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The first time, she'd hardly even thought about it.
Just brushed it off as the kids being kids, as they'd ran past her legs giggling and pulling on her tail. Even as Zevlor had stepped forward to scold the lot of them and send them on their way, an apologetic glance from him Karlach's direction, she'd done little more than waved him off and gone back to her conversation with Minthara. Odd, sure, but the rampant behavioural issues with the children in camp is something of an uphill battle when most of them have no guardians left.
"It takes a village to raise children," they say.
And, apparently, a lot more than that to teach them some damned manners.
After that, though, she'd started paying a little more attention to the chitter around her any time she's wandering around camp - the kids being only the start of the strangeness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If she were to be honest, in hindsight... Karlach knows exactly when her little crush started.
They'd not long trudged back to camp, Gale and Lae'zel propping each other up on the trek back from Moonrise as they limped home leaving Tav and Karlach bringing up the rear. Most of the tieflings they'd rescued from the cells had successfully managed to make their way to salvation and were currently being looked after. What was unexpected, was Minthara busy alongside Shadowheart and Isobel healing up the wounded.
A few, the ones who must have been privy to some more information on the goblin raiding party, like Zevlor, continued to give her a wide berth and go to anyone other than Minthara for help.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to take it much to heart.
"I see you have some wounds as well, Karlach." Minthara rounds her way to Karlach's side. Pulling back enough, so that she can still reach Karlach's back and ribs, Minthara pauses by her side with a hand held out. She holds it right near the worst of the injuries, by Karlach's ribs. Minthara allows the glow of healing magic to flood through her fingers, alighting them within view. "I can see to them, if you wish?"
Karlach straightens up, but after a second of very visible and obvious debate, she nods an agreement. Her breathing, already staggered at best, labours further when Minthara places her hand over the gash on Karlach's body and begins to mend it.
"Whoa! Wait!" Karlach leaps away, in effort not to hurt her. Something pulls on her side, and starts to drip hot down the straps across her stomach but she's moving further away from Minthara's confused expression and waiting hand. "I'll burn you, sorry."
Minthara raises a brow, giving her still-glowing fingers a quick inspection. "And yet my skin does not slough from my fingers," she turns to Karlach, showing them off, "nor my bones turn to ash. Perhaps you overestimate your temperature?"
"A second won't do it, needs more than that." Karlach gestures towards herself, a sweeping motion with both hands that's more animated than necessary. "A quick touch is fine but anymore and I'll hurt you, I can focus on keeping cool for a bit but gods if I get too excited I don't wanna think what would hap--"
Her rambling is cut short by an impatient elf placing her hand directly against Karlach's bare stomach. There's a brief second of surprise, before they're both just stood watching Minthara's hand waiting for it to catch fire. Around them, several others have now swirled their attentions this way to watch the incoming spectacle.
When no smouldering starts, no smoking nor swearing being prompted from Minthara upon being injured, she just smirks and glances up to catch Karlach eye as her hand glows again and she begins to mend that gash she'd been aiming for the first time. Her hand is grabbed by Karlach as she pulls it away, being flipped over and felt up in disbelief.
"Wait, what? I don't... I don't understand, you can touch me? Why?"
"We have a saying back home - 'Do not look a gift rothé in the mouth.' I will spare you the silly details of where it originated, but the idea is not to question good fortune. It has a way of biting back, if one does."
Karlach... isn't even really listening. She's still holding Minthara's hand like a phantom, as if were she to let go it would disappear forever. A few people standing around look at her with pity in their eyes, and it takes a moment for her to snap to and notice it. Minthara is released, with a mumbled apology.
She doesn't move, standing where she is for a second as she scrutinises Karlach. Just as Karlach steps away to leave, she's caught around the waist and pulled back - Minthara curling against her chest, arms looping around to keep her close. That moment, amidst the silence of onlookers, she chose to remain, enfolding Karlach with an unexpected tenderness. Not at all like anyone would have expected, from the same woman that finds jokes of maiming children funny.
