#(i know jack shit abt curse of strahd but i may be looking for the novels so if u have any recommendations i always want em c: )

[softersinned]

@saintsdawn said: “ an enemy of an enemy doesn’t necessarily make them a friend, i’ve discovered. ”

"Then you are, it seems, wiser than most."

She offers a wan smile, but it fades quickly enough; it's rare that anything shakes Astoria enough to make her so careless with guarding her expressions, but it has been a strange night. Long fingers drum against the table where they sit together, and she wonders how she appears to them: monstrous, or simply pitiable, locked away in her estate like this, some thing hidden in the dark.

"With that said—I take hospitality and all it entails very seriously, sweet thing." She waves a lazy hand towards the door. "My woods are treacherous to travel without a guide, and I don't like to send my Lenore out so close to dawn when she'll have to return alone. You're welcome to stay through the day. My library is yours to peruse, and the gardens are, I'm told, rather lovely in the sunlight. I can even show you to the wine cellar before I retire, if you'd like. And if you remain to this evening, then we can discuss what friendship might entail."

Her eyes, more animal than human, settle on Florence's, the gold almost yellow in the flicker of candlelight and the pale brush of dawn through the window. That they've come here at all speaks to either a foolhardy bravery or a cleverness that Astoria has stopped expecting from her guests. She stands in a fluid motion, fingers resting against the tabletop, and she tips her head and looks them over once again. Tall and steady. Lovely, certainly. Fearsome, unquestionably. She thinks she'd like to see them fight. She thinks she'd like to see them fight her.

"So today, as far as I am concerned, we are friends. And once we've both had some rest, we can renegotiate that position as we see fit. Or you can take your chances in my woods—just let Lenore know what you intend. I don't want her to have to cook for someone who isn't staying."