Chapter 16 - The Bat's Out of the Belfry

Del was awoken by a cacophony that pierced her dreams in a way that had her wondering if she had finally gone insane. She found herself sitting up in bed, bewildered by what exactly was happening outside. After her brain had a moment to process it was indeed awake, she realized it was the sound of dozens of various animals calling out into the dark caverns, much like birds were prone to do first thing in the morning above ground. But the noise was so much worse. Was this what Halsin had been referring to last night?

She groaned and flopped back down onto her bedroll, dragging the blankets above her head. It did little to quell the sound, though, and soon she was fumbling from her tent and into the campsite. She joined the rest of her crew who all looked equally harassed and concerned by the noise. Except Halsin, who was sipping calmly from a mug by the fire. He had been down here before so he was aware it was going to happen. He had probably been awake long before the rest of them.

"What in the blazes is going on," Gale yelled over the noise. "Should we be concerned for our lives?"

"I think this is just the Underdark's way of saying 'Good Morning,'" Karlach yelled back. "It's kinda sweet, actually."

"Sweet," Lae'zel seethed, her hands over her ears. "I will kill every last creature I come across down here if it means there will be less of… this - every morning."

"I'm with the githyanki," Astarion growled. He had brought his pillow with him and held it over his own ears. "Everything down here must die in case it's the cause of this raucous. No one deserves to be awakened this way."

Almost immediately after he said that, the noise died down, with only a couple of calls from far away reaching them. Lae'zel cautiously removed her hands from her ears and looked around, as if expecting it to start all over again.

"That was unbearable."

Del traded glances with Halsin who smiled at her. "I guess that means any chances of any of us wanting to sleep in will have to wait until we've left the Underdark."

"Ugh, let's just find this damn entrance to Moonrise Tower and get out of here as fast as possible," Astarion grumbled, returning to his tent. "I'm not sure how much more of that I can take."

No one was in a great mood after that, but after some food and tea, everyone was feeling a bit better and ready to explore. They left Halsin behind, once again, to tend to camp.

Del took the day to scour the west region of the area they were in. She was perturbed by the amount of mushrooms that seemed to be made to just cause immediate death. Nevertheless, she didn't allow the copious amount of shrooms deter her from doing the quests that were put upon her. Nor trees.

"What an egregious battle," Gale was muttering to himself as he walked away from the giant, shining Sussur Tree that had drawn their attention to begin with. "It's the strangest sensation having your access to the Weave obstructed. I was damn near useless."

"And this is different to any other circumstance, how," came Astarion's blithe response, as he toed the corpse of one of the Hook Horrors they had just fought.

As soon as Gale was out of the anti-magic field caused by the tree, he turned to glare at the spawn before casting a spell that repaired the cuts in his robe and then cleared the bloodstains away.

"I did tell you to stay away from the tree," Del reminded him, her pack now filled with the meager supplies left behind by the crazed Drow wizard.

"I'm afraid I heard you just a tad too late, Del," Gale growled. "Those damned beasts jump far higher and longer than any reasonable person would expect."

"It's a good thing I did hear her, then," Shadowheart remarked, twirling her mace in an idle circle. "Otherwise, we might have needed Wither's services for once."

"Too bad," Lae'zel sneered. "The skeletal one has yet to prove any use to us. Luckily, he requires no sustenance, otherwise I would suggest we continue our journey without him."

"I actually come with my own method of resurrection," Gale stated. "Due to my death being congruous with the orb exploding."

Karlach, looking intrigued, asked, "How have you managed that?"

"It's quite simple, actually," the wizard began. "You see -"

With a roll of her eyes, Del began to walk south, passing Gale as he began to explain his "easy" method of bringing him back to life. She could tell by the continued droning behind her that her companions followed her, so she kept her eyes forward. As they walked further on she could just make out a tower piercing the void far in the distance.

"And that's when you should respond with 'K'ha'ssji'trach'ash'-" Gale stopped as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. He waited until it dissipated, before muttering, "Hmm, I didn't think this area of Faerun was prone to earthquakes."

Del didn't move and kept looking around, trying to figure out what direction it had come from. "I don't think that was a natural earthquake," she told him.

When it failed to happen again, she exchanged a look with Wyll, who simply shrugged.

"We can't stand here forever," he commented. "We might as well face it - whatever it is."

Del nodded. "We should probably split up, then. Step lightly."