And it was there that she stood, letting herself be held, until Karlach had been the one to finally yield and let go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Approaching Minthara's tent, Karlach pauses for a moment, her engine churning a little faster with anticipation. She had been about to head to her own in search of sleep, attention being drawn to their newest arrival to the team and her habits. Minthara is kneeled inside, immersed in her evening prayers, seeking guidance from the gods neither one of them believe in any more. Why she does it, when she's abandoned all faith, Karlach doesn't know.
But she wants to.
Gathering her courage, Karlach gently pushes aside the tent flap and hovers outside, the scent of incense mingling with the warmth of candlelight that fills the small space. There, kneeling in quiet reverence, was Minthara, her eyes closed in devotion as she murmured prayers under her breath in tongues Karlach doesn't understand. Karlach's breath catches at the sight, a sense of peace washing over her in Minthara's presence.
As Karlach calls her name, Minthara's lips curve into a soft smile, a rare sight that warms Karlach from top-to-toe. Breaking from her meditation, she sits up and looks Karlach's way - that small, hint of a smile giving way to a full one. Caught off guard by the unexpected expression, the first of its kind she's been granted, Karlach's own heart flutters with a flurry of emotions. In that moment of unguard, her tail sways with gentle excitement behind her.
And in that moment, Karlach's tail also betrays her, sweeping too close to one of the candles placed at the edge of Minthara's prayer mat. With a startled gasp, Karlach watches in horror as the candle topples over, flame igniting the nearby fabric of the tent. They both alarm in panic; Karlach as she frantically looks for something to extinguish the flames, and Minthara at having to quickly kick a bunch of other flammables away - books, scrolls, even a few plants that are already looking wilted at the sudden onslaught of heat.
The fire is doused with a carafe of water stolen from near the campfire, Karlach's heart sinking with guilt at the unintended consequences of her visit. She's assuaged by reassurances from Minthara, who, now that her things are no longer in dire threat, chuckles at the small destruction left in her wake.
She ends up running off, without asking any of her questions leaving one confused drow staring after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first time Karlach sidestepped her to go to Minthara for healing, Shadowheart made a point of avoiding mirrors for the short period after for fear she may have turned green. They already have Lae'zel filling that quota, no need for another. If there's one thing that she is not a fan of, it's being second choice. As annoying as it was, being bombed out, she'd huffed quietly to herself and focused back on helping Wyll without further ado.
But it kept happening.
Again, and again, and again.
To the point it's no longer just Shadowheart herself noticing, with each and every time Karlach finds some excuse to go to Minthara for something, anything really, at this point. Often, there's little more to do around camp than be nosey and this has quickly become the buzz of the day, for many, many days in a row now.
Shadowheart, despite her best judgement and knowing she should mind her own business, hones in on Karlach's reaction to having her so close by, to having Minthara's hands on her body; all of the information from the other gossiping tieflings making their appearance then, and adding to the mix.
Karlach immediately settles at having Minthara's hand on her, though that is not all. No, instead, Shadowheart gets a front row view to the exact body language that Bex and Danis had been chittering about - free to watch, as Karlach's tail and entire body do indeed curl towards her and appear to seek her out. Now, oblivious to any eyes on them, Karlach turns towards her unconsciously in search of comfort that is already being offered.
Her eyes are closed. Is she even aware of what she is doing?
At the budding relief and warmth offered from healing fingers, Shadowheart takes note of the easy and blissful expression that worms its way onto Karlach's face with her assistance. And yes, sure, it could simply be from the aforementioned balm of a threat and pain lessened, but...
The cuts up her body that had initially caught Minthara's attention are already well on their way to being healed up; they're going to have to move apart, soon. At least, if they don't want to give any more away than they both already are, that is. Instead, Minthara allows her hand to shift - skimming across the exposed skin of Karlach's torso, moving from her side to rub over her back now. That's where it stays, for far, far longer than it needs to be, simply rubbing circles into Karlach's back.
Eventually, Shadowheart gets bored of feeling like a voyeur and goes to find herself some proper entertainment that doesn't bring out the worst in her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even more amusing, it quickly became not just Karlach seeking out Minthara with any middling excuse. Amidst their makeshift camp, Karlach was cheerfully engaged in conversation with Gale as he prepared dinner, until they were both startled by the sound of Minthara's voice calling her name. Their discussion about the weave came to an abrupt end as they turned to see Minthara making her way over to them.
