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avocado-writing · 3 months

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BG3 companions reacting to Tav calling them mommy/daddy?

huehehehehe >:) writing as if you shout it out in the middle of sex without meaning to - minors DNI.

Astarion

Surprised but super into it? Not necessarily because he likes being called daddy but because he can see how much it turns you on.

“Oh? Do you like it when daddy slides his cock into you, darling?”

You go glassy-eyed immediately and he continues to murmur against your skin as he fucks you, aren’t you doing well for daddy? you want to cum around daddy’s cock, hmm?

You do. Harder than you have in weeks.

Afterwards you apologise that you sort of sprung that on him out of nowhere. He smiles and says it was a wonderful little secret for you to share with him.

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” “Absolutely not, darling. Now let daddy give you a kiss. 😌”

Gale

Fucking flabbergasted lmao. Stops mid-thrust

He has never considered himself a “daddy”…

When you see how baffled he is, you clamp your hands over your mouth. You are mortified.

“I am so, so sorry, Gale…” “No, no, love, it’s fine… but maybe… maybe ‘sir’? Not ‘daddy’?”

Your face splits into a devilish smile. “Oh, I can do that… sir.”

His cock hardens even further and he gets to work fucking you again, with gusto…

Karlach

Grins so so so wide

If you try to cover your face in embarrassment, she pulls your hands away so she can make eye contact.

“Aww, you want mummy to take care of you, darling? Make sure you cum?”

All you can do is nod. She fucks you with such vigour that you think you might be about to pass out.

Afterwards she gives you lots of cuddles and checks that you’re okay with how rough she was (you are. A lot.)

Is definitely happy for you to call her that in bed again…

Shadowheart

Is surprised… but interested.

Gives another thrust of her hips, encouraging you to repeat it, letting you be a little writing mess beneath her.

Will keep prompting you. “Call me that again.” “Mummy…” “Again.” “Mummy…!”

Is a bit smug afterwards, when you’re lying there blissed out of your mind from having cum a lot.

“You know, you could have just told me you wanted to use some pet names, rather than letting it slip out in flagrante delicto…”

Laughs when you’re all flustered, using healing magic to soothe any bruises she’s given you. ❤️

Wyll

Another one not super keen on it, and will tell you so.

He just doesn’t find it particularly sexy? He wants sex to be a sweet and intimate thing and well… if you’re going to use names then…

”can you call me your blade? or the blade of frontiers?”

You apologise for springing the ‘daddy’ on him out of nowhere, but when you begin to whisper about him being your 'brave blade' he gets back into it quickly.

Grab onto his horns while telling him to drive his sword home… he’s putty in your hands.

Both have a healthy discussion about what kinks you are and aren’t into the next day. We LOVE a respectful king 👑

Lae’zel

”What? I am not your mother.” “I know Lae’zel, it’s uhh, a sex thing.” “Oh. Why?”

You then have to explain that it’s sort of about respect and domination. A compliment to someone who’s rocked your world.

She smiles enthusiastically and begins to fuck you again properly. Fucks you so hard that your body aches afterwards.

Pillow talk after: “you may call me that again. I enjoy hearing that you know how well I pleasure you.” “Mmm, thank you for that, Lae’zel.” “You are welcome.”

I think it gets brought up in camp because you didn’t realise how loud you shouted it. Your face is on fire for the whole day. Lae’zel just looks pleased with herself.

Halsin

All the blood goes straight to his cock, if that’s even possible when he’s already inside you. He’s harder than he’s ever been in his life before.

He’s been called many things in bed before, but hearing that? From you?

Fucks you with an enthusiasm he didn’t realise he was capable of. You moan and cry out and keep chanting “daddy, daddy, daddy” and he cums so much that it drips out your used little hole all down your legs.

He apologises for his over enthusiasm and checks that you’re alright. You grin and kiss him, and promise to start using that word more…

Minthara

She just smiles, I think, and you know she has you wrapped around her little finger.

She fucks you with what borders on violence, so much force that you actually pass out because you came so hard.

So worth it though.

You wake up in her arms and she’s still grinning, stroking your hair.

”Mummy’s very pleased with you.” This is the only acknowledgment she ever gives of it, but if you bring up the name again in bed, she gives a repeat performance 😌

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aerynwrites · 7 months

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Dance The Night Away

Halsin x Fem!Tav

A/N: This request was too cute! Thank you @blobs-away for sending this in. I Love writing anything festival/dancing around the fire so I had tons of fun and love cute soft Halsin and Tav! I did write this in third person POV since they requested Tav instead of reader. Hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings/Tags: PDA, Kissing, fluff, Halsin being a flirt, suggestive jokes/themes (very small and subtle).

There’s not much to celebrate these days, not with the tadpoles or the looming threat of the absolute. Yet those at Last Light have still found a way to make the best of the situation.

