Chapter Text
I.
Gale groaned softly as he started coming too. Everything in his body felt sore and stiff. From his toes to his fingertips all the way up his head. He opened his eyes and promptly squeezed them shut the light far too bright and making his head swim as he tried to turn away from it.
“Gale? Gale, can you hear me?” The hands on his face are nice. Gentle even as they stroke his face. His cheeks. Carding gently through his hair, almost petting.
He missed them as soon as they disappeared before they’re back. A hand cradling the back of his head.
“Here, drink this for me.”
It’s water and it soothes his throat he hadn’t even realized felt like dry unpolished wood. He coughed and tasted something bitter and metallic in the back of his throat.
“Think you can open your eyes for me?”
“Too bright,” Gale rasped.
“S’alright, I’ve fixed it.”
Gale squeezed his eyes further shut before attempting to open them again. The room was slightly dimmer. They felt heavy like everything else in his body. It was hazy at first as he took in his surroundings, slowly things began to come into focus and everything was so much clearer.
He could see the fine details on the curtains covering the windows. They were pulled tightly shut, barely a sliver of natural light coming through. The flames of the candles were an array of oranges and reds. He turned his head slightly and saw Astarion was the one sitting at his bedside.
Fingers on his cheeks. He almost sagged on top of Gale as their eyes met.
“Oh thank the gods,” Astarion breathed and closed his eyes. “I was worried it wasn’t going to work. We…I tried everything, health potions, healing spells but nothing worked. You were too far gone. You’d already lost so much blood and were dying…and speaking but barely coherent and dying and died and I just…”
He finally opened his eyes to look at Gale. “Please don’t be mad,” he whispered.
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” Gale frowned. He wanted to sit up but his body still felt too stiff. “What…what happened?”
“You were foolish is what,” Astarion huffed but there was no malice, no bite behind the words.
Exhaustion maybe. Guilt possibly? He would meet Gale’s gaze before looking away almost as quickly.
“Some vermin,” he nearly spat. “Thought it was a grand idea to try and attack us. If I hadn’t heard them they would have had the upper hand but, there was another because there is always another one and you...you pushed me out of the way and…”
Dying. Dead. Was dead.
He blinked as the words began to sink in. He brought one of his hands up to touch his own face. Specifically around his mouth and prodded with his fingers. Wincing as he pricked them and pulled them back to watch the blood well.
“Astarion, I…You...you made me a spawn?” he asked softly.
The vampire practically jumped to his feet, pacing the length of the room, which wasn’t large by any means.
Where even were they?
“I…I didn’t know what else to do. Shadowheart was already leagues away, even with my ascension I wouldn’t have reached her or anyone in time, so I…I made a choice,” Astarion bit his nail. “The whole point of doing this damned ritual was to avoid something like this ever happening but it did because people are idiots and I…I didn’t want you to die so I, yes. I made you a spawn.”
Vampire. He was a vampire spawn. He was Astarion’s spawn.
“You’re still your own person,” Astarion was back at his side. “And I can teach you to hunt. How to live and there’s bound to be cures out there so it doesn’t have to be forever…”
“Okay…” Gale nodded a little.
“I have no idea what I’m doing to be completely honest but I shall try to be careful with my wording. I have no intention of abusing this new connection and…and...you’re not mad?” Astarion asked.
Gale started to sit up and Astarion was quick to help him. “I’m admittedly shocked, and surprised that you...that you did it, but I’m not mad…” he looked at his hands. “I might even be a little grateful...I don’t remember much aside from the pain, and being so cold, and, and not wanting to die…”
“But I’ve cursed you,” Astarion replied.
“As far as curses go it’s not the most horrible,” Gale shrugged a little. “I don’t have to worry about blowing up for one thing.”
Astarion huffed out a laugh and laid his forehead on Gale’s shoulder. “Only you would say something like that.” He sat up and brushed Gale’s hair back from face. “Oh! Oh hells, are you hungry? What a stupid question of course you probably are.”
