Essek deserves to be loved and safe, okay? That's all I need. Of course, I don't own any rights to Critical Role or The Mighty Nein. Enjoy!
Given how utterly freezing he felt and how numb his fingers were going, Caleb was really starting to wish they were able to stay in the tower right about now. But no, a bunch of yetis had to try and fight him and the rest of the Nein earlier that day, and now all he could offer his friend's was their usual dome. Normally, it wasn't too bad; they were often on grass or dirt and with just the seven of them, it wasn't too much of a squeeze. But right now they were miles away from civilisation in Eiselcross, surrounded by nothing but endless tundra and frozen ice. And, since Essek was now travelling with them as they attempted to put as much distance between them and Aeor as possible, it made the dome feel much too small to hold them all. But, somehow, they would have to try and make do. And by this point, everyone was too exhausted to really care how they slept; they just needed sleep as soon as possible. The second that Caleb finished casting the spell, everyone flooded inside, grateful to be out of the heavy snow that was beginning to fall around them. However, it soon became very apparent that it was going to be a tight fit as everyone jostled for space to lay down or at least get somewhat comfortable. Yasha sat upright, her back leaning against the side of the dome and legs curled to her side. Beau instinctively lay down beside her, resting her head in Yasha's lap with a soft smile. Jester lay next to her, resting her legs against Beau's. Fjord slotted in easily behind the tiefling, his back pressed against the dome's side as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Caleb shuffled to the other side of the dome, which admittedly was not that far away at all, and sat crossed legged, pulling out one of the books from its holster. Veth lay beside him, filling the gap between him and Yasha. Caduceus moved to Caleb's other side, laying himself down around Fjord and Jester. Essek hovered awkwardly for a moment, feeling like he was intruding more than a little, before offering to sleep outside the dome to give the others some more space.
"Don't be stupid Essek, you'd freeze out there by yourself! Come back here," Jester all but demanded, reaching up and pulling him by his cloak back into the dome before he'd barely taken a step out. He found himself stood in the centre, surrounded by his already half-asleep companions. With seemingly no other options, Essek slowly lowered himself until he was sat in the middle, crossing his legs in a similar manner to Caleb.
"I'll take first watch, if you want?" Essek said, mostly to Caleb since he seemed to be the only one with his eyes still open.
"No need," Caleb shrugged, waving his hand in the air slightly and summoning Frumpkin to his side. He looked at the cat for a moment before it offered a quiet meow in response and climbed up to sit above them on top of the dome.
"Frumpkin will keep an eye out for us," Caleb smiled slightly at Essek's apparent confusion and amazement as he stared up at the cat sitting almost perfectly above him. He then put his book back underneath his coat and laid down, his head by Veth and his feet almost touching Fjord and Caduceus. Essek sat completely ridged in the middle of the group, unsure of what to do. After what felt like forever, but was probably only about two minutes, Caleb lifted his head again.
"Lay down Essek. I know you don't need to sleep for as long as we do, but you won't get any rest at all sat up like that," he sighed, not really opening his eyes.
"There's not exactly a whole lot of space for me to-" Essek started to explain, but was cut off by a surprisingly strong pull from behind him as Jester grabbed his cloak yet again and yanked him downwards.
"See? Plenty of space to sleep," Jester stated matter-of-factly as Essek found himself laying almost on top of her. Blushing furiously, he shuffled over so he covered less of her body, causing Fjord to relax the smallest bit of tension that had appeared between his shoulder blades when Essek had landed. Caduceus chuckled quietly to himself, but decided not to say anything on the matter. The drow then found himself leaning above Yasha's knees. Not daring to even think about disturbing the barbarian, Essek continued to move round until he found himself curled in a ball in the middle of everyone, almost like a cat in front of a fire.
"Comfy?" Caleb smiled, opening his eyes to find Essek's face barely inches from his own.
"I suppose it's better than freezing to death out in the snow," Essek huffed, barely concealing his own growing smile. In truth, Essek hadn't felt this comfortable and safe in a long time. Sure it was cold and wet and not at all like sleeping on a soft mattress or even a straw mat, but the knowledge that he was surrounded by people who genuinely cared for him and had protected him as one of their own overwhelmed everything else he may have felt in that moment. Through his subconscious, one word began to form.
Family.
Essek smiled at the thought, finally closing his eyes and allowing himself to relax. If at some point in the night he found himself leaning back against Jester as she rolled slightly closer towards him, finding comfort in Yasha and Caduceus' soft snores, or reaching out an arm to pull Caleb just that little bit closer, he chose to not question it when morning came.