druid!tav hunting as a cat for like mice and stuff with astarion hunting for his meal
omg as someone who is currently playing as a morally grey Druid, I LOVE this!
Let's be honest, it would only work with a druid who is a little more lax because otherwise, they would never dream of hunting other animals. Buttt... for the sake of this being cute af let's all pretend we are morally questionable.
Which, if we are dating Astarion, is probably a given anyway sometimes 😅
Usually, you would pride yourself on your stealth. Even in your human form, you were rarely caught but as a cat? Well, your track record was immaculate.
Until tonight, that was.
You hated when Astarion went out hunting alone. Of course, he could stand up for himself, but as you got closer to Baulders Gate, the harder it was for you to sleep while he was out wandering in the woods.
But, he would only brush you off if you asked to go with him, which is how you found yourself crouching to attention beneath a bush, watching him creep almost silently through the trees.
However, you severely underestimated just how heightened his sense of smell was
You were too busy admiring how his features softened when he thought no one else was around when his head turned upwards and he breathed in deeply. A split second later, his eyes snapped towards where you were hiding.
"You shouldn't let me feed on you so regularly if you want to sneak up on me, you know. I can smell your blood anywhere."
His voice was almost chilling in the silence of the woods, and it made your fur stand on end. You would have thought he was angry with you if he didn't stand with his head cocked to the side as you crept out, a smirk settled deep in his features.
You would rub up his shins in some form of apology, only for him to step back,
"No, no, no, my love. You can't try to be all cute and expect me to just forgive you - besides, you're getting fur all over my trousers."
You would persist anyway.
"Look, unless you want me to drain you dry, I need to find something to drink."
He would step away again, leaving you sat in the middle of the small clearing. As he turned to leave, something caught your eye - a small rustle under a leaf in the corner of your vision that you just couldn't ignore.
With a *bap* you were on top of it, eyes staring intently down at the leaf beneath your paws as you sat waiting for it to move again.
Astarion whipped around at the sound, eyes widening as he looked down at you scooting through the leaves in pursuit of something even his keen eyes couldn't focus on.
"Is our favourite druid hunting?" he would taunt as he watched you
In mild protest, you would stop and sit up eyes narrowing at him as if to say 'You're one to judge'
He held his hands up in mock defence, "Look, if you insist on following me around, you could always... help?"
He would almost cringe as he suggested it - like he hated himself for admitting that he would quite like your company when he was forced to find his food each night - a task that was always so lonely and left him with too many of his own thoughts.
You didn't need much convincing - abandoning whatever it was beneath the dense leaf coverage and trotting alongside him, tail raised inquisitively, bright eyes watching the treeline with him.
You missed the way his eyes softened again, his mouth turning up into a smile, as you crouched, wiggling and bounded off into the dark.
Bonus:
'I appreciate the offer, my love, but I don't think that would quite be enough," he would breathe a laugh over the deer he had managed to bring down as you put a large bird you had managed to wrangle out of its misery.
"Let's take it back anyway, I'm sure Gale will be able to do something with it for lunch."
He would pet your head affectionately before finishing off his late-night snack.
Find my Masterlist Here and My Astarion Playlist Here.
Hey, i was wondering if you still do those adorable druid Tav as a cat and Astarion cause i love them so much and the fluff (literally 💖) i had this idea that druid tav (reader) would be in their cat form resting on top of a rock and Astarion can just lean in to kiss the top of tav's head only for Tav to purposely change back in time to kiss him back. Im silently living for flustered and surprised Astarion.
Honestly, it is times like this I wish I could draw so I could put this little vision down physically - I love it 🥺
Pairing: Astarion x gn!druid!reader/Tav
Warnings: none!
Wordcount: 1,310
Find my Masterlist Here and My Astarion Playlist Here.
Although you had tried to explain it to Lae’zel countess times, you could never quite put into words the satisfaction of laying out on a warm, smooth rock in the sun as a cat. The radiating heat against your fur, the satisfying stretch that cracked your back beautifully in a way you could never quite manage as a humanoid, and the uncanny ability to just sleep uninterrupted were blissful.
Yes, you could just as easily lay in the grass or on your bedroll as a human, but it didn’t quite scratch that itch. Besides, no one bothered you when you were like this – none of them entirely sure if you even understood them in this form (which led to some very interesting opportunities to eavesdrop on the occasions you felt mischievous). You may have almost self-appointed yourself as the leader, but it was nice to not have to deal with requests for magic boots, hunting dinner, or potions and scrolls.
There was, of course, one person who did bother you when you were like this, but you would never call it a bother – even if he did sometimes stroke your fur the wrong way on purpose to rile you up.
