As everyone started to trickle back into camp along with the tiefling refugees, Astarion excused himself. He had a plan to seduce Char even farther, but he needed to make sure that everything was set up just perfectly. Char assured him that she would be enjoying the party before she went over to Karlach to borrow her axe as a crutch.

He had stashed a few items away throughout camp for when the time came. His list included a fancy aged bottle of wine, two silver goblets, the nicest blanket he could scavenge, and a basket filled with the freshest fruit he could find. Gale usually kept the camp stocked with fresh ingredients, so Astarion skimmed some off the top, wanting to impress Char when the time came. Once everything had been gathered, he went in search of the clearing that he had found on his hunt a few nights ago.

The sun was starting to set once he had set up his little picnic, and he admired his project. Of course, it was nothing compared to what his usual targets usually got back in the city, but Char got what they didn't. She got to live in the morning. Plus, once they got to the city, he could show her all the good places to drink and eat once Cazador was dead for good. As a reward, of course. Although, if she wanted to help him reach for even more power, who was he to say no to such a generous offer?

Once everything was set up, Astarion returned to the camp to retrieve his guest of honor only to find the stool by his tent to be vacant. He wandered the camp area to glance around, wondering if she had wandered off to chat with her friends. While the party seemed to be in full swing, Char was nowhere to be found. At first, he wondered if she had been taken, but that didn't make sense. His companions would panic if she had been stolen away. That meant that she had wandered off outside of the camp boundaries. He rolled his eyes, wondering what was going through her head. He turned around to see the druid standing behind him.

"Halsin," Astarion stated before the druid gave him a piece of paper.

"Char asked me to give this to you," Halsin informed with an amused tone. Astarion did his best not to rip it out of the druid's hand before Halsin went back to chat with the tieflings' leader.

Astarion watched as the druid retreated before he read over the letter she had left for him. It was a brief paragraph, explaining the rules of the game she had mentioned earlier. He huffed, irritated that she would pull this now when she could barely walk by herself. He knew this was just a test to see if her skills were still there, but it didn't mean he liked it. He threw the paper in the fire before he stalked back into the forest again.

If she wanted him to hunt her, then he would. She would be in for quite the surprise when he caught her.

~C~

Char had grabbed a couple Fly spell scrolls before handing the letter to Halsin to give to Astarion. She guessed that she might have a ten-minute head start, and now she was at several disadvantages. First, Astarion knew most of her tricks now, she couldn't really surprise him. Second, she knew he was a vampire, so he didn't have to hide that side of him. Third, she couldn't walk properly or quickly. Fourth, he would be pretty angry that she had left camp without telling him in person and letting Halsin be the one to tell him.

Casting the first Fly spell, she flew up into the canopy, knowing that using her arm strength would be the most beneficial to her. She at least had the foresight to change into the drow armor instead of her robes, which did mask her usual scent a little. She hadn't had a chance to properly clean the armor, so she hoped that it would help hide her from Astarion's vampiric senses.

Char had given Astarion a time limit of one hour to find her before she won. There was no prize for winning, of course, as they had discussed no wagers on the walk into camp. Although, she was pretty sure that win or lose, she would be in for it when Astarion did find her. Char couldn't hide from him indefinitely, even if she did start to have second thoughts when she started to think about just how upset he was going to be when he did find her.

She climbed higher into the trees, thinking that maybe Astarion would expect to find her closer to the ground with her leg still injured. Char had cast a frost spell over the armor, numbing the muscle so she didn't feel the pain when she used the leg, but she still couldn't put most of her weight on it.

Then she waited and listened for Astarion beneath her. That was the first part of the game, after all. Of course, if you hid well enough, you could hide out for the whole game and win that way. That was her father's preferred method of winning, as it meant that it was the safest way to outwit her mother. In the realm of the game, though, it was the most boring part. If she was in perfect shape, Char would have set up something to taunt Astarion further so she could attempt to outrun him. Now, she just hoped that maybe if she hid long enough, maybe his ire would lessen by the time he found her.

"Chardalyn," came a low growl beneath her.

Char's blood ran cold at her full first name as she looked down. Astarion was right beneath her, but he hadn't seen her in the canopy yet. He was still looking on the ground for her. She covered her mouth to control the noise that almost escaped. His head turned, but he still didn't think to look up.

"I know you're around here," he hissed, pouncing around the tree trunk. She stilled, keeping her hand over her mouth.

