Piper went back to camp for dinner, but Astarion didn't follow. In fact, she didn't see the pale elf the rest of the evening, although she hardly noticed. She took the opportunity to introduce herself to Laezel, which went as well as she expected. Laezel thought her strange and weak, which Piper had been warned about. Still, Laezel said that she was trainable, and Piper would take what she could get from the strange woman.

After dinner, Piper sat next to the fire as she listened to the plans for the next day. Wyll wanted to scout out the area to see if there was another direct way into the goblin camp so they could retrieve the druid. Once the druid was free, he might be able to get their parasites out of their heads and help Piper with her magic. Laezel voiced her opinion that this was a waste of time, and Gale took the time to explain that this was what they had been working on for the past few days.

One by one, her companions started to go back to their tents, leaving Piper by the fireside. She watched as the fire died down, wondering when she should head to her own tent. She would need to regain her strength for the morning if she was going to join them to find the camp. It would be the first time she joined them on their journey to fix their predicament.

The embers gave a soft glow as Piper reclined back on the few spare threadbare blankets left next to the fire. It wasn't as comfortable as the bedroll she had been using the last few days, but in her weary state it was enough to let her fall asleep.

It was a calm and deep sleep, one that she hadn't found when she was in cat form. Piper breathed deeply until she felt something sharp slice her neck. Her eyes flew open as her arms went to find her attacker, but she was quickly restrained. Piper opened her mouth to cry out before a hand covered it. Whatever was in her neck disappeared as someone held her close as she thrashed, blood leaking down her neck onto the blankets and dirt below.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," a familiar voice whispered into her ear as she continued to struggle, but now she just tried to look to find Astarion's eyes. However, he was stronger than he seemed. Unsure how else to get him to let her go, she bit his hand hard, causing him to curse under his breath and move his hand away.

It was the break she needed to crawl away and try to get to her feet. However, Astarion tackled her again, sending her to the ground. Piper tried to fight him off, still scared that he had restrained her in the middle of the night. He tried to hush and calm her, but there was nothing for it. He saw the blood running down her neck and his jaw clenched.

"Let me go, please," Piper whispered, feeling a little lightheaded.

"I need to stop the bleeding," he informed as he closed his hand over the wound. Since it was over her neck, she panicked again.

"Why am I bleeding?" she asked as she grabbed his arm. Astarion stared down at her as she met his gaze. Even in the darkness, she could see blood around his lips, and she felt what blood she had drain from her face. "Is that my blood on your mouth?"

"Hush now, darling," Astarion replied as he reached for his pack. Piper watched as he pulled out a bottle as she started to struggle again.

"Why is my blood on your face?" she pleaded as he pulled off the top with his teeth. Piper could see his fangs then, and she nearly screamed, pulling on his arm to let go. He spat the cork of the bottle off to the side before pouring the contents on the wound and into her mouth. When she tried to spit it out, Astarion sighed.

"It's a healing potion, darling, I need you to drink it. You'll feel better," he insisted. Piper glanced between his eyes as she felt the wound on her neck start to close. At least he was telling her the truth about the health potion. Hesitantly, she swallowed the liquid and opened her mouth again, letting him pour more of the potion into her mouth. "There we go."

"Please tell me what's going on," Piper pleaded once the bottle was empty. Astarion helped her sit up as he sat across from her. Although, he held her hands, keeping her tethered to her spot in front of him.

"I suppose it wouldn't surprise you to know that I'm a vampire," Astarion explained as Piper coughed back a scoff.

"It would, actually. Vampires aren't real," she answered. His serious face extinguished her doubt. "At least, they aren't real where I'm from."

"That's fortunate for your home, I suppose," Astarion remarked sarcastically. "I haven't been able to feed in a few days, I've been too slow… Too weak."

"So, you preyed on me?" Piper guessed. Astarion shrugged with a sigh.

"I came back from an unsuccessful hunt, and I haven't had anything to eat in nearly a week. You were sleeping so calmly, and my instincts took over. I barely realized what I was doing when you woke up and started to struggle. Luckily, I was able to get my fangs out of your neck before you started thrashing, or I might have ripped out your throat."

