#gale dekarios x female tiefling tav

[amorgansgal]

Please Don't Leave Me

Inspired by my own post, I decided to write a little fic for my female tiefling tav x Gale, but I've decided to avoid using names, so if you have an insecure tiefling tav who loves Gale then hopefully you might enjoy!

Female tiefling tav x Gale

CW: Some reference to sexual content, but nothing too explicit.

His mind drifts back to what she said now that they’re lying quietly, curled up with one another, her head resting on his shoulder, her fingers lightly skimming over his chest, her long nails leaving little goosebumps in their wake, his arm is wrapped around her, keeping her close, his hand resting on her hip, the other trails up her arm, until he cups her face and kisses her softly. Gods, he loves her and she is such a beauty, dark eyes gleam in the low light, her skin is soft but covered with little bumps and ridges he has made it his mission to map out, her lips full and soft and so easy to kiss. Every night when they close the tent flaps and tumble into bed together he thanks the stars, fate, the gods for letting him have just the smallest of tastes of this glorious, wondrous woman. How lucky he is to get to hold her, to kiss her, to love her and she… She loves and embraces and kisses him! 

And yet his mind replays her words, over and over and over, how when her arms and legs were wrapped around him, when he was buried inside her and she was panting and moaning so sweetly. 

‘Don’t leave me! Promise you won’t leave me!’ she had begged and he had sworn he never would, he had held her tighter, kissed her more passionately and fiercely, hoping that it would convey in some small form how much he adored her, how he would never ever even dream of leaving her, that he couldn’t.

“Why did you beg me not to leave you?” he asks now and feels her tense up, he soothingly strokes her arm and back and is glad when she relaxes. He kisses her forehead, mindful of her horns. “You must know that I could not even think of such a thing, that I love you too much and I know how lucky I am to even have you look at me.”

She shrugs and nestles closer. “I feel lucky to have you. You’re a great wizard and a wonderful man, you could have anyone you wanted. I know I don’t offer much-”

His hand tightens on her hip. “Well I do not want anyone else, I want you. I love you. And you offer me plenty, you offer kindness and goodness and unconditional love. I’d have to be a mad man to turn my nose up to that-”

“I’m a petty thief with a few knife tricks, not to mention my own past is… well… dubious,” she sighs.

“None of us are exactly without flaw,” he points out. “Besides, none of that matters to me. You must know that.”

“I just think you could do better and so I’m fearful you will do so and someday you will leave me.”

“I won’t. You have my word. My solemn oath. I will never leave you. And I cannot do better, when I already have the best woman in the entirety of Faerun.”

She gives a small snort of laughter. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do,” he places two fingers under her chin and raises her head, encouraging her to look at him. “You have my heart, entirely and completely. I am at your mercy, please don’t leave me and don’t doubt me.”

She smiles, almost shyly, and he kisses her again. She hums contentedly into the kiss and he brings her hand to cover his heart so she can feel it beating under her fingertips, then he covers her hand with his own. “This is all yours,” he murmurs.

[fighterfenn]

No we are not judging you.

- proceeds to judge you -

[jace-writes-about-things]

An Orb In The Way

It had been a hard fight, but it was finally over, the grove was safe and much to Tav's delight it was time to relax, have a drink and forget the impending doom their party had been feeling for the past week. It's not every day you're thrust into a mission, save the world and everyone in it to ensure the continued survival of the entire world, was a pretty big burden to be forced to carry.

Their party, although exhausted was ready to celebrate their victory over the Goblin Camp, it had been a tedious and hard fight clearing out the entire camp but with the help of the Archdruid they'd come to know as Halsin, they had managed to save the grove from destruction and stop Kaugha's Rite of Thorns from sealing the grove off from the rest of Faerun. Of course, their journey was far from over, but this brief respite was welcomed by the party, and Tav found herself in camp. Surrounded by fellow Tieflings, the party in full swing around her as people celebrated their continued survival.

Making the rounds, talking to her fellow exhausted but celebrating party members, she began with Shadowheart found at her tent sipping on what appeared to be a goblet of wine. "Enjoying the festivities?" Shadowheart asked over the rim of her goblet, she seemed a bit on edge with the sheer amount of people who we're celebrating around the camp, of course she was used to her life of seclusion as a servant of Shar but Tav seemed to notice the slight happiness to her expression, she was enjoying the company of others even if she would staunchly deny it, "Just making the rounds, wanted to check in with everyone before I finally let loose a little." Tav responded, taking a seat at Shadowheart's stool, allowing herself a moment to actually sit down for the first time that day, she didn't realise how heavy her limbs felt till she finally felt a bit of rest. Noticing her leaders fatigue she passed her goblet to the tired Tiefling which she accepted gladly with a sigh before sipping lightly on the rather bitter wine, she must have made a face at the taste judging by Shadowheart's quiet laugh. Handing back the goblet Tav rose to her feet, much to her bones and muscles protest, but she had more than Shadowheart to speak to.

Giving Shadowheart a smile and quick wave she made her way to the rest of the group, noticing that a good chunk of the team was actually drinking together, it was nice to see the small group getting along, even if they had been thrust together with very little concern for some clashing personalities. Looking around, noticing a certain wizard trying his best to keep up with Karlach and La'zel discussing their preferred choice of weapon was a sight to see. They had only known each other a short while but watching the wizard's awkward smile and nodding along as he pretended to understand the different advantages great axes and battle-axes had, considering to him they are pretty much the same thing just that battle-axes are a little smaller. It was rather endearing, someone Tav never thought to even consider, herself a brutish barbarian who very much swung first and talked after, compared to the composed and educated wizard, Gale.

Feeling eyes on her, of course she had been caught staring and of course it had to be Astarion. Looking over at the pale elf, he didn't even have to say a word his smirk speaking for itself, well she'd been found out might as well admit it, even if it had to be to the one person who would absolutely rip the piss out of her. Making her way over to the smug elf with what was definitely an embarrassed look, "Something caught your eye?" said with such smugness it almost made Tav want to slap the expression right off his face, but she was learning to think before acting seemingly getting her further into places and having better outcomes, so she played into Astarion's teasing, "Why? Feeling a little jealous?" she almost laughed at the quick change in his expression. How the tables could quickly turn, but as quickly as his embarrassment came his features were stilled and the facade was back, "Jealous? Of you pining after that wizard? Come on darling you have better standards than that surely?" hiding his face behind his goblet as he drank, almost ready to spit the sour liquid back out, without giving her time to respond to his rather rude assessment of Gale, "Gods this wine is disgusting, you would think that we deserve something better for saving these people’s lives." it wasn't so much as a request more a demand, shaking her head at his rudeness, "Expecting greatness for simply helping people? Not sure you're quite deserving of the hero title, are you?" Tav jested, maybe she could get under his skin the way he does with everyone else, give him a taste of his own medicine.

But of course no luck, seemingly nothing could make the man squirm but this conversation was quickly becoming one that Tav didn't exactly have the energy for, giving the man a short smile and a short farewell she were off, looking around the camp for anyone to have a much more pleasant conversation with.

Of course, everyone was deep in either their own conversations or drinks, a head to the clear sky and the heaviness of her limbs led Tav down to the small bank at the edges of the camp, not entirely silent but still quieter than the full swing of the party happening behind her. Looking out to the water she lowered her tired limbs down to sit just at the cusp of the small tide of the bank, gazing out to the wilderness ahead, peaceful. Lost in her own thoughts, reviewing all that had happened, what was to come ahead, the choices they may be faced with...

So lost in thought she failed to notice that someone had joined her in her seat at the bank, "Did you know that a great axe is great for landing devastating blows to your enemies, but a battleaxe is better for wielding alongside a shield for added defence." came that honeyed voice, a slight laughter escaped Tav at the seemingly genuine interest Gale showed to the different advantages to the different weapons, gazing to her side there he sat with his eyes glowing like a child who'd just learned such important information. Regardless the topic it seemed he was always willing to listen and learn something new, it was endearing. A soft smile thrown his way as he blushed at the attention, "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice you straying away I thought to come check on you, you've made sure we're all alright but it seems no one's thought to ask how you're faring." he looked at her expectantly, willing to be an ear to listen, to rant at, looking at him it felt all too easy to just tell him everything, all of her problems, everything bothering her little or large.

With a sigh and a soft smile she simply looked back out to the water, gazing intensely at seemingly nothing in particular, his gaze followed her own out to the soft flow of the water looking to try find what she was staring so intently at, finding nothing he seemed to realise. A moment of peace, of respite is all she needed, maybe without him, he began to try to stand but a soft hand on his leg stopped him in his tracks, looking towards her again, her gaze still out towards the water, a silent plea, "Stay." it was simple, an easy instruction for him to follow.

His hand over her’s he resumed his seated position, tracing small patterns over her hand that rested on his leg. He'd be lying if he didn't feel the warm burn of blush on his face, isolation had done a number of his tolerance of physical intimacy but in this moment, this moment of peace he couldn't bring himself to care much about the blushing reaction to simple hand holding because it was Tav's hand he was holding, it was Tav's hand.

Sensing a slight shift in his demeanour Tav tried to pull her hand away from the wizard, mistaking his silence as rejection readying herself to pull away completely, if he didn't feel the same way she could simply shut off, it wouldn't be too hard, would it? But the quick snatch of her hand told her otherwise, a glace towards the wizard revealed his reddened face, simple hand holding had reduced this educated and put together wizard to a blushing mush, she could only describe it as cute, "You look like you're about to start running a fever." Tav teased, giggling as the wizards face deepened a shade if that was even possible, his other hand reached out to cover his face, desperate to hide his face in worry that Tav would find him to be childish, blushing at her simply touching his hand, it was embarrassing, horrifying he wanted the ground to swallow him whole but as Tav's hand reached out to block his attempts at hiding he found himself unable to cover his feelings any longer, "I'm sorry I'm usually much better at discussing my feelings but I seem to forget myself around you." even in explaining his embarrassment his words sounded like utter poetry, enough to make Tav swoon.

Gazing into his eyes could have revealed all, dark brown orbs looking back at her like she hung the very stars in the sky, a soft hand reaching up to her face seemingly to wipe a speck of whatever was bothering him from her face, she could get lost in his eyes for however long he would let her, but his glace down towards her lips gave way to a much more appealing idea. Smiling softly, leaning in, eyes drifting closed their lips met in a soft kiss. Tav didn't believe people when they said that when you kissed 'the one' that it felt like fireworks, until now. It felt like a whole crate of smoke-powder bombs had exploded the minute their lips met, it was soft, sweet and almost better than any drink that had ever graced her lips, quickly escalating to hands grabbing clothes and clutching onto his robes for dear life. Teeth clashing, tongues mixing desperate to taste each other like horny teenagers sneaking behind their parents backs it felt rebellious.