Now that Gale thought about it, he could feel that gnawing hunger at his insides. He bit his lip, wincing as he pierced the skin again and Astarion smiled a tad amused.
“We’ll work on that,” he patted Gale’s shoulder as he stood up. “Now food. You are…hungry aren’t you?”
Gale nodded. “S’little weird feeling, not unlike when I had the orb but less insistent…”
“Less?” Astarion asked, a little surprised. “I was practically ravenous after Cazador…, well better take care of it now so it doesn’t get to that point.” He found a cup and took out one of the daggers he kept into his boots and started to roll up his shirt sleeves.
Gale watched Astarion drag the sharp edge of the blade along his forearm, blood quickly welling to the surface and into the cup he held. He could even smell it from where he sat. Metallic, with a faint citrus scent to it.
Astarion licked his own forearm and walked back over holding out the cup to Gale. He took it, and stared at it. The more he thought about the more the hunger got harder to ignore. He was hesitant though, this was blood after all.
Astarion’s blood but still blood.
“Drink for me hmm?” Astarion sat on the edge of the bed. “I know it’s an acquired taste, but you’ll feel better once you’ve had some. Not…alive, but at least close to for a little while anyway.”
He felt a different sort of buzz in the back of his mind. Not unlike when they’d carried the tadpole. Harder to ignore and before he really registered it, he brought the cup to his lips and drank. It was surprisingly warm, metallic tasting but at the same time, not unlike a finely aged wine.
He’d finished it before he’d thought about it and licked his lips. The feeling of hunger wasn’t really there anymore. And his head felt less stuffed, honestly, he felt better.
“See?” Astarion took the cup and set it aside. “Do you feel up for walking around a bit. The sun’s just about set so I do not think you are in any danger of catching alight…but you can borrow my cloak just in case in the meantime.”
Gale nodded. Now that he felt a bit more clear headed he could focus more on the things around him.
His clothes were devoid of any blood.
“I do remember some of the little magic tricks you’ve shown me,” Astarion leaned against the wall as he waited.
“I appreciate it,” Gale gave him a small smile.
He could really feel his fangs now. He fumbled with the clasps on his robe and though there were no mirrors in the room, wondered if he still had a reflection or not. He slid the last clasp into place and saw Aatarion already holding the cloak folded over his arm.
There was something almost unreadable on the other man's face as he looked at Gale before it disappeared and he was giving Gale the garment.
“I'm a bit taller and slimmer but it should still do the job,” Astarion nodded.
Gale took the cloak and slipped it on. He was a little surprised at how worn it was. Some of the fur along the edges was more fuzz than actual fur and it looked like it'd be patched up more times than he had fingers. It was unbelievably soft and yet coarse under his fingers.
“Everything feels as though it's hundreds more than it is doesn't it?” Astarion walked over and pulled up the hood of the cloak. It hung down a bit in front of Gale's face.
“That obvious?” Gale let Astarion lace the front.
“You're handling it better than I've seen others,” Astarion replied.
“Was it like that for you?” Gale asked.
He didn't want to pry but he had no knowledge about any of this. He didn't know what to expect. He'd never really read much about vampires or spawns. He was effectively going in blind and was going to have to rely on Astarion to help him.
I can teach you how to hunt. How to live.
“...It was an adjustment. I think I was still in shock for a long time and by the time I'd gotten used to it, I just was…” Astarion's voice filtered back in.
He stepped back and tucked the dagger he'd used to cut himself to feed Gale back into his boot and headed for the door. The first thing that Gale noticed was the smell.
There were so many different ones. Just when one registered another jumped over it. They passed by a serving girl and he could smell the floral scent of her soap and the bitterness of her sweat. He smelled blood and saw a ranger sitting at one of the dining tables with his feet propped up on a table. A makeshift bandage around his bicep.
“Gale?”
“Air…” he tried to discreetly cover his nose and nearly bumped into a dwarf.
The ale smelled like wheat with an undercut of sulfur and his stomach rolled.
“Watch where you're going,” the dwarf snapped. “Dumbass.”
