for the moment.
And it was then that Iris felt everything: the immensity, yes — but above all, the depth of the feeling. That kiss needed no proportions. It was love overflowing through every pore.
She stood there, lost between his lips and the sky that shone in the colors of her own hair. It was like kissing the sunset, like embracing a warm star that allowed itself to be touched by love.
When his lips finally moved away, Iris still had her eyes closed, her lips half-open. The vibration of that kiss still echoed throughout her body. Atlas tried to look the tiny girl, lost in him — and in his immense eyes there was reverence, astonishment, and a tenderness that seemed made of light.
"You kiss me as if I were small," he whispered, enchanted.
Iris smiled, turned to the side and rested her forehead on his lower lip, wide as a soft staircase of heat.
"Because, in my heart… you fit completely," she said with a slightly breathless laugh.
And there, between the warm sand, the salt of the breeze and the heat of an impossible touch, Atlas closed his eyes. He no longer needed to admire the sky.
He already had it—completely—in the arms of the woman who kissed him like no one else could.
----
My first language is not English (so I used the translator a few times XD) and it's my first time doing a story like this, so I apologize if there is a spelling mistake or inconsistency ☁️
This contains g/t (giant/tiny content) so if that isn't your thing, then I suggest you stop reading. Thank you!
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 | Previous chapter| Series master list| Previous chapter
Summary: The group finally descend into the Shadow Cursed Lands on their journey to Moonrise Towers.
Pairing: Astarion x f!borrower!oc (Tav/oc) (slow-burn)
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, blood, gore, death, course language. Basically typical violence that is prevalent in the game.
Word count: 3.2k
A/N: IT'S FINALLY HERE AHHH. I am sincerely sorry that this chapter took forever! Time really does fly on by quickly, doesn't it? To summarise, I started a new job in late March and have been mostly adjusting and learning that, and trying to find time to write all between it as well as my other hobbies. Not to mention I have been suffering from the biggest writers block for this fic - but I finally got through it and wrote most of this over the past couple of days. It's weird, some days I can write so much in the span of one evening, but some days I can't get even one word onto a document. Oh well, I'm glad it's here. I will also mention that a lot of the dialogue from this is taken directly from the game, as well as a lot of what happens in terms of the scenes that play out, so I can't take full credit for the dialogue here. There are some obvious variations sprinkled throughout, so even if you are as familiar with the game as I am, you'll get something out of this. Anyways, happy reading!
Taglist: @whatthisfemsheplikes @alexcutecolly @rose7420 @empressxmachina @taters169 @feral-sins @smolgloves @smolkuriboh27 @junipers-teacup (if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to let me know!)
Nothing could quite prepare Ria for the harrowing dread and utter despair that emanated from the Shadow Cursed Lands. While Halsin had described the place as dangerous and terrifying, she still hadn’t been ready when they had entered through the ominous hallway that linked the Grymforge to the Shadow Cursed Lands. It was as if all of her life’s essence had been drained from her body as soon as they had stepped into the dreadful place and she had to suppress a shiver. She had noticed a considerable drop in temperature, and somewhat cautiously, she nervously peeked her head out of Astarion’s breast pocket.
Twisted, dark trees protruded from the lifeless ground and curled into the air like the fingers on a hag. No natural light was to be seen as darkness smothered every single stretch of land that she could see. Chills snaked down her spine as the feeling of dread washed over her once more, threatening to swallow her whole.
Next to Astarion, Karlach released a shaky exhale. “This place is dark beyond dark. You feel it too, right? I’m sticking to light wherever I can find it.”
“That’s no ordinary darkness. It feels powerful…and familiar,” Shadowheart said. “Stay on your guard.”
“Make sure to keep your torches lit,” Halsin instructed, holding up a flaming torch enclosed in his fist. “If we do not have enough light, the shadow curse will consume us. Stick close together, everyone.”
“This sure looks like an inviting place,” Ria murmured, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I wish I could stetch my legs, though. I’ve gone a bit stiff riding in your pocket for so long, Astarion. Do you think you could move me to your shoulder for a little bit?”
Astarion’s red gaze briefly flicked down to her small head nestled at the lip of his pocket. “I think it’s best if you remain in there, my dear. This is hardly the place for borrowers.”
She raised one eyebrow as a small grin twitched against the corner of her mouth. “Oh? Are you afraid of little me getting hurt?”
A smirk broke across Astarion’s face right before he used the tip of his index finger to gently shove Ria’s head back into the inside of his pocket.
“H-hey!”
“I can’t have my favourite little borrower getting into trouble, can I?” His voice vibrated all around her as the lip of the pocket was soon sealed shut. “There are lot of things out here, other than vampires, that would make a quick snack of you darling.”
Huffing softly, she slammed her back against his chest to get her point across, and wrapped a clean handkerchief around her shoulders for extra warmth. She couldn’t argue with him, he was right, after all. Being as small as she was left her insanely vulnerable, but out in the Shadow Cursed Lands, things were even more dangerous for a borrower. Despite her training with both Lae’zel and Gale, she was still at risk the most out of everyone there.
It still surprised her to see Astarion show this protective side to him. Ever since that night, when she had suggested that she touch his fangs to help her get past her fears, they had continued to grow even closer. She would happily ride on his shoulder during their travels, or travel in his breast pocket. They would laugh and joke together playfully, and during the evenings, she would spend most nights at his tent before leaving to go sleep at Shadowheart’s. At this stage, she wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship even was, but it made her happy. A part of her was still perplexed that she had even managed to somehow fall for a cruel, deadly, sarcastic vampire who, at one point, had tried to eat her. But, oddly enough, it felt right. She hoped that Astarion felt the same way.
“Who goes there?”
An unfamiliar voice rang through her eardrums and she immediately felt Astarion’s body tense up against her back. While she couldn’t see what was going on, she could hear everything and judging from Astarion’s reaction, this didn’t seem good.
“Show yourself!”
“We mean you no harm,” Wyll’s calm, soothing voice vibrated through the cold air. “We’re just a group of travellers passing through.”
“If you mean us no harm, step into the light.”
Astarion’s body slowly inched forward, and she could feel his giant footsteps rattle through her small frame. Curiosity began to itch away at her brain as she anxiously twiddled her thumbs. A part of her wanted to see who these newcomers were, and why they were out in the Shadow Lands. If it was only for a brief moment, it wouldn’t hurt, right? Nobody would notice a thing. Besides, she was still safely inside Astarion’s pocket, and they’d have to get through him first if they wanted to get to her.
Very cautiously, she inched her way up towards the opening of the pocket and pushed her head through. A group of three humans and a dwarf stood before them. One human woman had her hair tied back in a long ponytail and she had a flaming torch firmly in her grasp. The other woman had dark, long wavy hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. The third human, a man, had long blonde hair tied back and a thick beard. The dwarf stood beside him with a crossbow at the ready.
“Yonas! Move in!” The woman with dark wavy hair commanded, gesturing towards the light surrounding them from their torches.