But a soft hand pushing against her chest gave them pause. Pulling away to gasp for air, taking note of their new position finding her legs wrapped around his waist planted firmly on his lap as he gripped her hips with the strength of a man holding himself back, hooded eyes as he drunk in her state, breathless and ready for more that he couldn't give, not just yet, "Sorry, I don't trust myself, with this unstable orb willing to see me ended I don't think it smart getting it too... um, excited?" it seemed almost like a question, one that he himself wasn't sure of the answer to. A soft chuckle escaped Tav, of course she couldn't risk Gale letting off an explosion all for the sake of a lay, disappointed but understanding of their situation, grasping his face between both hands she gave him a quick peck, pulling away as he chased, almost as if he himself was fighting the urge explosion be damned, he wanted her but alas the rational part of his brain won the fight, pushed down for a later date hopefully.

Rising to their feet together, gazing at each other glad of the admittance of feelings, the sharing of a moment together albeit not quite what they both yearned for, but a moment, nonetheless. Strolling back to camp with linked fingers and an obvious glow surrounding them both, it almost made Astarion sick to look upon

Thank you so much for reading my first cross posted Gale fanfiction, I've been posting all my writings over on AO3 as well if you want to have a nosey over there at my other writings, if not worry not I will be posting the rest of my fanfictions over here as well!

AO3 - jacethed00d

[tealfling]

If our Tavs could talk....

Zephyr just struck out big time at the Tiefling Party.

Gale didn't want to get excited, Rolan didn't want to be distracted from Prestidigitation of all spells, Wyll wanted to sulk in peace, Lae'zel & Astarion were holding up "Free Rides" signs, and Zephyr just went to bed alone out of spite, lamenting not taking Karlach up on her offer two nights ago. Then Gale has the nerve to scare away the owlbear cub. She doesn't run on the Weave at this point, it's only salt in her veins.

[cynical-sprite]

Lexori and Gale❤️

[queenaeducan-writes]

The Art of Reading Aloud

Pairing: f!Tav x Gale Dekarios Characters: Gale Dekarios, Female/Tiefling/Druid!Tav Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Rating: Explicit Archive Warnings: None Other Tags: Oral, Named Tav, Talkative Gale, Post-Game (Pre-Epilogue), Fluff/Smut, Established Relationship, POV Gale Chapters: 1/1 Summary:The Netherbrain is no more, and for the first time in what seems like an age Gale gives himself permission to consider the future.

“Have you ever been to the Moonshae Isles?”

Gale pops his nose over the spine of his book, waiting patiently for Ophelia to settle at the foot of their bed. Fresh from a bath, steam rises from her nude form, nipples bright and hard as they reacquaint themselves with the naked air. She stretches, the muscles in her back growing long as every link in her spine reaches up. It’s easy to imagine his fingers alighting upon it, stroking up her vertebrae like a resplendent library shelf.

Sinking into the mattress with a sigh, she twists some water from her hair and answers, “No. I can’t say I have. Why do you ask?”

(Read on AO3!)

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls on Me

Day Four: Afternoon

Rating: Mature (Just in case)

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three , Chapter Four , Chapter Five

Characters: Gale Dekarios, Karlach, F!Tav: Copper, Wyll Ravengard, Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart.

Warning: Gale POV, Gale x Female Tav, slight mention of female nudity, sexual innuendos, teasing, bullying, fighting/arguing between many people.

The team is divided about the best way to approach the Goblin Camp. Gale and Karlach look for Copper who was missing from the heated discussion.

---

Day 4- Afternoon

When the scouting team came back, they reported only a minor skirmish at the gate because of a feces incident between a goblin and Astarion. Otherwise, Wyll said they were allowed to waltz right into the ravaged temple where the Goblin Leaders resided. Since all the goblins were easily swayed by the powers of the tadpole.

Hearing the news, Gale thought this would be an easy rescue mission. Walk through the drunken goblin party, find the worg pens, retrieve the druid Halsin, and sneak back out.

Gale didn't want to think too much about the unease he felt in the pit of his stomach at the thought of the poor tieflings trying to survive the road to Baulder's Gate. But their team couldn't agree on the best course of action. 

Wyll and Karlach were all for killing the goblin leaders. But Astarion and Shadowheart wanted to be more practical and focus on finding the druid so he could heal them of their tadpoles. Lae'zel wanted to skip the whole goblin camp and head towards the Githyanki Creche in the mountains. 

Gale was surprised the young warrior wasn't heading out on her own but she must have had more loyalty to their tadpole troupe than he thought. Or at the very least Lae’zel didn't want more mind flyers floating around if her (forced) companions failed at finding a cure.

Gale notices halfway through the heated discussion that he wasn't hearing Copper chiming in. She surely would side with Wyll and Karlach about protecting the tieflings but the monk was nowhere to be found. 

After tempers subsided, everybody agreed to find Halsin first and go from there. Karlach pulls Gale in for a talk. “Hey, I wonder where our soldier went? I wanted her around to help argue our point for protecting the refugees.” 

Gale doesn't know why Karlach calls Copper "soldier" but he chalks it up to one of the fiery tiefling’s charming oddities. “It's been over an hour since I last saw Copper. I think we should go find her just in case something foul falls upon our charming monk.” 

“Agree!” Karlach says enthusiastically. “We’ll be leaving soon for the goblin camp and we'll need Copper to bash in some heads if we get into a fight.”

“Well, the whole point of that argument just now was that we wouldn't get into an altercation with the goblins.” Gale frowns.

“Come on man!” Karlach huffs out in frustration, “I know you don't feel right leaving those tieflings to fend for themselves on the road if we don’t kill the goblin leaders.”

Gale slows down his pace. He doesn't feel right about this decision. But there's a chance if they rescue Halsin he could stop Kagha from completing the Ritual of Thorns, giving the tieflings more time in the grove, and curing them of their tadpole. 

Before he could respond, Karlach put a hand out to fully stop Gale in his tracks.

“Whoa, there,” Karlach says in a hushed tone that still carries over the sound of the waterfall that feeds the stream they camped next to. “We found her.”

Gale looks around and spots Copper sitting under the waterfall, her auburn hair barely visible under the gush of falling water. He could only speculate that the monk was completing some sort of meditation because it didn't make any sense to bathe right before entering a filthy goblin camp.

Karlach walks forward and calls towards Copper to get her attention. The woman must have heard the tiefling because soon she starts to move and wades through the water towards them. 

Gale notices right away that the thin white shirt Copper is wearing is soaked through and not leaving anything to the imagination about the state of her, umm… ample chest. Gale feels the heat of embarrassment flood his face and he quickly turns his head away. Trying with all his might to will away the arousal that was spreading through his body. 

“Such a silly thing to get excited about. I’ve seen hundreds of breasts before.” Gale internally mocks himself but doesn’t acknowledge his thoughts didn’t go as far as to include most of those breasts were illustrations in books. 

“Whoa, that water must have been cold.” Karlach laughs. “You're going to poke somebody's eyes out with those things.” She gestures towards Copper's nipples, peeking through the wet shirt. The monk only gives a quick glance down before letting out a small laugh of her own. 

“Hey, they aren't that bad!” Copper grins, water droplets running down her face before the smile falters as she notices Gale’s embarrassment. 

“Sorry.” Copper says, fidgeting with the wet neckline of her shirt, hoping for some way to cover herself in front of the wizard but failing. “I’m not used to having much privacy in the barracks, sometimes I forget other people aren't comfortable with nudity.”

“Nooo, it's quite alright!” Gale nervously glances at Copper but tries his hardest to keep his gaze up at her face instead of her chest. “But I do think it's breast. Umm, I mean best if you get dressed. We’ll be heading out shortly for the goblin camp.”

Karlach gives out a loud snort of laughter while Gale just wants to sink into a hole and disappear. 

“Urgh!” It always feels like he's fumbling his words around Copper lately and Gale doesn't want to investigate the reason why. Especially not now while the woman is pulling up a pair of pants in front of him. 

Besides, the orb in his chest and the tadpole in his head cut short any sort of romantic attraction his body might be feeling for his monk companion. 

In his desperate attempt to be a gentleman and ignore the half-naked woman in front of him, Gale almost misses Karlach's question. “Hey soldier, why were you sitting under that waterfall anyway? Feeling too hot in this summer heat?”

Fully dressed and wringing out her hair of excess liquid, Copper looks up, her grey eyes drifting in a far-off direction before focusing back on the tiefling.

“I was…purifying my body for the fight ahead.” Copper answers slowly as if she is deliberating on something before deciding to confide in her companions. “I am getting a strange feeling in my gut that there's something in the goblin camp I have to deal with.”

“While you were ummm, busy purifying yourself.”  Gale fumbles out, still trying to recover from his earlier embarrassment. “The team decided to avoid confrontation with the goblins and go straight to rescuing the druid Halsin.”

“That's a bullshit idea, Gale, and you know it!” Karlach fumes out. “If we don't take out the goblin leaders those tieflings in the grove are as good as dead.”

“Don't mistake my practicality for cold-heartedness,” Gale passionately retorts. “I do not wish any harm to come to those refugees. But there are too many variables for us to consider when charging into an enemy base. Proverbial magic missiles ablazing. For that to happen, all of us need to be on the same page.” Gale pauses before adding. “Which we are not.”

Copper frowns in thought but otherwise stays quiet. Before either of the women could add to the argument. Gale wants to remind them of the bigger picture. 

“First and foremost we need to get rid of these little parasites squirming in our heads. Rescuing the druid could be the fastest way to do so and is currently the only plan Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart agree to.” 

“Urgh, wizards!” Karlach mutters, clearly not liking the logical steps Gale outlined for her. While Copper didn’t show any outward signs of disagreeing. Gale had a sneaking suspicion, even without using the tadpole to pry, that the monk also didn’t like this course of action either. 

The walk back to the main part of the camp was quiet. Gale felt he already said enough and he didn’t want to further irritate his companions so he just followed after the two women. If he learned one thing from growing up with a household of women (his mother, an occasional aunt, and even Tara) it was how to hold his tongue.