"What do you hunt then?"

"Usually animals, whatever I can get my hands on. Deer, boars, kobolds, you name it. I usually… don't feed on thinking creatures, but I couldn't help myself this time," he explained with a sigh. Piper flexed her jaw, wishing that he would let go of her hands so she could rub her temples. She was feeling a headache come on, although she wasn't sure if it was because of the blood loss or the absurdity of the conversation.

"Why didn't you tell anyone? I have to admit that I wouldn't have believed you, but if vampires exist here, the others would have believed you," Piper reasoned as Astarion laughed.

"Vampires are not companions; they are monsters that adventurers kill and destroy. Our campmates would have killed me the moment they found out," he replied with a shake of his head. "Especially our friend Wyll, the certified Monster Hunter."

"So, what's the plan now? Are you going to kill me to keep your secret safe? Or am I going to become a vampire like you?" Piper asked, her voice wavering. Astarion smirked and shook his head.

"Neither. Like I said earlier, you've become dear to many of our companions, and they would grow worried if you simply disappeared. Besides, I wouldn't kill you to keep my secret. As for you turning into a vampire, you don't have to worry about that. Only a true vampire can turn you into a spawn, and I am merely a spawn," Astarion explained with a sigh. Piper relaxed a little at the explanation, calming her heart. She wasn't completely sure she could trust him after he attacked her in the middle of the night, but he hadn't killed yet. "I don't know what to do now."

"Do I need to start begging for my life again?" Piper half teased.

"Gods, no, don't do that. I promise that I won't kill you," he replied, shaking his head.

"That's a good start. You scared me really bad," she informed as she swallowed. The thought of something waking her like that again terrified her. "Please just wake me first if you need to do that again."

"You would let me feed again?"

"I don't know, but please just ask first. If you need to attack me, please just do it while I'm awake," Piper pleaded. Astarion scrunched his eyebrows together in concern.

"Darling, I'm not going to attack you again, I promise," Astarion reiterated. "I'll admit, I should have said something before the hunger got this bad, but now you know. I will let you know before the hunger gets that bad again."

"Okay, I can accept that," Piper exhaled. "What about the others?"

"What about them?"

"Are you going to tell them about your vampirism?"

"I suppose if it comes up, we can talk about it. Like I said, I quite like my head on my shoulders. Especially if you tell them what I did tonight, I think Karlach will chop it off herself," Astarion mentioned. Piper hummed, realizing that he wasn't wrong.

"Did you leave any marks on my neck? I'm not sure how thorough the health potion is," Piper said as she stretched her neck. The muscles were still sore from the wound and the healing, but she tried to give him a better look.

"It seems I gave you two unfortunate scars," Astarion whispered. Piper swallowed as she turned her head again.

"That's not great, I have to say, but it's fine. I'm just worried about what the others will say," she explained as Astarion squeezed her hands.

"I'm surprised you're not angry with me," Astarion mentioned.

"Oh, I'm sure the anger will come later, right now I'm still a little afraid of you."

"I suppose that's fair," he replied defeatedly. "Bold of you to express it outright."

"Just being honest. Now, what I'm thinking is that I'll change into a panther early in the morning, and that way no one will know about the scars. Then it'll give you time to either explain that you're a vampire, or whatever you want to tell everyone. Because eventually I'll be human again and they will see my scars," Piper suggested as she thought it through. Astarion chuckled and shook his head.

"You could just throw me to the wolves, so to speak," he reminded. Piper tilted her head to the side.

"I know we don't always see eye to eye, but that doesn't mean that I don't care. You are a part of this group just as much as I am, which means that I have your back. Even when you make stupid decisions like this," Piper informed sternly. "By the way, I have no idea how much you drank from me before I started to panic."

"I probably got more than I should have. I would suggest you shouldn't stand up to fast when you do stand up," he admitted. Piper said nothing as she clenched her jaw. "I got several good mouthfuls before I removed my fangs."