The blonde bearded man, Yonas, took one shaky step before immediately checking over his shoulder. Something stirred in the dark bushes behind them and a chilling moan filled the still air. Suddenly, a tall, dark, looming figure manifested behind Yonas and grabbed him by the ankles. Yonas cried out in shock as the dark figure dragged him off into the surrounding darkness, his fingernails digging helplessly into the dirt as he was carried away.
“Yonas? Yonas!”
The two women rushed towards where Yonas had disappeared, panic stricken all across their faces as they frantically searched for their missing friend.
“I’m here! Where are you?” Yonas called out into the darkness, his voice shaky.
“Yonas? Can you see our torches?”
“I can’t see anything,” Yonas replied. “Something’s wrong.”
“Follow my voice. Come back into the light.” The dark-haired woman said as calmly as she could muster.
“Who’s there? Meg? Is that – argh!”
Yonas’s screams and the sound of bones popping through flesh filled the dark hollow. Ria grimaced as the noises intensified and the tearing of human meat and bone filled her tiny eardrums.
“Yonas?” The dark-haired woman called out once more, except her voice was barely a whisper this time.
A ghostly, glowing green light quickly began to illuminate the area as a stumbling, groaning figure came into view. It was Yonas, except he looked horrific – skin was peeling off his face and his eyes glowed a sickly green. A dark encrusting fungus-like substance was growing across his skin on the spots where his flesh was falling off, and Ria felt her entire body grow cold as she stared at him. Everything in her body was screaming at her to run for her life.
“There you are…come…join me…” Yonas lumbered towards them with one twisted arm outstretched.
“Yonas…?” The dark-haired woman murmured, her breath catching in her throat.
“I’m afraid poor Yonas is bait – and this is a trap.” Astarion’s voice rumbled from above.
“Harpers! To arms!”
Astarion’s entire body tensed as he readied his crossbow and aimed it directly at Yonas’s head. Shadowheart’s hands began to glow with a divine, illuminating light that shone through the area and pushed back some of the shadowy creatures that were behind Yonas. Now, with the divine light that Shadowheart had provided, Ria could finally see the ghastly shadow creatures more clearly and a deathly chill snaked down her spine. Her body was almost completely frozen in place from fear, and instinctively, she ducked back down into the safety of Astarion’s pocket.
Yelling and shouting filled the air as the battle broke out, and she fiercely gripped onto the fabric of Astarion’s armour as she felt every single gigantic movement he made. She buried herself under the handkerchief and attempted to desperately shut out the noise of the battle. It was utterly terrifying, being so small and in the thick of a battle between titans in the darkest place in all of Faerûn.
A part of her felt so useless. While she was cowering amongst Astarion’s armour, her companions were out there fighting for their lives against some deathly shadow creatures. She could’ve offered them some ammunition with her magic. While she was still trying to grapple with her wild magic, she had learned a few tricks from Gale thanks to his lessons. But her fear paralysed her, and her body refused to move from her spot inside Astarion’s pocket.
After some time had passed, the noise of battle eventually died down. The walls of Astarion’s pocket suddenly pressed down against her small frame very softly, suggesting that he was pressing his hand against the pocket, perhaps telling her that the danger was gone. Very slowly, she crept to the opening of the pocket and peered out.
The shadow creatures were now gone, along with Yonas. The two women and dwarf were still alive and were now tending to their wounds. Everyone else from their party seemed to be alright, and there appeared to be no serious injuries. Shadowheart was still illuminating her divine light around the group, and Ria felt a small feeling of warmth blossom through her as the holy light touched her.
“Thanks for the help back there.” The dark-haired woman approached them, wiping a smear of blood off the side of her face. “My name is Lassandra. And this is Meygan and Karrow.” She gestured to her two remaining companions. “We would’ve been done for if it hadn’t been for you.”
“We would never refuse people in need,” Halsin answered. “It was no problem at all.”
Astarion breathed sharply through his nose and while she couldn’t see his eyes, she had a strong feeling that he was rolling them into the back of his head.
“We are sorry for the loss of your companion,” Gale added, his brown eyes solemn.
“Thank you. Yonas wasn’t the first to be lost to this cursed place. Us Harpers will live on for him.” Lassandra breathed a deep sigh, her gaze forlorn. “There is a refuge from the darkness, the Last Light Inn. You all can rest there.”
“Ah, I take it the shadow curse is not afflicted in that area?” Gale questioned.
“The inn is protected by Isobel, a Cleric of Selune. She casts a warding spell to keep the curse at bay. We’ll guide you there.” Lassandra nodded at the remaining Harpers and they soon began to trek into the harrowing darkness. The rest of the group followed them without hesitation.
“A cleric of Selune…how wonderful.” Shadowheart muttered bitterly under her breath.
Ria remained utterly motionless inside Astarion’s pocket. Perhaps it was a good thing that the Harpers had failed to notice her, but a part of her was worried about how these people would react to her existence. For now, at least, she could remain undetected in the comfort of Astarion’s armour.
It didn’t take long for the party to reach the Last Light Inn. Almost immediately Ria noticed a change in the air. Instead of the harsh, cold, emptiness that she had felt since entering the Shadow Cursed Lands, a comforting feeling of warmth washed over her as they passed over a bridge leading to the inn.
A dark-skinned elf woman and dwarf stood at the other side of the bridge. Immediately they grabbed their weapons, aiming it at the approaching group.
“You lot! Step forward and keep your hands off your weapons!” The elf woman yelled.
“Hold on Elifer!” Lassandra jumped forward and presented her palms to the elf woman. “This group helped us out in the shadows. Without them we wouldn’t have made it.”
Elifer relaxed her stance and lowered her weapon, her gaze scanning over the entire group. Ria, feeling her gaze, immediately retreated into the depths of Astarion’s pocket. She didn’t want to risk being seen when tensions were so high.
“Come.”
Rattling footsteps travelled through her body as Astarion began to move. While she couldn’t see what was going on anymore, she could certainly feel everything.
“Jaheira!”
A moment of quiet passed and nobody said anything. Ria waited anxiously with bated breath as the seconds ticked by.
Just what is going on out there?
Her nerves got the better out of her as she slowly peered out of the lip of the pocket. She was still somewhat concealed with only her eyes barely peeking over the top. It would take someone staring insanely intently for them to notice her. A half-elf woman, who she assumed must be Jaheira, stood in front of the group. She had long silver hair with beaded braids woven throughout her locks and a piercing glare that could shatter glass.
Jaheira suddenly crouched towards the ground as glowing lights beamed from her hands. Large roots exploded out of the dirt and hungrily wrapped themselves across Astarion and the rest of the group. Ria was nearly jostled out of her spot as Astarion recoiled from the giant vines and tree roots that entangled around his feet and legs.
“Is a simple ‘hello’ too much to ask for nowadays?” Astarion muttered grumpily, grunting from the strong vines that were squeezing his legs.
“Hello,” Jaheira replied with a smirk.
“We mean you no harm,” Wyll said gently. “Please, just let us earn your trust.”
“Lies can be easily formed from even the kindest of faces.” Jaheira reached into her satchel and pulled out a glass jar. What was inside the jar made Ria’s skin crawl. A hideous mindflayer parasite squirmed against the confines of the jar as Jaheira brought it into the light.
