#the perc'ahlia and pikelan girlies ate so well last night

[waltwhitmansbeard]

a conversation i wanted from last night's episodes, but alas *thanos voice* i'll do it myself

Vax stomps through the psychedelic landscape of the Feywild, trudging forward as fast as he can to put distance between himself and Syngorn. Fuck Garmelie. He could have guided them around the city, showed them a way to get to this damn bog without needed to employ their father's name. Now his sister's all tangled up in knots and he had to learn about Velora, whom gods only know if he'll ever get to see again. This fucking bow better be worth it.

He steps onto a patch of grass, except it's not a patch of grass, but some kind of gaping maw disguised as a patch of grass, and he sinks into it up to his ankle. "Shit!" he hisses as he stumbles forward.

"Whoa!" Hands catch him, and he looks up to see Keyleth right next to him, smiling kindly. She quickly jams her staff into the strange ground-mouth so it cannot close around his leg, giving him the time to snatch it back. "There you go!"

"Thanks, Keyleth." He winces internally at the gruffness in her voice, especially when he sees the frown on her face.

"Sure." He starts to continue his journey, and she says quietly, "I'm sorry your dad is such a jerk."

He comes to a stop with a sigh. "Yeah, me too."

She comes up behind him to rest a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, you and Vex are pretty great, considering, y'know, that's what you come from."

Vax turns to her with a smile. Her face is folded in her usual uncertain hopefulness, and he suddenly regrets bringing her before his father, exposing her to his poison. "Anything good about us came from our mother. He was...there."

Her fingers tighten on his shoulder, and he resists the urge to bring his own hand up to rest atop hers. "Well, I'm glad for the good parts, then. And there are a lot of them. Good parts, I mean." Her eyes widen as her face turns red. "I mean, you know, good parts of your personality." And he knows that they're both instantly thinking of that little satyr menace's lewd sketches.

He laughs to break the tension. "Thanks, Kiki. I like your good parts, too."

She ducks her head, and he can't stop himself. He quickly presses a kiss to her cheek, and before she can look up at him in surprise, he's gone, following his sister and de Rolo toward their destination, this time with a bit more of a spring in his step.