"That's… a lot of blood."

"Yes."

Piper tried to pull back her hands, but Astarion didn't release his grip. She stared at him, waiting for him to do something. She wasn't sure what was going to happen now. Tomorrow was the first time she wasn't going to be a burden, and if she had to stay at camp because of blood loss, then she was going to make sure Astarion had to as well.

"So, what do you do about blood loss here? I doubt there are any blood transfusions or iron supplements available I can use?" Piper wondered, her anger showing through.

"No, seeing as I'm not sure what those are," he answered. "And as much as I would prefer we didn't, we might need to see Shadowheart for that answer. A cleric would know the best way to treat blood loss."

"Fantastic," she groaned, shaking her head. "Okay, we'll stick with the original plan. Tomorrow, I'll turn into a panther straight away. Hopefully that will mitigate the blood loss somehow. If that doesn't work, then we have to talk to Shadowheart."

"We? You're the one that needs the help."

"And you're the one who caused the problem. Therefore, you're coming with me to get help."

"She'll most likely kill me."

"Then let's hope the panther solution works," she replied shortly. Astarion sighed, but he conceded with a nod.

"I do believe it's time for you to head back to bed so you can get some sleep," he informed as he stood. He only let go of her hands then so he could grab her arms, helping her to her feet. She glared at the manhandling, but she accepted it as she grew lightheaded again.

"I suppose so," she groaned, letting him lead her. However, she stopped for a moment, realizing that Astarion wasn't taking her back to her own tent. "Why aren't we going to my tent?"

"I just want to keep an eye on you overnight, just to make sure that I didn't take too much blood. I don't want you dying in the night," Astarion replied as he helped her through the threshold of his tent. She sighed as she relented, letting him guide her to his bedroll.

"Just for tonight though, and you get to come up with a good excuse on why I was here in the morning. And it better not be a suggestive one," Piper warned as she leaned into the comfortable pillows. Astarion chuckled quietly as she took a deep breath.

"Of course, darling, I'll take care of it," he reassured. He sat next to her as she instantly fell asleep, and he found himself smiling down at her. She was a pain in his ass sometimes, but she was endearing in her own way.

~A~

Astarion woke the next morning from his trance next to a warm creature. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw the dark fur before he remembered his own misdeeds. Piper kept her promise, and Astarion found that he was surprised that she had. He sat up and watched the large cat sleep, curled up in herself with her tail tucked under her chin.

With the morning light seeping though the canvas of the tent, Astarion wondered what the best way to wake the sleeping panther would be. He noted that she didn't enjoy the casual petting the others subjected her to when she was in wildshape, nor did she like it when they treated her like a pet. So, he thought that he should wake her like he would generally wake any person. She was a person after all, just in a different shape.

With slight hesitation, Astarion reached and grabbed the panther's shoulder, shaking it soundly. With a grunt, the panther stirred and stretched before opening her green eyes. She glanced around before finding Astarion sitting above her. She shifted a little before sitting on her haunches, staring at the vampire.

"Good morning," Astarion greeted as she tilted her head. "How are you feeling?"

Piper stared at him for a moment before standing and stretching, seeing how her body fared. She shook her body before she nodded her head, sitting back in her spot. Astarion smiled and sighed, relieved that the panther form was able to help.

"Good, I'm glad you're feeling better," he grinned as Piper purred. The voice was much deeper than her housecat's purr, and she found that it suited her more. While the wolf was a fun shape to take, she was excited to see what the panther had to offer. "However, I do need to get ready for the day, so unless you want to watch me get undressed, I would head back to your tent."

Piper huffed as she padded out of his tent and stepped back into the camp area. It was still early enough in the day so she and Astarion were the only ones who were awake. She leaped onto the large boulder next to her tent and basked in the morning sun. While she had slept well in Astarion's tent, she did enjoy being lazy on the warm boulder in the mornings and she dozed off for a while.

"Uh, Piper?" Gale asked, catching her attention. Piper raised her head and purred, meeting the wizard's gaze. "I didn't expect your panther form to be so large. Did you want some breakfast this morning?"

