Grymforge was... not what she had been expecting. While she had been growing up in the Temple of Ilmater, Sharrans were referred to in hushed tones by the novices, and any talk of their places of worship was quickly quieted if any of the older members walked through. Dark Justiciars were likened to the boogymen - shadowy figures to haunt your dreams, but never seen in Baldur's Gate. And now Meia found herself in a deserted Sharran fortress, hidden in the Underdark.
As soon as they docked, Meia could practically feel Shadowheart's interest in the place. Particularly once they found the first remains of the Sharran fighters, their bones strewn throughout the wide corridors, still dressed in their amour, now covered in cobwebs and dust. As soon as they broke for camp that evening, the cleric had been pouring over the shelves of books in the abandoned room they had found. Based on the remaining furniture, it was probably a study for one of the higher ranking Sharrans who lived here prior to the demonic attack and subsequent collapse.
For her part, Meia was trying to make her way through the introductory books on magic that Gale had provided her. It was slow, and tedious, but if understanding the Weave would bring her back in touch with her magic, she was more than willing to force herself through it. While she had been recovering her abilities since her exposure to the Sussur flowers, it was slow and inconsistent. She was so much more easily tired than she used to be. Still, something was better than nothing.
Meia found her mind wandering as she leant over the book, staring out over the rest of the campsite from her perch atop a stone railing, nestled between the edge of a carved bookshelf and the wall. She was glad Shadowheart trusted her enough to confess her allegiance to Lady Shar and her dreams to become a Dark Justiciar. Meia had her reservations at first, but hearing Shadowheart explain her relationship with her goddess... it made sense, in a strange sort of way. Shar didn't sound nearly as awful as the priests at the temple made her out to be.
"How's the studying going?" Gale's unexpected voice nearly made her drop the book, fumbling it in her hands and barely managing to catch it in her lap.
"Gale! I didn't hear you come over." She straightened up, closing the book and placing it down beside her.
"I'm surprised you didn't see me climbing all those stairs," he replied with an easy smile. "No matter. How have you been finding the reading materials?"
Meia made a face. "I'm not sure how you wizards manage to get through years of this. I'm only half way done this book, and I'm feeling more confused than when I started."
"Ah, that only lasts for the first week or so," the wizard reassured her, settling in to lean against the railing beside her. "Besides, most who pursue the arcane and find their way into the tutelage of magi tend to have a burning curiosity that cannot be quenched by a few books. I for one read through most of the library at the Blackstaff Academy within my first month there."
"I don't think any of us have the time for me to be doing that extensive a course load." She scrunched up her nose at the thought. "Magic school is still a weird concept to me. The Weave has always been... right there, I just had to reach out and touch it."
Gale made an understanding noise. "I know what you mean. For all my life, I've been able to perceive the Weave, all around us. Using it was as natural as breathing. Well, prior to our little stowaways."
He pointed to his temple, and she made an expression of disgust. "Don't remind me of that particular issue. I'm hoping we'll find something to fix it at Moonrise, but I'm not feeling very optimistic."
"I find going into impossible situations with a healthy dose of optimism tends to skew the odds in my favour," Gale said, then paused, furrowing his brows. "Then again, maybe I've just been lucky."
"I'd agree with you, except..." she gestured to their current location with a hand, and he laughed.
"You make a fair argument, I have to admit," he agreed. "Certainly not where I expected to find myself after I sequestered myself away in my tower in Waterdeep."
Meia watched as Scratch chased after the owl bear cub they had rescued from the goblin camp, only to run past a moment later, chased in turn. Just this morning Scratch had shown up with a bone, dropping it at her feet. Whatever happened once they got to the city, the one thing she knew for certain was if they survived, she was keeping both of them.
While she kept an eye on the two of them, she managed to catch the eye of the pale elf she was avoiding. His gaze was intense, and she quickly looked away, turning her attention back to Gale. Astarion's angry diatribe was still ringing in her ears, well over an hour later. Why did she insist on exhuming the past indeed?
"What is Waterdeep like Gale?" she asked, desperate for some kind of distraction from her thoughts.
"Waterdeep?" the wizard shifted, cocking his head to the side as he regarded the rest of the camp with her. "Well, the 'Crown of the North' and 'City of Splendors' is certainly worthy of its titles, I will say that much. Busy, bright and bustling with life, it is home to people from all walks of life, adventurers to scholars and everything in between."
Trust Gale to divide people into categories of adventurers and scholars. "Will you go back, after all this?"
He frowned. "Considering what Mystra tasked me with, it seems highly unlikely at this stage."
"Don't tell me you're still planning on blowing yourself up for her." Meia asked, unable to stop her frustration from seeping into the words.
"And what would you suggest, Meia?" he demanded, turning to face her. "I resign myself to a fate of rotting in the Hells when I have been given the opportunity of forgiveness? No, the choice is simple - one life for all of the Sword Coast."
"No, Gale. We'll find another way." She didn't have the faintest clue what that other way would be, but she would be damned if she let him kill himself for that goddess. He deserved more than that.
The wizard stared at her for a long moment. "Maybe we will. Besides, we haven't yet found the Heart of the Absolute. Let's worry about that when the time arises."
She had a feeling he was only saying that to pacify her. Were all of her travelling companions this insufferably stubborn?
He gave her a short bow before heading back down the stairs to his tent, effectively leaving her with her own thoughts. Now she had two people upset with her. She certainly was doing well this evening. Biting back her annoyance, she opened her book again, only to realize after a few moments of flipping between pages that she could not remember where exactly she had left off. Gods damn it.
Maybe it was time to lay down. At least try to sleep. Tomorrow they were going to see if they could locate the True Soul Nere and remove his head from his body. Normally she'd be more reserved about defaulting to violence right away, but given what Sovereign Spaw had told them about the drow, she was willing to make the exception.
Plus the Grymforge was supposedly where the Adamanite Forge was located, and Karlach had been incredibly eager to find that. And she knew Shadowheart was looking for any sign of the Gauntlet of Shar. There would be plenty of exploring come the morning.
Perhaps they should split up. They only had a limited time - but given what Gale had said when they first met, at most they would have had a week before becoming a mind flayer. They were already past that point, and without any of the symptoms of ceremorphosis. Thinking about it was making her head hurt.
Looking up, she caught Astarion staring at her. What did he want from her now? She had come up here specifically because she had hoped it would be out of his view - but within a half an hour, he had moved where he had been standing, ensuring she would see him if she looked out at the camp. Infuriating, insufferable, irritating elf!
