#Deviali

[keldae]

I got one of @javsarts's commission slots and OMG THIS IS AMAZING. I absolutely LOVE everything about this picture! The pose! The smiles! The colours! How gorgeous they made both Gale and Devi look! Thank you so much for making my Tav and her wizard look SO amazing!!

When their slots are open again, definitely jump in for art by them -- LOOK AT THIS!

#javsarts #gale #gale x tav #tav x gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 fanart #not my art #check this artist out! #commission art #worth every penny! #I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS #Gale/Devi #Deviali

[keldae]

Musings

Gale couldn't remember the last time he had slept with someone – spending his time asleep wrapped in a lover's arms had been before Mystra. He hadn't ever needed to sleep when he was with his goddess in her realm, and she would never have come to the mortal planes to spend an entire night with him. So sharing his bedroll now was… unusual.

Not a bad type of unusual, he admitted to himself. But still unusual. And it was even more unusual that he hadn't had relations with his bed partner yet – that hadn't ever been a situation he'd found himself in, during the years before Mystra.

But then, with the orb in his chest… having sex was out of the question.

Unable to shut his mind off, he propped his head up on his pillow, looking down at the half-Elf who had stolen his blankets, and was trying to steal his heart. Devi was dead to the world, squished tightly against Gale's side, coppery hair loose around her head. Gale smiled fondly down at the little half-Elf, watching as a few strands of her hair moved with every slow breath past her parted lips. 

What are you seeing in your dreams tonight, Devi? he thought, gazing down at the thief. Hopefully her dreams were pleasant tonight. He didn't think she'd had a bad nightmare since they'd started sleeping together in the Underdark – he definitely had had pleasant dreams while sharing his tent and bedroll with her. Are you in Baldur's Gate, thriving as a little thief? Or are you thinking of the halfling and the dwarves from the book we read tonight? She had seemed to enjoy the story he had read to her.

Devi shifted slightly, rolling onto her side, facing Gale. Before he was quite aware of it, he was reaching to gently brush the loose strands of hair out of her face, tucking the locks behind one delicately pointed ear. His thumb touched her lips, slowly tracing the outline of her mouth. For a moment, he felt an unspeakable yearning for the woman sleeping beside him. If her thoughts during their lesson in the Weave were any indication, she wanted to kiss Gale, despite his affliction – and gods knew he desperately wanted to give her that kiss. He wanted to know what it would feel like to press his lips against hers, to let his tongue meet her own, to taste her mouth and breathe in her exhales as he fulfilled the vision she had shared with him of a kiss…

He closed his eyes, trying to force his mind away from the dangerous thoughts of kissing the woman with him. He'd spent the last year struggling to stabilise the orb – he couldn't risk his mental discipline failing him now. If he killed them all because of letting himself think too much, too enthusiastically, of kissing a beautiful girl… He wanted to groan in frustration.

Except that would have woken Devi up. He settled for silently scolding himself instead. Get a grip, Dekarios!

Besides, Devi wouldn't – couldn't – truly love a broken man like Gale was. He was older than she was, by quite a few years – and in trying to keep up with her youthful half-Elven exuberance, he definitely felt every tenday of his age in comparison to her. And he was irreparably broken, only a shadow of the man and wizard he had been a year and a half ago. He was the reject of a goddess, damned by his own foolishness, and doomed to meet an explosive end alone. 

In comparison, Devi was young, and full of life and fire and optimism. She had had a poor start in life – any child born poor in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate had a disadvantage. But she was smart, and stubborn, and if she was given the correct support, she could exceed any expectations for a girl born as a poor urchin. Maybe, Gale thought, he could leave a note leaving his wealth to her after he met his unavoidable end? Or he could just give her the key to his tower in Waterdeep before he inevitably had to leave the party to die somewhere safer. If she could cure her tadpole, maybe she could live on, somewhere safer than Baldur's Gate. And it would be a good use for the money and wealth he had, rather than leaving it all to rot. It wasn’t like Tara would really be able to use it, after all.

But he digressed. Devi was too young for him to pursue romantically, too vibrant, too lively to tie herself to a damned man. In another life, if they had ever even crossed paths, they would never have given each other a second thought (unless Devi had identified him as a pickpocketing target… which, Gale knew she would have targeted him in a heartbeat.). Even if he hadn't been damned, they were in entirely different social circles. Imagine the scandal, if he were to return to Waterdeep with an uneducated, uncouth, younger Baldurian thief, and one who could swear like a well-educated mercenary at that, as his lover! 

Gale grinned for a moment, imagining the reactions of some of his more class-conscious peers. His amusement faded with a sigh as he looked back down at Devi. You don't deserve as grim a fate as tying yourself to me would give you, he thought. You're too alive and hopeful to bind yourself to a broken, damned man. In another life, one where he wasn't a walking explosive, he might have still taken her to bed, trying to perhaps prove that being this much older than her just meant he was more experienced with pleasing a lover. And he was pretty certain he had pleased Mystra when he was the goddess’s lover – he could have wowed Devi with his command of the Weave in bed. He had already impressed her with their magic lesson after the tiefling party, and that had been tame! What he could have done behind a sound dampening ward to blow her away and make her cry out his name in bliss, over and over again…

Speaking of blowing away, he firmly turned his thoughts away from the idea of bedding Devi, thinking about spell incantations instead. The orb rumbled in his chest, but remained calm for the moment as his heart settled back down.

With another sigh, he stroked Devi's hair back from her face again. Where will your mind take you tonight? Will you dream of me? You really shouldn't – I'm a dead man walking. You deserve better than a broken heart. Although, wasn't he bold, to think that Devi might care for him the way he did her? What could he possibly offer her besides his knowledge of the arcane? He was doomed twice over – once from the illithid tadpole, and once from his own idiocy. She at least still had a chance at a normal life once she was cured of the tadpole. 

Tomorrow, he decided, he would start trying to distance himself from her. It would hurt her in the short term, and it would be agony for him, but it was for the best. She deserved better than to develop affections for a man who had nothing before him but an explosive death. Maybe he could subtly point her in the direction of Wyll – the warlock, despite his devilish appearance, was a good man. He was certainly a better man than the wizard who had tried to advance himself beyond mortal limitations to impress a goddess – and even with Wyll’s pact to a devil, he had a hope for a future beyond a destructive death alone. And he was younger, and handsome, and full of life and vigour, and could crack a joke to make even Devi groan while she was laughing…

Gods, this was already breaking Gale's heart.

But Devi would be happy with Wyll. Or maybe Shadowheart, if Wyll didn’t strike her fancy – the two half-Elves seemed to have a close connection already. Even if Shadowheart was a Sharran, Devi didn't seem to think less of her for it. Or Karlach, as boisterous and friendly as she was, would be a good match for the feisty little thief.

None of them were a depressed middle-aged wizard who had already exceeded his potential and his usefulness to Faerûn. 

Gale sighed yet again and started to roll away from Devi onto his side, trying to get some sleep. In the morning he would talk to Devi, and see if the thief would be receptive to the idea of spending her nights apart from him. Certainly, she would be upset at first – Gale fully expected to get slapped. But she had to see the logic eventually, right? She was more than smart enough, even if she was uneducated –

At his side, Devi softly moaned in protest of his movements. Her hand reached up, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down on his back again. Before Gale could do anything, the little half-Elf wrapped her arm around his stomach and settled her head on his chest, squirming until she was comfortable. Once she was satisfied with her human pillow, she sighed and draped her leg over his before she fell fully back to sleep, peacefully lost in her dreams.

Shit. This was not doing a damn thing to help Gale reconcile himself to letting go of her. She felt so damn good beside him, warm and snuggly, tucked under his arm where she belonged. How in the Nine Hells was he supposed to separate himself from her when she did things like this to him? His heart twisted in his chest at how serenely innocent she looked. She trusted him enough to sleep with him, even with the orb in his chest that could kill them all in an instant. Hells, she was sleeping on him now, only inches from the ugly markings he bore!

And she didn't seem to be bothered by that in the slightest.

“Why do you do this to me?” Gale whispered to the woman at his side. Giving up, he wrapped his arm around her, holding her closer to him. Was it his imagination, or did a little smile flicker over her lips as she felt him embrace her? He inwardly groaned – there was no way he could force himself to let go of her, or make her let go of him, when she so effortlessly held his heart in her hands. He was dooming her, every night that he slept with her, every time he read a book for her, every time he gave her a kind word or a smile or a gentle touch.

She would never let go of him in the way she needed to, in order to save herself from him and his grim fate. And Gale knew she would only call him a “self-destructive hopeless idiot”, or something similar, and cling tighter to him if he tried to talk to her about this and make her see sense.

Was she wrong, though?

Frustrated, Gale closed his eyes again and tried to will himself to sleep. Perhaps in the morning, he could think of a way to gently turn Devi from him and to a partner who actually had a future. It would break his heart, but it was better than dragging her down with him.

But maybe he could allow himself one more night of holding Devi against his heart and wishing he could safely confess his love for her. He sighed, forcing himself to resist the urge to kiss her hair, or her forehead, or those perfect lips. If he started kissing her even innocently right now, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop, not until the orb ended him. But gods, he wished he could… He could have died happy while kissing her, but it wasn't worth the risk he posed to everyone else in a ten-mile radius. Nobody else deserved to die while he indulged himself in kissing the woman he wanted – especially not the woman in question.

He sighed, shifting as much as he dared until he was comfortable under Devi. His other hand came up to slowly card his fingers through her loose hair, a soothing motion that made her contentedly hum in her sleep. Dammit, Devi, he thought, you make it too easy for me to love you.

That thought made him blink his eyes open again. Was this…? He thought for a moment, then sighed. Yes – this was love he felt for the woman in his arms. This was adoration, and devotion, and more than a bit of strongly-denied lust. He wanted her in every way possible – emotionally, and in spirit, and yes, physically too. 

But he wanted her safe and happy, even more than he wanted her with him. If you really love her, then you have to let her go, he tried to tell himself. Doesn't she deserve better than to be with you? Wyll would make her happy.

But what if she doesn't want Wyll? What if–

He firmly shut down the little voice in his mind before it could make the suggestion that maybe the woman in his arms wanted him. Nobody with any sense would want the older, broken, damned man that he was.

Then again, just that day, Astarion had been very enthusiastic in telling Devi that she had no sense, or self-preservation instincts, whatsoever…

Shut up. He scowled, then tugged the blankets up a little higher over himself and Devi. Just go to sleep. With any luck, Devi will see the truth herself without any prodding. And if she doesn't… it will hurt, but it will save her in the long term to break from her.

He sighed, then settled in to sleep, savouring what he was determined would be his last night holding the woman he loved.

—

Only a couple of hours later, Gale awoke to the sound of a whimper. He opened his eyes, frowning into the darkness of his tent until he heard a stifled sob from the half-Elf in his arms. He mumbled the incantation for a light cantrip, looking at Devi with anxiety spiking in his chest.

She didn't appear to be hurt. But her brow was furrowed as if she was in pain, and she was shaking. “Stop…” she whispered, flinching from something only she could see. “Please…”

Worried, Gale gently shook her shoulder. “Devi,” he lowly said, softly calling her name. “You're dreaming. You need to wake up.”

Devi didn't seem to hear him. She flinched again as though she'd been struck. “No,” she begged whoever was tormenting her. “You're hurting me!”

Gale shook her again, fear making the motion a little harder. “Devi,” he spoke her name again, a little louder. “Wake up, darling. I have you – you're safe. Wake up.”

His words didn't seem to be getting through. Devi whimpered again, her fingers tightening in Gale's shirt. “Please… help me… stop!” Her next words made Gale's heart twist in his chest. “No! Not Gale! Please!”

“Shhhh.” Gale shook her again and pressed his lips to her hair. “It's all right, darling. You're safe. Wake up now.” He lowered his lips to her ear as she whimpered again. “Wake up, Devi. You're safe… you're safe. I promise. Wake up. Wake up!”

Devi's twitching and flinching finally slowed, then stopped as Gale kept kissing her hair and whispering soothing reassurances to her. He finally felt her clutch his shirt a little tighter as she turned her head up to him. “Gale?” she whispered, her voice tiny and broken.

“I'm here,” Gale murmured, relief washing through his veins. “I have you. You're safe – it was just a dream, dear one. You're perfectly safe.”

“Oh, gods.” Still shaking, Devi buried her face in the crook of Gale's neck, clinging to him. “You were… you were…”

“Shhh,” Gale whispered. “I'm here.” He took her hand, guiding it to rest over his beating heart so she could feel his pulse. “I’m here. You’re all right – and so am I. Just breathe.” He heard a little sob from the woman he was holding, and felt his heart break for her. “Shhh. Breathe with me, Devi. Can you feel me breathing?” He waited until she nodded into his neck. “That’s my girl. Breathe with me, darling.” He focused on taking slow, calming breaths to make his chest move enough for her to easily feel him. For the first few breaths, Devi couldn’t quite match his slow breathing – stifled sobs made her body jerk unevenly under his arm. But as the minutes passed, she seemed to find his rhythm with breathing, her inhales slowly coming to match his as she calmed down from her nightmare. 

“Thank you,” she finally mumbled, slowly pulling her face out of his neck. There was a suspicious wetness on her cheeks that told Gale she’d been crying into his skin; indeed, he could feel her tears on him. “I’m sorry–”

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” Gale murmured, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. He offered her a small, reassuring smile. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Devi started to shake her head, then hesitated, fidgeting with the hem of the blanket. “I… told you how my father’s a gods-damned bastard that not even the hells want?” she asked, her voice low and quiet. 

Gale nodded. “You’ve told me he’s a terrible person and you plan on dancing on his grave when he dies,” he softly answered. “Or using his grave for a latrine. Perhaps both.”

Devi made a little sound that Gale thought was trying to be a laugh, a laugh mingled with a sob. “He deserves it. He and his friends, they…” She took a shaky breath, not looking at Gale’s face. “They were hurting me, and then they… they decided to hurt you when you appeared in the dream — I think you were trying to save me? But they… gods, the things they did…” 

“Shhh.” Gale pulled Devi’s face back into the crook of his neck; she went to him willingly, clinging to him. “We’re both all right – there’s nothing to be afraid of in this tent.” Except the orb, and the tadpoles, and the threat of the Absolute, and the small-but-still-present risk that Mystra would simply spontaneously detonate the orb in Gale’s chest to kill him and everyone around him – Gale shook his head. “We’re safe here. Nobody can hurt you when I’m here to protect you.” 

“They hurt you,” Devi mumbled. “They were hurting you, and they were going to kill you, and–”

“Shhh. It was just a bad dream, darling. I’m entirely unhurt, and so are you.” Gale hesitated for a moment, then chuckled. “And you can tell your subconscious that I don’t fear a thief and his henchmen. I might be outnumbered, but I would make them regret facing me before falling.”

Devi trembled again in his arms. “You couldn’t fight,” she whispered, quiet enough that Gale almost couldn’t hear her. “You… you were trying to save me. If you had fought them… they would have hurt me more.”

Apparently Devi’s subconscious knew Gale well enough to know that this was a truth about him. If that nightmare had been reality… Gale knew he would have stopped fighting the instant it became clear that his resistance would have endangered the woman he loved. “Shhh,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “It was just a dream. Your father can’t hurt either of us here.” 