With Thaniel back and reunited with the other half of himself Halsin called for a celebration, one step closer to the end of the shadow curse.

Not many refused him. Looking for any excuse to celebrate and make merry in such dire times.

Even Tav found herself and her companions eagerly getting ready for the party. While her companions eagerly tittered about, she found herself staring fondly at the fabric between her fingers.

It’s a gauzy, flowy thing, dark green in color and both revealing yet tasteful at the same time. She’s come to own the dress through a kind tiefling woman the night of the party after they’d saved the grove, apparently seeing Tav ogling her own dress and kindly giving her a duplicate she had.

“Oh it’s nothing,” she’d waved Tab off as she protested. “I can make another one just like it. You deserve something nice.”

At the time, Tav had never thought she’d find an excuse to wear the beautiful garment, but now…

A quick rap on her door startled the woman from her reverie, turning to look at Shadowheart peeks into the room.

“You’re not ready yet?” She asks, stepping in and closing the door behind her. “The others are already outside draining the wine barrels as we speak. You’ll want to hurry if you hope to have a drink.” Her voice is teasing as she approaches Tav, her gaze falling down to the dress in her hands.

“Oh…” her eyes widen as she reaches out to her for the fabric. “What is this? Planning on catching someone’s eye?”

Tav rolls her eyes, but can’t stop the heat that rushes to her cheeks. “No I just…is it too much?”

Shadowheart let’s put a quiet ‘tsk’, pointing to the privacy screen across the room. “Go put it on.”

Tav obeys the other woman’s instructions with a roll of her eyes and a muttered ‘yes, sir’.

The dress is soft agaisnt her skin, silky in comparison to the usual cotton and leather that adorns her body. And it’s…light, twirling around her feet as she moves out from behind the screen.

Shadowheart brows raise as she does so, nodding in approval. “If Halsin hasn’t bedded you yet, he surely will after tonight.”

Tav reaches out, smacking her companions shoulder playfully. “Shadowheart!”

The woman smiles, holding up her hands. “I’m just letting you know. You’ll have to fend off many wandering eyes tonight,” she glanced behind her. “I’ll see you down there?”

Tav nods, watching the door click behind her before she moves to finish getting ready. Not that there was much to do besides sliding on her camp shoes and making her way downstairs to where the festivities are taking place.

The sounds of the party meet her ears as soon as she emerges from her room, the clinking of glasses and bursts of raucous laughter grow louder as she descends the stairs to the main portion of the tavern, spying some of her companions as she goes.

Astarion sees her first, eyes widening slightly as Karlach catches sight of her next letting out a low whistle and giving a thumbs up. Tav rolls her eyes just as her vampiric friend approaches, glass of wine in one hand while the other reaches for her own.

“My, my, darling,” he purrs, voice teasing, “who knew you could clean up so nice?”

Tav scoffs as he twirls her around the skirt of the dress splaying out prettily as he does so, earning several interested whispers from her other companions.

“I’m taking that as a compliment,” shes says, stopping once she faces him again.

Astarion smiles coyly, “It actually was a compliment. The druid won’t be able to keep his hands off you in that little number.”

She rolls her eyes again, readying a witty retort until an arm moves to slide around her waist, tugging her into a solid chest.

“Astarion is right, my heart. I’ve already failed at keeping my hands to myself,” Halsin jests, lips brushing her ear as he leans down to press a gentle kiss to her cheek.

A low hum escapes Tav’s lips as she turns her head up to glance at the man behind her. “I’m not complaining.”

Astarion lets out a playful groan. “Oh, please stop being so sweet. It’s…nauseating.”

Tav sticks her tongue out playfully at the vampire just as Halsin starts to drag her towards the exit of the inn. “Don’t do anything I wouldn't do!” Astarion calls out behind them, sending the woman a mischievous wink.

“There’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” she calls back, smile tugging at her lips as Astarion raises his glass towards her.

“Exactly!”

She can’t stop the laugh that escapes her at her friends' antics, but finally turns to see where Halsin is leading her, the smile on her lips growing tenfold as the outside air greets her.

The festivities are just as lively outside as in. Laughter and music fill the air, guiding the circle of dancers around the roaring bonfire in the middle of the courtyard. Couples and those alone all join hands and switch partners to the beat of the music, some experts in their craft and others stumbling over the complicated footsteps of the dance.

It looks like entirely too much fun, and Tav almost drags Halsin into the middle of it - but as usual, her lover beats her to it, tugging her hand towards the crowd.

“Dance with me, my love?” He asks, eyes sparkling in delight.

Tav nods enthusiastically, another bout of laughter leaving her as Halsin brings them both into the fold seamlessly.

“I don’t know this dance!” She says, fighting to be heard over the music.

Halsin smiles, pulling her closer before guiding her to spin beneath his arm. “Let me and the music guide you,” he says, eyes crinkle with laughter, “I am sure you will be a natural.”

