#gaura sélfolgh

[bragganhyl]

Music in the Night - An OC kiss fic

no prompts we die like men

A little something something featuring @herearedragons's Watcher Lorenzo and my Watcher (tho not in this instance), Gaura

Word count: a little over 2k words

Lorenzo woke up to a strange sense of absence. His fingers slipped between the ridged growths over his eyes, trying to rub away the drowsiness weighing his eyelids down. He yawned, and as air filled his lungs, his mind was cleared just enough to comprehend what he was sensing.

The ghosts… they drifted away from him. They weren’t gone, of course, they would never leave him especially not since his Watcher abilities manifested. But they weren’t suffocatingly close and their unfaltering attention was turned elsewhere – to the windows of his bedchamber.

Lorenzo sat up cautiously in his bed, but his movements were ignored. He took a breath, enjoying lightness of his chest. He stretched, enjoying the space afforded to him. A laugh threatened to bubble up from him and the Watcher clamped a hand on his mouth. Whatever joy he felt was his alone. Without thinking, he made his way to the window but he saw nothing worth of note, even as his eyes grew used to the penumbra granted by the moon. He opened the window then, curiosity getting the better of him, and for a moment he heard nothing but a breeze rustling the leaves of the hedge maze. And then…

A melody. Played on a violin.

Try as he might, Lorenzo couldn’t recognize the song. But he couldn’t deny its beauty, and it wasn’t hard to guess why it garnered the ghosts’ attention.

‘Another chanter?’ A quiet question slipped from the Watcher’s lips without him realizing it.

And he immediately regretted it.

The faint sound of the violin was drowned out by an onslaught of demands. The comfortable solitude was gone in an instant and Lorenzo had barely a moment to steady himself before he fell into the clutches of the dead once more.

Get closer.

One voice stood out among the others. Lorenzo nearly doubled over hearing the order. His hands reflexively moved to his ear, but it only seemed to amplify the ghosts’ assault on his hearing.

Get closer!

Lorenzo leaned over the windowsill, clutching it for safety. He took one deep breath, then another, his ears peeled for the faint melody carried by the chilly, late night breeze. As the music became clearer, the dead seemed to have calmed around him. Whether they truly did or his own focus eased his mind, he couldn’t tell.

‘What a racket,’ an unmistakable groan sounded right at the edge of the Watcher’s hearing. Cassius didn’t make his presence known since Lorenzo woke up and a part of him wished he would go back to sleep already. When he’s cranky, it exhausts them both.

Lorenzo straightened up, his gaze was fixed on the hedge maze: the source of the soothing music. For a moment he hesitated – the violinist wouldn’t hide there in the middle of the night if they wanted to be disturbed, after all.

‘Exactly, you’re wasting our time,’ Lorenzo could almost feel Cassius dragging him back to bed. ‘And you’d be wasting theirs.’

The Watcher nodded shyly. He took a step towards his bed, when he remembered to close the window. Silence fell upon the room with the glass blocking the calming sound of the violin. Almost perfect silence. Something within Lorenzo already missed the music. But mostly he just felt grateful for the ever so rare peace and quiet he was feeling.

Thanking the musician seemed like the polite thing to do.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ Cassius’ voice felt like a shard of cold metal being jammed into his head. ‘You know there are no kindred spirits for the likes of us.’

The Watcher put on his boots, wrapped a cloak around him and made his way to the maze. His steps were quiet even in his haste, and he instinctively shrank himself even though no one else seemed to have been awake. The night was not cold, but he couldn’t ignore the goosebumps forming on his skin. The walls of the maze blocked most of the moonlight, but even in the dark, Lorenzo felt… safe. Even Cassius seemed to have been at ease, which put a faint smile on his face. The music was steadily guiding him like a lighthouse and following it felt as easy as breathing.

Soon, however, he glimpsed light. The center of the maze was wide and open, allowing the moon to illuminate it and as Lorenzo got closer, something, someone, brighter came into view.

A god-touched woman – one of Magran’s daughters – was sitting on a bench. Her eyes were closed as she played the violin held against her chest. Even then Lorenzo could still see her gaze shift under her eyelids, and her expression change along with the flow of her song. She was focused, immersed, and strangely enough, she… almost seemed pained. Whatever she was envisioning, the song was meant to ease her mind from it, Lorenzo realized, just as much she was easing his. He absentmindedly leaned against the wall of the hedge maze as he listened, and winced at the sound of the leaves he rustled.

The violinist’s gaze darted to him immediately, and he reflexively took a defensive step back. She merely cocked her head at him though as she was trying to make his silhouette out in the dark.

‘I didn’t realize anyone was still up,’ she set aside her instrument and stood up. She gave Lorenzo a once over and her bright eyes widened at his death-touched visage. A common reaction, he would have thought, but the woman’s words surprised him still. ‘You must be the Watcher,’ she gave him a shallow, clumsy, half-hearted curtsy with a smile that carried the politeness her gestures lacked, ‘apologies, my Lord, I am Gaura. Marshal Forwyn recruited me to aid you in your fight against Lord Gathbin.’

‘No lord, just Lorenzo,’ he shook his head and glanced away a little embarrassed. He wasn’t quite awake for speaking Aedyran yet.

‘Not yet, if I can help it,’ she leaned forward slightly and gave him a wink. Lorenzo was grateful Berath’s touch hid his cheeks turning a deeper shade of purple. Gaura picked up her violin as she continued. ‘Still, you are the last person I wanted to disturb this hour. I’m truly sorry.’

‘No!’ Lorenzo cried out just as she was about to leave. The volume of his voice surprised them both. ‘You didn’t disturb me.’

‘Oh,’ Gaura’s stance relaxed a little. The Watcher didn’t even notice her tension before. ‘Then…’

‘The ghosts were listening,’ Lorenzo pointed over his shoulder with a thumb. Gaura glanced to where he was pointing and only then did he remember that she couldn’t see what he was seeing. He hurriedly hid his hands under his cloak at the realization.

‘Right, I’ve heard this place was rather haunted,’ she nodded. ‘Still, ghosts are a chanters best allies,’ she shrugged, ‘and Caed Nua is truly beautiful, I can see why you want to protect it. I… have never worked as a mercenary before,’ she smoothed down a flame dancing by her ear, ‘but I won’t let you down, I promise.’

Lorenzo could only respond with a weary smile. Gaura returned it, but she too seemed to have felt the silence turning rather uncomfortable between them.

‘That song you were playing,’ the Watcher spoke, ‘can you… teach it to me?’

Gaura blinked at him in surprise. She looked at the instrument in her hand for a moment before she answered.

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can. It wasn’t a real song I was playing, I just… improvised something,’ she shrugged. ‘Sometimes I just focus on what I’m feeling and let my hands do the rest,’ she sat on the bench, closed her eyes and pressed her violin against her chest, safely away from her fiery hair. She took a deep breath and allowed the music to leap from the strings under her fingers. She only played a few notes before she stopped, chuckling to herself. ‘It’s easier at times to figure out what goes on in my head if I can hear it in the notes weaving together. I hope it’s not too much of a disappointment.’

‘Not at all, it was beautiful,’ Lorenzo reassured her, ‘although it did sound a bit sad.’

Gaura let out a short, bitter laugh. ‘I imagine it did.’

‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘Aside from employing me?’ She gave him a pointed look. ‘I don’t think you can.’ Her expression shifted slightly and yet her sorrow seemed much more palpable than before. Lorenzo took a step closer to her and it put the smile back on her face. ‘It’s kind of you to offer though.’

The Watcher made his way to her slowly and cautiously. Gaura didn’t look away from him, not even for a moment. When he sat beside her, keeping a respectable distance, she let out a heavy sigh and turned her attention to a blade of grass swaying in the breeze. A few moments passed in silence and the woman found her voice again.

