Fourth Wall

Two: A Taste

A/N: Hang in there reader, this chapter's long but I had to get us to the good stuff. Enjoy!

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Chloe muddled through the next days at work with some measure of frustration. She dropped a gallon jug of apple cider which spilled all over the floor, her manager snapped at her because her car alarm was chirping in the parking lot, and she had more than one rude customer in her checkout line. By the time she got home, she felt ready to explode.

Instead of her normal routine of flinging her clothes haphazardly across the room and diving right into winding-down time, she pushed the worn leather loveseat that served as her couch as far back as it could go in her apartment's tiny living area and tossed out her yoga mat. After a quick change into some black leggings and a sports bra, Chloe flipped on the TV to a youtube workout and tried to sweat out her frustrations.

She was fairly strong, at least she thought. She was getting pretty good at some of the yoga poses, and she had what she would probably describe as a "sneaky-hot" body. From the outside, draped in clothes, not all that much to look at. But underneath, she was fairly athletically built. A bit small in the chest perhaps, but overall she was happy with her appearance.

Chloe exercised for half an hour, until she was positively dripping sweat and exhausted. After her cool-down stretches had been complete, she hopped into the shower. She wondered what would happen next in Baldur's Gate as she lathered the shampoo in her hair. She liked her companion Shadowheart, but Lae'zel left a little something to be desired. Cranky and with an intense superiority complex, almost all of Lae'zel's dialogue was spoken in an irritated hiss. Still, she was a great fighter, so Chloe could put up with her insane bitchiness and sometimes casual racism.

Wyll was very handsome, and seemingly a good man. But perhaps too good. Chloe always had a suspicion for white knight archetypes. She was more comfortable with Lae'zel's cranky openness. At least she truly knew what she was getting with Lae'zel.

And what about this new Astarion character?

Her mind shifted to the pale elf. His deep red irises shifting idly on-screen as she studied him. His face was somewhat gaunt, with high cheekbones and a soft handsomeness that not many men achieve successfully. His ears sloped into pointed ends, as do all elves, and his eyes were always alight with some secret mischief, it would seem. And his voice...

If she were honest, she could listen to him taunt and tease her all day and it wouldn't bother her one bit.

With that thought, she exited the shower and quickly pulled on some loungewear, booting up her laptop. Everyone was waiting at camp, and Chloe quickly swapped out Wyll for Astarion among her available party members. She wanted to see what he was about.

Friend or foe? She wondered as that velvety voice accept her offer to adventure together.

The party of four - Lae'zel, the fierce Githyanki warrior, Shadowheart, the princess of darkness, Astarion, the pale elf, and Chloe, a Tiefling Druid - set out for Emerald Grove. Chloe paused almost immediately, choosing to talk to Astarion.

"Need something?" He inquired, but the way he said everything sounded so flirtatious. There was a dialogue option to ask Astarion about himself, and Chloe immediately picked it.

"Oh, what's to tell? I'm a magistrate back in the city - it's all rather tedious." He assured easily with a flippant cock of the head. His white hair glinted in the sunlight.

"Pretty little liar, aren't you?" Chloe tutted to herself, but there was no dialogue option to press him further. "Fine," she grumbled to herself, and made a mental note to speak to him again at camp if the opportunity presented itself. Maybe he would have other dialogue options then?