He felt Devi slowly nod, but she still clung to him, shaking like a leaf. He suspected that she was probably too scared to easily go back to sleep. With a grunt, he reached out for the book they had been reading earlier that evening – or rather, that he had been reading to her. Nudging the lights to where he could more easily see the pages, he opened the book back where they had left off. “Shall I try to get your mind back onto a more soothing subject?” he asked. At her hesitant nod, he kissed her hair again, then started quietly reading the next chapter. The halfling and dwarves had been caught by ogres, and were being argued over by said ogres who couldn’t decide how to cook them properly. It was one of Gale’s favourite scenes in the book, and Devi seemed to be entranced by the story normally. Indeed, she seemed to calm down as he read to her, shifting from having her face buried in his neck, to resting her cheek on his shoulder. 

As Gale came to the end of the chapter, he looked down to see Devi’s eyes closed and her lips slightly parted again, her breathing soft and slow. He wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep again, but he was grateful that she had found rest. Careful to not disturb her, he replaced the bookmark in the pages, then set the book back down and extinguished the lights over their heads. Devi grunted as he slowly rested on the pillow again, then snuggled up as closely as she could to him.

Gale sighed softly, running his hand over her hair soothingly. Apparently this was the gods’ way of foiling his plan to break apart from Devi before anything could begin with them. Who else was going to cuddle the little half-Elf after her nightmares? Who else would read to her to get her mind off her fear again? Try as Gale might, he couldn’t imagine Devi snuggling up so closely to Wyll, or Shadowheart, or Karlach, or any of their other friends in the party. For some reason, she had chosen Gale, doomed and damned as he was.

Guilt and hope surged in equal amounts in his heart – guilt because he was dragging Devi down with him, and hope because maybe he wasn’t quite as broken and useless as he believed himself to be. Maybe Devi saw something in him that he couldn’t see or acknowledge himself.

It would have been easier if she didn’t see anything in him, he thought. 

He yawned and let himself cuddle Devi closely, doing his best to make sure she felt protected and safe in his arms. “No harm will come to you if I can help it,” he promised her in a whisper. “You are safe with me.” Closing his eyes, he rested his cheek on her hair and let himself fall back asleep, praying that Devi’s dreams for the rest of the night (and his, he supposed) would be peaceful.

If you dream of me again, dear one… dream of the happiness that I can’t give you in reality. Please don’t dream of either of us suffering for the other, he thought before sleep reclaimed him.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale x tav #tav x gale #slow burn #pining #yearning #Gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale #angst #hurt/comfort #Gale/Devi #Deviali #dreams #nightmares #definitely requited feelings #a bit of the Dramatic Oh #Gale you angst-ridden wizard #QUIT MAKING ME CRY WHILE I WRITE FIC ABOUT YOU #also I swear this was going to be a prompt answer? #but I can't find the prompt in my inbox #ugh #Gale is an angsty dork #but we love him anyway

[keldae]

I was fortunate enough to get in on one of @emedeme 's Valentine's commission slots this year -- and naturally I HAD to get Devi and Gale done in their amazing art style. This turned out BEAUTIFULLY and I'm screaming about it!! <3

(Also I need to figure out a ship name for Gale and Devi...)

#bg3 #bg3 art #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale x tav #deviali #emedeme #art for me! #GO CHECK THIS ARTIST OUT #such amazing artwork!!

[keldae]

8. “If you give me a minute….I think I can make this worse.”

This was officially worse than the djinni incident, in Gale’s humble opinion.

First, he had been left in the camp that morning, when he’d woken up with a headache that wouldn’t abate, even with Shadowheart’s healing touch. He’d been forced to sit by while Devi had ventured out with Wyll, Astarion, and Jaheira – and the fretting about his beloved half-Elf did not ease his headache at all, even with Jaheira’s assurances that she wouldn’t let her “cub” get into too much trouble, despite Bhaalists and a psychotic shapeshifter in the form of Orin running around Baldur’s Gate.

An hour after the four had left, there had been what had to be the far-away, but still distinct sounds of a riot happening – yells, and explosions, and the too-familiar noises of a Steel Watcher mechanically issuing orders. Gale’s gut instincts told him that Devi was somehow involved.

The riot noises eventually subsided, and for a good portion of the day, it had been suspiciously peaceful around the camp. Gale’s headache still wasn’t going away, but after drinking an herbal tea that he’d sent Karlach to go barter for (thank Mystra that the tiefling had gotten the right one), it was almost bearable. He suspected he would be fine to accompany his beloved little thief in the morning on her next venture out into the city.

The Fist patrol stopping by the ramshackle camp was a surprise. The two guards had looked around the site for a minute, tilting their heads at Lae’zel and her impressive weapons collection, and blinking at the large owlbear cub (who Halsin, before his abduction, had named Garmus), and politely nodding at Dame Aylin and Isobel, before taking their leave. Apparently the nautiloid survivors weren’t the only adventurers to make their temporary residence in the run-down alleys of the Lower City – the Fist soldiers didn’t seem perturbed by their presence.

The two Guild members who had popped in about an hour later were another surprise. Gale felt his headache resurge when the dragonborn had asked about “a pretty half-Elf with her hands in everyone’s pockets, and a devil with a sword who looked a lot like a younger Duke Ravengard, and another particularly pale Elf with red eyes, and the older woman who was trying to corral the lot of them”. Eventually accepting that nobody left in the camp knew what the hells their friends had gotten into, the Guild members finally shrugged and walked off.

Then one of Jaheira’s adopted children had meandered in, took one look around for the High Harper, swore under her breath, and left the same way she’d come.

“Something’s gone wrong,” Gale said, fidgeting with his staff and ignoring Shadowheart trying to push him back to his tent. “Gods be damned, I should have gone with them!”

“You weren’t able to so much as sit up without your head trying to kill you until after noon!” Shadowheart retorted. “Sit down, or I’ll stuff a sleeping potion down your throat, Gale.”

Gale gifted the cleric with a scowl, then set to pacing through the camp, disregarding Shadowheart’s threat. “We need to find them. We should have set out when we first heard the pandemonium this morning. If we–”

“Baldur’s Gate’s a big city,” Karlach dubiously pointed out. “You really wanna go meandering down every street and back alley to find them? Jaheira and Devi can both blend into a crowd.”

“Wyll and Astarion both stand out though,” Lae’zel commented. “Unless there are other devils walking around the city with swords on their backs, or Elvish vampires. Surely we can find them.”

“Unless they’ve taken to the sewers again, or the rooftops,” Shadowheart said. She ignored Gale’s groan at the distinct possibility. “And gods help whoever tries to find someone in the sewers. If it were me, and I was being hunted by apparently everyone in the city, that’s where I would go.” She watched Gale pacing back and forth, and sighed. “Scratch, get Gale to sit down, will you?”

Scratch just barked inquisitively at Shadowheart, then trotted over to Isobel for pets.

“That wasn’t helpful,” Shadowheart muttered.

Dame Aylin chuckled, leaning against the wall. “I’m sure they’ll turn up soon – Deviali’s quite the resourceful one. She–” She yelped in surprise as the stones by her feet suddenly started to wriggle. “What the hells!”

A manhole was opened, disguised (for some reason that Gale would never be able to wrap his head around) by the cobblestones. Wyll’s horned head popped out of the opening; the warlock looked around, then grinned and looked back down. “Right one this time!” he called, before scrambling out of the hole. “So… we’ve had a day,” he started to say, brushing off his clothes from gods-only-knew-what. “Do you really want the details?”

“Oh, hell yes!” Karlach crowed, eyes alight with excitement.

Wyll made a face. “All right. So it started with Devi trying – and failing – to pick a Fist’s pocket… again. She got caught, and it was either ‘pick a fight and earn the ire of the entire Fist, plus a Steel Watcher’, or ‘run’, so we decided to run – or rather, she decided to run, and the three of us got roped in with her since the Fist’s companions had seen us together earlier.”

“Was that the riot noises we heard?” Isobel asked, tilting her head.

“I’m getting there.” Wyll sighed. “So, Devi decided to pick an escape route that took us through a crowd of people in a bazaar, and naturally the Fist gave chase. Here’s where it gets bad – my horns may have caught a low-hanging sign on a building as I was running and knocked it down, but it was attached with a clothesline to another building’s facade and brought it down in the middle of the crowd.”

That got winces from everyone listening. “Anyone hurt?” Shadowheart asked.

“Probably, but we didn’t have time to stop and check,” Wyll answered. “We somehow escaped some of the notice, but some of the civilians noticed the Fist and the Steel Watcher, and blamed them. Half of them started shouting at the soldiers, and the other half was trying to catch us. It was chaos.”

“So that was the sound of the riot…” Lae’zel murmured. “We wondered what that was.”

“If you give me a minute, I think I can make this story worse,” Wyll dryly said.

Gale stared at the warlock, his brain pounding in his skull. “It gets worse? Worse than the four of you being chased by the Fist and half of the Lower City?”

Wyll just winced and nodded. “Devi’s fine,” he quickly assured the wizard. “... Relatively speaking.”

Gale felt his eye twitch. “What do you mean, ‘relatively speaking’?”

“I’m getting there, Gale, keep your robes on. Where was I?” Wyll thought for a moment. “Ah, yes. So, we were running, and Devi ducked down an alley to throw off pursuit. There was an open manhole in the alley, so naturally the four of us dived down it.”

“Even Astarion?” Karlach asked with a laugh.

“Even Astarion,” Wyll confirmed. “We got down the ladder and started down the corridor we were in, until we came around a corner and found a group of Bhaalist cultists having some sort of a meeting. I’m not sure which of our groups was more startled – them, or us. But, you know Bhaalists – the weapons were coming out, no matter how Devi tried to talk us out of it.”

Gale sat down on a bench and started rubbing his temples. “How bad was it?”

“Surprisingly not that bad, all things considered. But, I do think I have to kill Mizora for fucking with my magic,” Wyll muttered. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she had done that, just to mess with me.”

“That’s a demon for you,” Dame Aylin said with a sage nod. “... What did you do?”

Wyll sighed, then took a subtle step away from Gale. “So, I was casting a spell, and was aiming at one of the cultists, but my spell went completely sideways… literally.” He gave Gale a sidelong look. “Devi… may or may not have gotten hit by it.”

Gale was back on his feet in a heartbeat, staff in his hands. “What?”

“It was an accident!” Wyll cried out. “And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that bad a spell–”

Before he quite realised he was moving, Gale was in Wyll’s face and staring the other man down, his headache increased by his freshly-renewed bad mood. “What. Spell?”

“... Polymorph,” Wyll sheepishly said. “At least it wasn’t the eldritch blast?”

“Just what the hells did you polymorph her into?” Gale demanded.

Wyll just looked down at the manhole as another pair of gloved hands suddenly emerged. Jaheira clambered out of the manhole, grumbling under her breath and with a fiercely-wriggling satchel on her hip. Devi and Astarion, Gale noted with no small amount of dread, were nowhere to be seen. The High Harper looked at Wyll and smirked. “Ah, so you survived telling our resident wizard what you did to his beloved?”

“It was an accident, I swear!” Wyll said, quickly looking back at Gale. “If it’s any consolation, apparently it was a two-for-one cast – Astarion got hit with the polymorph as well.”

“And turned into what?” Shadowheart asked, coming up behind Gale with a curious look in her eyes.

In answer, Jaheira reached into her satchel and started fishing around. “Ow!” she exclaimed, glaring at the satchel and its contents before extracting both hands from the bag. In each hand, she held a writhing, angry kitten by the scruff of its neck – one coppery-red with green eyes, and one with bright white fur.

“... You polymorphed them into cats?” Gale demanded as Karlach collapsed with a howl of laughter.

“If it’s any consolation, I intended on polymorphing the cultist I was targeting into a sheep–” Wyll started to say.

“That is not consolation!” Gale reached out for the coppery kitten; Jaheira was only too willing to hand the cat over. The kitten, who had to be Devi to go by the fur and eye colour, stared at Gale as he held her at arm’s length and meowed plaintively at him. “Oh, my love,” Gale sighed, “what the hells happened to you?”

“Don’t listen to her complaining about the satchel,” Jaheira growled. “She and Astarion both got distracted with trying to chase a rat down there, and it fell to me to wrangle them into the bag!”

“There was also the Guild member we came across, who Astarion bit on the ankle before Jaheira could catch him, and I fell through a weak wall while chasing Devi and wound up in someone’s basement, so we had to run again while the homeowner was chasing us, and then there were the very angry githyanki loyalists who were coming after us for a spell, not to mention a couple more Fist soldiers when we accidentally came up through the wrong manholes…” Wyll trailed off as Gale glared at him. “... But, we made it back to camp safe and sound! And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a demon to summon so I can tell her off.”

Gale watched the younger man step away (probably making good his escape from the wizard’s wrath), then looked at the kitten in his hands and sighed. “What am I going to do with you, Devi?” he asked. “I suppose I should be grateful Wyll didn’t turn you into a mouse or a pigeon.”

The kitten meowed at him again; Gale shook his head, then drew the small animal up to his chest. Devi promptly used the opportunity to scale his robes with sharp little claws, earning winces from the wizard until she had reached his shoulder. She gave the wizard a headbutt, then meowed in his ear before curling up in a ball, precariously balanced on him. Gale sighed again, then watched as Jaheira handed a loudly-complaining Astarion-as-a-cat off to Shadowheart. “How long ago was that fight with the cultists, and the spell?” he asked.

Jaheira eyed the sun’s position in the sky contemplatively. “I would think about three hours ago?”

Gale froze. “... Polymorph spells don’t usually last longer than one hour!”

“I’m aware, Gale. I’m going with Wyll’s theory that his broken contract with Mizora is having an effect on his spells. We can be worried if they haven’t transformed back by the morning.” Jaheira shook her head and went back to examining the scratches in the leather of her gloves, left by tiny feline claws. “I should have something in my house about reversing a long-term-effect polymorph, but it will be a little difficult for me to get there with the Fist actively looking for us. I can try tomorrow, when the chase grows cold.”

Gale pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his headache merrily pounding through his brain, then glanced over as he heard a noisy purr from his shoulder. “Oh, I’m glad you’re comfortable,” he dryly said to the kitten that had been his lover only that morning.

Devi mewed at him, then got back on her paws, carefully balancing on Gale’s shoulder as she started grooming his beard with a rough little tongue. Gale sighed, looking skyward. “Just how much of this are you going to remember when you eventually transform back?” he asked. “You did remember being a cheese. Then again, shapeshifters tend to adopt the instincts of whatever they have shifted into, and a cheese doesn’t really have any sort of an instinct…”

“Polymorphing is just strange,” Karlach said as she came up to Gale, eyeing Devi-the-cat, then looking over as Shadowheart tried to hand Astarion off to Lae’zel, who wanted nothing to do with the vampire cat. The tiefling was still grinning from ear to ear as she addressed Devi. “How about it? Are you gonna remember grooming your other half when we eventually get you back into a half-Elf?”

Devi meowed and went back to her task of grooming Gale’s beard.

Karlach laughed as Gale softly groaned. “It is kind of hilarious, Gale – and Devi makes a very cute kitten.” She glanced over at Lae’zel and Shadowheart. “Astarion would make a cute cat, if he wasn’t trying to scratch everyone’s eyes out,” she added, her voice raised enough to make herself pointedly clear.

Astarion just growled, loudly enough for Gale and Karlach to hear him ten paces away, even over the sounds of Wyll having a loud argument with Mizora by his tent. The white cat’s ire just got a snicker from Karlach before she reached to pet Devi’s back. “Y’know, from how you climb roofs so easily and how quiet you move, I always wondered if you were part cat, somewhere in your heritage.”