She doesn't even acknowledge Gale, not her interruption of him.
"Karlach," she began, her tone curious even as she herself is preoccupied by the book in her hand. "I have some questions about the beasts found in Avernus, could I enquire some about your time fighting them? This tome... it mentions creatures I have never heard of. I would like to know more."
Usually, the answer would probably have been 'no.' Not because Karlach wants to withhold, not at all, but just that the less time spent thinking about hell, the better.
However... exceptions can be made.
She eagerly accepts, diving headfirst into a discombobulated briefing about the various monsters and demons she's spent the last decade slaying, seasoned with many detours. Minthara hangs on every word, and, as Karlach keeps going, a few of the kids float closer to listen in too.
Karlach is quickly gaining momentum, movements animated as she pantomimes the exact way to wrestle down an abyssal chicken when someone does almost the same to her - a hand wrapping around her tail, holding it firmly still and drawing her attention. Turning, she's greeted with a chuckling Gale looking thoroughly entertained and not from the storytelling.
"As exciting as all of this is, I fear I must request you distance yourself from my pot. Tiefling Tail Stew, while certainly a new culinary venture, is not something I'm interested in sampling today."
He's referring to his captive, the tail in his hand still flicking around and, yes, coming very close to what he is cooking. There's a smear of something orange across the table of prepped vegetables - Wyll's insistence - and following the trail of it lands back on Karlach, who has apparently managed to dip her tail into something already. A similar splatter of sauce drips from the end, and she sheepishly accepts both it and a napkin from him to clean off.
Minthara waits patiently for her to do so, and they're both shooed away from his cooking area before any more havoc can be unleashed on him or his hard work feeding them all. Neither of them catch him chuckling to himself, and that's probably for the best. For his own safety.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minthara was quite happily minding her own business and reading by the fire, when Tav slides over next to her to ruin it. She feels the other woman glancing her way a couple times and ignores it, only finally giving in when Tav just starts talking at her regardless of having attention or not.
"So. Minthara. I was thinking..." Tav starts, still messing with the book in her own hands - a likely excuse to come over here acting a pest; playing at disinterest, and poorly at that. She flips the pages back and forth in an obvious distraction, talking at Minthara as she continues to behave strange-- well, stranger. That bar is low around here, even on days where everyone is on their best. "There's a couple nice inns in town, even a bathhouse at one of them. Might make for a good date night, get some alone time together..."
Minthara cocks a brow, turning her full scrutiny on Tav now as she keeps talking. What is she on about? They're really not this close, but if she's bold enough to come propositioning Minthara like this...
Hmm. Maybe? Tav isn't unattractive, though Minthara certainly hasn't given her much thought after she attempted to put her lute through Minthara's skull back during their first meeting. Kinda set the tone for their... is it a friendship? Regardless, she's zoning out and focuses back on Tav's fumbled warbling.
"--it can be a little difficult to get time together, with how busy camp can be. But, I dunno, just think it would do you both some good. You're usually tense so I can't say much for that, but I think Karlach would like it."
"Karlach?" Minthara questions, now even more unbalanced. "What does Karlach have to do with this?"
Tav freezes. Actually freezes, her entire body stuttering to a stand-still for a second before she slowly turns to look at Minthara. A slightly awkward length of time passes between them both where they're just staring at one another in confusion, until Tav gives up with the book completely. It's shut and dropped down on the table near them both, Tav giving her an odd look.
"Um... she's your..." Tav lifts a hand to her mouth, fingers curled in thought as she visibly scrutinises Minthara. "I thought, with her always-- hmm. Aren't you two, uh, together?"
Minthara gives Tav a look of her own now. Turning to face this conversation directly, Minthara crosses her hands behind her back as she considers the question - and the, stuttering, information that has been divulged with it.
