Who We Are - Durge x Astarion

chapter two

The first rays of morning light filtered through the trees, shining on two empty bedrolls, and a smoked out fire.

Niamh sat on her knees, next to a small stream, staring at her reflection. She didn't know how long she had been staring, or how long she had been sitting there. She couldn't stay asleep from the night before so she came here.

Just like the day before, she had no memory of the person staring back at her in the soft ripples of the water. Her long, floor length black braids were frayed and knotted. Shorter strands had begun falling in front of her face, almost touching the water as she looked down.

She leaned forward towards her reflection, close enough to kiss it, and stared into her own glowing eyes. Who was the girl staring back at her? Why did she only have her name and whatever these twisted urges were inside her brain. Well that and the tadpole of course.

The more she stared the more her heart raced, muffled voices filling her ears until it was all she could hear. She desperately tried to make out what the deafening words were saying but she couldn't.

Red haze started to filter in her vision, all her senses becoming overwhelmed. She took a breath and dunked her head into the stream. The voices stopped. Complete silence. Relief.

Then all at once an overwhelming terror engulfed her entire body. Her eyes shot open in the water but all she could see was red. Unintelligible flashbacks of someone, or something, holding her down under the water. She fought relentlessly against the attacker in her vision, but the thick liquid quickly filled her lungs. It was too thick, too dark, and too metallic to be water. No, it was blood.

Niamh managed to pull herself out of the water, and fell back on her feet, coughing and sputtering. She frantically caught her breath, looking around to find the same seemingly serene scene she had been at moments before. Just a small flowing stream in the woods, a few paces from where she made camp the night before.

Was that a memory? Was that person responsible for her ending up here? With the tadpole in her brain? Questions flooded her mind as she tried to get a grasp on reality once more.

She looked up at the sky, wiping her wet hair out of her face. The sun had risen fully, and she decided she should head back to camp.

She shakily stood up, straightening herself out to the best of her ability and turned towards the path back, glancing at the stream once more. She shook her head and began to walk back.

She could hear shuffling around as she arrived. Astarion, her pale traveling companion, was just finishing up packing his camp supplies.

Niamh hesitantly approached him, she wondered if his tadpole caused his memory to disappear as well.

Astarion turned around at the sound of her footsteps, a smirk falling off his face as he saw her expression.

"You look rabid, pained, sick." He said sizing her up, "You are spasming and twitching... You poor thing."

"I have almost no memory from before I awoke on the nautiloid." Niamh said quickly, almost like a confession.

Astarion stared at her for a moment, a frown on his face.

"Hmmm... So far my tadpole and I have been nothing but best friends. Something else is happening to you, isn't it?" He said cautiously.

Niamh just stared at him, helpless. She had no idea what was causing this, and it was seemingly unique to her which was no help.

"Do take care of yourself." He said in his usual tone once more, his fake smirk returning. He turned away from her, walking to pack more supplies away.

So that was it? That's all his advice? Niamh scoffed to herself under her breath. What a help he was that cocky son of a bitch.