Tav tries to do as he says, and surprisingly…it works. From watching the others around her and taking note of Halsin’s silent guidance the dance becomes familiar quickly. Her feet fly over the cobblestones as Halsin’s hands never stray from her body.

The music changes slowly, shifting to a slightly slower tune, still upbeat but allowing everyone to slow down instead of racing around the fire as they were.

Halsin immediately pulls her closer, one hand falling to her hip as the other reaches up to take her hand in his own, holding it out to the side as the dance guides them around the center of the courtyard, the couples slowly spreading out. They step to the beat, Halsin dipping her to the side every now and again, until slowly Tav starts to realize they are on the very outskirts of the circle of dancers.

She raises a brow as Halsin's hand slips lower than customary for this particular dance, and she smiles coyly.

“Trying to separate me from the pack, my love?” She asks, voice teasing. “Tired of sharing?”

Halsin laughs, giving her hip a teasing squeeze. “I must admit, I am quite pleased to have you to myself for a moment,” he says, eyes slipping down to look over her quickly. “I have yet to tell you how beautiful you are.”

He drops her hand now, slowing them both to a gentle sway instead of the upbeat dance as he reaches to tease the strap of her dress between his fingers. She shudders as his fingers dance along her collarbone, dipping lower momentarily before returning to the top of her shoulder.

“Did you pick this color on purpose?” He asks, admiring the deep emerald green.

She shakes her head. “No, it was a gift. Although it is fitting now that you point it out.”

Halsin smiles. “It suits you well, my heart. And it reminds me of the forest - of home. A fitting reminder considering that you’ve come to feel like my home as well.”

Tav’s heart skips a beat at his words, chest swelling with more emotion that she’s used to. She’s lost for words, unsure of how to return a sentiment that’s left her speechless.

However, a new song starts before she can speak, and Halsin’s smile widens. “We must dance to this,” he says, taking her into his arms again.

This song is even faster than the first as Halsin keeps them away from the large throng of dancers but still tries to guide her. Tav has trouble keeping up with the footwork of this dance, more so than the first one of the evening, finding herself tripping more than dancing. She also notices as she catches glimpses of those around her, that it’s only coupled pairs out in the courtyard. All of them follow the same moves and never switch partners.

“Is this a particular kind of dance?” She asks, following Halsin’s lead still as he guides her on the moves.

He nods, eyes falling to their feet as he moves her into another position. “It’s a song and dance common in smaller Druidic circles. Those bonded to one another typically partake to…stake a claim, I suppose is the best way to phrase it. To let others know who they have chosen as their other half.”

Tav can’t help the smile that splits her lips. “It sounds like a mating ritual to me.”

A warm laugh escapes Halsin’s lips, as they continue to dance. “It could be seen that way, yes. However, typically the mating is saved for more private accommodations.”

A spluttering giggle leaves Tav’s lips as Halsin twirls her, “Really? I figured you of all people would love to - woah!”

Tag lets out a gasp as her foot twists awkwardly on a raised cobblestone mid twirl, her arm tangled with Halsin in such a way that when he reaches to try and catch her, they both end up toppling over. Halsin is quick to take the brunt of the fall, Tav landing on top of him in a clumsy heap.

She presses up on her hands, hovering just mere inches away from Halsin as he looks up at her. His hands are on her hips, and if it weren’t for the laughter that escapes both of them at the same time, the moment could be almost intimate.

Tav shakes her head, eyes sparkling with joy as she moves to brush a stray piece of hair from Halsin’s forehead.

“I told you I didn’t know the dance.”

Halsin lets out a low hum. “You did perfectly well, my heart. Plus, I much prefer the kind of dance this position leads to than the others.”

Tav snorts out another laugh before pressing a quick kiss to the tip of Halsin’s nose and then his lips, smiling into the gesture before pulling away.

“I love you,” she whispers, nose brushing his own.

Halsin grins, “I love you more, my moon and stars.”

Then his lips are on hers once more.

And as the laughter and roaring of the fire fade into the background…Tav can’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.

#halsin x reader #halsin x tav #halsin bg3 #bg3 x tav #bg3 x reader #bg3 #Halsin #baldur's gate 3

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captain039 · 8 months

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PART 3 Big bear

Halsin x reader

Warnings: AOB, feelings, tav insert, Angst, trauma, abuse, sexual abuse, hurt/comfort

Previous part <-

You awoken in a horrible state, your body didn’t move and you felt paralysed. Sighing you just laid their memory’s coming back from yesterday. Gods you felt horrible, Halsin didn’t deserve your anger and now he was gone. You heard footsteps outside your tent and heard Tavs voice.

“Hey you ok? Do you need anything from the market?” They called.

“I need a healer” you said and they suddenly opened your tent worry in their face.