Astarion had learned very quickly that you could indeed understand him still as a cat, when you started to tease him oh so gently about the soft phrases and terms of endearment he would use for you while he scratched under your chin, letting you stretch out on his lap languidly in his tent on colder nights. It didn’t seem to put him off doing it all together, however, it was just reserved for those peaceful moments in the darkness of the night when he was so sure the others had gone to bed and he thought you were fast asleep curled up by the fire.
Usually, the mornings followed a similar pattern. You and Halsin would awake first, up with the birds as always to set up camp and clean up from the night before, before the others could start to stir awake more clumsily. Usually, Lae-zel would be next – the clanging of her armour and weaponry stirring everyone else out of their tents. You often found it funny how you had barely known each other for more than a month or so, but you knew so many of their intricacies like your own fur pattern.
Shadowheart, for instance, despite the cold demeanour, was always so dishevelled when she first awoke it was hard not to find her almost adorable. Her squinting eyes and quiet grunts as she readied herself for the day were almost cliche for someone who devoted themself to the night. Gale, on the other hand, bounded awake with bright eyes and conversation far too early for the other’s liking – leading to many early morning conversations between the two of you as you took it upon yourself as one of the more awake members of the party to satiate his desire for human connection after so long locked away alone. You presume, given the fact he didn’t really need sleep, Astarion chose to stay in his tent for as long as possible first thing to avoid the bustle, usually emerging a little after you had all eaten breakfast.
When you instead awoke not to the sound of birds but to the rustling of the tent beside you, you weren’t too concerned. You presumed your elven friend simply needed something more to drink. The early hour was perhaps a little odd, but who were you to say anything about unusual routines?
Picking your head up off of the warming rock, you squinted a little as you adjusted to the morning sun, eyes blinking slowly as you watched him gracefully pull on his boots and more tightly lace up his shirt. It sometimes amazed you how a being some would consider so unnatural could move more gracefully, more quietly than even a cat. A part of you wondered if, in another elven life, his calling was not too dissimilar to your own.
You eventually stood, stretching out your back as you arched up towards the sky. This caught his attention as he finished lacing up his jacket.
“I didn’t mean to wake you, dear, my apologies,” he muttered quietly as you looked at him inquisitively, sitting to watch him gather his dagger and strap it to his waist. You noted Halsin’s snoring from elsewhere in the camp and the silent absence of Lae’zel readying herself for the day. For once, it was just the two of you – the type of morning you sometimes wish you had more of.
Cocking your head to the side, your ear twitching inquisitively, you silently asked him where he was going. Just as you had gotten to know each of the others, Astarion had learned your mannerisms almost flawlessly.
He looked conflicted for a second as if questioning whether or not to tell you the truth. “I didn’t want to wake you for food last night,” he started a little awkwardly, finishing up preparing himself for the day before approaching you. “You seemed so peaceful like that up there that I didn’t want to ask you to turn back just for me to have a drink. You needed sleep and I was not up for a cat fight, I don’t want to ruin my claws after all,” he tried characteristically to turn back to his humour, checking under his fingernails for dirt, as he felt himself slipping a little too close to sincerity.
If you could roll your eyes, you would have. Instead, you settled for admiring the way the morning sun gave his hair and skin a little colour. They always shone gold in sunsets and rises – it was criminal that after this ordeal he would be hidden from their embrace again.
Silence settled over you both again for a moment before he started again, “I won’t be long, just need to find a quick nibble.” Hesitating for just a moment before he headed for the woodline, he leaned over the rock’s edge, lips slightly pursed. In a split second, you caught on. He had a habit of pressing a small kiss to your head whenever he was passing by – it was like a comfort habit, a self-soothing mechanism he had developed in the weeks spent by your side. He had started doing it even when you were in human form too, but only when he was so sure you were asleep after he fed. Now that you would never mention for fear of him stopping.
Closing your eyes quickly, you turned – feeling your limbs growing and stretching again until you were sat, humanoid, with your legs swung over the sides of your favourite rock, Astarion stood between them. Your head tilted back and eyes still closed, his lips crashed into yours with perfect timing.
He almost pulled back in pure shock, eyes opening confused as his lips met yours. The slightly chapped skin of your lips was very different to what he was expecting when he leaned towards your warm fur. It wasn’t the first time you had kissed him by any means, but it was the first time you had ever managed to trick him. You grinned as you pulled back, swearing you saw the slightest hint of a blush on his cheeks.
“Why you little-” His voice was noticeably flustered. You pecked him again, grinning, to shut him up before he woke up the rest of the camp.
“How about some breakfast in bed instead?” you offered, containing your laughter as he stood before you visibly befuddled.
“Well, I suppose it is the least you can do after this little stunt.” He would love to have been mad at you, but much to his chagrin, the gentle tendrils of new love blossoming in his chest would never allow it.