Let’s hope that I never have to get close to one of those things, she thought as she watched the parasite thrash around inside the jar.
“It is a curious creature that hides all manner of secrets. But if there’s one thing that we know–” Jaheira stepped closer towards Astarion and held the jar close to him, “–is that it knows its own kind.”
Astarion flinched as the parasite in the jar squirmed even harder. Ria glanced directly upwards and saw the grimace painted across his face. A part of her wanted to do something, anything, to help, but what exactly could she do? She was just a tiny borrower, after all. Whatever Jaheira was planning for her group of companions, she had no power to stop her. But…perhaps she could divert Jaheira’s attention away from her friends.
“Stop this!” Ria yelled from inside Astarion’s pocket. “They mean no harm, I swear! I’ve been travelling with them for many moons now. They are not True Souls.”
“Ah, so I see the True Souls have a tiny pet?” Jaheira’s steely gaze snapped to where Ria was, her face hardening. “That is…interesting. You have no wings, so you are certainly no pixie…oh, you must be a borrower! I thought they were long extinct. Hmm, I suppose you must be a lucky one, eh?”
“I am no pet,” Ria retorted, a small fire igniting in her belly. “Just let my friends go, please. They can explain everything.”
Jaheira ignored her comment and instead raised an eyebrow, curiosity now spreading across her sharp features.
“And what is interesting is that you are in the pocket of a vampire. Let me guess, he is keeping you as a pocket snack for later?” Jaheira said.
“She is not food,” Astarion spat venomously, flashing his teeth briefly. “Leave her out of this.”
Jaheira chuckled lightly at Astarion’s remark.
“My goodness, I never would’ve expected a vampire to act so defensive over a borrower of all creatures,” she responded. “But I do not care what the borrower has to say. You never should have come here, True Soul.”
“What are you doing? They are the ones who saved us!”
A small, young tiefling girl ran up to Jaheira and aggressively tugged on the druid’s tunic. Jaheira ceased concentration on her spell, and the vines that had erupted from the ground quickly vanished.
“They are the ones who protected the Emerald Grove?” Jaheira said in disbelief.
“Yup. Didn’t leave a goblin standing. Not so bad to hang around with either.” The tiefling girl flashed a pointy smile at the group, her face practically beaming. “I’d pretty much trust them all with my life.” The girl paused, flicking her gaze towards Astarion. “Well, except for that one, but the rest are good.”
“Excuse me?” Astarion spluttered. “I helped save the tieflings and you know it, Mol!”
Jaheira turned to Mol, her gaze narrowed. “Mol, are you being serious?”
“I am very serious,” Mol responded earnestly. “And don’t worry, the elven prick is fine, I just wanted to mess with him. They’re all fine.”
Ria did not recognise the tiefling child, but she was grateful all the same that she had stepped in to stop Jaheira, and she had to stifle a giggle upon hearing her comment on Astarion. She liked Mol already.
“True Souls with minds of their own…” Jaheira continued, still in disbelief as she grappled to comprehend what was happening. “How is that possible?”
“Because of this artefact.” Shadowheart stepped forward with the strange artefact in one hand and presented it to Jaheira.
Jaheira stared at the glowing artefact and held up her jar that contained the mindflayer parasite. The parasite inside the jar squealed, almost as if it was being burned alive, before exploding into a disgusting pile of goo. Jaheira, dumbfounded, glanced at the jar and then back at the artefact.
“What in the hells is that thing?” she breathed.
Shadowheart paused, as if she was considering how to choose her words carefully. Ria knew that the artefact that she carried meant a great deal to her, and was important to her Shar worship.
“So far, it’s been a life saver. Here’s hoping you agree.” Shadowheart placed the artefact back into her supplies and stared firmly at Jaheira.
Jaheira processed Shadowheart’s words, her expression hard to read as her eyes scanned the rest of the group.
“Congratulations. You’ve earned yourself the benefit of the doubt.” Jaheira waved her hand briefly in the air. “Hear me, Harpers! All clear, at ease.”
The surrounding Harpers immediately lowered their weapons and eased off.
“While there is a great mystery to the artefact that you hold, I’m old and wise enough to recognise a sliver of hope when it crawls out of the dark.”
A feeling of relief flooded through Ria’s body. Jaheira seemed somewhat happy with Shadowheart’s response, at least.
“Tell me – why have you all come here?” Jaheira questioned.
“We seek a cure for the parasites in our heads,” Gale explained. “Moonrise Towers has been our best shot at this. We were hoping to seek refuge at your inn.”
“Valid reasoning,” Jaheira answered. “Help yourself to the food in the inn. You are welcome to use the beds in the rooms upstairs, too. Aloe oil in the cupboard in case the vines gave you a rash. Settle in, then come join me for a drink. Your group may just be the godsend that we’ve been praying for.”
Brielle, a borrower from Baldur's Gate, is unexpectedly thrust into an unfamiliar territory after being abducted by mindflayers. Struggling to survive without her usual city skills, she must rely on resourcefulness to navigate the wild. As she faces hunger, fear, and the discovery of a vampire, Brielle's journey becomes one of self-reliance and courage in a world far larger than she ever imagined.
She stumbled throught the forest which was unfamiliar to her in every element. The trees, foliage and practically anything else towered over her at her unintimidating height of three inches tall. She was a city borrower, certainly not one familiar with nature. Her rougish nature was usually an asset in Baldur’s Gate. Slipping unnoticed in people’s homes and unsuspecting traveler’s packs. But now, her class felt as worthless and pathetic as she did right now. What she would give to be a druid in this moment.
Brielle sighs, climbing over yet another log in her way. Her limbs shake with exhaustion now after hours of escaping the strange ship that has kidnapped her from her home.
She remembers how she’d been hidden under a merchant’s table when the screaming and stampede of footsteps had begun. The ground had trembled with all of the massive beings running for their lives until she saw a red light pass over them and they had disappeared. Her face had gone pale and she immediately tried to run. But her legs had been too short and before she knew it she was trapped.
Once she’d taken in her surroundings she realized she was trapped in a pod of some sort. The air had smelt awful, ripe with the scent of rot and blood. She gagged covering her nose until the smell had no longer been so revolting. Looking around she saw a few gaps she could squeeze through in her prison. Apparently, her kidnappers hadn’t expected a borrower in their midst. With ease, she crawled through the gap and found herself surrounded by other pods. But their occupants hadn’t been so lucky.
She watched as a lavender, fleshy alien with tentacles stood before a pale, white-haired elf. The alien she realized was a mindflayer. She remembered stories from her childhood about them. How they devoured borrowers whole with no mercy. A race to be more feared than even vampires. A shiver ran down her spine and she pitied the elf who was at the mercy of this flayer.
As much as she wanted to run and turn away she couldn’t. She watched as the flayer placed a long-fingered hand upon the elf’s face, holding it steady as he brought a squirming creature no bigger than his thumb to the elf’s eye. Her stomach dropped as the creature wriggled it’s way into the elf’s eyelid. And then it was gone.
