And now...some headcanons
Some more Headcanons for @salamoonder, all in one place so I’m not clogging your ask box.
Continuing with the arm-linking, the first couple of times Caleb links arms with Cad, Caduceus thinks Caleb’s [unconsciously] asking for comfort and strokes his head, which almost always makes Caleb freeze up.
After a while, when Caduceus has gotten to know the Nein better and realises Caleb is a Cat Person (initially seems fearless, confident and poised, but is actually quite skittish, constantly ready to flee and wants cuddles but also doesn’t want cuddles) Caduceus leaves him be. Except for a single pat on the head, because he’s only flesh and blood!
Caleb doesn’t link arms with Cad often - Caleb is kinda scared of Caduceus’ [insight], but when he’s going non-verbal Caduceus is one of the people he gravitates towards. Caduceus doesn’t try to get him to talk, but will instead ramble on to him about nothing in particular. Caleb never gives any outward sign of listening, but later he will often reference something Cad said in passing, or ask him to elaborate on a point, which delights Caduceus.
Even Veth doesn’t escape this. Especially back when she was a goblin, and tended to climb all over Caleb more. She’d sit on his shoulder and he’d hold his hand up to her, two fingers resting in the crook of her arm. Being able to walk arm in arm with Veth is the one thing that Caleb will admit to envying Yeza.
On an arm-linking tangent, Jester has a nervous habit where sometimes when she’s feeling anxious or threatened her tail will twist around the leg of someone next to her. Or, in the case of Veth, her arm. She’s made Fjord face-play more than once. At first Beau was kinda disappointed when she found out that Jester couldn’t lift her off the ground doing this (“You could literally catapult us into battle! We need to work on this!”). Now whenever she feels the tail, Beau immediately grabs Jester’s hand.
The night after they encountered Trent in the throne room Caleb had bruises on his leg. Yasha will pat Jester’s tail in acknowledgement and Caduceus will return the favour, wrapping his tail (he has a tail, shut up) around Jester’s.
Veth is the only one who complains, though she’s careful to make it very clear to Jester it’s only because she’s much smaller than Jester and Jester very strong. Once they’re done with a fight/out of danger and Veth worries that Jester’s particularly rattled (e.g. post-Lorenzo) Veth will (telegraphing her movements so she doesn’t startle her friend) hold on to Jester’s tail or wind it around her wrist.
Now some Blumenkrew (bc you are a gentleman of taste)! Wulf telling Caleb he looks good both times that they’ve met is a hangover from a habit that Wulf developed while they were at the Academy. In part due to they’re being more ambitious and in part bc unlike Wulf they weren’t build like a brick shithouse from the age of twelve, Bren and Astrid had a big chip on their shoulders about the fact that they were scholarship kids. Worse, scholarship kids from some unknown backwater deep in the country (their parents were probably farmers, can you even imagine?)
Bren dealt with it in part by worrying over his appearance. Basically, trying to make sure he doesn’t look “poor” or “common”. Wulf thinks this is stupid - between Leofric’s soldier background and Una’s concerns for his health Bren was always been one of the neatest children in their village. Bren’s never looked “poor”.
“To you,” Bren returns. “You don’t hear how they laugh at us. They’d never say what they think of you to your face.”
(This, incidentally, is one of the things that starts Wulf second-guessing people and becoming more cynical in his world-view. Also why he plays up his “stupidity” and “lack of ambition”; all these noble’s children trying to mimic their parents’ intrigues don’t bother lying to anyone they don’t consider a threat.)
Thus, Wulf makes a point of letting Bren know his efforts with his appearance aren’t going unnoticed. Initially it was reassurance, wanting to give his friend a confidence boost and also, seriously, you have spent most of our lives somehow magically able to repel dirt. You look perfect, those idiots don’t know what they’re talking about!
Thing is, Bren’s a bit of a fashionista. As much as is possible at the Academy, anyway. And he’s always been - y’know, cute. But like, lamb-cute. Cat-biting-its-tongue-cute. I’ll give him all the piggy backs he wants because his smile is adorable cute. Not I can’t look at him cute. Not I wanna kiss him cute.
Oh. Oh shit.
In the meantime, Astrid works. Hard. Harder than Wulf - with his strength their trainers would count themselves lucky if he was half as smart and cunning as he actually is. Harder than Bren who will happily taunt their classmates about how easily it all comes to him and yet takes his talent for granted, doesn’t seem to understand how brilliant he actually is.
She loves Bren dearly, but she really has come to relish those moments she can knock him off balance. He’s not used to people keeping up with him; wholly unprepared for it, in fact. Thinking about it, that was probably why he started following her and Wulf around in the first place. That and the wins are so much sweeter when you have to fight for them.
Their play fights have always unnerved poor Edawulf; even after all these years he can never tell whether or not they’re being serious. Or then again, maybe he realised what they were actually doing before they did.
He plays at being confused, after all.
Hope you’re having a good day! Stay well. X