‘I came to the Dyrwood to visit a relative, but…’ she trailed off. Lorenzo knew this silence well. It was the sound of grief too fresh to talk about. ‘But the journey to Defiance Bay was costly. More than I thought it would be. So now I’m stuck in the Dyrwood until I make enough gold for the voyage back home.’

‘Home? Where is that?’

‘The Living Lands.’

‘Ah,’ he has never been there, but Lorenzo heard of the place. A land that is alive and wants all trying to conquer her dead. He couldn’t help but admire it, although Cassius couldn’t appreciate it the way he did, not even after they heard how lush and beautiful it was. ‘I can see why the Marshal recruited you.’

‘And that was before he knew I was a chanter,’ she finally looked back at him. She had pretty eyes, Lorenzo noted and the thought stirred disdain in a presence that loomed over it – over him – threatening to crush the notion by overwhelming him.

‘Fool! Do you think one touched by death is worth anything to someone with a soul of war and struggle?’ Cassius snarled into a corner in his mind, right behind his ear. Lorenzo shut his eyes tight and recounted every possible way he could apologize in every tongue he knew.

Gaura noticed that something was amiss. ‘Are you alright?’

Her voice turned Lorenzo’s attention back to her. ‘I am, thank you.’ He cleared his throat. ‘If you’d like, I can help you, you don’t need to stay for the battle.’

‘Come now, if you’re going to help me get back home, the least I can do is defend yours in turn. I have conscience. And pride.’

‘And if you’re not alive to get paid?’

Lorenzo’s question was answered with a loud, melodious laugh.

‘Please, I’m not that easy to kill, have a little faith,’ she lightly elbowed him in the side. A moment later the flames framing her face started fluttering. ‘I’m sorry, my Lord, that was rather inappropriate.’

‘Never mind that, and I’m not a lo-’

‘Not yet,’ she corrected him before he could finish. Silence lingered between them for a moment, and Lorenzo came to the conclusion that Gaura also had pretty lips.

‘Do you think you can play for me?’ He asked tearing his gaze away from her, just as he sensed Cassius’ anger rising in him again.

‘I could, but I must warn you, it might not be as… “beautiful but sad” as it was before,’ her voice rang with levity. ‘Talking helped, thank you.’

‘Don’t mention it,’ Lorenzo turned back to her, with the most appreciative smile he could muster. ‘I should be the one thanking you for the performance.’

Gaura chuckled. To the Watcher’s surprise, she reached for his hand. ‘You’re being too gracious, my Lord.’

‘I’m not a-’

Lorenzo’s words got stuck in his throat when she lifted his hand to her lips and blew a gentle kiss on his knuckles. While he was busy trying to remember how to speak, Gaura began playing her violin once more, and before he knew it, Lorenzo was swept up in her soothing melody again.

[babineni]

@lotrificationer asked me to doodle my girl, Gaura (for which I’m super grateful, thank you thank you thank you 💖💖💖) a few days back, so behold

[bragganhyl]

If you're still doing prompts, 'show me how much you missed me' for Aloth and Watcher?

Thanks, Anon, sorry for literally taking forever I... *makes idk noises*

But anyway, here is a thing about Aloth getting head.

Word count: a little over 3.3k, warning for descriptions of sexual acts below the cut

Despite her best efforts, Gaura’s footsteps were heavy, and the clanking of her greaves was loud as she walked aboard her ship. She arrived late at night, only a few of her crew were still up to greet her. It has been four days since she and her companions ventured into a desert valley, trying to retrieve an artifact for the Surviving Face of Toamowhai, as a means to take on their challenges in the Crucible. The journey, however, was grueling. Harrowing, even. Only the Watcher made it out of the valley unscathed. Edér and Rekke recovered relatively quickly, and rejoined Gaura after some rest in the Temple of Toamowhai. Konstanten and Aloth, on the other hand, suffered more severe injuries. She sent them back to the Defiant and placed them under Xoti’s and Eld Engrim’s care. It was time to see how they have been faring – and to ask for forgiveness.

When Konstanten crushed his hands, neither he nor the Watcher could call on the ether through their chanting. Gaura patched him up as best she could and he followed along, with the rest of the team aiding him whenever the need arose. Luckily, the desert gave them no trouble, until late in the evening, when the group sought refuge in a cave. The Watcher’s flaming hair was the main source of light in there. Aloth followed her closely, feeling safe in her presence.

Only to fall and injure his head regardless.

Gaura’s stomach formed a knot as she reminisced – the way he could barely string a complete sentence together, his paleness, the way her light suddenly became too bright for him to look at. Then the wizard lost consciousness. And Gaura was powerless to help him. So she took the course of action that promised the greatest chance for the wizard’s survival: she left. She left and she could only hope her instincts were correct. She left and hoped that Konstanten could guide him back to the Crucible safely, if they were not. Once she arrived there with her remaining, battered companions – along with the ruby pendant that served as a lure and a guiding beacon in the valley – she took it upon herself to lead Aloth and Konstanten back to the ship. Even with the rest he took, and the chants that Konstanten could once again sing for both of them, the wizard’s walk betrayed his dizziness. The Watcher didn’t talk to him or Konstanten during the trek back to the Defiant, she busied herself singing healing chants to them as they walked, harmonizing with the dwarf. When they parted ways, Aloth took her hand, and held it tight as he left a tight-lipped kiss upon it. She didn’t feel it through the gauntlet. But she did feel the wizard’s fear in his grasp.

As she made her way below deck, Gaura could feel the flames on her back lapping against her armor vehemently. She took a deep breath. The knot in her belly loosened somewhat but it only left a bitter taste in her mouth. And her footsteps were still too loud for her liking. Her pets in the menagerie stirred, she heard them before she saw them. And then as she took a peek towards the bunks of her crew, a familiar face looked back at her from the other end of the ship.

Aloth was reading by the light of a candle when he glimpsed the Watcher. A warm and excited smile spread on his face as he sprung from his bunk. He eagerly rushed towards his lover before the soft snoring of the rest of the crew reached his ears and he remembered that they weren’t alone. He stopped for a moment, his eyes fixed on the sleeping crew shrouded in darkness. Then he turned his attention to himself, to his trousers and undershirt that he quickly smoothed down before he looked at Gaura again. There was an indescribable sense of tenderness in the look he gave her, that sent flutters down the Watcher’s fiery hair and a shiver down her spine. Guilt grasped her throat as she recalled leaving the cave but she merely swallowed and flashed a strained smile at him. But her throat grew only tighter once Aloth started moving again, quietly like a shadow, struggling to contain his joy.

‘Gaura,’ he whispered when he got within arms reach of her. He hesitated, seemingly unable to decide how he wanted to greet her properly. His relief was palpable, however, even in his silence, even as he remained motionless, only letting his gaze wander along her features, cherishing every last detail of her face.

The Watcher let out a quiet sigh, easing the suffocating tension within her. The wizard approached her without any apparent dizziness, and he could look at her directly even up close. That was a good first sign.

‘How are you feeling?’ She asked, just about loud enough that she wasn’t merely mouthing the words.

‘A lot better now that I see you unharmed,’ he cautiously reached forward and lightly cupped Gaura’s face. For a moment, his hand just lingered there, gently warming the Watcher’s cheek. Then she felt a single caress of the wizard’s thumb and Gaura let out a staggered, heavy breath. She closed her eyes as guilt and relief battled within her, blindly turning towards the hand on her face, planting one rushed, sloppy kiss on Aloth’s palm after the other.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered between kisses, swallowing the urge to cry with each word. ‘I’m so very sorry.’

‘As am I.’