Gale blinked at the tiefling. “You think she has tabaxi heritage, besides the human and Elven blood?”

Karlach shrugged. “Maybe that, or one of her ancestors was a druid whose preferred wild form was a cat of some sort?”

“... It’s not the most unlikely idea I’ve ever heard,” Gale finally admitted. His eyes flicked down to the kitten on his shoulder. “Unfortunately, we’ll never know the truth of the matter–” He yelped as Devi batted at his earring, earning a snort from Karlach, then reached up for the cat. “All right, I have my boundaries, darling. The earring is off-limits, even for you.”

Devi meowed in protest as Gale brought her back down to his arms.

“No, I don’t care if you don’t like it,” Gale informed the kitten. “You are not allowed to play with my earring – it’s bad enough that I was tolerating you grooming me!” He sighed and gave Devi a rub behind her pointed ears, earning a purr. “All I need is for Tara to appear now and accuse me of replacing her with a younger, cuter feline companion.”

“She a jealous type of tressym?” Karlach asked with a laugh.

“Is there any other type?” Gale dryly asked, and got another snort from the tiefling. The wizard sighed and shook his head. “And I thought my headache this morning was terrible enough. I think it’s on its way to becoming a migraine.”

“Go rest in your tent – Devi might behave for you, since you’re her favourite person.” Karlach set her hands on Gale’s shoulders and gave him a gentle push to the tents. “I’ll help the others try to corral Astarion. Maybe if we put him on a leash…”

Gale paused, pursing his lips. “... My headache isn’t so bad that I can’t conjure up a leash for him,” he finally said. He pointedly ignored the feeling of Astarion’s feline glare on him as he waved his hand, and a leash appeared out of thin air. “Behold, my contribution to keeping Astarion from running off. And now, I’m going to go and take a nap.”

“Sweet dreams!” Karlach laughed as she collected the leash and made her way up to Shadowheart and Lae’zel, and the cat they were struggling to restrain. “You know, if you were less of an escape artist, we wouldn’t have to resort to these drastic measures, Astarion…”

Ruefully chuckling, Gale shook his head, then made his way back to his tent, depositing Devi on his bedroll before magically securing the tent flap, and any other avenue of escape the cat could make use of. “The longer you behave, the better your odds of not getting your own leash,” he informed the cat.

Devi meowed, then as Gale laid down, started grooming his hair.

Gale sighed. “I give up. You’re just going to groom me, no matter what I say, hmm?” He rested his head on the pillow, feeling as Devi licked his hair a few more times, then curled up beside his head and started purring. He reached up to give her pets, and felt the purring grow louder. “Thank you for choosing me as your favourite person, my love,” he chuckled, closing his eyes, letting himself drift off to sleep with his lover-as-a-cat beside him.

—

The evening mealtime did not see the two rogues returned to their biped forms. Gale poked at the fish on his plate, watching Devi, who was alternating her time between sitting at his side, waiting for another bite of his meal, and scampering around the campsite, never out of Gale’s field of vision. The wizard suspected she was intentionally flaunting her freedoms in front of Astarion, who was on the end of the leash secured under Lae’zel’s foot and making sure everyone knew he was not happy about it.

“It’s your own fault you’re on the leash, you know,” Wyll informed Astarion, munching on a roll. “If you hadn’t tried to climb up a building to escape…”

“I think putting all the fault on Astarion may not be warranted,” Gale muttered. “Contrary though he may be on the best of days.”

Wyll sighed. “It was an accident! And I said I was sorry for accidentally polymorphing both of them into cats!”

“And Gale will continue to be grouchy until the spell wears off and he has his woman back,” Karlach pointed out with a snicker. “Where is Devi, anyway?”

Gale looked around, then nodded with his head as Garmus the owlbear cub came lumbering up to the fire, Devi perched on his head like a proud knight. Scratch trotted beside the pair, tongue lolling out happily. “She probably won’t go far,” he said. “I’m here, and I have food – and I threatened her with her own leash if she didn’t behave.”

“Smart,” Jaheira said. “And coming from you, the cub – er, kitten – probably won’t push that argument too much.” She smirked. “Partially because she loves you, and partially because she knows you’ll follow through with it.”

A little smirk on his lips, Gale broke off a piece of hard cheese, then lowered his hand. “Psspsspssp,” he said, then sighed as Scratch scampered over first. “No, not you, Scratch.”

Scratch whined at Gale and set a heavy chin on his knee, looking up at him with big, soulful brown eyes.

Gale sighed again, then fed Scratch the cheese before breaking off another piece. “Devi!” he called. “Come here, before Scratch eats everything for you off of my plate.”

Devi meowed, then jumped off Garmus’ head and raced over to Gale, her tail standing straight up behind her. She leaped up onto the bench beside the wizard, then took the cheese from his fingers, happily eating it.

“That’s my girl,” Gale murmured approvingly, petting Devi’s back and hearing her purr. He handed her a piece of fish next, which she devoured. “Karlach was right, you know. You do make a cute kitten.”

With a mew, Devi finished her piece of fish, then climbed onto Gale’s lap.

“Although I’ll still be much happier when you’re a person again.” Gale ruefully chuckled, rubbing behind Devi’s ears as he lifted his plate safely out of range of both the cat and Scratch. “Veni et iuva me,” he muttered, and a Mage Hand appeared to rescue the plate, freeing both his hands to pet Devi. “Honestly, how do you and Astarion have such poor luck with being polymorphed? First the cheese, now the cats… in less than a tenday!”

“At least this time, neither of them is at risk of being eaten?” Shadowheart asked. She looked down at Astarion as he headbutted her leg. “You had your chance to get pets, and you tried to bite my hand. No pets for you.”

Astarion loudly meowed his protest.

Shadowheart sighed, then broke off another piece of her fish and fed it to the vampire cat. “I will say, we didn’t need to feed either of them when they were cheese.”

“Yes, but it's generally frowned upon to pet a wheel of cheese,” Wyll commented. “And they're cuter as cats than as food.”

“Technically,” Lae’zel pointed out, “they could be food if one was desperate enough…”

Gale frowned and tugged Devi a little closer to his chest. “Don't worry, my love,” he said to the cat. “I won't let anyone try to eat you.”

Devi purred, pushing her head into Gale's hands for more pets; the wizard obliged her willingly. “We appear to have gotten both extremes of cats; the snuggly cat who adores pets, and the standoffish cat who is a little too free with the claws,” he mused.

Astarion meowed at Gale, sounding more than a little put-out.

“Am I wrong?” Gale retorted. “Your own bad behaviour is why you're leashed now!”

Devi meowed, then jumped off Gale's lap and pounced on Astarion. The vampire cat irritably yowled and retaliated against Devi's attack, quickly getting tangled up in his leash.

Gale sighed, watching the two cats tussle. “... I really shouldn't just sit here and watch,” he said. “If I were a responsible sort of wizard, I would separate them.”

“But it would be hilarious if they transformed back right now,” Karlach pointed out with a grin. “Awww, Astarion is still bitey even as a cat!”

“Hopefully not for the same reason as his biting as a person,” Shadowheart said. She set down her plate, then took a deep breath and dove her hands into the fray, emerging with Devi held by the scruff of her neck. “Was picking a fight with Astarion really necessary?” she scolded.

Devi meowed, a definite note of annoyance in her tone, and waved her paws at Shadowheart's face.

“You can go attack Wyll's feet if you want to fight something,” Shadowheart said, standing up long enough to plop the cat back on Gale's lap. “Astarion, don't provoke Devi – she's almost as bitey as you.”

“Please don't attack my feet,” Wyll muttered. “For the hundredth time, I didn't mean to turn either of you into cats! I wasn't even aiming at you!”

“What did Mizora have to say?” Isobel curiously asked.

Wyll scowled. “She just laughed and said that she lives for the entertainment value I provide her. We can't count on her for assistance.”

Gale sighed, then tightened his hold on Devi when she tried to jump back at Astarion. “No, leave him alone!” he said, feeling his nagging headache pound at his skull again. “Deviali…”

Devi hissed at the mention of her despised full name.

“Oh, I'm so glad you understood that,” Gale said, lifting the cat to his eye level and sternly looking at her. “The leash is still a valid threat if you don't behave.”

The cat in his hands meowed, then started to purr.

“It's a very good thing you're cute,” Gale murmured, drawing the cat back to his chest. He winced as he felt Devi start climbing up his robes again; a second later, he felt a little paw batting at his earring. “Hey!” he scolded, pulling Devi away from his piercing again. “What did I say about the earring?”

Devi just stared at him and meowed.

“Touch the earring again, and I swear, I'll conjure up a second leash for you,” Gale threatened. He set Devi back on his lap, distracting her with another piece of fish while he kept a firm hand on her back, lest she try to climb up his body again. “What am I going to do with you if you don't transform back, love?”

“Present her to your tressym as tribute?” Lae’zel asked with a smirk.

“Very funny. Tara will not be amused.” Gale sighed, then frowned as he sensed the Weave crackling around him. “What–”

There were two flashes of light and a chorus of surprised exclamations. Gale jumped as he found himself rather abruptly with a lap full of Devi, laying on her stomach over his legs, his hand still on her ass. Astarion rematerialised by Lae’zel's feet, and promptly started clawing at the leash. “Get this thing off me!” he demanded. “Leashing is not my kink!”

“No? A pity.” Lae’zel smirked as she undid the leash, ignoring Karlach's laugh. “But I'm sure you do have other carnal enjoyments, yes?”

“Not after being leashed like an animal, I don't!” Astarion retorted, rubbing his neck and glaring at Gale.

“I hate to break it to you, but you were an animal a minute ago,” Gale pointed out. He looked down as Devi scrambled back up to a sitting position beside him. “Welcome back, darling. Are you all right?”

“I… think so?” Devi shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “My memory is… fuzzy.”

“As fuzzy as you were just now?” Wyll cheerfully asked.

Devi frowned at the warlock. “Excuse me, but I am not ‘fuzzy’!” She tilted her head as his grin got wider. “I feel like I should be mad at you for something. I remember being very small, and being picked up and handed around…”

“So you don't remember being a cat?” Jaheira asked. “Complete with scratching my hands up, and trying to make Wyll lose his other eye?”

“That was Astarion that had a go at my eye,” Wyll interjected, with a scowl at the vampire.

“A cat?” Devi blinked. “How the hells did I get turned into a cat?”

“Wyll happened. We're partially blaming Mizora.” Gale shook his head and wrapped an arm around Devi's shoulders. “You do make an adorable cat though… even if a bratty one.”

“... Thank you, I think?” Devi looked up at Gale, then leaned into his side, her eyes leaving his. Gale watched her for a moment, then saw her hand start to slowly rise to his ear, her eyes never leaving what they had focused on.

Instinct had him swat her hand back down just as her fingertips reached his earring. “Stop trying to play with my earring!” he scolded.

“I'm sorry! I just… feel compelled! It's so shiny!”

Gale sighed heavily as laughter echoed around them. “Your body might be a person again, but your mind is still that of a cat. Please don't pounce on Astarion again.”

“No promises,” Devi said. She looked around at everyone snickering (except Astarion, who had moved up from the ground to the bench and was trying to straighten his clothes, all while looking thoroughly miffed), then back at Gale, a moment before she put her legs across his lap and snuggled against him. “Don't mind me. I'm very cuddly tonight.”

Shaking his head, Gale slipped his arm down her back to hold her closer. “As long as you leave my earring alone and don't try to groom me again–”

“Wait. What do you mean, ‘groom’ you?” Devi demanded. “As in, with my tongue, and…” She saw Gale's smirk and slow nod, at the same time that Karlach fell off her bench laughing, and squeaked, burying her face in the wizard's shoulder to blush. “Oh, hells.”

“Didn't know you were into that!” Karlach laughed. “Or that Gale’s apparently into leashes–!”

“I am not into leashes!” Gale retorted. “It was strictly a means to keep our cats corralled!”

“Well, if we hear noises from Gale's tent tonight, we know what methods of carnal pleasure he and Devi are playing with,” Lae’zel said with a grin. “Is ‘kitten’ not a pet name used by some human lovers anyway?”

Gale groaned as laughter resurged around camp. He shot Wyll a glare. “This is entirely your fault.”

“I thought we agreed Mizora was to blame!” Wyll protested.

“It was still your spell!” Gale sighed and gave Devi a squeeze. “Love, as a personal kindness to me, please don't get polymorphed into anything else. The cheese and the cat have been quite enough.”

“Again – no promises. Technically this wasn't my fault… I don't think.” Devi winked, then leaned against his shoulder and made a little noise of frustration. When Gale looked closely, she was peering at his earring again, seemingly fighting the urge to play with the jewellery.

“Don't even think about it,” the wizard warned. “Or I swear, I will tie you up–” He glared at Lae’zel and Karlach as they burst into laughter. “Not that way, either!”

“... Promises, promises,” Devi said with a grin that promised misbehaviour later.

Gale sighed again, looking skyward. How was this his life now?

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #deviali #act 3 spoilers #polymorphing gone wrong #humour #friendship #cats #in which Gale is proven to be a Cat Guy #kink jokes are made

[keldae]

This sounds like Gale: letting them ramble when they need to let off steam

Uneducated though Devi might have been, she wasn’t stupid and she knew it. Her learning had come from the streets of Baldur’s Gate. She could read, of course – Jehn had taught her how when they were children. But she much preferred to learn through doing something rather than reading about it in a book (much to the shock of a few of Gale’s peers, who firmly believed he could have chosen a more suitable partner for his station than an uneducated Baldurian thief. One had been foolish enough to state that opinion in front of Gale. Nobody else had been brave enough since then to say anything.).

Although, she thought, she could learn just as well from listening to her betrothed venting about a new theory of the Weave, without needing to be a wizard herself.

“... preposterous,” Gale said, scowling down at the book in front of him. “Anyone who has studied the Weave even casually knows that it certainly does not work like this! The Weave cannot be utilised like what they’re proposing!” He sighed. “How did this drivel get past Blackstaff Academy’s academics?”

Curiously, Devi curled up on the couch in Gale’s study, watching him get up from his chair to pace back and forth, the book in his hand. “Explain it to me like I’m five?” she asked.

“And one of the smartest five-year-olds in existence, my darling.” Gale paused his pacing and looked up from the book to smile at her before he resumed his rant. “This nonsense proposal states that, if a construct were to be imbued with the Weave, that they would become capable of manipulating the Weave itself. Imagine, if you will, one of Gortash’s Steel Watchers attempting to cast any sort of a spell! Or that guardian we encountered in the Grymforge on our adventure!”

Devi wrinkled her nose. “They were already tough enough to fight without them using the Weave,” she grumbled.

Gale nodded his agreement. “Very true. But beyond that, such a thing would be impossible. You simply cannot channel the Weave without having been truly alive at some point! Even the undead or the reanimated who were wizards in life struggle to touch the Weave. And Mystra would not allow the Weave to be used as some sort of… of life-giving substitute! You need to have your own soul in order to touch the Weave!”

Drawing her feet up on the couch, Devi followed Gale with her eyes as he resumed pacing. “So if you need a soul to touch the Weave, does that mean mind flayers cannot use the Weave?”

“Correct! Mind flayers have their own psionic magic that Mystra has no influence over. Even an illithid who had been a wizard before undergoing ceremorphosis would have no connection to the Weave. There is a reason the Emperor never tried to use the Weave during our adventure, despite all his other substantial abilities – and I have no doubt that, if he had been able to do so, he would have used it in a heartbeat.” Gale paused. “Where was I going with this?”

