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Date: 2023-10-13 09:49 am (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ He hears the roar of Karlach's fury, the snide sound of Astarion saying something catty, and Gale risks reaching down quicky to touch Tav's face -- to tilt it up so he can look at him. ]

She won't hurt you again. I'm so sorry, I should have --

[ He swallows down the feeling, fingers creeping up and back into that uneven hair, then snaps his eyes up at the sound of his name being yelled.

Yes, yes, of course. Focusing. The chamber looms, a terrifying spectre, and Gale's eyes flit around in calculation before he begins to shape the weave again. A new explosion of fire spills over the platform, carefully shaped to avoid his companions. ]

Date: 2023-10-13 12:06 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (5)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ Gale's stomach drops at the dull expression, fear and rage boiling under his skin more intensely.

He remembers, quite vividly, the taunts thrown at him.

She'd stick a needle in his ear again and goodbye memories.

He can't give up, can't give up. Tav began to remember things from before, surely he can again?

He loved him before. Couldn't he love him again?

Gale's hair pricks on the nape of his neck, an awareness of danger, and as he glances up again Orin's attention is fixed upon him and the man at this feet. Magic slips from his fingers, forming a protective magical barrier over himself, and Gale moves in front of Tav.

If Orin wants him, she can come. ]


You won't take him from me again.

Date: 2023-10-13 12:53 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
Oh no, no, no. You can't have him.

[ Gale fumbles the cloak from his shoulders, sweeps it over Tav and wraps it around him as a makeshift blanket. Tight enough to restrain him, should any violent urges bubble up to the surface. ]

I think this is our cue to make a well timed retreat, and quickly. Astarion, the stone!

[ He pulls Tav close, and a mutters an incantation. The two of them vanish, then reappear further away up the stairs. Karlach stands, weapon raised protectively as Astarion makes quick work of prying it free.

Gale cares not for what Bhaal might have to say, he cannot imagine it anything good. His eyes flit around wildly, because as much as he doesn't want to leave the two of them he wishes they might hurry. He drops his gaze back to Tav, his voice low and determined. ]


You don't have to do anything he asks. Do you understand me? You can fight it. I know you can. You've fought it before.

Date: 2023-10-13 01:25 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (25)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ Gale's impatience to be free of the underground is palpable. He keeps whisking Tav further and further forward through the underground, barely waiting for the others to catch up until finally he's convinced they aren't being chased.

Not that it's... entirely reassuring. He's not truly convinced something else won't still come for them later, but for now?

He'll take it.

His chest heaves, grip hesitantly loosening on Tav as they emerge into the light of Baldur's Gate. ]


Right.

[ Brown eyes flit to Astarion, to Karlach, then back to Tav. The silence is... disconcerting. Panic crawls over his skin, up into his hair, tightens around his heart and squeezes. ]

Say something.

[ He swallows, letting the cloak slip free. ]

Please?

Date: 2023-10-13 02:20 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ Gale makes a sound in the back of his throat, some combination of distress and frustration. He can hear Astarion off to his left, hear him start to say darling in a way that is pitying yet resigned. ]

Anything.

[ Say anything, anything at all. Karlach comes to rest a hand on him, and Gale resits the urge to throw it off. She speaks to him, low and quiet, and he nods. ]

Alright. Let's get you to Shadowheart. She can --

[ His voice catches, taking in the amount of blood. The damage. ]

She can help. We can't afford to linger in the open. Not now.

[ Not while they have all the netherstones, and while the brain is so close. It's only a matter of time. ]

Date: 2023-10-13 07:29 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ Rain hammers against the glass of the Elfsong Tavern windows, and Gale watches Shadowheart cast spell after spell on Tav. Healing spells, restoration spells, curse removals: nothing.

Gale paces, anxious, until Astarion snaps at him to sit down.

Then he sits anxiously instead, watching the proceedings.

This is... painful. They cannot ask Tav what he wants, because he doesn't know. They cannot heal him, apparently. Yet there must be something.

If he had the Crown of Karsus --

Yet, no. Tav had dissuaded him from using that before.

(It's only that it could work, it could work...)

