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Quinn chuckled to themself, knowing those sharp ears could hear them ever so. Taking the bow from it's sheath, ever strapped to the instrument's hip, Quinn met gut string with gut strings, and sawed off a melody. |
Karlach gave a whoop of excitement, Wyll hailing from beside her, and despite their previous lingering mood, Quinn gave into the cheer, and chose a cheerful melody. |
"I ’m not here long, I’m here for a dandy time, |
I’m here for the nights in you I should find, |
I’m here for the squeeze, I’m here for the love, |
I’m here can you see: |
That I’m not here long, but you’ll long remember me..! " |
Astarion wondered what he had somehow unleashed as Quinntav descended the stairway down to the first level, spinning in place once, their tail a banner behind their legs, before stopping to continue their melody before a boot stomping red Tiefling. |
" Dour eyed red darling babe, |
Chase away all the deep thoughts your old, love, made, |
He never made a lick of sense to me, |
But I promise you a lick if my lover you will be..! " |
Of course it was dirty. If it wasn’t dirty, pretty, or both, it wasn’t a song, at least not in Quinntav’s eyes. Still, it was part the reason why he bothered to listen: they never took their music too seriously, despite the obvious skill they had. Perhaps it was the fighting that made their foot work quick, perhaps it ... |
Perhaps he was simply hungry. |
"No, I’m not here long, but I’ll show you some length, |
A gift of flesh, and something with a wink, |
If ever you should promise me, |
Your lover I should forever be..!" |
Even the scholars had given up on their dreary studies, Gale clapping his hand to the tune like an old man at his retirement part at the college, and Shadowheart shaking her head in only faint disapproval. Lae’zel was squinting as though she had never heard music before or couldn’t discern the meaning for the life of h... |
" I’m not here long, I’m here for a dandy time, |
I’m here for the nights in you I should find, |
I’m here for the squeeze, |
I’m here for the love, |
I’m here, darling, see: |
That I’m not here long, but you’ll long remember me! |
Oh, not here looong! |
But you’ll long remember me! " |
A final strum, a clattering of a chair as Karlach jumped up to applaud loudly, and Quinn smirking directly at Astarion. Hold on, was that supposed to be meant for him ? |
Dour eyed red darling babe— of course it was meant for him! |
"Oh, looks like he’s in a mood," he heard Karlach mutter as Astarion stalked from his seat, leaving all of them to go around to the one secluded corner of the rounded place to get out of eye sight of the plum Tiefling. |
The strumming continued, turning clumsy, Asatrion half wondering if Quinn was making a mess on purpose to bother him or someone else. One way or another Astarion made himself useful, rifling through a deep cabinet, curses be damned, for something that would get him properly inebriated. |
Lover? Who was he to be anyone’s lover? A quick fuck, a stolen tryst in the ally before he dragged some unwitting fool to meet his maker. How many had there been, exactly? Thousands, likely. Sometimes the demand so high that Astarion would have to hunt for groups or go out multiple times an evening to find Cazador’s be... |
Why in gods name was he so irritated all of a sudden? |
"Az," Astarion should have noticed Quinn approach, the lingering touch of their blood, long since seeped into their clothing despite the artful way they knew how to properly remove a stain making it impossible for the vampire to miss the scent. He turned his head, seeing them searching his eyes as they sidled near, rem... |
When they offered themself to him for the first time, bearing their throat before he could whisper a request or break and finally attempt to take it himself. |
Before Astarion was done feeding, he knew he hadn’t wanted to remove his mouth. But then the feeling burned, down to his very core, reminding him thickly of who he was. A seducer. An enthraller. Quinn’s blown pupils had assured him of his victory over that fact. |
Yet it had happened again. And again. Under the reaching eves of an elm at dusk. Beside a sun dappled pond, swimming with flickering silver fish and laden with fat lily pads. The only place Astarion had not sought them out for was in Quinn’s own tent, letting the Tiefling sleep among their collected scarves, throw pill... |
But then...Astarion had not asked. Quinn had merely offered, each time, and he had eagerly tasted, enriched by the experience whenever gifted it. Their blood was enchanted, charmed, cursed in some fashion, that could be the only solution. Astarion had...tried to taste another’s, the swipe of a spell caster’s along his ... |
And that song. Of course it would come up eventually, Quinn had asked as much in the woods if he had a lover. And Astarion had felt their primal desire clear into his very person. It was only a matter of time before it came up again, and Astarion’s meal ticket would be less a...gift from a fellow "cohort in crime" and ... |
Would it be so bad? Quinn was lovely to admire from afar physically. In battle they were a reaper of souls, spelling their blades into dancing flames of magic, cutting ribbons into any fool who dared to draw to close, and bespelling others with their miraculous voice if they remained out of reach. That is, if anyone to... |
It was hilarious, when they did. |
Off the field, they were kind. Funny. If ever Astarion was stuck taking watch or sent out to check the landscape for hidden traps, Quinn would be there to offer companionship. Sometimes without asking, and always without any mention of the sort of companionship Astarion was more often used to. |
