crimsonvoid | closed @stoicradiance

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closed @stoicradiance

[The sharp whistle of a blade cutting through the air echoed in the stillness of the camp. The glimmer of steel shone brightly against the moonlight, reflecting the fire nearby. It had been a long day, and the sound of Lae'zel sharpening her blade, the sound of Scratch barking and running after Halsin, Gale shooing Astarion away from his cooking station. Taliira's head was throbbing, and the wounds she had sustained from today's ambush stung.

With a heavy sigh, Taliira managed to slip away unnoticed by the rest of the camp. There was a river nearby, and she was sure that if anything happened her sharp hearing would be able to catch any distress coming from her companions. They were a loud bunch, after all.

But some time alone, under the stars and away from all the noise and light would do her headache some good.

When she got to the river, Taliira began to remove her clothes. She folded her shirt and leggings into a neat pile and set them aside on a rock in hopes that they wouldn't get wet. She pulled the leather band that held her hair together off and set it on top of her clothes, combing her fingers through her hair to rid herself of any knots.

The first step into the water was slow, mostly due to its coldness. It didn't deter her, though, and before long the water was up to her waist. She leaned back, dunking herself under the ripples of water and closing her eyes. The cold shock felt nice against her throbbing wounds and the ache in her head. When she surfaced, her black and white hair clung to her like a second skin and she had to push it away from her face.

Yeah, this was exactly what she needed.]

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I-

[She hesitates.

With a clear offer made Dims snaps her attention once again to Tal. She's actually thankful for the distraction because the alternative is Dims sits there like she's watching some dancer at a brothel shuck off layers while Halsin tries to get himself sorted.

She chews it over for a moment, brows pinched in thought. At this point it's almost more strange for her to sit on the bank and watch the minnows swarm her feet.

She fidgets with the strings of her shirt nervously. Seeing someone else nude would always be easier than being so herself, especially when in comparison to Tal or Halsin she was mediocre to look at, at best.]

I...suppose. If I don't now, Gale will likely complain I'm late to dinner. Gods forbid.

Either that, or he'll start complaining to you too about hygiene.

[Gale was always so ready to complain about how their group goes so long without a proper bath, though it's not like they had anywhere to take a proper bath. They were in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by mountains on one side and forest on the other.

If Gale was able to find a bathtub with hot water and a tray of oils and soaps, then she would consider religion again.]

It's not too bad once you're in. Though I almost fear for the getting out portion of this endeavor.

If anything, I'm sure body heat will do wonders in keeping ourselves warm once we get out.

[Halsin came to a stop about a foot or so away from Tal. The water came up to just above his navel, though now that he was in here he found that he didn't mind the cold all that much.

The Drow turned back to look at him, giving him a playful smile before her attention was snatched to Dims once more.]

And if that fails, a fire could easily be made to dry ourselves off.

[Dims attention splits for a moment to take in Halsin's bare chest and shoulders before turning back to Tal again. How is it fair that men like that even exist?

At this rate it seems like there's more positive than negatives to getting in- aside from being laid bare in front of two of the most model esque individuals in camp. Hm.]

I...suppose.

[Dimselle code for "yeah, you've convinced me" and with that she begins loosening the strings on the front of her shirt to peel it and her own leggings away to follow into the water.

But her hair. Maybe she can get away with keeping it up.]

[Tal couldn't help but grin at Dims. She turned to give her the slight privacy that she had given Halsin and moved to swim towards him.

Not that she had to, she could just stand up and walk, but this was better. Mostly because the way he looked down at her as she approached made her feel some kind of way and she was sure if she had the opportunity she would be wrapping herself around him in seconds.]

At the very least we can't take too long in here, or else Gale will get upset if we're late to dinner.

[She swears Gale was more of a mother to her than her own, but perhaps she didn't have the best comparison.]

[Halsin took a moment to sink down into the water, holding a hand out for Tal to take and bringing her in closer. They had been dancing and flirting around each other for some time now, though to be fair he had been doing the same with Dims.

Though that one was a bit more difficult to navigate, given how Dims was.

But he was nothing if not patient.]

If nothing else, the company is wonderful.

[She laced her fingers with his and he dragged her towards him, letting her glide through the water.]

[You can hardly blame a duergar for being...well, a duergar. Dimselle's marriage had been clearly printed in bold letters and flings were naturally just as flatly propositioned from her end. She wasn't exactly versed in romance or intimacy even in the slightest.