The flayer let go of the elf and stepped back to shut the pod. Brielle hid as he returned to a table in the center of the room and reached in to grab another one of those strange, squirming creatures. She’d seen enough though and knew she had to find a way out. That was until the entire room started to shake. She flipped onto her side when the turbulence was too much. Her hands searched for something to grab onto but failed when the entire room flipped. She couldn’t help but scream when she was sent flying through the air. She hit a solid surface, cutting her scream short as the air was knocked from her lungs. She rubbed her aching head feeling the knot already forming. Opening her eyes she found herself to be plastered to the glass of one of the pods. And staring right back at her was the elf from earlier.
She immediately noticed his red eyes and breathtaking profile. His expression looked panicked yet curious as she looked upon him. She had fallen right before his face and she wondered if he’d even seen on of her kind before. Brielle shakily picked herself up and got to her feet. Maybe she could find a button or something to help free this poor guy. She slid off the glass of the pod and landed on the ground. Where would she even go to help? She didn’t have a clue where to look. A loud thump grabbed her attention. She spun around to see the elf pointing towards a table. Her heart knocked in her hest from the intimidating angle she had of the giant. Her neck ached from the angle she had to hold to to even look at his face. She ran towards the table he gestured to. She assumed it was some kind of control center judging by the contraptions and pair of buttons upon it. She climbed to the top and studied them. She hesitated pressing them. What if she let him escape and he tried to kidnap her? She was a borrower after all. Giants loved to get their hands on her kind for all sorts of reasons. But then again what kind of person could she be to let all these people possibly die becasue of her cowardness?
She let out a breath and pressed the button. And then she sprinted to safety.
And now after the ship had crashed and she’d survived in whatever miraculos way she was essentially stranded. She gave it a few days until she died honeslty. She had absoluety zero survivial skills in the wild. Proven just by her lack of food in the last day. She had no idea how to forage and what was safe to eat. Neither did she feel right killing an animal to sate her own appetite. She preferred to stay away from meats of all sorts. The sky began to darken and she thought well to call it a day and find somewhere to settle. It wasn’t hard to find a nook in a tree where she could curl up and sleep. She did just that. Despite the ache in her stomach, as soon as her head hit the ground she was asleep.
Tremors stirred her from her rest. Her eyes blinked open as they became closer and closer. She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and came to stand. The sky was still dark so who in the world would be prowling at this time of night in the middle of the woods? From the pattern of the footfalls she gathered whoever it was had to be a bi-pedal. She creeped out from her nook and peeked around to see who was disturbing her much needed rest. But she didn’t see anyone, maybe they were behind her tree. She circled around, keeping to the shadows. A loud, ear-spillting squeal broke her from her thoughts. She had absolutely no clue what could make that noise but she ran back for her hiding place. The squeal stopped and the silence that followed was even worse. Her heart pounded in her chest, blood rushing in her ears. She longed for her home back in the city. Her warm bed and supply of food. Not this.
The tremors of the earth returned and became closer than they had before, nearly knocking her off her feet. She crouched down and tried to slow her heartrate. Some creatures she knew could hear pulses. The source of the tremors became apparent when a pair of boots came into sight. Her eyes followed the path of the person’s legs, torso and finally their face. She couldn’t suppress the gasp of surprise of the familiar face. It was the same elf from the ship. She couldn’t help the feeling of relief of seeing him alive. At least her actions had saved his life. But the question was why was he wandering this late at night? Shouldn’t he be asleep or at least made a shelter of some sort. And why hadn’t he ran at the sound of those awful squeals? But with a jolt of realization she feared that maybe he had been the source of the awful noises.
She backed up into the shelter of the tree. Her back came to rest against the gnarled roots. The hope she’d felt at first seeing the familiar face was gone and all he wished now is that he’d leave. Her night got even worse however when his boots stopped right in front of her tree. There was no point in controlling her pulse now. She hoped he couldn’t hear it or her rapid breaths. Times like this she absolutely hated being so tiny. She barely reached this male’s ankle. The only thing she had in her favor was her ability to be undetected.
“Astarion, what are you doing out here?” A male voice asked from somewhere nearby.
She let out a breath as the elf named Astarion stepped away, each footfall sending a tremor through the ground.
“Really Gale, do you have to be such a busybody?”
It was the first time she’d actually heard his voice she realized. Despite her fear, she felt her stomach flipping at the smug tone he used. Almost honeyed if the person speaking didn’t make her fear for her life.
Before she could catch the other man, Gale’s reply the two males walked off into the night leaving her alone at last.
With that, her eyes slipped shut and slipped into blissful unconsciouness.
A day later and she still hadn’t eaten anything. Her stomach ached with its emptiness. The pain brought her back to her painful childhood…
She searched the barren streets. Darkness covered the cobblestone that usually bustled with the townspeople. Only the occasional squeak of a rat or scuffle of feet sounded in the chilly night air. Brielle’s stomach ached with such ferocity the pains sent her stumbling to her knees. It had been days now since her parents had disappeared. They were only supposed to be gone for a night and back the next morning. Brielle knew that when they hadn’t returned by sundown the next day that they weren’t coming back. Such is the life of borrowers. But the probability of their disappearance hadn’t made the ache in her heart any less. She had no clue how to forage for her own supplies. Her parents had promised they would teach her on her upcoming birthday when she reached nine.
She shook her head to rid herself of the depressing thoughts. She was older now, a twenty-three year old grown woman. She didn’t need her parents as much as she had back then. She could take care of herself.
Her mind raced with a plan to keep her alive.
And that’s when she heard voices. Giant voices.
Suddenly she had an idea.
She waited until dark before setting out on her mission. All she needed was to grab some food, a weapon of some sorts and figure out where the hell she was. She could do that.
For hours she studied the campers of the group. There seemed to be six, and judging by there only being six tents she appeared the count was correct. Three women and three men. The women’s group consisted of a githanki, a tiefling and a elf. Then the men. Two of them she knew already. And the other was a tiefling male as well, or at least he had horns. She watched as they all went into their respective tents and lights went out as each one fell asleep. She’d become a pro at “borrowing”. She smiled at the name her species called themselves. Obviously they didn’t borrow anything since they never returned it. She was a thief by nature. She went into Gale’s tent first as he seemed to be the most put together of the group. As she snuck into his tent she searched the inside and immediately found his rations. She took a small amount that would go unnoticed and ducked out managing to skirt around his massive form under his blanket.
Each tent she found what she needed until she was missing a weapon and a few scraps of fabric. She’d been through all the tents except one.
Astarion’s.
Honestly she’d been hoping that she would’ve found everything she needed by now. A part of her said to just leave it be and try to see if any other groups around. But she didn’t have time to wait around and use all her supplies while she waited for more. Before she could talk herself out of it she ducked inside.
