The After Effects of Gingerwort Tea
A little jealous Emmrich and fluff for ya.
Emmrich had been attempting to read the same page of his book for the last half hour but between his mind wandering on how Allette and Davrin's little picnic was going coupled with Johanna's incessant tittering and jibes, he was feeling the hint of a headache encroaching. With a resigned sigh he closed the book, Johanna snerking at him. Allette had told him of the picnic first, wanted to reassure him it was not romantic, it was a check in coupled with Antoine and Evka asking her to please make sure Davrin was okay. They had jaunted off to Arlathan before and it was no different than when she was with any other team member. When they had shared that kiss in the garden and she had reciprocated his feelings, he had never expected jealousy to also rear it's ugly head along side all the other emotions. Davrin was strapping, quite handsome, and very strong. He'd seen Allette carried in his arms as if she was nothing but a feather as he still wielded his sword. And Davrin had even patted him on the back one morning in the kitchens, congratulating Emmrich on getting the girl. Emmrich had sputtered out a thank you unsure if the warden had been prodding at him again or if it was sincere.
He shook his head. These thoughts were not conducive to any sort of peace of mind. And if there was going to be any sort of future with Rook, he needed to trust her. As a show of good faith he had helped Davrin prepare some truffle wort tea. Maybe he could brew some for his own personal observation and experiment, see if there was truly magical properties. It might help ease his mind until they returned.
The kettle was placed over the fire and Emmrich stood watching the flames, his mind still wandering into dangerous territory. "Focus Volkarin," Johanna's skull screeched at him with a cackle. "You're going to set yourself and the whole place on fire if you keep that up. Then I'll be left to deal with your ignorant, insufferable roommates."
With a growl Emmrich waved his hand, casting a silence ward over her. He couldn't hear her but the way the skull emanated a darker green hue and vibrated let him know she was most displeased. Good. Someone else needed to suffer alongside him. How long would they be gone? What if there were Venatori? Or an artifact that was misaligned and corrupting the fabrics….
Allette was strong and a very powerful mage in her own right. An impressively devout Mourn Watcher to for her time away from the order as well. She'd been more than adequate at managing problems as they arose. And Davrin was there with her. They would be perfectly fine.
But what if he kissed her?
Emmrich couldn't get the thought out of his head. The way her lips had been so soft, parting in an invitation for his tongue to lightly introduce itself to her own and stroke her mouth in gentle exploration. Maybe he should've been more aggressive, less docile. He could've held her waist a little tighter, put his hand up as if it was a necklace adorning her. Maybe that was how she liked things, they hadn't really had an opportunity to discuss that specific topic. Though she was not stingy with the little pecks and kisses she left on his cheek and mouth. And his lips had become quite familiar with the curve of her forehead.
The kettle whistled shrilly, though Emmrich was unable to hear it through the thick, gloomy thoughts torturing his mind. Instead of his arms wrapped around her, it was Davrin's muscled ones, him laughing in her ear as she giggled, cheeks flushing. Davrin's lips discovering the skin of her neck, trailing kisses down lower and lower…
"EMMRICH!?" the yell pulled Emmrich from the abyss he had been unceremoniously spiraling towards. Turning his head, he found Davrin standing in the entrance to his lab. "You…ok?" the warden questioned, his eyes dropping to Emmrich's hands and back up to his face, concern laced with fear was present in the dark eyes.
Emmrich realized his fists were balled and soft green wisps of magic. He suspected due to the stinging in his eyes that they were glowing green and Davrin, from the looks of the warden, was considering the possibility he was possessed. Breathing in slowly, trying to get the image of Davrin on top of Allette out of his mind, Emmrich blinked. "What's the matter?"
"It's Rook."
The world seemed to suddenly lack air. No longer was it Davrin's lips on her body, but gaping wounds, blood spilling out, her heartbeat going slower and slower still.
"She's fine Emmrich, she's just, ah," the warden rubbed his face, trying to figure out the best way to explain, "a little incapacitated."
Emmrich could only blink, confusion blooming on his face. "Do explain."
"The gingerwort tea you made. She was sensitive, but she insisted on drinking two cups. She's in her room, but I thought maybe you might want to check in on her. Especially with all the wisps flocking that way," Davrin quickly said.
More surprise and strange shock. "Wisps?"
Davrin turned and motioned for Emmrich to follow. Pulling the kettle from the fire before he followed the warden, Emmrich was not prepared for the site he beheld out in the library. Sure enough, there were dozens of wisps, flocking towards Allette's room, chittering giddily.
"Oh my," Emmrich murmured. They weren't malcontent or insidious in their formations, that was a relief. Instead, they were laughing, squealing with delight, as they trailed towards Rook's quarters. "Thank you Davrin. I will check on her."
Davrin clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You have fun with that." And the warden was walking down the library stairs, making a quick exit. A few straggling wisps followed Emmrich as he made his way down the hallway towards Rook's door. It was not fully shut, and though Emmrich gave a soft knock, he knew it wouldn't be heard given Rook's pealing laughter and the wisps chittering echoing.
Inside he didn't see Rook, but there was a glowing magic orb twirling in front of the fish tank - fish and wisps alike chasing it and Allette's pleased laughter filling the chamber. Suddenly the orb disappeared, fish and wisp alike seemed to be looking, waiting expectantly and once again it reappeared but in a different location and they were off chasing the thing again. He moved around the book shelf and the chase to find her sitting on the ground, leaning against the green couch in naught but her small clothes grinning wildly at the scene she was creating.