In another life, without their afflictions, separate and shared, perhaps they could have been something like friends. Perhaps if he hadn't of turned coward that once upon a time, he would know by then. |
Though he had kept his back turned Astarion had heard them approaching before the Tiefling spoke up. He turned his head then, picking up the continued, sad wailing of their violin if sans presence in their hands. He shouldn’t have reacted outwardly the way he did; now that Quinn was there, eyes searching, stance casual... |
When did that begin to fail to surprise him? |
"Grow tired of your revelry, darling," Astarion asked, closing the leaf lined journal he had picked up while his mind had been absently running over thoughts of his...companion. |
"My central audience left the room," they replied, stepping closer to him to stand at his side, apparently noticing that Astarion wasn’t about to hiss or snap at the mere approach of their person. They had their hands in the sewn back trousers of their pockets, small things Astarion sometimes saw them mending with quic... |
"Trust me, I’ve heard a worst sort in better lit and far less acrid smelling abodes then this one, Quinntav," Astarion promised, setting aside the journal, not having read it at all. |
"You’ll have to give me some samples," they said, crossing their arms to lean into one of the barely standing walls nearest to the vampire. "As long as you’ve had, I have reason to think you may be the most well verse critic in all of Faerun." |
"Well," Astarion cocked a hip, enjoying the banter a tad despite himself. "I may know a thing or two about true artsmenship, darling. One doesn’t spend as much time as I did as a centerpiece for a vampire lord’s estate and not pick up a few things." Ah, sullen again. He hadn’t meant to shift back into morose, into some... |
"Were you the art," Quinn asked. "I can’t imagine that anyone could look away from you if the building were on fire." |
Ah, flattery. "What was it that you wanted? Hm? I think I can hear Karlach calling from here for another song; I fear it’s only a matter of time before her boredom shakes this shack down to it’s very bones." |
"The fight, it took a number out of all of us." |
"Oh, you mean the one where the Hag split off into six different forms and then proceeded to charm Gale into launching strikes of lightning at our backs? Or the one before where a certain someone insisted on knocking out the masked heathens attacking us at all sides rather then making it easier and cutting them down fr... |
Fine, he was in a mood. The red Tiefling had to have some level of perceptive ability after running through the Hells as long as she had. |
"I believe you forgot to mention the Red Capped bastards trying to slice your curls off in the putrid swamp outdoors. Oh!" They stood up, grinning, meaning it, amused somehow no matter how he prickled to bite at them for it. "And the toad! The hissing, possessed toad that, despite it’s teeny tiny size somehow ripped a ... |
"I told you to step away! But no! One look at those big, glassy, filthy marbles of it and it was, "Oh, but what if it’s hurt? Oh, but what if Shadowheart used lesser restoration and freed it of it’s thrall?" |
"What can I say, hm," Quinn shrugged a shoulder. "I have a soft spot for cute, if questionable." |
"That answers some questions." |
"If you must know, I’m fine. The perks of keeping the edge of the battlefield and picking off the enemy while a certain sword wielding, stabby happy friend plunges into the fray is that not many pay me any mind." |
"Good," Quinntav visibly perked up. They had been worried after all. "I know since the banks and entering this place, I haven’t given you any of my blood, and it’s only been one tussle after the last. Hurt or no, if that tummy starts to rumble, I would feel better knowing you went to bed warm and full." |
"Tummy? Did you honestly just use the word "tummy" to refer to the stomach of a vampire spawn?" |
"Yes. Because referring to a well-to-do aristocrat with impeccable taste in dress and a manner of speech akin to liquid sex as having a tummy fills me with a joy that remains utterly incomparable." |
"You are utterly absurd!" |
"And you’re smiling!" |
"Because you’re a fool!" |
"And you think I taste good." |
Astarion shut his mouth, instantly paranoid about what they knew. Was it the bond? He had yet to say out loud what their blood was like to his very senses, how enthralling it could be to hear of the barest prick of their nail against their skin and instantly begin to feel his hunger sharpen. He wouldn't have been able ... |
"Az," Quinn’s grin had stopped. So near, Astarion could see the way their loose curls sought to frame their chin from beneath the curve of their horns. The air of the room was humid, they were close, and Astarion found himself wanting. And not wanting at all. |
"The song. Your song. Do you desire it so?" He could hear his voice, dressed in silk, tempting, offering. Easy, slipping on the mask that was easier to don then it was to recall to lift his chest in some mockery of needing to breathe. "I know an innuendo when I hear one, Quinntav. And when you mentioned desiring a love... |
"Of course," their voice had turned flippant again. Not rude, not cruel, but open, honest. Gods, why did they have to be honest? "I wanted your reaction, Az, as I said. You made me laugh, the least I could do was attempt to repay it in kind with some crude lyrics." |
Astarion’s mind stilled. He parsed those words, finding them entirely lacking in flirt, in hint, in...in very much of anything. "Are you telling me you weren’t propositioning me for sex?" |
Quinn’s expression was set to stunned. "Prop—propositioning you? Holy mother of cards, Astarion, is that what it seemed like? Is that why you left? It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable!" |