Copper drifts off to hang up her wet clothing while Gale and Karlach finish packing their day bags. Gale does not want to eat or drink anything found in the goblin camp so he packs an extra water bottle, a loaf of bread, and some walnuts he found in an old crate, surprisingly still fresh. 

By the time Copper came out of her tent, the whole group was ready to head out.

“Well, let’s get going, shall we?” Astarion calls out to everyone. “The sooner we find that druid, the sooner we’ll be free of these tadpoles and we all can go our merry way.” 

“Aye, let’s get this charade done,” Wyll mutters, frustration appearing on his brows as his head dips forward from the weight of his new horns.

Astarion gives him a mischievous glare and is about to take a jab at the warlock when Copper steps in between the two men. “OK, let’s head out. No point in starting a fight when we are trying to avoid one.”

“Oh, darling,” Astarion says mockingly. “You misunderstand me. I was only going to offer to rub Wyll’s back. He still seems sore about our earlier decision...”

“Enough, Astarion!” Wyll growls. “You got your way, so drop it.”

Feeling a bit miffed about the unnecessary teasing, especially with Wyll being the target since he was a good kid. Gale decides to rile up the pale elf in return. “Astarion, how old are you exactly? From your frown lines it looks like you're beyond the age to act like a schoolboy who only knows how to tease a crush.”

Gale smirks at the stunned look the elf gives him. After the initial shock, a blush of embarrassment rises on Astarion’s pale cheeks. He’s about to open his mouth to unleash a string of curses at the wizard when Shadowheart steps in.

“This whole discussion is wasting time!” The Cleric says sternly, clearly getting tired of the boys’ actions. “We could be halfway to saving Halsin right now and getting rid of these damn parasites.” 

The other three women agree with the statement and give disapproving stares at the men, daring them to say anything more. Gale for one doesn’t want to irritate the women further so he keeps his mouth closed. 

“Fine, fine. I was just trying to have some fun and liven up this party a little.” Astarion complains and swigs his pack onto his shoulders. 

Taking that as a cue to push forward, everybody hitches up their day bags and heads out to the enemy stronghold. Pleased they can move forward without another fight.

[queenaeducan-writes]

Chip Butty

Pairing: Gale x f!Tav, Karlach & f!Tav Characters: Gale Dekarios, Female/Tiefling/Druid Tav Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Rating: General Other Tags: Named Tav, Unresolved Sexual/Romantic Tension, Developing Relationship, Not Beta Read Summary: The morning after the party with her Tiefling kin, Ophelia wakes up with two headaches. One, from wine. Two, everyone expects she bedded Gale the night before.

Ophelia greets the day with bleary eyes and a head thick as soup. Last night’s indulgence has risen from her stomach to her head, a dull pain throbbing between her ears as reminder of the evening’s festivities. Before she dares unlace her lashes, she shields her face with her hand. The morning sun on the river’s current acts as a hundred blinking mirrors, each slanted to pour the light directly into her eyes.

Gods, that last glass of wine had been a mistake.

She sits up, squinting through the slats of her fingers, to find the camp emptier than the night before. The bulk of the Tiefling refugees had apparently left to prepare for the road, though a few still mill about camp. Some collect their belongings, lost in twilight and revealed by dawn, while others remain to help clean the mess they helped create. Her own travelling companions are thrown into the mix, their usual morning routines displaced by the visitors.

“Hey, soldier, you’re up!” Her waking doesn’t go unnoticed long. Karlach’s voice chimes out from nearby, ringing like a bell in Ophelia’s ear. It’s a struggle not to wince— though when her eyes and ears adjust to the light, it becomes difficult not to smile.

Zariel’s rogue soldier appears at home in the company of their kin. Together with Bex, it seems they had devised a unique method for washing the dishes. Her arms steep in a tub of water, steam rising from her biceps and billowing up like a second fire. When the water is warm, she passes a basin of it to Bex, who works over the dishes with a soapy rag. The fruits of their labours lie out in the sun, the same rays that torment Ophelia’s vision gently drying their supplies.

(Read the rest on AO3!)

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls On Me: Part 1 Ending

Day 6- Tiefling Party: 1 AM

Rating: Teen/Mature 

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three , Chapter Four , Chapter Five , Chapter Six , Chapter Seven ½ , Chapter Seven 2/2 , Chapter Eight , Chapter Nine , Chapter Ten

Characters: Gale Dekarios and F!Tav: Copper

Tags/Warning: Gale POV, Gale x Female Tav. Drunk Depressed Thoughts, Mentions of Mystra and Gale's relationship, Gale Starting to Process the Power Imbalance Between Him and Mystra Mentions of Gale's Past Human Relationships, Cuddling, Sharing the Same Bed, Druken Oogling of Breasts but Overall Gale Remains a Gentleman. Approx: 2400 words

Summary: Gale drinks too much and finds himself thinking about Mystra until he gets a surprise visitor to his tent.

---

The celebrations were dying down, with only a small hum of activity greeting Gale’s ears as he lay in his bedroll. The wine in his system was trying to lull him into hazy oblivion. His senses were dull and everything around him felt less. Even the twitches of pain from the orb were less. 

Physically everything felt nice, the best he’s been since leaving his home. However, the wine also lowered Gale’s inhibitions and his mind was insistent albeit not as feverously thinking about everything that could have been. 

To a lazy repetitive tune, his thoughts drifted.

He could still be Mystra’s Chosen if only he stayed satisfied being one of the Goddess’s many errand boys, both in deed and bed. 

What if he didn’t seek out ways to win her love, which led to him getting cursed with this orb?

“Well, I would still be at home in Waterdeep without a mind flyer tadpole in my head,” Gale answers his inner ponderings. “But I would still be alone, except for Tara and my mother and they don't count in the romance department…”

Could he have stayed satisfied romantically alone? Waking up each morning to an empty bed after a night with his goddess? 

“In the beginning, it was fine, more than fine. It was thrilling and powerful to have a goddess as a lover. But after many years of the same level of intimacy, it wasn't satisfying waking up alone without anybody to make a life with.” Gale frowns, remembering each time Mystra favored another over him.

“That's why I sought out a way to win Mystra's love. To show her I was capable of being something more in her life than just one of her many Chosen. That I could be her partner…but that kind of thinking is what led me to receive this blasted orb as punishment.” Gale angrily thinks to himself. 

Maybe other of Mystra’s Chosen were cut out for that lifestyle but not Gale of Waterdeep. He had to have the Mother of Magic’s full love and attention. To feel powerful, to feel needed, to have a purpose beyond what errands Mysta sent him on or what tricks he could perform for her in the pleasure domes.

For the first time, Gale felt used. All he ever wanted was to be one person’s everything. To wake up each morning with a warm body beside him instead of finding himself alone after Mystra was done using him for the night.

It was true Gale sought after power. But it was all to serve Mystra. To be strong enough to stand by her side. She was his everything and he wanted to be her everything in return. 

Maybe he was foolish to hold a goddess to a human standard of love. Human love…Gale has never truly felt loved by another human being except for his mother. 

All his past flings and courtships were fun and flitting. Of course, there was always a thrill of catching some lad or lass’s eye across the bar at the Yawning Portal. And while the night promised to be fun there was no love lost when morning came and they both returned to their normal lives. 

Brief trysts in the sheets were considered normal for lads his age. No love had to be had for that to happen—no expectations for anything more.

As Gale grew older and progressed in his education at Blackstaff Academy. The more he found himself being dragged into political relationships. Men and women, young and old wanted to align themselves with the newest and brightest Mystra prodigy. They all had desires and expectations of him. But Gale never felt any real love or affection coming from his potential suitors and he thinks that’s part of the reason Mystra was able to sink so deeply into his soul. 

Everybody wanted to use the young wizard but Mystra made it seem like she was interested in Gale for who he was. She praised his intelligence, creativity, and his skills at manipulating her Weave. Mystra even laughed at his jokes and answered his questions patiently. In hindsight, he realized how tiny and insignificant the bits of knowledge she shared were. But back then that intimate exchange of information with his literal goddess meant everything to Gale.

He was eager to please and ever energetic to learn. Gale gobbled down all the knowledge and affection Mystra bestowed on him, unaware of how much he was being shaped into being a good errand boy. 

Until he proved too rebellious and wasn’t wanted anymore. 

“I guess Mystra wasn’t much different than my school suitors.” Gale sighs to himself. “She also had her expectations for me and felt let down when I couldn't live up to them.”

But Copper isn’t expecting anything from him. She told Gale that she just wanted to enjoy his company in any way he wanted to give. 

Gale recalls the hope in her eyes when she first approached him to celebrate the evening with her. There were no lies or deceit behind them. Copper truly wanted to be with him if he allowed it. 

However, Gale is scared of allowing himself to be too close to her. His orb is too unstable, too dangerous for the excitement of love. Besides, why should he get Copper’s hopes up for anything more than light flirtation when he could be dead any day now? 

Gale turned her away from him this evening because of that reason. He told her to indulge in the frivolities around them. A better man would want Copper to find comfort in somebody else’s arms tonight and there were so many options around the party for the young monk to partake in. 

But Gale isn’t a better man, he is just a sad, moping man who left himself with only a heavy heart, confusing thoughts, and a bottle of wine as his only company.

“It’s better this way. *hic* It’s better this way. It’s better this way.” Gale repeats like a sloppy prayer but his head only swirls with thoughts about the women in his life. First Mystra and now his traveling companion, Copper, who is probably tangled in somebody else’s sheets at this very minute.

Gods, he feels sick, and not only from the alcohol he indulged in. “Why didn’t I drink enough to knock myself out cold?” Gale thinks as he finds the empty wine bottle and throws it to the corner of his tent, sad when it doesn't shatter into pieces. 

He needs to venture out of his tent to find more wine. But it seems too arduous of a task to partake in at the moment. If only that tiefling kid with the eye patch could deliver a full case of liquor to his tent, then maybe Gale could drift off to sweet oblivion.

Debating furiously with his drunken self about getting up or not, Gale gets a surprise stumbling through his tent flap. Even in his inebriated state, he could recognize Copper's long auburn hair before she even said a word to him.

“I might not look it but I am extremely drunk right now.” Copper says surprisingly evenly. And to her credit, Gale could only detect a slight tipsiness in her gaze and a flush in her cheeks. “I think only two people in this whole camp congratulated me with words while everybody else made me take a celebratory drink *hic* more than once.”