As they began to move apart and continued to head south, Del kept a lookout, doing her best to move as quietly as she could. When no more earthquakes occurred, her companions began to relax.

"I think the Underdark has made you a touch paranoid, darling," Astarion sniped, walking parallel with her. "You'll be having us running from shadows next."

Del didn't have quite enough time to enjoy the irony of his words, as right at that moment the ground began to shake even more intensely than it had before, causing some of them to lose their footing.

Del just managed to stay standing, when a great beast punched through the ground between them all, leaping through the dirt and rock as if water and landed with a ferocious roar.

"What is this monstrosity," Lae'zel yelled, brandishing her sword before her as it turned in their direction.

"A bulette," Del gritted out, dropping her pack and pulling out her crossbow. As it moved toward her, she began to back up, looking through her arrows.

"Use anything you've got with a wide areal effect, if you have them," she yelled to everyone else. "Its scales do a good job of protecting it, but give it all you got."

She dropped her only arrow of lightning just as it lunged and she was forced to roll away from its large maw. Cursing, she leapt back to her feet and watched as Lae'zel swung her sword towards its face. The blade just caught on its snout, barely cutting through the armored scales. Lae'zel was forced back as it lunged at her in retaliation, swiping with one clawed foot.

Behind it, Karlach swung her great axe in a wide arch, slicing into its tail and forcing it to turn to protect itself. Del had to jump to avoid getting swiped by the tail and landed back in a crouch where she drew her only other arrow of lightning and shot it into its backside.

Screaming, the bulette turned to swipe at her, but not before Gale cast Thunderwave and sent it sliding backwards away from the group, causing large furrows to appear in the ground before it. Seeing an opportunity, Del dashed across the way and grabbed the arrow she had dropped earlier. Pulling the string into place, she loaded the arrow and aimed it toward the slightly softer underside of its throat, crouching down to steady her hands.

"Ignis," Astarion uttered, standing behind her as a flash of fire erupted from his fingertips. As the flames washed over the bulette's face, Del released her arrow and watched as it pierced its hide and caused the creature to spasm once more.

Del watched as Gale cast another spell, only for it to miss, as the creature had begun to burrow back into the ground below it. Cursing, Del stood, and tried to discern where it would come out next.

"Is it retreating," Astarion asked, confused.

"No, its -" Del's knees buckled together as the ground beneath them began to crumble. "Shit!"

Before the ground could liquidate any more, she turned and shoved Astarion out of the way, falling with him to roll on the ground as the bulette leapt out of the ground once more, just barely missing them. Del ended up astride Astarion's legs, but quickly pulled out another arrow and twisted to take another shot at the creature.

It turned and sprayed a mass of acidic mucus, moving its head in an arch to catch all of them. With no time to avoid it, Del quickly turned her face away and threw her body across Astarion's, covering his face, as well. She could feel the acid as it hit her back. Her armor covered enough of her body, but didn't protect her from the entire onslaught. Her skin burned and itched where it contacted her clothes and began to eat through to her skin.

Hissing, she straightened from her position and checked to see Karlach and Lae'zel were already on the offensive again. They evaded the acid where it saturated the ground and struck the beast from either side multiple times. When Gale called out to them, they jumped back as he cast Fireball. Shadowheart was flinging acid off her armor, but appeared to have not been hit bad. Everyone else had avoided it.

Del turned her head to look down at Astarion. She had protected most of his body, but his arms and legs still could have been hit.

"Are you alright," she asked him, needing to know if he required healing.

He was looking up at her, his eyes wide with shock. His hands at one point had gripped onto her thighs and she glanced at them to see they were both acid free, before looking back at his face. He had resumed a bland look and swallowed before saying, "Yes. At least, I don't feel anything."

"Good," she sighed. She untangled her limbs from his and stood, wincing as she felt the acid sizzle along the small of her back and along the back of one arm. Ignoring it as much as possible, she pulled out another arrow and ran back into the fight.

It didn't last much longer, but by the time it had, Del was nursing a black eye, with a possible fractured cheek bone, on top of acid burns. It was her fault for not paying attention, but she hadn't expected to be hit in the face with a tail as it went through its death throes. Karlach and Lae'zel didn't look too much better, having taken direct hits from the monster. They were both bleeding, so Shadowheart was working on healing them first.

