#trinketthebear

[moderndaybard]

2020 Weekly Ficlet 12/52(? We’ll see?)

Cabin Fever (Critical Role Campaign 1 Ficlet)

 They just couldn’t catch a break, could they?

Vex’ahlia and her brother had only been traveling on their own for a little over a year, and had already arrived at the conclusion that it wasn’t just their father (and all the other elves of Syngorn) that hated them—the universe itself did, too.

Every time things started to go in their favor, they stopped; sometimes dramatically—the loss of their mother, her capture by poachers, and whatever had happened to Vax before he’d joined the Clasp (that he still wouldn’t talk about but she knew him well enough to know was bad)—and sometimes, like now, merely annoying.

It’d been hard enough convincing various town guards, innkeepers, and tavern owners that Trinket was harmless when he was a tiny baby, but now that the cub was truly beginning to grow, it was beginning to verge on near-impossible…and he wasn’t even a juvenile yet!

Surely a quarantine order was over-reacting?

(As soon as Vax finished whatever Clasp business had dragged them to this back-woods swamp hole masquerading as a town, they were leaving and never coming back!)

It also didn’t make sense, to her: even if someone thought that her sweet baby Trinket was a dangerous wild animal, what on earth made them think that confining him (and thereby, her) to an inn room for the duration of their stay would make the situation any less dangerous?

(In reality, the only ones in any sort of danger were the ranger and her companion—of dying of boredom.)

With no sign of Vax returning any time soon and hours to go before sun-down (when she could easily sneak the two of them out for a little fun—just to spite those idiotic excuses for town guards), Vex was scrambling for a way to entertain a growing bear cub—and herself.

“Trinket, darling, Mommy has some things to teach you!”

-------------------------------------------

Years later, when Trinket was grown and adventuring alongside Vox Machina, he often demonstrated various tricks and maneuvers Vex had worked out with him long before. Some made sense for a ranger’s animal companion: coordinated attacks, tracking, flanking, even grappling and pinning. Still others made sense by virtue of how much of his life had been spent around humanoids: shake, sit, lay down, roll over, etc.

And then there were some…

“Vex?”

“Yes, Scanlan?”

“What on earth possessed you to teach that dumb bear to somersault?”

“…What? You’ve never been bored?”

 (Also on AO3, with my other ficlets)

[seijohprince]

The Wonder Bear and companion of Vex'ahlia, Trinket I’ve slacked on Critical Role so I’ve gone back to the beginning. And I’ve gotta say I’ve missed Vox Machina. Don’t get me wrong I adore The Mighty Nein but they don’t have Trinket. And I love Trinket. In fact I nearly cried during episode 8 when he nearly permanently died (even though yes I knew he wouldn’t die). I’m just very emotionally attached to CritRole. So I had to make myself a Trinket plush to keep hold of during intense moments. I say plush but I’ve made him more like a brick to ensure he doesn’t break. But I mean look how freaking cute he is I just really love Trinket okay If you want your own Trinket to keep you company during campaigns then just message and we can sort something out #trinketthebear #trinket #voxmachina #criticalrole #feltplush #feltcrafts #fandomcrafts #sewing #handmade https://www.instagram.com/p/BprkWnfgCoW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10qqw44pma79x

[nanyoky]

Look who's coming your way 👀 🎀🐻🎀 Preorders of this dapper gentleman are up on Etsy ... #etsypreview #trinketthebear #criticalrole #criticalcrafterscr #voxmachina #thelegendofvoxmachina #tlovm #dungeonsanddragons #dnd #etsyshop https://www.instagram.com/p/CdrjLUJstnt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[adamturnsheel]

Thank so much to everyone who was able to join me for my stream. Join me next Friday another face paint fun time! Comment below what you'd like to see next. #bodyart #art #artist #bodypaint #bodypainting #instagood #love #criticalrole #criticalrolefanart #criticalrolecosplay #facepaintfriday #facepainting #facepaint #faceart #faceartist #trinketthebear #honeyheist #voxmachina #voxmachinacosplay #pathtoaffiliate #twitch https://www.instagram.com/p/CLfbX27DFNA/?igshid=1sry4jicu39pb

[jessnxtdoor]

IT'S A YULE MIRACLE! My local comic store said the pre-orders wouldn't arrive until next June but Trinket has graced us with his presence early! I love him so much! #CriticalRole #popsmachina #trinketthebear #funkopop (at Emerald Knights Comics and Games) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHvGYEjy3p/?igshid=gw9a4k4wg25r

[moderndaybard]

CR Inktober, Day 7

FAVORITE SPELL: (VEX’AHLIA’S) SPEAK WITH ANIMALS

 (AN: As I don’t have a favorite of my own, I just went with what I assumed a character’s fav would be—even if it’s not the one we see them cast most often.)

