* Adult Themes
Much later, Narache peered outside his window, it had gotten colder now but not by much, Athkatla was temperate much of the year even at Nightal.
He still felt Boosted by Var's blood which he could still feel inside of him, changing him forever, he felt and healing him.
He didn't really feel the cold, he picked up his robe but didn't put it on and his Moonblade which he attached to his back, wanting to remain naked at the moment to feel the moon fully on him and 'ghosted' out of the window, so he could get closer to the moonlight, letting it bathe and heal him.
He dropped catlike onto Mendis and Meriel's roof of their room as he could sense that they were both fast asleep in each other's arms, soft voices came from both Dinan's and Darkstar's rooms, through the open window (the Drow twins also loved the moonlight).
He paused outside the open window still 'ghosted', he picked up what was going on and smiled slightly and shook his head and rolled his eyes, then as silently as a cat he climbed up onto Mendis and Meriel's roof as it was the one most bathed in moonlight at the moment and chuckling he noticed that Mendis's telescope was still set up.
he peered through it and saw that it was aimed of course at the Moon, the sky was clear and beautiful, he then lay down his robe on the roof and lay on it, totally naked and let Toril's moon bathe his naked body with it rays totally, sighed deeply in pleasure and joy as he let the light of the moon, shine on him.
"Sehanine Moonbow," he said softly "thank you for bringing me home".
He then sat up and crossed his legs and closed his eyes and settled into reverie under the light of the moon for a bit, after a while, he got up and his form blurred.
A silvery-grey bat flew off the roof heading towards the moonlight silhouetted, then blurred again into a white Barn owl flying past the moon. Then there was a flash of silvery scales, and the next moment there was a Psionet, glinting silver in the moonlight flew into the night seeking prey (Narache was hungry but not for blood).
Callina looked up from where she and Darkstar had gone to bed, in each other's arms, when she heard the sound of wings and saw a shadow cross the moon and saw a small dragon, fly past it.
"What?" asked Darkstar, feeling her move in his arms, they had been hugging and kissing and laying together enjoying each others company.
"I thought I saw a small dragon," she said.
"Probably Caladan, he likes to hunt of a night," Darkstar said his eyes glinting amber in the moonlight.
"Probably," she said.
Darkstar kissed her and said, " are you sure about this and that you want to try this?"
She nodded "yes, do you realise how long it has been I have wanted you to do this!"
"Hope I'm not too clumsy then," he said, " I'm not inexperienced but I also not as experienced in such matters as Dinan is".
Callina said "I don't care! "
"It's just that your still um a...," he said.
"I don't care! I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't want you to try it, I want you to do this!.... I want you to be the one!" she said, she looked very beautiful and ethereal in the moonlight and she admired his form limmed by the moonlight, she almost looked like Eilistraee, Darkstar decided and he kissed her, his hands with their small claws entangled in her long white hair, he retracted them somewhat.
"Very well," he said kissing her and then nibbling on her neck with his small blunt fangs (he and Dinan both had them, which gave credence to their theory that they were half Talafrayen as Talafrayen Drow had small fangs as well, they weren't real fangs though just slightly pointier than usual incisors and were definitely not vampiric).
She took him into her arms and ran her hands down his back along his mane, making him quiver in pleasure.
"I know you like this!" she said.
"It came in at Aschalextan," he said, " but very well then,".
"It's Ok," she said, " I want you too".
"Ok," he said somewhat reluctantly, feeling a little scared himself.
"Yes!" she said showing acceptance.
"About bloody time Drizzt!", Dinan said with a chuckle as the twin bond he shared with Darkstar made him sense the moment, then chuckling, slammed up his shields and holding Liarna down, slightly underneath him, kissing her enjoying how playfully 'Dragongirl' she had gone.
"They did ?" Liarna asked
"Yep," said Dinan "I wonder if he is even aware of the fact that I sensed it right along with her and him, kind of strong. I know our twin bond is strong, it always has been...but geez!" he kissed her most of him inside of her " and as for you my little gold dragon mix, I love it when you go all Dragongirl on me!" as they rolled happily around on the bed, her small wings fanning them both, growling happily (her) as her dragon blood showed through and happily nipped him.
Suddenly Dinin heard a clear voice in his mind ** Do you mind? Dinan?**
**Oops! ** Dinan said telepathically recognising his twin and that his shields had slipped.
**Shield!** Darkstar said ** could I please have some privacy please, I'm nervous enough as it is, and I will do the same for you **
**Done! ** said Dinan slamming his shields up again, and felt his twin do the same, and decided that they both seriously needed some more training from either Varharland, Skyla or Mendis to control their own blossoming Psionic powers!
And that was how Mendis and Meriel found Narache the next morning, curled up naked, and asleep on the roof of their suite, lying on his robe, with his magical blade next to him and with a hand resting on it.
The pale, thin, feral, skeletal look he had for weeks was gone and he looked like himself again, he was faintly splattered with blood and the tattoo he had on his forehead was glinting in the sunrise as well as all his other intricate and beautiful tattoos, Mendis had never even realised he had!