Del sat in the dirt, her head leaning against the gravestone of a beloved dog, as she waited her turn. She figured the dog wouldn't mind since it hadn't had company in who knows how long. She listened as Lae'zel bitched at Shadowheart for healing too slowly and Shadowheart returned that if she had been faster, she wouldn't need any healing to begin with.

Del just shook her head and smiled. Things would never change between those two, it seemed.

Gale and Wyll sat on a fallen stalactite nearby, healthy aside a few scrapes and bruises between them, while Astarion paced at her feet. He was also in good shape. Obviously, something was bothering him, though, as he hadn't stopped moving since the battle had ended.

"Not only did you shove me away so I didn't become bulette food," he began, "but you shielded me from its phlegm."

Realizing he was speaking to her, she tilted her head up to watch him, confused. "Uh, yes?"

"Why did you do that?"

"I had to protect that pretty face of yours, didn't I," she asked him, flashing her teeth in a wide grin that only made her cheek twitch a little. "You'd never let me hear the end of it, otherwise."

He scoffed, pausing his walk to look at her. "I thought you didn't care for my pretty face."

Her grin fell away as she stated, "I never said that." She shifted uncomfortably, ignoring the itching sensation on her lower back. "Anyway, what was I supposed to do? Let both of us get damaged by the damn thing?"

He gave it a serious thought and Del huffed out a laugh.

"The answer is no, silly."

"You could have protected yourself and left me," he pointed out, his hands on his hips.

"Why is it so hard for you to believe I wanted to protect you," she asked him, trying to read the emotion behind his eyes. "Haven't I shown that that's all I've wanted to do? Since the beginning?"

His eyes flickered in understanding as she referenced their meeting five years ago. The time she had warned him away from her. When she let him live, instead of doing what she should have done.

"For what purpose," he questioned, lowly, his eyes focusing in on hers. "What am I to you? Because this is more than us just sharing a malady."

She rolled her eyes. "I would have done that for any of you. I'd like to think after this long we'd at least be friends by now."

"Friends," he huffed. "What use have I for those?"

The uncertainty was back, causing the creases around his eyes to deepen, his brow to furrow. His flippant reply wasn't even believable to himself. But before Del could question it further, Shadowheart approached them, nodding to Del.

"You're up next," she said, giving her a smile. "I have enough energy for the worst of it, but we'll need Halsin to finish you up when we get back to camp."

Del watched as Astarion walked away to give them privacy, before turning to the cleric and nodding. The wounds from the acidic phlegm still burned like crazy, so she wanted them healed first.

Which is why she returned to camp still looking like she had had a tussle with an orc. Wyll and Gale were still cut up, as well, so she wasn't the only one walking in looking like crap.

"By the Oak Father," Halsin murmured, standing from his place at the fire. "What happened to you?"

"We tangoed with a bulette," Del told him. "It might have been a bad partner, though, and stepped on a few of our toes."

His eyes switched over to Shadowheart, who supplied, "I healed the worst of it, but Del was left with a black eye and those two with minor cuts and scrapes. I was hoping you could help heal them since I'm all out until I've rested."

"Of course," Halsin motioned to Del. "Yours won't take too long, then I will help Wyll and Gale next."

Del approached the Druid, who laid a gentle warm hand over her eye. His hand glowed and Del could feel her taut skin relaxing as the broken blood vessels were repaired and the swelling went down. There was a bit of pain under her eye as the bone knitted itself back together, but it hurt less then it had before. As the glowing stopped, Halsin cupped her face with his large hand and rubbed his thumb across her cheek bone as he checked to make sure it was completely healed.

Halsin smiled at her and said, "Back to the way it was before."

"Thanks, Halsin," Del told him, returning his smile.

As he released her, she turned to take a seat around the fire and dumped her bag full of root vegetables onto the ground. A mushroom fell out, as well, and Del gave it a look of ire. Damned thing had been a pain to get, but she knew she would feel bad if she didn't get it to the dwarven woman who had been looking for it. Sighing, she stood again and made the delivery of the Noblestalk to the vendor whom she would see again in Baldur's Gate.

When she returned, she saw someone had brought a bucket of water up from the pond in the middle of the colony and she gratefully used it to clean herself off. Once she was done with her absolutions, she made her way back to the fire and the company of her companions, ready for a warm meal and then a good night's rest.

Later, as she dozed inside of her tent, she awoke to the sound of her tent flap opening. A dark figure stood above her as she gazed blearily up at it. Del glimpsed a flash of red eyes, before the figure fell atop of her, pinning her down. She struggled against him for a moment before relaxing against his hold.