"Karlach and I are not together, no. Did she tell you otherwise?" Glancing off across camp, Minthara spies the topic of the day currently locked in conversation with Minsc. There's a lot of wide, open hand gesturing from all participants - hamster included. Minthara looks back at Tav again, dismissing her with a cordial nod and turning to head Karlach's way. "I will speak to her, and clear up this confusion. Thank you for letting me know, Tav."
"Shit, wait--!" Tav grabs Minthara's arm, roughly pulling her back from attempting to go after Karlach. The move is annoying enough to get a dirty look sent her way, Minthara making a point of shrugging her shoulder to dislodge Tav's hand on her arm. At having Minthara's attention again, Tav brings her hands up to cup in front of her face and draws a deep inhale as she scrutinises their temperamental paladin. Once done, she speaks with the same tone she uses while parenting the more unruly companions. "Okay, have you... been paying much attention to Karlach recently?"
Minthara thinks, shuffling her weight from one hip to the other. "I cannot say I have, other than her fondness for my company?"
"Okay, well. It's not really my place to say but I've kinda put my foot in it now so... You seriously haven't noticed?"
"Noticed what?" Minthara can already feel her patience wearing thin at this game of questions, starting to frown Tav's way. She turns to look off towards where Karlach is still chatting on the farside of camp - it would certainly have been simpler to take this conversation to her for answers, rather than standing here being needled.
Tav sighs again, taking a light hold of Minthara's arm and pulling her around to the side of a couple tents, where they're no longer in view. Sending a few peeks around them to make sure, Tav turns back to Minthara and crosses her arms.
"Do you know much about tieflings?"
"Not particularly, other than the handful I've spoken to while on the surface. There were some of your kind retained below as slaves, though none for my house so I never interacted with them."
"Right. Well. One problem at a time so let's just... breeze past that. This is awkward, but I'm just going to say that Karlach likes you." Tav shuffles on her feet, her blue cheeks starting to shade purple as she flushes. "Like, a lot. Enough that a bunch of folks around here have noticed too. I actually thought you'd gotten together ages ago because of how obvious it is."
"How obvious... what is?" Minthara questions, curiousity piquing. This is a lot of new information, and she's not the most observant in some capacities, this she already knows. But what has she been missing that's 'so obvious' half their camp have apparently been gossiping behind her back?
"Just-- ugh, you're really gonna make me do this aren't you?" Tav shakes her head, trying and failing to dislodge some of her blush. She turns so she's side-on to Minthara rather than facing her, giving a view of her profile and the asymmetrical jewellery decorating her horns. "Pretty much any time you're near her, she's curling towards you," Tav gestures behind her with her thumb, to where her tail has cocked up into the air and is lifting her robes slightly. It, and the rest of her body language, angle towards Minthara, and she goes as far as making big, lovey eyes Minthara's way. "Everything about her is saying 'come and get it' and it's kinda hard to miss, I'm surprised you haven't notic--"
Tav quits speaking abruptly, noticing Minthara look away and perk up - the most marked detail of her sudden demeanor change being the way her ears have shot up, from where they'd been relaxed during her bemused humouring of Tav. Following her gaze, Tav spies the devil-in-question walking by with Lae'zel; her name apparently being spoken so many times enough to summon her. The distraction gives Tav some time to study Minthara a little more, having to bite her lip in effort not to giggle as Minthara openly ogles Karlach.
Maybe this won't turn out too badly after all.
Neither of them say anything else whilst the two walking by are within earshot.
Minthara turns to Tav again once they're gone. "You are certain of this?" she asks, going back into that neutral stance of hers, hands clasped behind her back. Like she doesn't care, despite how literally everything else about her is saying the opposite now; pink-cheeked and rosy-nosed; ears pointing to the sky; alert and aware, in a way she hadn't been before this chat of theirs.
"If I'm wrong, you can take your pound of flesh," Tav jokes, leaning in and smiling. It's full goofy, all teeth, and Minthara shakes her head before turning on her heel and stalking off.
"That will be all, Tav. You are dismissed."
A sigh comes at her back, and the soft sound of a tiefling grumbling about manners. Minthara does not care, she's already walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"--and one, and two, and three, and... Karlach? Are you paying attention?"