At times like this, watching Tal and Halsin so clearly connect from her spot on the sidelines, she felt this heavy weight settle in the pit of her stomach that burned like acid. She pushes away the uncomfortable sensation and finally begins to wade in.

Unlike Tal, if she intends on coming closer there really is no other option for her but to swim, unless the two want to talk to the top of her forehead and hair. Which she does with some degree of shame.

She would almost cast enlarge to save face. Almost.]

I think Gale will manage. I'm sure he has his own company to entertain at the moment.

Edited 2023-12-21 06:57 (UTC)

Hah! As if Gale would call entertaining Astarion a blessing.

[Once Dims was in the water she took Halsin's hand and tugged him closer to the shore so they could be around her. She sunk into the water, not quite sitting on the riverbank, but floating just above the sand. The water barely covered her nipples, and her hair fanned around her and covered everything else.]

[Halsin couldn't help but laugh. Unlike Tal, he did have to sit on the bank. He was much taller, and if he didn't sit he would be standing completely exposed to the world. He didn't mind sitting, though, he rather enjoyed bathing in rivers.]

Oh, he's not too bad. One just has to get around his prickly nature.

[Was Halsin talking about Gale or Astarion?

Yes.

He leaned back on his hands, his gaze settling on Dimselle for a moment and an easy smile settling on his lips.]

Are you comfortable, Dimselle?

[Dims smirks in that barely there way that you could almost call a smile for her. A rare treat on her end- she must really like these two. At least enough.]

I never said good company.

[Dims takes in the whole situation, the water now up to her neck and those face framing pieces of hair clinging to her jaw.

She's on her tiptoes barely skimming the bottom and if she stood flat you'd lose half her face. This is also just a little shameful if not so ridiculously silly looking from an outside perspective.

They look like a group of people shaped stairs.]

Comfortable-? Ah, yes, no I'm fine.

[She avoids looking him in the eye before rolling her shoulders in a shrug.]

[The water rippled with the three of them so close by now. The small schools of fish swam away from them, swimming downriver or somewhere far enough away that they wouldn't get caught with whatever they were doing. The moon was full tonight, and the glimmer of the silver lighting made the water glow — along with causing Dims silvery blond hair to glow as if surrounded by a halo.

Tal's hair had a similar effect on only half of her head.

They were two beautiful women, strong and fierce and plenty capable. He had seen them take down more evil than he would have thought on the journey he had joined, and in truth, it only made him more curious about them.

Though he will say, a Duergar and a Drow... they were difficult to figure out sometimes.

For good reason, of course.]

How has your druid craft been going, Dimselle?

[At the mention of her new druidic nature Dims all but scowls. Another eye roll, at this rate they'd pop out of her skull.]

There's mushrooms on everything. It's in the crevices of my armor, on my tent- I can't pick or scrape enough of it off without more growing anytime I touch fucking anything. It's clinging to my weapons. I don't even want to talk about my boots. Ugh.

[She sinks lower below the surface of the water until it's up to her nose. She'd never understand how Halsin did it. The greenery of life worked around him and with him along side most living creatures but she spent day in and day out fighting off fungi.

For all the benefits of becoming more in tune with nature some of the drawbacks made her wish she never had tried.]

[Tal did her best not to laugh at her predicament. Magic had never really been her strongest point when she trained at Arach-Tinilith. Well, that wasn't true. The magic given to her by Lolth had come easy to her. Winning the favor of the Spider Queen was as much a blessing as it was a curse, and while she could no longer use Lolth's magic, that didn't mean what she learned went to waste.

She could still heal, and she could conjure radiant divine energy to power her sword strikes. Magic came as easy as breathing, but the type of magic that Halsin and Dimselle were doing — Hells, even the magic that Gale weaved, and Wyll with his Patron's contract — was far beyond her means.

Nature's gifts were as powerful as they were beautiful, and seeing Halsin wield them in combat was terrifying to behold. Dims was just getting started on what she could do. Tal might not be in training anymore, but she recalled how long the process of learning magic had taken.]

Do you think the mushrooms are attracted to you because you resonate with the Underdark? Mushrooms are sort of our specialty, after all.

[Dims comes up just enough to be able to speak to Tal without a mouthful of water.]

The thought had crossed my mind.

[A bitter mumble followed by an unfocused glare that's totally, definitely not directly pointed towards a felled log with some orange shelf shaped fungus growing from the side of it off the bank of the river.