"Astarion," she said with an exasperated sigh. "What are you doing?"

Even in the dimness of her tent, she could see his face. He had been snarling at her, but when she stopped struggling, he rolled his eyes and sat up, still straddling her hips as he crossed his arms. "Couldn't you even pretend for a moment that you were scared for your life?" He huffed. "You may be my favorite traveling companion, but I am still a vampire, you know. A creature of the night. You should be frightened of me."

"Is that really what you want," she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "For me to be scared of you?"

When he didn't answer right away, she pretended to think about it for a moment. "I guess we could do a little role play if it will make you feel better. Start from the beginning and I'll scream for help this time." As she opened her mouth to do just that, he immediately clamped his hand around it.

"Don't you dare," he growled at her. "It's bad enough I have to deal with those fools all day and night. This moment belongs to us alone."

She looked up at him in confusion. He moved his hand from her mouth and down her neck, his fingertips sliding across the bite mark he left last time he had fed from her. She hadn't realized until now that a lot of her shoulder and chest was bare to him since she had unlaced her shirt before sleeping. She shivered as she realized how vulnerable she must look to him right now.

"You're hungry," she stated, watching his face. He looked almost feral as he eyed her neck. "When was the last time you fed?"

"Not since you last let me drink from you," he muttered, swallowing roughly. "I hadn't been able to hunt anything around the mountain pass and the Underdark is too strange. I'm half afraid whatever I try to hunt down here will turn around and eat me instead."

She nodded. That was quite a possibility. "You should have just told me. I could have met you outside of camp to do this."

He shook his head, his fingers trailing across her collarbone. She could feel her skin pebbling under his cool touch. "I think I like you just where you are. All curled up in your warm blankets. With no place to run. Under me."

He paused, looking down at her bedroll. "You're still sleeping with the blanket I gave you," he noted, before bending closer to her to sniff at her skin.

She flushed at being caught out. Yes, she was still sleeping with the blanket he had given her. She liked the way it smelled. She had thought he had forgotten all about that, but he was in her tent and could clearly see it now.

"My scent is already all over you." He closed his eyes with a groan. "If that's not an invitation, I don't know what is."

Del drew her eyebrows together. "An invitation to wha-"

Astarion's lips were against her lips, then. Del froze in shock, before his mouth cajoled hers into opening for him, and then she was kissing him back. She was lost in the feel of him against her. When his tongue sought entrance to her mouth, she obliged, tangling hers with his. He tasted of wine - the only thing he seemed interested in ingesting besides blood. But she knew she wouldn't have cared if he had tasted of blood, as long as it was hers.

His fingers dug into the hair at her scalp as he angled her head further back, allowing him to deepen the kiss even more. Her heart fluttered at his groaned satisfaction. She wasn't able to stop her hands as they gripped his ribs, holding him to her. She didn't want him to ever stop kissing her now that he had started and the thought scared her. But as he pulled away to trail kisses along her chin and down the line of her throat, all her doubts were chased away.

His cool hands slid along her warm torso until they cupped her breasts, his fingers teasing her already hard nipples through the fabric of her shirt. She arched her body towards him as much as she could with him sitting directly atop her, her head turned away to allow him more room as he continued to kiss and nibble along her neck. She could feel when he came to the scarring where he had left his previous bites, as her skin didn't have quite the same sensations there. He laved at the scabs from when he had bitten her a few nights ago, causing her to shiver.

"So eager," he purred in her ear. He pinched her nipples until she gasped. "That's it. Now, I'm going to bite you. And when I am done drinking from you, I want to fuck you. Tell me you want the same."

When she didn't answer right away, he pulled his face from her so he could look her in the eyes. She swallowed. The desire that shone in his gaze blind-sided her. She couldn't remember the last time someone had looked at her that way. And she felt herself being pulled in. She nodded. "Yes."

A moment of doubt, and then he was smirking at her as if he had known what her answer would be all along.

"Of course, you do," he murmured, his eyes dropping back down to her neck. "I'll be quick, darling. I just need a taste."

As he lowered his mouth back down to her neck, Del squeezed her eyes shut. This was insane. She shouldn't even be entertaining the thought of sleeping with him, yet here she was, under him, and she had agreed to it. The one thing she was trying to avoid.