"Hmm?" Karlach snaps to at the sound of Wyll's voice, focusing back on him and not the clouds. "What? Yea, yea, of course I was."
She wasn't. There's a flock of birds flying by.
They're gone when she looks again.
"Uh huh..." Wyll appears in front of her where she's propped up against a bench, giving her a knowing look. He crosses his arms, leaning conspiratorially into her space with a smile. Like he just knows her sooo well. "So what was I doing when I called on you just there?"
"Prancing around like a twat?" Karlach says, grin firmly in shit-eating territory. She does enjoy the dancing lessons, but Lae'zel is right - Wyll is a talker. It's easy to tune out now and again.
"At least my feet remain on the ground," he jibes back. "Careful now, just like a face when the wind changes, you too could get stuck up there."
Karlach makes another face at him.
"What? I've seen it happen," he says. Then, he winks. "Lost a good friend of mine that way as a boy, carried off by all the hot air in his head. Never seen again."
"You're so full of shit, you know that? Save that nonsense for the kids."
"Speaking of, I agreed to more lessons than just yours today so alas I must go find my other leading lady." With a nod of his head, he points out where Silfy is loitering shyly off to the side. Apparently, waiting for Wyll. "Perhaps she will make for a better partner." Wyll grins, winding up for his final riposte. And it doesn't come, as he glances off over Karlach's shoulder instead. He sends her another wink, dipping down into a flourishing bow that almost tips his horns straight to the sky. And now it's his turn to needle with a smile, the knowing twinkle in his eye gone and him too with it before Karlach can question.
She follows his gaze to find Minthara watching her.
To her side, Jaheira talks at her over a glass of something but she's not paying much mind to any of the words. Just watching Karlach, and who knows she's been there?
...Did Wyll?
And what was that look he gave supposed to mean?
Minthara, at now having Karlach's attention on her, waves lightly over her own goblet with a hand. She's definitely not listening to Jaheira now, and the other elf gives her conversation partner a side-eye, glancing between them both.
Karlach's hand is already in the air waving back before she's even registered herself moving.
Across the camp, Minthara smiles and takes a sip of her drink and turns back to her neglected chat with what seems to be an apology. Karlach is too far away to make out what it is she says...
That luxury, however, is not afforded to the snickering coming from somewhere behind her. Turning, she spies Alfira and Lakrissa huddled together and whispering to one another. Paranoia rears, and Karlach does her best to ignore it, but eventually her patience wears thin when the two of them start glancing her way. Over and over again, to the point it becomes too impossible to ignore - and then she's marching their direction, enjoying the way both of their faces drop and they sit up. Like they weren't doing anything, like Karlach is the one acting up.
The audacity.
"Oi!" Karlach draws up in front of them both, crossing her arms and staring them down. She's not amused, too bitter for schoolyard behaviour like this. "What're you two giggling at? Not much of a fan of bullying, gonna warn you both right now."
Alfira has the decency to look embarrassed at the chastising, but Lakrissa meets Karlach head on. She sits up, hands curling over the edge of the bench she's sat on and propping her up where she can meet Karlach's gaze. With a shrug of her shoulders, she giggles and leers over Karlach. Her grin can only be described as shit-eating, not a single shred of self-preservation to be found; meanwhile, Alfira is hiding behind her hands and providing quite the contrast.
"Oh, just the worse case of 'take-me tail' I've seen in a long time," Lakrissa smiles, turning to look at her girlfriend. Upon not getting the backup she expected - Alfira still not wanting anything to do with this, apparently - Lakrissa looks to Karlach again. Shoving up from the bench, she's on her feet quickly; hands curled together up by her chin like an ingenue, as she turns off and hikes her tail up so Karlach can see. She waggles it in the air, making eyes at Karlach over her shoulder. "You want that cunt elf to bend you over so bad it's making you look silly."
"Lakrissa!"
"Aww come on, Alfy! It's true!" Lakrissa continues on, oblivious to the way she's flustering Karlach - who, until this moment, hadn't realised anything was amiss at all.
"You don't need to be mean, though..."