Gaura’s eyes snapped open hearing that. The joy that was streaming off of the wizard was now replaced by a familiar sense of sorrow. She blinked at him, perplexed. He let his hand drop off her and his gaze followed it. He took a deep breath as the Watcher weaved her fingers into his.

‘Let’s continue this in my cabin,’ she suggested and Aloth gave her a few quick, eager nods.

She guided him to the seclusion of the captain’s cabin, and only let go of his hand once the door behind them was closed. Aloth stayed by the entrance, his focus was on the Watcher’s face, waiting for a word from her. Gaura, however, closed the distance between them, pinning Aloth against the wood behind him. It took her every ounce of restraint within her to kiss him as gently as she did, to fight the urge to nip at his delicate lip, to resist bruising him with all the things she was feeling for him in that moment and in the last few days. The wizard quietly moaned in her mouth. His hands found her hips and pulled her close, he arched himself towards her as his breathing grew labored with his need for her.

‘I’m sorry for leaving you behind,’ Gaura pulled away and offered her hands to Aloth, who quickly dragged her gauntlets off them. The Watcher kissed him again, lightly, apologetically, soothingly. She let her hands roam his chest, her self-discipline melting away with each long caress along his sides. Eventually she slid them under his shirt, and softly hummed into their kiss when she felt his skin warm against her palm. ‘I should’ve taken better care of you,’ she spoke against his lips, as her fingers dug into his chest and stole his breath away.

‘I should have been more careful as well,’ Aloth pulled away reluctantly to undo the straps on Gaura’s pauldrons. His fingers worked swiftly and efficiently even as his desires were clearly written on his face. He faltered as the second pauldron dropped to the ground, however, his eyes reflecting nothing but guilt for a brief moment before he closed them.‘I couldn’t bear the thought of you alone in that arena… if you got hurt and I wasn’t there when you needed me…’ he shook his head, trying to chase away the guilt rising in him.

The Watcher chuckled softly but mirthlessly. ‘I always need you, my valiant arcane knight,’ she left a kiss on Aloth’s scarred forehead, another on his cheek, another on his closed eye, ‘but I had things covered. I am here now, and I’m alright.’

The wizard looked at her once more. He smiled at her faintly as he reached for her hand through the fabric of his shirt and guided it to his heart. It was beating strong and healthy. It was beating fast for her.

‘I am here, and I am alright as well.’

Gaura let out a soft laugh that was shakier than she would have liked. Solace was finally setting in within her. She allowed her head to rest against Aloth’s, while he continued removing bits and pieces of her armor blindly. Soon, only Gaura’s legs were covered in metal still, and the wizard’s fingers were tracing the cracks running along her torso, tantalizingly gleaming through her shirt.

‘I missed you,’ he said, turning the Watcher’s attention to him again. His gaze lingered on her eyes for a mere moment before it wandered to her lips. ‘I’d like…’ he took a staggered breath as he leaned closer, ‘I want you.’

‘Are you sure?’ Gaura asked tentatively, hoping for that sweet and resolute “yes”, even though a rational part of her reminded her that he’s been recently injured and they would need to rise early the next day.

Aloth nodded, his nose brushing against the side of hers. ‘I’d like to feel you close. You were on my mind in every waking hour while I rested here… as much as I enjoyed the comfort of my solitude, I… I can’t help but crave yours now.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Gaura pulled away, allowing the wizard to cast protective spells on himself. When he was done, she placed her hands on his waist and allowed them to trail downwards, past his hips, down to his thighs. Aloth instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck just as she picked him up. She rested him against the door, chuckling at his gasp. She pressed her lips against his throat as if she could kiss the breath caught in there. She spent a moment adjusting her grip on him while he held on to her a little tighter but easing into her touch still. She then turned towards the cabin and began walking. Her footsteps were loud still, but she had a hard time caring about that with her beloved in her arms. Aloth smiled down at her, softly, wearily. He remained close, where he felt safe. The wizard left a peck on her forehead just as they reached the bed and she carefully laid him down. ‘Was that comforting enough?’

Aloth laughed, flustered. ‘Indeed, it was. But you can’t fault me for wishing for more,’ a sly grin brightened his face as he sat up, his eyes fixed on Gaura’s who followed along with his movements. She stood back and watched as he reached back for his shirt and pulled it off him, over his head. His movements were deliberate, as if he still tried to prove to her that he has healed. The Watcher leaned down to smooth down his dark, silky hair that he ruffled as he undressed. Her hand lingered at the back of his head while she admired him: the way he looked up at her in adoration even as he set his shirt aside, the way his cheeks flushed under her gaze, the way his lips parted every so slightly in anticipation.

And her eagerness got the better of her at the sight.

As she claimed his lips, Gaura pushed Aloth down on the bed again. Her tongue swirled around his, slowly, giving him a taste of what she will do next. She pulled away, leaving quick, but lingering kisses on each corner of his lips. The wizard angled his neck, trying steal – or at least plead – for another one of her kisses, but the Watcher merely laughed, sweetly and quietly.

‘Stay down, my love,’ as she spoke, the hand on the back of Aloth’s head moved, slowly trailing a path down his neck to his collarbone. ‘Let me remind you why you missed me.’

‘That confidence was one reason,’ he chuckled. Goosebumps formed on his chest as Gaura’s hand kept wandering downwards, lightly like a gentle breeze. She would linger at seemingly arbitrary spots. She would guide her hands back up to show some special care to his sides, his pecs, his belly. ‘Your tenderness was another,’ he breathed the words as the Watcher leaned over him and left a sloppy kiss right beneath his jaw. Her tongue was hot against his neck as her mouth traced a line along his throat. With every teasing moment her touch grew firmer and in turn, Aloth’s heart beat faster with need for her. ‘And your passion-’

His words got stuck in his throat when he felt Gaura’s palm against his bulge. A light brush was followed by firm caresses and it took all of Aloth’s fortitude to resist squirming under her touch, to resist bucking his hips, wordlessly pleading for more. The Watcher let out a melodious laugh. Her teeth lightly grazed his collarbone and the wizard finally exhaled, quiet notes of his lust mingling with his breath. He was rewarded with a soft squeeze and Aloth found himself clutching the sheets under him.

‘You are so lovely,’ Gaura placed a kiss on the wizard’s lips as she pulled her hand away from him. Aloth let out a sound – a complaint, a surprise and a plea bundled in a single note. The Watcher chuckled as she pulled back. ‘Show me how much you’ve missed me.’

The wizard took a moment to regain some of his composure. He didn’t realize how hard he’s been grasping the bedsheets, his knuckles felt stiff even as he reached down for his trousers. He refused to look away from the Watcher, even as he lifted his hips and clumsily dragged his clothes lower. In turn, Gaura kept her gaze on him as well. She only turned her attention to his lap briefly, before she flashed a smile at him. Aloth’s chest felt lighter at the sight and he started questioning whether he could ever come up with a fantasy that would match her radiance.

‘I missed this view,’ Gaura said as she climbed off the bed and knelt in front of it instead. The wizard jolted up, seeking her visage. ‘Almost as much as I missed your brilliance.’ She pulled his boots and trousers off him, hurriedly, impatiently. The kiss she left on his knee afterwards was surprisingly soft in comparison. Her eyes fluttered shut as she guided her mouth to the inner side of his thigh. Each bit of contact was an anchor and a lingering reminder: they were there in the safety of the cabin, they were fine, they were together. She allowed her hair to blaze against his other leg while she slowly kissed her way towards his cock. She wanted him to feel the heat of her passion and the motions of her serenity.