“What’s happened? Are you hurt?” They asked worried as they knelt by you.

“I don’t know” you muttered and they just nodded.

“Ok, can you walk?” They asked and you shook your head.

“Karlach!” They yelled and the teifling came running.

“Oh gods, what’s happened?” She asked quickly.

“We need to get her to a healer now” Tav said and Karlach nodded. She helped you up easily and carried you. You felt stupid, but her warmth was comforting as she took you to the towns healer.

You laid down in the bed staring at the ceiling as the mage nearby talked with the healer.

“It’s the suppressors I’m afraid” the healer said sighing and you tensed.

“I can’t not take them!” You snapped thankful the others weren’t here. You’d told them to leave and you’d be back by night. Gods these cursed things, curse being an omega.

“Please sir you can’t-“ you froze seeing someone familiar, Halsin.

“What happened?” He asked worried ignoring the poor dwarf behind him.

“Nothing” you quickly said as the healer went to speak. She huffed at you annoyed making you flush a bit, she wasn’t having your attitude.

“Is she your omega?” The healer huffed standing up.

“My-? No” Halsin had reddened cheeks as he shook his head.

“It’s nothing Halsin, please just go I said I’d be back at night” you sat up with the strength you could muster.

“Lady give me strength” the healer muttered pinching the bridge of her nose.

“The suppressors are ruining her body, they’re attacking her muscles, they’re going to kill her!” the healer turned to you raising her eyebrows as you looked away to the floor.

“Kill her?” Halsin muttered in shock.

“Yes! Slap some sense into her for all I care! Just, she cannot continue like this” the healer said sighing as she left with the mage. You laid back down on the bed not so gracefully and felt tears in your eyes. You can’t be an omega. Halsin was processing the information before he sat down in the bed nearby. You rolled over so your back was facing him, you’d be happy to die here if you were honest. You trembled a little trying to force those memory’s away.

Your father was the first to show you how cruel the world could be to an omega. He’d beat you, leave you in the basement for weeks, denied you food, water and baths. Your mother shared your fate of beatings, being an omega herself. When you escaped you found yourself suddenly forced into a pleasure house. A woman one of the workers found you, said she could offer you a good life in exchange for your body. You were too young to know what truely meant, you figured nobody would want your body seeing how you looked. The head mistress fed you and bathed you till you were a sparkling prize, then came the sternness. She’d force you in revealing robes and made you dance on stage. You’d get disgusting looks and aroused smells. The first time a man, an alpha took you to bed you panicked, punched him onto the floor and fled into the night. The mistress sent forces after you, all alphas again, seeking to use your rank against you. It worked, but the alphas had other ideas, they used you in the alley way, laughing as they tore your robes and touched you. An elderly woman had turned them into rats and squished each one under her heal. She tsked helping you up and healing you with magic.

“Come dear”

Her voice had been so kind, she had no smell either and nobody dared look at her. She lived in a hut outside the village, she fed you and bathed you, you were skeptical, a little afraid to leave. She raised you back up, told you how cruel this world was and cruel how alphas truly were. She gave you a suppressor, it took the omega away, you were nothing, yet everything. You didn’t know what the evil glint in her eyes meant though. She sent you into the city brining curses into alphas, you killed fifteen before Tav had found you after a prickly fight. The group had been shocked by the scene, the man’s guts were practically across the floor, his head on the other side of the room, you were covered in blood also.

“I think we should leave” an alpha in a purple robe spoke first your eyes snapping to his as he gulped. Most of the group was alphas, your sworn enemy.

“What happened?” Tav had asked you and you flinched at the kindness in their eyes like a switch flicked on in your mind.

“I don’t think this was truely her” the alpha teifling had said her eyes sad.

“Gale?” Tav had asked the purple robe man who nodded muttering a spell. Something left your body and panic flooded in. You stared at the knives in your hand and threw them on the ground looking at what you’d done. You had fallen to your knees in too emotions to name as you cried. Tav was the first to approach hand on your shoulder, helping you up and giving you the first real hug you’d had in years.

That’s how you met the group and now you were here, lying in a bed to die. Maybe it was for the better, all those people you killed.

“Thought you’d be here” your whole body shivered at the voice of the elder.

“Who are you?” Halsin had demanded anger in his voice.

“Keeping company of them now?” She tsked as you sat up. She went to cast a spell on him, but he deflected it quickly.

“Don’t!” You snapped at her and she huffed rolling her eyes as she came closer.

“How did you find me?” You asked glancing to Halsin who was on edge.

“Please, think I’d forget you so easily, let you off my leash so easily?” She scoffed.

“When my spell was lifted I had someone follow you, waiting till you were down to this” she gestured to you with disgust.

“Now you need me again” she smirked.

“She doesn’t need you” Halsin spat.

“Oh but she does, lump of meat” she said crossing her arms.

“What is this anyway? A bed warmer?” She looked him up and down.