Astarion didn't speak but his hand found Gale's free one and led him outside into the warm air and Gale hunched over sucking in lung fulls but the smells were better but worse.
Horseshit.
Hay.
Wet dog.
And then bergamot. And oranges and death and Astarion.
Astarion was hugging him, tucking Gale's face against the column of his throat where the scent was strongest.
“Better?”
Gale nodded. “I’m sorry…”
“No need to apologize,” Astarion ran his hands up and down Gale’s back. “I forget that humans do not have such keen senses of smell to begin with.”
“I think...I think I’m okay now,” Gale said after a few moments and pulled away. He fixed the hood of the cloak and glanced around.
No one had seemed to pay them any attention.
“We can go back inside if you like,” Astarion offered.
“No, no I can, I can do it,” Gale shook his head. “I want to do it.”
Astarion nodded. “Well, if you find that it’s getting too overwhelming we can come back to the inn alright? We’ll take it one step at a time.”
It was a little awkward, and difficult, trying to remember to keep the cloak closed. He’d never paid too much attention to the sun setting, or how long it might even take the sun to set until he had to wait for it to happen.
It isn't horrible though, Astarion does his best trying to keep Gale distracted.
“It helps to find one scent or a couple that don't feel as overwhelming and focus on that while everything adjusts in the background,” Astarion explained.
“What do you focus on?” Gale asked.
“I...hadn’t really thought about it,” Astarion answered. “It’s been so long it isn’t something I’m fully aware of I suppose.”
“That makes sense,” Gale replied. “You were a spawn for so long, and I’m sure ascending doesn’t change anything that drastically for you.”
“Well, aside from being able to walk in the sun without the use of our little tadpole friends, no longer feeling the constant strain of…” Astarion trailed off awkwardly.
Gale shook his head. “I’m happy for you Astarion. Really, I’m glad you get to experience these things again. After everything you’ve been through, if anyone deserves it, you do.”
“It isn’t decent though, me going on about all the things I do when I’ve put you in the spot I was no less than a few months ago,” Astarion replied.
Gale snorted and nudged him. “When have you ever truly been decent?”
“Hush you,” Astarion nudged him back. “Ah, I think we should be good now.” He looked at Gale. “If you want to remove the hood, I don’t believe there’s any danger of you crumbling into a pile of ash.”
Gale reached up and lowered the hood of the cloak and ran his hand through his hair. He’d stopped paying too much attention to their surroundings and was amazed how much he could see. Was it some form of darkvision he wondered?
“Gale.”
“Hmm? What?” Gale stopped walking and turned to face Astarion who’d stopped a few paces behind him.
“You...you’re standing on a bridge,” Astarion answered.
“I…yes?” Gale was a little confused.
“Gale, you are on a bridge. Over running water, ” Astarion walked over to him. “Oh this is fascinating. How do you feel? Scared at all? Nervous?”
“Not really,” Gale answered. “Should I get off the bridge?”
“No, no,” Astarion put his hands on Gale’s shoulder’s. “Not at all. I’m just, before the tadpole, running water, as a spawn I could never cross it…I was curious if that would be the case with you.”
“Wait, did you lead me here on purpose? To see if I could cross the bridge?” Gale asked.
“Not intentionally,” Astarion answered. “But, when I saw the bridge I thought…little academic curiosity couldn’t hurt…” He smiled at Gale. “That is one of your favorites isn’t it?”
“Touche,” Gale chuckled. “Touche.”
They stayed out a little longer. Gale tried what Astarion had recommended. Finding a singular scent or two to focus on to help keep the other’s from overwhelming him. He found himself thinking back on the ones he associated with the other man.
The bergamot and rose water. There was something earthy there as well that Gale couldn’t place. It helped and when they returned back to the Inn, Gale managed to make it back to their room with less of an incident than the first time.
Maybe he was going into this blind and with no true sense of direction, but Astarion did seem genuine in his efforts to help Gale get through this. He could do this. He could learn to be a vampire spawn.
He hoped so at least.