[ Astarion never does discover what Gale's tainted blood tastes like. Tav calls them back down for a discussion about the crèche, before they end their day; and Astarion retreats to his tent with rat and stolen wine on his tongue, Gale's offer effectively aborted, for now.
They don't speak of it, and whatever strange moment they'd shared on the roof feels years away by the time they venture underground. Food certainly isn't better, there, but it does exist. Duergar taste earthy - a little fungal, even, darkly funny given the myconid conflict they're asked to step into - and they aren't Astarion's favorite vintage, but beggars can't be choosers.
It was only a matter of time before Tav clocked Gale and Astarion's petty rivalry, and she begins to separate them on missions like they're children. Shadowheart and Karlach are the favored party, with the rest of them shuffled into rotation as needed. Being sidelined doesn't really rankle Astarion, at this juncture; he's not invested in risking his neck for everyone else, so if Tav wants to put the girls on the frontline, all the better for him.
But he can tell it eats at Gale, the way he broods by the fire at camp and perks up like a puppy every time Tav picks him for their mission-of-the-day. And even if Astarion doesn't want to get blown up or body-slammed by bulettes, it is irritating when Gale is determined more useful - and there are more bizarre arcane artifacts in the Underdark than mundane locks to pick.
One evening after dinner, Tav sits down with Gale and a map and they gesture excitedly together about some abandoned arcane tower down here. After they finish this business with the myconid colony, she promises, she's going to bring Gale along to see what's what.
Gale's good mood is annoying enough that Astarion sneaks a peek at the map and, around the lunch hour the next day - when most of them are reading or dozing or kicking the shit out of an illithid punching bag, in Lae'zel's case - Astarion feigns leaving camp for a nibble, and wanders in the direction of the tower. Just to get a look, maybe secure some invaluable intel that will make Tav realize she should bring him along rather than Gale.
The path there is absolutely riddled with fucking mushrooms. Astarion doesn't know what half of them are, but he watches a lizard creep too close to one and promptly explode, setting off three others near by. So he's treading carefully. Sneaking. Which means he's acutely aware that someone else is sneaking behind him.
Has been following him since he left camp, actually. Astarion can't imagine Gale wants to offer his neck today - hasn't let himself imagine it since that evening on the monastery roof, so as not to feel anything resembling disappointment or gods forbid yearning in relation to Gale - and so he is likely just here to chide him for being naughty. Or off his competition for slot number three in Tav's favor.
Astarion doesn't turn around yet, just calls back behind him all sing-song, ]
Are you keeping notes on my whereabouts for teacher? [ He does turn, then, spotting Gale not far behind, after having to drop from a ledge to catch up. Astarion twirls one of his daggers in hand, facing Gale and taking a few meandering steps backward. He's aware of the mushrooms around him, and doesn't intend to back into one, but it's fun to make the wizard sweat. ] Should I ask you for a permission slip next time I leave camp?
[ Nothing happens atop the roof, despite how Astarion’s fangs had peaked out from his parted lips — how he professed curiosity with hooded eyes. An image that recurs as he tucks into his bedroll for the night (and several knights after that). Foolish, human instincts, the fondness of prey towards predator that allows the cycle of life to roll onward. Memories softened by the red wine blurring their edges. Nevermind that Astarion was closer to him than anyone has been since, well — their bout in the river — and before that —
As such, there’s nothing to speak of. That’s what Gale tells himself when Astarion doesn’t so much as glance his way the following morning, or the evening after that, only deigning to pay attention to him when he’s done something suitably irritating in battle or blown their cover with a creak of his knees. The latter issue persists now, as Gale jumps from the ledge he’d lingered on to the ground below, steadying himself with outstretched arms. Best not to waste a misty step needlessly, but oof.
He hadn’t intended to follow Astarion, not really. He hadn’t even intended to watch him tidy his camp earlier, rearranging his magpie’s hoard. In his studiousness, Gale had seen him pocket a piece of parchment without knowing what, exactly, his slender hands pilfered, and if he wanted to embarrass their wretched little thief in front of Tav, he need only exclaim as much. Instead, he finds himself trotting along after their intractable rogue, following the very path he’d charted earlier, so that even when Astarion dips out of sight, Gale catches up with him. His clever mind has already begun working up a theory to explain this excursion, when Astarion interrupts his thoughts by calling out.