Aloth struggled to keep himself quiet as the Watcher teased him. His resolve failed him completely when she ran her tongue along his length. His moan put a smile on Gaura’s face. She took hold of his cock while her tongue danced circles around the head, just the way her kiss promised. The wizard collapsed onto the bed when her mouth finally closed around him. Aloth clamped a hand on his mouth while the Watcher took more and more of him down her throat, following a sweet and steady rhythm, almost as if she aimed to invite his thrusts. Her free hand moved to his hip, she caressed him with her thumb in accord with the movements of her head. One motion to soothe the wizard while the other pushed him towards coming undone. Tenderness and passion. And everything else he missed about her. The wizard pushed himself up to sit. Gaura glanced up at him, the notes of her muffled chuckles sounded beneath the noises escaping Aloth.

‘I… I love you,’ he breathed the words shakily.

Gaura pulled away, leaving Aloth wanting for a single fleeting moment, before her hand began moving around him again. She left a quick kiss on the wizard’s lips, then echoed his confession back at him in a whisper. Aloth, however, wasn’t ready to let her go just yet – he reached for the back of her head and pulled her right back onto his mouth.

‘Say it again,’ he sighed in between kisses, ‘please.’

‘I love you.’

The wizard loosened his hold on her and rested his forehead against hers. Gaura felt his breath carrying his moan on her face. She laughed and caressed his nose with hers. Aloth in turn slid his hand down her scalp to her neck, then to her shoulder, clutching the fabric of her shirt as she rubbed him faster.

‘Let me go,’ Gaura whispered, ‘let me taste you again.’

Aloth hesitated for a moment, then obliged her. Still, he reached for her hand as she descended between his legs again. He wove his fingers with hers as she took him in her mouth, trying to ground his senses while she was pushing him closer to ecstasy. He couldn’t tell how long he sat there, fruitlessly trying to hold on while the Watcher was pleasing him. He wanted to tell her how she made him feel but the words couldn’t form in his mind. He wanted to tell her of her beauty, her tenderness, her sense of rhythm but he could only allow his body to answer her touches. He collapsed onto the bed when he came undone for her. Moments stretched into eternity and Gaura finally leaned over him, kissing him deeply, her hand still holding his. Aloth felt the touch of her lips on his forehead next.

‘Rest easy, I’ll be right back,’ she said as she pulled away.

Gaura made her way to her footlocker. She barely took the rest of her armor off when she heard a familiar spell being cast behind her. A moment later she was wrapped in Aloth’s embrace.

‘You make me forget why I enjoy being alone,’ his breath tickled the nape of the Watcher’s neck.

‘You remind me why I enjoy solitude,’ she turned around to face him, ‘in your company, of course.’

The wizard smile wearily and tucked a flame behind her ear. ‘Back in the cave, I… I couldn’t bear looking at you…’

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Gaura interrupted him before he could lay any blame on himself. ‘You were hurt.’

Aloth didn’t answer at first. His smile slowly faded as he turned his attention to the Watcher’s hands. He gingerly reached for them.

‘If we have to be apart, I’d rather have that be by our choice. And yet I can’t ignore how much hope you give me,’ he looked her in the eye again, ‘I… I’m starting to wonder if I can ever make that choice again.’

Gaura gave him a faint, reassuring smile. ‘If it’s any consolation, I don’t think I can make that choice either. I certainly don’t want to.’

‘Yet you leave me alone whenever I ask.’

‘How could I say no, when you ask so nicely?’ The Watcher chuckled. Aloth reached for her cheek, prompting her to press his hand harder against herself. She shut her eyes tight, and focused on searing the feeling of his touch into her mind. As she has done dozens of times since they first kissed.

‘Then, if I may ask,’ the wizard stepped closer to her and guided her free hand to his hip, ‘don’t leave me alone tonight,’ his lips were brushing against Gaura’s, ‘please.’

The Watcher answered by letting Aloth guide her back to bed. And then by spending night reminding him and being reminded by him of all the things they missed about one another.

[bragganhyl]

*jumps on the haunted house photo redraw bandwagon years after it was a trend*

featuring my preferred Forgotten Sanctum gang

(I referenced one of the photos from this article though I did flimsy job at it)

[bragganhyl]

The Watchers of the Eastern Reach

[bragganhyl]

The world looks a little different than it used to, is that it? Feels like you're noticing things for the first time that have always been there?

[bragganhyl]

I figured I’d doodle my Watcher as a lava mermaid before mermay ended

[bragganhyl]

them.png

(pssst click on the middle pic to see the whole thing)

[bragganhyl]

'how badly do you want me?' for gaura and aloth please :3

Thanks, Anon, sorry, it took me a bit but here it is :D

this is your explicit content warning, do not click on the readmore if you do not want to be exposed to 4.3k words of smutty writing, please and thank you

Konstanten’s room was slowly filling up with steam while Gaura was taking off one piece of her armor after the other. She hummed a melody to herself – out of respect rather than discomfort – trying to tune out the lewd cries that managed to pass through the walls of the Wild Mare. In moments like these, the Watcher questioned if taking the tub in the brothel was actually preferable to the Luminous Bathhouse, but those questions would be set aside as soon as she remembered that at least, she got to be alone in the brothel. There was a time public bathing would have left Gaura unfazed, but that was before she was renowned as the Watcher of Caed Nua or the captain of The Defiant. That was before she was a piece in the game of powers that saw her as variable to be controlled. And there was a place where she might have felt comfortable surrounded by others, bare and – in some ways – out of her element, but in such a place she wouldn’t have been surrounded by people looking to her with either reverence or suspicion. She could do without the attention that she would have received in Periki’s Overlook.

But the rest of the crew headed that way. Aloth was especially reluctant to part ways with her that day. A soft tremor ran through her fingers as the Watcher recalled the way he held her hand, saying his goodbyes. She thought of his gentleness that she felt through the heavy gauntlet, she thought of the warmth in his gaze that made the sun streaming on them pale in comparison. She thought of the color of his lips after she gave him nothing more than a quick peck. She bit her own as she reminisced. The color promised a soft surface, a searing impact and an irresistible taste. Gaura didn’t notice that she stopped humming. Her movements slowed as she undid her belt, while her imagination painted the image of clothes being removed that belonged to someone else. An image of another getting shoved against a wall while she showered him in kisses.

The sound of the water boiling snapped her out of her musings. Gaura hurriedly took the cauldron and emptied its contents into the tub, half-full of lukewarm water already. She removed the last few pieces of her armor and the clothes underneath, excitement almost getting the better of her. As she stepped into the tub, the water began dancing around her legs lead by the ever burning flames bursting through her skin. She sat down, submerging herself to her neck, enjoying the rough bubbles assaulting her tense muscles. Soon, she was lifted by the movements of the water, her only support was the back of her head against the edge of the tub and her arms coming over its sides, anchoring her while she floated relaxed.

The trek up the mountain took time, Gaura mused as a sigh left her lips, Aloth could not have made it to the bathhouse yet. By the time he would, he’d be flushed by exertion and kissed by sunlight. The Watcher sighed. The water felt softer as she thought of the wizard. Or maybe she did. It was so easy to pretend that she was being touched, that she was melting as a response. It was easy to read more into the gentle impacts against the small of her back than the reality of them. It was easy to imagine slender fingers caressing her thighs and even easier to give in to the sensation. Gaura brought a hand to her breast as she parted her legs, while she thought of Aloth descending into the gently glowing pool. She envisioned a single droplet trickling down his lean body as she traced its path down her own chest.