"What? She is a cunt. You heard what she said to Arabella the other day. Oh, or do I need to remind you about..."
Karlach tunes the pair of them out about then, no longer focusing on the bickering and instead being overrun by what Lakrissa just insinuated. That's... surely Lakrissa is lying, right? She's not been...
Oh gods, have I?
Karlach hadn't been thinking much about it at all, not until it has been so abruptly brought up. But, now, with Lakrissa mentioning it... she has been doing that, hasn't she? After all her time in Avernus, it's not like her body language had much to say in amongst the whole 'perpetually fighting for her life everyday' thing, but now...
It seems she might have been a little oblivious recently. Sloppy, even. This isn't like Mama K at all.
"Oh, gods..." Karlach quickly surveys around her for any eavesdroppers, thankfully coming up empty. She slumps forward with her hands over her face, blushing furiously as she leans down towards the other tieflings on the bench. "Please tell me you're joking. I haven't been... have I?"
"Sorry, Red. But ya, ye have been." Lakrissa finally quits her winding up of Alfira, to change focus back to Karlach once more. Thankfully, she has also stopped her ridiculous impersonation of Karlach's crushing now too. "Why don't you ask her on a date if you're this into her? It can't hurt, the worst she can say is no."
"Mmm... I dunno," Karlach grumbles, kicking lightly at the dirt with her boot. "She can definitely say worse."
"Don't tell me you're this shy about asking someone out?" Alfira finally rejoins the conversation properly, outside of just scolding her girlfriend. She sits forward, looking up at Karlach's downturned face and smiles in a way that's a little teasing. "You?"
"It's been a while!" Karlach realises she's shouting when a couple heads turn their way, and clears her throat. "I never really... dated much. Before."
"Yea, I can see that." Lakrissa stands, taking Alfira's hand and pulling her up with. Her free hand finds its way to Karlach's shoulder, about to pat her before catching herself and awkwardly putting it back down. "Well if you're not going to do anything about it... maybe try and stop whipping people with that deadly weapon you call a tail? It leaves a mark, you know."
"It might just make a point of aiming for you next, Lakrissa."
The jibe gets a laugh from the pair of them, and a joke from Lakrissa about "not threatening her with a good time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she wakes late one night to nature's call, Minthara groggily and automatically sneaks a look towards Karlach's tent. A habit, she's picked up recently while ruminating on her new information. The telltale glow of her admirer returns absent, not amongst the nest of pillows Karlach considers proper bedding. Pulling a blanket around herself, Minthara treks a bit closer to confirm and pours herself some water from a carafe nearby as she scans around the camp. Eventually she spies who she's looking for, spotting the orange of Karlach's warm aura sitting alone off near the mountain cliffs.
She's trudged quite away outside of camp, and in the opposite direction of the latrines.
Minthara hovers, debating. It's cold, dark, she still needs to pee, aaand... she's already walking Karlach's direction. As she approaches, she can make out Karlach's posture - the deflated, calm of her as she sits in a ball. Her knees are up against her chest, arms and tail curled around herself as she stares up at the sky.
And oblivious to Minthara's quiet approach from behind.
"Trouble sleeping?" Minthara asks softly, drawing to a slow stop a few feet away.
Karlach startles at the sound of her voice, turning on instinct to investigate despite recognising it. And Minthara gets to watch, as all the little details she had been missing reveal themselves to her now, thanks to Tav and her meddling - how, yes, Karlach has immediately puffed up at the mere sight of her. The big smile, the open posture... the way her tail is flicking around and kicking up dirt, where it had been forlornly wrapped around Karlach's legs a moment ago.
How did she miss it?
"Oh! Hello, hi!" Karlach still hasn't quite recovered, a dorky expression on her face as she watches Minthara join her on the cliff. She rubs at her neck once Minthara is seated next to her, shrugging and gesturing aimlessly with her free hand. "And yea... Ol' Toasty is giving me a bit of a runaround tonight," she says as an answer, tapping her fist over the engine in her chest. "I gave up trying to sleep a little bit ago. What-- uh, what about you?"
Minthara shrugs. "I got up for some water and spotted you over here."