Shit, he thinks, having the decency to look chagrined even as he counters, ]
Should I be? [ Keeping notes, reporting to Tav. Hadn’t Astarion done the same? Once, when they watched the monastery sun dip low. ]
Why, you seem rather eager for me to accuse you, Astarion. [ wagging a finger, ] A guilty conscience, perhaps.
I don't know what you're talking about. I've never been guilty of anything in my life.
[ Astarion is making a little game of weaving backward through the mushrooms without watching his steps, just to prove he can. Or maybe because Gale is so fun to bait, and Astarion hasn't had the opportunity in a while.
There's a steep drop to Astarion's left, and it narrows their walking path as the mushroom clusters grow closer together. He doesn't slow his steps; Gale will keep up, or he won't. ]
Why are you following me, Gale? Don't you have a book to read?
[ Astarion’s feigned innocence irks him more than he’d care to admit — though it shows in his face, regardless, jaw set in irritation. His gaze follows Astarion, dipping down to his light-footed tricks. Naturally, Gale is slower, and he misty steps out of a particularly close encounter with the fungi, ugh. ]
— Is that all you imagine I get up to? [ hard to tell whether he’s aware of the innuendo of that ask, as he narrowly sidesteps a pulsing mushroom, glancing over his shoulder at the cloud of spores wafting across the abyss. ]
Why does my presence worry you so, when any travelling companion worth his salt wouldn’t allow you travel the Underdark alone?
[ There it is, the pop of a vein in Gale's temple that Astarion was looking for. He smirks, slowing his steps slightly, so Gale can catch up. ]
Oh, not all. [ Astarion didn't miss the innuendo, and it so happens that the cluster of mushrooms they're strolling past look particularly phallic. Not hard for a mushroom, but still. They're not the ones that have been combusting, so Astarion takes the risk of dragging the point of his dagger along one's thick pink cap, setting a cloud of shimmering spores into the air. Breezily, ] You did show me some of your other proclivities, though I never hear much in that vein from your tent.
And you did almost drown me, not long ago. [ Never mind the fact that Astarion doesn't need to breathe the same way the living do, but there's still a limit to how much water his lungs can hold. ] I can't be too careful.
[ Not all, he says, and Gale flushes, blood-warmed rouge visible even in the bioluminescent glow. He knows, of course, all Astarion saw through their mental link (the feeling of too much, too full that had him arching his back in turn, riverwater running rivulets down his flat stomach). An ache born of — devotion, if not trust, never meant for Astarion’s crimson perception.
(And not something Gale has had any desire to indulge in alone, either. The few times he’s dared touch himself, he’s thought of sharp teeth and goading words, rough but sure hands, not the unreal submission of before.) ] ]
It was you who — [ He watches Astarion slit the mycelium, mouth suddenly dry. ] That is to say, I hardly — [ His eyes widen, mouth falling open. Something visibly clicks, whether that’s the nature of the mushroom the rogue toys with or the flora behind him. ] Astarion, wait!
cant believe i dont have a good icon for falling down a mushroom hole
[ Astarion doesn't get the chance to parry Gale's stammering. By the time he's sheathed his dagger, there's a rumble beneath their feet, the ground suddenly unstable.
They'd wandered right into a mushroom circle, and Astarion's harmless little slice triggered a reaction, the mushrooms starting to burst. He registers it only as the earth opens beneath them, and he and Gale fall through.
Thankfully, it's not a long way down. Astarion's back hits something surprisingly soft, and he coughs through a cloud of shimmering spores and rock dust as he attempts to roll to his side, only to register that Gale is on top of him and the space they've landed in is relatively narrow. Filled with more of those mushrooms to cushion their fall, and they glow a soft purple in slow pulses to light the dark hole they're now stuck in.
