#Shadowheart: you forgot you have a CHILD??? Levi: well you forgot you have parents SO

[maegalkarven]

I like to imagine post "Family Matters" where Noah just runs around the camp (there are three scrying eyes watching him at any given moment bc guess whose father is paranoid? Yeah, his) and companions are just:

"Excuse me, but there's a whole new baby running around."

And Levi responding:

"Oh, that? It's mine."

"Elaborate."

"No ❤"

[maegalkarven]

The innocence of youth.

A oneshot featuring Noah, Gurgetash child, because I am ridiculously attached to this wonderful little boy.

Noah meets the team, hugs Halsin and proposes to make flower crowns.

“You have a child,” Gale, the brave soul he is, is the first to break off the awkward silence.

Levi pushes the stupid fucking grin down.

“Yep.”

“And it’s...Gortash’s child,” the wizard insists.

“Mhm.”

“A child of a tyrant Enver Gortash.”

“Yep.”

“His child.”

“Gale, I don’t think something will change if you keep repeating it like that,” Shadowheart comments, her eyes trained on the said child currently trying to sneak on Withers with a stick. Considering the very likely fact what Withers is actually one of the old gods, Noah’s bravery and idiocy is unparalleled. Withers pretends he doesn’t see very obviously sneaking on him five years old boy.

Jaheira watches over the boy from the safe distance, a deep frown laid between her eyebrows.

Levi knows what she’s thinking about; a bhaalspawn, another child with unholy blood in his veins. But this is the river they’ll cross when they'll cross it. Like hells Father dearest takes this child into his suffocating hold.

“I can’t believe you forgot you have a child,” the cleric continues. Levi snorts.

“Well, you forgot you had parents, so-“

“It’s not the same,” she argues and the fact what they can discuss such topic as simple as that shows how much they’ve overcome. How much they’ve changed and grown. “I was stripped of my memories by a goddess.”

“My sister put a dagger into my skull and rummaged inside until I had no memories left,” he parries. “And anyway, I don’t think I was a father to Noah before all that-” he gestures around. “You know. He hasn’t even met me prior, well, two days ago.”

“I can’t believe Gortash just let him go here like that,” Wyll comments. “He seems to be a little bit...paranoid.”

“He is a lot paranoid,” Levi responds. “And I reckon he has a good reasons for that, he is a tyrant of Baldur’s Gate, after all. Wait, where’s Halsin?”

Gale looks around and chuckles.

“Your son has him,” he comments fondly. “I’m pretty sure it’s Noah’s druid now.”

And indeed Halsin is very content in being carried around in a wild shape of a cat. Noah’s stick is forgotten, as well as his quest to poke Withers with it. Everyone seems to be relieved by that.

“It doesn’t look like he minds,” Levi comments absentmindedly, watching as Karlach raises her axe. “Enver’s paranoia is about to raise to dangerous heights in three, two, one-“

The first of the scrying eyes falls to the ground, broken. Noah turns around.

“I don’t mind if you do that to the remaining two,” he offers and Karlach grins.

“You got it, kid.”

The other spying devices suffer the same fate.

“Good thinking,” Wyll murmurs. “Let’s upset the tyrant sitting on the throne of Baldur’s Gate. Nothing bad will come out of it.”

“Oh, come on,” Levi smirks. “This is my child too, he is safe with me. And if Enver doesn’t think so, well, that looks like Enver’s problem.”

They watch as Noah puts cat Halsin around his shoulders like a cloak and tugs at Karlach’s pants.

“Do you want to make a flower crown?” he asks shyly. “I have never made flower crowns.”

Karlach looks around.

“Me?”

“Yep.”

“I...I’m not sure I’m the best one for that task, kid.”

“It’s alright, we can learn together!”

The earnestness and innocence seem to win against the boy’s relation to Gortash, and Karlach reluctantly smiles.

“Alright then. But we’ll need Halsin to show us the plants we shouldn’t touch. I think your dad will bite my head off if I accidentally give you poison burn.”

Noah looks hopeful.

“He will?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“But he just met me!”

“And I know he already cares about you a lot,” a glance back to Levi, who nods. “Come on, kid, let’s make everyone flower crowns.”

“You realize whose will be the ugliest flower crowns in the world,” Astarion chimes in.

“Well, then you’re not getting any.”

“Hey, I never said I don’t want an ugly fucking flower crown-“

“It will have bugs in it. You hate bugs.”

“I’ll just make Noah pick them up and throw them somewhere into the grass.”

“You will make five years old collect bugs?!”

“Oh, come on, he lived his entire life in a tower, he would be delighted to gather some bugs.”

“How long do you think I’ll take Gortash to show up here and murder us in our sleep for destroying his precious scrying eyes?” Gale contemplates.

“I give it an hour or two, and then we’re for a feat.”

Levi walks away, leaving his friends bickering, his posture at ease, muscles relaxed. It doesn’t take long for magic to overcome his body, bending bones and changing shape.

A small black cat throttles into the forest after the woman on fire and a little boy excitedly telling her about some extremely interesting story he just read. Well, not like read-read, more like looked at the pictures and read a little, but he will learn! Father says he is a fast learner.

“Mrpm,” the cat speaks as it hits the boy’s knees gently. Noah gasps.

“A cat!” and really, where did Enver raise him, in a box? How a mere sign of a cat can be so exciting?

Karlach looks behind.

“Oh, it’s your dad,” she comments. “He does that sometimes.”

“My dad is a cat?!”

“Sort of? He’s a druid like Halsin and Jaheira.”

Noah lets Halsin off his shoulders and kneels to reach for the black fur. The cat purrs and leans into the touch.

“Wow,” the boy whispers. “This is so cool. Do you think he can teach me how to do that? I want to be a cat too.”

“You can be a great many things, little one,” Halsin responds, already in his elf form. “Cat is one of the many wild shapes a druid can take. I am sure your parent will be happy to teach you.”

Levi mews, agreeing, and allows himself to be grasped into two small clammy hands.

“Is it alright if I carry you?” the boy asks. “Halsin doesn’t mind, but he said I need to ask first.”

Levi simply licks the boy’s fingers.

“I think it’s a yes,” Halsin smiles. “Now, about these flower crowns of yours...”