The first thing she noticed was the finery of everything he owned, and how neat it was arranged. The second thing she noticed was how he didn’t appear to be anywhere in his tent. She hurried then knowing he could be back anytime soon. A knapsack laid open on its side, the inside dark rough she couldn’t see what was within. Brielle climbed in, being mindful to watch for anything sharp that could be hiding. To her relief she found a handkerchief, stained but usable and certainly better than her ragged clothes she wore now. She didn’t even know how bad she smelled since she couldn’t get the scent of earth out of her nose. She sniffed the air just then and noted a whiff of iron. Strange, she thought for a moment. The same scent she recalled in Baldur’s Gate in the lower city near the Szarr Palace. Her blood turned to ice in her veins.
That smell.
Vampires.
She scrambled out of the bag, frantically searching the tent for an exit and just now noticing the empty, crimson-stained jars. Holy hell, Astarion was a vampire.
“Shit.” She cursed, gathering the handkerchief and stuffing the scrap into her bag. She needed to leave now.
How had she not noticed the signs before? Creeping in the darkness, red eyes, avoiding sunlight! God he was the perfect example of a bloodsucker! His looks certainly made him desirable enough to gather prey. Borrowers were prepared at such a young age to know the telltale signs of vampires. It was something her parents had instilled into her even before she reached the age of nine, before she could even borrow on her own!
Brielle made it right to the flap of his tent when a booted foot planted itself right before her.
This contains g/t (giant/tiny content) so if that isn't your thing, then I suggest you stop reading. Thank you!
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Chapter 1 | Previous chapter| Series master list
Summary: After a draining encounter with a sussur flower, Astarion finds Ria unconscious. He rescues her and brings her back to camp where they have a heart-to-heart.
Pairing: Astarion x f!borrower!oc (Tav/oc) (slow-burn)
Warnings: Course language, descriptions of a panic attack.
Word count: 4.7k
Taglist: @whatthisfemsheplikes @alexcutecolly @rose7420 @empressxmachina @taters169 @feral-sins @smolgloves @smolkuriboh27 @junipers-teacup (if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to let me know!)
“Something is troubling you, little istik.”
Ria heaved a small sigh as she sat nestled in the centre of Lae’zel’s hand. The entire group were traversing through the Underdark, following Halsin’s lead towards the Shadow Cursed Lands. She couldn’t stop thinking back to the last close encounter she had with Astarion. How they had been so close, and when Astarion had pulled her in, she had panicked and lost control of herself. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since that day, and they had been avoiding each other throughout the camp. At this point, any hopes she had once had of being close with him were practically gone now.
“I’m fine,” she lied, not making eye contact with the gith.
“Chk. You are anything but fine,” Lae’zel retorted. “Tell me who is troubling you and I will cut off their head.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Lae’zel, but please do not do that,” she quickly said, knowing that the gith meant every word. “It’s fine, okay? I don’t really want to talk about this right now.”
Lae’zel took in a sharp breath. “As you wish. But if you change your mind, I will keep my blade sharp for you.”
She exhaled softly in relief. At least Lae’zel wouldn’t pressure her about it anymore for the time being. Her thoughts were interrupted when a blood-curdling shriek ruptured through the air, nearly tearing through her tiny eardrums.
Lae’zel instinctively curled her clawed fingers around her tiny frame protectively, clutching her close to her armoured chest.
“W-what was that?” Ria exclaimed, her heart racing.
“That was a Hook Horror,” Halsin replied, scanning the area. “A beast not to be reckoned with. Everyone, be ready.”
“Tsk’va!” Lae’zel hissed. “This is no battle for a borrower. I will put you somewhere safe.”
While a part of her almost wanted to protest against Lae’zel, she knew that she was by no means ready to face something like a Hook Horror, even with the rest of the group to protect her.
At frightening speed and agility, Lae’zel manoeuvred away from the rest of the group and slipped behind some giant glowing mushrooms. The gith kept on running until she encountered a towering glowing blue tree. Uncurling her fingers, she gently lowered Ria onto the floor near the giant tree.
“Stay hidden, I will come get you once it is safe,” Lae’zel instructed firmly. “I do not want you moving from here.”
Ria nodded tentatively. “Got it.”
The ground rattled violently as Lae’zel dashed back towards the direction of the group, one hand already on the hilt of her longsword.
Now alone with her thoughts, she leaned against the back of the illuminated tree. While there were a lot of dangerous things in the Underdark, there was a lot of beauty to be found in it, too. Glowing blue leaves flitted down to where she was standing, the leaves themselves large enough for her to easily stand on. For a small moment, the troubles from the past few days seemed to melt away as she admired the bioluminescent beauty around her.
While Lae’zel had firmly instructed her to remain hidden and stay where she was, she saw no harm in investigating other parts of the tree. Besides, it would be a good idea if she could conceal herself better than what she was doing currently, and perhaps distract herself from her troubling thoughts.
Sucking in a sharp breath, she hoisted herself up using a few tiny branches and twigs that were sticking out of the bark and began to circle around to the other side of the tree. As she clambered to the other side, utilising more twigs and her tiny dagger to navigate across, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit her like a tonne of bricks.
Her grip on her dagger slackened, and she stopped dead in her movements. She had no idea where this feeling had come from – she had plenty to eat not that long ago, so hunger certainly wasn’t the issue. It was as if her life essence was slowly being drained from her core. Shaking her head, she persisted through the waves of nausea and kept on climbing to the other side.
A bright, glowing blue flower soon came into view and she released a heavy breath. She stopped in front of the flower, her energy growing ever weaker by the second. She had become so weak now that she struggled to remain on her feet. Stumbling backwards across the bark of the tree, she fell onto her behind in front of the flower, her breathing quickly becoming very strained.
What...is happening to me?
The flower seemed to almost glow even brighter as she felt her energy draining. Was the flower sapping her of her strength somehow? It wouldn’t be completely unusual, given the strange flora and fauna that dwelled in the Underdark. Even though she didn’t know for sure, getting away from the strange flower seemed like the best idea.
Digging her fingernails into the bark of the tree, she attempted to pull herself to her feet, but she immediately slumped back down in exhaustion. It was as if her legs had been turned into jelly, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stand up without being utterly exhausted.
Her eyelids grew so heavy that she would’ve believed they were made out of lead. Black spots filled her vision as she struggled to stay awake.
Must stay…awake…awake…
“H-help!” she cried out as loud as her voice would allow her, in a desperate last attempt. Not like her friends would be able to hear her, given how far Lae’zel ran to separate her from the rest of the group, but she had to try something.
Her efforts were of no use as every last drop of energy was sapped from her tiny frame. Her eyelids dropped, and darkness soon enveloped her completely.
****
Astarion’s ears twitched as a tiny yet familiar voice faintly buzzed in his eardrums. They had just defeated one Hook Horror, but another one had suddenly descended from above in the trees and was launching an attack on the entire group.
Lowering his crossbow, he concealed himself into the shadows as he tried to concentrate on the small voice he had heard. It certainly wasn’t his own imagination, in fact, he recognised that voice, it could only belong to one person – Ria.
He knew that Lae’zel had scampered off to place her somewhere safe while they dealt with the Hook Horrors. But now she was completely alone, vulnerable to whatever creatures dwelled in the Underdark. And from her call, it definitely sounded urgent.