Karlach smiles at that. For a long moment, she doesn't say anything and when Minthara doesn't either, she simply turns back out to stare off at the sky again like she had been before the interruption. She's too preoccupied with the thought that Minthara wandered over here just... for her, for Karlach?
"I like watching the stars when I can," Karlach starts. "Missed it when I was trapped in hell." She's mostly talking for the sake of it, but also because Minthara isn't and it's the first time they've been completely alone together like this and her nerves are tingling. Minthara's turned to look at her now, and Karlach glances at her. She looks sleepy. "Crazy isn't it? How you can miss the littlest things, or just take them for granted."
"I agree. We often do not know what we have until it is gone."
"...Speaking from experience?"
"In more ways than you could possibly know." Minthara smirks, and leans down into her knees to stifle a yawn. She looks up then, back out to the sky and the stars, whimsical in voice as she speaks next. "...I was seventeen before I saw the stars for the first time."
"Oh?"
To her side, Karlach perks up. Minthara can feel her looking, and meets curious big eyes seeking her out with her own. Smiling, Minthara pulls her blanket tighter around her as a barrier and continues talking, tucking her chin slightly as the old memory comes flooding back and brings with it some chagrin that had, until now, long been lost to time.
"...I thought they would be bigger, and different colours. Like the flora in the underdark."
Karlach giggles. "Disappointed?"
"Very much so."
Karlach goes to say something else, but gets completely and entirely sidetracked by the shiver that blows through her companion. This high up and dangling over a cliff, there's definitely a chill battering them both; Karlach is simply (un)fortunate enough to be exempt from the effects. She sits there warring with her own thoughts before Lakrissa's comment comes floating back to mind.
"The worst she can say is no."
Turning, she holds out her arms invitingly in Minthara's direction. She's met immediately by a searching gaze trying to decipher what she is up to, but it's no matter as Karlach is not one for hints.
"All this heat over here going to waste, you know. Come closer if you want, I don't mind."
Minthara scans over her again, this time much more approvingly. After a second of clear debate with herself, she accepts and relinquishes some of her protective blanket barrier to Karlach who wraps it around the pair of them. Where Karlach had expected her to only move a little closer, however, she's instead granted Minthara right up against her side. A breathy hum of satisfaction in her ear, and then she's got a drow curled against her and leaning on her shoulder as she panics internally.
"You're-- you're sure this is okay? I'm not burning you?" Even as she asks, Karlach hesitantly wraps her arm around Minthara's shoulders and keeps her tight.
"No more than usual," is the joking response. But Minthara doesn't move away, and Karlach slowly begins to relax when they don't combust together after a minute or two of awkward, one-sided waiting for something to go wrong.
Unfortunately, all that really does is free her up to panic about the other thing - Minthara cuddled into her. Because that's what they're doing, they're cuddling. There's no ifs, ands, or buts to be had here, no sir. Karlach smiles into Minthara's hair, and pulls her closer, as she settles in their new position together and tries not to explode or something.
"I had a friend when I was a kid," Karlach says, starting back up the conversation from earlier. "She had this enchanted star map, it would shine depending on what stars and constellations were visible. We used to climb up onto the roofs in the lower city and look for them together." Karlach chuckles against Minthara's hair, reminiscing. "Got run off by the Watch a few times, when we'd climbed up somewhere we shouldn't."
Minthara chuckles at the image of a couple kids being chased by the city guards, and waves loosely towards the sky. "Do you have a favourite?"
"Star?"
"Or constellation."
Karlach thinks, one coming to mind. "Definitely the Eyes of the Watching Woman," she says, the hand not around Minthara against her chin as she remembers the different ones. "I always imagined her smiling, because of how the constellation is drawn. What about you?"
"I am... afraid I am not as familiar as you are." Minthara hums, shuffling around slightly against Karlach's side to make herself more comfortable. She points at a collection of the stars in the sky high above their heads. "The Star Circle is the only one I know to hand."
