Chapter Text
He felt his nerves twitch to life first before the rest of his body began to feel somewhat alive again. Astarion heard the hiss of what sounded like crude machinery before he fell to his knees onto a fleshy floor that wet his knees.
Repulsion filled his stomach, twisting his nose up in a grimace before he pushed to his feet.
His crimson eyes wandered the flesh-like interior and viscid architecture before he began to walk. He could still faintly hear the squirming behind his eye and feel this pounding headache between his temples.
He swore to himself that this was all a horrific nightmare, close to being worse than Cazador’s palace, but never quite that bad. Even when he somehow managed to free a brain… creature, got it to be his pet, and when he almost had his throat slit by a githyanki.
It was all tolerable even he had to use his flawless porcelain hands to climb a… flesh ladder. He had no idea that mind flayer construction could be so vile.
Astarion stepped into another chamber after the ‘door’ opened up for him and his new tag alongs.
His pointed ears gave the faintest twitch as he was called back to Cazador’s palace in his mind with the sound of desperate cries and pleading for freedom.
“You, there! Help me out of this!” A woman’s voice reverberated through the tinted glass of a horrific capsule propped up by still tendrils.
Astarion co*cked his head slightly before he turned his lithe frame in her direction. He settled his hands on his waist. “Why should I?”
Through the tint, he could barely see that it wasn’t a mind flayer, let alone notice her grimace from his words. “Just get me out of here, please!”
With an amused gaze, his eyes drifted off to the once again fleshy sort of console just beside her pod. When he approached it, he noticed magical runes, and debated it in his mind…
Leaving her.
It felt so right. And all he had to do was walk away, but then Lae’zel spoke up from behind him.
“This ship is failing. Don’t waste time on some stranger.” Her fists clenched tightly as she eyed the pod with no sympathy.
Astarion shook his head and just smirked. It was more free food for him. He hovered his hand over the fleshy panel, got lucky with his parasite connecting, and the pod suddenly let out a hiss and puff of steam before prying the lid open.
His crimson irises watched as a woman fell to her knees outside the pod before rising to her feet.
She was… stunning. The look of emerald surrounding her pupils was a rare sight, even for him. Even after centuries, he had only come across very few who had green in their eyes like her. And the chains that bound her hair was like nothing he had ever seen, but he faintly recognized that symbol adorning the front of her armor.
“Thank you…” she heaved a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what would have happened if I had been in there for any longer.”
They exchanged names and rushed pleasantries that Astarion was used to delivering with false politeness. Shadowheart’s brows furrowed as she noticed the gith beside him. “You keep dangerous company.”
Astarion only shrugged before nearly bearing his fangs with his grin. “Dangerous company is what you need in a good fight.”
“Fair point… A moment,” she turned back to retrieve some strange artefact from the base of the pod; “We should go.”
Astarion debated saying a word about it, but he honestly couldn’t care less. His new tag alongs were probably going to die on this ship anyway.
After another jolt from the entire nautiloid, the ship was still bound to fall even after traveling between dimensions to escape the githyanki. Astarion could only remember the sight of two pale fiery orbs before he woke up on the sand of a beach, polluted by the remains of the nautiloid.
His stomach churned and fangs pushed against the front of his lips. He was hungry.
The sun didn’t bother to burn his skin, so he got to his feet and wandered forward—stepping over a bloodied corpse in the sand.
He saw her yet again. The glisten of her dark armor nearly blinded him as he tried to walk by, but he stopped, hoping for a free meal… maybe?
No. Her heart was still pumping—albeit faintly—and her chest still rose and fell. He smirked, knowing full well that wouldn’t stop him, but she could be useful. But… maybe tadpole-infected blood wasn’t the best to ingest.
He knelt down, shaking her shoulders slightly until she opened her eyes with a quiet gasp. She was first greeted with dark crimson eyes right in hers. “You’re alive. I’m alive…”
Astarion let go of her as soon as her strength returned. Her eyes darted aside, and he noticed as she snatched up that same artefact from the sand.
“Do you know what this place is?” he ignored the artefact again, instead more focused on some ‘ethically sourced’ blood.
Her eyes wandered briefly before returning to him. “I don’t recognize anything here. We should look around, find shelter.”
“We?” He let out a giggle of his. “No, I’d rather not keep mindflayer company.”
Astarion turned away, feeling as his shoes sunk into the sand with every step.
“We need each other!” Shadowheart yelled after him with clenched fists and eyes wide with anxiety. “And we both know what’s at stake.”
He stopped. His nose scrunched. “Fine. Try not to slow me down.”
A faint scoff came from behind him. “I could say the same for you. A bit of sand might spoil that perfect tunic of yours.”
Another giggle passed his lip as his body began to turn. “Never seen such fine fabric in your life, have you? I’m not surprised. You don’t look the ty—,” he let out a horrified gasp as her palm slammed against his chest. He watched with wide eyes and parted lips as the handful of sand clung to every elaborate crevice.
“Oh. Pity. You should learn to listen to me. It’ll only do you good.” Her smile lines crinkled as she met his furious red eyes.
Shadowheart began to walk ahead of him as his blood still boiled. His lips peeled back, revealing two oddly defined canines in his grin. He gritted those teeth of his before eyeing her throat—still glistening with sweat as the sun beat down on it.
“I doubt that.”