He quickly glanced around his group of companions. Lae’zel was delivering a devastating blow to the Hook Horror’s midsection, while Karlach was charging towards the creature from behind with a giant axe. Both Gale and Wyll were standing behind at a reasonable distance, conjuring up a devastating blow of spells, along with Shadowheart who had some healing spells at the ready. Halsin had wildshaped into his bear form and released a hearty roar before launching his fuzzy self upon the wicked creature, large claws outstretched.
His companions could certainly handle the last Hook Horror by themselves, he decided.
Leaping with expert agility and grace, Astarion fled from the battle and ran towards the direction where he had heard the faint voice coming from. Inhaling deeply, it didn’t take him long to pick apart Ria’s scent from the wilderness of the Underdark. At this point, finding her scent was almost second-nature to him now.
It didn’t take long before a large blue tree came into his sight. Ria’s scent was strongest here, as he neared the tree, and he kept on breathing in deeply through his nose to pinpoint her scent. A strange feeling suddenly rushed through his body. It made him stagger on his feet for a brief moment as if something had just sapped the strength out of his body.
Astarion himself was no serious magic user, but being a High Elf, he had some strong connections to magic and could cast a few cantrips. The feeling he was experiencing was as if something had reached a burning cold hand through his chest and stolen every trace of magic inside of his undead body. That made him pause briefly, only for a small moment, but he persisted through the fatigue and continued his search – Ria was in trouble and he needed to find her immediately.
He clambered around the side of the tree and fixed his gaze on the ground, being mindful where he was placing his feet. A strange flower was blooming from the side of the tree, glowing with an illuminating blue aura, and as he drew closer towards the plant, he felt his strength waiver ever so slightly. It wasn’t that severe, but he felt all the magic that he once had slip through his fingertips and leave his body entirely.
He sucked in sharply when his red gaze brushed over Ria’s small, unconscious body, splayed out across the bark of the tree. He bent down and quickly gathered her into his cold hands with delicate precision.
“Ria?” He nudged her gently with his index finger, but she didn’t budge. He could still hear her heart beating, thankfully, so she was still alive, just unconscious.
Cupping her gently towards his chest, he carefully moved away from the strange flower and large tree. He assumed that whatever had caused Ria to fall unconscious had to be coming from the flower – she had a higher magic affinity than he did, being related to pixies, therefore it made sense that she was more affected by the draining power of the plant.
“Ria is unwell. I’m taking her back to camp.” Astarion sent the psychic message through his tadpole, and for a split second he felt the vermin squirm against his cranium as the message was sent to the rest of his parasite infected companions.
“Tsk’va! Unwell? What happened to her? What have you done to her, Astarion?” Lae’zel’s voice burned through his brain, and he grimaced as if her voice inside his head was coated in scathing venom.
“Nothing. She was drained of energy by this strange flower. I think she’ll be alright once she’s away from it.” He closed the telepathic link through his tadpole, not wanting to hear the rest of his companions voice their concerns. As long as they knew what was happening, then it would be fine.
But for now, he had to get her back to camp and safety. Glancing down at his hands, he clutched her towards his chest even tighter, but not enough to harm her. Not wasting a single moment, he dashed towards camp.
****
A groggy, heavy feeling had smothered Ria completely as she slowly came to her senses. She blinked several times, stifling a yawn, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Whatever she was sitting on was incredibly plush and soft, and she noticed the raggedy blanket splayed out over a familiar wooden stretcher. Blinking for a few moments, she slowly took in her surroundings, and immediately noticed the jars of blood all pushed up against the wall of the room.
She wasn’t in a room, she was in Astarion’s tent.
Her entire body stiffened and froze up as the realisation hit her. Ever since that night, when Astarion had brought her too close, and her body had reacted out of fear, they had barely spoken to each other. A brick wall had solidified itself between the two of them, and Ria had felt terrible about the entire ordeal. She didn’t want to react that way, in fact, there was a large part of her that wanted to be closer to Astarion, and it seemed that he did, too. Or at least he had, until that fateful night. Now she wasn’t so sure.
Breathing in deeply, she smoothed down her auburn locks and attempted to stand on wobbly legs. Astarion wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and she wondered exactly how she had ended up in his tent of all places. The last thing she could remember was seeing the large glowing blue flower, and all of her energy leaving her body. It seemed that Astarion had been the one to hear her desperate call, and she was impressed that he had managed to hear her faint cry so far away. Enhanced vampire hearing was truly something incredible, she noted.
“Astarion?” she called out softly, slipping down the side of the pillow and landing on the hard floor below. When she wasn’t met with a response, she padded towards the entrance of the tent and stepped outside.
Astarion was standing not that far away, completely shirtless with his back facing her, running one of his fingers down the scars engraved into his skin.
“A line with a fork and one – two – three – dots?” he murmured to himself, rubbing his index finger along some of his scars. “Bloody Infernal – how is anyone meant to read this garbage?”
Ria faltered, her breath catching in her throat as she tilted her neck upwards to look at him. He had no idea that she was there, he was completely absorbed in whatever it was he was doing.
“Astarion?” she called out once more, her voice louder this time.
“Ah!” Astarion turned on his heel, his crimson eyes wide as his gaze quickly found her on the ground. “How…how are you feeling?” He lowered himself to the ground, sitting on both of his knees.
“A bit woozy, but I’ve been worse,” she answered with a light chuckle. “What happened to me?”
“I heard you cry for help,” he said softly. “You were passed out by a glowing blue flower by the time I found you. I think whatever it is, it drains anyone of their magic. I could feel it take away my magic affinity as well when I was there.”
“That would certainly explain it,” she replied. “Thank you for saving me, yet again.”
A gentle smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.
“Of course, I couldn’t just ignore you.” Astarion’s eyebrows knitted together with concern, his voice was considerably lower and even softer than before. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? If you need anything, just tell me.”
“I can assure you, I’m fine,” she smiled warmly at him. “If anything, that nap that I just had made me feel better, even if my magic had been drained.” She paused, her brows furrowing in thought. “Hey, um, what were you doing earlier? Before I…erm…interrupted you?”
“I’ve been trying to make out the scars on my back,” he answered, exhaling a small sigh. “I can’t see them, so I’ve been trying to feel my way about, but they may as well be written in Rashemi.”
An idea suddenly struck Ria’s brain. While she couldn’t read the Infernal inscriptions on his back, perhaps she could at least help Astarion see them for himself.
“Let me have a look.”
Astarion’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth parted open slightly in shock.
“I –” he started, his voice wavering slightly, “this isn’t your problem, you know.”
She folded her arms across her chest somewhat stubbornly.
“I know that, but I want to help. Now shut up and turn around.”
“Fine,” he said softly, confusion clearly painted across his features, and slowly turned around so that his back was facing her once more.
While it was difficult for her to stare up at his back given their size differences, she was still able to determine that his scars were most definitely Infernal, the language of the Hells, as she had previously deduced. But while she recognised what the language was, she was not fluent in it nor could she read it.
“And? What do you see?” Astarion said rather loudly, a slight edge to his tone, suggesting he was nervous and a little impatient.
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “But hold still, I can draw it for you.”