Karlach chuffs. "Well, yea. Everyone knows that one." She allows her fingers to start rubbing small circles on Minthara's bare arm. Tentatively at first but when she's not stopped, she takes a chance and drops her arm so her hand is on Minthara's waist; and, again, she's not receiving any complaints so that's where she leaves it, still using the excuse to touch. Her focus turns up again, and she points to the scattering of dots she's looking for as she talks. "There, that's the Eyes." She glances to see Minthara following her finger, though...
After a few more seconds of Minthara obviously failing to track where she's pointing to, Karlach giggles again and reaches towards where Minthara's hands are in her lap.
"Here, this might help," she says, holding out her hand and waiting for Minthara to give her one of hers. Which she does, Karlach's engine sputtering in her chest as it skips a beat. And then she's got Minthara's slightly chilly hand in hers, guiding her through pointing out each of the constellation's components.
"Oh! I see it!"
Minthara turns to Karlach, a goofier smile there than Karlach is used to seeing from her. Usually she's only this keen upon getting her own way, or other miscellaneous misbehaviours that rub many of the camp up wrong.
Sometimes, Karlach is one of them.
At least Minthara will signpost that she's about to stab someone before doing so, unlike some members of the team.
For now, though...
"Want me to show you some others?"
"There are more visible tonight?" Minthara is busy scanning the sky again, probably trying to pick out some herself. Not lost on Karlach is that she's now just holding onto Karlach's hand, though whether or not she realises she's doing that is unclear.
"Mhmm, there's a lot of them you know," she teases.
Grinning, and a touch giddy, Karlach takes Minthara's hand on a journey across the sky as she talks through as many of the landmarks in the stars as she can remember. The clouds block out some of them, so Karlach does her best to fill in the rough spots of the missing ones, successfully painting a picture to her entranced audience.
Minthara soaks it all up, reclaiming her head's spot on Karlach's shoulder as she listens. She asks a few questions, but mostly she's enjoying listening to Karlach talk. Where she's pressed directly against Karlach, she can feel her skin starting to tingle and itch from the heat - a sure sign that she's starting to burn a little. But... it's just a little, nothing some healing won't rectify. To add injury to impending injury, Minthara places her free hand over Karlach's wrapped around her waist and hears Karlach's voice catch for it.
A delightfully guilty pleasure, knowing what effect she's having on her company for the evening.
She's going to have to pull away soon, if for nothing else other than the fact she's still not gone to the bathroom yet - the entire reason she's even awake in the first place. Not that she's complaining though, or otherwise she'd have missed out on this.
"...and, just disappearing past the horizon, you can slightly make out the edge of the Woman Warrior," Karlach finishes her monologuing, dropping their joined hands once she's highlighted the last couple points of interest. She, notably, doesn't actually let go.
And neither does Minthara.
"I fear you may have missed your vocation in life, you make for a fine teacher." A minute or two longer is spent stealing Karlach's warmth, before she pulls her hand away and sits up. The loss causes Karlach to visibly deflate again, but she plays it off quickly with a sad smile when Minthara turns her way.
No.
No, no, no.
That kicked puppy look just won't do. Not after their nice time together.
Pausing before she can stand and call an end to this suprise rendezvous of theirs, Minthara reaches out to the side to cup Karlach's face and pull her closer. "Thank you for the lesson, Karlach," she breathes against a warm cheek, placing a kiss there and actually feeling Karlach heat up in the brief moment of contact. Minthara lingers as she lifts away, being met with big bright eyes staring at her in shock when she does.
Karlach smiles, her hand against the spot Minthara just kissed as she watches Minthara bundle up her blanket and stand. She's pretty much frozen in place, like she's not sure that actually happened.
It's cute.
Very cute.
Karlach is cute.
"Try to get some sleep, Karlach. Goodnight, and thank you again."
"Y-yea, you too. Goodnight..."
Minthara leaves her there, exactly like that. She makes it maybe about halfway across camp when she hears a muffled little "Yes!" being called out from behind her, turning that way to spy Karlach doing a fist pump to herself... and her tail swishing around behind her like crazy.
Minthara grins, turning off to see to the rest of her late night awakening; seeing a man about a horse and, in the morning, a wizard about some enchanted star maps.