Astarion doesn't think he hit his head, but he feels dizzy, slightly disoriented. The spores taste strange, sweet and sticky in the back of his throat as he coughs again, pushing at Gale's shoulder. ]
[ Before Gale can think through what he intends to accomplish, he misty steps again, teleporting from his place feet from Astarion to snag his arm on a futile effort to shield him from what they’ve surely unleashed. Ultimately, he likely does more harm than good, legs now bracketing Astarion’s thighs, one hand splayed over a jagged rock beside them while the other still clings to his arm. Not quick enough to reverse their roles, he realises with a pang, worry hitting the back of his teeth, about to slip free —
When Astarion shoves him, and he squawks, undignified. ]
— your concern is too kind. [ throat made scratchy by the thick air, irritation obvious. He hacks in turn and shifts his hand from the rock to Astarion’s hip, hissing as the light armour scrapes against his palm. ]
[ Another mushroom bursts to his left, shimmering dust settling in his hair. He tries and fails to sit back — the abruptness of the effort calling him forward in a sudden burst of vertigo, head bent into Astarion’s shoulder. ]
Shit.
[ Spoken chiefly because he catches a glimpse of his sliced open palm between them, still not quite registering the extent of the trouble they’ve courted with their shared idiocy. ]
[ Because if Astarion can pin the fault of landing them in further danger on someone else, he will. Even if he plainly started it.
It's either suffocatingly hot down here or Gale is suffocatingly hot on top of him. Astarion always runs cold, but it feels like they've plunged into a sauna, hip-to-hip in the dark with Gale's breath against his throat. His nostrils flare as he moves to shove him again, but as they do Astarion catches the scent of blood, fresh and close.
Gale's. Dark and wet in his palm, lit with an odd pink glow by the spores. ]
Oh. [ A low exhale, all Astarion manages as his fangs suddenly itch against his tongue, hand moving to rest on Gale's hip instead of pushing him away. ]
[ Astarion jostles him, and Gale’s breath hitches with the movement. Heat blossoming between them, radiating outward from his palm, up his arm, through to the mark of orb, which pangs in answer. He feels both acutely aware of every limb and as if moving them would take significant effort, veins alighting with a similar burn to the orb’s fire. His processing slows, the lack of a follow up push only registering when Astarion’s fingers press into his hip. That feels — better, somehow. Sweltering heat turning to something brighter, sharper, more tangible.
He turns his head, nosing into Astarion’s throat. Breathing deep, as if that’ll slow his ratcheting pulse. ]
Astarion. [ A low rumble, thoughts returning to the initial spark of recognition, when he first saw the mycelium glow. He curls his fingers into his palm in an attempt to ground himself, tips coming away red. Even heady with proximity, he clucks his tongue in exasperation. ] I was trying to warn you.
You didn't quite manage, did you? [ There's less of a bite to it, more of a rumble into Gale's hair now that he's distracted by the smell of blood, the quickened thump of his pulse.
The last time they were this close was back in the river, Gale holding him under. The slip of pleasure shared between their connection, Gale's real, for his goddess, Astarion's performed.
Astarion keeps his hand at Gale's hip but slips the other to his wrist, a loose hold, thumb resting on his pulse point and feeling the slickness of blood beneath. ]
You're bleeding. [ Astute. And undeniable that there's no real concern, there: just a quiet undercurrent of hunger. ]
[ He looses a huff of air, half-lost in Astarion’s shoulder. The acknowledgment of his inadequacy, however passive, smarts. Shame heats his cheeks.
Reluctantly, he tips back, attention fixed on their linked hands, the sweep of Astarion’s thumb over his thudding pulse — the trickle of blood that skids around his wrist. ]
Oh, am I? [ aiming for dry and landing somewhere breathless, ugh. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Astarion was eyeing up his wound like a choice cut, but he reminds himself of the inherent rot in his veins. Besides, he already offered Astarion his blood, in a particularly low moment. He needn’t embarrass himself further. ]
I don’t suppose you’ve a health potion on your person. [ His free hand slides over Astarion’s chest, ostensibly searching for the give of a pocket in his armour. And swiftly getting sidetracked by the thought of slipping under his layers and feeling his cool skin. ] I fear those mushrooms were… of a lascivious kind.