Unsheathing her trusty tiny dagger, she began to carve the Infernal inscriptions into the dirt. It was no easy task, having to crane her neck up so high to see Astarion’s scars, but after some time had passed, she had managed to replicate the Infernal message as best she could.
Astarion finally turned around, dropping to one knee, and hovered over her miniscule drawing that was flayed into the soil.
It was at that moment that she realised that her drawing was pathetically small – how was Astarion supposed to see what it looked like when it was so tiny? She felt a stab of embarrassment and idiocy pierce straight through her chest. Her efforts were a complete waste of time.
“I-I’m sorry, I just realised that you won’t be able to see it very well with how small it is.” She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, her gaze flicking away to look at the floor. “This was completely pointless, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t say that,” Astarion said firmly, narrowing his eyes. “You have helped plenty. Besides, it doesn’t matter to me, thanks to my vampirism, I can see your drawing quite clearly.”
“Oh.” She blinked in surprise as the feeling of embarrassment immediately left her system. “That’s handy.”
“What in the Hells,” he murmured, his gaze focusing intently on her tiny drawing carved into the ground. “What did he do to me?”
Ria frowned, staring at the drawing she had created in the ground. All of her time living underneath the floorboards of a house of tieflings, and she had never seen anything like this before in her entire life. It almost looked like it was a part of something…bigger. Grander. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about it made her skin crawl with dread.
“It’s one strange poem,” she commented, suppressing a shiver.
“If it’s a poem at all,” he replied quietly. “Two centuries carrying this, and I can finally see it.”
“Should we tell the others about this?” she suggested. “Maybe Karlach can read it.”
“Absolutely not,” Astarion snapped. “I do not want them knowing about this. This has to stay between us. Also, I don’t think Karlach has read anything in ten years, so I highly doubt she would be of any help.”
Ria opened her mouth to protest, but no words found her lips. If this is what he wanted, she would respect that.
“That’s horrible to say about Karlach.”
“What? It’s only the truth.”
She heaved a painful sigh and rolled her eyes. Astarion was still Astarion, she supposed.
“How are you feeling about all of this?”
Astarion shifted, the ground trembling as his mass moved above her, until he was sitting cross legged in the dirt in front of her and her tiny sketch.
“Perplexed,” he said. “This was a surprise, and Cazador’s surprises are never good. Then again, even he couldn’t know I’d be kidnapped. Whatever he planned, it’s gone wrong. Which gives us an advantage.” A wicked grin pulled across his sharp features momentarily, then, much to her surprise, his expression softened as he gazed down at her.
“Thank you, by the way. This is…well, it’s something.”
“We’ll figure it out. I promise.” A warm smile lit up her face as she gazed at him, and she could see his eyes grow even larger in surprise upon hearing her response.
“Will we? How…sweet.”
A moment of silence passed over the camp as neither said anything for a while. Ria’s mind was racing, as she kept on thinking back to the last time they had been close together. Astarion could sense the awkwardness as well, and he cleared his throat, his eyes looking elsewhere.
“Well, I suppose I should leave you to rest,” Astarion said. “You have been through a lot today, after all.”
“No, I’m quite alright,” she quickly said, her heart beginning to race inside her chest. The camp was completely empty, save for the owlbear cub and Scratch. She wasn’t sure when she was going to have a moment alone with him like this again, and there was something that she wanted to ask him.
After having such a negative reaction to being so close to Astarion’s mouth, she wanted to change that – perhaps allow herself to become more at ease when she was close to him so that she wouldn’t spiral into a panic attack like before. Of course, this would only work if he also agreed to it as well.
“I want to ask you something.” She cleared her throat, her face beginning to burn under the scrutiny of his immense gaze. “It’s…uh…well…I understand if you don’t want to do it, because, well…” She stumbled over her words, her skin growing ever hotter by the second.
Astarion raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Inhaling a deep breath, her eyes focused intensely on the floor, she managed to finally find the right words.
“I want to touch your teeth.”
Nervously, she angled her neck upwards so that she could read his expression. Astarion’s mouth was slightly agape in shock, his eyes as wide as saucers and his eyebrows had nearly left his forehead.
He opened and closed his mouth to speak, but no sound came from his lips.
“I understand this is a very…intimate thing to ask,” she stammered, her heart threatening to burst out of her ribcage at any moment. “But I want to be closer to you, Astarion. I don’t want to be afraid of you. And if I can maybe expose myself to your fangs, maybe…maybe I won’t react like I did last time.”
Astarion blinked, still very dumbfounded by her proposition.
“Well, that has to be the first time anyone has wanted to be closer to my teeth,” he answered. “But, if it’s what you want, who am I to object?”
Her heart caught in her throat, surprised by his response. “R-really?”
Astarion’s gaze nervously darted away, and he cleared his throat. “I don’t see the harm in trying. It would be nice, if…if we could be closer.”
Her face flushed a deep shade of pink as heat blossomed across her skin. She had expected that he would’ve dismissed her foolish idea, muttering something along the lines of how filthy borrowers were, but his positive response made her heart flutter.
“Can we try…now?” she asked tentatively.
Astarion tilted his head to the side slightly, his eyebrows raised.
“Right now?”
She gave him a small nod, wanting to shield her flushed face from his piercing gaze.
A flirtatious smirk flashed briefly across his face as he leaned closer towards her, his massive frame looming over her, ruby red eyes glinting in the limited light of the Underdark.
“An eager little pup, aren’t you?” he grinned, lowering his open palm to the floor for her to climb onto. “I promise not to bite, darling.”
Smoothing back her somewhat frazzled red hair, she shuffled onto his cold palm, grasping feverishly onto his fingers for support as he slowly lifted her into the air and closer to his face.
Keep calm. You are fine. He isn’t going to hurt you. Everything is fine.
She attempted to calm her buzzing nerves that were beginning to amplify the closer she was to Astarion’s large face. Her entire vision was nothing but him, his crimson eyes softly caressing her tiny frame as she stood in the centre of his palm. Her heart was almost ready to fly out of her body at this point, and he could hear every single one of her frantic heartbeats.
No, stop thinking about that. You will be okay.
“Tell me if it becomes too much,” he said gently, his brows furrowed.
She nodded in response. “Okay.”
“We’ll go slowly, alright?”
Astarion’s mouth slowly began to open, his pearly white teeth quickly revealing themselves against his parted lips.
She sucked in a sharp breath as her heart spasmed against her chest. Memories began to flicker through her mind, of being so close to death against those teeth, of almost being food–
No, no, you are safe here. You are safe!
Despite knowing that she was safe, it seemed as if her body had a completely different idea. Every fibre in her body was screaming at her to run, her limbs twitching, her brain racing as if she was in danger, a predator was right there, ready to devour her in a second.
Astarion faltered, picking up on her distress.
“We should stop this,” he said, his voice etched with concern. “This clearly isn’t going to work.”
“No!” Ria cried out in desperation. “Don’t stop! This will work; we just need to give it time. Please, Astarion.” She squeezed his index finger with a tiny hand, her eyes pleading at him.
He frowned at her, not pleased by her idea, and released a heavy sigh that tousled her hair.
