🔮 exsanguinated (with @sangwhine)

[mystracal]

tfln | invitations | and there was only one bed | undermountain alurlyath | what could be | blood bond | the price of freedom
it wore his face | dinner with morena dekarios | rediscovery

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[mystracal]

[There's the slightest pause as Gale's brow tightens; he doesn't seem tense so much as fighting a painful memory.]

It's hard to harbor feelings for one who condemned you to death, no matter what you felt before.

[sangwhine]

Good. Because she doesn't deserve you.

[Really no one deserves being told to die for the good of the world. Noble sacrifices are the worst sort of fairy tale in Astarion's mind. He's at least pleased to hear he doesn't have to talk Gale out of that.]

[mystracal]

[That's... not the reaction he expected. A jab about how foolish he was for falling in love with a goddess in the first place? Sure. Something about how his heart's only hung up because he can't possibly do better than divinity? Maybe. A cutting remark on how he must have been a poor lover for her to demand he obliterate himself? Perhaps.

But something in Astarion's tone strikes Gale as potentially sincere, and he wasn't ready for that. It takes him by surprise - pleasantly so. He offers the vampire a sober smile.]

I'm sure many said the same about me in regards to Mystra, but... thank you. It's not one everyone would share, but I appreciate the sentiment, despite how inclined I still am to disagree with it.

[sangwhine]

Why would you disagree with it? You can do far better than her.

[There's certainly sincerity in Astarion's words. It isn't quite the angle that he'd planned, but it works nonetheless. And besides, he can't have Gale wanting to kill himself. He's had quite enough of dead lovers. No, he needs Gale alive. He needs Gale to want to live.]

[mystracal]

[His eyes watch Astarion, trying to read him; that quiet uncertainty laces his brow once more.]

She's a goddess, Astarion. Prodigy I may have been, I'm just a man. Mortal, flawed - deeply flawed, currently. She could have anyone she wanted, while my options are somewhat limited.

[sangwhine]

And don't you think that put you in something of a losing position from the outset, hm? What hope does mortality have of measuring up to the immortal? She sets an impossible task before you, and discards you when you so much as think to try for a creative solution. She punishes you for failing to be something you could never hope to be.

Anyone would deserve better than to think themselves a lover and equal when they're treated as nothing more than a plaything.

[There may be more to this than a simple attempt to draw Gale's thoughts away from his failed relationship with Mystra. Something about the vehemence in Astarion's words belies the truth of his own experience. The punishments that he's endured at Cazador's hands, being forced to transform himself for his master's whims and then beaten down when he inevitably came up short.]

[mystracal]

[Gale's expression softens as he takes what Astarion says to heart, knowing somewhere within him that it's true. He's known it for some time, but admitting it to himself when he already feels wounded, discarded, and occasionally unworthy of love is a challenge; hearing it from someone else, particularly someone who doesn't exactly have a high opinion of him... it means more than he's able to express at that moment.

He's quiet for a beat afterward.]

You're right. I have a hard time seeing that, you know. What she commanded me to do, while the most pragmatic solution to our problems thus far, was... not entirely fair. Certainly not to me, but not to those around me, either. Those whose company I've come to care for.

[He offers Astarion a genuine smile.]

I don't think I realized you'd have such strong thoughts on the matter.

[sangwhine]

[Ah. Shit. Did he go too far? Astarion pulls himself back, squaring his shoulders to try to put on a more disaffected air. It doesn't hurt if Gale thinks he cares, it's better even, but Gale can't know how close it all hits to Astarion's own life.]

Honestly, my dear, it's just stating the obvious. I think you'll find far more pleasurable delights in the company of your fellow mortals. I'd be happy to provide a demonstration.

[mystracal]

Not sure you quite count as 'mortal,' given your unusual circumstances, but should I require a demonstration, you'll be the first to know.

[He says that with levity, hoping Astarion will take it as the playful deflection he meant it to be.]

[sangwhine]

[That's good enough for Astarion. For now, at least. He gives Gale a playful smile in return.]

I'd certainly consider myself more mortal than a goddess. Although I suppose I am older than her current incarnation, if that's your sort of thing.

[mystracal]

[He tucks the tome under one arm, setting his other hand on his hip.]

Two centuries old, but as sharp as a newly forged blade. I suppose we're lucky to have someone with so much experience in this group, though I think were our leader no longer available, seniority wouldn't be what determined our next one.

[He's not sure he could put up with a party led by Astarion, frankly.]

[sangwhine]

You're very lucky to have me with you.

Though I assure you I've no intentions of taking over for our fearless leader. They're doing well enough for my liking, and I'd rather not be burdened with herding the lot of you all from place to place.

[mystracal]

I doubt you'd want to fight Lae'zel for the position anyway. Wyll would be best suited for it, if you asked me.

[sangwhine]

Mmh, yes. Perhaps a little too much of an idealist for my tastes, but I certainly wouldn't mind the view following after him.

[mystracal]

[Oh you.]

Is there any one of us you've not tried flirting with?

[sangwhine]

Why limit my choices?

Though if you must know, I haven't made any advances on Karlach. Aside from the fact that she could easily break me over her knee, her condition complicates matters.

[Read: he's not about to make a target out of someone who's been outright enslaved by a devil.]

[mystracal]

[And here he thought it was just the blood.]

A shame, really. She seems like the sort who might actually take you up on them.

[sangwhine]

Darling, the chase is half the fun. Like the charming way the red of your cheeks spreads over the tips of your ears when I've truly flustered you.

[mystracal]

[Astarion caught him there. His eyes dart away in quickfire embarrassment.]

Right, well - not all of us can be so... forward with people we hardly know, can we?

[sangwhine]

No, not all of you. But I'm sure you'll find your way soon enough.

[mystracal]

[Gale can't help the smile that tugs at his mouth.]

Perhaps.

[He clears his throat.]

Now, how about um. That help you offered? With clothing, I mean. Not the- other thing.

[sangwhine]

[Astarion smiles to himself. The net's winding around Gale, he can see it closing.]

What about it, my dear?

[mystracal]

You said something about a place in the Lower City. Tell me about it.

[Because it's either that, or they go back to talking about his beard, and he vastly prefers one of those subjects over the other.]

[sangwhine]

Ah, the Facemaker's Boutique. Of course I only had the chance to visit myself on occasion. Our clothing was usually provided for us, but I would stop in when I could to make sure I was up to speed on the sort of styles that were in vogue in the city.

[mystracal]

Baldurian fashion has always been quite different from Waterdhavian, from what I know of it. This will be a bit of a learning experience, but one never knows when we'll have to infiltrate a social gathering for the sake of our cause.