Her daydreaming fragmented when her fingers found her folds and the small nub between them. Images overlapped with her movements, shifting with each flick of her wrist. She drew one circle and Aloth was leaning over the edge of the pool. His face was pressed against the tiles and Gaura was behind him, loving up his neck, kissing his shoulders, nibbling on his ear, as she reached forward and rubbed him steadily. The Watcher’s breathing grew staggered as she picked up the pace set by her imaginary self. Her mind was filled with the vision of Aloth on his back, sprawled out on the floor of the bathhouse, biting down on his lip, trying to keep himself quiet as Gaura grinded on top of him, filled by him, at a tempo that was far too selfish but she couldn’t help it. She allowed herself a quiet moan, just enough to fuel her fantasies without overpowering the sounds of the water enveloping her, the sounds she imagined echoing in the halls of the Luminous Bathhouse, the sounds that-

- that were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

The Watcher froze in her movements. For a moment there was no sound, and no movement aside from the water around her rushing against her body. When she heard the knock again, her awareness returned to her fully – as well as to her more than compromising, arched posture. Even behind closed doors, Gaura’s hair fluttered shyly as she sat in the tub, her legs crossed, trying to repress the rage growing from her frustration by washing her face.

‘The room’s taken!’ She called out, snapping at the person behind the door despite her best efforts.

‘I know.’

The voice almost convinced the Watcher that she was still deep in her fantasies. When she didn’t respond, an impatient request followed.

‘Gaura, can you please, let me in?’

She got out of the tub in a hurry, nearly tripping over the edge of it. She was just about to grab the handle of the door, when she remembered to cover herself. The Watcher took a moment to ensure the towel she picked up was hugging her body securely and neatly, before she opened the door, and casually leaned against its frame. An easy smile brightened her face that hid all but the smallest hints at her craving for the wizard. Aloth blinked at her, his mouth slightly agape at the sight of her wearing nothing but a tiny piece of fabric and a small cloud of vapor rising from her skin.

‘I…’ he cleared his throat, ‘I hope I didn’t come at an inopportune time.’

Gaura chuckled, lust and mischief faintly ringing in her voice. ‘Quite the contrary,’ she stepped aside, ‘I was just thinking about you.’

‘As was I about you,’ Aloth stepped inside the room, strangely stiff. It was only then that Gaura noticed how out of breath the wizard was, how flushed his cheeks were and yet he closed the door behind him with a restraint that she would have mistaken for hesitance had she not seen it time and time again, usually right before they both gave in to their desires. ‘That… is why I’m here,’ he let out a short laugh, as he stepped closer to the Watcher, ‘I was wondering, if… maybe you could share the tub with me.’ He hid his hands behind his back.

‘Hm,’ Gaura closed the distance between them. Aloth did not move, he did not look away, merely his cheeks took on a slightly deeper shade as a heavy, but staggered breath escaped his lips. She glimpsed a spark in his lidded eyes that put an impish smile on her face. ‘I’m sure we can squeeze in,’ she said as she reached for a buckle on the wizard’s vest. ‘But I still can’t help but be surprised that you’d skip the bathhouse for a measly tub.’

‘The company more than makes up for it,’ he glanced down at the Watcher’s hands slowly undoing one buckle after the other. ‘As does the privacy.’

‘My, you must have craved both,’ Gaura teased as she undid Aloth’s belt and pushed his vest off him, ‘if you were willing to climb back down the mountain just to meet me here. Alone.’

‘Indeed,’ he chuckled as he took off his undershirt, ‘as foolish as it sounds, I… I couldn’t stop thinking about our parting earlier.’

He gingerly reached for the Watcher’s hands, and lifted them to his lips. He left a single lingering kiss on her wrist, while he placed shorter, sweeter ones on the knuckles of her other hand. Gaura laughed softly, turning Aloth’s gaze to her face again. He let go of her long enough to cast protective spells on himself, before he reached behind her head and brought it closer to himself. He rested his forehead against hers, fighting the urge to claim her lips.

‘I want you,’ he admitted quietly, breathlessly, but no less eagerly.

‘Care to demonstrate?’ The Watcher lightly nipped at his lower lip. ‘How badly do you want me?’

Aloth’s kiss was slow at first, but insistent as if he needed to drink Gaura in to shrug off the weariness of the road. Then a moment passed and the wizard only grew hungrier for her. The Watcher snickered into his mouth as he reached for the towel covering her and peeled it off with a gentle tug. He pulled her closer, and embraced her tightly seemingly ready to feed himself to the fire adorning her body. But he knew those flames: he knew that they did not scorch, they did not harm, they only lapped against Aloth’s chest with the tenderness of the lightest of kisses. Goosebumps formed where he was kissed by fire and a small tremor ran through him as Gaura reached for his hair and gently pulled it. The wizard sharply inhaled, warm, humid, smokey air filling his mouth until the Watcher latched onto his neck and allowed herself to be guided by her tongue along his shoulder. Only then did he remember to exhale.

‘Shall we take this to the tub?’ Gaura’s voice was deep with desire.

Aloth needed a moment to process the question, which was made all the harder by the Watcher’s warm breath caressing his ear. Eventually he gave her a few quick nods. ‘Please.’

‘Guide me, then,’ she hooked a finger in the wizard’s trousers as she took a step towards the tub, but her gaze remained fixed on him. ‘You see, while you were away my imagination was all I had for company,’ she walked with her back towards her destination, her hands firmly holding her lover by his waist, and her lips repeatedly finding their way back to Aloth’s.

‘It seems I have something to live up to then.’

Gaura laughed. ‘You better, you interrupted quite a nice fanta-’

Her teasing was interrupted when the Watcher’s foot hit a piece of her discarded armor and she was sent stumbling down on her back, pulling Aloth with her.

‘Gods, are you alright?’ The wizard pushed himself up, anxiously looking her over. Gaura was still laughing, however.

‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ she stopped herself, sniffing into the air. Something was getting singed. ‘The rug, however…’ she pulled Aloth down, wrapped her thighs around his hips and rolled over him in a few swift moves. She was still snickering as she claimed his lips again. Her smile faded to something faint, smug and satisfied as her hand trailed down the wizard’s chest, and he proved to be unable to resist her caress. He arched himself ever so slightly into her touch. His hand came to the back of her head, and kept her in place as he kissed back more and more desperately with each moment. And then Gaura reached his bulge. A quiet groan resonated against the Watcher’s lips and she pulled away to rid him of his remaining clothes. She grinned down at him as she was undoing his trousers, her anticipation warming her belly. Then a hand came to her wrist.

‘Please, I…’ Aloth swallowed, ‘I’d like to taste you.’

Gaura cocked her head, feigning to ponder his request. ‘I’d rather not risk lying down again, though.’

The wizard responded with a knowing smile. His free hand came to her thigh, his fingers idly traced a crack running along on its inner side.

‘I would prefer if you stayed on top, too.’

The Watcher shrugged and leaned over Aloth again. ‘How could I say no to you?’ She left a quick peck on his lips. Then another. And another. With each little contact the vision of his lips on her cunt became more and more crystallized. She savored the fantasy as she pulled away and shuffled over the wizard’s face. ‘Don’t forget to breathe,’ she reminded him, as she lowered herself.