Taking a deep breath, she swung her legs over the railing and onto the ground, hopping down with book in hand. She wasn't going to get any further studying done tonight, and frankly, she felt her time would be better spent practicing cantrips or something of the like. Preferably somewhere she wouldn't be stared at incessantly.
Heading back to the sanctuary of her tent, she placed the book down beside her pillow and sat cross-legged on her bedroll. Reaching out with that internal sense that she hadn't been aware she had until it was gone, Meia connected with the Weave. It had been Shadowheart who suggested that perhaps meditating on the Weave might bring it back to Meia, and she had readily embraced the idea. Though this was only her second attempt, it was much easier to feel the tendrils of magic than it had been earlier today. That in and of itself was a relief. One good thing.
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Meia cracked an eye to see Astarion standing in front of her tent. Apparently one good thing was too much to ask for. With a disgruntled expression, she dropped her concentration on her meditation. "Was there something you needed?"
He seemed taken aback by her tone. "I - no, clearly you are busy. I'll speak with you in the morning."
"You've already interrupted Astarion," she pointed out. "And you've been staring at me nearly this entire evening. What did you want to ask?"
The elf paused, turning on his heel to face her again. He seemed hesitant, uncertain. The only other time she saw him even close to this was the night he had come to feed on her the first time - she pushed the memory from her mind, staring him down, waiting for his reply.
"I... wanted to see how you were doing," he said at last, watching her carefully.
Somehow Meia felt it was more than just that. "With regard to my magic? It's improving. Slowly, but still improving. Everything else? Well, our situation is shit, to put it eloquently."
Astarion barked out a laugh. "Quite eloquently indeed. Well, if nothing else, I'm pleased to hear I won't have to be carrying your slack."
"Excuse me? Since when have you ever-"
"It's a joke darling," he said, cutting off her outraged complaint. "Do try to lighten up, or you might end up waking people."
She scowled at him, and he simply smiled at her in response. The same sauve smile she had seen plastered on his face many times before - a mask he wore to hide his true feelings. It should bother her that he was so ... fake, but somehow that smile made her melt, every time.
"It would help if your jokes were actually funny," she grumbled bitterly.
"And I didn't think you could reach a pitch only the animals could hear, but clearly I was mistaken," he retorted. "Funny, considering I have had the opportunity to hear a wide variety of your screams."
That statement caused her thoughts to come screeching to a halt, and she had to take a moment to make sure she had actually heard what he had said, feeling the embarassment on her face. Absolute bastard. "Then perhaps you haven't been doing a good enough job."
It was Astarion's turn to be offended, drawing in a breath with a finger pointed at her - and then he paused, a dawning look of understanding on his face. The smile that crossed his face this time was more genuine, and much more smug. She wasn't sure she liked that expression. "Oh, is that so? Are you requesting a repeat performance so I can showcase my full portfolio of skills?"
All at once she remembered the agreement they had made earlier that day. Once the rest of the group had come back from the wizard's tower, they had all been so busy she had put the experience out of her mind. But given his tone, and look, he was very much interested in the things they agreed to try later - whatever those might be.
"I... Huh?" She shook her head. "No, only a few hours ago you were snapping at me for asking questions! You don't get to waltz over here like that didn't happen!"
He let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes. "And what do you want me to say darling? That my 'snapping' was not justified?"
"I mean-"
"Because it was," Astarion continued. "I don't particularly care for people prying into my history, and I don't wish to relive those memories in my waking moments as I do in my trancing ones!"
Meia hadn't expected that as a response. He looked equally as shocked at the admission as she was. "I... didn't realize. I'm sorry."
"It's nothing," he dismissed quickly. "Now, can we drop the subject? Please?"
"Yes, of course." The resulting silence was incredibly awkward. She looked down at her bedroll - was that a speck of blood? No, just her imagination.
Astarion cleared his throat again, and she looked back up at him. "I'll... see you in the morning."
She nodded, unable to shake the feeling that she still didn't know the real reason he had come over to see her. Meia watched him walk back over to his tent, eyes tracing the lines of his body until he turned to face her, an eyebrow raised. She felt her blush returning, but she held his gaze. After a moment, he sent her a smile, picking up his book and continuing to read where he had left off. Unexpected, but not unwelcome.
~)*(~
Meia passed by his tent in the morning and Astarion held his breath. He didn't know if it was her reconnecting to her magic or the amount of time they had been spending together as of late or if it was something else entirely, but every time he caught scent of her, he could barely contain himself.
Lilac. Balsam. Pale mint.
She smelled positively delicious. He wanted... Gods he wasn't even sure at this point. But every time she moved and he caught the smell of her, he had to supress his urge to drag her off, out of sight. To take his time, feasting on her.
They were making breakfast at the campfire. This meant that the sorceress was running back and forth to the storage boxes. One of which was just across from his tent. And every time she knelt to dig through the box, flipping her straight hair back and exposing her neck, he squashed his desire to lean over her and take a taste.
Taste. Devour. Consume. He wanted her.
It was... lust. It had to be. She wasn't his preferred type, except for genuine naivity. Still, she had... well, some charm to her. That didn't explain this craving he was experiencing, but he had never consumed the blood of a thinking creature before her. Perhaps this was a normal reaction to - no that didn't make sense, if that were the case then vampires would keep their victims in perpetuity, rather than draining them. What in the hells was this?
The party was eating now, and Astarion let out a sigh of relief, pretending to read once more. He just had to hope she would opt for Gale, or Wyll, or literally anyone other than him to accompany her to meet the drow Absolutist.
He was chosing to ignore the fact that she had asked him to accompany her virtually every day since they first met.
Seems like it was Wyll's turn to clean after the meal, which meant he likely wouldn't be accompanying the pale tiefling when she left camp this morning. Gale had mentioned that he wanted to see her use her magic in a practical setting, Meia might take the opportunity to take him out instead...
However when she went to speak with the wizard, he animatedly gestured to the bookcases. She nodded, and turned towards Astarion's tent. Oh no.
"We're going to be trying to take out Nere," she started, and he didn't miss how she was fidgeting with one of the enchanted rings she was wearing, rotating it back and forth on her finger. "I'd... appreciate having you to watch my back, in case things get difficult."
He made a thoughtful sound, watching as she tried to hold herself still and failed. "Well, when you put it that way, how could I say no? Lead the way darling." He didn't miss the blush creeping up her cheeks as she turned away. All he had to do was keep things light, and try not to get to close to her. And remember not to breathe.
