Work Text:
The tall woman, adorned in a myriad of tattered clothing and clearly well-utilized armor, shrouding minor wounds and gashes on her speckled skin, stepped lightly through the ashy blackened sand, the strange creature nicknamed the “rot”, catching each of her feet as she walked. In the distance, she could see the warm glow of Keahorn Tavern and hear the chatter of the many survivors who the safe haven had rescued. She let out a small sigh of relief that the building had still not been consumed and continued to stay a concrete refuge.
As she got closer to the hotel and restaurant, she began to prepare herself for the conversation she was about to have. While fighting to keep Ostrodell alive, they had lost many soldiers, but none as heartbreaking as Silas. Silas Basilisk has been bitten by a Red Specter and was suffering greatly, but he still insisted on continuing to fight for the cause. On the battlefield, the current battle had been won, but as the team retreated to their camps, Silas began coughing up red sand, which wasn’t new given his affliction, but this time it would not stop coming. Keeled over on the ground outside his tent, clutching his throat and looking into the eyes of his two loving partners, he disintegrated before their eyes and left behind only his heart, a heart that was now in Aria’s satchel.
She stopped walking just a couple of feet from the steps of the tavern, still being held up by the vine like rot. She stepped into the small patch of still golden sand near the entrance and turned to the branches, squating down to their level.
“How do you tell the happiest child that his family is all gone?” She asked it with a sigh. The rot simply grew to meet her hand, then wrapped around it and placed it to her own heart. Aria knew inside what it meant and nodded softly. “Thank you,” she said with a partial smile, “For everything.” She then untangled herself from its grasp and turned, facing the building. With one final glance at the calm ocean waters, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and imagined Silas with her, ushering her in.
Inside, Keahorn was a world of emotion. Patrons laughing together, singing and swaying along with the bards playing, very obviously intoxicated, but there were also families huddled together in booths, malnourished, dirty, and heartbroken expressions on their faces. Aria felt a bit out of place, so she took a moment to wipe some of the grime from her face and hands before taking a couple of steps inside. The smell of home-cooked meals and alcohol, and fresh flowers from the upstairs greenhouse gave her a bit more comfort. She made her way over to the swinging kitchen door, knocking gently before pushing it open to find the tavern’s owners busily cooking and plating food to be served to the refugees. When she entered, both of the halflings looked up at her and their faces brightened immediately.
“Aria! Thank goodness you're back! We have been worried sick about you and Arlow and all of your friends.” The small woman said, wiping her hands quickly on her apron before rushing over to hug the half-harpy.
“It’s good to see you too, Hazel, Bruce.” She nodded at the halfling man, and he smiled and nodded back. “Arlow is fine.” She said putting Hazel’s maternal anxiety to rest. “Everyone is just fine.” She said as her thoughts turned back to Silas and her smile faltered a bit.
“Oh my goodness, I will get all of your rooms ready, and we will have a feast! But first, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see my little guppy!” The halflight woman said, beginning to move past Aria.
“Arlow isn’t here this time, it's just me, I’m sorry,” Aria said, placing a taloned hand on her shoulder.
“Oh! Oh.. Don’t worry about that, dear. A-a feast for one it is!” Hazel said, backing up into the kitchen, trying to hide her disappointment and resumed anxiety over her adopted son’s whereabouts. Aria let out a contented sigh, reveling in the moment and wishing she could just stay here and live with Arlow’s parents, but her face fell once more as she remembered her purpose for being at Keahorn in the first place.
“That sounds great, but actually, I can’t stay long, I’m just here to deliver a message. Do you know where Westley is?” She asked.
As if on cue, the ten-year-old yuan-ti burst into the kitchen, carrying a tray of empty glasses and setting them on the counter. “Table five wants more free bread, but it's their third loaf, when do we start charging?” He said, talking a mile a minute, not even noticing the large bird woman in the same kitchen. Aria, for a moment, felt tears prick the corners of her eyes from looking at this miniature exact copy of her best friend. She blinked them away and smiled widely, kneeling down to his height and opening her arms.
“Do I not get a hug?” She asked teasingly. Westley’s eyes lit up immediately, throwing his little embroidered apron to the ground and running at full speed towards her, screaming her name and jumping into her arms.
“Oh my gods, I can't believe you're here, it's been like forever! Is everyone here or is it just you, because I'm okay with either, but I kinda want to see Silas or Andromeda, not that you're not enough ‘cause you absolutely are, and I missed you so so much, Aria.” He rambled on while nuzzling into her neck and hugging her tight. Aria laughed at the little bullet of a boy and hugged him tight, waiting for him to breathe.
“Slow down, buddy!” she chuckled, “It's just me, but I came to talk to you, can we do that?” She asked, pulling back so she could see his face.
Hazel and Bruce were looking fondly at the interaction as Hazel said, “Why don’t you two grab some juice and fruit and go sit in the greenhouse? I can cover serving for a while.” Aria smiled at her gratefully and nudged Westley.
“Go pick some out and meet me up there, okay, bud?” She asked, wanting a moment to prepare by herself. The little boy ran to the fridge immediately, rambling about how excited he was the whole way. Aria watched him for a moment before passing behind the halfling couple, giving them each a small squeeze on the shoulder, and going up the stairs and into the greenhouse.
