Chapter Text
She sits on an old stool. It’s low and small. Her legs in her arms as she looks around. Considering. The home was old but holding together still. An odd mishmash of brick and wood. It wasn’t dilapidated or anything. But it had been empty for years clearly. Rot having chewed through some areas sure, but. It could all be fixed. Replaced over time. It’d be a very distracting set of affairs which she very well needs.
She huffs, elbow moving to rest on her knee… head in hand. Thinking, fretting- only to be jostled by Scratch, his nuzzling instantly helping her stress. Her fear. She didn’t deserve this, she knows. The two women finding this existed at all was a long shot. The last vestiges of what remains of her blood family. A gift they said; from them and Selûne.
And thanks to their work and others. It’s all hers.
Well. Its more then that she figures. More then just hers. Maybe? Doubt was still something that festered in her learned from so many years of torment. The books she took from that place… well. She hasn’t been able to look at it for too long… each page showing how much she was hated and used. She’s vaguely surprised she doesn’t have brain damage from that alone… before the tadpole that is. But at least that is gone-
A creak makes her almost jolt of out her skin. Turning suddenly, standing with a dexterity she barely remembered having due to how long she had to wear her armor.
And there she is. The bunching of her nerves all come undone and she feels tears prickle at her eyes, finally exhaling in a bit of a stagger.
“Shadowheart... are you alright?” Lae’zel asks, stepping forward to her voice far smoother then the first time they met.
Lae’zel was back lit by the mid-day sun, not in her normal armor, but in the clothing she was pestered to try by Shadowheart and the others. The crisscrossing of the red cloth under a black jacket with matching pants. She was surprised that Lae’zel kept it buttoned properly, but the woman always seemed to be exact with anything she wears or does. Sword always on her back, a backpack in hand-resting on the old creaking floor.
She moves to her, nodding finally and steps to embrace the woman cheek to chest. “I am now.”
She can feel the warmth of Lae’zel’s skin as she holds her close. It’s a little awkward for Lae'zel still, hugging is, but she holds Shadowheart in a way that makes it easy to undo the tenseness remaining. To rely on her body to keep her up. The faint hum is all she gets for now, the two standing for a bit.
“Did you think I would not come?”
Shadowheart lets out a conflicted huff with a bit of a whine, face turning to hide a bit more in warm skin.
“I wasn’t sure what to think. It—has been a lot. Everything has been a bit of a blur since climbing out of the Chionthar.”
The two of them stand more; hearing the sounds of Scratch exploring a new area. Pulling away she looks up at Lae’zel, only to find those eyes on her as well.
“Are you-… sure. I mean it’s one thing to… decide to stay- in… on? Toril but-” Lae’zel lets her flounder, keen eyes watching. She rubs her own face, embarrassed. “… Do you really want to live here. With me? Seeing what a mess this… all is?”
To her credit, Lae’zel doesn’t seem insulted by the question, if anything dealing with Shar made Lae’zel seem to understand the doubts that swirled around her. Lae’zel tilts her own head back, just a bit to see the area they stand in.
“I said no to Orpheus because the dream I had… was not what I wanted anymore. To accept a slightly different form of it, would have been folly… stepping back into a cycle all too familiar.” Lae’zel looks back to her and gently reaches to wipe some tears that escaped from Shadowheart’s eyes. “I have some doubts- as you do, but with all that has happened, I had the courage to accept a new dream. One I wish to share with you.”
Breath stolen, Shadowheart pulls Lae’zel into a loving kiss. Pouring words of affection into action, arms wrapping around strong shoulders. Lae’zel growls into the kiss, hands sliding to Shadowheart’s hips, pressing closer-
“Excuse me.”
The two break apart- Shadowheart weak kneed as she looks to see Scratch. His tail wagging, magical new collar glimmering.
“He’s stuck.”
The two stare for a moment.
“Stuck?” Shadowheart asks, tentatively.
It was a pitiful sight. The Owlbear cub was stuck in a ditch in the back yard. Seemingly an old wooden deck of sorts that hollowed out under from rain. The poor baby’s potions have long since waned, but his eyes are still wide and soulful. Asking for help once more.
“Don’t worry, Peck, they’ll help you.” Scratch was confident. His tail wagging.
Peck let out a sad trilling hoot, feathers tight to his body. Mud and wood kicked up in a struggle. Exasperation was all Shadowheart could feel, hand running through her hair, looking to Lae’zel who seems… unsure.
“… It should be fine,” Lae’zel starts, head tilting up in confidence. “with my strength and Peck’s co-operation how hard could it be?”
It was very hard. It ended with a rope bound carefully around the cub, to prevent from harming him. Shadowheart wanted to think of another way, but it’s become a matter of pride right now she thinks for Lae’zel, so she goes along with it. All three of them pulling, Lae’zel in front, Shadowheart in the middle—and poor Scratch who could only bite and tug at the end with all his little heart.
Just as thoughts of redirection flitted into her head- there was an audible sound of mud losing it’s owlbear. The sudden let go, however, only caused the two with two legs to fumble and crash into the overgrown grassy ground. Shadowheart finding herself on her ass and Lae’zel bowled over from doing most of the work, Shadowheart just managing to catch the woman with her legs and hands.
They all laid as they were for a moment. Lae’zel grumbling in annoyance flinging the rope off of her. Peck seemingly face down in embarrassment perhaps. Scratch behind and worriedly sniffing around his friends, his tail wagging as always. Shadowheart herself just looks down to see Lae’zel, not really moving from her spot; glancing up to see Shadowheart above her.
“I despise all of the soil on this planet.” she says finally, voice low and almost grumpy sounding.
There is a moment where it seems to have to process in Shadowheart’s mind, before she starts giggling softly. Lae’zel face crinkles a bit, but Shadowheart’s hands move to cup her face and gently caress her jaw and cheeks, smoothing out those crinkles.
“I am uninjured.” Lae’zel mutters, but doesn’t move to pull away.
Her giggles slow, but still there faintly. Hands moving to slide her fingers to massage around the base of Lae’zel’s ears. It’s funny; for someone like herself the tips are more sensitive, but for Lae’zel it’s opposite. Perhaps it has to do with the length? It doesn’t matter, and she feels the way that Lae’zel’s body releases more tension, melting into comfort.
Its there she feels her own tension starting to fade as well, the woman in her arms adjusting to have her arms on Shadowheart’s legs. Scratch moving to snug into the pile, Peck wiggling to lay his un-mudded half of his body on Lae’zel’s legs.
“Are you hurting?”
She blinks at the softness of Lae’zel’s voice, and blinking once more at the feeling of Lae’zel’s hand reaching up to wipe over one of her cheeks. Oh… a tear? She sees the faint concern in Lae’zel’s face and she smiles.
“No… I dare say, with you, I’m healing.”