Turns out finding the Absolutist was relatively easy, but reaching him was another story. Somehow the idiot had gotten trapped in a cave in. They could simply leave him there to die and collect his head afterwards, but apparently there were also gnomish slaves caught inside with him. Meia was going to insist on saving them, he didn't even have to ask. She got this look whenever she planned on doing something altruistic.
Right now their priority should have been trying to clear the rubble - the slaves certainly weren't making a dent in the pile of rocks. Instead, Karlach was worrying over the state of the health of those same slaves and Meia was talking to a gnome who looked strangely familiar... Oh, it was the one they had rescued from the goblins. It had been moderately funny to watch him spin around on the windmill. What would have been funnier is if they goblins had been trying to shoot him while he spun, but goblins often fell short on imagination.
Astarion crossed his arms impatiently and leant back. None of this was getting them any closer to dealing with Nere. The duergar clearly had no love for the drow, especially considering he had been holding out on paying them. He couldn't blame them. If it weren't for the tadpole in his head, he wouldn't have stayed with the party past their first meeting.
But if it wasn't for the tadpole in his head, he wouldn't be here at all. He would still be in the city, under Cazador's thumb.
He noticed a pair of duergar sending conspiratoral looks towards the slave driver in charge of the excavation. That was interesting. Might be useful. Having fewer enemies and more blades in the coming fight would make it easier. Meia had finally finished talking with her gnome friend, Astarion caught her eye and gestured with an incline of his head towards the disgruntled duergar.
Curious, she came to stand beside him, close enough they were almost touching. Again, he resisted the urge to pull her away to some secluded corner. The image of him bending her over one of the stone desks popped into his head, and he almost missed her question.
"What did you see?" she asked, voice pitched low so they wouldn't be overheard.
"It seems like tensions are running high," he replied, keeping his voice even. It was a struggle. "Might be something we could use to our benefit."
The sorceress made a thoughtful noise. "We should go talk with them then."
He had meant for her to go speak with them, but he could follow along. Perhaps it might keep her from agreeing to any further distractions.
Standing over her shoulder, he feigned disinterest while listening to the conversation. They were suspicious of her - natural, considering they had some way of detecting the parasite sitting in their skulls. However, it didn't take much for the tiefling to convince them to fight with them once they freed Nere, on the condition they first took out the scrying eye that was monitoring the excavation site. Seemed reasonable enough, they'd have to take care of it anyway to stop reinforcements from bothering them.
Astarion caught the look she shot him, almost as if she was asking for his opinion. He inclined his head slightly, and Meia agreed to the duergar's terms. The grumpy dwarf reminded her that if they didn't take care of the eye first, the deal was off as she stepped away.
"So how do we handle the eye?" she asked, gesturing for Karlach and Shadowheart to join the pair of them.
He watched the purple orb as it patroled past them towards the cave-in. "We should be able to take care of it in a spot without any witnesses," he mused. "Maybe when it comes back around on the stairs."
"A hard enough hit and it will dematerialize," Shadowheart agreed. "And it doesn't look like there are too many people who are using the stairs - most of the camp is either at the dock area, or at the excavation site."
"Then let's lay our trap." Astarion heading down to the landing that was just out of sight the floor above and the hallway below.
It wasn't long until the scrying eye returned, following the same path down it had taken up a few minutes prior. When it reached the landing, it stopped to look where Astarion had hidden himself up against the shadows of the wall. When Meia started walking down the steps, and the orb turned its attention to her. He took the opportunity to spear it through from top to bottom, and it disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
With the first step completed, the party turned back up the stairs to speak with the leader of the duergar. He hung back as Meia spoke with the slave driver, still clearly able to hear their conversation. The duergar woman was complaining that the slaves weren't working fast enough, and from somewhere in her pack, Meia produced a couple of smokepowder satchels. Where had she picked those up? He was going to keep a closer eye on the tiefling if she was managing to find such interesting resources like that.
"Now that's more like it!" the slave driver enthused. "Get those placed, and we'll stay back here."
Meia gestured to the three of them to stay back with the rest of the excavation group, dropping the satchels at the base of the cave-in. She rushed back to stand at Astarion's side, whispering the words for the firebolt cantrip. The ball formed in the palm of her hand before it was sent arcing across the room, igniting the satchels and sending the rocks flying in all directions. An imposing looking drow strode out from the cloud of smoke, gnomes scuttling past his legs behind him.
When the Absolutist kicked one of the slaves into the lava, Astarion could see Meia stiffen. Oh this would be fun.
As predicted, the conversation with the scantimonious cultist didn't last much longer, particularly with the mutinous duergar showing up to join the assault. He almost laughed out loud as Nere attempted to convince Meia to fight for him instead of against him, and the resulting battle was a slaughter.
Wiping the blood spatter off his face, Astarion stood by as that same duergar tried to convince Meia that he was taking the gnomes when he left. The sorceress raised a single eyebrow. "You saw what we just did to Nere. Do you really want to argue?"
There was a beat where the dwarf looked like he was going to argue, and Astarion smiled, showing his unnaturally pointed canines. The double take made his smile widen.
"Right. Slaves aren't worth that kind of fuss anyway," the duergar dismissed with a huff, stomping off with the remainder of his crew.
Meia dusted off her hands and looked over at Astarion. "That went... better than I expected honestly."
He sent her an indulgent smile. "Go talk to your gnomes, since you went through all the trouble of saving their skins. I'll get the head." Not exactly the type of head he wanted, but he wasn't about to complain about the gold they'd receive once they went back to the Myconids.
And besides, there was still plenty of time before they'd reach the city for him to explore the tiefling's talents. Given her inexperience, it might require a bit of coaching, but he was more than willing to be a teacher in that regard.
Pulling out his short sword from its sheath, he sliced through the corpse's throat and spine, gripping the hair to pull the head away from the body. The drow's mouth sagged open, vacant expression a marked improvement over his previous sneer.
"Ready to go?" He could smell her before she spoke, but Meia's unexpected presence still made him jump. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's fine," he said gruffly, shrugging off her hand. He rose to his feet, trying to create some distance between the two of them. Gods how could she just walk around smelling that delicious? "We done here?"
The sorceress seemed taken aback by his attitude shift. "Um, well there was still the matter of the forge, and I think Shadowheart wanted to check for any record of Sharran worship..."
"Right. So we poke around here a bit more before we head back across the lake." Astarion put the head into a bag so it wouldn't leak blood all over him while they were traveling. He gave the tiefling what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Shall we?"