"Rook?" Emmrich ventured a soft greeting.
Her head turned towards him. "Emmrich! Hi!" She blinked a couple times, suddenly taking note of her hand. "I think the gingerwort tea affected me more than I realized." Another giggle escaped past her lips. "Oh dear. This is almost as bad as the time Corina convinced me to try a crypt shroom. Miri, Portia and I sat on top of the Gardens Wall laughing at the wisps for hours. They kept playing with our hair and would tickle the back of our necks." She snapped her fingers, the glowing orb disappearing leaving the wisps waiting in anticipation.
Emmrich was relieved to see she was unharmed, mostly, but she shouldn't be alone while she was under the influence. He didn't know the effects gingerwort tea would have or how long they would last. He should make a note for future reference. Her eyes were gleaming in the cool light reflecting from the aquarium, her pupils so dilated that he could barely see the beautiful lilac of her eyes. And she looked him with naught but affection. There was joy there at seeing him, though he knew later she would most likely be embarrassed at her current state.
"Would you sit with me, I promise I'm not teasing them. I can hear them, I think," Allette said, her head turning back to the wisps and fish. "They came when I was playing with the fish and then the wisps started laughing and singing? I can't quite understand like you do, but I got feelings of their emotions more clearly than usual."
"Really? That's fascinating," Emmrich lowered himself to the ground sitting beside her. "I wonder what else gingerwort will do to those sensitive?"
"I am most definitely far too hot," Allette supplied. "I should apologize for my appearance. You've seen me like this before. All though we weren't…uh…together…" Suddenly she snapped her fingers and the orb was back, the wisps were squealing chasing it alongside the fish. Emmrich didn't need to look at her to know her cheeks were flushed.
Without warning her head came to rest on his shoulder, and she gave a great sigh. "It feels almost like I am drunk but my mind isn't fuzzy. I feel more attuned to the Fade. The vibrations and the flow, I am able to feel them in my body all while sitting here. The wisps little chitters make sense in my head." She gave another giggle, the sound making Emmrich's body grow warm. "This is for your notes I know you are cataloging in your mind."
He couldn't help but smile, bringing his arm around her drawing her in closer. Feeling her close to him, snuggled into his side eased some of the earlier tension his mind had plagued upon him. "How well you know me, darling." Upon the top of her head he placed a gentle kiss. She smelled like Arthalan, a hint of magic with the touch of the wild earth that lived in those forests. "How was your picnic?"
"I think Davrin needs to get out more, get away from his own thoughts. Him and Taash going to go break something or kill some monsters together would be beneficial - to both of them," Allette mused. "Create a friendly competition who can bring back the most heads of darkspawn or something." She paused before adding, "Not really bring back the heads, I definitely don't want that mess here at the light house and the caretaker might actually throw me over the side of their barge."
Emmrich chuckled and they settled into a comfortable silence, his fingers stroking along her arm and the wisps playing. "Yes, but did you have fun, other than getting high off gingerwort tea?"
"Hey!" Her hand swatted at his leg before they both laughed. She readjusted herself and sighed. "I did. I saw a spot when we were hiking along that I thought would be nice for a more romantic picnic. I'd like to show you one of these days if we get a free moment."
He couldn't immediately respond. Of course she had been thinking of him, wanting to share with him. Feelings of shame bubbled up immediately replacing the jealousy. Caring for her was truly turning him into a besotted fool. And yet, holding her there, watching the fish and the wisps, there wasn't anywhere else he could think that he wanted to be.
"That sounds lovely, my dear."
"Oh good," Allette breathed. Her body seemed to relax and curl into him even more, if that was possible. Emmrich's hand around her arm squeezed in a comforting way. They sat in silence with each other, content, the laughter from the wisps the only echo in the room.
One by one the wisps decided they had had enough play and floated away. "Probably heading back to Neve," laughed Allette softly. She sounded as if she was on the cusp of sleep, her body leaning more heavily onto him.
"Dearest let's have you lay down on your chaise." He got her upright though she was quickly succumbing to sleep, her eyelids closing as if being pulled down. Once Allette was laying curled on her side, Emmrich brushed the stray hair from her face before placing his lips on her temple. "Sweet dreams, my darling Rook."
"Don't go." It was a whisper and her hand reached up for his. "Please stay with me."
In that moment, Emmrich wouldn't tell her no. If he was honest, he wasn't ready to be done holding her close. He was laying himself down next to her before his own brain registered that's what his body was doing. Once on his back, she snuggled into his side, laying her head on his chest, just below his chin as his arms wrapped around her. Another gentle kiss was placed upon her the top of her head. He did so much love how she felt in his arms, it was a nigh perfect fit.
How would she feel under…
A soft snore broke through his very ungentlemanly thoughts. "Sweet dreams, Allette." His head turned to look over at the fish who were swimming in their lazy circles. The orb had long since dissipated. There was only a handful of wisps floating, curious about the fish now and observing through the glass. His fingers absently stroked the hair that fell down along her back and he sighed.
All that worrying for nothing. Emmrich knew in his heart she would always return to him. And that she was steadily opening up the parts of his heart he thought locked forever.
"My darling Rook," Emmrich whispered, before closing his eyes.