“And you thought you would end your night traipsing through my tent?” Gale says trying to sound scandalized but secretly pleased Copper came to visit him. 

“You told me to indulge myself!” Copper whines, collapsing to her knees and pouting cutely, which Gale couldn’t imagine the monk doing if she wasn’t extremely drunk. “Why are you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad, per se.” Gale sighs as he rubs his temples as a headache threatens to form, “But I already told you before- my condition won’t allow for any undue excitement right now. It’s better for the both of us…”

“I’m not looking to have sex with you, Gale.” Copper says bluntly, cutting the wizard off from the rest of his sentence. “I only want to sleep with you…*hic* I mean next to you.”

Gale’s stomach drops at the first statement, a surprise sting accompanying the words. He shouldn’t be so disappointed in hearing that Copper didn’t want to have sex with him but Gale's battling his drunken self to keep up some form of boundaries. He should turn Copper away to keep them both safe from heartbreak but the words to tell the woman to go couldn’t form on his lips.

“Please Gale,” Copper almost whines. “I have *hic* nowhere else to go. I let the pretty bard and her friend have my tent and Karlach is *hic* too hot to sleep next to, I tried to leave you alone. Really I did!”

Gale eyes Copper's shirt, unbuttoned a little farther down than decorum permits, sweat dripping along her neck, down the roundness of the top of her breasts that peek through her shirt. Along with her mushed bed head and the residual heat radiating off her. All evidence she did in fact try to bunk with their tiefling companion and failed. 

“I’ll be safe with you.” Copper says earnestly, “You won't jump me like half the camp right now. Everybody is soooo horny. Some of the tieflings won't stop propositioning themselves to me. Karlach was humping her pillow in her sleep. Shadowheart was flirting with Halsin all night. And later I saw Lae’zel with Wyll and Astarion...”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear anymore.” Gale says as he almost flings his book in embarrassed frustration. He also felt a little horny with Copper looking all flushed and rumpled. But there’s nothing he can do about it except for… 

“Urgh, fine you can lay down here for the night.” Gale sighs, giving in slightly to his drunken thoughts, and moves over to make room for the woman. “You are so lucky *hic* to be in the presence of a gentleman.” 

“Mmmmm, so very lucky.” Copper warmly mumbles out, a pleased look on her face as she crawls fully over and hops into Gale's bed.

“Hey, easy now.” Gale scolds as uncoordinated messy limbs come flying near his face. “No, right here. Right here. Good.” he directs, pleased his book and face come out undamaged, as Copper settles in next to him.

“So comfy,” Copper sighs as she snuggles further into Gale’s bedroll. Making him strangely pleased Copper found his bed so comfortable. It takes all of his willpower to remind his drunken self not to take her in his arms and cuddle her. 

Grey eyes peek up at him and Gale’s heart flutters in his chest.

“This is a bad idea.” he thinks but Copper distracts him by smiling and sleepily asks him what he's reading.

“I’m just reading one of The True and Impossible Adventures of Tenebrux Morrow,” Gale answers.

“I didn’t expect you to like those types of books!” Copper looks at him in drunken surprise. The dopey expression looks so cute that Gale can’t help himself and boops her nose.

“It’s a Waterhavian classic. I would be shunned from the city if I didn’t read about Captain Morrow’s adventures.” Gale says, pretending to be offended but Copper just smiles more fondly at his joke. "You know, the author lives above my favorite pub, the Yawning Portal."

“Can you read to me?” Copper asks softly, before closing her eyes, letting her head sink into the downy feathers of Gale’s top comforter. “I loved when Gin would read to me… before…bed.”

“Gin?” Who’s that?” Gale asks with a mix of curiosity and drunken jealousy that would hopefully go away in the morning.

Copper sleepily scrunches up her nose, unhappy with the question, and hides her face in Gale's chest. At the physical contact, Gale feels heat rushing to his face and he knows it's not from the wine he drank. But Copper looks oddly vulnerable hiding in his shirt so he calmly sighs and gently says, “Hey, you don't need to tell me.”

Copper seems content with that statement because her face starts to peak out, grey eyes drifting up to meet his. They were sleepy and unfocused, making Gale doubt she’d be awake long enough to hear the story but he reads anyway.

---

The wine Gale drank is still circulating in his system, fogging his brain and he ends up reading the same paragraph three times before giving up.

It doesn't help that at his current angle, Gale has a good view of Copper's breasts peeking out from the top of her open blouse. They look soft and full and Gale determinedly reminds himself that he is a gentleman and he will not grope his sleeping female companion. 

Instead, he puts his book down and just lazily watches the candlelight create a rosy glow on Copper's tan breasts, the rise and fall of her chest and her soft breathing puts Gale in a meditative trance as he plays with a strand of her hair. 

It feels so right having another person lay by his side.

“What am I going to do with you?” Gale softly mumbles to the sleeping woman. “I should keep you at arm’s length yet here you are after all my posturing that you shouldn’t.”

Copper must hear him in her sleep-addled mind because she starts to lightly stir and mumbles out something that sounds like a protest before snuggling in closer to Gale’s side. 

Surprised, Gale drops the strand of hair he was twirling in his fingers waiting for Copper to reprimand him for manhandling her in her sleep. But after a couple of seconds of silence, Gale realizes she was arguing against his earlier words and smiles at his partner, happy she feels safe by his side.

It feels nice to be needed, especially after the monk has proven how capable she is in battle. Gale will try his best, using all the magic in his now meager arsenal to keep her safe, either from the Absolutists or the ticking timebomb in his chest… Maybe they can keep each other safe until they find a cure for the mind flyer tadpoles.

“Amidst all this madness, what harm will it cause to remember to be human every once in a while? Gale lazily thinks as he enjoys the warmth of Copper by his side. Finally allowing himself for one moment since everything came crashing down on him, like his own private Netheril, to feel completely at peace. 

There were no more thoughts or dreams of Mystra. No regrets for things to be done differently. Just the silence of a sleepy camp with everybody safe, warm, and well-fed at that moment in time.

There are no worries about violence overtaking them. The heroes defeated the dangers that surrounded them and even the mindflyer tadpole lay dormant for the night. 

Dawn is about to break and there is hope that the next day will be better. 

--- Part One: The End

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls On Me

Day 5- Goblin Camp: Morning

Rating: Teen/Mature 

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three , Chapter Four , Chapter Five , Chapter Six , Chapter Seven ½ , Chapter Seven 2/2 , Chapter Eight ,

Characters: Gale Dekarios, F!Tav: Copper, Karlach Wyll Ravengard, Astarion, Lae'zel, Halsin and Shadowheart. Dror Ragzlin and unnamed goblins.

Tags/Warning: Gale POV, Mentions of Chronic Pain, Canon Typical Violence, Death, Descriptions of Having a Seizure, Gale x Female Tav. Approx: 2400 words

The fight with Dror Ragzlin is almost over. Gale tries to help his teammates with the last goblin commander. But finds himself in a dangerous situation with his orb. Is Gale going to blow up? And what about the reactions from his companions?

---

An Eldritch blast gets hurled at Gale's head and he barely makes it around the pillar before the bolt of energy smashes into it, causing small chunks of stone to fly all around him.

Astarion and Wyll are still positioned in the rafters and the young man shoots down his own Eldritch Blast at the warlock goblin, knocking the monster out before Astarion shoots a finishing arrow into the downed creature.

Gale yells out a quick thanks before taking off again. He ended up separated from the main fighting force when he, Halsin, and Lae'zel were pushed back by a large group of goblins. Halsin and Lae'zel are finishing off the last few goblins with Astarion and Wyll as support so Gale decides to help Copper and Karlach. 

The two women were facing down the last goblin commander, Dror Ragzlin, with Shadowheart assisting. The battle must be intense since Gale can feel the magical aura the hobgoblin is omitting from the other side of the hall.

Gale jumps over some dead bodies and feels the heavy weight of his orb in his chest. He must be overdoing it again but they are so close to victory!

Gale skids to a stop at the top of the stairs and looks down. Copper and Karlach were attacking Dror Ragzlin together and the hobgoblin commander is having a hard time defending against the continuous Ki strikes and swings from the battleax. 

Enraged, the hobgoblin berserker gives out a loud bellow. He swings, barely missing Copper before his warhammer strikes down with such force it shakes the foundation of the temple. 

The attack causes Karlach to become unbalanced but Copper keeps her footing and quickly dashes behind the battle commander, slipping her arms underneath his armpits and locking her hands behind his neck. This immobilizes his arms but the monk is still straining to hold him in place.

“Karlach! Get him!!” Copper yells out, struggling against his thrashing so she digs in her heels, grounding herself for more support. 

Karlach, still dazed from the enormous strike, shakes it off and rushes forward. The fiery tiefling aims for the largest target she can find and drives her axe deep into Dror Ragzlin’s chest, right into his heart. 

The Absolutist lets out a loud groan and it takes a couple of seconds for this body to go limp in Copper’s arms. Then Karlach rips out her axe and a large amount of blood, bone, and gore accompany the motion, splatting the floor before the other woman releases her grip, letting the body fall dead to the ground.

Exhilaration fills Gale’s body at the sight of the last goblin commander defeated and he finds himself starting to move down the stairs to congratulate his companions on their victory when Shadowheart gives out a warning shout. 

Arrows come whizzing down from the rafters striking Copper and Karlach while the last group of goblins comes charging at the two battlewary women. Gale catches a glimpse of Lae’zel and the others rushing towards them but they are too far away to do anything. Shadowheart sends out a Sacred Flame, lighting up the attacker hiding in the rafters but she soon gets overrun by the opponents on the ground.

The girls are outnumbered and need help now! Gale reacts quickly, reaching out his hand and gathering the Weave into his palm. He calls on Mystra and yells out the incantation for his strongest fire spell, “ARDЕ̄!” 

He feels the force leaving his body but he can’t just unleash the destruction or his companions will get caught up in the blast. Gale needs to control the fire and he uses all his skills to manipulate the flame. His hands ache from the strain his quick hand movements make in the air but he can't let up now! He has to burn all the enemies surrounding Copper, Karlach, and Shadowheart. 

The heat is intense and it reminds Gale of his archmage days. He watches as the last group of goblin attackers turn to ash and he smiles when the girls look up unscathed by his flames. 

Then his orb attacks.