 Vex’s hands were running through his fur, finding all his favorite spots, petting and scratching with her usual gentleness. And, as usually happened, he began to speak to him. “Trinket, darling, you know I love you, right?”

She wouldn’t understand his words, but he’d respond anyway: he knew she understood what he meant. “Of course I do.”

Abruptly, the petting stopped as Vex covered her mouth with a little gasp. Trinket look to her, instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing—nothing’s wrong,” she choked out, grabbing the sides of his face and pressing their foreheads together. “Absolutely nothing.”

But she was crying, and he pointed out as much—he could feel it in his fur.

“I can hear you,” she sobbed out at last, even as he licked at her tears. “I can understand you.”

Oh. That made sense, he supposed. He would be overwhelmed, too, if he could suddenly understand Vex after an entire lifetime of only being able to work out her meaning based on tone. What should he say to her next? Well, there was really only one thing to say, even if it was something that they both already knew:

“I love you, too, Vex.”

…

“We’re in for a big fight tomorrow, buddy. Thordak.”

“I know, Vex. And I won’t let him hurt you—I will fight him for you!”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, even though her arms didn’t quite go all the way around. It was still strange to him, sometimes, how much bigger than her he’d grown, given how little he’d felt when they first met.

“Not for—together, buddy. But I don’t like seeing you hurt. You could stay—”

“No.” it wasn’t that he hated the necklace, per se—he just hated the thought of her walking into danger without him. “I can fight. I will fight.”

“I love you, buddy.”

“I love you, too, Vex.”

After a bit, she went to clean up, undress, and do the other dozen silly things humanoids did before sleeping, and she seemed to be feeling better. In fact, by the time the knock at the door came, you couldn’t tell she’d been crying into his fur mere moments ago.

“Percy? Are you here for our ‘later’ talk?”

…

Vex had cast that spell again—the one that let her hear him. She still did it from time to time, ‘just because’, but this seemed different—his Vex was nervous.

“Buddy?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all.” She sounded certain, but her voice was higher-pitched than normal. He waited, frowning, for her to continue. “Percy and I—that is, we—”

It was rare to see Vex at a loss for words, and Trinket had no idea what to say. So, he didn’t.

“Do you know what marriage is, Trinket?”

“Sort of.” He’d been raised among humanoids, after all, but he was admittedly a little fuzzy on the subject.

Vex rocked back on her heels. “Well, I’m getting married. To Percy. Tomorrow.”

He looked at her for a long, long time. He liked Percy—the funny human was good to vex and good for her. But still, he had to be sure: “This makes you happy.”

“Yes.” This came with no hesitation.

“Good.” Then: “I love you, Vex.”

“I love you, too, Buddy. I always will.”

…

“Any sign of him, Trinket?”

“No.”

Vex rested her hand on his shoulder absently. “He’ll be back. Vax said he’ll be back, so he’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

“He’ll be back, then we’ll have a feast and a rest, then go back and fight Vecna.”

Trinket snorted angrily at the name of their current enemy, but Vex just kept talking. He didn’t mind: she needed this, right now.

“And we’ll be fine, because we have the trammels, and the book, and a plan—sort of—so, we’ll win. We’ll win and we won’t let the Raven Queen take Vax, no matter what either of them say. So, everything will work out and we’ll all be happy.”

“Okay.” It seemed straightforward enough, when she put it that way. He didn’t understand why she was worried, so he offered the only comfort he could:

“I love you, Vex.”

“I love you, too, Trinket.”

…

This time, she didn’t cast the spell at first; this time, she just clung to him and cried while Percy hovered some distance away, at the edge of the wooded clearing.

Moaning low at her distress, he nudged the sobbing half-elf with his nose, but she didn’t answer, only held tighter. Trinket looked past her to Percy, tried to make the human understand his question as he moaned again.

“Vax—” Percy began, then glanced at Vex, swallowed hard and looked away, falling silent.

For once, Trinket wished he didn’t understand people quite so well, and his own grief for the loss of his ‘uncle’ was voiced in bass whimpers and huffs as he pressed closer to Vex’ahlia.

Percy eventually came near and joined them, putting his arms around his wife as she cried herself out. After what felt like—and may well have been—hours Trinket nudged Vex’s hands with his nose, not stopping until she cast the spell.

She might not want to talk, but he needed her to hear:

“We love you, Vex.”

….

“Trinket, darling, be gentle: she’s very little.”

He shuffled his paws excitedly, then forced himself to stand extremely still as Vex approached, tiny, squirming bundle in her arms. Percy followed not far behind, still looking dazed and a little frazzled, but beaming nonetheless.