His skin, though pale was the normal healthy pale of a full blood Moon Elf and it had a healthy sheen.
The blue highlights were once again apparent (they had basically vanished in the Demi-plane).
They both admired the intricate and beautiful tattoos on his back and shoulders and down one arm, the images were stars, moons, and animals and birds and there was a dragon on his shoulder blade.
He clearly was not in reverie, but in a deep, healthy sleep, he was breathing softly and deeply and looked well-fed and restored.
"I didn't realise he had so many tattoos!" Mendis remarked "or that they were so beautiful!" it had been quite a surprise to find a naked, sleeping Narache on the roof of their room.
"some of those are new" Meri said, "I've treated him for wounds and I have never seen some of those... they're beautiful though".
"Magical too," said Mendis, "I think they're more like sigils".
"Should he be this exposed to the sun, though?" Meri asked concerned.
Mendis chuckled " if he hasn't burst into flame yet I doubt he will, and it's not the only time we have caught him napping, unprotected, in the sun, but we should wake him though. He is sensitive to the sun, much like the Drow are and will get sunburnt otherwise. It's Nightal I know but he is like the Drow, he does tend to get burnt easier than the rest of us".
Mendis's own skin had gone back to its naturally fair colouration as well, due to it been winter and been stuck on the Demi-plane of Dread for months so the blue tints of his own skin were also visible at the moment, he got almost as tanned as any of the Halflings during the warmer months but in the cooler months his complexion was naturally fair and due to that it was currently more apparent that he was Half Moon Elf.
"You can tell that your Half Moon Elf at the moment," Meri remarked to Mendis.
Mendis picked up his telescope and said: "I know".
Meri went to Narache " Narache" she said softly to him and touched him, the reaction was instant, Narache's eyes flew open and he hissed and a hint of his fangs showed briefly but after a moment he recognised it as Meri.
"Sorry," he said sitting up " err automatic reaction" he picked up the Moonblade he always needed to carry it with him or keep it close because like all Moonfighters he got weakened if separated from it.
He said If too long separated from it he went into a blood frenzy, seeing it was bonded to him and sentient he had had to keep it with him, it was one of the setbacks of been a Moonblade wielder, but one they took eagerly.
"You Ok?" asked Mendis.
Narache nodded " I came out to Moon bathe, I'm a Moon Elf, we find the full Moon soothing and healing and it doesn't burn".
Mendis nodded in understanding " you are not the only one who finds the light of the full Moon soothing and healing...I did it too for a while...Half -Moon Elf remember? It is one of the reasons I chose this room because I knew that the moon would fill it last night, you are not the only one who finds the light of the full moon soothing and healing. Admittingly I probably do not feel it as strongly as you but I too am a Child of the Moon. I'm Half Moon Elf remember? I find the rays healing too".
"Didn't think you felt that?" said Narache.
Mendis said, " not as much as you would granted but yes the Moons rays soothe me too, while on the Demi-plane ...well I felt it as well".
"You're more elven than you care to admit" sad Narache.
Mendis shrugged "perhaps" he stood up " believe me I have always felt a connection to the stars and the moon".
Narache said, " don't be afraid of your elven side Mendis it is a strong part of what defines who you are".
Mendis said " the moon and the stars have always called to me. Maybe it is because I am Half Talafrayen I don't know but I also find the rays of the moon soothing and healing but not as strong as you would" he indicated him "you seem to have gotten more tattoos though" as he noticed that there were some more that were well hidden under his hair.
Narache nodded "I know...I don't know where I get them or how...they just appear".
"Maybe it is something to do with the type of Vampire that you are," said Mendis " and you look well-fed and healthy at the moment and well...alive! You were looking rather thin and haggard".
Narache chuckled " the demi-plane was slowly destroying me...I needed to come home. I needed to feed all the time and could feel myself been absorbed by the darkness. I was hungry all the time there! But now, coming home I am now all healed up. I'm more well-fed and healthier than I have been for months! I feel like myself again!"
Mendis said " think we all do" as he stored his telescope away "I'm going to go get dressed and have breakfast" as Narache suddenly noticed that he was still naked under his robe, as was Meri under hers.
"Ok," said Narache as the two Halflings disappeared back inside their window.
Narache looked down at himself as he suddenly realised he was still stark naked himself holding a Moonblade and had some blood splattered over him from hunting last night had he had gotten some extra tattoos on his arm, he had forgotten that he was naked! " embarrassing" he muttered, pulling on his robe and then 'ghosting' back into his own room.
Varharland and Skyla were still fast asleep, half uncovered, they had probably fallen asleep whilst making love.
He went into the bathroom and started to fill the bath up, it was set into the floor, and as he watched it fill he thought about the dragon shape he had managed, he had managed a Psionet, maybe he should work on that more, but that hadn't been so bad.
"You've changed me forever Varharland," he said softly, the effect of your blood it is permanent on me, my silver-winged and beautiful friend, yet you are so much more than just a Silver Dragon, I always see stars and galaxies and feel a sense of wonder when I feed off you when we are
He sighed, would he ever find his own love? Someone, he could wholly be himself with?