Devi thought for a moment. “You need to have a soul to use the Weave?”

Gale snapped his fingers. “Thank you, my love. A construct, even one infused with the Weave, can never learn to channel it on its own. The Weave is magnificent and powerful, but it is no substitute for a soul! Not even with an artificial heart or brain could a soul be replicated – such things are the realm of the gods. And I daresay even Ao would not put a soul into a construct! One may as well try to put a soul into a sword, or a cooking pot! To access the Weave, you require your own soul.”

Smiling, Devi nodded. She loved watching and listening to Gale when he went on a ‘Professor Dekarios’ spiel. One of these days, she thought, she would have to sneak into one of his classes just to watch him lecture like this more. “So by that logic – any lifeform with a soul could learn to channel the Weave?”

“Precisely. Some people will find it easier than others – take you and I, for example. You require assistance and a conduit at this stage in accessing the Weave – although, with practice, I’m sure you’ll learn to use it at will without my help.” Gale pursed his lips in thought. “In all fairness, that could also be due to our drastically-different upbringings. If you had been raised by wizards, like I was, you would probably be able to touch the Weave much easier, especially with your Elven heritage. Alas – we’ll likely never know.” He shook his head. “All that to say, this idea is ridiculous.”

“So if a soul is the critical component to channeling the Weave,” Devi started, “could you not take a soul out of a person and put it into a construct?”

Gale opened his mouth, then paused. “What you're proposing is highly unethical, my love,” he said after a moment's thought. “And frankly, I'm not sure that transferring a soul into a new body is even feasible.”

“But if it was?” Devi asked. “If it was possible to transfer a soul into a construct, would that construct not be able to learn to channel the Weave?”

Crossing his arms, Gale leaned against his desk, head tilted as he considered the idea. “... It's not completely out of the realm of feasibility,” he finally admitted. “But whether the soul would be able to sustain itself in the construct's body is a different question entirely. The construct would lack a heart, a brain, blood, organs…”

“But it would have an engine of some sort,” Devi pointed out. “That would keep it alive.”

“The construct, yes – but what of the soul itself?” Gale stroked his beard in thought. “A more learned cleric could probably argue the point better than I can, but I read a book once that indicated a soul needs life in the body it inhabits. Purely mechanical organs would not be suitable to keep the soul itself alive and in the construct's body.”

“So if a soul can't be permanently transferred into a construct,” Devi said, “and a soul is required to touch the Weave…”

“Then we circle back around to ‘constructs cannot access the Weave’, and I will not be at risk of losing my position in the Academy to one such construct.” Gale grinned, looking immensely satisfied. “Thank you, darling – I think we have just collaboratively written a responding paper to this ridiculous theory. I'll be sure to give you the appropriate credit.”

Devi laughed as Gale tossed the book that had so offended him on his desk, then tilted her head. “So, if you're up for another intellectual puzzle from your uneducated partner…”

“You may not have been formally educated, Devi, but you are every bit as intelligent as any of my students or peers,” Gale assured her, crossing the room to kiss her forehead. “What new puzzle do you have for me?”

“If illithids can use psionic magic without needing souls, could a construct use psionics too?”

Gale blinked, then frowned at the ceiling of his study. “Psionic magic… I hadn't even considered that. But given the nature of psionics and illithids, I should think that the concept would…”

Devi smiled fondly, watching her betrothed as he went back to pacing the room while talking, still deep in his role as an impromptu lecturer. She loved watching and listening to him at work like this – Gale’s mind never ceased to amaze her, and she loved how he included her in discussions without patronising her. He never made her feel inferior with her lack of formal education, and she loved him all the more for it.

#bg3 fic #bg3 #gale x tav #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #deviali #post game #philosophical discussions on magic

[keldae]

Cold Hands

The shadow-cursed lands were cold. Being a creature who always valued heat, Devi decided she hated this region for many reasons – the ambient cold that sunk into her bones and refused to leave was just one of those reasons. She had never been a person to complain about being too hot, even in the heat of summer in Baldur's Gate; here, she could barely get warm.

She swore as her lockpick broke in the lock of a building in the ruined village, her fingers too numb for the deft manipulations she needed to pick the lock. “Here, I'll do it,” Astarion said, grabbing her hands to shift them out of his way; a second later, he hissed. “Hells, darling, I'm a vampire and I think I'm still warmer than you!”

“Probably,” Devi grumbled, letting Astarion move her away. She breathed on her cold fingers, trying to get some heat in them before putting her gloves back on. “Fucking shadow curse… fucking cold…”

“You can't be that cold,” she heard Wyll say as he appeared at her side; his hands settled over hers and he swore out loud from the shock. “Oh, apparently you can be that cold!” he exclaimed, letting go of her hands. “And I thought Shadowheart was bad for cold hands!” He pointedly ignored Shadowheart's frown in his direction.

Devi wrinkled her nose. She knew the Sharran cleric also suffered from a persistent case of being chilly. “I'm not that bad,” she started to say.

“Yes, you are,” Astarion said, not looking up from the lock. “I dare you to go put your hands on Lae’zel when we return to the inn.”

“... No thanks. I like living.” Devi tucked her hands into her armpits, trying to warm them up. “Where's Gale when I need him? I need him to cast that hand-warming spell he has on me.”

“I think that spell only works on the hands of the person casting it,” Wyll said, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Sorry.”

Devi groaned, then shivered as a cold breeze (like there was any other type of breeze here) blew through the alley they were in, making her shiver. She cowered against the wall of the ramshackle building, trying to avoid the wind as much as she could. “Please hurry up, Astarion. Just because you don't feel the cold as badly doesn't mean the rest of us are that lucky!”

“Yes, please do hurry up,” Shadowheart agreed, moving to huddle against the wall with Devi. “Wyll, come stand here so you can shield us from the wind.”

“Oh, like I don't get cold too,” Wyll retorted, even as he obediently came over to try and provide a bit of a windblock for the two women. “Better?”

“Not really,” Devi mumbled, shivering. “How much am I going to get stabbed if I try to use you for body heat?”

“You won't get stabbed, but Gale will probably set me on fire,” Wyll muttered. “If you're going to use someone for body heat, use him.”

Devi frowned, wondering why Gale would set Wyll on fire. It wasn't like the wizard had really made any moves indicating a romantic or sexual interest in Devi. Sure, they'd flirted with each other, and they were sharing a bedroll (mostly to keep each other’s nightmares at bay), but if Gale hadn't tried to kiss her or touch her during the long nights they spent snuggling away the bad dreams, although Devi would have loved to feel him trying something with her… Gale wouldn't be jealous of Wyll being a walking heater for Devi.

Would he?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the click of the stubborn lock finally giving way. Astarion straightened up, a triumphant look in his red eyes. “Victory is mine! We'll look for those documents, and then get the hell back to the inn so you two ladies can warm back up.”

“There's any warmth to be found in these gods-forsaken lands?” Devi asked, feeling another shiver wrack her frame.

Astarion snorted. “Give Gale those pathetic kicked-puppy eyes of yours, and I'm sure he'll invent a spell to warm you up sufficiently, if he doesn't already know of one.”

—

The wind had just picked up as the day had dragged on, bringing with it a cold drizzle that soaked through to the bone – even Astarion and Wyll were shivering by the time the group made it back to the shelter of the Last Light Inn and their camp on its lawn. At the roaring campfire, Gale looked up from the cookpot as the group approached, a smile appearing on his face. “Welcome back! A fortunate thing that you returned before–”

Devi didn't let the wizard finish his sentence. She just hurried to his side and wrapped her frozen fingers around his robe-clad bicep. Gale yelped at the cold shock to his system and dropped the ladle back into the soup pot, indulging in a couple of choice profanities. Honestly, Devi hadn't even known the wizard could swear like that. “Hells, you're freezing, Devi! Did you jump in the river on the way?”

The rogue shook her head, teeth chattering as she tightened her hold on Gale's arm. “You're warm,” she mumbled, sidling up to him, trying to leech his body heat away through his robes.

“And you are not!” Gale spoke the Burning Hands incantation, then squirmed his arm free of Devi's grip before taking her cold hands in his own, heat radiating from his skin. She groaned in relief, feeling her hands start to thaw out in Gale's grip. “How are you so cold?” he asked, tsking as he gently ran his thumbs over the back of her hands. “Were you hit by an ice spell while out there?”

“Just unlucky?” Devi asked, shivering despite the heat on her hands.

“You may have some of the worst luck in Faerûn, if your hands are naturally so–” Gale yelped again as Shadowheart appeared on his other side, mimicking Devi's initial grip on his other bicep. “For the love of all the gods, what is it with you half-Elves having freezing hands?!”

“Genetic anomalies?” Shadowheart asked, still shivering. “Oh, you’re warm. Does being a mage make you run hot? You’re warmer than the two of us are…”

“Not warm enough to thaw out both of you!” Gale retorted. His eyes narrowed as Wyll and Astarion started to approach him. “Don't even think about it. There's hot soup if you want to warm up without torturing me.”

“How come they're allowed to use you to warm up?” Astarion complained.

“It isn't that they're allowed to use me,” Gale said. “I was ambushed!” He looked around, then shouted, “Karlach! Save me!”

There was a crash from the tents, then the sound of running footsteps as Karlach booked it over to the fire, eyes wide and fists balled up. “What? Where? What's going on?” Lae’zel was a step behind her, a knife in hand; she sighed and shook her head when she realised there were no enemies around for her to kill.

“I'm being turned to ice, thanks to our two half-Elves here!” Gale quickly explained. “They're heat vampires!” He was promptly swatted by Shadowheart; it did nothing to erase his smirk.

“Hey!” Devi protested. “I am not a vampire of any sort!”

“You're colder than our traditional vampire!” Gale retorted, squeezing her hands pointedly. Astarion snorted, but didn’t deny Gale’s statement.

“Heat vampires? I can help with that.” Karlach relaxed with a grin, then came up and wrapped her arms around Shadowheart, picking the cleric up and earning a squeal as the brunette lost her hold on Gale’s arm. The tiefling hissed in surprise. “Oh, you weren't kidding – she's even cooling down my engine!”

“... Warmth,” Shadowheart mumbled, snuggling into Karlach's embrace and sighing happily. “Oh, merciful Dark Lady, I'm finally feeling a little warm!”

“That's what I'm here for,” Karlach said with a laugh. “Between you and me, we can make an ideal body temperature.” She looked back at Gale and winked. “I saved you from one heat vampire, but you're on your own for the other.”

Gale chuckled. “I can deal with just one vampire.” He looked down as Devi flexed her fingers in his hold. “Can you feel your hands now, my dear?”

Devi nodded. Her hands indeed did finally feel warm, but the rest of her body was still cold. She stepped up into Gale's space and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to absorb as much of his body heat as she could. “Does that Burning Hands spell work for the entire body?”

“I'm very good, but I'm not that good,” Gale muttered. He slid his own arms around her shoulders and tugged her face into his neck, shivering at her cold nose touching his skin. “And I had thought you were cold in the Underdark!”

“I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the Underdark,” Devi wistfully said. “It wasn't quite this cold!” She shivered again. “Can you just… I don't know, set me on fire?”

“I'm not setting you on fire, no matter how cold you are,” Gale firmly said. He started rubbing his hot hands up and down Devi’s arms, making her softly groan into his shoulder as the limbs started warming up. A moment later, the wizard raised his hands to his eye level, frowning. “... You’ve achieved a minor miracle, Devi. I think your cold body managed to extinguish the Burning Hands spell prematurely.” He pried himself out of Devi’s arms, then pushed her at Karlach and Shadowheart. “Go snuggle with Karlach while I find where those bowls for the soup went. Getting something hot in your bellies should help you warm up faster.”

Much though Devi would have preferred to stay in Gale’s arms, she couldn’t deny the appeal of Karlach’s radiating body heat – and the promise of Gale’s cooking was worth any sacrifice. She darted the two steps over to the tiefling and attached herself to Karlach’s midsection, making the taller woman yelp as she set Shadowheart back on her own feet. “Fucking hells, woman! I didn’t need Dammon to cool my engine down – I just apparently needed to snuggle you two!” she said as she wrapped an arm around each half-Elf.

“You’re my favourite person right now,” Shadowheart mumbled, finally looking relaxed for the first time since that morning.

“You’re my second favourite,” Devi said. “Gale still wins as my first favourite since he feeds me good food.” She heard Gale chuckle from the campfire as he started dishing up bowls of hot soup.

Karlach snorted. “Consider me unsurprised that he’s your first favourite, Dev,” she said with a grin. “When he– OI!” She jumped, startled. “For fuck’s sake, how are all you Elvish people so damned cold, Astarion?” she demanded, looking at the vampire who had just wrapped his arms around her from behind to get in on the sharing of body heat.

“Don’t look at me, I’m a vampire. Before I was turned, I had a perfectly average body temperature,” Astarion answered. “Besides, I’m reasonably sure Halsin has plenty of body heat to go around, and he’s also an Elf.”

“Halsin is also an anomaly as far as Elves go,” Wyll pointed out, looking like he was contemplating joining the snuggle-pile. His thoughts were diverted by Gale placing a steaming bowl of soup in his hands. “How many Elves do you see around his size?” he asked, wrapping his hands around the bowl and sighing in happiness as he started to warm up from the dish and its contents.

Astarion thought for a moment. “Fair point. Perhaps it’s an exclusive half-Elf thing. If we get Jaheira into this snuggle-pile…”

“She doesn’t seem to be the snuggly type,” Shadowheart pointed out. “And I don’t think she’ll appreciate being asked about her body temperature by the likes of us.”

Astarion shrugged. “Then we go back to the theory of human and Elf blood combining makes for half-Elves who can’t retain body heat worth a damn. We’re two for three for known half-Elves being – what did Gale call them? ‘Heat vampires’?”

“And the aforementioned heat vampires would not fare well in a Waterdeep winter,” Gale said with a chuckle, approaching the snuggling group with two full bowls in his hands, a third balanced over his shoulder with a Mage Hand spell. “One for each of you walking icicles, and one for Karlach, who I suspect will need to warm back up, herself. I’ll get another bowl for you in a moment, Astarion.”

“Oh, I could kiss you, Gale,” Devi mumbled, accepting the hot bowl from Gale, her fingers brushing against his. She flushed, hoping nobody else had heard her soft words – not even the wizard to whom they had been directed.

To judge by how Gale’s ears went red, he had heard her. But he didn’t appear displeased – he winked at her, then tilted his cheek invitingly. Recognising what he offered, Devi grinned and stretched up on tip-toe to kiss Gale’s bearded cheek, little more than a light peck. It was still enough to make him shiver, even as he smiled. “Do eat up – it will help you warm up faster. The last thing we need is anyone coming down with pneumonia here.”

Devi nodded and smiled at Gale, then snuggled into Karlach’s side and took a bite of the potato soup. Somehow, Gale made the simple dish taste better than almost anything she’d eaten in the Lower City before her abduction. She sighed happily, content to be among her friends and finally warming up, even in this hellish environment. She was still a little surprised to realise that she was growing to love her motley crew of friends, instead of just liking them. But she wouldn’t have traded any of them for the world.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale dekarios #shadowheart #astarion #karlach #wyll ravengard #deviali #friendship #act 2 #slow burn gale x tav #kel writes #shadowheart strikes me as the type of person to always have cold hands #body heat snuggles

[keldae]

Winter prompts: whipped cream on the nose post-hot chocolate

Baldur's Gate was a warm city, situated on the southern Sword Coast – for most of the year, it was pleasant, if humid and frequently drizzly. Devi had rarely had to worry about the cold during her childhood in the Lower City.