[ Astarion is only half-listening. He's not typically this distracted by a flesh wound - Gale has bled around him plenty, after all - but it's been a while since he's had the chance to savor a meal. ]
I'm afraid I'm all out. [ A lie. There's a small bottle tucked in his belt, but Gale's hands are searching elsewhere. Astarion doesn't even catch the word lascivious as Gale palms him through his leather. ]
But I can clean up some of your mess. [ There's such a strange note to the smell of Gale's blood - sour but sweet, wrong for a human. Astarion had focused on the scent of it beneath his skin, that evening on the monastery roof, but now it's brought to surface and Astarion's curiosity (and hunger) is getting the best of him.
He bends his head slightly and brings Gale's hand to his mouth, just a sweep of his lips over bloody knuckles. Barely a touch, barely a taste. He flicks his gaze to Gale's face, eyes dark as he gauges his reaction. ]
[ His stomach flips, and his face flushes, tinged darker in the purple-pink glow of their surroundings. Irritation twists his mouth. Are you even listening to me? caught in his throat, stoppered by the way Astarion’s moonspun curls fall in his face, head bent almost reverently over Gale’s reddened knuckles. Oh.
He shifts on Astarion’s lap, not pulling away but seeking purchase, free hand sliding to tug his collar between his thumb and forefinger. The leather pulls taut, biding seconds that feel like aching minutes, as he looks from Astarion’s rubied eyes to his lips, unable to fathom that they were on his burning skin moments before.
Gale dips his nails in the open wound on his palm again, wincing slightly — though he doesn’t drop his gaze, watchful as he unfolds his hand, pressing a red fingerprint at the corner of Astarion’s mouth, then brushing the bow of his lips. ]
Don’t be cruel. [ By denying him healing — no, by offering and then not seeing it through, leaving him bereft as he was on the mountaintop. Or perhaps even by sinking fangs into his smarting injury. ]
[ Don't be cruel, Gale says, as if Astarion has ever been anything else. Shades of cruelty are all he knows.
And now Gale is teasing, smearing blood over Astarion's lips. His nostrils flare again at the scent, and before Gale can protest Astarion slides his tongue over the pad of Gale's thumb, lashes fluttering low as the taste of him blooms in Astarion's mouth, copper and acid and something sticky-sweet - the spores, still thick in the air around them.
Astarion has played seducer and charlatan longer than Gale's been alive, but there's part of him that isn't just playing, here in the warm dark. The hand at Gale's hip grips a little harder as he pulls Gale's thumb into his mouth, careful of his teeth for now, sucking the blood from it before pulling off. ]
[ Another hissed breath, as Astarion laps at his thumb. Not disgusted, then, or repulsed by the acrid taste of the rot inside him, if his drooping eyes and eager tongue are any indication. Relief floods him. Heat pools in his gut. He feels so unbelievably hot, even with Astarion’s cool lips on his fingers.
And he thinks about — droppinh his hand to his lap, parting his rucked up robes to find relief — absolutely not. Inappropriate. Unwelcome, to be sure, even with Astarion’s parted lips seemingly begging for more. Gale leans forward, pupils blown out. Driven by desire, not intelligence, when he slicks two fingers, pushing them into the plush on Astarion’s mouth. A light press against his tongue. A stray touch at the tip of one fang. ]
[ voice rough, ] How is it? [ The touch. His ichorous blood. He doesn’t know. ]
[ Astarion knows the steps to this dance so well, he doesn't miss a beat - just closes his fingers around Gale's wrist, then closes his eyes, drawing fore and middle finger further into his mouth.
Gale had shocked him in the river, electric current cutting bone-deep, and the taste of him holds some of that spark. The rot Gale has spoken of threads the aftertaste, but Astarion is a dead thing. There's rot within him too.
Astarion's fangs bracket both fingers, and he scrapes the point along them just enough to sting as he flattens his tongue and hollows his cheeks, creating suction, drawing them in nearly to the first knuckle.