She nodded, gesturing to the broken stairs that rose above them. "Let's get started."
~)*(~
They had successfully found the entrance to the Adamantine Forge, and Karlach was practically vibrating with excitement. Her mood was infectious, it was hard not to smile as Meia felt the energy bubbling up while they continued scouting the ruins. The further they went into this fortress, the more secrets they found. Including the room that still held hellboars and a myrmidon from the intial assault - that had been an unwelcome surprise.
They had managed, not without significant effort, to access the area she had spotted earlier across the lava pools at the cave-in site. The corridor the duergar had been attempting to excavate was a dead-end, the large double doors refused to open. This lead to some unorthodox navigation between the broken corridors and natural caves, but it eventually brought them to an iron walkway that seemed to span the length of the fortress.
"Looks like there's another set of bookcases up there," Shadowheart called out, pointing to a set of stairs off to the right of the archway down to the forge.
"Right, let's take a look there first before we head down," Meia called, receiving a disappointed look from Karlach in response. "There might be something useful about the forge itself up there."
The firey tiefling perked up a little at that prospect, following after Shadowheart and taking the stairs two at a time until they were walking side by side. Seems like Meia's suggestion for Karlach to talk with the cleric at the party had brought the two of them closer together.
Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Astarion was still lingering behind, staying as far back from the rest of them as he possibly could. She had hoped after his admission the previous night that they had been growing closer together... but judging on how he was avoiding her today, apparently not.
She sighed, making her way up the steps to join Shadowheart at the desk still covered in books and notes. Strange to see what survived the destruction. The cleric nodded to Meia as she stopped at the edge of the desk, and Shadowheart picked up another one of the loose sheets of paper.
"Find anything useful?" Meia asked, picking up something that turned out to be some kind of schematic. Turning it one way, than the other, she still wasn't able to make heads or tails of it. She put it back down where she found it.
"Looks like you were right," the cleric said, putting down the paper she was examining with a frustrated huff. "Most of the documents I've found here relate to the creation of the forge, with some notes on using it. Nothing about the justiciars."
"I'm sure we'll find something more concrete Shadowheart," Meia tried to comfort the other woman, despite the note of acidity in her voice, but the half-elf simply was a closed book again.
"Let's just go."
Karlach held up a metal frame that looked like it might be able to hold something. "Look what I found!"
Meia walked over to the other tiefling to take a closer look. Even up close, she had no idea what it was for. "Uh, what is it?"
"It's a mold!" Karlach exclaimed, and then elaborated as she caught sight of Meia's confused expression. "You know, for creating weapons or armour! I bet this is for the forge!"
"Oh!" Meia exclaimed, looking at the metal with renewed interest. "That's fantastic Karlach! We should take a look around the area to see if there are any others before we head down to the forge itself."
There was a faint exasperated noise, and she caught sight of Astarion walking further away from the rest of the group. A flash of annoyance shot through her - he had absolutely no reason to be behaving this way. Meia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Give the vampire spawn enough time, and he'd either tell her himself, or he'd accidentally reveal more than he intended to, and she could guess the rest.
"Oh, looks like Astarion has already gotten started looking for more," she commented, make sure she said it loud enough he would be able to hear her.
There was a momentary pause in his stride, just long enough that she could picture the expression of disdain that came with it. She could be just as annoying as he was if she put her mind to it. She took the stairs back down two at a time, hearing Karlach's footfalls following close behind her.
As they approached the pale elf, Meia watched with horror as the armoured bones that scattered the landing rose, weapons ready.
"Well, shit," Astarion muttered, glancing back at her. "Hope you still have few spells left in you, I don't think your quarterstaff is going to cut it."
She made a face at him, effortlessly conjuring bolts of red energy that flew away, striking each enemy in turn. "I've been improving."
"Good to see it," he smiled, the low tone of his voice sending shivers up her spine as butterflies took residence in her stomach again. No, she was annoyed at him, not turned on by the bastard and his fancy mannerisms and suave words. Fuck him and fuck his stupid pretty face.
When he managed to sidle up beside one of the skeletal swordsmen that Karlach was menacing and sent it back onto the ground in a disorganized pile of bone fragments and plate, she couldn't deny she was impressed.
Focusing on the Weave, she recited the familiar incantation for eldritch blast. Some of the warlock spells had just... felt right. Fit right. She had absorbed them into her repertoire without a second thought. As one of the skeletal archers fell, she made a mental note to look further into the schools of magic to see if she could find anything else that fit right for her. Extra options didn't hurt, and Gale had leant her the books afterall.
As Karlach reduced the final skeleton back into a pile of bones, she picked up another one of the metal frames, identical to the one she showed off before. "Looks like this one is for armour!"
"We still need to find metal to use in the forge," Meia pointed out. Just because this place had been abandoned didn't mean the forge was even in working order, but she wasn't about to mention that to Karlach.
"We're underground! I'm sure we'll find loads of metals we can use - plus we could just ask the gnomes if they have any idea!" Seemed nothing would put a damper on Karlach's spirits, and Meia smiled in response.
"The documents I read implied we'd need mithril - it's rare, but apparently they were able to mine some in this area," Shadowheart said, moving over to Karlach to check the taller woman for any injuries. "Will you stand still?"
Meia covered her mouth to hide her smile at Karlach's grumble of annoyance and impatience. "I'm fine 'heart! Let's get moving!"
"Fine, she says, actively bleeding in five different places..." Shadowheart retorted, casting a healing spell.
"I knew you'd fix me right up!" the tiefling grinned. "There's plenty more to explore, let's move! Daylight's burning!"
The remainder of the floor gave way to a sheer drop into the lava below, so it was time to go down the narrow and crumbling stairs towards the forge. As they moved closer to the giant metal apparatus, Meia realized that this massive machine was the forge itself. She stopped in her tracks, taking in the vast contraption.
"Wow. It's enormous."
"It's honestly impressive it's still all in one place, given the condition of the rest of this fortress," Shadowheart said from over her shoulder.
"Can we please get moving instead of talking in the middle of this staircase that is trying to fall into the lava?" Astarion's voice came from the back of the group, tinged with frustration. Meia glanced back to see him still standing on the other side of the gap, face pinched in a scowl.
"Right, sorry," she said, hurrying down to the landing below. It looked like there were two wings off of the forge, possibly where more molds or metals could be found. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long - it was incredibly hot down here, she could feel the sweat dripping off her face. She rolled her shoulders back as she felt the bead of sweat running down her spine. A bath was in order after all they had gone through today.
