Astarion ° Little Star

Revelations

Astarions POV (third person)

"Gods." Astarion had taken it upon himself to create his own entertainment, watching Shadowheart hopelessly fawn over Tav.

Almost everyone in the group had seemed captivated by the woman, automatically assuming her place as their leader. Everyone but Astarion, he sneered at the thought, and he found it utterly pathetic.

While his initial plan was to seduce the druid, he quickly came to discover that she had eyes for Gale. It crushed his plans of protection entirely, but the appearance of Laika had risen his hopes once more.

The night he had met the elf, she had caught him off guard, the smell of her blood was almost intoxicating. She was far different from any mortal he'd ever smelt, she oozed power; and yet with the way she carried herself, she didn't know it. It was never like Astarion to pass down an opportunity, and with the dwindling possibility of keeping his affliction a secret, he needed allies.

She'd made it far too easy for him thus far. Easily accepting his invite to their party, pledging to keep his secret under the pretense of outing him not suiting her, she even seemed interested in him, or his story atleast. The icing on the cake was finding out she was no different, ridden with dark memories.

And now, here she was, mindlessly wandering into the shadows of the forest with a wizard who had looked like he was going to incinerate her hours before. Astarion almost scoffed from behind the tree that concealed him as he watched the two walk deeper into the forest, silence settled between them.

Naive.

As cautious as she tried to portray herself, she trusted him far too easily on this late night stroll. Astarion thought her for an idiot, bipolar maybe. But the confusion and fear that danced in her eyes was as clear as day.

The two finally came to a stop, Gale turning on his heel to face the rogue woman. She fidgeted her hands, something Astarion noticed that she did often when engaging in any sort of social exchange.

"Why hide it?" Gale's voice cut through the silence.

Astarion could hear Laika scoff, clenching her fists by her side. "By your reaction this morning I assumed you would already know the answer to that."

"Are you here under order?" Order? Astarions interest peaked. Who in the Nine Hells was she.

"No. I fell from the nautiloid the same as everyone else." Her voice was calmer now.

"I dont understand why you'd succumb to people like them. A witch of your statcher is far above the Cult of the Dragon."

Astarions eyes widened in shock. He'd heard of such cult, back in his days as a magistrate. But they were no imminent threat, infact they'd all but become extinct after being hunted by the Gurr. Or so was the stories.

"I'm not a witch." She spat, disgust evident in her voice. "My parents wielded Mystras magic, not me."

Gale's eyes narrowed at her, almost challenging. "You're parents must be of great importance for me to be able to feel the tingle of magic in your aura."

In one swift movement Laika had her blade at his throat, Astarions lip turned upwards as his eyes danced with curiosity at the scene before him. "I will say this one last time. I am not a witch."

Her face was screwed into rage, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her knuckles whitened from the tight grip on her dagger. Gale's eyes widened in shock for a moment before raising his hands in surrender, taking a careful step away from the woman.

Astarion questioned if it were a wise idea to interject the two. While he didn't much care for the wizard he was most certainly a powerful and useful ally, not to mention the uproar that the camp would turn to if he were harmed.