"Uncom— have you met me? Have you seen me? I wield sex like a weapon, I know the ends and outs of foreplay better then Mystra herself can spin a spell! If you think even the idea of sex makes me uncomfortable, Quinntav, then you don’t know me at all!" |
"Az, what I mean is that the two of us are friends, if I should be so bold as to say. We’ve fought together, squabbled, talked shit, but I think it’s far too soon for me to even consider the possibility that you would be interested in sleeping with me-!" |
"Have you not heard of a one night stand? A roll in the hay, a quick tryst in an alley and nothing more? Sex does not require time, Bard, no more time then it takes to warm them up and get it in, and sometimes not even that much-!" |
"It does with me!" Astarion shut up, truly thrown by what they had said. "Look, I’m not yet looking for a long term commitment right now what with turning into a squid and all, but I’m not very well looking for a quick fuck, either. My songs about sex, Astarion, they’re just for a laugh! But if I ever, truly want t... |
"But, I-," he was starting to sputter, but Astarion needed to understand, to take the lie for what it had to be and lay it bare: "I felt it through the connection, and I’ve felt it sense! Every time we lay together it’s there, and I"m more familiar with that then anything else this world has to offer!" |
"Astarion, I will be frank: I would find it incredibly flattering if you wanted to fuck me, and I would take great pleasure in serving you in that way. I’ve enjoyed our time together enough that I find that idea to be very enthralling. But. I don’t want you to fuck me. Do you understand?" |
"You...you're saying that if you were to drive me to have an orgasm, you would not want it to be reciprocated?" |
"No," they nearly chirped. "If it happened, then alright it’s happens. But my, my pleasure in such moments comes from other sources." |
"What? Gold? Jewelry? Baubles? Would you want me to pay you-." |
"No, gods, I’m not a prostitute," they chuckled, hands up but hardly defensive, showing off the criss crossing threads along their life lines. "What I mean is...well, it’s probably far less exciting then what you’re accustomed to." |
"Then help me understand, Quinn," Astarion said, almost buillishly. If the Tiefling didn’t learn to speak Common soon, Astarion would save his brain the trouble and go back to feeding off of the wildlife. That was, if he were capable. "Because this seems like nonsense to me and after the time we have been through that ... |
Their forked tongue darted out, licking their upper lip briefly. Nerves. "Alright. I take pleasure in how near you are to me. How much trust you instill in me in allowing me to be so near while drawing my blood. How...how after all this time I should be your, well," they cleared their throat, strangely flushed in the ... |
"I-," he was gaping. |
"But only if you’d like to." |
"But I’ve felt it, that, that need in you as I have felt in me, Through, through the bond!" |
"Ah, the itch. It tends to rear it’s head more with you around. I’ll be honest that with my lack of memory it could be that I’ve never had a relationship last long enough to, shall we say, "desire someone carnally" in that fashion, and it could be nice to find out what that’s like... No, if it would make you more comfo... |
Astarion was struck. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t reason. It call came down to, "Are you telling me that the only repayment your asking for donating your blood is a cuddle?" |
"I’m not asking you to hold my hand, not unless you’re feeling generous, of course." They laughed shortly, Astarion fixated on the darkening swatch of purple on their cheeks. "B-but if it would clear matters up, we can use the bond. Read my intentions, see for yourself." |
Astarion was almost certain they were being completely honest. It would take a master manipulator to play coy in the way that they were and get away with it without convincing him, but then why bother? Why not just pull the easy card and use sex as a means instead? No one very well tried to get their way by coyly sugge... |
"Fine." What the fuck was he doing. |
Quinn grinned widely, holding up their hands and offering their palms. "I must confess, Astarion, that I am using you right now." |
"Oh, and for what," Astarion indulged in their almost childish behavior. Not childish, but, Hells, sweet. He touched his hands to their’s, the two folding together, Astarion’s interest flaring with the feeling of those very lines he noted before pressing into his palms. They were always so warm. |
"We don’t need to touch to communicate this way," they said in an unnecessary whisper, leaning in close. "I’m just a slut for the attention." |
Astarion snorted. He fucking snorted, Quinn’s gasp letting him know they had heard, and they were never going to let him forget it. Astarion smacked away their chance to mention it then and dove in to their mind, feeling for the truth of things. Feeling what he had seen plain before his eyes a moment before. |
It was too soon for images. For thoughts that were not mere emotion, mere impression, but...it was enough. Astarion took in the blush of joy that came from the mere contact of their hands intertwining together, and, oh, there were other things, too. The purr of satisfaction at the sound of his voice. The winsome happin... |
But that burning lust Astarion had been so sure of before. It was barely there, just barely. Much like...a bee trapped in a jaw, heard in another room. It was loud, too loud, drawing attention from other things. Skin to skin, breath to shoulder, vibration to ear. An annoyance. What the hell? |
Astarion opened his eyes, Quinn doing so at the same moment. "Sorry, that last part, well, it’s as I’ve said." |
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