Druidic magic felt entirely different than the similar magic she and Tal shared. She barely understood it herself and frankly neglected her studies towards it in favor of using it more as an additional tool in battle. Lately this was not the case, plants became near personified as she continued to become in tune with the flora and she found that she was developing an ache like empathy for not just animals but people.

And make no mistake, Dimselle didn't like most people.

Maybe she had changed more on the surface than she had even noticed.]

Or perhaps they do it to spite me. Mushrooms are fickle and persistent little shits.

[Taliira was laughing this time, tilting her head back to look up at the sky. Gods, it was strange to see it every night. She half expected to wake up and see the darkness of the caverns, and instead she was greeted by the most stunning colors in the sky.

It felt endless, like she would fall into it if she wasn't careful.]

Maybe it's because you're calling them little shits that they have it out for you.

Perhaps they find themselves attached; an affinity of sorts. They see themselves in you. Kindred spirits.

[Which, of course, makes perfect sense to him.

Dimselle was resilient and strong, able to grow and thrive even in dangerous environments. She was tough, strong, but on the inside she cared despite her trying to not show it.]

[Dims begins to answer Tal and pauses short. Her glare shifts from the mushrooms just behind the drow to Halsin and the only part of her expression that changes is her eyebrows raise.

She looks at Halsin. Then Tal. Then Back to Halsin.

Then finally settles on Tal.]

You hear the way this man just called me a fickle little shit?

[Tal couldn't help but start laughing. Between Halsin's encouraging words, Dims annoyed pout, and her words, she had tears in her eyes as she tried to compose herself. She ended up leaning up against Halsin for support, and after a few seconds she was giggling behind her hand.]

You're going to wake up with a pile of mushrooms in your hair, Halsin.

[She gave Dims a bright grin, the laughter still clear on her expression.]

It wouldn't be the strangest thing I've woken up to.

[Halsin was smiling, clearly amused by this whole situation. He leaned back on one hand, with one leg propped up and sticking out of the water. Taliira was using that leg to lean against, almost as a recliner.

He turned to look at Dimselle, a smile almost a copy of the brilliant one that Tal had.]

[To see these two laughing drags another pleased smirk from the dwarf, which is about as close to jovial as you can get from her without prying it from her. They dredge up something warm and sweet from her insides that swells in her chest- it's actually fairly uncomfortable if she focuses on it too much. Like suffocating in honey.

Oh and they're such an image to look at. Dimselle has never had a soft spot for art as it had, frankly, little to no purpose but these two would have made a fine painting out here glistening in river water with the moon glowing down on them all comfortable leaned on one another.

Or, as fine a painting as she can assume, she really had no eye for that sort of thing. She did think they looked rather delightful here together though. She would almost be jealous at the effortlessness, if she weren't just glad to see Tal having a break.]

At least it would only be toadstools finding you in the night, Taliira attracts vampires in her sleep.

[Dims wouldn't dare attempt ruin their peace with her presence so she stays where she's at, wading a foot or two away with a lingering gaze that could burn holes through stone.]

Hey!

[Her laughter rang out into the night; a few birds that were nesting nearby seemed to take offense and flew off, though that didn't seem to stop her from laughing. She did press the back of her hand to her lips in an attempt to at least muffle herself, though from the endearing expression on Halsin's face, it seemed that the bear found more amusement in this than anything else.]

In my defense, at least the vampire shows up with my consent. Can you say the same about your mushrooms?

[She was not going to try and argue that fact. Everyone in camp knew that she was feeding Astarion using her own body. No one seemed to have any objections to it, so long as Astarion kept control, and if he were ever to not have that control, Tal was more than capable of dealing with it.

Still, it was obvious from her paler complexion come morning some days, and the bite marks that seem to be so very persistent on her neck. She did, at least, heal those and did well to hide the marks as best she could.

Though, now she was naked and while her wet hair did cling to her, if one were to look hard enough, they would be able to find traces of two puncture holes on her throat without much issue.]

[And Dimselle did see the signs. She had long since clocked the persistent sickly looking dark circles and occasional irritation of the bite marks left freshly healed. She also couldn't frankly care how Taliira conducted her time as long as she were safe.

Of course, Tal could handle herself but there was no penalty for a healthy dose of skepticism and caution.]

I can assure you I'm not asking for their presence.

[Dims can only grumble in response now remembering her own plight. Fucking mushrooms.]

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