The very first flick of Aloth’s tongue sent shivers along every fiber of Gaura’s being. He gripped her thighs tight as he latched onto her clit and lapped at it feverishly. The Watcher bit down on her finger, trying to suppress the sounds he drew from her each time he changed pace, rhythm, patterns. There was a sweet dissonance between the softness of his lips and the insistence of their movements, between the light brushes of his hair against her thighs and his fingers digging into them. He was unpredictable and meticulous and Gaura found it harder with each moment to restrain herself. It didn’t help that each time he sent her flames fluttering, they drew a shudder out of him, and his own sense of control demanded that he continued with more focus and with greater determination. He let out a few quiet notes, a barely audible but no less desperate whimper, as the fire dancing along the Watcher’s thighs lapped against his cheek and ears, and he nearly drove her mad by doing so. It seemed as if her muscles took control over her as Aloth overwhelmed her nerves and senses. She reached for his hair and dug her fingers into those dark strands while her hips began to move along their own rhythm. The wizard softly moaned against her folds when he felt her grind against him, but Gaura could no longer hear anything beyond her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. Not his sounds, not her own cries, not the sweet nothings that left her lips which only spurred Aloth on. The Watcher lost her sense of time as her pleasure was building within her. Her sense of rhythm and pacing betrayed her on the verge of ecstasy. She lost awareness of herself, of selfishness or discipline. There was only Aloth, precious and generous Aloth, who was so perfect to lose herself in, in all the ways she could still name. She threw her head back and allowed the warmth of her arousal to spread within her like a wildfire and consume her entirely. Aloth slowed down to help her guide her senses back to herself, then left a few parting kisses on her thighs just as she was ready to get off him.

‘You are so, so good to me,’ Gaura leaned over him, eager to taste herself on his tongue. She laughed into their kiss when she felt the juices of her arousal coat his nose and chin as well. Aloth answered by reaching for her ear and by making a futile attempt at tucking a lock of her flame-hair behind it. She pulled away then. ‘I love you.’

‘And I love you.’

‘You made that evidently clear,’ the Watcher laughed. She pulled away and took off Aloth’s trousers. She waited until the wizard reinforced some of his spells protecting him from her hair, the moved to straddle him again. ‘Will you let me be selfish with you?’ She asked with an impish smile while she descended on his cock. She was merely grinding against his length, letting her arousal coat him, but Aloth already tensed up in anticipation. ‘I’ll take good care of you in the tub after I’m done, I promise.’

Aloth let out a quiet laugh. ‘How could I say no to you?’ He sat up, echoing her words, and reached for Gaura’s shoulder. He pulled her down with him as he laid back down. ‘Just… please, stay close to me.’

The Watcher placed a kiss on his cheek while she guided his cock to her heat. She slowly rocked back against him, stealing the wizard’s breath away.

‘Close enough?’

‘Yes, and no.’ Aloth laughed, his joy mingled into his moan as the Watcher began moving again on top of him, until the last notes he exhaled were voiceless and his face became a canvas of pure need. ‘I… can’t get enough of you.’ Gaura kissed the corner of his lips. For a single roll of her hips, she slowed down, as her lips locked with his proper and drank in the long, hungry groan she drew from the wizard. She pulled away slightly with a chuckle and picked up the pace again.

‘Neither can I.’

The Watcher thought of the daydream she had in the tub. The fantasy of Aloth sprawled out on the tiles of the bathhouse and of herself seizing her own pleasure. And a part of her was tempted to turn it into reality. But the Aloth in front of her, under her, had fantasies hiding behind his eyes as well. He touched her cheek just as the first quiet moan passed her lips. He watched her, pleased, for a mere moment before his eyes fluttered shut and he craned his neck back towards the floor. A smile brightened his face until his expression was contorted by his own pleasure.

‘Gods, I adore you,’ Gaura whispered. She couldn’t resist the sight of his lips, his eyes, his arching neck. Her mouth wandered and soothed, her teeth encouraged and claimed, while her body moved to a steady rhythm. She allowed herself to grew drunk the visage of Aloth as ecstasy was building within him and the sounds she was drawing from him. She was intoxicated by the light touches on her back, the fingers tracing her cracks, the caresses on the back of her head, the crackling of magic against her scalp. She in turn called him beautiful, she called him precious, through slurred words and through wandering touches, through increasingly hurried movements. And soon, she grew forgetful, she grew unaware, she was mesmerized by the wizard under her, too much to pay attention to her own self. Her hips rolled back harder against him, her kisses turned forceful enough to resonate in her teeth, until she slammed against him hard and hit a spot that got her seeing stars.

Aloth groaned under her and kissed her on her cheek. The Watcher only stopped for a moment, but even that brief pause felt excruciating – and yet, at the same time, inviting.

‘Wait,’ his hands trailed down Gaura’s sides, until he reached her hips. His grip was light, but firm. After some shuffling, Aloth gave her a slow and gentle thrust, hitting the same spot again. The Watcher’s moan lingered in the air between them. ‘How does that feel?’

‘Almost perfect.’

‘Almost…?’ Aloth thrust again, slightly harder this time, and now the Watcher was ready to meet him.

‘Now, it’s perfect,’ she smiled down at him, as she started moving again in earnest, and he followed along. Gaura soon buried her face in the curve of the wizard’s neck, kisses and nibbles became her anchor as she got swept away in her own movements and the precious, lovely friction that stoked the heat pooling in her loins.

Aloth was tensing up under her as well. He didn’t notice his grip tightening on her, or that he hastened his thrusts. There was a light stutter in the way his muscles moved, there was a light shiver lingering at the tips of his fingers that he couldn’t ease through touch alone. His mouth was filled with his moans that got pushed out of him each time the Watcher’s flesh hit his. Gaura’s lips were slick against his throat, her tongue felt hot against his ear, her hands wandered along his chest, enjoying the feeling of his heart pounding fast for her at one moment and the tremors that followed her light brushes against his nipples in the next. But she did warn him that she would be selfish. Eventually her hand traveled down between them, to the clit he’s been neglecting, but just as guilt was about to well up in him, she grew tighter around him and Aloth forgot everything but her warmth, her embrace, the fire bursting though her, kissing his skin. She cried out as she collapsed on top of him, drowning out his own voice, her climax eclipsing his. The wizard held her close and tight as he rode out his ecstasy, but she squirmed her way out of his embrace. She left one kiss on his face after the other, she left no spot untouched and for those few moments, Aloth was convinced he was melting.

‘I must say,’ he said once he found his voice again, ‘I do enjoy you being selfish with me.’

Gaura chuckled. ‘I promise, I won’t make you regret those words,’ she gave him a lingering kiss, while he pulled out. A few moments later, she got up and helped the wizard stand, as well. ‘Just like I promised I would take care of you, now.’ She gingerly hooked her fingers into his as he guided him to the bathtub. She frowned at the water, disappointed in the lack of steam, and just as she assumed, the water was cool to her touch when she reached out for it.

‘Allow me,’ Aloth gave her hand a light squeeze before he let her go. He rubbed his hands together then he drew some runes in the air. He uttered a spell as he touched them. Magic flared up at the tips of his fingers then spread down to his wrists. The wizard then dipped his hands in the water and in a few moments, vapor was rising from the tub once more. A satisfied smile lurked in the corners of his lips as he gestured at the tub, and when Gaura reached for the water, it was as warm as she left it.

‘Show off,’ she teasingly rolled her eyes at him, which was met with Aloth’s widening eyes as he became aware of his own smugness. Gaura laughed sweetly as she kissed him on the cheek. ‘I’m only teasing, love,’ she left another peck on him. ‘Thank you, you’re a lifesaver.’

The Watcher stepped into the tub and reached back for Aloth. The wizard glanced at the water bubbling around Gaura’s legs then grabbed the hand offered to him with an excited grin. They sat behind one another, with Aloth nestling between the Watcher’s thighs. It was a tight fit within the tub, with little to no room to move, but at least as they were, Gaura was comfortable. Meanwhile the wizard sat a little straighter as the water rushed against his waist. He took a deep breath then undid the bindings holding his hair bit by bit. He ran his hands through his dark strands and leaned back against Gaura's chest with a sigh.

‘Gods, this feels magnificent,’ he took the Watcher’s hand and lifted it to his lips. ‘You are magnificent.’

‘You know my plan was to help you get cleaned up,’ she replied as she played with a few strands of his hair.

‘Just… give me a few moments.’