At last, Vex shifted, allowing him to peer down into the face of the tiny quarter-elf in her arms, and Trinket felt an immediate surge of protectiveness and love for this little girl, who was so much like his Vex, but so different and so new!

He was more aware than ever of just how large he was, and how easily he could break and destroy things, and he started to pull back, afraid his mere proximity could somehow hurt the baby.

Before he could, two tiny hands shot out, reaching for his muzzle, and the little girl cooed and giggled as she reached for the startled, enamored bear.

“I love her.”

He must have missed Vex casting the spell, or maybe, after all this time, she just knew.

“And it seems she loves you already, too.”

…

Vex was nothing more than a shadow in front of him, but then, his eyes had been fading for years, he could still feel her hands in his fur, though, and still hear her. It was enough.

“How are you feeling, Trinket?”

“…Tired.”

A slight sob. He wished he could do something to make her not cry—he never liked it when his Vex was sad. But now, that would be up to Percy and their children.

“Do you want to sleep, buddy?”

“…I don’t know.” He did, but he didn’t want to leave her all alone.

“You have to give him permission, Vex; he loves you too much,” someone urged quietly from the shadows—it smelled and sounded like Keyleth, older and much more grounded than she had once been—how many years ago, now?

“I can’t.” vex sounded so small—he tried to press closer to her, but age-weakened limbs refused to respond.

“Yes, you can,” Percy all but whispered. That’s right: she wouldn’t be alone—she had Percy, her children, her friends. They’d be there for her, when he couldn’t.

Another sob now, and she was leaning against him. “If you need to sleep—” Her voice broke, but then she rallied. “—then it’s okay... You can rest, now.”

“Okay.”

They were all there now, hugging or stroking him—even Keyleth and Pike, who’d been hovering in the background.

“I love you so much, Trinket. You know that—right?”

“Yes.” He’d always known. It was the first thing he’d ever known.

But sometimes, it needed to be said, needed to be heard, and, at heart, Trinket had always been a simple bear: he didn’t mind repetition.

“I love you, Vex’ahlia.”

And really—what more was there to say?

[moderndaybard]

2020 Weekly Ficlet 4/52(? We’ll see?)

[The hope is to write a ficlet a week, excluding CRInktober/Holiday Gift fics, for the whole year. The aim is to post by Saturdays, and I have no idea how long I’ll be able to keep this up, but gosh darn it I’m going to try!]

 His world had been so small, once.

As a child, it had fit into a one-room hovel—and when he and Vex’ahlia had been taken away, it shrank rather than expanded. It did not grow again (save for one once-tiny, furry addition that his sister would never part with) for many years thereafter: he had Vex’ahlia, the other half of the whole they’d always been, and he had Trinket, who he’d initially accepted for Vex’s sake alone, but had quickly come to care for. Vax’ildan didn’t need anyone else; it was easier to protect a smaller world, after all.

Even after—well after—they’d met the others, recovered Grog, found Pike and Percy, become the S.H.I.T.s, his world did not grow—Vax allied himself with these people, worked with these people, even regarded these people fondly (usually), but they were not his, not a part of him. He could walk away, if he had to (or so he told himself).

Then Pike died in the claws of a demon, and it felt as though something had been torn from his care, leaving a bloody, gaping wound. They managed to bring her back, but not to banish the questions he was beginning to ask of himself. Vox Machina, as they were now called, were gifted a keep—a home, or, at least, a potential one—and the questions, the thoughts, only deepened.

Still, distractions enough followed with the quests beneath Kraghammer and around Vasselheim—as much as the party’s bonds were unquestioningly deepening, there was neither time nor need to examine the implications of that fact—yet.

Then came word of the Briarwoods, the painful truth of Percival’s past, and, quite without realizing it, Vax followed the human to the horrors of Whitestone simply because he asked. (It’s what you do for your own, after all.) And though new doubts, fed by shadows and demons, did battle with some of his growing convictions, others he at last accepted—including his feelings for a certain druid.

Could he walk away now, if Vex would follow? What were these people to him? Everything that had once been neatly defined was now blurring, and Vax wondered if he’d unknowingly trapped himself, bound himself—and was that even necessarily a bad thing?

Clarity came through dragon-fire and a purpose re-forged, then was lost again in a deal in a sunken tomb—and, oh, how he would so desperately scramble for it as days became weeks, became months, as they crossed the world gathering allies, weapons, growing stronger as themselves, as a group. Before Glintshore, Vax already knew: his world had grown enough, at least, to fit all of them within it, and it fell to him to keep them safe. Thordak had taken half his world from him before, but not. This time.

…

…No. No, this time, one of his own walked away under their own power, of their own will, and left a aching hollow he’d grapple with for a long, long time to come.

 (Continue reading on AO3)