He swallows, larynx bobbing as Gale's blood warms his throat, then slides his fingers from his mouth, slick with saliva and blood. ]
Hmm. [ Astarion looks up at Gale through his lashes again, pupils as dark as Gale's as he noses against his palm, nipping at the meat just below the first knuckle. Not yet delving into the wound itself. His voice rasps, ] Thinking of the sort of magic you could do with your fingers on my tongue.
[ Gale's dextrous hands, always flicking sigils into the air. The wound drips blood onto Astarion's armor, and Astarion suddenly wishes he could feel it on his skin, hips shifting beneath Gale's. ]
[ As Astarion takes his fingers, Gale chokes. His dusty flush becomes something of a permanent stain, mouth open and eyes transfixed. Of course he doesn’t answer Gale’s sincere question, but if it were truly so foul, he supposes Astarion wouldn’t be licking his fingers clean. ]
Astarion — [ emphasis in all the wrong places, hips hitching into the nothing, the barest friction of his robes. Good, when rutting into Astarion’s stomach would be shameful (he reminds himself of this thrice over, in the hopes his cock won’t twitch in interest). His hand stutters to Astarion’s shoulder, trying to steady himself. ]
Gods, what a line. [ A strangled sound, in the wake of Astarion’s hollowing cheeks, made more depraved by his hard angles. He wants to mock Astarion for his sloppy seductions, recycled lines from his attempt at wooing Tav and countless others before her, to be sure, but he can’t stop thinking about his fingers in Astarion’s mouth, playing his body like a lyre — ]
You — your mouth is more wicked than any I’ve known. [ He slides his free hand to the vee in Astarion’s leather armour, plucking at the clasp, suddenly possessed by the thought of more skin-on-skin and the relief it might promise. ] But I could think of better uses for my clever hands than holding your devilish tongue.
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corporeity) wrote2023-12-15 07:38 pm
no subject
They don't speak of it, and whatever strange moment they'd shared on the roof feels years away by the time they venture underground. Food certainly isn't better, there, but it does exist. Duergar taste earthy - a little fungal, even, darkly funny given the myconid conflict they're asked to step into - and they aren't Astarion's favorite vintage, but beggars can't be choosers.
It was only a matter of time before Tav clocked Gale and Astarion's petty rivalry, and she begins to separate them on missions like they're children. Shadowheart and Karlach are the favored party, with the rest of them shuffled into rotation as needed. Being sidelined doesn't really rankle Astarion, at this juncture; he's not invested in risking his neck for everyone else, so if Tav wants to put the girls on the frontline, all the better for him.
But he can tell it eats at Gale, the way he broods by the fire at camp and perks up like a puppy every time Tav picks him for their mission-of-the-day. And even if Astarion doesn't want to get blown up or body-slammed by bulettes, it is irritating when Gale is determined more useful - and there are more bizarre arcane artifacts in the Underdark than mundane locks to pick.
One evening after dinner, Tav sits down with Gale and a map and they gesture excitedly together about some abandoned arcane tower down here. After they finish this business with the myconid colony, she promises, she's going to bring Gale along to see what's what.
Gale's good mood is annoying enough that Astarion sneaks a peek at the map and, around the lunch hour the next day - when most of them are reading or dozing or kicking the shit out of an illithid punching bag, in Lae'zel's case - Astarion feigns leaving camp for a nibble, and wanders in the direction of the tower. Just to get a look, maybe secure some invaluable intel that will make Tav realize she should bring him along rather than Gale.
The path there is absolutely riddled with fucking mushrooms. Astarion doesn't know what half of them are, but he watches a lizard creep too close to one and promptly explode, setting off three others near by. So he's treading carefully. Sneaking. Which means he's acutely aware that someone else is sneaking behind him.
Has been following him since he left camp, actually. Astarion can't imagine Gale wants to offer his neck today - hasn't let himself imagine it since that evening on the monastery roof, so as not to feel anything resembling disappointment or gods forbid yearning in relation to Gale - and so he is likely just here to chide him for being naughty. Or off his competition for slot number three in Tav's favor.