‘Or you could just give me the soap,’ the Watcher pointed to a fragrant yellow bar. Aloth sat up with a groan but he didn’t hide his eagerness to return to her embrace. She laughed as she took the soap and lightly rubbed it against the wizard’s chest. He seemed to grow more relaxed with each movement of her hand. And in turn, she took her time, she remained gentle.

‘Gaura…’ when Aloth spoke again, his voice was hoarse and quiet.

‘Hmm?’

‘I heard that the pool in the Luminous Bathhouse can be rented for private events,’ he caressed her knee as he talked. ‘Do you think that I could… tempt you... for such an event?’

‘Aw, you’re getting greedy,’ she blew a kiss on her hair. In truth, her daydream surged from the depths of her mind, and her heart skipped a beat at the idea of making it real.

Aloth laughed. ‘Nothing of the sort, I assure you,’ he shifted his weight slightly, ‘or… I don’t think of it as greed. There are just some experiences that I… would like to share with you.’

‘Nice save.’

The wizard shrugged. ‘It’s true, though. There are so many places that I want to see by your side... Memories that I want to form with you,’ he bit his lip. ‘Things that I’d like to try with you.’

The Watcher smiled to herself. ‘I feel the same way,’ she laughed. ‘Although I must mention that a lot of the places I’d like to show you are in the Living Lands and we have giant hornets there.’

‘I’m sure the perils would be worth it.’

‘You are making it very hard to say no to your suggestion,’ Gaura shook her head. ‘About the bathhouse, I mean.’

Aloth said nothing, he merely angled his head to look up at the Watcher. Gaura could only meet his gaze for a few fleeting moments.

‘Fine,’ she pretended to give in. ‘I’ll see to the arrangements.’

The wizard smiled. ‘Thank you,’ he turned away and closed his eyes. ‘I have to say, though… I wouldn’t oppose to… using the tub with you again. If you are of the same mind, that is.’

‘You know that I am,’ the Watcher tucked a lock of hair behind Aloth’s ear. In her embrace, relaxed, soaked and glowing in the aftermath of ecstasy, he looked almost like a dream. And certainly more beautiful than the ones Gaura has been having. ‘How could I say no to you?’

[bragganhyl]

“🖊“ +any Gimmie gimmie gimme dem OC factzzz

Okay one lore tidbit for three OCs, thank you Anon 💖

Out of all the animals Berci can talk to, corvids and bees are his favorite conversationists. He likes corvids for their intelligence and bees for their unique communication style.

Gaura is from the Living Lands but her parents are Dyrwoodan and up until very shortly before PoE 1 she had relatives living in the Dyrwood too. (...or mayhaps she still has a few)

Gilvád wholeheartedly hates Hard in Hightown, she sees it as blatant propaganda fiction. She prefers reading classics (dwarven or otherwise).

[bragganhyl]

so how about 43. have you ever thought about how much worse our lives would be without each other? 👉👈

Thaaanks, here is some fluffiness in which Gaura gets a new violin, courtesy of Edér and Aloth.

Word count: around 2k words.

The softly played sounds of a violin filled the Watcher’s cabin. Aloth woke up with a start, then a moment passed and the soothing melody eased him into resting with a smile on his face. Gaura’s scent was lingering on the pillow next to him, and Edér was in a deep sleep on the other side of the bed, sprawled out, his broad back bathed in moonlight. He was breathing to the rhythm of the song. Or maybe he followed the waves lightly rocking the ship. Everything seemed to have moved together in a comforting tandem. The wizard risked a glance at the Watcher. She was sitting by the window, with her eyes closed, and her body gently swaying to her own tune. The instrument looked like it came alive at her touch and the music was a product of the dance between it and the musician playing it.

Earlier that day, Aloth and Edér were finally ready to present a gift they’ve been secretly trying to obtain for what seemed like an eternity: a blackwood violin, just like the one Gaura used to play years ago. Back then, Aloth used to linger by the window and listen to the night wind carrying the tune of improvisations being played in the hedge maze. Back then, Edér used to play pranks with her on the others – she was good at mimicking birdsong which had some untapped comedic potential. If nothing else, it put a smile on Gaura's face. Years passed, and the wizard still missed those nights, and the farmer was very curious if harmless pranks could still lift the Watcher’s spirits. However, blackwood was rather rare and it was mostly used to build ships rather than instruments. Still, when Gaura found enough of the material to outfit the Defiant with a new hull, it seemed like everything was falling into place for Aloth and Edér to hatch a plan. To take whatever was left of the wood and find someone willing to make a violin out of it. After a few weeks of searching, some promised favors to Serafen that Aloth was sure they would regret in time, and some consultations with Tekehu - that he miraculously managed to keep to himself - the instrument was made, ready to be picked up from Dunnage and presented to the Watcher.

For the first few moments, Aloth was convinced they made some kind of mistake. Gaura opened the case resting on her lap and merely stared at the violin, with a hollowness in her eyes that the wizard couldn’t quite place. Uncomfortable silence filled the captain’s cabin. The window behind the Watcher reflected strange flutters in her hair. Aloth glanced at Edér standing beside him, but he didn’t seem to worry.

‘Do you like it?’ He simply asked. The question pulled the Watcher out of her daze, and prompted her to actually touch the violin. Her fingers brushed against some runes etched into the wood.

‘I figured I’d place some enchantments on it,’ Aloth explained, ‘to make it more resistant to your hair. I’m not quite sure if that would affect the sound but I was told-’

‘Aloth,’ Edér lightly elbowed him in the arm. A knowing smile was lurking in the corner of his lips. As he turned to the Watcher, the smile faded and an understanding look took its place.

Gaura’s mind seem to have been elsewhere. She lifted the violin to her shoulder and began tuning the instrument. After a minute or two she seemed to have been ready to play. The melody of the Farmer and the Fox leapt off the strings. As the song went on a mirthless smile appeared on the Watcher’s face that grew wider and more joyful the longer she played. A few mistakes slipped into the tune, but Aloth couldn’t bring himself to care. He was mesmerized by the euphoria on Gaura’s face. Edér clapped along beside him and he didn’t notice he started clapping too. Gaura was now laughing and playing faster, her foot tapped a steady rhythm and she followed its tempo. Her eyes closed and she allowed herself to be guided by her ears alone. Aloth let out a relieved sigh that he didn’t realize he was holding. It was met by a light pat on his shoulder. Edér was grinning at him, proud at their success and happy for their beloved. Then the song ended. It took the Watcher a few moments to open her eyes.

‘I’m a little rusty,’ she let out an awkward, apologetic chuckle. She looked to her lovers with tears of joy twinkling in her eyes.

‘You’ll get back into it in no time,’ Edér sat down beside her and ran a hand down her arm. Gaura beamed at him and he couldn’t resist the urge to give her a forehead kiss.

The Watcher then turned her attention to Aloth. She reached a hand out to him only to realize she was still holding the bow. She reluctantly put the violin back in its case and put it aside. She stood up then, reaching out with both hands, with a strange desperation in the movement, as if, if she couldn’t hold the wizard her love would overflow with nowhere to put it. Aloth obliged her wordless request. Her hand came to the back of his head. Her caress was gentle but insistent and Aloth couldn’t help but sink into her embrace.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered as she pulled away. ‘Thank you,’ she repeated as she left a searing kiss on the wizard’s lips. ‘Thank you,’ she said once more as she turned to Edér to show him the same gratitude. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you two.’

A few hours later the Watcher was playing a song that Aloth never heard before but it was almost hypnotic. Once he convinced himself to move again, he closed the distance to Edér and lightly shook him, careful not to draw Gaura’s attention to themselves. The farmer groaned as he stirred, prompting the wizard to quiet him with a finger on his lips. Edér’s eyes widened in surprise and Aloth answered by lifting the finger to his own lips, urging him to keep quiet still. Edér’s surprise was replaced with confusion but he listened. And as he listened, his expression changed once again to delight. He sat up, only to be dragged back down by the wizard.