He escorts Tav back to his room, defeated, and tries to ply him with his favourite food instead. With a book he liked, with familiar clothing, anything that might help.

He sits on a chair, giving up his anxious hovering, and studies the man. ]


You remember nothing at all?

[ There's only so long they can wait, the looming presence of the Elder Brain is still a problem.

Gale wonders, grimly, if they will be enough without Tav to hold them together. He wonders if he should --

But, no. He promised to stay by Tav's side. He can't break that promise, not now. ]

Date: 2023-10-13 08:08 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (16)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ That's a no, then.

Should he... show him? Would that help? Or would a mental connection unbalance the man's already shattered mind? Shadowheart had said give him time, and she's certainly lost enough memories. Hers had come back, with exposure.

Perhaps better not to risk it. He's already done enough damage, hasn't he? ]


Gale, yes, Gale of Waterdeep. We were all of us on a nautiloid, yourself included. Woke up to find we'd had a little ocular insertion and yet none of us were growing tentacles and turning towards the Grand Design. So, being of similar minds that this was an unwelcome development we banded together in the hopes of finding a healer who could handle it. It's been a long road.

Date: 2023-10-13 09:05 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (25)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ The pained expression inspires a new flash of guilt. ]

Yes. Yes, you did.

[ He swallows, trying to think, and hears Astarion loudly proclaiming that he's tired and should get some sleep. That there's nothing to be gained by his lingering. A wave of gratitude passes over him and he hears the others slowly trickle out too, leaving the two of them sat staring at each other. ]

If it hurts, don't push yourself. I am... impatient for you to remember, I will readily admit that, but I thought I'd lost you entirely. To have you here, once more, even devoid of the memory of our journey is a relief I cannot begin to describe. Take your time, please.

Date: 2023-10-13 09:25 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
Easy, easy now.

[ Gale pushes to his feet, retrieving a cloth and filling a basin with water. He circles back, crouches in front of Tav and begins to gently clean the blood from his face. ]

You won't be any good to anyone if we make this worse. So, slowly. A little at a time. When it gets too much, take a moment. I'll still be here, whenever you need me.

Date: 2023-10-13 11:17 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (25)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
Easy.

[ He cups Tav's face gently, dabbing more of the blood away. ]

But you aren't wrong. I did make you that promise. I told you I wouldn't let you down, and I failed you.

[ He drops the cloth a moment, expression pinched in pain. ]

And I'm sorry for that. I'd give anything to make things right, to undo the pain you're in.

Date: 2023-10-13 11:46 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
You don't need to say anything, you don't -- trust me I talk enough for the both of us most days.

[ He laughs, something hollow and weak, and draws his hand back. He gently takes Tav's hand, presses his face to it and tries to breathe. The tangle of emotion feels as hot and volatile as the Netherese Orb itself, liable to overload at any moment. ]

But I came so close to losing you, and the world would have been a much darker place indeed without your light.

Date: 2023-10-14 12:10 am (UTC)
karsiteweave: (28)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
I don't think you should come.

[ Gale swallows, uneasy. ]

But I don't want to leave you.

[ He promised to stay by his side, after all. His heart wants to do that. Yet what if they need him? What if everyone else dies, because he's here tending to Tav?

Neither choice is good. ]

Date: 2023-10-14 08:56 pm (UTC)
karsiteweave: (20)
From: [personal profile] karsiteweave
[ The problem is, Gale is a selfish creature at heart.

He wants happiness so aggressively, wants Tav to remember him, wants the feeling of being cared for above anyone else. Wants to be in Waterdeep, with Tara, enjoying peace.

He deserves that, doesn't he?

Doesn't he?

Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he needs to earn it. He's already failed once, after making a promise.

The selfish desire to run, to take Tav and run right now, wars with his self-esteem.

If the other man remembered, what would he have wanted? He'd have wanted to help, surely? So then, of course, Gale would have stayed by his side.

Yet what if they cannot win? What if the only option ends up the Netherese Orb in his chest? ]


Well of course they need me, a wizard of my renown. Without me to hold them together I have the unfortunate suspicion they would struggle.

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HELLO!

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I Emerge from my blanket cave periodically

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