“A friend” you said quietly seeing Halsin glance to you slightly in shock, but held up his stern expression.

“Alphas aren’t friends” she huffed looking back to you.

“These suppressors aren’t working because they need my magic” she said and you froze.

“You’ve just been poisoning yourself really” she shrugged and your heart jumped.

“Only I can cure you” she smirked that same evil glint in her eyes.

“I can cure her” Halsin said and she laughed.

“You think so? Stupid alpha” she waved a hand throwing him back into the wall. He groaned, but quickly got up.

“Stop!” You yelled throwing a hold person on her. She looked surprised and scoffed breaking free easily.

“Learned tricks did we?” She cackled her body turning into a true hag. Nobody else in the healers house noticed like you were in a pocket of time. Halsin growled transforming into his bear form charging quickly.

“Halsin!” You yelled as he began to fight with the hag. You groaned trying will your energy, she sent a spell your way though and you were stuck to the bed. You could only watched in panic as she transformed into many and kept attacking Halsin. He was suffering under the many and you cried trying to break free. He snarled though going through her images before he suddenly had her on the ground. He changed into his human a dagger to her neck.

“You won’t have her” he sneered anger in his eyes as he slit her throat. She cried as she turned into a puddle of muck into the ground. He stood up healing himself as the stepped back and panted. Your bonds broke free and you groaned sitting up. Halsin was quick to be by your side again making sure you didn’t get up. You had tears down your face as he hushed you, kneeling in front of you and wiping your eyes. You cried out for a moment the other healers glancing but ignoring.

“What happened?” The elder healer asked.

“Not now” Halsin snapped and she flinched, but nodded going to tend to the mess, you’d never seen Halsin truly angry.

“Take a breath” he whispered as you struggled to breathe with your crying. His thumb stroked your cheek as you took a shaky breath and apologised.

“Don’t apologise” he shook his head and you sobbed quietly.

“I-“ you struggled with words as you saw the rest of your group.

“We heard ruckus, got worried” Karlach said looking to the puddle of flesh making a disgusted face.

“What happened?” Tav asked.

“I’ll tell you later” Halsin said briefly and they nodded.

“I just want to go back to camp” you finally found your voice and he nodded quickly standing. You went to stand on your own, but the alpha picked you up easily, holding you like a child. You tensed briefly, but he wasn’t going to make room for argument. You sagged against him arms going around his neck as you cried into your arm.

Next part ->

Taglist:

@aeryntheofficial

@vinithechocolatevampire

#Halsin x reader #angst #hurt/comfort #x reader #aob #alpha Halsin

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elisende · 3 years

Text

Dark Gift

Characters: Halsin/OMC, Halsin/Ketheric, Wyll, Shadowheart, Volo Rating: E Words: 3404

After a night of passion, Halsin and Langoth return to camp to find their companions have also made the most of the night's revelry.

But something is bothering the ranger and finally, he asks his lover Halsin about his past with the enigmatic Ketheric Thorm. There is always more to the story...

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”

Mary Oliver, The Uses of Sorrow

They did not sleep that night, the night that forever afterward Halsin would call their wedding night, only half-joking. In silence as deep as the sky’s blackness, they watched the stars wheel and fade. Held each other tightly on the stone table as the celebration in camp raged and then dwindled. Listened to the small sounds of rustling animals and the first sweet notes of dawn’s chorus.

“My favorite time of day,” he told Langoth. “There’s no match for the dawnsong of high summer. The finest symphony ever composed.”

The ranger smiled, distantly. “It reminds me of the first time,” he said, his voice so soft it was nearly below hearing. “I had never experienced anything like it--like you.”

The morning light caught Langoth’s long, chestnut hair, gilding it, bathing his face in a warm golden glow. Halsin’s breath caught in his throat. He had been awestruck by the youth’s beauty that first night in the High Forest. Just as he was now.

“Nor I you,” he said. He took Langoth’s face in his hands and whispered roughly, uncouthly, “I want you again.”

The elf leaned into his embrace, breath hot on Halsin’s neck. “Then take me.”

Halsin growled and straddled him, looming above the slighter man, his broad shoulders blocking the rising sun. They were both still bare from the waist up and he raked his fingers down the ranger’s chest as he bent to kiss him ravenously. Langoth gasped at the mingled sensation of Halsin’s rough hands and plunging kiss; his hips rose to brush the front of the druid’s pants, finding him already hard. He ground up against him in slow, firm strokes, provoking a groan from deep in Halsin’s throat.

“You don’t realize what you do to me,” Halsin gasped. “Gods.”

The youth just smiled as though he knew precisely his effect on the druid and pulled Halsin’s muscled ass closer to him and thrusting faster, harder.