“Fine. But if you start to panic again, I’m going to stop.”
Astarion brought her closer towards his mouth, his lips parting open once more to reveal his dazzling teeth.
She attempted to control her breathing, focusing on inhaling deep breaths as his teeth grew closer. His warm breath flooded over her tiny body, and she stiffened as the metallic scent of blood hit her senses. The mere thought of blood alone was enough to make her squirm, let alone the scent of it, but she remained grounded in her spot on his palm.
Astarion parted his mouth further, exposing his dangerously pointed fangs. Fangs large enough to completely impale her entire body if she wasn’t careful. Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat as her gaze fell on his elongated canines and she had to force herself to remain steady.
You’ve been close to his teeth before. You’ve been inside his mouth. You are fine.
She sucked in a sharp breath and gingerly walked closer towards his fangs. One hand was squeezing the pad of his index finger intensely as she regarded his teeth. All she had to do was touch one fang. Just one. She had to move past this fear if she wanted to have any chance of being close to him.
Here goes nothing.
Sealing her eyelids shut, she extended her hand forwards and nearly flinched when she felt her palm touch the curve of his fang. Every sense in her body was fighting at her to run for her life, but she resisted and acted as if she had become frozen to his hand.
It was smooth to the touch, and her heartbeat increased as her palm trailed down the canine. She didn’t want to get to the end of the tooth, in fear that she would most likely prick herself on the needle-sharp ending.
Pulling away, she wiped her hand on her tunic, and her eyes fluttered open.
Astarion had brought her away from his mouth, clearly noticing how terrified she was of the whole situation, and his gaze was searching her for signs of further distress.
“How are you feeling?”
She swallowed thickly. “In all honesty, I think I’m ready to pass out, but otherwise I’m good.”
He flashed her a weak smile. “You did very well, all things considered. Do you want me to put you down?”
“N-no, it’s alright,” she stammered. “This…this is fine. Good. I’m good.”
Very slowly and gently, the pad of his index finger softly caressed the top of her head.
“Are you sure you’re fine?” he asked, his voice tender and surprisingly vulnerable. “I…I don’t want you to feel like that ever again.”
“Of course,” she said earnestly. “I think I’m going to need to do this again, though.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I want to keep doing this until I don’t feel like I’m going…” her voice trailed off for a moment, the words dying on her tongue.
Until I don’t feel like I’m going to die.
He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
“My dear, we can keep on doing this as many times as you need.” He gave her a tender smile. “Just ensure that you are thoroughly clean before touching my fangs.”
A giggle slipped out of her throat. “What are you trying to say? That I’m dirty?”
“Oh, positively filthy, darling,” he teased, a playful smile lighting up his face. “I’m going to have to clean my teeth much longer than usual tonight.”
His teasing comments would’ve made her glare at him in the past, but now, with everything that they had been through together, she couldn’t help but to smile and laugh. Perhaps things were going to be alright between them after all.
Karlach's booming voice nearly made Freya drop her mortar. There was no way she was going to get used to being around larger beings and there was no way she could hide any discomfort of suddenly being approached by a giant barbarian who was eager to rush over. Karlach must've realized this because she skidded to a halt, lowering herself into a crouch. “Oh sorry, I forget you can be jumpy.”
“It's okay, this is new to both of us.” Freya smiled, setting her mortar and pestle down. “Did you need anything?”
“Oh no, I just saw you by yourself.” She hesitated for a moment. “Not that you can't handle yourself, but I'm surprised you're out in the open like this.”
Freya gave a shrug. “Well, the refugees are gone, the druids keep to themselves, and Halsin had promised to let every animal in the grove know that I am not a snack, I figured this was a nice tree stump to occupy for a bit of alone time.”
“Oh if you want, I can leave you alone!”
“Nah, I don't mind. I could use the company.” She took a seat by the edge. “Besides, I have to let the ointment sit for a minute before I put the next ingredients in.”
“Sounds like I came at the right time then.” Karlach replied with a chuckle; her eyes wandered to Freya's supplies, the tools absolutely miniscule compared to the brainy woman who towered above her. “Whatcha making anyways?”
“Oh, just a burn ointment for Gale; one of the goblins at that camp was a Warlock and threw a fire bolt at him. He'll have a nasty scar if I don't make this.”
“Oh that's why he was grumbling to himself earlier! I just thought he got a papercut.”
Freya let out a giggle. “I think he wears those injuries with more pride.”
“Very true.” Karlach chuckled along, her fiery eyes dropped down to the ointment. “Say, you must be pretty good at that if you're always making stuff. You learn that back at your colony?”
“Oh yeah, my mum taught me the basics.” She replied, scoping out the lush plants that sprouted amongst the ground. “But we've never had herbs like the ones in this Grove! We could've made so much more if we lived here.”
“This probably wouldn't be a bad place to set up, lots of plants and berries, crevices to make a home, and the druids seem nice… for the most part.”
“I won't lie, I thought about making a home here.” She admitted, her eyes dared to meet Karlach's and she could see the faintest bit of sadness on her face. Guilt began to clutch her heart. “It's as you said, this is a great place for borrowers, plus… my old colony wouldn't be far from here. I started to wonder, if something happened, perhaps it would be better if I was close by.”
“I wouldn't blame ya, you still have family over there.”
Freya gave a nod. “My cousin, yeah.” Her hands found their way back to the mortar and pestle, she grinded up the final bits into the pasty substance. “But even with my colony not too far away, I still would be alone here. I'm not sure that would be a way I want to live.”
“Oh no doubt about it!” Karlach exclaimed. “Being alone in Avernus was the worst. I think you're better off with us til you find some other tiny soldiers like you.”
“I absolutely agree.” Freya beamed. “I definitely feel safer with this indestructible tiefling nearby.”
That elicited a hearty chuckle from Karlach. “Oh, you're too adorable, I'd give ya a big ole squeeze if I could.”
There was no stopping the flustering heat that rose in Freya's cheeks, her eyes fell to the ointment she made. “Not too hard, I hope.”
“Of course not, I'd be very careful!” Karlach cleared her throat. “At least…I'd try not to, my old friend Fytz used to tell me that I would hug a little too hard sometimes.”
Sometimes, Freya had a hard time believing that this barbarian who fought in a literal war was one of the sweetest beings in this group. This woman had so much love to give, and yet, she had no way of giving any of her friends a simple act like a hug. Was this a cruel joke played by the gods? Whatever the reason, it served as a reminder for Freya to never take such simple intimacies for granted anymore. “Well, I think we have to hurry up and get that engine fixed, so I can see for myself.”
The smile on her face grew even brighter than the fire that burned within her body. “Soldier, you got yourself a deal.”
Honestly, what good is having a tiny partner if you don’t get to terrorize them once in a while? 😈
——————
*tosses giant!Astarion content into the pile*
🙇 I hope y’all like it, I’ve been working on this for over a month and I need to just post it so I can move on to other pics. 😭
I drew this with my tiny Tav in mind but I don’t have his appearance nailed down yet, so I went ambiguous. 😅 That way it’s easier to imagine your own OC. Enjoy! 🫶