Piper nodded emphatically before mewing the best she could. She didn't think roaring at Gale would put him at ease, and she was right as Gale relaxed at the mewing. He nodded before he went about his morning routine.

Now awake, Piper watched the camp as the morning progressed. She could see Shadowheart emerge as she began her daily prayers. Laezel left her tent and immediately started her morning exercises. Karlach groaned, turning onto her stomach in the open tent, falling back asleep. Wyll wandered out of her tent and went to Gale's side to spark up a conversation as breakfast was being cooked.

The only person Piper couldn't find was Astarion. She wondered if he went for another hunt now that he had some blood in his system. Her tail flicked in irritation with the memory of the night prior. She had a decision before her, and she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She could allow Astarion to feed from her occasionally, but she wasn't sure if that was a good idea. After everything was said and done, Piper didn't find the activity unpleasant once she knew what was going on. It had been a thrilling, and eye-opening, experience. And that would lead to a completely different conversation as well.

Of course, she could avoid everything and just tell Astarion that he couldn't feed from her again. That would solve most of her issues at the moment. She lowered her head to the boulder between her paws as her tail flicked back and forth. It wasn't really a decision. It was just something she had difficulty admitting. Especially to the vampire.

They would need to find out the easiest way to figure out how to cure the bloodlessness if they were going to continue, because she didn't like how disoriented and weak she felt afterwards. Piper exhaled, realizing that would be the deciding factor. If Astarion could find out how to fix her blood issue after he drained her, then he could drink from her. It was a fair trade off, she thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Astarion walked out from his tent. Piper didn't realize that he had been in his tent the whole time that she had been basking in the sunlight. She watched him for a moment as he straightened his armor and wandered into camp, looking a little uneasy. Then he saw her and seemed to relax again before Gale called him over.

"Yes, wizard?" Astarion asked as he sat down next to Wyll.

"I had a thought last night, and I remembered that the merchant at the grove had these potions that let us speak to animals. I thought that might give us a leg up with Piper always being in wildshape," Gale informed, piquing Piper's interest.

"I thought it might be a good idea as well," Wyll added as Astarion shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe she goes into wildshape so she doesn't have to talk to you, Gale," the vampire teased, unsure why this pertained to him.

"I know that she does that language spell each morning so that she can understand us, I thought it might be nice if we also give her the option of two-way communication," Gale continued, ignoring Astarion's jabs.

"Why are you telling me about it?" Astarion asked, folding his arms.

"We have the recipe for it, but we don't have all the ingredients. While Wyll and I agree that we can't really go back to the grove or stop and look for the herbs in the woods, we're getting everyone to at least look while we're scouting the goblin camp for the plants. That way we might be able to get a few days' worth of potions made," Gale explained as he started to plate up breakfast. "We're going to tell Shadowheart and Karlach about it too."

"I mentioned it to Laezel, but she told me that it was a waste of time. Guessing that we can't rely on her to find any of the ingredients, but the five of us should be able to get something together," Wyll added. Astarion raised his eyebrow before glancing up at Piper, who had been eavesdropping. She had turned her face away with her ear was turned toward the men's conversation.

"I'll help you look for the ingredients while we're scouting the goblin camp," Astarion replied with a sigh. Gale and Wyll smiled, making him frown. "I said I'd look, not that I'd find anything."

"Just helping is going to be enough," Wyll reassured.

"Why are you doing this, anyway? If she really wanted to talk to us, then she would turn back into her human self," Astarion reminded. Gale and Wyll exchanged a look before Gale exhaled.

"We're worried about her. She's been thinking about making a deal with Raphael to get home, which we don't even know will work. There's a good chance it will, but we don't know. So, we want to make sure that she doesn't feel isolated or alone," Gale explained as Wyll nodded. Astarion bit his tongue to keep from arguing.

"We just want to make sure she gets home safely and with her soul intact," Wyll added as Astarion leaned forward.

"I'll help you find the ingredients for the potions."