A great pain rips through his body, making his limbs shudder and shake. Gale tries to grip his chest to soothe the hungry beast inside but it decides to attack again and Gale loses his balance from the pain.

“I am going to explode?” Gale thinks as he crashes headfirst down the stairs and starts seizing in a heap on the floor.

Gale barely registers his companions surrounding him. Copper reaches him first and starts cushioning him with her body so he stops banging his head on the cobblestone. 

Shadowheart looks helplessly on, shaking her head when Wyll asks her to do something. But she's unable to do anything. The cleric is all out of spells for the day, like the majority of the team, and none can heal like her.

Foam starts flowing out of his lips, mixing with the tears running down his cheeks. Between the haze, Gale just wants to tell them to run away before the explosion happens yet he feels helpless in the wake of this seizure.

“He needs a powerful magic item!” Copper yells into the chaos. “Like last time! Remember?!”

“The hag staff is back in camp! There's no way we can get it to him in time.” Wyll shouts back, pacing back and forth. Fighting the urge to run for the item even though their campsite is far away next to the deserted Jergal Temple.

Karlach is on the verge of tears and even Astarion and Lae'zel look downtrodden.

“He needs a powerful relic?” Halsin steps up, crouching down and applying a small minuscule healing spell to Gale's brow. The wizard stops seizing. Now he just feels wiped out with a ticking time bomb in his chest.

“Leave, please leave me!”  Gale wants to cry out but he's mute. His vocal cords felt like they were ripped apart by the pain of the orb.

“Yes! He needs to absorb the magic inside it.” Copper answers, her voice staying steady under the pressure, her grip firm not leaving Gale.

“Here, let me have him, Copper.” The druid commands. “I’ll take him to the grove. We have an Idol of Silvanus there, brimming with magical energy. That should do the trick!” 

Halsin lifts Gale into his strong arms as Copper hovers close by. “The Druid’s Grove is not far.”  The elf eyes Copper's heavily bleeding shoulder and frowns since she hasn’t even removed the arrow yet. “You can all get healed there. Nettie can patch you guys up quick.”

“Then, let's get going!” Karlach says impatiently, hiccupping a little and rubbing snot away from her nose. Karlach also has two arrow wounds but all her concerns were about her wizard friend.

“I’m coming too,” Wyll adds but Copper puts a stop to it.

“No Wyll, you guys stay here! None of you are badly injured.” Copper says hastily. “The temple is open now. Find any stragglers and neutralize them before they can escape and report back to Moonrise Towers.” 

She jogs after Halsin and Karlach who took off running with Gale. But before the monk is completely out of earshot she yells back. “Also, look for any good loot and secure it for us! We’ll need it for the future.” 

A loud and enthusiastic “Yippee” answers this request. As Astarion already started pulling loot from the dead goblin commander and rummaging through the corpses around him.

---

Day 5- Druid Grove: Afternoon

Tick, tick, tick…

Gale becomes slowly aware of his surroundings with each passing tick. He feels the solid weight of his pocket watch, next to his hip so that means he didn't explode into hundreds of little pieces. 

“That's good.” Gale thinks. “But where the hell am I?”  

He opens his eyes and he doesn't even have to wait for them to adjust, because the room he was in was already dim. His neck was stiff so turning his head took some effort but in the faint light, he saw the fiery glow radiating off Karlach. She’s lounging in a bed next to him, gouging herself on some bread, cheese, and grapes. It's a strange sight. “Karlach should have meat in her hands not food you can find on a charcuterie board.” Gale wearily thinks.

The tiefling notices Gale’s movements and starts shouting around her food.

“Mmmhummph…Kaaaaper….oook! Gaaale!!” Karlach coughs from inhaling her food before taking a large swig of water, forcing it down and clearing her airway. “Copper! Gale’s awake.”

Gale sees Copper’s head poking around Karlach’s body, bread to her mouth-midbite. She drops her food and rushes over to his side. “Hey, I wasn’t expecting you up already!” Copper exclaims, happiness shining in her eyes. 

But Gale doesn’t feel happy to be alive, all he feels is guilt. He could have killed her…he could have killed all his companions if his orb exploded. 

Gale wants to say he was sorry and confess his wrongdoings but Karlach jumps up and starts enthusiastically explaining everything that has happened since he fell unconscious. The fiery tiefling babbles on and on about the trip to the Grove. How the poisoned arrows lodged in her arms were throbbing-making her woozy while she ran, and that Halsin had to turn into a bear to carry her. That Copper not affected by the poison, carried Gale. Once they got to the grove, Halsin had to argue with the druids to let Gale absorb the Idol of Silvanus. 

With each passing second the wizard grows more distressed but Karlach is so excited that her friend is not dead that she doesn’t notice Gale’s growing discomfort.

“...and then, Halsin turns into a bear AGAIN and gets up in that bitch, Kagha’s face!” Karlach laughs as her hands animate the story. 

“Hey, are you alright Gale?” Copper cuts in, looking concerned as she takes a seat on the edge of his bed and places a gentle hand on his forehead. Her touch and the kindness behind it once again shatter Gale’s heart and his defenses almost come crumbling down.  

“Don’t be so nice to me.” Gale thinks as he struggles to not nuzzle into the warm hand on his face. 

“I almost killed you.” He chokes out, swallowing down some tears that threaten to fall.

“Whoa, there!” Karlach laughs awkwardly at the unexpected emotion from the usually steady wizard. “Buddy, you didn’t even touch us with your flames! That blast was sooooo cool so don’t be upset!”

“It's not that!” Gale says aghast, “I almost exploded, erupted, blown up into a thousand teeny tiny little pieces…Anyway! It doesn’t matter what word I use. I almost killed all of you because of the orb in my chest!”

“Gale, what do you mean?” Copper asks, her voice steady but stern. “You didn’t simply collapse because you were low on magic?”

“Yes and no,” Gale confesses. “I did collapse and start seizing because I was low on magic for my orb to feed on. But I failed to tell you and the team earlier… that if my orb fully destabilizes I will erupt. I don’t know the exact magnitude of the eruption, but I theorize, the blast radius could level a city the size of Waterdeep.”

Gale grits his teeth. “There I said it…at least to two of my teammates. Now it won’t take long for everybody else to know and for me to be cast out to wander alone until I explode! Or turn into a mind flayer, which might make me explode anyway!!”

Copper is hiding her shock well, but Gale can feel her tense up on the bed beside him. Karlach however, lets out a loud “Holy Shit” and starts pacing the room. 

“I thought we were growing closer, Gale. You should’ve told me as sooner…” Copper’s quiet disappointment stings more than Karlach’s frantic worried energy. 

“I’m sorry. I know I should have said something sooner but I… this all must feel like a betrayal to you.” Gale says drearily, wincing at the words he has to say next. “Say the word, and we’ll part ways.”

“What?” Copper looks up in surprise. “I meant you should have told me about the rest of your condition sooner. If I had known I was pushing you to the point of collapse, I would’ve had you stay back from the Dror Ragzlin fight.” 

“What?” Gale sputters out, sitting up quickly. He was not expecting those words and felt his pride as an ex-archmage wounded. “You weren’t pushing me. I wanted to fight. I can fight, I swear!”

“If that’s true. Then you have to tell me when you feel unstable!” Copper says sternly, pointing a finger into his chest and pushing him back down. “We’re a team and we need to tell each other when we aren’t feeling well! There’s no shame in hanging back to recoup. I don’t need one of my teammates collapsing or exploding.” 

Copper pauses to breathe and gives Gale a heated stare. “We have a long road ahead of us and we need all of us to get through this together!”

Gale blinks back a flood of emotions. He wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction. Even Karlach stopped her pacing to listen to Copper’s stirring words. 

“Plus…I care too much about you Gale, to abandon you now.” Copper murmurs, looking away from the man, embarrassed. Which was fine with the man in question because he might just explode from happiness, relief, and embarrassment all rolled up into a giant messy ball of emotions centered in his chest.

“Yeah, I care too. Maybe not in the way Copper does.” Karlach awkwardly chuckles before adding. “But we’ll talk to the others and explain the situation. We’ll keep feeding your magical items and you’ll keep protecting our backlines! I’ll make sure no bad guys get anywhere near our squishy wizard!” 

She beats her chest over her infernal engine, like she was making an oath and Copper just smirks and nods her head in agreement. 

Gale just lays there stunned. He can’t believe his luck. Out of all the millions of people in Faerûn, how did he encounter two of the most caring and giving people on this strange journey?

He lets out a choked sigh, his emotions threatening to come out. “That is - a great relief. Oh, a great relief indeed. Thank you for standing by my side when I haven't given you anything in return.”

“Don't put yourself down, man!” Karlach huffs out in annoyance. She goes back to her bed to finish eating while Copper gets up to grab something from hers. “You're very handy to have around, plus you're wicked smart!” Karlach adds, mid munch.

“And you're kind too.” Copper says, sitting back down next to the wizard, a plate of food in her hand. “There's not enough kind people in this world.”

She gives Gale a smile and offers to feed him from her plate. He just smiles back and grabs some cheese, a Waterdhavian blend.

“Good, my favorite.” Gale thinks as he gives it a bite.

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls On Me

Day 5- Tiefling Party: Early Evening

Rating: Teen/Mature 

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three , Chapter Four , Chapter Five , Chapter Six , Chapter Seven ½ , Chapter Seven 2/2 , Chapter Eight , Chapter Nine ,

Characters: Gale Dekarios and F!Tav: Copper

Tags/Warning: Gale POV, Gale x Female Tav. Alternative version of the Weave Scene. Approx: 3400 words

Gale tries to distract himself from his near-death experience and Mystra's continual dismissal. But expected emotions come up when Gale and Copper connect through the Weave.

---

The long day was soon winding down and the stars were coming out to play alongside everybody in camp. The joy of victory was contagious and even the most sour individual was cracking a smile at the defeat of the goblin army. 

Gale of course felt happiness and even relief at the annihilation of the goblin hoard and after spending the good part of the day recovering at the Druid’s Grove he even felt energized. But there was a small part of him that couldn’t shake the gloom of death and thoughts of Mystra. 

His Goddess didn’t care that Gale almost died. 

There were no magical interventions to heal him. No heavenly reprieve from his suffering. Just plain old-fashioned dumb luck and quick reactions from his teammates that prevented him from exploding. But Gale should have expected that, of course. Mystra never goes back on her word and if she is done with Gale, then she is done with him.

