An event set up by the marvellous @missfortunetherogue!
|| Words: 1.130 || CONTENT WARNINGS: None ||
That Bloomridge Park was blanketed with snow did not take away from the populace's enjoyment of the place, quite the contrary. The adults were strolling about and marvelling at the winter wonderland while the children were building snowmen or engaging each other in snowball fights. Others were brave enough to test the pond's icy surface, daring to slide and skate around.
Still others had brought their pets to the park to give them the opportunity to run and roll around in the snow, and today, Shadowheart and Imrae were among these people.
“I still can't believe that we let you keep it. That Lae'zel gave her Okay. That this has not blown up in your face, and that Astarion has not 'accidentally misplaced' a dagger into it,” Shadowheart said as she watched Us sharpen its claws on one of the trees.
An older woman passing by sent her a disturbed look. To her, the intellect devourer looked like a larger house cat, a being which under no circumstances should receive a dagger, accidental or not.
Imrae smiled and nodded to the woman before he focused back on his dear sister. “I think he has grown fonder of it than he admits. He takes it hunting sometimes.”
“That's enough! I don't want details on that.” Shadowheart laughed.
“I can only imagine myself.”
It was something that remained between the vampire and the intellect devourer, and Imrae was loath to pry. The last thing he wished was for either to feel studied, observed, or judged. It was their special sort of kinship, two beings with a special diet on the hunt, just like Astarion and him were elves who thrived in the dark, and just like Us and him were outcasts that had chosen to be a tribe of one each.
The intellect devourer had impressed him, down in that gruesome colony underneath Moonrise. It had resisted, and the cult had caged it for its rebellion. It had remained loyal to its first friend and had joined his quest against the Elder Brain without question.
He had feared that after the removal of the illithid tadpole, their bond would vanish with it, but it had not been so. Us remained a loyal companion and a great help around his study, at least whenever Astarion was not borrowing it to mess with his siblings, who were very weary of 'the drow wizard's weird cat'.
Shadowheart formed a ball of snow with her gloved hands and whistled for Scratch. When the dog ran towards her, excited for a game of fetch, she threw it as far as she could, leaving the dog to try and figure out how to retrieve the frosty orb.
The sight of the canine's valiant efforts made Imrae chuckle. “How have the colder months been for you and Scratch?”
“Don't worry about us. We made a lot of friends all along the Sword Coast during last year's adventure, and we're welcome in any Selûnite temple. And even if there are none close, I can always offer healing magic in a village in return for food and shelter.” Shadowheart smiled. “Having a good boy like Scratch by my side always does earn people's trust, even without mentioning my faith. And it does keep some of the more shady characters in line.”
Imrae smiled. Dogs had such an effect, didn't they?
When they first had found him near Moonhaven, Scratch had brought out the sweet side of the closed-off Shadowheart before anybody else could.
When Mizora had punished Wyll, Scratch had been there, staying close to the Blade of Frontiers when he was putting up a brave front, unafraid of the new form.
When Karlach had been staying optimistic despite Dammon's dire prophecies, Scratch had brought her his favourite ball for games of fetch despite the danger of it ending up with scorch marks.
When Lae'zel had found herself discarded by Vlaakith, Scratch had still been a loyal member of her pack, keeping her company as she worked through the revelation that her life had been a lie.
When Gale had been feeling lost and homesick, missing his companion Tara, Scratch had done his best to be the wizard's furred friend for the time being.
When Halsin had been faced with the horrors of the Shadow Curse once more, Scratch had not left his side, comforting the druid in a way his two-legged travelling companions could not, and had been the most effective mediator between him and Shadowheart when her fervour for Shar had been fanned by the goddess' attention.
When Astarion had gotten anxious as they had gotten closer to the city of Baldur's Gate, terrified of being abducted in the dark by Cazador, forced back into the hell he had escaped, Scratch had guarded the vampire's tent every night.
Imrae himself had been careful around Scratch at first. Before, he had only known the cavvekans of the Underdark, canines with the face of a bat that hunted in packs. The wild ones who had encountered drow before had learned to leave his kind alone, even lingered near their communities to feed on discarded bodies. But when he ventured into areas where no humanoid had dwelled for a while, these beasts were always hungry enough to make an attempt on his life.
Thus, Shadowheart's fear of wolves had been known to him. One growl in the dark was trouble. Several growls promised a demanding fight for one's life if one was alone. It was easiest to overwhelm their noses and their ears, and then make a quick escape.
It had been confusing to him at first why Scratch, who was quite wolf-like in appearance still, was a comforting presence to the cleric when his wild cousins were not. But, the dog's personable nature and his intelligence had intrigued him regardless, and Imrae had never found it within him to sell whatever he had found and brought him, even if it was just some rope or a single old shoe.
To him, Scratch's comfort had not come in the form of his close company. The dog had understood that Imrae needed to be left alone from time to time, that he was more relaxed during the day if he could bathe in the river in peace in the dead of night.
So Scratch had kept vigil and a gentle distance, and they had held the silent agreement that keeping an eye out for the other people in camp made his drow friend all the happier.
“What have you got there, boy?”
Shadowheart's pet voice pulled Imrae from his thoughts, and he too went to see what Scratch had found while digging through the snow.