After an annoying engagement with entirely too many mephits, they had managed to find a total of five molds and two hunks of mithril that could be melted down and made into adamantine in the forge. Now all that remained was checking to see if that was in working order.
Jumping across to the forge platform, Meia hung back while Shadowheart and Karlach went to examine the device. When they pulled a lever and the platform descended, she yelped, staggering forward slightly.
Almost immediately there was a cool hand on her shoulder, steadying her before she faceplanted onto the forge. "Do be careful darling."
The warmth she felt on her cheeks had nothing to do with the heat radiating off the lava. Meia crossed the platform to look at the wheel at the far end, inspecting the pipe that seemed designed to let something pour into the grooves of the forge platform. Anything to distract her.
"Okay, we've got the metal in place!" Karlach shouted from the center console. "Once we get the mold fitted, you can turn the wheel there and it'll release the lava. Apparently it's the only way to get the metal hot enough to make adamantine."
"That does mean the channels are going to have molten lava running through them, so you might want to move Astarion," Shadowheart suggested as she and Karlach moved to the raised sections of the forge platform.
Once she was sure no one was likely to be turned into a pile of ash, Meia attempted to turn the wheel. It wouldn't budge. Glaring at it, she pushed her entire weight against it as she tried to rotate the wheel and was rewarded with an ear piercing shrieking of metal against metal. Slowly, the grate over the pipe lifted, letting magma flow into the channels on the forge platform.
"What in the hells is that thing?" Astarion demanded, eyes fixed on the pipe. Meia followed his gaze to see a giant mechanized construct emerge, a wicked mace for one of its hands. Oh this was very not good.
"Analyzing threat."
This was very, very not good.
"Karlach?" she called over her shoulder, taking a few steps back on the wheel control platform.
"On it!" came the call in response, the red tiefling dashing across the raised areas until she was standing in front of the construct. "Oi! Big boy! Look over here!"
There was a distinctive clang of metal on metal as her axe made contact with the legs of the machine, followed by a whirring sound. "Primary threat located."
Astarion took a shot at the construct, but his arrow glanced off into the chasm beyond. The vampire spawn frowned, pulling out his shortswords and made his way over to stand by Karlach, slashing at the machine as soon as he was in range.
"Threat analysis initiating," the construct spoke, its head shifting to look at Astarion. "New primary threat located."
A golden weapon sprang to life on the floor where Meia had been standing moments before - a ghostly pike that stabbed at the constructs ankles. It didn't look like the hit connected.
She took a moment to examine the creature - since it was a construct, perhaps an electric spell would work better against it? The only one she knew was shocking grasp, and that was a bit closer to the machine than she'd like... It was still probably the best option. Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer, holding out her hand as the electricity surged through her and out the tips of her fingers, shocking the construct.
"Threat analysis initiating," the voice spoke again, the heavy sound of metal on metal ringing out as it rotated to face her. "New primary threat located."
As it raised it's mace, Meia whispered a prayer to Ilmater.
The first thing she heard was the thumping of her blood in her ears. Slowly, other sounds registered; Karlach yelling something indecypherable, insistent whispers in her ear accompanied by equally insistent hands on her arms, Shadowheart's voice calling out, clear as a bell and the surge of energy accompanying the words.
Meia blinked, pain flooding back in as she became all too aware of the metal pressing against her cheek, her body slumped against the lava control wheel. Astarion was crouching down beside her, throwing worried looks over where the sounds of the fight still raged. She groaned, feeling the tickle of something sticky dripping down her face. Raising a hand to wipe it away, she pulled back to see bright crimson blood on her hand.
"Fuck that thing hits hard," she croaked, drawing Astarion's attention back to her. She watched as his expression went from concerned to hungry, his eyes fixed on the blood on her hand. He looked like he was having some kind of internal struggle - he quickly rose to his feet and pulled her up with him in one swift yank. She let out a muffled yelp of surprise, ending up face first in his chest with his arm wrapped around her.
"We will speak when we head back to camp for the night," he growled in her ear, his voice low and husky. Looking up to his face, his eyes were boring into her own, borderline feral in their intensity. She nodded, mouth dry and suddenly unable to form words.
He leant in, running his tongue along the cut on her cheekbone. "Better. Try not to get hit again my dear."
With that, he was gone, stabbing at the exposed back of the construct with both his blades. It pivoted, swinging with the mace, and the vampire barely managed to dodge in time. Meia grabbed a health potion from her bag, tipping the contents down her throat. Hopefully she could manage to avoid getting hit again, that was an experience she did not want to repeat.
It took careful positioning and quick reflexes, but the party as able to manoeuvre the construct to the center of the forge. Karlach shot the lever for the hammer just as the machine stepped beneath it. The resulting force of the impact broke its mace arm clean off with an echoing clang.
The construct wobbled, unbalanced, it's remaining arm attempting to grab Shadowheart. The cleric hopped backwards, moving out of range before it could touch her. Karlach lobbed a smokepowder bomb at the machine, making it stumble backwards and into range of her axe again. The red tiefling yelled with exertion, her strikes hitting true.
Meia spoke the incantation for eldritch blast, the bolts striking the creature in its chest. Again, it staggered, but it did not fall. Just how strong was this thing?
Astarion shot at it from across the platform, drawing it's attention back to him. Before it could reach the pale elf, both Karlach and Shadowheart took swings at the construct, and with a mechanical whine it collapsed on the ground.
Karlach let out a victory whoop, raising her axe in the air over her head. "Let's make this armour!"
Now that the construct was dealt with, using the forge was much easier. After a bit of discussion, Karlach settled on making one of the sets of Adamantine armour, and a new sword to go with it. Her axe was shoved in her pack to sell when they got back to the Myconid colony. Hard to believe they had only arrived in the Underdark a day ago with everything that had happened.
"Ugh, I am exhausted," she groaned, making her way back up the stairs to the ancient sigil that served as a waypoint. "I cannot wait to get back to camp."
"Me neither," came Astarion's unexpected voice from just behind her, and she jumped. He sent her a sly grin as she looked back at him, licking his lips. "Shall we?"
"To the colony first," she insisted, hoping her voice didn't betray how flustered she was.
"Well of course darling," the vampire spawn agreed easily. "I don't want to keep carrying this head in my bag everywhere I go. It'll start smelling."
Meia wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Yes, let's avoid that."
"Excellent. The colony and then along to camp. To rest." Something in his tone implied there would be little rest for her tonight.