The man just hoped since her rejection was silent and not forthright that maybe somewhere in the goddess’s heart she would forgive him in the end.

“Urgh, let’s not get stuck on that line of thinking,” Gale grumbles to himself. “Let’s think happy thoughts! First, I am not dead. Second, I have an excellent bottle of wine waiting for me at my tent. Third….”

Well, he couldn’t think of a third but Copper comes into view and everything else is forgotten or at least put aside for the moment.

“Good evening, Gale.” Copper says with a smile. She’s dressed in her casual clothes and she looks far from the battleharden monk she was earlier in the day. “I was hoping you could join me at the celebrations tonight?” 

Gale smiles, happy that Copper sought out his company but then an idea springs in his head and he must follow it.

“I was hoping you’d spare me a moment.” Gale greets back, noting a slight eagerness in the woman’s demeanor. Did she start drinking already or was she truly happy to be in his company?… “There’s something rather magical I wish to show you tonight.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Copper asks, lifting an auburn eyebrow at him and crossing her arms in disapproval. “You could’ve died this morning from being low on magic.”

Gale coughs, wanting to avoid that topic again. “It’s perfectly safe, I assure you.” He places his hand over his heart as in oath. “No complicated, magic-consuming spells are needed.”

I just want to show you something few people have had the pleasure to experience.” Gale smiles and offers Copper a hand, wanting to lead her away before the party gets too rambunctious. “Let’s quickly head to more intimate surroundings so we don’t get disturbed by this revelry.”

“Pleasurable experience? Intimate surroundings?” Copper questions, her hand hesitating to reach for his as a slight blush forms on her cheeks, and Gale quickly realizes his offer could be mistaken for another pleasurable activity.

“Nooo, no!” Not that kind of….umm… pleasurable offer.” Gale hastily corrects. “I mean to teach you a magical lesson in the Weave. I’ve been promising you for days now and I want to show you my appreciation for all the Ki lessons you’ve graced me with.” Gale gratefully bows. “I truly don’t deserve your time or kindness.”

“Gale, that’s not true.” Copper gently argues, motioning for him to raise his head. But he knows the truth. He isn’t deserving of all the support Copper and now Karlach is giving him.

Gale swears he was mere seconds away from being kicked from the group if the two warriors didn’t defend him so vehemently against the others. Luckily, Wyll quickly joined in his defense and Astarion was outnumbered so the vampire didn’t put up much of a fight when Shadowheart and Lae’zel proved disinterested in continuing the argument as long as Gale could control his orb and left if it proved too unstable.

Startled out of his thoughts by the feeling of strong warm fingers wrapping around his long fingers. Copper looks at him expectantly and Gale realizes the monk is silently taking up his offer for a magical lesson. His stomach starts to flutter with excitement. “Excellent. Let’s mosey on over to a more quiet location.”

He needs to distract himself from his depressing thoughts and what better than a beautiful companion and a magical lesson?

---

“Copper is an excellent student in the Weave.” Even through her protests that she doesn’t have a drop of magical talent, Gale thinks as she mimics his words and actions to produce a burst of light. The happy look on the monk’s face was causing a surge of pride to swell in Gale’s chest. 

It’s been a while since he channeled the Weave in this way. Recently, Gale only dared to do it for battle. Yet being by another person’s side and channeling the Weave so imitately didn’t bring the same feeling of dread to the pit of his stomach. 

“If Mystra feels me connecting to the Weave in this way then so be it.” Gale hesitantly believes. All he was doing was teaching a fellow traveling companion a minor trick or two. It wasn’t like Gale was seeking the goddess’s attention. 

He just wants to return the favor to Copper for all the help she was giving him.

“Excellent. Now repeat after me,” Gale steps closer and instructs Copper in clear and concise prose. “Ah-Thran Mystra-Ryl Kantrach-Ao.” 

A wary look appears on Copper’s face as her eyes quickly flicker to Gale’s mouth as he speaks the incantation. The hesitation quickly turns to determination, and Gale smiles at the sight before thinking ahead so he can blaze the trail to make it easier for Copper to magically follow. The concept of harmony bursts through his mind. The scent of rosewater, a sense that everything is fine in his world, and a sweet taste on the tongue. 

Copper’s eyes grow large and then Gale feels her whole body relax and he smirks, she must have felt the change in the air, as he leads her down this magical exploration. With only the smallest inaccuracy, Copper repeats the incantation. 

“Very good.” Gale praises, looking fondly at the woman. “Now I want you to picture in your mind the concept of harmony. As true as you can.” 

Without a second thought, Copper closes her eyes in prayer. 

Magically connected to the monk, Gale is greeted with a sense of nothingness.

This well of nullity lasted for several seconds and just as Gale was starting to feel concerned for Copper’s mental well-being, small sensations began to flutter at his chest and spark with life. The feeling radiates from his core outwards towards his limbs. 

Each small spark, crackles and comforts his sore muscles like he is made of a warm, gentle fire. However, the sensation doesn’t stop at his body's boundaries. The warm comforting feeling expands outwards connecting him to each blade of grass, the earth beneath his feet, and all the little life that surrounds him. 

Without realizing he is holding his breath, Gale lets out a gasp and greedily sucks in some air deep into his lungs and within that second he becomes one with the universe.

Gale’s body feels larger, stronger, and calmer than it could alone.

He is one with his surroundings and he is unable to figure out if this was the Weave or Copper’s doing…but the thought gets wiped away as quickly as it came and he settles into the pleasant feeling. 

He smiles over to his companion just as she slowly opens her grey eyes and smiles back. Their souls are connected and he was not expecting this kind of reaction when he offered a small magic lesson.

The longer Gale stares, the more he realizes, how deep and reflective Copper’s eyes are. It’s addicting staring into those eyes and feeling this connected to somebody. This warm, safe, and whole. 

“I was missing this my whole life.” Gale briefly thinks as a pull to kiss, to meld into the person next to him floods his body. 

But before he can act on that impulse to kiss Copper, Gale senses her. Mystra, the Lady of Mysteries, Gale’s goddess herself, came to investigate the pleasant hum that was vibrating through her Weave. 

The wind gets knocked out of him, sensing Mystra nearby and in that second of distraction, Gale is mentally surprised by a pleasant image of Copper kissing him. Tender at first that soon turns passionate.

Gale turns away from the magical presence of the Goddess of Magic and tries to focus his eyes on the person before him. Copper is looking at him with a hooded expression reflecting the desire that they felt as she leans in for something they both were drawn to do. 

Embarrassment boils and runs over, followed by hesitation, and exhilaration. But no, Gale can’t do this now. Can't kiss Copper now. Not with Mystra so close…not with her watching. 

However, Copper doesn’t recognize the sensation of the goddess’s presence as Gale does. So the monk doesn't know the turmoil with Mystra is happening and her eager face soon drops to disappointment at Gale’s hesitation to kiss her. 

The magic quickly evaporates like a droplet of water hitting a hot stone and Mystra disappears just as quickly now that the Weave has come undone. 

Copper looks shy and rejected, standing in front of Gale. It feels like she might sprint away any second now. But Gale isn't ready to address the goddess in the room and the folly that brought him here so he quickly turns to another subject matter, embarrassment coloring his voice and actions.

“Well… that was an exhilarating picture!” He claps his hands and rubs them together as he shifts from heel to toe. “I wasn't expecting it but it was very welcomed nonetheless.”

Copper gives him a questioning look and the wizard feels her withdraw from him. “Really?” Copper says hesitantly. “I feel like I completely misread this situation.”

“Noo, no you did not!” Gale quickly corrects. “You were- we both were- umm, feeling the same in that moment. It's just a very complicated situation on my part.”

Copper frowns and her eyes lose her usual sparkle for the man. “You have somebody else?” she whispers, connecting the dots right away.

“Yes.” The word comes out without Gale’s permission. Hurt floods Copper's grey eyes and before Gale can explain further she quickly turns to run away back to the party, away from him and the hurt he caused.

“Wait, please!” Gale shouts in frustration, grabbing Copper's hand and pulling her back to him. “Don't go. I couldn't stand you being sad on my account.” 

“I’ve been acting a fool with a man who's already taken. I do not wish to keep up this charade.” Copper hisses out, refusing to look at Gale out of embarrassment.

“It's no charade,” Gale murmurs, rubbing his thumb over Copper's warm skin, already missing his connection with her. He feels her tense up but he can't find it inside himself to let go. “It's just my…Goddess.”

“You told me you were an ex-Chosen of Mystra before.” Copper says heatedly.  “I didn't pry into why. But I don't understand how your goddess affects what we have. Why does it make you hesitant to…be with me?”

Copper has proven to be strong and dependable yet in this second she seems tired and barely keeping her pieces together through iron will alone.

Gale feels faint, like all his blood disappeared from his body. Still holding Copper’s hand, refusing to let her run. Gale sits down and hides his face with his free hand. 

“Tell her the truth, you coward! She deserves to know the truth after everything you put her through. She barely knows you and doesn’t deserve this treatment. And once you do explain the whole sordid affair you better prepare to let her go. It's the best for her and you. Save each other the heartache.”

Gale mentally berates himself. Going through hundreds of explanations in his head on what to say to the monk but each one lands on him being a worthless ignoramus, a disgrace of a wizard.

“Gale?” Copper gently questions, bringing the man out of his reprimanding thoughts. She doesn't say anything else, letting her original words stand for themselves. But at least he’s not feeling her actively trying to pull away from him.

Gale drops her hand and claps his together, steeling himself for the next few minutes.

“As you know, I am what one might call a wizard prodigy. Such was my skill that it earned me the attention of the mother of magic herself.” He sighs and continues “Starting at a young age, Mystra revealed herself to me and she became my teacher. In time, she became my muse, and later my lover.”

Gale senses Copper becoming very still next to his side. “You had your goddess as a lover?”

“Oh yes,” Gale says, feeling a flicker of burned-out pride at his words. “We enjoyed each other’s company- body, mind, and soul. But even so, I desired more… You see, no matter how powerful a wizard we mortals can become, we never scratch more than the surface of the Weave. Mystra keeps us in check.” 

Copper lets out a huff at that statement and Gale feels encouraged to go on. 