Astarion doesn't turn around yet, just calls back behind him all sing-song, ]
Are you keeping notes on my whereabouts for teacher? [ He does turn, then, spotting Gale not far behind, after having to drop from a ledge to catch up. Astarion twirls one of his daggers in hand, facing Gale and taking a few meandering steps backward. He's aware of the mushrooms around him, and doesn't intend to back into one, but it's fun to make the wizard sweat. ] Should I ask you for a permission slip next time I leave camp?
no subject
As such, there’s nothing to speak of. That’s what Gale tells himself when Astarion doesn’t so much as glance his way the following morning, or the evening after that, only deigning to pay attention to him when he’s done something suitably irritating in battle or blown their cover with a creak of his knees. The latter issue persists now, as Gale jumps from the ledge he’d lingered on to the ground below, steadying himself with outstretched arms. Best not to waste a misty step needlessly, but oof.
He hadn’t intended to follow Astarion, not really. He hadn’t even intended to watch him tidy his camp earlier, rearranging his magpie’s hoard. In his studiousness, Gale had seen him pocket a piece of parchment without knowing what, exactly, his slender hands pilfered, and if he wanted to embarrass their wretched little thief in front of Tav, he need only exclaim as much. Instead, he finds himself trotting along after their intractable rogue, following the very path he’d charted earlier, so that even when Astarion dips out of sight, Gale catches up with him. His clever mind has already begun working up a theory to explain this excursion, when Astarion interrupts his thoughts by calling
out.
Shit, he thinks, having the decency to look chagrined even as he counters, ]
Should I be? [ Keeping notes, reporting to Tav. Hadn’t Astarion done the same? Once, when they watched the monastery sun dip low. ]
Why, you seem rather eager for me to accuse you, Astarion. [ wagging a finger, ] A guilty conscience, perhaps.
no subject
[ Astarion is making a little game of weaving backward through the mushrooms without watching his steps, just to prove he can. Or maybe because Gale is so fun to bait, and Astarion hasn't had the opportunity in a while.
There's a steep drop to Astarion's left, and it narrows their walking path as the mushroom clusters grow closer together. He doesn't slow his steps; Gale will keep up, or he won't. ]
Why are you following me, Gale? Don't you have a book to read?
no subject
— Is that all you imagine I get up to? [ hard to tell whether he’s aware of the innuendo of that ask, as he narrowly sidesteps a pulsing mushroom, glancing over his shoulder at the cloud of spores wafting across the abyss. ]
Why does my presence worry you so, when any travelling companion worth his salt wouldn’t allow you travel the Underdark alone?
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Oh, not all. [ Astarion didn't miss the innuendo, and it so happens that the cluster of mushrooms they're strolling past look particularly phallic. Not hard for a mushroom, but still. They're not the ones that have been combusting, so Astarion takes the risk of dragging the point of his dagger along one's thick pink cap, setting a cloud of shimmering spores into the air. Breezily, ] You did show me some of your other proclivities, though I never hear much in that vein from your tent.
And you did almost drown me, not long ago. [ Never mind the fact that Astarion doesn't need to breathe the same way the living do, but there's still a limit to how much water his lungs can hold. ] I can't be too careful.
no subject
(And not something Gale has had any desire to indulge in alone, either. The few times he’s dared touch himself, he’s thought of sharp teeth and goading words, rough but sure hands, not the unreal submission of before.) ] ]
It was you who — [ He watches Astarion slit the mycelium, mouth suddenly dry. ] That is to say, I hardly — [ His eyes widen, mouth falling open. Something visibly clicks, whether that’s the nature of the mushroom the rogue toys with or the flora behind him. ] Astarion, wait!
cant believe i dont have a good icon for falling down a mushroom hole
They'd wandered right into a mushroom circle, and Astarion's harmless little slice triggered a reaction, the mushrooms starting to burst. He registers it only as the earth opens beneath them, and he and Gale fall through.
Thankfully, it's not a long way down. Astarion's back hits something surprisingly soft, and he coughs through a cloud of shimmering spores and rock dust as he attempts to roll to his side, only to register that Gale is on top of him and the space they've landed in is relatively narrow. Filled with more of those mushrooms to cushion their fall, and they glow a soft purple in slow pulses to light the dark hole they're now stuck in.