Waterdeep, being further north than Baldur's Gate, actually experienced winters, as Devi found out. She burrowed deeper into the blankets in her and Gale's bed, shivering at the cool air inside the tower. When she reached out a hand to Gale's side of the bed, she only found cooling linens, and not the warm body of her husband.

“Ignis,” she heard from the foot of the bed, and a moment later, she heard the whoosh of a fire igniting in the expansive fireplace. She heard a chuckle before Gale came up to her side of the bed, gently shaking her shoulder. “Wake up, my love,” he murmured, kissing her cheek. “It's morning.”

“‘s cold,” Devi grumbled, burrowing into the blankets. The fire Gale had just spoken into existence hadn't yet warmed the air sufficiently for her liking.

She heard Gale chuckle as he gently pulled down the coverlet over her. “It snowed last night,” he said, kissing her cheek again. That got Devi's attention; she rolled over enough to look at his smile. “Come and see.”

The promise of snow, a rarity in Baldur’s Gate, was enough to pull Devi out of bed. She shivered as she pushed the covers back, and immediately felt Gale wrap her robe around her slim shoulders as she stood up. He had magically heated the garment, along with her slippers; she sighed happily, wiggling her toes in the soft footwear. “Gods, I love you,” she said with a soft laugh.

“Just for heating your slippers?” Gale grinned, then took her hand in his and drew her to the balcony door. “Look at this!”

Devi gasped as Gale opened the door to the balcony, and not entirely due to the cold air hitting her face. Waterdeep was covered in a thick layer of white, fluffy snow, and more was still falling from the grey clouds over the city. She stepped out onto the balcony, cautiously extending her hand for a few large flakes of snow to land on her palm, turning to drops of water on her skin. With a little laugh, she looked up at the sky, watching more snow come falling down, blinking as flakes landed on her eyelashes.

“Beautiful, is it not?” Gale asked, leaning against the doorframe with a fond smile on his lips. “Have you seen snow before?”

“Not like this,” Devi answered, twirling in the falling flakes, and immediately squeaking as the motion made her robe rise, exposing her legs to the cold air. “Snow was so rare there, and never lasted long enough to look like this!”

Gale smiled, stepping out onto the balcony to wrap his arms around Devi. “Was this worth waking up early to see, my dear?” he asked with a chuckle.

Devi nodded and stretched up to kiss him. “Thank you, love.”

“Of course.” Gale fondly returned her kiss, then tugged Devi closer to his chest. They remained still for several long minutes longer, watching the snow fall, until Gale hummed. “You're shivering,” he murmured, rubbing Devi's arms through her robe sleeves. “Back inside, my love. Don't worry; it will probably keep snowing all day. You won't miss anything.”

It was cold, Devi had to admit. She nodded and let Gale draw her back indoors, moving to stand in front of the fireplace as the wizard secured the balcony door again. “Do you have classes to teach today?” she asked, holding her hands closer to the flames.

Gale shook his head. “Not today,” he said with a smile. “Which means you will get to experience a perfect snow day today.” He approached her from behind, his hands caressing her stomach, just starting to swell with their babe within her. “And I have plans to make sure that it is perfect for you.”

“As long as I'm with you, it will be perfect,” Devi murmured, smiling as Gale kissed her. “First in my heart.”

Gale smiled and kissed her again, then released her. “Get dressed,” he softly said. “I'll go start breakfast for us.”

Devi smiled as her husband kissed her once more before taking his leave of the bedroom; once he had left, she turned back to her wardrobe, looking for the warm sweaters and pants he had insisted on buying for her in anticipation of her first winter in Waterdeep. 

—

Gale had insisted on bringing Devi out to the public gardens after breakfast, taking care to make sure that she was warmly bundled up. And truthfully, it hadn't taken much coaxing from him to get her to agree. Holding Gale's hand through the gloves they both wore, she walked through the park, snow still falling over the city. The other residents of Waterdeep seemed to have the same idea – other couples strolled along the snowy paths, while children raced with gleeful abandon through the drifts. Setting her free hand on her concealed belly, Devi watched as a group of children started building rudimentary walls of snow and throwing snowballs at each other, with laughter and shouts drifting through the falling flakes. Other children were busy assembling statues of snow, using sticks for arms and pebbles for eyes and mouths. “It's like something out of a story,” she said with a smile, her eyes soft as she watched the children playing in the snow.

At her side, Gale chuckled. “Ah, yes. I spent many a winter as a child playing in the snow, engaging in winter warfare and building fortresses. One year, my friends and I managed to construct a fortress that was easily ten feet tall, with ramparts and a moat. We were the undisputed kings of the park until the spring.”

“A ten foot tall fortress?” Devi laughed. “Did you use magic for it?”

Gale shifted slightly. “There may have been some magic involved,” he admitted as Devi's grin grew wider. “But there was plenty of manual labour too! Both from ourselves, and the fathers and elder siblings we recruited to the cause.”

Devi laughed, imagining Gale as a child, packing snow into a tall wall with mitten-clad hands. “The snow battles that year must have been legendary.”

“Oh yes, they most certainly were,” Gale confirmed with a wink. “Although we were all banned from winter warfare after Elminster was caught in the crossfire of one such battle.” He grinned ruefully as Devi doubled over with her giggles. “Truthfully, he held his own perfectly well, considering he bewitched our snowballs to chase us through the park. Let me tell you, Mother was not amused when she heard about it later.”

Still giggling, Devi tried to imagine child-Gale fleeing from enchanted, flying snowballs. “Oh, hells, I wish I could have seen that,” she laughed. “It doesn't surprise me that Elminster retaliated like that!”

Gale grinned, if a little sheepishly. “It was great fun. He still threatens to conjure up new snowballs to chase me with, on occasion. And I'll take it as a personal kindness, darling, if you don't encourage him to do that.” With a chuckle, he gently adjusted the scarf around Devi's neck. “Are you still warm enough, my love?”

Devi nodded and stretched up to kiss Gale’s cheek, uncaring of who might see her kiss her husband. “Yes, thank you.” She smiled fondly as he gently rubbed his nose against her own. “This feels like something out of a fairy tale – walking through the snow, with my darling husband, watching children playing in the fresh snow…”

“And you're due for another treat when we get home,” Gale promised her with a wink. “Am I correct in assuming you've never experienced a hot chocolate before?”

Devi tilted her head curiously at him. “What's that?”

Gale chuckled. “My favourite winter beverage. I have my mother's secret recipe for it memorised – I'll make it for you when we return to the tower.”

Chocolate had been one of those luxuries that a Lower City urchin would never have been able to even dream of sampling, even with how good thieves Devi and Jehn had been. She smiled happily at Gale. “I'm excited to try it!”

Gale's eyes softened as he kissed Devi's forehead. “And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Come on.”

—

An hour later saw Devi curled up on the couch in Gale's study, bundled under a soft blanket and with a book in hand before a roaring fire, Tara sprawled comfortably across the back of the couch, purring away, with Scratch curled up on the floor before her. She could hear Gale puttering around in the kitchen, preparing their treat; when she sniffed the air, she could smell something sweet and heady wafting through the tower. 

She looked up from the pages of her book when she heard her husband's footsteps approaching the study. Gale appeared in the doorway of the study, holding a loaded tray in his hands; he paused, his eyes soft as he gazed at her. “This is a sight that I could look at forever,” he murmured. “You are the picture of peaceful contentment, my love.”

Devi smiled up at Gale, setting her book down. “I feel completely happy,” she said. “I'm warm, and comfortable, and being spoiled by my handsome, caring wizard – how could I not be happy?”

“If only you knew just how happy having you in my home makes me,” Gale softly said, stepping closer to her. “Mere words do not adequately describe my happiness with you.” He set the tray down on the table before the couch; two mugs sat on the tray, white cream on the surface not doing anything to suppress the tendrils of steam wafting off the top. A plate of biscuits accompanied the drinks. “Hot chocolate all but requires biscuits to go with it,” he said with a chuckle, handing one of the mugs to Devi before he sat down beside her, his own mug in hand.

Smiling, Devi accepted the mug, taking a curious sniff. “It smells really good,” she said – she eyed the mug for a moment longer before tilting it to her lips. Her eyes went wide as a warm, rich, sweet drink flowed over her tongue; as she swallowed it, it seemed to spread a pleasant warmth through her entire body. She shivered in enjoyment, and started to take another sip, then looked up when she realised Gale hadn't moved. He was still watching her, a fond smile on his face.

Seeing that he was caught, he chuckled. “And what are our first impressions?”

“It's so good!” Devi said, taking another sip of the drink. The second sip was every bit as delightful as the first – she smiled as the sweet taste lingered on her tongue. “And you grew up drinking this?”

“Only on special occasions,” Gale grinned. “But your first snowfall in Waterdeep is a worthy occasion.” He sipped his own drink and sighed happily, then chuckled at Devi. “You have a little something on your nose, darling…”

“Hmm?” Devi tried to look at the tip of her own nose; if she strained her eyes, she could just see a vague white smudge in the centre of her vision. It must have been the cream topping the hot chocolate, left behind on her nose.

Gale laughed, then leaned in to kiss away the evidence on her nose. “Gods, you're adorable,” he said with a fond smile. “How did I get so lucky as to have you as my wife again?”

“Gale, if I didn't already love you more than life itself, and if we weren't already married, I would ask you to run away and elope with me again, just for this hot chocolate,” Devi said with a grin. “And then there's the reading to me, and how you snuggled away all my bad dreams, and how you spoil me now…”

That got a chuckle from Gale. “You could have stolen anyone's heart that you wanted, and you still chose me when I was at my lowest point. I am the luckiest man in Faerûn.” He kissed Devi again, this time on her lips, then sat back and took a sip from his own mug. “Spoiling my perfect little wife is one of my greatest pleasures in life, my love. And the aforementioned perfect wife should let me spoil her more.”

“You already spoil me plenty,” Devi said with a laugh. “I'll become unbearable to live with if you keep this up.”

“Never.” Gale grinned, then settled back in the couch cushions. Devi shifted enough to snuggle against his chest, feeling him comfortably wrap his arm around her to hold her close. She glanced to the window, seeing snowflakes still falling outside, and smiled, utterly content with her life. This, as far as she was concerned, was the perfect happiness she had never thought she would experience in life. She was warm, and comfortable, with a delicious treat in her mug and her husband's arm around her, and their unborn child in her womb.

This was perfection. And she wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #deviali #waterdeep #post game #romance #fluff #hot chocolate #which DOES exist in Faerûn according to Google #brought to you in part by yesterday's blizzard #kel writes #kel answers prompts a million years later

[keldae]

Cute, shippy starters: 46) “Hey, have you seen the..? *Oh.*”

Devi loved cats, for the most part. Having grown up in the Lower City, stray cats had been all over the place; and most of them, after some obligatory introductory hissing, seemed to tolerate the little half-Elf thief well enough. Some had even learned that, if they were friendly enough, Devi might share her food scraps with them while she waited for her next mark. It hadn't been uncommon for Devi to have a cat curled up beside her while she had sat on a roof ledge, or prowling around her legs while she'd scoped out a new target. Her father would never have let her keep one for a pet, but she enjoyed giving scritches and pets where she could to the stray animals. 

And then there was Tara.

Devi supposed her first mistake had been referring to Tara as “Gale's tressym” – she'd immediately gotten hissed at for that. She hadn't made the same mistake again, but Tara seemed to not ever forget a grudge. Even after Devi had come home with Gale to Waterdeep, Tara had regarded the thief with aloof suspicion. She was incredibly different from the normal cats Devi had grown used to, and even with regular usage of a potion to let her speak with animals, the two regularly butted heads.

She knew it caused Gale distress, that the woman he loved and the tressym he adored seemed to be permanently at odds. “Was she like this with Mystra too?” she had asked one day, watching Tara fly in pursuit of a hapless pigeon.

Gale had snorted. “Given how Mystra and I ended, and the sixth sense that animals have about such things, I like to think Tara would have tried to claw her eyes out if they'd ever met.” He'd smiled and given Devi a kiss on the temple. “I'm sure she'll warm up to you eventually. She's just… cautious with new people.”

That had been well over a tenday ago, and Devi still wasn't sure how long ‘eventually’ was supposed to last. 

She sat in her favourite chair in Gale's tower, idly plucking at the strings on her violin. Gale himself was out today – he'd been summoned to some sort of meeting with another wizard, and the tone of the invitation had made it clear that Devi wasn't invited. Honestly, Gale had been more offended at the entire matter than she'd been. She'd sent him on his way with a kiss and a promise that she wouldn't find any mischief in his absence. And so far, she'd been good to her word, reading one of his many books and coming up with a new melody to play on the violin.

She sighed, looking out the window for a moment, then winced as her stomach lurched threateningly. Apparently whatever stomach flu she had somehow picked up (that Gale had dodged. Lucky bastard of a wizard.) was still not fully out of her system. And that had been the other reason Gale had been reluctant to go to this meeting with his colleague – he was worried about her, after the last four days of her waking up sick and struggling to keep anything she ate down.

Maybe it was the coffee he had introduced her to. Devi wrinkled her nose in thought. That was something she had never been introduced to as a poor Baldurian thief – perhaps the rich, stimulant brew was the cause of her–

Her eyes went wide, and she barely had time to set her violin on the table and grab an empty pail before her stomach violently rejected the two pieces of toasted bread and the banana she'd eaten less than an hour ago.

Wincing as her stomach eventually stopped revolting, she spat into the bucket, then shakily stood up, intent on finding water to rinse her mouth out before disposing of the vomited meal. “Fucking hells,” she mumbled, scowling down at her stomach. “Are you done yet?”

“Tsk, tsk,” said a voice behind Devi, one that made her jump. “Mr. Dekarios will not be pleased to learn that you're still ill.” With a flutter of her wings, Tara jumped up onto the table, regarding Devi with a stern look. “Had I thumbs, I would make you drink some tea.”

“Gale's been trying with the tea,” Devi said, finding a carafe of water in the kitchen and swishing a mouthful around to get the taste of bile out of her mouth. She spat into the bucket, still feeling Tara's eyes on her. “I think it helps a little bit?”

Tara lowly growled, then jumped to the counter. “Here,” she said, standing up on her hind legs to paw at a rack of herbs. “Mr. Dekarios keeps ginger up in this rack, and that should help with human – or half-Elf – nausea.”

“... Thank you.” Devi approached the counter, reaching around the fluffy head and wings to grab the large ginger root. Finding where Gale kept his kitchen knives, she carefully cut off a thin slice of the ginger, then put it in her mouth, wrinkling her nose at the strong taste. “Please work,” she mumbled as she put the rest of the root away, then moved to clean off the knife. She knew how particular Gale was with his knives.

Tara sat on the counter, tail swishing as she watched the thief clean and return the knife to its block. “I know you haven't been sleeping either,” the tressym said, “what with constantly waking up sick the last few nights. Go lie down.”

Devi frowned at the idea of taking orders from the winged cat. “I'm honestly all right,” she started to say. “I don't feel–”

She blinked as a paw batted at her arm. “You clearly are not all right,” Tara scolded. “And I'll not have Mr. Dekarios fretting over if you're getting enough rest while you’re so obviously ill. He's made it quite clear that he cares a great deal about you.” The tressym shifted her weight, then jumped onto Devi’s shoulders, making her stagger with a little grunt at the weight of a heavy winged cat perching on her. “To bed with you, Deviali.”