The feeling of Langoth’s own desire pressing and stroking against his own was nearly enough to finish him. But before that could happen, Halsin grabbed him around the waist and flipped him onto his belly, jerking down his leather breeches as the elf moaned beneath him. The birdsong around them was in full throated climax as he plunged into him, feeling the elf’s sublime tightness barely giving way to his thick cock. Langoth exclaimed, in both pain and pleasure, as Halsin thrust mercilessly, driven by blind need.

“Langoth,” he murmured; he knew how his lover enjoyed hearing his own name on Halsin’s lips. The ranger cried out in response and Halsin pulled him closer, wrapping his muscled arm around his chest. In contrast to last night, his peak was building slowly, inexorably, like a wall rising stone by stone.

The rising sun struck the table, bathing them both in an orange glow. His lover was beautiful beneath him, his strong back rippling in the soft dawning light. Halsin tracked the muscles with his hand and then slid it down below to stroke his member. The ranger gasped, thrusting eagerly against his touch, and they moved as one.

Langoth’s breath quickened, shoulders faltered. As he felt his lover come, Halsin himself lost control; with one thrust, and then another, he finished, gasping, on the elf’s back.

The chorus had abated and the sun’s rays had mellowed. Langoth sat up beside him, leaning close. “We should get back before the others wake,” he said.

“I do hope Astarion hasn’t waited up for you,” Halsin said. He didn’t even try to suppress his laughter, though he knew it was unkind.

Langoth was more circumspect but a ghost of a smile played on his lips as he said, “I’m certain he had no shortage of other entertainments last night.”

No one stirred at the camp when they returned--no one, except--

“The hero returns! Ah, and the wise and mighty king of druids, Master Halsin! I’ve a new stanza to celebrate your victory, good sirs, only I struggle to find a word that rhymes with ‘muscular,’ and I feel I would be derelict in my sacred commission as bard and poet if I failed to mention Master Halsin’s particular, ah, physical qualities… and allusion simply doesn’t suffice, I don’t think, when it comes to his spectacular form!”

He thought he heard Langoth mutter, “It’s far too early for this.” But it might have only been his imagination.

“Druids do not have kings,” Halsin explained to Volo, for at least the third time since they had met last week. “And you needn’t talk about my, er, form. Though I am flattered.”

“Of course you and I know druids don’t have kings,” Volo said, as though Halsin were being quite stupid. “But we need to remember our audience doesn’t have the sophistication required to understand the ‘first amongst equals’ principle espoused by the druids, et cetera. Oh! It’s so obvious. ‘Muscle,’ singular--rhymes with ‘tussle.’ Perfection!” Volo strummed a chord on his lute with a fervor that was frankly alarming and Halsin instinctively looked around for an exit.

“Right, I need to wash,” he said, heading for the river. “Goodbye.”

“I also need to see to a--personal matter. Gods keep you, Volo,” Langoth called behind his shoulder. “I will remember how you left me out in the cold just now,” he added under his breath, even as the corner of his lips twitched. Halsin’s heart lurched pleasantly and he turned his gaze back toward the rushing water of the Chionthar, already slipping out of his tunic.

“I would aid you against any enemy in the deepest dungeon of the Underdark,” Halsin said. “But you’re on your own with the bard.”

They bathed together in the rushing stream, Langoth capering on the rocks and diving into the deep pool under a cataract as Halsin watched. The water was cold and bracing and Halsin couldn’t resist enjoying it in his bear form; there was simply no comparison to experiencing the icy rush of the river running through his thick fur. He changed back once he emerged, dripping, onto the shore, Langoth close behind in his smallclothes.

“Someone was up late,” a smooth voice teased. The Blade of the Frontiers emerged from his tent, wearing a lopsided grin and little else. He had a bowl of streaky, grayish gruel that looked distinctly unappetizing. But then, a human would eat nearly anything.

“Ah. Did you... enjoy the celebration?” Langoth asked, color rising to his cheeks. But then, from behind Wyll, the haughty cleric called Shadowheart emerged from the tent, cheeks even redder than Langoth’s, if it were possible. Her lips were still stained purple from last night’s cheap wine. Halsin’s head nearly throbbed in sympathy.

“Evidently so,” Halsin remarked. The young people were so obviously uncomfortable that he almost laughed. But then he remembered his own tenderness and shame in his youth and his heart softened for them. “Gods, but we’ve earned some respite, have we not? And much still lies ahead.”

The others eagerly seized on this line of discussion and a profusion of enthusiastic, if stilted, comments followed about battles fought, foes defeated, and speculation of those still to come. Halsin enjoyed seeing Langoth with his companions, his earnest expressions, the innocence of his words. Finally, the young people extricated themselves from their rhetorical bondage and all sauntered off in different directions, Langoth grabbing his elbow as they went.

The youth didn’t want to let him out of his sight and this, too, was touching. He had all the hours of the day for his lover, whose face was a song of which he could never tire. In contrast to Volo’s forced rhymes.