Astarion doesn't think he hit his head, but he feels dizzy, slightly disoriented. The spores taste strange, sweet and sticky in the back of his throat as he coughs again, pushing at Gale's shoulder. ]
Ugh, get off -
HUGE OVERSIGHT
When Astarion shoves him, and he squawks, undignified. ]
— your concern is too kind. [ throat made scratchy by the thick air, irritation obvious. He hacks in turn and shifts his hand from the rock to Astarion’s hip, hissing as the light armour scrapes against his palm. ]
[ Another mushroom bursts to his left, shimmering dust settling in his hair. He tries and fails to sit back — the abruptness of the effort calling him forward in a sudden burst of vertigo, head bent into Astarion’s shoulder. ]
Shit.
[ Spoken chiefly because he catches a glimpse of his sliced open palm between them, still not quite registering the extent of the trouble they’ve courted with their shared idiocy. ]
no subject
[ Because if Astarion can pin the fault of landing them in further danger on someone else, he will. Even if he plainly started it.
It's either suffocatingly hot down here or Gale is suffocatingly hot on top of him. Astarion always runs cold, but it feels like they've plunged into a sauna, hip-to-hip in the dark with Gale's breath against his throat. His nostrils flare as he moves to shove him again, but as they do Astarion catches the scent of blood, fresh and close.
Gale's. Dark and wet in his palm, lit with an odd pink glow by the spores. ]
Oh. [ A low exhale, all Astarion manages as his fangs suddenly itch against his tongue, hand moving to rest on Gale's hip instead of pushing him away. ]
no subject
[ Astarion jostles him, and Gale’s breath hitches with the movement. Heat blossoming between them, radiating outward from his palm, up his arm, through to the mark of orb, which pangs in answer. He feels both acutely aware of every limb and as if moving them would take significant effort, veins alighting with a similar burn to the orb’s fire. His processing slows, the lack of a follow up push only registering when Astarion’s fingers press into his hip. That feels — better, somehow. Sweltering heat turning to something brighter, sharper, more tangible.
He turns his head, nosing into Astarion’s throat. Breathing deep, as if that’ll slow his ratcheting pulse. ]
Astarion. [ A low rumble, thoughts returning to the initial spark of recognition, when he first saw the mycelium glow. He curls his fingers into his palm in an attempt to ground himself, tips coming away red. Even heady with proximity, he clucks his tongue in exasperation. ] I was trying to warn you.
no subject
The last time they were this close was back in the river, Gale holding him under. The slip of pleasure shared between their connection, Gale's real, for his goddess, Astarion's performed.
Astarion keeps his hand at Gale's hip but slips the other to his wrist, a loose hold, thumb resting on his pulse point and feeling the slickness of blood beneath. ]
You're bleeding. [ Astute. And undeniable that there's no real concern, there: just a quiet undercurrent of hunger. ]
no subject
Reluctantly, he tips back, attention fixed on their linked hands, the sweep of Astarion’s thumb over his thudding pulse — the trickle of blood that skids around his wrist. ]
Oh, am I? [ aiming for dry and landing somewhere breathless, ugh. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Astarion was eyeing up his wound like a choice cut, but he reminds himself of the inherent rot in his veins. Besides, he already offered Astarion his blood, in a particularly low moment. He needn’t embarrass himself further. ]
I don’t suppose you’ve a health potion on your person. [ His free hand slides over Astarion’s chest, ostensibly searching for the give of a pocket in his armour. And swiftly getting sidetracked by the thought of slipping under his layers and feeling his cool skin. ] I fear those mushrooms were… of a lascivious kind.
no subject
I'm afraid I'm all out. [ A lie. There's a small bottle tucked in his belt, but Gale's hands are searching elsewhere. Astarion doesn't even catch the word lascivious as Gale palms him through his leather. ]
But I can clean up some of your mess. [ There's such a strange note to the smell of Gale's blood - sour but sweet, wrong for a human. Astarion had focused on the scent of it beneath his skin, that evening on the monastery roof, but now it's brought to surface and Astarion's curiosity (and hunger) is getting the best of him.