She had made a calculation, but she had no idea how bad at math she was.

Char listened, unable to bring her eyes back to the forest floor in fear to seeing the crimson eyes staring up at her. She could hear the soft footsteps, and she realized that he had taken her advice to heart. He had learned from their last encounter, and she wished that she could be proud. Right now, she just wanted him to leave and find her back at the campfire.

Soon, she heard nothing except the gentle wind through the leaves and she knew better than to be relieved. The forest was too quiet still, meaning the predator was waiting for its pretty prey to make a mistake. Char could only hope that the drow armor offered enough camouflage against the tree bark that if he did look up, he didn't see her right away.

If she ever offered to play this game again, she would make sure that he couldn't be angry with her. When she first asked for Halsin's help, she thought it would help ease the tension from her healing journey in a fun game to test their skills. She forgot that she was teasing a vampire spawn who had been very high strung throughout the whole day. While she knew he wouldn't rip out her throat or anything, Char would be lucky if she got to leave the camp for the next two days. Not that he could really stop her, but it wouldn't exactly better their situation.

Eventually, she could hear the crickets again and she relaxed slightly. He had moved on for the moment, meaning that she could at least move to a different tree when he realized her scent did end there. Quickly, she cast another Fly spell under her breath and jumped to the next tree. Then she heard the rustling behind her. While still hovering in the air, she saw Astarion land on the branch she was just sitting on.

"So that's how you got up here. That's quite clever, darling," Astarion remarked as he stood from his crouched position. While his voice sounded sweeter than normal, his anger was shown plain on his face. Char swallowed as she retreated in the air. "Of course, I know Gale had a limited number of those scrolls. Better find a good hiding place quickly, dear, or I'll find you before that hour is up."

Char paled before she shot through the forest, landing in another tree. The landing made too much noise; she knew that Astarion could find her through the rustling alone. The panic had caused her to act rashly as she cursed under her breath. She needed to think of something and quickly. Although the game required her to run and hide, it never said she couldn't misdirect. Under her breath, she cast the spell Shatter across the way, as if she had tried to land in a different tree.

She heard something close change direction as she quietly shimmied through the branches, careful to be silent. The misdirection wouldn't work for long before he came back to the original landing tree, so she had to be gone before he showed back up. When she heard something coming closer again, she cast Shatter again to her side, hoping to trick him as she stood still against the tree. He froze as something fell to the ground, and she wondered if she had caused a branch to fall. Erring on the side of caution, Astarion decided to make sure she hadn't broken her ribs again by falling out of the tree.

With an inward sigh, she continued, and this time found her way back to the ground. Char had to admit now that Astarion had found her in the canopy, she didn't feel like being lectured about falling after being injured. Hiding her tracks and masking her scent, she found a small hole at the bottom of a large tree, and she decided to try hiding again.

Curled up in the base of the trunk, she covered the opening with leaves and peered out as she waited. It wouldn't be long before Astarion came into view, confused by the new scent that covered hers. He shook his head, more annoyed than angry now. While it would work with bandits and raiders, Astarion knew her too well. He knew that she was in the area.

She watched as he glanced up into the trees, watching for moving branches or falling leaves. When he saw no sign of her, he started to look for tracks or something to find her. Char was good, but she wasn't infallible. She couldn't disappear without a trace. At least, not yet. And Astarion knew her well enough that she wouldn't cheat at a game just to win.

Then he did hear a slight rustle behind him. He froze as Char's blood rushed out of her face. Her foot had slipped just slightly from its perch, and he had heard it. She held her breath, hoping that the silence would be enough for him to move on. It wasn't.

He turned to see that there was an alcove covered with leaves at the base of a larger tree. It was definitely too small for him to try to fit in, but Char might just be petite enough to curl inside. As she watched him walk over to her hiding place, she arched her armored back into the back of the tree as Astarion's hand reached in. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out.

"Ah, there you are, darling," he cooed as she tried to scramble away. He grabbed her ankle on her uninjured leg and pulled her back before flipping her onto her back. "I was just looking for you, you know. You weren't back at camp."

Char just stared up at him as he caged her in. His legs straddled hers with his hands on each side of her head. She was well and truly caught. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt a strange arousal in her stomach. It wasn't the worst position she had found herself in.