“There are boundaries she doesn’t let us cross. Yet each time I was with her, I stood on the precipice, gazing into the wonders that lay beyond. Wanting more than what I currently possessed and knowing she could give it to me. If only…”

“She should have known better to show you such a thing.” Copper mutters, appearing agitated.  “Enlightenment is something that is earned through years of work to understand our minds. Cause we mortals truly only have barriers in our minds. We must slowly learn to overcome them. If we are shown the truth beyond our understanding at that moment, then those benevolent barriers become cages.” 

“Yes, you are right on that.” Gale turns to her in shock, not expecting this woman to understand him so easily. “I learned there were things beyond my understanding. I sought to be free of my cage. I tried to convince Mystra. I pouted, I pleaded, and I swore my ambition was only to serve her better. But she only smiled and wanted me to be content- locked in my limitations.”

Gale’s hands begin to shake and his orb responds to his agitation, like it knew he was going to speak of it next. 

“I…I thought if I showed her I was better than all the other magicians, all of her other Chosen, then she would unlock my cage and allow me beyond her veil. I sought after a piece of Weave lost to her during the Spellpague. I thought if I returned this lost part of herself to Mystra she would finely deem me worthy to be her full-time companion in all the ways that truly counted, in both mind, body, and soul.”

Copper chuckles drily and shakes her head. “I guess you ruled out flowers and chocolates to woo your woman.” 

“You know me. My gestures can never be grand enough.” Gale jokes, his heart feeling a little better from the lighthearted teasing. “I was certain this deed of raw power draped in romance would convince Mystra to take me by the hand and welcome me into her hitherto forbidden domains. But I was mistaken…”

“Let me guess, this is where the orb comes in?” Copper asks.

“You are correct.” Gale sighs and reaches forward for Copper’s hand. She jerks back slightly from the sudden touch but allows the man to grasp her hand. “Here, place your hand over my heart. You’ve done it before but now know the truth.”

Copper’s strong fingers rest, in the cradle of his collarbone and chest, over his damaged heart. The warmth from her skin spreads instantly but Gale doesn’t dwell on the sensation as he lets his guard down, letting their tadpoles mentally connect. 

The memory is agonizing and Copper is right alongside him for the ride. Images of dark hallways. A book, bound, then suddenly opens. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. Tearing into his flesh, to settle hungrily in his chest. Slurping up all his magical energy, discontented with the feast that lay before it.

“Gale!” Copper says worry in her voice as she grits her teeth at the memory of the magical attack.

“As you can see, I recovered the lost piece of Weave, sealed within a Netherse tome.” Anger grows in Gale's voice. “But once I opened that cover, I was cursed with this blight and Mystra dismissed me as her Chosen. She turned her back towards me. Unhappy with my mild rebellion to win her love.” 

“She refused to help you? After everything you did for her?”

“Mystra is a goddess and oftentimes fickle. Even when I loved her with all my heart,” Gale says discouragedly. “I disobeyed her and was punished for it.”

“Gale that is not fair!” Copper says out loud what the man hides in his heart.

“You serve a god! Don’t you expect to be punished for disobeying him?” Gale argues back, still faithful to Mystra’s image. 

“I serve a good god!” Copper asserts, her eyes blazing with pride. “A nice god that understands our human struggles. Ilmater would alleviate any suffering, and never punish his followers for choosing to love, no matter how foolhardy the journey. Has Mystra fallen so far to forget what it’s like to be human?”

“You know Mystra was a human once?” Gale says with curiosity.

“You aren’t the only wizard I’ve made acquaintance with, Gale.” Copper reprimands with a small huff. “Your human folly shouldn’t condemn you to suffering when Mystra could easily take that blighted piece of Weave away from you. You shouldn’t suffer from loving and trying to please her. No harm was done except onto you.”

“I wish Mystra saw it that way.” Gale sighs dejectedly. “But I wronged her. Now I am condemned to take care of this orb until it kills me. And I forbid taking you or anybody else down that path with me.”

“Is that why you hesitated to kiss me before.” Copper says frankly, her earlier embarrassment about the topic gone.

“Yes, in part,” Gale answers without mentioning that Mystra was present for that almost kiss and he doesn’t yet know how to sort out his complicated feelings for his goddess. “I feel drawn to you but I am not worthwhile for you to pursue. Especially now with this blasted thing in my chest. I feel any sort of “excitement” might trigger an explosion.” 

“Gale…” Copper pleads, taking a step closer to him but stopping short of touching him. “I just want to enjoy your company in any way you can give me. I’m not asking for much. I just want to continue walking by your side until this journey is done.”

“If we are only walking you might get bored,” Gale says as a mischievous glint appears in his eyes as he takes her waiting hand. Caressing the skin. “I might have to fill the hours with my scholarly expertise. A lecture perhaps or a debate on the merits of the Weave over Ki?”

“The horror.” Copper jokes, shaking her head as a playful smile emerges. 

“But in all honesty. I’m glad to know you enjoy my company so much.” Gale brings her hand up to his lips for a quick peck. “But I’ll loathe to waste your time tonight. There’s a party to be had. Go, indulge in the frivolities-they’re good for the heart. And mine would be all the lighter, to see you enjoying yourself.”

“What about you?” Copper asks, confusion on her face as Gale turns the conversation around. “Aren’t you joining me?”

“I’m awfully tired.” Gale lies. “I think I’m going to head to bed. But not before I take you to enjoy the food table.” He grips Copper by the shoulders and playful steers her back to camp. “I don’t know where Wither’s conjured up all that food and wine but it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

Disappointment flashes in her eyes but she quickly hides it as Gale leads her along.

---

The next chapter will be the last for Part One!

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls On Me

Day 5- Goblin Camp: 3 AM

Rating: Teen/Mature 

Previous Chapters: Chapter One , Chapter Two , Chapter Three , Chapter Four , Chapter Five , Chapter Six , Chapter Seven ½ , Chapter Seven 2/2

Characters: Gale Dekarios, F!Tav: Copper. With small appearances from Karlach and Lae'zel. Mystra mentioned.

Tags/Warning: Gale POV, Mentions of Chronic Pain, Gale x Female Tav, Light Flirting, Sharing Personal Information with A Crush, "Cuddling" Sorry Minthara lovers, she's not appearing in this story. Approx: 3000 words

The Tadpole Troupe has defeated 2 out of 3 goblin leaders. They are taking some time to plot their next moves against Dror Ragzlin. But Gale finds himself very low on magic and he can't bring himself to relax before the final fight. However, a certain monk insists he needs to rest and she'll help him do it!

---

Weariness settles deep in Gale’s bones as his orb pulsates unpleasantly in his chest, causing a constant but bearable amount of pain to tingle throughout his body. Gale has never been this low on magic before in all his life. He theorizes the orb is extremely unhappy about this fact and is throwing a temper tantrum as punishment.

All Gale wants to do is lay down for the night in hopes his innate inner weave regenerates enough to calm the hungry beast. But that wish is currently impossible since he is on guard duty, like everybody else, until this whole mess with the goblins is finished. Currently, Gale is strategically stationed at one of the exits of the temple and he wants to avoid appearing like the weak link in the group, whining about missing bedtime. He’ll stay on the lookout for any wandering goblins, as long as possible even if he needs to use his staff to keep himself standing upright. 

“Everything will be over soon,” Gale thinks, trying to encourage himself as more pain shoots through his chest causing him to lean on the wall for support, his staff firmly placed on the ground.

The Tadpole Troupe already assassinated the goblin priestess and the drow paladin earlier in the night. Only Dror Ragzlin is left and Astarion comes down from the rafters to report that the hobgoblin commander is busy in the back of the temple trying to communicate with a dead mind flayer, not even aware that his fellow leaders were defeated by a small group of infiltrators. 

“Only one commander left and they will be free of this place…but not from the tadpoles,” Gale thinks, recalling Halsin’s words that he was unable to cure them of their tadpole since they are magically enhanced. They’ll need to go to Moonrise Towers to figure out why but Lae’zel is already lobbying hard to head to the Githyanki creche nearby…

A noise alerts Gale to somebody approaching his location so he stops ruminating. The footsteps are loud but not many so he peels himself away from the wall and stands upright, hoping he looks effortlessly strong, witty, and ready for anything that rounds his corner of the altar room. He hopes it's just a friend relieving him of his guard post instead of another goblin he has to kill quickly and quietly.

“Hey, Wizard,” Karlach calls out to him in what she must consider her inside voice, which Gale thinks is still a couple of decibels too loud. “Time to rotate out. I think there's something special waiting for you by the fire!” 

“Ohh, thank the gods.” Gale sighs in relief, ignoring the playful way Karlach was talking to him. The tiefling has been in a particularly good mood ever since the troupe changed tactics and went after the goblin leaders instead of escaping with Halsin, who refused outright to leave until all the goblin leaders were dead anyway. So Gale thought nothing of her extra good-natured ribbing. 

After a quick report to Karlach about the activity of the goblins in his side of the hall, Gale walks wearily to the former living quarters of Priestess Gut. These rooms were acting as their makeshift campsite as they slowly exterminate the goblins within the temple. It was a small camp, only made for one or two people at a time. They had no bedrolls or blankets with them but if somebody dared they could lay in Gut’s bed but the thought makes Gale shudder. He’s pretty sure he smells something rotten wafting from the sheets. 

There was a cookpot, however, for a quick pick-me-up drink of sib but Gale really wished for coffee since he doesn't have much of a taste for drinks made of roots and herbs found near a goblin camp.

Rounding the corner, Gale finally sees what Karlach was teasing him about. Sitting next to the fire was Copper in deep meditation. In the past day or two, Gale has been making a blundering fool of himself in front of the monk and Karlach must have caught on that he holds some feelings for Copper. 

“All physical feelings of course,” Gale tells himself. He hasn't been around people in over a year. So of course his hormones will go a little wild in front of a beautiful person, and to be fair there are several around, the monk isn't even the prettiest. But Copper has been the nicest to him out of everybody in the party so it's not surprising his brain is seeking out her kindness. “Her quick thinking, nerves of steel, and selflessness aren’t unbecoming either…” His mind supples and he shakes the thought away.

Gale is about to open his mouth to say hello to the monk but he closes it quickly as he watches the fire dance to Copper's breathing. There was a slight disturbance in the Weave surrounding the woman, making Gale curious. Copper said she had no talent or interest in using magic. But here she is making the flame rise and shrink with just her slow steady breaths.

Gale reaches out a hand to connect to the disturbance and finds himself encountering a purely magical force with no sign of Mystra's presence anywhere within. His curiosity spikes even more and he subconsciously drives right on in, soaking up the magic, feeling the orb become slightly satiated. Riding the heat of the crackling fire, feeling welcomed by the magic source, Gale suddenly encounters another presence enjoying the flame.