They laid their clothes to dry in a sunny spot by the river and Halsin rested beneath a friendly looking ash tree and closed his eyes. He asked its name with a minute scratch of his thumb against the bark and it answered; a name that sounded like the rustling of acorns against one another in the mellowness of autumn. A lovely name, one he committed to memory. Halsin sighed, the sun warming his chest, grateful to be alive on such a day.

“Are you just going to meditate now?” Langoth’s voice came from leagues away. Halsin opened his eyes. “Only… I had a question.”

He regarded Langoth, ready for nearly anything.

“You said before that you had defeated Ketheric but it seemed as though perhaps you knew him, once. Do you--is there...?”

“‘Is there more to the story?’ you mean?”

Langoth bit the inside of his cheek, mustering his nerve. “Well, is there?”

Halsin leaned back against the ash who was named after a sound of acorns rustling, feeling every year of his five centuries. “There is always more to the story,” he said.

“Tell me,” Langoth said softly, looking at his hands. He sensed the story was troubling, and he was not wrong. Halsin thought Langoth was probably rarely wrong when it came to troubling things. They whispered to the secret wound he carried in his breast, like calling to like. Halsin sighed.

“Of course I shall tell you if you wish to know,” he said. And yet, even as he spoke the words, he was unsure if he should. “It all began in Waterdeep,” he began.

Have you been? Magic runs through that city, and I feel it in my marrow whenever I cross into its wards. The city was built on a mountain of mithral, on the ashes of a forgotten citadel of Illefarn. Ancient seams of blood and magic run beneath it. You can hear it, like a ringing in your ears.

There was some reason for me to be there, but I barely recall it. All I now remember is him. And what came after, of course.

I spurned the inn, as I always do. Too much comfort has always seemed suspicious to me, as have affections exchanged for coin. Yet there is precious little nature left in Waterdeep, so I took my repose in a graveyard, under the open sky. The only place in the city where one could find a tree.

They were sad and lonely, those trees: a weeping willow, a scrawny, leafless box, and a twisted old yew. The yew had gone mad from loneliness--yews are prone to madness in any case, but this one was particularly ill. Perhaps that is why the priests of Shar claimed this particular graveyard for their rituals. The yew had seeped its poison into the very ground and it was a dark and morbid place. Full of shadows. Now I wonder if the sick yew wasn’t in some indirect way the genesis of all that’s happened since.

I watched them under the cover of a glamour so that I seemed to their eyes like a stone gargoyle warding a tomb. They were initiating a half-elf and his terror carried on the wind. I could smell it. He was barely grown, undernourished. His voice was strong though, and surprisingly deep, like the low roll of the tide coming in from the sea’s depths.

I’ve been alive long enough to learn not to cast easy judgments. Shar and her dark worship--what were such things to me? Was it so different to swear oneself to the Dark One as it was to the Lady of Pain? Or the Lord of the Dead? But something in this ritual chilled me.

It felt as though… this dark ritual had meaning beyond its meaning. My mother had the gift of foresight and some little of it passed to me. I cannot see the future as though I were watching a play, as she did. But I can often sense danger, or tidings of happiness to come. It’s kept me alive, more times than I can count, this gift. And now, it filled me with dread. The dread of a hundred kingdoms falling. A dread worse than mere death or danger. The dread of a coming apocalypse.

The half-elf turned and even in the gloom of the moonless night, I recognized his face. For my mother had shown me this face when I was a boy, in the final moments of her life. She met a violent end--but that, I will speak of another time. I had believed she showed his face to me because he was my destiny. But perhaps she showed me because he would be my doom.

In my shock, the glamour slipped. Only the half-elf saw me. And I recovered so that when he turned back I was once again disguised as senseless stone.

Perhaps that would have been the end of all if I had left it alone. But destiny carves a path before itself, one we mortals are incapable of altering. Such I have come to believe, though perhaps only as means to absolve myself.

They completed their ritual by draining the youth of his blood, to the point of death. And many do die. But the half-elf did not, and Shar claimed another acolyte to her worship. How peaceful he looked in that moment, on the precipice between life and death. They bore him off on their shoulders into the night, leaving me with mad yew and my own dark thoughts.

The very next day I sought the Temple of Shar. It’s no simple place to find, even in permissive Waterdeep. Her worship is outlawed and her followers jailed when discovered.

You may well ask why I troubled myself. Why I could not leave well enough alone, as the humans are wont to say. I was compelled by both curiosity and dread.

It is a strange thing to say aloud, but the image of the half-elf’s face was all I had left of my mother and even as it repelled me, I also felt closer again to her somehow in finding him. I had to know the meaning behind it, to recover even this small remnant of her memory. If you have lost someone, perhaps you understand my meaning.

It took some days and many false turns but in the end, I located their temple. Simple chance finally led me to the right direction--or destiny carving its path before me, take your pick.