~)*(~
They hadn't spent long at the Myconid colony. Long enough for him to hand over the Absolutist's head to Sovereign Spaw and for Meia to sell off a few things before the party made their way back to the campsite.
Despite her claims of exhaustion, the pale tiefling had made herself scarce immediately upon return. He could feel his already frayed patience growing thinner as he waited for her to re-emerge. Astarion turned the page on his book, not registering the words as he tried to maintain his facade of calm disinterest.
He had already bent his rules by telling her to come speak with him rather than her coming to him of her own accord. He was not going to hunt her down. Even if his every instinct was screaming at him to find her.
She reappeared at the far end of the campsite, her hair visibly still wet and dripping on the outfit he had gotten her. Astarion felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. She had just gone for a bath. If he had known, he'd have accompanied her. However the process of getting clean would have likely taken her much, much longer though.
He continued his nonchalant charade, catching Meia's eye as she came to the campfire to grab some of the stew Gale had made for dinner. Astarion noted how she faltered for a split second, quickly looking away, and he smiled. She'd be by soon enough.
Dinner was a quiet affair, and he didn't miss how distracted his tiefling was. Meia barely spoke a word, glancing between him and her bowl. He had a feeling she was trying to be subtle, and failing beautifully. One of the times she looked up at him over the campfire, he raised an eyebrow and watched as she flushed and immediately looked away again. He was hoping she remembered what he had said earlier today.
Wyll asked Meia if there had been any sign of his father in Grymforge, trying to hide his disappointment when she answered. The sorceress said something about the gnome slaves they had rescued - apparently there were more who had been moved to Moonrise Tower, and it was likely Duke Ravenguard could be there too. Considering what they had learned about the place, it was entirely possible the Duke would be praising the Absolute by the time they found him, but Meia didn't tell the warlock that part.
Shadowheart and Karlach had moved back to the cleric's tent, talking quietly among themselves. Lae'zel was again sharpening her sword - it really didn't need any further sharpening, he had seen her slice a scroll in two, width-wise, before dinner. Gale had been distraught. To her credit, it had been a clean cut.
Astarion watched as Meia stood up, dusting off her pants, then setting to cleaning the dishes from their meal. Gale stopped to chat with her as she worked, asking how her magic studies were progressing. When she said that she had found her practical application was proving more useful than his books, Astarion saw the wizard visibly deflate. He absently wondered if she had realized that Gale was interested in her.
As she set to drying the dishes to put them back away, Gale made an excuse and departed, heading back to his tent. Tasks complete, Meia looked up and directly into Astarion's eyes. He let a small smile curl the sides of his lips, receiving a blush from the tiefling in return. There was a moment of hesitation, and then she approached him.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?"
He tutted, giving her a disapproving look. "So formal. Come now darling, don't we know each other better than that by now?"
Meia made a sound of embarrassment, and then cleared her throat. "I don't know what you want me to say here, you said you wanted to talk!"
"Mmm, no, I said we would speak when we came back to camp tonight," he corrected, getting an exasperated eyeroll from her in response. She was so close he could reach out and grab her, pull her into his tent so he could finally have her all to himself. To the hells with it. "You will be joining me tonight, won't you?"
That question resulted in a squeak from the sorceress, her eyes wide. "I... excuse me?"
"You will be joining me tonight, isn't that right?" he asked again, staring her down. She looked every bit a frightened little lamb, standing stock still. "After all, you've been terribly distracting today, and that kind of distraction could cause all sorts of problems. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"
For a moment she looked like she was trying to say something, but nothing came out when she opened her mouth. After a couple attempts, she simply nodded with an affirmative noise.
Astarion reached out and ran his hand along her cheek. "Good girl."
The tiefling attempted to duck her head away, but he held her still by applying the smallest amount of pressure with his fingers on her chin. When he leant in closer, Meia froze again, and he could hear her pulse spike. Oh, how he wanted just a little taste... "Wait till the others are asleep, and then we can have our fun."
He released her, and she stood still, staring at him in a daze for a moment longer. She shook herself, stepping back. Watching as she headed back to her tent, he felt the smug satisfaction about the effect he still had on her. Soon. Very soon.
Slowly, the campsite quieted as one by one the rest of the group drifted off to sleep. All save for himself, and Meia. He raised an eyebrow when she looked at him, wordlessly inviting her to accompany him as he turned and left their campsite.
He could hear her footsteps behind him, following.
On the way back to camp the other day, he had spotted a secluded grotto that wasn't too far from their campsite - far enough that noise wouldn't travel, but close enough they weren't likely to be in any danger. A few glowing mushrooms dotted the clearing, and the small waterfall that glimmered with the light from the crystals that seemed to crop up throughout the caverns set the ambience beautifully. There was even a soft bed of moss across half of the clearing. Not bad for a dank cave in the Underdark.
Astarion heard the tiefling's gasp as she entered the grotto behind him, and he turned to see her looking around in wonder. He had no doubt his smile expressed how smug he felt as he crossed the short distance between them. "There you are darling."
"How did you find this place?" the sorceress breathed. "It's beautiful."
He shrugged, giving her a moment to take it in. "Saw it when I was on my way back from the tower yesterday. I wasn't sure we'd have the opportunity to make use of it, but I am glad that we do."
Her eyes snapped back to him as he took a step towards her, but instead of backing up like he expected, she moved forward, meeting him half way. He certainly wasn't about to complain. Astarion leant down, his fingers threading through her hair as he kissed her, smiling as she reciprocated eagerly.
She let out a tiny whine of complaint when he pulled away, which turned into a surprised sound when he lifted her. Meia wrapped her legs around his waist, her groan muffled by his lips as he pressed her up against the stalk of an enormous mushroom at the edge of the grove. He was reminded of how badly he needed her when she ground her hips against his, and her whimper was music to his ears as he moved down her neck, nipping until he found the right spot to bite.
Astarion had to restrain himself - he wanted to drink his full, but there was no need to rush. He pulled back, licking the puncture wounds to ensure he got every last drop. "Exquisite," he murmured, taking a moment to breathe her in. She was panting already, her cheeks flushed and eyes half-lidded. Mine. He tightened his grip on her, stealing another kiss.
He gave her a moment to catch her breath, undoing the ties on her shirt. He pulled the thick straps down her arms, not missing how she shivered as his hands ran along her skin.
"Astarion," she whined, her voice needy, trying to pull him closer.