Astarion's hands moved down her ribs and up and over her breasts once more, skimming his palms over the stiff peaks of her nipples as he kissed her neck. It was almost as if he could tell she was tensing up and thinking of changing her mind, but he easily brought her back to the present, her body humming in pleasure and wanting more. Needing more.

Once her heart was back to its hammering state, and her arousal clear again, he sank his fangs into her neck, causing her to gasp once more. As always, it hurt only after the initial bite. As he drew mouthfuls of her blood into his mouth, her body buzzed in excitement, helped with the fact that he continued to massage her breasts. She felt his hips press harder into her from above, but the feel of him was muffled by the blankets still in between them. She sighed as she felt one of his hands travel from her chest and down her abdomen, fighting to find a way under the blankets.

She felt his body tense atop hers, only a second before Astarion pulled away from her neck, his head turning towards the tent flap. When Del opened her eyes, she was shocked to see Halsin standing there. At first, he looked a mixture of shocked and embarrassed, but then he got a closer look at the tableau in front of him. At the blood that dripped from Astarion's mouth, and the blood that was now flowing freely from her neck. Her eyes had been closed, so he must have thought her asleep. Before she could say anything to explain, Halsin was hauling Astarion from her and throwing him out of her tent.

Del scrambled out of her bedroll and followed them. Astarion was still on his feet, his back to the dying firelight, while Halsin pointed at him.

"I should have known," he was yelling. "I never once saw you eat and you were always disappearing at night. A bloody vampire. That you could stand in daylight is the only thing that stopped me from assuming it."

Astarion for his part, only smirked in his usual haughty manner, not even bothering to say anything.

Del rushed forward. "Halsin, please, this isn't what it looks like-" Her head spun and felt herself lose her feet from under her. Halsin had turned to see her fall and managed to grab her before she could hit the ground. She held onto his arm until the world stopped spinning. She must have gotten up too fast after giving who knows how much blood. Her heart was racing, too.

"What in the hells is going on out there," Gale grumbled from his tent. His head was peeking from the flap. It was obvious he was still lying down.

The others had started to remove themselves from their tents, as well, and soon her entire party was awake to witness this debacle.

"Everything is fine," Del tried to assure everyone, her head in her hand as she waited for the dizzy spell to pass.

"No, it's not," Halsin said. "Astarion is a vampire and I caught him drinking from Del while she was asleep."

"What," Shadowheart turned to frown at Astarion, "You're a vampire?"

Lae'zel was already drawing her sword. "I will gladly take his head."

Del pushed away from Halsin to stand in front of Astarion, her hands out to ward them away, but also to keep her balance. "Guys, stop it. Just let me explain."

Gale had removed his body from his tent and now stood with her other companions. His eyes had fallen to her neck. "My gods," he muttered.

Everyone else was looking now, too. Del followed their gazes down to her chest and she could see the blood was now dripping between her breasts and her open shirt wasn't hiding much. She pressed her hand against her neck to stop the flow, cursing softly.

"Don't tell me you're still trying to protect him after this," Wyll said, shocked. "He's a vampire. He bit you."

"I know he's a vampire," she said, looking Wyll in the eyes. "I've always known. And I let him feed from me."

"Wait a moment," Gale replied, holding his hand up. "You've always known? And you let him travel with us and didn't bother warning us first?"

"Says the wizard who hid he had an exploding orb in his chest," she asked him, causing him to back down.

"I trust him," she told everyone, staring into faces that ranged from concerned to outraged.

"You trust him, but not enough to tell us what he is," Wyll asked. He laughed, no humor in his voice. "That is ironic."

"It wasn't my story to tell."

"Now that's bullshit and you know it." Wyll shook his head. "We're supposed to be a team. If one of us is a vampire, we should have all known about it at the same time. As a fellow monster hunter, can't you see how concerning this is. He could have killed all of us in our sleep or turned us and we wouldn't have known it was happening until it was too late."

She heard Astarion scoff behind her. "Even if I could turn you, do you really think I would want to be stuck with all of you for the rest of eternity. No thank you."

"He's a spawn, Wyll. He can't turn you. Besides, do you think a true vampire would have waited this long and put up with everything he's put up with? No. You all were and still are safe. I wouldn't have kept quiet if I thought otherwise."

"That's not the point," Halsin put in before Wyll could. "You took away our choice to make that decision for ourselves. There's always a chance you could have been wrong. Thankfully, you weren't." He eyed the vampire behind her and then looked back at her neck. "Minus the harm you agreed to." He cleared his throat. "The point is that had we been aware, we might have been cautious, but amenable."