“It’s Devi,” the thief muttered. “What about if I just sit and read or–”

Tara growled threateningly.

Devi sighed, admitting defeat. “Fine, I’m going.” She wouldn’t ever admit it to Tara, but she was tired, after four mornings of waking up sick before the time that she and Gale normally got up. And it was impossible to quietly vomit, as she’d figured out the hard way – Gale was always at her side within a minute of her lunging out of bed, holding her hair back and looking at her with open concern in his eyes. “What do you care about me?” the half-Elf asked the tressym as she started making her way to the bedroom, with a longing glance at her violin. “You don’t seem to like me as it is.”

Seemingly noticing which way Devi’s eyes went, Tara lightly smacked the side of her face with her paw to make her focus on going to bed. “My opinions are moot. Mr. Dekarios adores you, which means that it becomes my duty to look after you like I do him. I’ve looked after that wizard since he was a boy – I’m not about to fly off because he picked you.” She settled across the back of Devi’s neck, like an oversized, winged scarf. “And if I don’t look after you, then it becomes the dog’s job to tend to you, and he is not a suitable caretaker.”

“Scratch is perfectly fine,” Devi protested, obligated to defend what she had come to think of as ‘her’ dog since the day he’d shown up in camp. “And he doesn’t try to nursemaid me or anything–”

“My point exactly. You’re obviously ill, and dogs, while loyal, do not understand taking care of two-legged creatures with no self-preservation instincts.” 

“... I have perfectly fine self-preservation instincts,” Devi grumbled as she entered the bedroom and sat down on her side of the bed.

“That’s not the impression I got from hearing Mr. Dekarios’ stories about you during your little adventure,” Tara disagreed. She hopped down from Devi’s shoulders, then settled on the thief’s lap, giving her a pointed look. “If I have to make you lie down…”

Devi thought about arguing with the cat, then saw Tara warningly flex her front paws, revealing sharp claws under her fur, and thought better of it. “I can’t believe I just lost an argument with you,” she complained, laying down and curling up on her side.

Tara’s tail twitched in an almost smug manner. “Please feel free to ask Mr. Dekarios why he doesn’t pick fights with me anymore.” She climbed up onto Devi’s hip and started kneading the half-Elf through her trousers. “Ugh, you’re far too thin still. Is Mr. Dekarios not feeding you sufficiently?”

“If Gale could feed me himself, he would,” Devi muttered. “It’s hard to eat when everything he makes, no matter how good, keeps coming back up.”

“If you wake up sick again tomorrow,” Tara mused, “I’m going to have to tell him to fetch a cleric or visit an apothecary. Then again, perhaps he’ll bring something home tonight for you to feel better.” She jumped down to the mattress and, to Devi’s surprise, curled up against the thief’s stomach. “You are not to move from this bed until Mr. Dekarios returns home this evening, and you do not want to know what the consequences will be if you disobey me. Are we understood?”

“I’m being bullied into taking a nap by a tressym,” Devi groused, and promptly got batted by one of Tara’s wings. “Ow!”

“Somebody has to ensure that you rest and recover, if you’re not going to look after yourself.” Tara’s vivid eyes met Devi’s without blinking. “Now, I will allow you to offer scratches to my ears, just this once. Do not get used to it.”

Devi eyed the tressym for a moment, then slowly reached to slowly pet the top of Tara’s head, rubbing behind her ears. She was quickly rewarded with the low rumble of a pleased purr, vibrating against her stomach. Despite the half-Elf’s reluctance to take a nap, the feeling of curling up in bed with a large cat – or tressym – snuggled up against her upset stomach did feel very soothing. She sighed, then let her eyes drift closed, and felt Tara’s purring grow a little louder, as though the tressym approved. “You’re still the worst,” she muttered.

“Likewise, Deviali,” Tara smugly said, her purring never stopping. “Go to sleep.”

“It’s Devi,” the thief grumbled, even if part of her knew that the tressym would always use her despised full name, until the day Devi married Gale and took his last name for her own. Then it would probably become “Mrs. Dekarios”.

That actually has a nice ring to it, she thought as she felt herself slowly drift away into sleep, lulled by the sounds of Tara's purring.

—

Gale frowned slightly as he entered his tower, expecting to be greeted on his return home. The only lifeform to welcome him was Scratch, curled up by the fireplace; the dog looked up and thumped his tail against the floor, tongue lolling out of his mouth happily. “Where’s Devi, hmm?” the wizard asked, kneeling to give the dog a scratch behind the ears.

Scratch wuffed, then set his head back down on his front paws. “Upstairs,” he said – Gale, once again, was grateful for the spell that let him speak with animals. “She’s been upstairs with Tara all day.”

That got a small wince from Gale – he almost wondered if there had been bloodshed in his home during his absence. “Good boy, Scratch,” he said, standing back up and making his way through the tower. It was suspiciously quiet in his residence: no Tara trotting or flying up to see him with a meow of greeting, no sounds of Devi playing her violin, no pretty half-Elf emerging from a doorway with a smile on her face to see her betrothed. He sighed, wondering if Devi and Tara had managed to kill each other while he’d been stuck all day with his wizarding colleagues. “Devi?” he lowly called out. “Tara?”

No sign of Tara anywhere – perhaps she was out hunting pigeons again. But Devi should have been here. Gale poked his head into the common room, then into his study – no sign of his favourite thief in either room, besides the violin resting on a table beside the window. Perhaps the bedroom, then? Gods knew that she hadn’t been resting well, with waking up sick every morning the past few days. He could only pray that the potions in his satchel, purchased from the apothecary only an hour ago, would cure whatever was wrong with her. He approached the bedroom door, only slightly ajar, and gently pushed it open. “Have you seen –” he started to say as he looked in – a second later, he went silent, his eyes softening. “Oh.”

On the bed, Tara looked up from where she was curled against a sleeping Devi, the tip of her tail swishing before her nose. “Not a word from you about this compromising position,” she quietly said, ears tilting back slightly. “It was the only way to make sure she rested. She was ill again this afternoon while you were gone.”

“Again?” Gale frowned worriedly as he sat on the edge of the bed; Tara stood up and stretched, then climbed up onto his shoulders, curling up around his neck and purring away. “Thank you for looking after her, Tara – I know you disapprove of her, but I love her.”

“I know you do. And it is good to see you happy with her, Mr. Dekarios.” Tara carefully adjusted her wings so she wouldn’t hit Gale in the back of the head with the large appendages. “She’s slept the last two hours after being ill again. You did stop at an apothecary for something to cure her, yes?”

“I did – and I’ve been assured that the potions I bought should fix anything.” The wizard carefully leaned down to Devi’s face, pressing gentle kisses over her forehead, her eyes, her cheek. “Hello, my love,” he murmured as Devi started to stir. “Did you sleep well?”

Devi’s eyes slowly opened as she looked up at Gale; her lips pulled up in a smile once she recognized him. “Hey, you,” she quietly said, reaching up to kiss him. “Welcome home.”

Gale smiled fondly as he returned Devi’s kiss, stroking his hand through her long hair. “And it feels the most like home when you’re here to grace it with your presence,” he softly chuckled. “Are you feeling better? Tara mentioned you were ill again.”

“Traitor,” Devi muttered, frowning up at the smug tressym, before slowly sitting up. “I… think I’m all right? At least for–” She froze, eyes widening as her hand settled on her stomach. “... Shit.”

Instinct had Gale stand up and get the hell out of Devi’s way, a second before she was on her feet and fleeing to the water closet. He frowned, worry becoming full-fledged anxiety as he started fishing around in his satchel for a potion. “Tara, can you stay with her for another minute while I get her some water?”

Tara was off his shoulders and flying after Devi almost before he’d finished speaking. “Do hurry, Mr. Dekarios,” she called back. “I am not an expert on half-Elves, but something is certainly wrong.”

#bg3 fic #bg3 #post-epilogue #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #gale dekarios #Deviali #tara the tressym #tara was fun to write #her and devi bickering pleases me #as much as Tara being a reluctant mother to Devi #also... oh Devi that isn't a stomach flu you've got going on #for the record #this has been sitting in my inbox since 11 November 2017 #oldest prompt that's been waiting for me #Kel answers prompts a million years later #Kel writes

[keldae]

Soft OTP Prompts: person B: ‘i never expected it to be you’ person A softly smiling: ‘me neither’

Devi had always loved the stars. As a child, she would frequently climb onto the roofs of buildings in the Lower City at night and lay on the tiles, gazing up at the night sky and dreaming of being far away from Baldur’s Gate. On reflection, she supposed, one of the few upsides of her entire misadventure with being abducted by mindflayers (besides meeting the love of her life and her best friends) was being able to see the stars even clearer in the wilderness than she could in the city.

In the darkness now, she picked her way down an alley in the Lower City, holding Gale’s hand as she led him to a ladder that she had seen earlier in the day. Her half-Elf heritage gave her the benefit of being able to see clearly in the dark; as a human, Gale didn’t have that advantage. And honestly, Devi had to admit, it was nice to be needed by her strong, talented wizard for such a mundane thing as guidance down an alley in the middle of the night, having stolen him away from camp while their companions settled in for the evening.

Finding the ladder, she guided Gale’s hands to the wooden beams, then quickly scrambled up the rungs, hearing the wizard follow her at a slightly slower pace. On this level of the building they had climbed, she could see another ladder that would take her to the highest peak of the roof; once Gale had caught up with her, she led him over to the second ladder and climbed up to the highest level of the building. Short of scaling one of the guard towers on the wall between the Upper and Lower Cities, this was one of the highest points they could reach in Baldur’s Gate.

And the view of the night sky was well worth picking their way down a messy alley. Devi laid down as Gale conjured up a blanket to protect them from the roof tiles, sensing the wizard reclining beside her. “I told you that you get the best view from here,” she softly said with a little grin that he would hear in her voice. “It’s almost as beautiful as that illusion you showed me the other night.”

Gale hummed in agreement as he slipped his arm under Devi’s neck. “Magnificent,” he murmured, gazing up at the stars stretched out over the black void of the night sky. “They look so close, one could almost reach out and touch them.” As if to demonstrate his point, he stretched his free hand out, waving at the stars. 

Devi smiled and curled up into Gale’s side, resting her hand on his chest. He sighed in contentment, and for a moment, silence reigned before he spoke again. “While I was secluded in my tower, I spent many nights gazing at the stars – as beautiful as the gods, but equally as cold and distant, and as ungiving of answers or guidance.”

“Mmmm.” Devi’s fingers started tracing a pattern over the orb marking on Gale’s chest, just under his shirt. “When I was a child, I used to spend almost every night on a rooftop somewhere, wherever I could see the stars and pretend I was somewhere other than here. Sometimes my brother would come with me, but after he… he left, I just came out on my own, less and less, until I all but gave up on looking at them.” She shrugged slightly. “The stars are beautiful, but they’re like the gods – aloof and distant and not helpful for much.”

“People who navigate by starlight on the seas or in the wilderness would argue their uselessness,” Gale softly corrected with a slight chuckle. The arm that wasn’t wrapped around Devi’s shoulders came up to cross his body so his fingers could caress her cheek. “And they’re most beautiful when they’re reflected in your eyes, my love. You have a beauty and warmth that no star – or goddess – could ever touch.”

Devi smiled and caught Gale’s hand in hers, turning it so she could kiss his palm. “You would be the expert in such things,” she murmured. “My wise, talented, eloquent wizard.” She kissed his hand again, then softly laughed. “You know that almost nobody would have ever imagined us together, if they’d seen us a year ago? Me, a feisty, uneducated, rebellious thief with no thought or care for the Weave and even less regard for the gods…”

“And me, the brooding, washed-up wizard who believed his talents were wasted and that all he was good for was a lesson in folly and pride, and who believed that he would never find true love in any of the realms.” Gale leaned in to kiss Devi’s forehead, his lips lingering on her skin. “If I had been told a year ago that I would find the love of my life in a short-tempered Baldurian pickpocket with a fondness for daggers and a deeply buried heart of gold, and compassion enough to make up for all that the gods lack, I would have laughed in the face of whoever told me that.”

“And if I’d been told that I would fall in love with a wizard from Waterdeep who prioritised books and his tressym, and who had loved a goddess before meeting me, and who encouraged the best parts of me that I had learned to hide away from the world, I, uh… probably would have stabbed whoever said that.” Devi smiled as Gale snorted a laugh, then shifted slightly so she could drape her leg over his thigh, as close to him as she could get. “I expected my future to include whoever I could sleep with or scam to get ahead and get out of the Lower City, or for that future to end with being stabbed in a back alley.” She let go of his hand so she could trace his face with her fingertips. “I never expected that future to be you.”

In the starlight, she could see Gale’s eyes soften – and he waxed poetic about how her eyes reflected the beauty of the stars, without thought of his own! “Me neither,” he murmured, his hand rising to trace the tip of her pointed ear before caressing through her hair. “But fate has a way of laughing at the best predictions that people can make. I’m eternally grateful that life gave me you, even if its way of giving you to me… left a little something to be desired.”

Devi softly laughed. “You mean not every great love story in Faerûn starts with an illithid abduction and mindflayer tadpoles being shoved into the heads of the lovers in question?”

Gale chuckled. “Love, I believe our story is entirely unique in that regard. I, for one, still can’t believe that you saw a washed-up fool of a wizard, trapped in his own portal, with a tadpole in his brain and a magical bomb in his chest that was killing him, and fell in love with him. If I wasn’t so grateful for you, I would question your standards.”

“My standards?” Devi grinned. “You got pulled out of your portal and landed on top of a grouchy half-Elf thief who also had a tadpole in her head and was mad as all hells about it, and then ten minutes later almost got into a knife fight with another mindflayer victim who happened to be a vampire, as we later discovered. My standards are perfectly fine!”

That made Gale laugh out loud, a moment before he clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds of his amusement. He stayed quiet for a moment until he was satisfied that he hadn’t disturbed anyone else, then looked at Devi with a smile. “Gods, I love you,” he said, caressing her cheek again. “Short temper, kleptomaniac tendencies, proficient blasphemies, and all.”

“I love you too, my cocky, mildly arrogant wizard.” Devi grinned at Gale’s chuckle and stretched up to kiss him. It was easy to lose herself in his touches as he kissed her back, seemingly trying to convey through his kisses how much he loved her – it was a sensation that made her weak at the knees and wanting him still more than she already had before. She swore she fell more in love with Gale every day that she was around him.

“Only mildly arrogant?” Gale softly asked when they finally pulled apart for air. He chuckled against her lips. “You both humble me and boost my ego, my darling. You make me feel like I can be ordinary Gale Dekarios with you and you won’t judge me poorly; and yet, the way you praise me makes me feel like I could take on the gods themselves.”

“I didn’t fall in love with the legendary Wizard of Waterdeep,” Devi said, smiling as she kissed him again. “I fell in love with the kind-hearted man who read books to me and snuggled me to sleep every night when I was having bad dreams, who just so happened to be incredibly adept with the Weave.” She breathed a soft laugh against his lips as she kissed him once again. “Although the offer to throat-punch Mystra still stands, after I finish killing Shar for what she and her followers did to Shadowheart.”

“The gods should tremble before you, and your temper, and your fierce desire to protect and avenge those you love,” Gale murmured, a fond smile on his lips. “First, we destroy the Absolute, and then we find a way to kill Shar, and then you can punch Mystra. After that, if you haven’t decided to go after any more gods, I’m taking you home with me to Waterdeep and giving you the life of peace that you deserve.”