‘Why are we hiding?’ The farmer asked in a whisper.

‘I don’t want to disturb her.’

‘Don’t think she’d mind,’ he rolled on his back but he otherwise lied still. A few moments passed and the only sound in the cabin was the soft music and the waves crashing outside. Edér’s eyes were fixed on the empty air above him. He smiled at something and suddenly Aloth wished he could read his thoughts. But something told him that whatever was on his mind, it must have been beautiful. It was impossible to think of anything else embraced by that tune. The farmer turned to him, his hand found the wizard’s and gave it a quick squeeze. ‘I’m glad we did this.’

‘So am I.’

Edér’s smile widened. He got out of bed, too quickly for Aloth to stop him. He gestured to follow him as he approached the Watcher by the window. Gaura looked up at him as he came closer but she didn’t stop playing until he was already sitting beside her.

‘Don’t stop on my account,’ the farmer said. ‘That sounded real pretty.’

‘It’s a song from back home,’ Gaura answered. Aloth couldn’t tell if she meant the Dyrwood or the Living Lands at first, but the Watcher continued. ‘It’s about dancing through time,’ she chuckled as she reminisced, ‘sometimes roaming the Valleys feels like a year passes in a day, and… a lot of songs try to capture that feeling,’ she sounded almost homesick as she sighed. ‘It was one of the first songs I was truly determined to learn way back when.’

‘Sounded like you still knew it,’ Edér placed a hand on her waist and lightly caressed her with a thumb.

Gaura didn’t answer. She flashed a weary smile at him then looked at the violin in her hand for a moment. ‘I suppose I still do,’ she sounded strangely wistful. ‘It just sounds a little different to my ears now.’

‘Is something wrong with the violin?’ Aloth asked as he got out of bed as well. The Watcher smiled at him reassuringly.

‘No, I… there is nothing wrong with it.’ She grew quiet for a moment. The wizard claimed the empty spot by her side. ‘Which one of you thought of getting this for me?’ She asked after a while.

Edér immediately pointed at Aloth. The wizard wanted to disagree, but he couldn’t actually tell which one of them had the idea first.

‘He figured most things out,’ the farmer explained. ‘I just did the talking.’

‘That is an understatement,’ Aloth shook his head disapprovingly. ‘Those negotiation skills that you claimed you didn’t have were invaluable. Whatever plans I made were nothing without your help.’

‘Come on, don’t sell yourself short,’ Edér narrowed his eyes at him, ‘you would have gathered the courage eventually. I didn’t even know where to begin.’

‘Now who is selling himself short?’

‘Both of you,’ Gaura fondly chuckled. ‘You,’ she gestured at Aloth with the bow, ‘are bright and brave. I haven’t met a lot of people who could take on their fears head-on. Scared, but you still do it. And if I started waxing poetic about your mind, we’ll be here all year,’ she laughed. ‘And you,’ she now pointed at Edér, ‘inspire courage and comfort. You just make things feel a little less daunting, no matter what it is. And I don’t know what I’d do without you two.’ She sighed as she looked to the violin in her lap. A wistful smile tugged at the corners of her lips. ‘Have you ever wondered how much worse our lives would be without each other?’

‘Trying not to,’ Edér gave her a meaningful look. One that the Watcher could only answer with resting her forehead against his for a moment.

‘The thought has crossed my mind a few times,’ Aloth admitted, ‘I’d prefer to think that we’d be alright, certainly worse off and perhaps hurting but… alright, still,’ uncertainty rang in his voice and the Watcher picked right up on that. She knew him too well.

‘But?’

The wizard chuckled. ‘But… I never thought I’d have anything like… us. I am not sure I have it in me to give it up for anything.’

‘Good thing, you won’t have to,’ Edér answered.

‘For better or for worse,’ Gaura added with a shrug. ‘Dependence can be pretty scary,’ her gaze fell onto the violin again. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then she gingerly ran her fingers against the wood, stopping by the runes carved into it to give them some special attention. A strange but fond smile spread on her face. ‘And yet it doesn’t scare me right now,’ she laughed, ‘I got a violin out of it. And… the songs I play on it won’t sound like they used to but… somehow I don’t mind it too much. I can’t be mad at myself for something I would have seen as a weakness in the past when it gives me so much strength right now.’

Gaura hugged the instrument to her chest for a moment, then she neatly put it away. When she stood up and reached her hands to her lovers, it almost looked like she was inviting them for a dance. Aloth placed his hand in hers without hesitation and his eagerness surprised even him. Edér chuckled at him and clasped his shoulder before he stood up and took the Watcher’s hand as well. She guided them back to the bed, quietly humming a song still that lulled Aloth to sleep before he even realized how sleepy he was. He dreamed about dancing that night.

[bragganhyl]

eder and gaura 3 for the kiss meme !

Thanks Ella 💖 took me a hot minute but here they are

[bragganhyl]

I took a trip down memory lane and I redrew the portrait I doodled for Gaura back in 2021 😊

[bragganhyl]

He really wants his shirt back, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[bragganhyl]

for the poe asks! 4, 6 and 10!

Aay, thank you 💖💖💖

what voice did you choose for your watcher? does it have any significance?

The smooth voiceset in both games. (The "I got this, I got this" one lol) The PoE 1 version sounds close to how I imagine her demeanor, the Deadfire version sounds close to the pitch and raspiness that I had in mind for her. But yeah that's pretty much it.

how does your watcher's past life affect their current actions?

Answered it here

which god did your watcher make a deal with? did they keep their end of the bargain?

Hylea and yeah, she did. Gaura, however, comes to regret that choice after she sees those parents who got re-traumatized bc they no longer had a Hollowborn baby to be restored. If she got a do-over she'd probably pick Berath instead.

[bragganhyl]

1, 3, 6 and 23 c:

Yay thank you Viki <3

what is your watcher's class? how does it relate to their backstory?

Gaura is a chanter so like a bard shaped battering ram. She used to spend a lot of time as a kid in a temple dedicated to Magran in order to learn more about her "other mother" and the potential reasons why she might have given her the godlike chime. When she got fed up with Magran's silence, she just left and on that day she met a priestess of Hylea who gifted her a violin. Given that she had no real idea what to do with herself, Gaura figured she might as well learn to play the violin and then she moved on to learn chanting. Eventually that earned her a spot in the local expeditioner's guild and worked as an explorer until she left for the Dyrwood.

what are your watcher's likes and dislikes (like the ones poe2 companions have)?

Oohh this is tough, she likes a lot of things lol I'll try to limit things to 4

Likes: autonomy, levity, passion, resourcefulness.

Dislikes: zealotry, cruelty, irresponsibility, pro-Leaden Key.

how does your watcher's past life affect their current actions?

It doesn't for the most part, the Inquisitor is the Inquisitor and Gaura is Gaura, she doesn't equate herself to her soul. Still, given that her Awakening progressed quite far in PoE 1, her emotions towards Iovara are too deeply intertwined to really separate them. She can't help but love her and feel incredibly guilty for what happened to her.

Being able to speak Engwithan is also there I guess lol, she uses it a lot, it's quite the skill to have.

what does your watcher do after poe2?

For the most part, Gaura is focusing on rebuilding Caed Nua and... chilling. The events of Deadfire push her the down the path of the control freak and she needs to sort those feelings out if she were to be any help in post-Deadfire global politics without becoming a tyrant herself. Also she serves as a Watcher signal template and an Engwithan language expert for the Wheel fixing project.