If I was worried about what I might say to the half-elf when I met him, I needn’t have, for he recognized me immediately.

“The gargoyle of a druid I saw,” he said, by way of greeting. “So you weren’t a vision from my Dark Lady, after all.”

He always spoke like that.

I answered that I had seen the ritual, and feared for his life. I asked how he had come into the service of the Dark Goddess and he told me his story. It was a brutal, tragic tale, and he told it without remorse or sentimentality. When again I pressed him--why did he devote himself to Shar? He answered that none other had claimed him, only the Lady of Loss. As though his life were simply a ripe apple falling senseless from a tree.

In my pride, I thought that by removing this youth from Shar’s faithful would heal him, that I could restore the balance to his soul. That I could heal him.

I took him to the Emerald Grove. The power of that place is ancient, its healing magic is more powerful than you ken. Not just Silvanus’s power, though that resides there too. I believed the grove would restore him and would avert the darkness that lay ahead.

In how many legends to mortals hasten along the very events they sought to prevent? Well, here is another.

For a time, I believed that Ketheric was healed. The light returned to his eyes, the blood to his flesh. By day, he walked the forest with me and I taught him such that I know: more than most will learn, but still precious little compared with the forest’s immensity. Every tree is a world unto itself.

And I loved him. Desired him. Claimed him. It blinded me to the truth. For Shar would not be so easily forsaken. She was jealous of her supplicants and for Ketheric she had great designs.

I believed he had left Shar behind in distant Waterdeep. In Ketheric, I thought I saw my destiny to bring him back into the light.

Only arrogance and perhaps lovesickness can explain why it took me so long to realize why the forest grew darker over those seasons. Parasites thrived and the trees fought silent battles within the buried paths beneath the earth. Plants that once were allies became bitterest enemies and starved each other out, poisoning one another’s roots. Pestilential insects devoured the warring plants. Even the water was tainted, sickening creatures and the druids in my grove.

Kagha saw the truth first. And if perhaps you wondered why I allowed her to stay, here is the reason. Because Kagha’s heart may be as hard as ironwood, but she is unflinching in the face of the truth and I--well, now I know that I cannot always trust my own judgment.

She unmasked Ketheric, finally made me see, but by then it was too late. He had seen the power of the grove, and he desired it for himself. For his Dark Lady. Ketheric escaped my judgment and Kagha’s wrath but I knew he would return.

Three years passed and in that time, Ketheric became a force. More than a mere man. He was a legend and followers flocked to him, drawn to his power. More than power; his absence of fear. For since that night that Shar had taken him, I had never once witnessed him frightened of anything. That was the source of his terrible charisma, I believe, why people followed him into madness and marched to their deaths on his order, with happy hearts. That they, too, could be so fearless.

He took the Temple of Selune first. The priests there fought hard and long but Ketheric would not be thwarted and his forces seemed limitless. The stories are still told of the terrible butchery committed in the Shattered Sanctum, and I will not repeat them.

They rode out from the Shattered Sanctum to terrorize the country. That is when we first spoke of the Rite of Thorns, for there was no question of protecting the surrounding land from Ketheric’s army. Then the Harpers came.

I could tell you all manner of stories about the long history of the Harpers and the Emerald Grove, but those romances only imply the true foundation of that ancient alliance: one born of dire necessity against unassailable darkness. Which is all to say, the Harpers and the Druids have joined when all seemed lost.

So it seemed to us then. With the power of the Shattered Sanctum and an army of faithful, Ketheric completed a dark ritual, one that required a fountain of blood sacrifice. The Shadow Curse. A plague on the land and all that lived there, committing their souls into bondage to Shar.

He completed the ritual and cast the land into darkness before I could finally end him. I held him as he died, and he looked just as he did on the night in the Waterdeep graveyard. At peace, finally, in the arms of his Goddess. The only one he ever truly loved, I still believe.

That fight nearly took my life. As for the others, I marched them to their graves. Of all the druids and Harpers who fought on that day none survived. A handful of Ketheric’s dark justiciars escaped, scattered. Of those, all have fallen to madness or early deaths.

Only I now remain witness to the horrors of that long night.

Halsin found it hard to hold his lover’s gaze for shame. Now he knew of his failure, his blindness. He would scorn him, as Kagha had: weak, arrogant, feckless.

Instead, Langoth took his hand in his own, kissing his rough knuckles. Forgiveness so sublime, so unexpected that his eyes pricked with unshed tears.

“You did what you could. And we will end the curse when we reach Moonrise Towers. That I promise you.”

Halsin closed his eyes. “Thank you.” In the wood a thrush sang, as though to remind him of something he had long forgotten. Something like hope.

#halsin #bg 3 #baldur's gate 3 #fanfic #halsin/omc #bg 3 halsin #wyll #shadowheart #langoth

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