“Any life with you is one that I want,” Devi breathed out as Gale leaned in to kiss her. “Whatever happens, I want to be by your side.”

“And I want to be with you, from now until the stars fade from the heavens.” Gale kissed her again, slowly and thoroughly. “I will not suffer anything or anyone to take you from me, my heart. I am yours, as you are mine.”

Devi smiled at his words, feeling her eyes burn with repressed tears of love for this man. “I love you, Gale Dekarios,” she whispered around another kiss.

“And I love you, Deviali Nulys.” Gale pulled back from their kisses just enough to gaze into Devi’s eyes; the stars overhead made his own eyes shine like he was among them. “My beautiful, perfect, compassionate little thief. How did I become so fortunate as to be here with you?”

“I spirited you away from camp when nobody else was looking and brought you up here?” Devi giggled as Gale rolled his eyes, an affectionate, if slightly exasperated, huff coming from him.

“You know what I meant, you brat.” Gale chuckled and leaned in for another kiss, his teeth just nipping at Devi’s lower lip and making her moan softly. He grunted as she gently nudged him onto his back, then straddled him, knees on either side of his hips and her hands just sliding under the hem of his shirt. “Is this what you want?” he breathed out as he pulled back for air. “Right here, on this rooftop?”

“I want you,” Devi murmured. “Under the stars, with nobody to see or hear us besides the gods themselves.”

In the starlight, she saw Gale’s smile in the same breath that she felt his hands slide up under her tunic, palms warm on her bare skin. “Then you shall have me, in any way that you wish,” he whispered as he pulled her back down to him. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Devi breathed out, easily losing herself in the pleasure of Gale’s kisses and touches and whispered words of love into her pointed ears.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale x tav #minor spoilers for Act 3 #deviali #kel writes #kel answers prompts a million years later #romance #lovers #stargazing

[keldae]

The way you said “I love you”: On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair

Gale had had his share of lovers over the course of his life, starting with trysts at Blackstaff Academy with his fellow students, eventually leading to his ill-advised relationship with Mystra. After the goddess had cast him out, he had believed himself to be a man doomed to die alone, courtesy of the orb in his chest. As his studies with the Netherese magic had progressed, leading him no closer to a cure for his affliction, he felt his hope for a better life falter, withering to only faint embers and ashes. And it was nothing less than he deserved, he felt – this was the price he had paid for his hubris.

Being abducted by mind flayers and infected with a parasite, well – that was just proof that the gods, Mystra in particular, wanted him to suffer before he died.

And then he’d met Deviali.

The half-Elf wasn’t the type of woman he would have ever expected himself to go for in his previous life – she was uncouth, and uneducated, and fiery. She bragged about being a pickpocket and thief, claiming there hadn’t yet been a lock that she couldn’t pick. She was sarcastic, and jaded against all the gods, and a little too willing to fight dirty. Gale suspected that if he’d ever encountered her in Baldur’s Gate or Waterdeep before their abductions, she would have seen him as no more than a pocket to be picked (and he hated to admit that she probably would have been very successful in that endeavour).

But the more time he spent in her company, the more he saw her true colours come out. She was compassionate, and cared more deeply about other people than she pretended to – Gale didn’t miss the way that she sat with the pretty tiefling bard, helping her write a song, or offered words of encouragement to Wyll’s fencing students, or argued with the druids about granting the tiefling refugees shelter for a little bit longer. She didn’t hesitate when asked to look for the archdruid, Halsin – Gale wasn’t sure if her eagerness to find the druid was due to her hope that he could cure them from the parasites, or simply for the hope that he could make the other druids see sense in dealing with the tieflings (or perhaps it was just the urge to go kill goblins with abandon? It was hard to tell.).

She was persuasive, talking her way into the goblin camp, or soothingly trying to reassure the dog with its deceased owner that she was a friend, or arguing with one goblin until she rescued an owlbear cub from its cruel torment. She was sneaky, and mischievous, in stealing from the goblins – and later, from the githyanki creche. She was… Gale thought he could chalk it up to ‘pragmatism’ when she shrugged off Shadowheart’s confession of being a Shar worshipper, or Wyll’s admittance of being a warlock bound in a pact with a devil. Even when Gale was on his knees before her, holding her hand on his heart and showing her his terrible folly with the Netherese tome, he wondered if her insistence on keeping him around despite the magical bomb in his chest was simply due to the fact that a trained wizard in their party was useful, volatile and damned as he might be.

Yet the look of anguish in her eyes as she had seen his trauma, and the way she checked in on him every few hours to make sure he was managing the orb as well as he could… 

No. He didn’t dare let himself think that it was any more than pragmatism. She just doesn’t want me to erupt and kill us all, he thought. That is self-preservation more than anything else.

But when he took it upon himself to introduce her to the mysteries of the Weave after the tieflings’ celebration at their camp, and saw her desire for him… it was a shock to him. He was a damned man, the rejected Chosen of a goddess, who had to keep an incredibly tight rein on his body and mind, lest the bomb in his chest explode if he got aroused or agitated. He could see the other members of their party seemed to have their eyes on her – Shadowheart and Lae’zel, he knew, were both pretty open about fancying her. And even after his transformation, Wyll was a handsome man, and had a compassionate heart and a sense of justice to compliment Devi’s own morals perfectly.

Yet Gale was the person she imagined herself kissing. Gale, the reject of Mystra, the walking bomb who could detonate at a moment’s notice! Confusion and trepidation warred in his mind before giving way to elation at that realisation – that the woman who could have chosen any partner that she wanted fancied him. 

He couldn’t indulge his desire to bed her, of course, not with how volatile the orb was in his chest. But now… now he had a renewed incentive to find a cure for his condition. And while he sought a cure, he thought, he could make the effort to court Devi properly – or at least as properly as he could while on the road (or in the Underdark) with an illithid tadpole in his head. It was a task made all the more difficult with Mystra’s doom laid over his head, despite Devi’s rage at the perceived injustice of it all.

At the least, one positive of Elminster meeting the party on the road was the orb being stabilised. Now Gale could indulge his fantasies of Devi in the privacy of his tent without worrying about if he was going to kill everyone in a wide radius around him. He could flirt with her without danger, beyond the risk of one of their friends rolling their eyes hard enough to strain a muscle in their skulls – and it still amazed him that she flirted back with him just as much.

And when he finally managed to pull her away from everyone in the shadow-cursed lands and took her to bed in the illusions of the Weave, he felt more complete in her arms than he ever had with any of his previous lovers – even Mystra.

Now, as they walked through the sunlight on the road to Baldur’s Gate with the rest of their party, he took the opportunity to openly admire her. She was more than the petite body, red hair, brilliant green eyes, and the piercings and tattoos that she sported. She was kind, and protective, and loyal to a fault to those she cared about. 

She paused at the crest of a hill, turning back to look for him among the group, the late afternoon sunlight setting her hair aflame like a beacon. Her eyes lit up when they landed on him; she patiently waited until he got to her side and took her hand in his. “Gods, I love you,” she murmured, setting her free hand on his chest over his heart.

“I love you too,” Gale softly answered, leaning in to chastely kiss her lips. “Any particular reason?”

Devi shook her head. “Just… thinking about how close I came to losing you,” she quietly said. “And how I’m never going to forgive Mystra for what she ordered you to do.”

Gale shook his head and smiled. “You give me a reason to continue living, darling,” he said. “You fought for me when I never expected anyone to do so. I love you beyond what mere words can convey.”

Devi smiled, and rested her forehead against Gale’s for a moment. “We’d best catch up to the others,” she finally said, “otherwise we’re going to be left behind.”

“They wouldn’t abandon us,” Gale responded with a soft laugh. “Considering most of them can barely cook anything, they’ll surely miss us by dinnertime.” Still, he didn’t resist when Devi resumed walking down the road with him, his hand in hers, where it belonged.

No, he might not have looked her way if he had ever encountered her before their adventure – more fool him. But he was, in that moment, grateful for every mistake and upset circumstance that led him to this woman who he loved.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #Gale/Devi #Deviali #kel writes #kel answers prompts #slow burn #this prompt answer brought to you in part by me only sleeping 4 hours last night #and calling out sick from work today #I have no idea if this is even good or not xD

[keldae]

I need everyone to behold the wonderful artsings that the incomparable @iocainesmoothie did for me of Gale and Devi having a camp snuggle! When I say I audibly squealed at work upon receiving this... <3

#bg3 #bg3 fanart #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale x tav #Deviali #friend's artwork #I'M STILL SQUEALING #I AM LOVE THIS

[keldae]

21. petrichor

As proof that the wilderness was healing from the shadow curse, a rainstorm broke out as the party travelled on towards Baldur’s Gate. A light drizzle wouldn’t have slowed the group’s progress down… however, the deluge that poured from the heavens forced an early stop for the night. 

Devi loved the rain, even if it ran a high risk of making her eye makeup run. While everyone else was diving into their tents, a small cloud of steam forming behind Karlach, the half-Elf took a moment to stand amidst the rain, soaking in the refreshing droplets and smiling contentedly. It had to be washing away the stains that the shadow curse had left on the mountain pass, bringing new life to the region. She breathed in deeply, savouring the scent of petrichor – a far cry from the normal smells that rain brought to the Lower City, and one that she wished she could bottle up. This smelled fresh, and green, and full of life – not like mud and refuse and the enhanced odours of the docks. This, she figured, had to be her wood Elf heritage speaking, connecting to the scents of nature that she rarely got to experience in the big city.

Feeling eyes on her, she turned around and saw Gale in his tent, only a few metres away. The wizard had a fond smile on his face as he watched her enjoying the rainfall. Seeing he’d caught Devi’s attention, he beckoned her over with a wink.

That the wizard was still alive to experience another rainstorm brought a lump to Devi’s throat – she still couldn’t believe how close she’d come to losing him. She willingly hurried over to him, ducking under the canopy of his tent and shaking rain out of her long hair. As thunder rolled overhead, Gale wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her inside the protective walls of his tent, then reached out and, with magic, closed the entrance of the tent, granting the pair privacy from the rest of the camp.

There were few things that Devi loved more than the rain, and the fresh scents of the earth that the rain brought with it. But the feeling of Gale’s hands on her, fumbling to get her out of her wet clothing, and his lips claiming hers in a kiss, definitely topped the list.

#bg3 fic #gale x tav #gale/tav #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #Gale/Devi #Deviali #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #minor spoilers for act 2 #kel answers prompts a million years later #kel writes #thanks for the ask!

[keldae]

C. A moment’s respite.

The Last Light Inn was a small bastion of safety in the shadow-cursed lands, the darkness held at bay by Isobel's magic. It was a welcome reprieve for the party of adventurers seeking to take down the Absolute and the cultists in Moonrise Towers – the fairy’s blessing had provided protection from the shadows, but it still was good to have a safe harbour to retreat to.

Having tucked herself away in a corner, Devi sat on a rickety chair, watching the tieflings, the Harpers, and her friends mingling about the inn’s common room. Every once in a while, she could hear Karlach's laughter as she conversed with Dammon, or a shout as Wyll cleaned some other hapless dice player out of their gold with a good-natured grin. Yet her gaze kept travelling back to the wizard in the next seat, sipping on a cup of wine and intently reading a scroll that he had found on one of the bookshelves in the inn. Gale appeared to be completely lost in thought, a little furrow lining his brow, his hand sometimes abandoning his wine cup on the table to stroke his beard as he considered something.

It made for a lovely picture, the wizard so lost in thought, focused on the words before him and not on his surroundings. A man reading really shouldn’t have been that interesting – and yet, Devi found herself transfixed. Something about the angle of his brows, or the set of his jaw, or the way his long fingers moved in the lamp light made her want to study him, committing him to memory.

Because Mystra ordered him to become a memory, a little voice in her head muttered. When we find the Absolute, he's going to follow her damned orders to blow himself up taking it out. That made her look away, gazing into her own wine, lips pressed together tightly as though she could avoid having them tremble, betraying her feelings on the matter. Damn the gods for throwing them all into this predicament, and damn Mystra in particular.

A nudge to her side got her attention. Her heart leapt when she saw Gale's smile at her; he'd apparently lost focus on the scroll. “I'm surprised you're not playing against Wyll again,” he commented with a chuckle.

Devi snorted. “And lose even more gold pieces to him? That bastard’s too damn good at dice.”

Gale smirked. “Have you forsaken your goal of winning the pants off of him in payback?”

“It's taking a temporary pause. But I will say, if his left boot goes missing tonight, I had nothing to do with it. I'll get one of the tiefling kids to give me an alibi.”

That got another chuckle from Gale. “Ah, the mark of a wise criminal. As I would not like to have my own boots stolen in payback, rest assured, I'll keep your secrets intact.”

“Smart man.” Devi grinned and sipped her wine, then gestured to the scroll with her cup. “Find anything interesting in that?”

“Not as much useful information for our predicament as I'd hoped for, but it’s still very fascinating reading.” Gale looked back down at the scroll. “Apparently, if we can make our way to the cellar of the inn, we may be able to find a Selûnite refuge, hidden away from the Sharran Justiciars. The former innkeeper, before the shadow-curse took over, was apparently sympathetic to the Selûnites.”

“Huh. Interesting.” Devi nodded thoughtfully. “Shadowheart might get a laugh out of it, at least. I’m just happy she and Isobel haven’t had a spat yet.”

“Yet being the operative word,” Gale muttered. “Still, Shadowheart does recognize that not all of us have the protection that Shar lent her, or the pixie’s blessing, and Isobel is invaluable for everyone’s safety. Regardless of their… disagreements on their goddesses, they’ll keep the peace for now.”

Devi nodded again, watching as Gale rolled the scroll back up. “Sorry if I’m distracting you from your reading,” the thief said. “I know you love your books.”

“Think nothing of it,” Gale chuckled. “You are quite pleasant company to have around, even if you are quite a bit quieter than usual tonight. A gold piece for your thoughts?”

“That’s the most anyone’s ever offered to hear what’s in my head,” Devi laughed. She looked over at the sound of dice clattering, and Wyll gracefully accepting a rare loss with a seated bow to a triumphant-looking tiefling, raucous laughter drifting over to the corner. “My mind’s all over the place tonight. I’m just…” Thinking about you and how unfair it is that Mystra’s ordered you to your death. No goddess deserves that level of devotion! Forgiveness isn’t worth that much. “I’m thinking about how good it is to see everyone relaxed and safe for the moment.”

“It is pleasant to see,” Gale agreed, looking away from Devi to survey the rest of the inn’s common room. “Would that we could see this more frequently, with everything happening to us. The tadpoles, the Absolute…” He shrugged. “But it could be argued that the rarity of these moments of respite make them that much more valuable, when we do get them. We more fully appreciate them.”

“I think I’d appreciate them fully, even if we got them more regularly,” Devi grumbled. She heard Gale chuckle, then looked back at the wizard. “So… found any more interesting reading?” Usually any books that she found while exploring were immediately handed to Gale or Shadowheart – Devi could read, but she struggled in making sense of the markings on the pages. She lacked Gale’s ability to easily comprehend the written words. Education was more valued for a wizard prodigy and not a back-alley Baldurian thief.

“Quite a bit,” Gale said with a smile. “I have a small library growing in my tent from the books that we’ve found on our travels. If you would like, I could read some of them to you.”

“Would you?” Devi perked up, interested by that prospect. “Any chance that book you mentioned about, uh, stimulation is in your library?”