He bends his head slightly and brings Gale's hand to his mouth, just a sweep of his lips over bloody knuckles. Barely a touch, barely a taste. He flicks his gaze to Gale's face, eyes dark as he gauges his reaction. ]
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He shifts on Astarion’s lap, not pulling away but seeking purchase, free hand sliding to tug his collar between his thumb and forefinger. The leather pulls taut, biding seconds that feel like aching minutes, as he looks from Astarion’s rubied eyes to his lips, unable to fathom that they were on his burning skin moments before.
Gale dips his nails in the open wound on his palm again, wincing slightly — though he doesn’t drop his gaze, watchful as he unfolds his hand, pressing a red fingerprint at the corner of Astarion’s mouth, then brushing the bow of his lips. ]
Don’t be cruel. [ By denying him healing — no, by offering and then not seeing it through, leaving him bereft as he was on the mountaintop. Or perhaps even by sinking fangs into his smarting injury. ]
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And now Gale is teasing, smearing blood over Astarion's lips. His nostrils flare again at the scent, and before Gale can protest Astarion slides his tongue over the pad of Gale's thumb, lashes fluttering low as the taste of him blooms in Astarion's mouth, copper and acid and something sticky-sweet - the spores, still thick in the air around them.
Astarion has played seducer and charlatan longer than Gale's been alive, but there's part of him that isn't just playing, here in the warm dark. The hand at Gale's hip grips a little harder as he pulls Gale's thumb into his mouth, careful of his teeth for now, sucking the blood from it before pulling off. ]
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And he thinks about — droppinh his hand to his lap, parting his rucked up robes to find relief — absolutely not. Inappropriate. Unwelcome, to be sure, even with Astarion’s parted lips seemingly begging for more. Gale leans forward, pupils blown out. Driven by desire, not intelligence, when he slicks two fingers, pushing them into the plush on Astarion’s mouth. A light press against his tongue. A stray touch at the tip of one fang. ]
[ voice rough, ] How is it? [ The touch. His ichorous blood. He doesn’t know. ]
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Gale had shocked him in the river, electric current cutting bone-deep, and the taste of him holds some of that spark. The rot Gale has spoken of threads the aftertaste, but Astarion is a dead thing. There's rot within him too.
Astarion's fangs bracket both fingers, and he scrapes the point along them just enough to sting as he flattens his tongue and hollows his cheeks, creating suction, drawing them in nearly to the first knuckle.
He swallows, larynx bobbing as Gale's blood warms his throat, then slides his fingers from his mouth, slick with saliva and blood. ]
Hmm. [ Astarion looks up at Gale through his lashes again, pupils as dark as Gale's as he noses against his palm, nipping at the meat just below the first knuckle. Not yet delving into the wound itself. His voice rasps, ] Thinking of the sort of magic you could do with your fingers on my tongue.
[ Gale's dextrous hands, always flicking sigils into the air. The wound drips blood onto Astarion's armor, and Astarion suddenly wishes he could feel it on his skin, hips shifting beneath Gale's. ]
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Astarion — [ emphasis in all the wrong places, hips hitching into the nothing, the barest friction of his robes. Good, when rutting into Astarion’s stomach would be shameful (he reminds himself of this thrice over, in the hopes his cock won’t twitch in interest). His hand stutters to Astarion’s shoulder, trying to steady himself. ]
Gods, what a line. [ A strangled sound, in the wake of Astarion’s hollowing cheeks, made more depraved by his hard angles. He wants to mock Astarion for his sloppy seductions, recycled lines from his attempt at wooing Tav and countless others before her, to be sure, but he can’t stop thinking about his fingers in Astarion’s mouth, playing his body like a lyre — ]
You — your mouth is more wicked than any I’ve known. [ He slides his free hand to the vee in Astarion’s leather armour, plucking at the clasp, suddenly possessed by the thought of more skin-on-skin and the relief it might promise. ] But I could think of better uses for my clever hands than holding your devilish tongue.