“Gale?”

He quickly opens his eyes and finds Copper staring at him, the warm flames reflecting in her grey eyes makes them appear orange and bright. “I just felt you within my soul.” Copper says, worry in her voice, as she chews on her lip. 

“Why the nervousness?” Gale thinks, noticing the striking difference between Copper’s current tone and behavior compared to her earlier commanding battle presence. It causes him to pause to understand the juxtaposition of these two personalities. Then he realizes once again this woman is more complex than she lets on.

“Sorry for the intrusion.” Gale quickly apologizes, choosing to set aside his curiosity and go with the easy answer of not everybody likes sharing parts of themselves- souls, minds, or other things. “I was just investigating the magical disturbance around the fire.”

“Disturbance?” Copper questions, a frown creases her eyebrows and Gale notices she must have done that action thousands of times before since there’s a wrinkle that looks at home between her auburn brows. This fact makes Gale smile since he also has some wrinkles married to his face and it was nice running around with somebody of similar age instead of the youth (Wyll, Lae’zel, and Karlach) and the ever-looking youthful (Shadowheart, Astarion, and Halsin). 

“Yes, the flames were dancing. It looked like it was reacting to your breath.” Gale says, looking back at the fire and noticing it returned to normal once the monk’s focus is turned to him and not the inner world she retreats to for meditation. 

“Strange, I wasn't trying to move the fire. I was restoring my Ki for the battle ahead.” 

“Ahh, she talking about Ki again.” Gale mentally kicks himself for not reading more about this topic in the libraries of Waterdeep. His knowledge is sadly sparse on the topic of Ki. 

But why focus on an inferior “magic” system when you have the Weave so readily available? 

“You said you had no talent in spells but I think the fire was telling us something different,” Gale says causally as he kneels to sit beside the monk. Sighing at the relief his bones were feeling but now his chest was heavy with unwanted memories of the past. 

“I am a tad bit jealous the magic is so welcoming towards you when it’s been ignoring me, the resident wizard!” Gale tries to make a lighthearted laugh but it comes out flat. “There was a time when I could make this fire come to life as well. I could shape it like a dragon and make it roar in delight.” Gale casually waves his hand, a small flicker of hope resting in his palm that the fire would respond to his desires, but disappointment answers once again.

“There was a time I could silence a Beholder with a word, and lift a tower from its foundations with a flourish.” Gale proudly declares then drops his hand, weariness settling in deep as he stares longingly into the fire, wishing Mystra would answer. “There was a time I was all but one with the Weave. But no more, I am a mere shadow of the wizard I used to be… because I’ve lost…”

His courage to utter Mystra’s name out loud breaks and there’s a long pause with neither person talking but their breathing syncs up. Gale glances over to Copper and sees she’s also lost in thought, a far-off look in her eyes like she is also revisiting an unpleasant memory.

He was going to give up on company for the rest of the night but Copper finally asks in a low voice. “Who are you? Before this?” 

“A man…” He stops not wanting to tell her the full truth. “A wizard with a considerable amount of acclaim and a scholar of exceptional accomplishments,” Gale smirks, reciting his old line to Copper. 

The woman must realize this and pushes his shoulder and calls him a “tease” under her breath. He likes being called a tease and laughs at the small push. Settling back down firmly on his butt, he feels a little lighter and decides to tell her a little more of the truth. “But in all seriousness, I was a former archmage and ex-chosen of Mystra.” 

Copper’s eyes grow huge at his statement, murmuring “Chosen of Mystra” under her breath.

He feels a little flicker of pride at the statement. Once that title gave him great joy but now he can’t even claim it after Mystra dismissed him. He can’t even claim the archmage title now, even after 18 years of learning, since his skills greatly diminished with the orb lodged in his chest, eating up his natural talents in the process.

“What about you?” Gale causally asks. “You are no mere monastery monk. Not with the way you formulated those battle plans to quickly minimize the goblin forces against us.” 

Gale feels a spell of weariness and pain hitting him, causing his head to spin a little but he ignores it in favor of talking to the woman in front of him. “I was very impressed with how quickly and thoroughly you acted earlier with that Loviatar Priest and getting everybody motivated to fight…even if I was reluctant at first. I thought an all-out battle was unwise but you proved that a group of 7 now 8 including the druid can take on a whole army if we take some… unprecedented tactics.”

Copper blushes a little at Gale’s praise but then gives him a big smirk. “I’m just a woman with… a considerable amount of no acclaim and a monk…” Gale cuts her off with a loud huff before she can finish mimicking his speech from earlier.

“Heeeey, I know where this is going.” He rolls his eyes at her joke and smiles softly. “For real though. Who were you before all this?”

Copper turns to the fire, biting her lips again before answering. “A junior captain and for a short time a captain of the second division of the Third Sons Mercenary group.” She gives out a weary sigh and keeps talking. “I was a soldier for 17 years so I guess some of that rubbed off today.”

Gale blinks. A lot of things just added up about this woman with this new piece of information. “A captain… of the Third Sons.” He’d heard of that mercenary group before. A large band of military soldiers. They sometimes came through Waterdeep for mercenary work but usually stayed in the Dalelands.” 

“Is that why Karlach calls you Soldier?” Gale blurts out before he can ask a more eloquent question. It seems like his brain is having a hard time functioning since he’s low on magic and his orb is famished. 

“Karlach and I think Lae’zel noticed right away I have some military training…” Copper answers. “But nobody else picked up on it. It’s not like I go waving around a sword. So if you aren’t accustomed to living that kind of lifestyle you might not pick up on the telltale oddities a soldier habitually performs in their daily lives.”

Gale hears most of what Copper says but his head feels hazy as another spasm of pain runs through his body. He must have pitched forward because he finds himself being caught by Copper before he can fall head-first into the fire. 

“Gale! Are you ok?” Copper asks, worry in her eyes as she pulls him up into a sitting position. Gale tries to move away from Copper, not wanting to appear weak, but she has a steady grip on his shoulder. 

After struggling wearily for a second he stops fighting and just relaxes into the support. “I just need this day to be over with but alas it is only morning,” Gale says wearily gritting his teeth at another wave of pain. “I’m extremely low on magic but I can’t sleep in these circumstances.”

“We only have a couple of hours left before we head for the final assault on Dror Ragzlin. Copper calmly states, unaware of how picky a person Gale can be. “Why don’t you sleep by the fire?”

“On what? We don’t have any blankets and I’m not going anywhere near that goblin bed!” A pitiful whine escapes from the wizard as he leans his head on the woman’s shoulders. “I’ll wake up covered in fleas and gods knows what else.”

Gale feels himself getting shifted slightly as Copper rummages through her pockets. He guesses he should start moving away from her. Support himself. But it feels nice leaning on her when his head is spinning. 

“It looks like I have about 15 minutes left of my break.” Copper says quietly, as Gale peeks over her shoulder and sees the pocketwatch he lent to the group in her hand. He feels a little sore whenever he looks at that silver timepiece because he bought it for his ill-fated journey to win Mystra’s favor. It reminds him of all his failures but he just can’t throw it away. 

Gale and his silver pocket watch’s fates are tied together now.

“How about you lay your head in my lap and I’ll try to restore some of your Ki while you rest?” Copper looks over at him and smiles. “I’ll wake you up when I leave and at least you get to rest your eyes a little before then.”

Gale pauses, realizing the position he is in, and starts pushing away from the monk. “No… I don’t think that would be appropriate. Plus, you’ll be using up the Ki you just restored on me!”

“Gale, stop.” Copper gives out a command, her voice strict and unwavering. “I wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t for the benefit of the group. We need you in the morning on the back lines. We couldn’t have done half the things we did yesterday-defeated all those strong foes if it wasn’t for you and your magic. We need you up and at least halfway able-bodied. Please let me help you!”

Gale stops his struggling and just stares at the floor letting Copper’s words sink in. He did do a considerable amount of spellwork yesterday-summoning illusions, sending out fireball after fireball, even casting an arcane lock on the temple door to seal everybody inside until they defeated the goblins and their commanders.

But it doesn’t seem enough. 

He hasn’t done nearly enough. 

He isn’t enough.

Gale is a poor substitute for who he once was to warrant this amount of kindness, dare he say it… sacrifice. Copper wants to give up the rest of her break time and use the power she worked to restore to allow him to regain just a little of his…”What about you?” He asks seriously.

“I’ll be fine.” Copper says quietly as she lets go of Gale’s shoulders and waits for him to decide. “I can rest and regain my Ki standing up. I am a former soldier after all. Resting upright and staying alert is a requirement for any successful military siege.”

Hearing those words all of Gale’s resistance fades and without saying a word he shifts to a sitting position and just pats one of Copper’s legs to indicate she should kneel for him. Copper does what he wants without saying a word, adjusting herself so they both are comfortable. 

Gale is a little nervous laying his head in her lap. Just earlier in the night, he saw this woman kill and man with these thighs. Not only that, the last time he’s been this close to somebody’s core was with Mystra and the Goddess of Magic was not fond of cuddling…

He is about to get up and just call off this whole deal when Copper starts rubbing his temples and Gale just melts into the touch. “She’s killed a man with these hands…but they are so gentle with me.” The circular motions move up his skull and then the warm fingers start combing through his hair to massage his scalp underneath. It feels heavenly, if he could purr he would.

Gale’s eyes begin to droop shut but he can see in the soft glow of her Ki, Copper fighting back a smile. 

“Remember to wake me when you have to go…”

---

Gale wakes up to a boot nudging his side. He looks up beadily, sleep still in his eyes, and sees an angry-looking Githyanki looking down at him. 

“Istick, Get up!” Lae’zel says sternly. “Copper ordered us to allow you to rest, to restore your strength, until the assault on the…” She pauses thinking before continuing, sounding out the foreign word. “Ho-bo-gob-lin… Now it’s time to wake up. I hope your extra sleep serves us well in battle.”

“It’s pronounced hobgoblin, Lae’zel.” Gale corrects before standing up and stretching. A quick check of his body indicates he’s not sore and his orb isn’t as hungry. A smile forms on his face at the sensation and the memories of why his body feels so good. But it quickly turns to a frown at the sight of the impatience Githyanki and the thought of all the teasing he’ll receive from the others.

“Really Copper, you should have woken me.”