Author's Notes: Because 1.) Random, unrelated Gippalai drabbles pop into my head, 2.) There's not enough Gippalai, and 3.) I'm able to upload things. Also, these will all have crappy titles, since they're drabbles.
This particular one was inspired when fighting Baralai in the game, and noticing that he was quite ambitious when yelling at me to "Suffer!"
"Sometimes Gippal forgets..."
By: Rosalyn Angel
Sometimes Gippal forgets how vicious Baralai can be.
When the four of them were all together, Baralai smiled and smoothly told jokes, and Gippal studied his serene face. There was no wrinkle in the brow or on the bridge of his nose. His teeth were white and his grin was wide; he was the perfect picture of calmness and contentment.
Sometimes Gippal forgets how dangerous Baralai can be.
Baralai is small--his body is concealed under layer after layer of heavy robes, hiding the petite frame. Gippal knows his frame, from every angle of bone to every plane of skin. He's observed it at night, tracing a finger down a finely muscled arm or over a flat stomach. He wonders, as Baralai rests unknowing, how so much power can be compacted into so small a thing.
Sometimes Gippal forgets how frightening Baralai can be.
Gippal remembers faintly when Baralai was fighting a fiend; his bladed staff was glinting brightly as it sliced through the monster's torso. Thin hands were white-knuckled, clutched so tightly that veins revealed themselves, and Baralai's face was a deep grimace, as he muttered things Gippal had to strain to hear.
"Suffer."
Gippal lies next to Baralai at night. His fingers trace the young Praetor's face, smoothing out imaginary lines chiseled in from battle, and he misses the days when all four of them were together and he didn't need to forget anything.
fin