"We follow you, because we trust you to consider all of us in every decision you make," Shadowheart provided. "You've been very good at that, so far. You stopped Wyll from killing Karlach, who was innocent. And you didn't try to hide her away from him. You let him confront her. So why didn't you let us confront him?"

She nodded towards Astarion.

Del bit her lip. She wasn't really sure what to say. They all had valid points. She had been open about most things with them, so far. She had to admit, though, she might have been a bit more overprotective of Astarion. If she had met him after the Nautiloid crash, she would have let things take their course the way it should have - as it had in the game, but she had had the luck - she wasn't sure if it was good or bad - of running into him years before. She couldn't pretend to not know what he was when he clearly remembered her. But she wouldn't immediately out him to the others, either. She had thought it would come out eventually, but it hadn't until now. And in the worst way possible.

"I told her not to tell you," Astarion said, shocking her out of her thoughts. "I trust her, but not the rest of you. I was worried I would be ostracized for what I am. And I can't afford to be separated from this group, not when we all have the same problem. Granted, my problem is what is allowing me to be in the sunlight and also stops my master from controlling me, but that's neither here nor there. I wasn't ready to tell you all my secrets, but I guess I have no choice now."

"So, the story you told us about being a magistrate in the city," Shadowheart questioned.

"I was a magistrate before I was turned into a vampire," Astarion smiled, though it was grim. "In fact, it was my job that led me to a run-in with the people who tried to kill me. Cazador saved me, but the damage had already been done, and when he offered the solution of eternal life I agreed. No questions asked."

"So, it's true, then," Wyll confirmed. "Cazador Szarr is a vampire."

Del nodded. "I don't dare say it in public, as most people would think I was crazy. His influence in Baldur's Gate is just that strong."

"And how do you feel about him, Astarion?" Wyll seemed to be testing him. Astarion had been present during Del's talk of taking the vampire lord down, so he knew what Wyll was referring to.

"Oh, I want the bastard dead just as much as she does. Thanks to this tadpole, I might actually get to act on it. Assuming we make it back to Baldur's Gate alive and unchanged."

Wyll nodded. "Good. You're useful in a fight." He turned to the others. "How does everyone else feel?"

"Honestly," Karlach offered, "I'm fine with it. We've all made bad choices or trusted the wrong person before. As long as you fight for the good guys, we're golden."

Gale shrugged. "He's gone this long without harming us. Though, I will warn you, just in case you get curious: my blood tastes horrible. So don't think about it."

Lae'zel resheathed her sword. "I will behead you before you so much as think about biting me." She stalked away back to her tent.

"It makes sense now that it's out in the open," Shadowheart said. "I can't say I'm that surprised. Just stay away from my neck and we'll be fine."

"I have no quarrel with you," Halsin said to Astarion. "Now that I know Del consented, I apologize for assuming the worst."

"I am curious as to what caused you to check on her at that moment, Halsin," Shadowheart said. "If you hadn't, we'd still be none-the-wiser."

"I, uh," Halsin shifted from one foot to the other. "I thought I heard an odd noise from her tent. I went to make sure she was alright."

"Aaaah," Shadowheart smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "An odd noise, you say. I imagine the bite of a vampire is rather painful. She probably cried out in discomfort. Care to fill us in, chief? Curious minds want to know."

Del's face was burning. Shadowheart had clearly made up her mind what was really happening in her tent and she wasn't wrong, but Del would be damned before she would admit to anything of that nature in front of her entire crew.

"Unless you want to try it yourself, Shadowheart, I'd rather not get bit and tell," she said through clenched teeth.

"Worried you might have to share, darling," Astarion asked, staring at his nails.

Del bit her tongue. She knew she shouldn't have let it get as far as it did. She could handle him biting her, but this? This was too much.

Shadowheart seemed to notice that Del was not coping well and moved the conversation on. "Well, now that we know, you can at least let me heal the bites whenever they happen. Is that acceptable?"

Del stared at the blood that was drying on her hand and nodded. "Yeah, that might be a good idea."

"If I hadn't been interrupted, I would have slowed the bleeding down myself," Astarion groused, glaring in Halsin's direction.