Gale chuckled. “Alas, no – that particular book is in my tower in Waterdeep. However, I do have a few other tomes in my collection here that may be of interest to you.”

“Consider me intrigued,” Devi said with a grin. She finished off her wine, watching Gale set his own empty cup on the table. “Shall we go investigate?”

“Precisely where my thoughts were, my dear.” Gale grinned and stood up, offering her his arm like a proper gentleman. “We’ll leave the others to their revelry for now. Time spent with you is always a pleasurable experience.”

“Even when we’re both covered in blood and gods-know-what?” Devi laughed and took Gale’s arm, letting the wizard lead her out of the inn and back towards the party’s camp, set up on the lawn outside – all the rooms in the inn had been claimed by Harpers or tieflings.

“Even then.” Gale’s smile made Devi’s heart skip a beat. “Although a peaceful moment like this is always preferable.” “You won’t hear me arguing that.” Devi smiled, savouring the moments she could spend in Gale’s company, in relative peace and quiet. Gods help me, I will talk him out of sacrificing himself to destroy the Absolute. He deserves to live, and I want him to live. She offered up a silent prayer to any god that would listen (except Mystra) – let Gale live. Even if he never loves me the way I do him, let him live.

#kel writes #kel answers prompts a million years later #bg3 #bg3 fic #gale x tav #Gale/Devi #gale of waterdeep #Deviali #slow burn #minific #where the words somehow got away from me yet again

[keldae]

Get To Know Your Tav

Tagged by the lovely @starknstarwars -- thank you! <3 Throwing a tag out to whoever has also been infected with the BG3 brainrot and wants to gush about their babies. ;)

Leeeeet's talk about Deviali Nulys, aka Devi!

What is your tav’s favorite weapon?

Devi's first weapon is her words. She's a smooth talker, and rolls decently high (most of the time) on her persuasion checks! She can usually talk her way out of trouble. Second-favourite weapons are her knives. Her brother Jehn taught her how to fight with daggers when she was eight or so, and she learned to keep a backup pair of knives in her boots/in her inventory for if she ever lost her main weapons.

style of combat?

DIRTY. Devi has no aversions to biting (unless it's a goblin... eww.), kicking, elbowing, ambushing her foes, or throwing sand/mud/warg shit/whatever at her enemies. If it gives her an edge, she'll take it! Considering she's a Smol for a half-Elf, it's easy to push her around or physically overwhelm her -- best to take down her bigger enemies quickly and decisively. She's picked up using a bow over the course of her adventure, so she can shoot with pretty good aim (and loooooves her lightning arrows), but she would rather use her knives.

most prized possession?

Remember those backup daggers Devi keeps in her boots? Those were a gift on her tenth birthday from Jehn -- and after he ran away from home, they were all she had left of him. She would rather cut her ears off than give those up! Her lockpicks have gotten her into (and out of) more than a few tight spots too. She learned how to play the violin as a teenager, but her asshole of a father destroyed her violin that Jehn had stolen for her; she picks up a new violin in Act I, and it's a prized possession now.

deepest desire?

She wants answers for what happened to her mother, who disappeared when she was about five. She has her suspicions, but nothing she can confirm. (She also wants her father and some of his friends to die slowly and painfully.)

And after the events of the game, she wants to personally murder Shar, and to punch Mystra in the face, godhood status be damned.

guilty pleasure?

Trashy bodice-ripping romance stories. She and Shadowheart compare notes regularly. ;) Even if she struggles to read easily, thanks to her childhood lack of education, she puts in the effort for those!

best-kept secret?

Pre-game: She's a SA survivor, and she's got some trauma from that. But she keeps that secret under wraps -- she won't talk about it unless she absolutely has to. (Honestly, this girl needed therapy even before the game.) Post-game: Look, she has no idea who drew a large mustache on every statue of Mystra in the Lower City, but she wishes she could kiss that person on the mouth, honest, Mister Interrogating Cleric! (It was totally her, with Astarion's help. Gale pretends he doesn't know anything about it. Mystra is not amused.)

greatest strength?

Her loyalty. She trusts very few people, but those whom she trusts and loves, she is very much the ride-or-die friend. (See also: why she wants to kill Shar and punch Mystra.)

fatal flaw?

Her temper and her insecurities. She is a wee bit fiery and will throw hands when provoked. And she's so afraid of being abandoned again that she tries to give off the impression that she's self-sufficient and doesn't need anyone's help -- she won't accept help until she either trusts someone (which, again, doesn't come easily for her) or she's desperate.

favourite smell?

Pre-game: flowers in the public parks in the Lower City, the scent of tea steeping. Post-game: Gale, the books in his library, and the flowers he frequently brings home for her since he knows she loves them.

favourite spell or cantrip?

She doesn't have access to any spells of her own (unless I up the difficulty level of my game enough to multi-class her as a bard)! But she highly appreciates a good usage of Vicious Mockery.

pet peeve?

Cracking knuckles. She haaaaaaates that sound.

bad habit?

She does not put things away correctly. She has a bad habit of leaving whatever she's reading/playing with/working on out in the open and forgetting about it until it's in the way. It drives Gale bonkers. She also swears like a pirate... and can drink like one, too.

hidden talent?

She's an excellent violin player, and can sing surprisingly well! The rest of the Tadfools figured out she can sing quite by accident after a drink-off at the tiefling party in their camp during Act I. She doesn't sing often, since she's very self-conscious about her voice, but her friends try to get her to sing something for them regularly. She also claims she hasn't yet met the lock that she can't pick. ;)

leisure activity?

Playing new tunes on her violin. She can't read music very well, but she can remember a tune like nobody's business -- if she hears a song once or twice, she'll probably remember it.

favourite drink?

She used to just get the cheap wine at the taverns that she frequented, but Gale's gotten her used to the finer tastes in life, so she's grown to appreciate the good wine in his cellar. She also likes tea in the mornings!

comfort food?

Her favourite food is pumpkin soup, from one itty-bitty tavern in the Lower City. Gale has learned to replicate it perfectly, much to her delight.

favourite person(s)?

Gale, for obvious reasons.

Her older half-brother, Jehn (and by extension, his partner, Ferrus).

Shadowheart, Wyll, Astarion, and Karlach become her best non-romantic friends over the course of their adventure.

Do Scratch and the owlbear cub (who she and Halsin name Garmus) count?

favoured display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

She's very touchy with the people she loves. With her platonic friends or her brother, she'll lean on them, or nudge them, or sometimes kiss their cheeks if she's feeling very touchy. With Gale, she'll almost always be in contact with him in some way, whether that's leaning against him, or playing with his hair, or kissing him -- his lips, his cheek, his neck, whatever.

fondest childhood memory?

She barely remembers her Elf mother, but she can remember one day when she was curled up on her mother's lap, Jehn sitting on the floor beside them, and listening to her mother sing a song in her native tongue. She doesn't clearly remember the lyrics anymore, but she can just remember the tune, and she remembers how comfortable and safe she felt in her mama's arms with her big brother right there.

free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you’d like to share?

I think Devi is trying to learn magic post-game in Waterdeep! She won't enrol in the Academy, but she does try to get Gale to teach her some basic spells.

#thanks for the tag! #bg3 tav #Deviali #headcanons #behind the scenes

[keldae]

6. “The risk I took was calculated, but man am I bad at math.”

Some days, the gods smiled on Devi and her activities. Other days, she swore she was being actively punished for every transgression that she and her ancestors had ever committed.

Today was the second type of day.

She crouched behind a low wall as the shouts of the Watch echoed through the Lower City, wishing for an invisibility potion. Beside her, Astarion craned his neck to look over the top of the wall. “You are among the worst thieves I've ever met,” he grumbled. “Certainly the sloppiest. Trying to pickpocket a guard in the middle of the open street in broad daylight…”

“Hey, I took a calculated risk,” Devi retorted, risking a peek over the wall. “Unfortunately, I'm terrible at math.”

Astarion gave her a flat look. “You don't say,” he deadpanned.

“Shut up.” Devi ducked down again as she saw the armour of Watch guards come around the corner. “Shit, shit, shit…” She looked around the alley she and Astarion had taken refuge in; her eyes settled on a manhole. “You're not going to like this…”

Astarion followed her gaze, and a moment later, he gave her a glare that would have made a lesser person quiver in their boots. “If you think I'm going to go spelunking in the sewers with you again, Deviali…”

“It's Devi to you,” the thief replied, rolling her eyes. “And it's the sewers, or making a break for the rooftops.”

With a groan, Astarion looked around the alley, seeking literally any other escape avenue that didn't involve the city sewers. The only route that led to the rooftops would take the pair across the line of vision of the Watch; and between his white hair and Devi’s neck tattoo, they were too distinctive-looking to slip away easily in the non-existent crowds. “I hate you,” he said with a resigned scowl.

“No you don't,” Devi said with a cheerful grin. “Come on, let's–”

“There!” shouted one of the Watch. An arrow sailed over the wall and struck the ground beside Astarion's right boot. “Surrender!”

The two rogues looked at each other for a moment before Astarion fished an arrow out of his quiver. In one Elf-quick motion, he was standing to fire the darkness arrow at the feet of the Watch – a cloud of impenetrable shadows erupted, sowing chaos among the blinded guards. The vampire reached for Devi's shoulder, hauling her to her feet. “Can we get out of here now?” he demanded. “And not through the sewers!”

“What, you didn't want to smell like a latrine for the next tenday?” Devi asked as the pair started running. Bypassing the manhole, they made it to the ladder and scrambled up the rungs, then dashed across the roof of the innocent shop they had scaled. With a quick look around, Devi veered to her right. “Come on. This alley down here leads to a shortcut back to–”

The armoured head of a Watch guard popping up over the roof ledge made Devi and Astarion screech to a halt. “There they are!” the human man shouted, lumbering up the last few rungs of the ladder as the two fugitives altered course, running for the next building over. “After them!”

“All right, new plan,” Devi said as she and Astarion fled. They came to the edge of their building and leapt over the gap, landing on the roof of the next structure before running again. “If I remember correctly, we can run down this street over the roofs, climb up one of the larger houses, and lose them in another alley.”

“Just how many times have you done this?” Astarion demanded. “Running from the Watch with new and stupidly inventive escape routes?”

“I lost count. Usually once a tenday, on average.” Devi grinned at Astarion’s scowl. “Where’s your sense of fun?”

“You call this fun? I much prefer charming someone in a tavern to running from armed guards over rooftops!” Astarion glanced over his shoulder for a moment. “Does Gale know about what you consider to be ‘fun’?”

“What Gale doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“And what about us? Your sense of fun is going to get us both killed, and then Gale will resurrect us, then kill us again!”

“Relax, my vampire friend! Gale isn’t going to kill either of us.” Devi also glanced over her shoulder, frowning at how many of the Watch were pursuing them. “Jaheira, on the other hand, will probably murder us both.”

Astarion groaned. “I think I would rather Gale kill us after all.” He and Devi leapt over another gap between buildings, wide enough that they both had to strain themselves to make the jump. “Do your normal pursuits always end with you being chased by two units of the Watch?”

“My personal best is five units. And that was also the only time the bastards caught me.” Devi sharply glanced to the side. “Go right!”

With another groan, Astarion followed the half-Elf’s order. “First, you get us turned into cheese,” he started, “and then you get us pursued by the Watch…”

“Technically, the cheese incident was your fault,” Devi pointed out. “You accused the djinni of cheating first.”

“Don’t get me started,” Astarion warned.

“I’m sure Shadowheart and Gale will back me up on this! Besides, I have a plan to get us away from the Watch. How fast can you climb a wall?”

Astarion blinked in confusion, then looked ahead and groaned when he saw the bell tower before them. “What happened to losing them in an alleyway?”

“I like this idea better!”

“... I hate you.”

“So you’ve said.” Devi whipped around another corner, Astarion only a step behind her, and started scrambling up the rugged side of the bell tower, using the crevices in the bricks to pull herself up. She heard Astarion swear under his breath before he started climbing after her, as quickly as his lean fingers could find holds in the bricks.

The two made it to the top of the tower just as the Watch, breathless and panting, arrived at the base of the tower; Devi silently dropped below the edge of the parapet and gestured for Astarion to be quiet, then strained her pointed ears to listen to the guards below them.

“They came this way!” she heard one guard say, while wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. “They must have dropped into the alley!”

“I don’t see anything,” said another voice. “Which way would they have gone?”

“Are they with the Guild?” asked another guard. 

“Nine-Fingers usually hires better thieves,” came a dry comment; Astarion smirked at Devi’s scowl. “Split up. We’ll search the area – they can’t have gone far.”

“With how fast those two can run, they might be halfway to Rivington by now,” complained the second voice. 

“Then we alert the Fist and the Steel Watchers,” said the dry voice.

A chorus of groans answered him. “I’d rather let those two escape than get the Steel Watchers involved!” groused the first voice. “Unnatural, those things are. Not one of Archduke Gortash’s better ideas.”

“Do you have better ideas?” the dry voice muttered.

“By the time the Steel Watchers receive the alert, those two will be long gone,” said a new voice. “Every second we spend here arguing, they’re making good their escape.”

“So, do we just give them up as a lost cause then?” asked the third voice. “They could be anywhere now.”

“We put an alert up in the barracks,” said the second voice. “Put the Watch on alert, and warn the Fist. Two thieving Elves, one male and one female – the male with white hair and pale skin, and the female with a neck tattoo and long auburn hair. At the least, it might make those two miscreants go underground and rethink their ways.”

“Career thieves like that never rethink their ways,” muttered the first voice. “The female at least seemed to be cocky. Trying to pickpocket one of us in broad daylight… the audacity!”

“They might be refugees who got into the Lower City before Archduke Gortash enforced his restrictions against them. Or adventurers who’re up to no good,” said the dry voice. “Let’s go get those warnings about them posted, then. We’ll apprehend them soon enough.”

Carefully peeking over the stone railing, Devi watched the guards disperse, walking back over the rooftops or clambering down the sides of the building; she looked back at Astarion once the coast was clear, and smirked. “See? Told you I could elude them.”

“Yes, and now we’re going to be watched for by the bloody City Watch,” Astarion complained. “As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with Gortash and the Elder Brain.”

“You worry too much.” Grinning, Devi slipped back over the wall and climbed down the bell tower; she waited on the roof below for Astarion, then made to jump back down to the alley. “Come on. I did manage to nick that one guard’s purse, and he had marching orders for the Watch on him. At the least, it should give us an idea for what the guards are doing–”

She landed on her feet on the cobblestones, and immediately heard the mechanical whirring of a Steel Watcher only metres away. When she looked toward the sound, she winced when she saw the large construct charging toward her and Astarion. “Shit!” she yelped, breaking into a run down the alley. “Hurry!”

“Next time you go on a pickpocketing expedition, you can take Gale with you,” Astarion groused as the two fled, the automation in hot pursuit.

#bg3 #bg3 fic #Astarion #female tav #bg3 act 3 #baldur's gate #friendship #shenanigans #in which somebody crit-failed her stealth roll while trying to pickpocket a guard #Deviali #referenced Gale/Tav #and you KNOW Devi and Astarion got into even more shit before they finally made it back to camp #Gale is not amused

[keldae]

A chaotic good rogue and a lawful chaotic good bard walk into a tavern, somewhere in Baldur's Gate... ;)

(Devi is mine, Ari belongs to the incomparable @greyias !)

#kel draws #bg3 #bg3 art #friend's OC #Deviali #also holy shit I am so rusty with doodling xD #bard #rogue