Would someone care enough and not mind the fact that he was a vampire? An image of Athenai came to his mind, she loved him, she always had,
But would she accept him for what and who he was? He often allowed himself the fantasy of having Athenai in his arms, to love her, to kiss her, he often imagined her willing to do so, but no, she would turn away from him if she knew what he was, but he had to admit he sometimes found it torture to be near her, he would hear her heart beating and he knew he loved her, regardless of what she thought, but would it really hurt to try?
Was it even possible for a human Cleric of Lathander and a 500-year-old Moon Elven vampire to be in love?
He sighed, affairs of the heart had always been complicated, especially when it came to humans and elves, but it happened a lot more than people realised, humans and elves often fell in love with one another and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but both races had always found one another attractive.
The amount of Half-Elves alone on the Realms certainly proved that and many of them were half Moon Elf!
Besides, he sighed if there was anyone he would consider Turning it would definitely be Athenai... Was there a way he could make her, his forever? Or was he forever cursed like Strahd? Alone forever, to never be able to have the one he most wanted? He and Strahd were more alike than he wanted to admit.
He finished running the bath and put some of Meri's stuff in it, the room was costly but the bath alone made it worth it!
He looked at him "Narache about last night... I won't say no...if you ever want to do that again, but we had all been through a lot. And we all needed to heal" he sighed and then continued " finish your bath and when you are ready to meet me downstairs. We need to go talk to Josalyn's parents and I need to finish my letter to Storm...and Jondalar's parents as well, they live in Waterdeep, this is your first mission as a fully-fledged Harper...but I really need you and your support right now, I can't do it alone otherwise...it still hurts too much and we have to do so" now that they both could see him in the light of morning, they noticed that some of the silver scales that he had seen last night were still visible, just a hint but still there, and he seemed tired and sad.
Narache wondered at that but let it past "Ok".
Varharland sighed " this is going to be so hard, I still feel that I failed them both " he sighed and rubbed his eyes " and I am going to need some support on this from everyone... but especially you both" and Skyla stood up and hugged him and he included Narache in the embrace and then he turned and walked out of the bathroom and they both noticed that he had a line of silver scales down his back.
Skyla said, "poor Var, this is really had on him, he's really stressed out you can tell...it is going to take a while for him to get over this".
"His scales?" said Narache.
Skyla nodded " he's stressed out and upset, that is how he shows it".
Var sitting at his desk, still naked, letting the sun bathe him, shook his head, looked at his letter to Storm and sighed.
He looked at his letter to Storm which just currently said "Dear Storm" in his lefthanded script (he was lefthanded oddly enough) he sighed and chewed on the end of his pen trying to decide what to write.
"We all fell under the spell of the Moon last night! It seems and the sheer relief from finally been home".
He had almost thrown off the constraint of his elven form briefly and had thought about joining Narache in a night flight, flying on silvery wings and maybe he would still do that tonight.
He had been too tired though last night, his grief to new, he preferred his human form admittingly and had done so for more years than he could count....but sometimes...especially lately, he felt the urge to fly...to hunt...and quite frankly he had probably denied himself to long.
He too had not come back from the demi-plane unchanged, it was the one thing that it had taught him again...was that he was a Dragon after all! Skyla came out and put her arms around him clearly in a playful mood and started to kiss him " "care to share a bath with me Varharland?" she asked.
Varharland chuckled "Mmm" he regarded the letter and shook his head "probably not....."
"Oh, go on!" she said, "forget that stupid letter for a bit!"
He sighed and said, "I should get this letter done...it is my duty as a Master Harper, it's just so hard though!"
Skyla said " forget it for a moment then, Var, you are stressed out! Even I can tell that as your scales are showing!"
"I guess," said Var with a sigh looking at himself " although I suspect there is something more here... But I admit the one thing the Demi-plane showed me is that I'm a Silver Dragon and I've denied myself to long so expect a few more night flights from now on from me. I know you like it when I do that seeing you can't fly..".
Skyla grinned "it makes me happy!"
"I know it does," he said " trouble is we're never going to be actually able to mate like that...you and I, closest we can come to in that is in Dragonborn form or our human forms," he said, " if you can live with that, so can I".
Skyla nodded " yes I can live with that" and kissed him.
"Ok," he said, getting up, Skyla noticed that he was still naked, he looked down at himself "I was sitting in the sun and letting it bathe me, but I really should get this letter done," he said sighing and leaning back as he let Skyla give him a hug.
A while later, washed, dressed and sated and satisfied he came back out and noticed that Skyla had sent some breakfast up for him and that he was alone in the suite, Var frowned at his scales that was still visible on some of his body, due to probably mostly the emotional roller-coaster he had been on lately, but he suspected that maybe they were also reacting to something else, but he hoped it would settle down soon, he picked up his letter and suddenly he knew what to write and although his tears ran freely he picked up his pen and started to write " Dear Storm, it is with a heavy heart and soul that I write this missive to you....."