"Don't worry, Astarion. No one is judging your technique." Shadowheart tilted Del's head to one side as she cupped her hand over the wound. It glowed as she worked her magic, muttering the incantation under her breath. "It'll be better for Del if she is healed after every bite. She won't be in as much pain and she won't waste any blood. There." She took a step back. "Good as new. Or, good as you last left it, considering he's been biting you over an old scar. Clever."

"Thanks," Del said, touching her neck experimentally. Blood was still everywhere and it stained her shirt. She sighed. Everyone was heading back to their tents now that the drama was over, but Astarion lingered. Del wanted to be alone after all of that, but she couldn't really tell him to go to his tent. He wasn't a child.

"That could have gone worse, I suppose," he said, watching her.

Del wandered over to the bucket of water, but realized she needed a cloth. She turned to grab one from her tent, only to find one in her face. She went to grab it, but Astarion pulled it away and raised a brow at her. "It's my mess, maybe I should be the one to clean it up."

She huffed. "That is really unnecessary. I can do it myself."

"I insist." He bent to soak the scrap of cloth before pulling it dripping from the bucket. He wrung it out and stood, staring at her expectantly.

She gave in and shifted her shirt so it fell open over her shoulder, tilting her head to one side. He sidled up closer to her and gently rubbed at the now drying blood that coated her neck and chest. He was so close to her and she struggled to not think about what they almost did a moment ago. She stared off into the distance, refusing to look him in the eye.

"You know," Astarion muttered, concentrating on his work, "I was surprised that you stood up for me. I thought for sure once the cat was out of the bag you would have abandoned ship, but you didn't."

"I've been allowing you to feed on me," she muttered back. "You think I would go so far to help you and then turn my back once your secret was out?"

"Maybe." He folded the cloth to a clean side and started down her chest, his touch still soft. "You have no real reason to protect me. Despite your saying otherwise. I guess I wonder what you see in me." He chuckled. "Besides the handsome rake you see before you. You don't strike me as the shallow type, though."

"Thanks?" She looked at him from the corner of her eye before answering. "It's because you still have your humanity, for a lack of a better word. You might think it's a weakness, and maybe in the whole hierarchy of vampires, it is. It's something your master can use against you, after all. They've lost the capacity to feel and experience real emotions. But you haven't. You still get scared, you can still feel sad, but you can also still experience joy. And that's beautiful."

"Ah, yes, your belief that spawns still have a soul." Astarion had pulled away from her as she spoke and regarded her, the bloody cloth clutched loosely in one hand. "I can't believe I never realized how much of an optimist you were."

He almost sounded disgusted.

Del laughed, unable to stop herself. "You asked me what I saw in you and your response is to call me an optimist?"

"I was hoping for something more tangible, like, how good I am with a knife, or that you like my scathing tongue. Things I know I'm good at."

Del shook her head in exasperation. "Fine, I'll be less sentimental. You're a good backup in a fight. And yes, I might find you funny, at times. You're also damn good with a needle. I can barely see where you repaired my shirt, though now I'm upset because despite that it's now covered in blood."

Astarion examined the shirt and shook his head. "That damn Druid really should have minded his business. I'm not usually this messy." He reached forward to wipe at one more spot, but didn't move away immediately. "We were having such a good time. It's a pity we were interrupted. Though, there still might be time for us if you are still interested?"

Del pulled away from him and shifted her shirt back into place, hiding her shoulder away once more. "I'm tired, Astarion. And we have a busy day tomorrow. It's probably best if we both go back to bed."

He sighed dramatically. "I really am going to kill that overgrown bear. No worries, I'm sure we'll find time for each other soon."

Del watched him saunter off and when he disappeared into his tent, buried her head in her hands. She had been mortified when Halsin had walked in on them, but at the same time she was grateful. She had almost had sex with Astarion and that was the one thing she had been trying to avoid this entire time. She couldn't allow it to happen ever again. She felt guilty, knowing about him and his past and his future, and it felt gross to take advantage of it. Especially, knowing he was using sex as a means to gain and keep her protection.

Hadn't she proved to him, yet, that it was unneeded. Just like everyone else in her party, she would protect him no matter what. But he obviously was not convinced. Why else would he still be pushing having sex with her? It made no sense. No sense at all. She needed to talk to him about boundaries, but it would have to wait for now. Her tent called to her and she wanted to do nothing more than let sleep take her and to stop thinking about how he had kissed her. Gods, had he known how to kiss. No one had kissed her that well, ever. And now she would definitely be thinking about his kisses as she fell asleep tonight. Fucker was still winning, and he didn't even know it.