#so now there's this random wood elf that's shown up in the fic

[longroadstonowhere]

so there's this one fantasy high fic i've been keeping up with (Walk This Empty Street by fioment), and it's one where i've been leaving long comments that just basically track my emotions through each new chapter

but i may or may not have just pulled another 'chiaki is a robot' guess out of my ass, and i am so fascinated to see how the author responds to it

[azaleawriting]

If Emotions Shown as Bright as a Full Moon, You Would See a lot More than I Let On

Br’aaxi vent fic. I’m sorry if they are out of character, this was more just for my own mental health. Hope you still like it!

Spoilers for S2 Ep16 (technically)

Summary is it starts with S’aad and ends with Taxi braiding Br’aad hair.

That’s it. That’s the entire fic.

The wind blows through the trees. The evergrowing trees that seemed to go on forever. Gods, Br’aad was so tired of these fucking trees! He’d been in the woods for maybe a day but it seems like a year. The only good news is that they were getting close to passing this hunter’s “tests” and they could defeat her soon.

Taxi made the suggestion to take a long rest before they faced her, and everyone agreed after Vel backed him up. The party settled down and decided who would be taking watch when. Taxi, Vel, Redd, then Sylnan.

After checking it wasn’t alive, Br’aad leaned against a random tree. He was going to simply stare at the midnight blue sky until he felt tired enough to sleep but something caught his eye. Vel and Taxi were talking amongst themselves away from the rest of the group. They were laughing about something. 

Br’aad smiled, though sourly. The two always had the greatest synergy in the team. Sometimes Br’aad was jealous that he didn’t have someone for him like Vel was for Taxi. A friend with mutual interests, able to seriously talk about any topic, have actual conversations, and able to challenge the other to get better. Br’aad was just the funny man in the group. Comedy relief, is the word? No one took him seriously, and that made him feel restricted. He couldn’t talk about anything without making a joke, or his companions won’t like him anymore. He loved making jokes, of course, but sometimes he just wants a nice heartfelt talk with someone. No jokes, no jests.

He sighs and looks over at Sylnan, talking with Mountain and Redd. Things had not been the same, not at all. They were still close, but not like they were before. He rubbed the tattoo on his cheek. This was the single thing that tore them apart. And instead of fixing it like a good brother, like a good person, he ran. He left the Wharf and stayed in another city for a whole year until finally returning home. And even now, after spending a few months back together, their relationship had not mended at all. There was still a rift between them, and Br’aad had no idea how to fix it. It was breaking his heart.

Br’aad slammed his head back onto the bark of the wood a lot harder than he should have but he doesn’t care. The sky looks gorgeous tonight. Bright moon with millions of stars. Reminds him of a certain realm he visited…

There is a sound next to him and Br’aad jumps, misadjusting the ring he was subconsciously messing with. The ring that Gith gave him actually. What was his name…?

Looking over, though, he sees Taxi sitting criss-cross and smiling at him. “Hey Taxi!” Br’aad smiled back while he placed his hands in the dirt and changed the way he was sitting so he can turn to his furry friend.

“Hey Br’aad! Daydreaming?” the Tabaxi replied glancing up at the moon before looking back down at Br’aad.

“Guess you could say that. What brings you over here though, weren’t you talk to Vel?”

“What? Vel fell asleep 20 minutes ago? So did everyone else. We’re the only two awake.”

Br’aad glanced around, and just like Taxi said, everyone was asleep. He blushed a little; he didn’t realize how long he had been thinking. He knew it wasn’t good for him.

“Yeah, seems like it. I’m not really tired though. Might stay up and annoy you for your watch” Br’aad snickered, hoping this would deter Taxi from the Half-elf so he could wallow in his thoughts in peace.

His mouth only curled up in a grin. “I might like that actually! It gets lonely in the forest, and it would be nice to have some company” he mumbled as his eyes transferred to the woods around them. The far off gaze coupled with the sad look in Taxi’s eyes did not sit well with Br’aad at all.

“Cool! I can totally be some company! Yep!” He tried to play up his personality to how it usually was, but it’s very hard. The constant stress made by the hunter has had a toll on all of them, and the inter-party fighting only fueled the fire. Br’aad was not having a good time.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, neither party knowing what to say, Taxi piped up “Hey, Br’aad, can I try something?”

“Yeah, of course, what is it?”

The tabaxi gestured for Br’aad to move forward, so he complied and Taxi sat down behind him. “I’m gonna braid your hair! I-if that’s okay.”

Br’aad giggled. Taxi was always hesitant on doing anything, but that’s what Br’aad liked about him. He thought about things before doing them. “Yeah, sure! As long as you make me pretty!”

Br’aad soon felt furry hands run through his hair, clawing out the tangles. The adventures had made his hair longer, which was nice, but also a lot harder to handle. Being away from any sort of way to take care of his hair was definitely another contributor.

The hands were nice, though. He hadn’t had someone play with his hair since he was 10. He closed his eyes a let himself relax, though still keeping an ear out for any suspicious noises.

He heard Taxi mumble something and he was about to ask him to repeat it when he felt the stem of a plant go in his hair. “Hey,” he opened his eyes and glared at Taxi playfully “what are you doing?”

Taxi chuckled and put his hand up in defense. “I’m just putting flowers in your hair! Stick them in the braid to make it prettier! That’s what you wanted, right?”

Br’aad’s eyes lit up. It did sound pretty! “Yes! Do that!” he practically demanded, making Taxi laugh again before Br’aad turned back around and let Taxi mess with his hair all he wanted.

Practically the whole watch went like this: Br’aad with his eyes closed, Taxi braiding his hair, and the calmness of the forest enveloping them in comforting silence.

Near the end of the watch Taxi cheerfully exclaimed: “Done!” Br’aad opened his eyes and turned his body around to face his friend. Taxi clapped his hands and smiled brightly. “You amazing!”

Br’aad carefully reached back and felt his head and hair. Taxi seemed to make three braids on his head, all with small flowers stuck strategically in them. They joined to form one big braid that flowed through the rest of his hair length. It finished with a tiny ponytail, tied by multiple long-stemmed flowers chained together and tied tight enough to hold.

“It feels great! Too bad I can’t see it.” Br’aad smiles at Taxi, who seemed satisfied with the answer. They both stretch and crack the bones that stiffened from the 2 hours in one position. Br’aad goes to get his bedroll and lay it out before Taxi stops him.

“Hey, Br’aad. I really enjoyed this time together. I hope you don’t think I dislike you or anything because you’re honestly a great person. Not a lot of people tell you this, but it was really fun to just hang out like this. I hope we can do it again sometime.”

Br’aad’s face turns a slight pink. He was not expecting this, but he definitely wasn’t complaining. “Ye-yeah. It would be great to do this again.”

Taxi grinned widely and skipped over to wake up Velrissa for her shift. Br’aad watched him leave with a warm smile. Maybe he wasn’t just the comedy relief.

He rolled out his bedroll and laid down on his stomach. He made sure that his braid wouldn’t get messed up as he slept, and he closed his eyes, falling fast asleep with a small grin on his face.