"Yes darling?" he whispered in her ear, running a fang up to the tip before nipping back down to her earlobes, then further down still to along her neck and across her exposed collarbone.
"Please," she entreated, rolling her hips against him and he groaned against her skin.
"Fuck, woman," Astarion growled, looking up at her. "Keep that up and I won't be able to control myself."
The tiefling responded with an impish smile. He raised an eyebrow and Meia cried out as he bit down, getting another taste of her blood. He pulled back, licking his lips. "Now, now, my sweet. I plan to enjoy you slowly - after all, you're all mine. And I'm all yours. Until the morning at least."
"I like the sound of that," she said, sounding out of breath as she started loosening the ties on his own shirt.
"Mmm, I thought you might," he replied, working on removing her pants. "Let's see where the night takes us."
He was able to shimmy the pants down her hips before she was able to pull his shirt over his head, and he grinned, putting her down. He immediately put a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she swayed. "You alright darling?"
"Just... a little woozy," she said, shaking her head. He may have taken a little much blood already.
"Let's get you off your feet then," he suggested, pushing her down to her knees. Oh that view was sinful, her eyes locked on his, not a shred of clothing on her. Astarion finished the job of removing his shirt for her, followed by undoing his trousers. He smiled as her eyes travelled down his chest, stopping at the prominent bulge in his undergarments. "Go on."
She glanced back up to him, almost like she was double checking she was allowed to before she tucked her fingers into the band of the pants and pulled them down to join the trousers on the ground. She licked her lips before taking his cock into her mouth, and that was possibly the single most attractive thing he had seen her do.
He brought his hand down to rest of the top of her head as she bobbed up and down on his dick, groaning as she took him all the way down to the base, one of her hands splayed on his hipbone, the other holding his hip. "Meia," he gasped, hand clenching in her hair.
She made an inquisitive sound, and looked up at him, his cock half way out of her mouth. Fuck that was hot. "More," he said, urging her back down. "And... keep... looking up... at me."
The pale tiefling made an affirmative sound, adjusting her position so she was looking up at him as she took him deep in her throat again. He relaxed his grasp, trying to coax her to speed up by resting his other hand on her head with the first.
"Use your tongue more," he directed, groaning as she experimentally moved her tongue across the underside of his cock. "Yes, like that. Just like that."
Astarion could feel her breath against his skin every time she took him to the base, her eyes shutting as she concentrated. Gods she was surprisingly good at this - clearly not as inexperienced as he had initially thought.
"Fuck, Meia, I..." He had to hold himself back from taking over from her. He looked down at her, seeing her looking up as she held onto him. "Mm, I just want to grab you by your horns and fuck your face."
She made a strangled noise, muffled by his dick in her mouth. Then, surprisingly, a nod. He blinked. "Are you... sure?"
Again, another affirmative noise. He chuckled. "You are full of surprises, aren't you darling? Well then, if you're sure..."
Moving his hands from her hair to her curled horns, he took grasp of one in each hand, and gave her one last chance to change her mind, cocking his head to the side as he looked down at her. He was met with an expression that was a mix of lust and adoration, and he groaned as she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock.
"Tap if it gets too much," he instructed, and she nodded. Then he took control of the pace, starting slowly and quickly speeding up. Fuck she felt so good. He wasn't going to last much longer at this rate, but he didn't care. He had his tiefling exactly where he wanted her, and he wasn't about to let her go.
He drove into her mouth, hitting the back of her throat and getting choked noises from the sorceress. But still she didn't tap against his leg, shifting so she was taking his dick at a different angle, allowing him to go deeper. "Fuck, Meia," he breathed, thrusting harder as he got closer to the edge.
Her hands moved, bracing against his hips, and he felt her moan as he continued his pace, focused on his own gratification for just the moment. He was so close...
"Meia, I'm going to-" His sentence cut off as he pulled her closer, sheathing himself fully inside of her as he came. He could feel her swallowing as he did. Fuck. He was never letting her go now.
He released her horns from his white knuckled grasp, resting a hand on her head as he slowly pulled out. The sorceress gasped for air, her face flushed. His knees felt like they might give out at any moment. "You should have told me if you were having difficulties," he admonished, hoping he sounded more steady than he felt.
"Wasn't," Meia replied after a moment, sounding awfully smug considering how aggressively he had just fucked her. She shifted her weight, moving her legs so she was no longer resting on them. He noted that when she put her hands down on either side of her knees, her arms were shaking.
"Is that so?" he asked, dropping to one knee down beside her. He lifted her chin with a finger so he could look in her eyes. "Well then, I think it's only fair you have your turn my dear."
She didn't have a moment to react as he lifted her over his shoulder. The tiefling shrieked, her fists beating against his back, but he barely felt it. He shifted her weight so it was more comfortable, and brought her over to the soft moss across the clearing.
"Astarion!"
"Yes my sweet?"
"Put me down!"
He lay her down carefully, framing her with his arms and she froze, her breathing shallow. He hovered over her, practically feeling the tension in the air between them. "Of course darling."
No sooner than he had spoken, he began slowly working his way down her body, kissing along the ridges of her skin. He paused for a time at each breast, licking, sucking, biting, making her arch toward him. The sounds she made were beautiful, and he wanted more. He moved down along her stomach, past her navel, kissing down one hipbone, then the other. She squirmed, clearly impatient. Astarion shot her a warning look, and she stilled.
"Please," Meia begged, and he smiled against her skin.
"Please what my dear?"
She groaned as he moved down from her hips to rest above her thighs. He pressed her legs apart, but didn't yet move on to the main event. Even if he could see she was practically dripping already. "Use your words Meia."
He saw her hands grip the moss and release as she took a breath to steady herself. "Stop... stop teasing me. Please."
"Mmm, is that all?" he asked, blowing a puff of air against her pussy, making the sorceress tense. The whine that followed almost made him laugh. She was incredibly easy to rile up.
"Astarion..."
Without warning he ran his tongue along the length of her slit, and she cried out in pleasure, her back arching, her fingers clawing back into the moss below her. He gave her a few languid strokes, savouring the moans coming out of his tiefling. He had only just gotten started.
He pulled away as her cries grew louder, and she made a sound of annoyance. Meia pushed herself up so she was resting on her elbows, looking down at him, and he simply gave her a lazy smile in return. Readjusting his position between her legs, he gave her a moment to catch her breath.
"I asked you to stop teasing," she grumbled.