"And then Halsin gave me this strange letter telling me that you were hiding out here in the woods all by yourself, even after we agreed that we would discuss the rules of your little game," Astarion reminded as Char thinned her lips. "Without a word on where you went, I had to come find you in the dark."

"I may have been a little rash," Char began as Astarion leaned closer, brushing some of the hair out of her face.

"A little rash? Darling, I think reckless is the word you are looking for," Astarion whispered, leaning down to her ear. Char's eyes fluttered closed as she swallowed. "Oh, but what to do now that I've caught you? We did say that there wouldn't be any prizes."

"You could…" Char murmured before clearing her throat. "You could bite me."

"Oh, that's a thought," Astarion purred before pressing a kiss next to her ear. She held back a whimper as his hand came up to hold the other side of her head steady. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind, darling? If you are feeling well enough to have me chase you around a forest, I think you're well enough for a quick bite, don't you think?"

"Yes, I think so," she replied breathily with a small nod of her head. Astarion smiled against her neck as he placed another kiss just below her ear. Her breath hitched. "Please."

"How could I say no?" he hummed before sinking his teeth into her jugular.

Char saw stars when he bit into her neck again. Her heart was already racing as it pounded in her chest. She wondered if Astarion could feel it while he took her blood. She leaned into him with her head cradled gently in his hand. She had been afraid to find out what he would do when he caught her, but if this was the result, then she would be more inclined to play this game more often. Especially when she healed fully and could give a good chase.

Astarion's anger melted away as her blood ran across his tongue. She had been incredibly reckless and stupid, but it had led him to her neck, he supposed. And she had shown him that she probably could get away and hide from most things. Not from him, but she could hide from those stupid goblins and cultists. None of them had his nose or background on Char.

Eventually, Astarion detached his fangs from her neck, licking over the wounds to help close them. Char's chest heaved as her eyes were half lidded. He had picked up a hint of arousal in her blood, which he would remember for later. Another good thing to note if he continued to seduce her. This little game worked out in his favor, after all.

"You are delectable, darling," Astarion soothed in her ear, still caging her in. She hummed approvingly, nuzzling the hand cradling her.

"Do we have to go back to camp?" Char asked, a little out of it. Astarion smiled and lifted his head to look at her.

"Actually, I had something rather special planned for us before you rudely spirited yourself away," he informed as her eyes widened up at him.

"You had something planned for us?"

"That's why I left, darling. I had to go set it up. Imagine my surprise when I came back and you were simply gone," Astarion continued with a gentle shake of his head. Char gave a small smile before sighing.

"I'm sorry for not talking to you about the game. I thought it would be a good way to work off some of the stress we've worked up over the last few days. However, if it helps, I did have second thoughts when I was up in the tree when I realized that I had disappeared on you without a word," she explained, covering his hand with hers. "I am sorry, though. I promise, I'll always talk to you about starting a game before disappearing like that again."

"You better. I did not like Halsin telling me that you just vanished."

"Fair enough. Did you still want to show me your surprise? Or have I ruined it?"

"You haven't ruined it, darling," Astarion chuckled, running a thumb over her cheek. Slowly, he stood as she sat up. She cast another cold spell on her armor, numbing her thigh again. "You're going to ruin your armor doing that though."

"It numbs the pain."

"In the spirit of the surprise, we're going to talk about that later," he informed grumpily. "For now, let's get you up."

Char held back a yelp as he picked her up with her arms reaching for his neck. She was a bit bulkier with her armor on instead of her robes, but Astarion managed to get a sturdy grip. He turned around and started through the forest as Char realized that she had gotten turned around. She didn't recognize this area, and she was glad that Astarion did find her. She wasn't sure what she would have done if he had left her, and she had to find the way back. Most likely she would have gotten lost, which would have been worse in her condition. Even Karlach would have some choice words for Char's decision then.

They passed through the trees and into a clearing where a small picnic was set up. Char beamed, seeing how much effort Astarion had put in to make this little surprise for her. There was even fresh fruit for her to snack on in the basket with a bottle of wine.

Carefully, he placed her down onto the soft blanket, letting her settle herself. She still felt a little lightheaded from the blood loss, but he hadn't taken as much as he had the first time. Char slipped off her boots as Astarion walked over to the basket, pulling out the wine and goblets he had scavenged over the last tenday. He handed one to her after filling both and sat down on the blanket as well.

"To the next leg of our adventure," Astarion toasted before bringing the wine to his lips. Char grinned, raising her wine before drinking as well.