The greenhouse was absolutely beautiful with all kinds of plants growing all around and a large collection of white lilies, which she knew to be Arlow’s favorite, so his adoptive parents continued to plant them. There was a small ornate ironcast table and chairs under a trellis, which Aria took a seat at, taking off her back and placing it beside her feet. She looked up through the glass ceiling and sighed, praying to the bards above that this conversation would go well. She dreaded this with every fiber of her body because she hadn't come to terms with the death of her best friend herself, and she didn't know if she was ready to help someone else, let alone a child, process their grief. But when her group was discussing who should go to tell the little boy, she had volunteered, knowing she was the best fit for the job as the closest to both Silas and Westley. She let out a heavy breath, wiping away the tiniest of tears from her eyes just as Westley burst through the door with a tray of snacks and refreshments. He sat down across from her, his legs not touching the ground, and they indulged themselves in apple juice and strawberries.
“I picked them because I know they're your favorite,” Westley said, mouth half full of fruit. “And guess what?” Aria raised an eyebrow as if to ask ‘what?’. The little boy uncovered a small bowl of melted chocolate meant for dipping the berries and said, “Tada! Silas and I have a sweet tooth, so I thought we could combine both of us in the snack, the strawberries for you and the chocolate for me!” The taller woman smiled warmly, trying not to let the bitter part of the bittersweetness be too apparent.
“Thank you, Westley, it's perfect.” She said, reaching across the table and ruffling his hair a bit before taking another strawberry and dipping it into the chocolate.
The child giggled and then asked, “So what did you want to talk about anyway?”
Swirling the strawberry in the chocolate mindlessly with her chin resting on her fisted hand, Aria thought to herself, ‘I guess this is it...’ and took a deep breath before looking up at Westley. “It isn’t good news, love...” She trailed off, pondering how to say this. Mouth full and lips painted in chocolate, he stopped chewing and suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Aria decided to pull his chair closer to hers, so they were side by side. She then patted her lap, inviting Westley to rest his head on it. He finished chewing, wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand, and did so, looking up at her. “Well- we um- I...” Aria felt the burn of tears behind her eyes, but closed her eyes and forced them down. She then felt a small, slightly sticky hand place itself on her cheek.
“You can tell me, Aria. You’re, like, the bravest person I know!” He gave her a half smile, and she placed her hand on his, bringing it down to hold it with her other. Finally letting her demeanor fall, she let a single tear roll down her cheek.
Quietly, she said, “Your brother was the bravest person I knew.” She opened her eyes to see the befuddled little face before her. “I’m so sorry...” She let out a single sob before continuing. “It was too late. There wasn’t anything we could do. We were traveling through the Redlands to get more Red Specter hearts to make portal spheres and one of them...” She hiccups and continues to talk through her sobs, “...bit him. There was nothing we could do, he was coughing up sand, so much sand, and now he’s...’’ She fully lets go, tears spilling down her face, eyes swollen with tears and closed out of fear of seeing a heartbroken expression on Westley’s face.
Once she finally composed herself a bit, wiping at her tears, but before she could look at him, Westley had clung onto her waist, face buried in her stomach and back heaving from his little sobs. She cries silently now, rubbing his back and accepting the grief that washes over them with open arms. She hums softly and sways them back and forth in an attempt to soothe him. After a while, Westley’s sobs have slowed in frequency, and he picks his tear-stained face up to look at Aria.
“What do we do now?” He asks between sobs. Aria wipes her eyes once more and gently picks him up, sitting him next to her once more. She then opens her satchel and takes out the red glowing heart-shaped gemstone.
“When Red Specters die, they leave their heart behind.” She explains bringing it towards him and turning it over in her hand.
“Don’t you need that for your portal sphere thingies?” Westley asks in between sniffles.
“No, darling. This one is far too special to ever use.” She lays her head atop his and continues studying the glowing object.
Suddenly, Westley springs up and runs over to one of the many planters and starts digging, somewhat like a dog. Aria gets up and follows him over, curious as to what he’s doing. He continues digging until the hole is around a foot deep, then he stops and looks up at her. She slowly catches on and kneels next to him, carefully handing him the heart. He takes it in his small hands, holds it to his mouth and whispers something Aria couldn’t quite hear, and gently places it in the crevice, before beginning to pile the dirt back on top of it. This time, Aria helps him, scooping handful by handful of dirt onto the makeshift grave. As Westley finishes this up, Aria stands and finds a red rose and carefully removes the flower, making sure the roots are still intact, before kneeling back down and planting it atop the buried heart. They fully cover the plant’s roots with dirt, small, pale, and scaled hands being helped by large, black-tipped, taloned ones.
The two sit there together in silence for a moment, silently saying goodbye to a best friend and a big brother. Then Westley leans over once more and hugs Aria tightly. They take another moment of time to again cry and grieve together before getting back up and going back over to the table.
“Will I just stay here forever now?” the little boy asks, looking up at his friend.
“If you’d like to.” She responds, looking back at him. “Or you could stay here until the war is over, and then Solar and I could take care of you.”
The boy perks up at this a smidge, “You mean, you guys’d adopt me? Like you’d be my mom?”
Aria laughs lightly at the thought of being called ‘mom’ by Westley and says, “Yes, I suppose so.” Before she can get another word out, little arms are squeezing all of the air from her lungs as the young yuan-ti cries once more into her. Aria smiles softly to herself and wraps her arms around him in return, laying her head on his. “I love you, little snake.”
Slightly muffled by it being said into her chest, Aria hears Westley say, “I love you too, mama bird.” Aria allows the tears that had welled up to fall, but this time, they were more sweet than bitter.
As they packed up their snack tray to go back downstairs and talk with Hazel and Bruce, Westley grabbed the bowl of melted chocolate, running over to his brother’s grave and pouring it in a circle around the rose. He then got back up and ran back over to her. When he was met with a look of confusion from Aria, he said, “We have a sweet tooth.”
The two took each other’s hands and walked to the entrance of the greenhouse, both in turn looking back at where Silas had been laid to rest, taking a deep breath and holding each other a little tighter, continued down the stairs.