"Oh, my apologies," he said with exaggerated chivalry, dropping his head to lick and suck on her clit. She cursed, falling back against the ground as she pressed her hips closer to him. He continued his ministrations, sliding a single finger inside and watching her reactions as he stroked slowly, then faster. As her cries grew more ragged, he abruptly pulled away again. "Was that more what you wanted?"
"Yes, gods, please, Astarion!" The words came with an edge of desperation, a hand reaching down for him. He allowed her to tangle her fingers through his hair, but held firm as she tried to move him closer to her.
He flicked his tongue against her clit and she groaned. "What was that my dear? I didn't hear you."
"Astarion, I swear - oh fuck!" Her grip on his hair tightened as he pressed two fingers into her, keeping a steady pace. He could feel her walls tightening around his fingers too, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to let her have the release she so obviously craved.
As Meia began pleading senselessly to the cavern roof far above them, he swirled his tongue against her clit and she screamed, grabbing onto the moss to either side of her hips as she arched up towards him. He slowed his strokes, curling his fingers so he could hit the spot he knew would be there and he felt her clench around him.
Astarion let the tiefling come down from the high, pulling his fingers out of her and licking them clean. He caught her eyes on him and he grinned. "Ready for more?"
She nodded, cheeks flushed, and his grin widened, displaying his fangs. "Good girl."
He saw her shiver as he stalked up her body, holding himself still over her when they were face to face. She was beautiful - her hair was a mess, spread around her head like a dark halo, and she was still panting from her orgasm. He ran the head of his cock along her slit and her eyes closed, mouth falling opening. Adjusting his angle, he thrust along the outside of her pussy and she groaned, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.
"Please?" the question was soft, almost delicate, but he could still hear the desire in her voice. Making sure his length was appropriately slick from her cum, he slowly pressed into her, and they both moaned.
"Gods you feel good Meia," he murmured into her neck, pressing closer to her as he started to move.
The tiefling was holding him tightly, her inarticulate cries muffled by his shoulder. Occasionally he could catch words amongst the sounds of pleasure; yes, please, and more being the most frequent, though he did hear his name more than once. She had wrapped her legs around his waist again, though this time the skin to skin contact left nothing between them, which he was very grateful for at this moment.
When her claws dug into his shoulders, he hissed. "Careful darling," he reminded her, and Meia immediately adjusted her grip, her embarrassed apology cut off by his lips on hers.
"Let's remove that possibility, shall we?" he suggested as he broke the kiss, pulling back and untangling her legs so he could pull out. Astarion gestured for her to roll over onto her hands and knees, and after moment she obliged. He didn't miss the way her arms shook as she held herself upright.
He took a moment to enjoy the view, running a hand along her ass up to her hip, then to the base of her tail. She let out a full throated moan that turned into a whimper as he wrapped the flexible appendage loosely around his forearm. When he thrust back into her, her arms gave out entirely.
"F-fu-uck, Astarion," she groaned as he went deeper, pressing back against him. He made an appreciative noise, setting a steady pace.
"Mmm, so tight," he murmured, gripping her hip with one hand and adjusting the angle slightly so he could bottom out, fully enveloped by her warmth. "You're soaking wet Meia."
"More, please, more," she begged, her voice hoarse from her screaming. "I'm so close."
He sped up his strokes slightly, thrusting harder into her, and he was rewarded by her moaning in tandem, clenching her fists as she tried to hold herself steady. "Go ahead, come for me."
That was all the incentive she needed, her body shaking as her orgasm hit. Astarion groaned as the walls of her pussy clenched around him, trying to draw his cock in deeper. He needed to pace himself, he didn't want to finish too soon. Below him, he could see she was trying to muffle her cries against her arm, but it wasn't terribly effective. Leaning forward, he rested a hand between her shoulder blades, pressing her further down. Slowing his movements, he ground his pelvis against her clit and the tiefling gasped, legs trembling.
"Good girl," he crooned into her ear, letting go of her tail so he could place a hand down by her head. Slowing his pace, he bit into her shoulder, savouring the taste of her blood and the way she gave no resistance whatsoever, melting in his grasp.
After a moment he pulled away, lapping the remaining blood off her skin and then running his tongue up the side of her neck to her ear. "Still with me darling?"
"Yes master," she said, and the faintness of her voice was not what stopped him.
"What was that?" Astarion asked, scarcely believing what he just heard.
The tiefling attempted to adjust her position, then gave up as her arms gave out on her. "I... um..."
"Repeat what you just said darling," he instructed. He pressed forward, holding himself still inside her and gyrating his hips in small circles.
Meia let out a tiny sound, her eyes shutting momentarily before she reopened them to look up at him. "Y-yes master?"
Oh yes, he liked that indeed. Pulling out half way, he slowly pressed back in, setting an nearly agonizingly slow rhythm. "Is that what you want Meia?" he asked, his weight pushing her further down until she was nearly vertical. "Do you want me to own you? Wholly? Completely?"
For a moment he only heard her faint gasping moans. Then, just as quietly, "y-yes, please..."
"Yes, please...?"
"Please master," she begged, and he bit back his groan.
"Such a good girl." Grabbing her hips, he pulled her up so her ass was back in the air. He gradually increased his pace, thrusting deep and hard, the sound of skin on skin punctuated by their sounds of pleasure. "Such an obedient little pet."
His only response was her moans, which were growing louder by each passing minute. She was so fucking tight, he wasn't going to last much longer. But given how she sounded, the sorceress had almost reached her climax again too.
It wasn't long before Meia was pleading into her arms again, her voice barely muffled as she screamed out his name as he brought her to her peak. He followed her shortly thereafter, groaning into her shoulder as he pressed inside of her, completely satisfied. Fuck. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this damn good.
When Astarion caught his breath, he pulled himself off of her, flopping down on the moss beside her. He could see her legs were still shaking, and he rolled onto his side so he could pat her ass. "Relax pet."
She made a small whining sound, but finally dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. He carefully rubbed circles on her back, feeling her jolt from his contact. "Are you alright there?"
The sorceress attempted to speak, but the only sound that came out was a faint squeak. She nodded, opening an eye to look at him. "M'good."
"Mmm, I can see that darling," he teased, pulling her towards him. She immediately curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest while taking care not to hit him with her horns. "So did the repeat performance live up to expectations?"
He didn't receive a response, and looked down to see she was already asleep. He shook his head fondly, wishing he had thought to grab the blanket from the pack at the edge of the clearing. He could let her sleep for now, and go get the blanket later. Who knows, she might be inclined for another round by that point in time. There was plenty more of the night to come...