Learning How To Heal A Vampire (Astarion x Y/K)

Our First Introduction

My eyes are shut but my head pounds. My body aches all over as if I've ran a marathon but I'm not a runner. A voice calls out to me from somewhere, more like, from everywhere. As if it's in my head, "wake up! You need to get going, your life depends on it!"

I groan as I open my eyes to the bright sun glaring down at me. The salty breeze of the sea stings my nose. I squeeze my hand into a fist as I feel the sand run between my fingers. I feel a presence behind me as I sit up in a panic.

"So you're alive. Wonderful." Her armor reflected the sunlight back at me making me look down at the ground. My things sprawled out around me. "Don't worry, I didn't dig through your things. Not that you have much to dig through anyway." She sighed as if annoyed. I gather it all into my pack and sling it on my shoulder.

"Where are we?" I looked around trying to gather my own thoughts.  No, really, where the hell were we? I've never been to the beach before in my life! But the more I think about where I was before,  the more my head pounds in pain.

"The ship crashed. From the looks of it we're the only survivors that landed on the beach."

"Ship? Ow!" I clutch my head in agony.

"I already healed you. You shouldn't be in pain." She approaches making me scoot away. "It's okay.  The names Shadowheart. I'm a cleric. A healer." She smiled softly as a wave of information floods my mind, like a movie on 5x speed. Suddenly I know everything about her, as if I've known her my whole life. Yet she's introducing herself to me live we've never met. "You don't remember? You were the one who got me out of that pod. That took the ship down and saved us."

I shook my head, "I'm sorry. Must have amnesia," I shrugged. "Names (F/N), thanks for healing me." I stick my hand out to shake hers, but she looks at me strange. I retreat my hand and run my fingers through my hair awkwardly.

"Well, it's time to move before we find out if any of these mindflares are still with us." I nod in agreement as we get up and begin walking. My feet leading me as if I know where I'm going, but I don't. "Looks like we're gonna have to go this way, through part of the ship." She points north of us. We climb the broken pieces of the ship and the awful smelling goop that was with it. Bodies laying here and there, blood everywhere. I check pockets of everyone finding some money, food, and even a shinny, sharp dagger in a makeshift holster. I attach the holster to my thigh as Shadowheart nods in approval, "always good to have a weapon." I nod as we continue.

After we climb a set of stairs only to be met with 3 walking brains. Their claws tapping with every step as they turn towards us. Their muscles moving making my skin crawl! They pounce making me roll to the side barely dodging those sharp claws. I grab my dagger and thrust it into the brain making it stop moving entirely. "One down, two to go." I say to myself, retrieving the dagger from the corpse.

"Just the one thank you," Shadowheart said mater of factly as there laid a limp and bleeding brain in front of her as well.

The last one charged at me, I readied the dagger as it jumped directly at me. I swing upwards slicing the bottom of it open as it falls limp to the ground as well. My heart races in my chest as I sheath the dagger.

"Not bad. You must have been a fighter before this." She nods as we approach the exit of the ship, the path in front of us splitting in two directions. "Which way should we go?" She asks as I look side to side.

My brain thumps in my skull as my feet move almost on their own again to one of the paths. "This way." I smiled as Shadowheart follows. I knew exactly what was at the end of this path.

"Why this way?" She asks, my only response is to shrug.

"Got a feeling." She rolls her eyes but follows.

We turn a corner and my breath catches in my throat. The back of his head full of silvery white curls as he motions with one hand to come closer as his back is to us. "Over here, I have one cornered in a bush, you can kill it can't you? Like you did the others?"

I smiled as I approached, "consider it done." As soon as I took a step past him he tripped me onto the floor, a dagger held against my throat.

"Don't struggle, we wouldn't want to hurt that pretty neck of yours now, would we?" He looked at Shadowheart, "don't move or else she gets it!" To which Shadowheart just held her hands up and stepped back. He turned to look down at me, our eyes connecting. Just like earlier, a fast paced movie played out before my eyes. His movie, his secrets, past, his trama, his fear. A fear that I knew all too well.

His eyes closed and his brow furrowed as if in pain for a second before the tip of the dagger pinched my skin, "what the hells was that? What did you do to me?!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"They infected both of us! I didn't do anything!" I pleaded to him as I looked into his beautiful red eyes.

"It's him!" The voice said in my head, ringing in my ears.

He shook his head angrily, "I saw you on that ship! Don't lie to me!"

I looked him in the eyes again as mine softened, knowing the panic he's in right now, "I'm not." Was all I could say. So much was going through my mind right now, both familiar and new emotions coursed through me.

"It's true," Shadowheart chimed in, "she set me free, we fought our way off the ship together actually."

He looked between the two of us before his brow furrowed again as he got up, "hells!" He stood above me looking down at me, "my apologies, I'm sure you can understand." He held his hand out which I happily took it as he helped me to my feet.

I brushed the dirt off my back and threw my hair out of my face, "no worries. I would have done the same if roles were reversed." I smiled at him.

He returned with a smirk that made my heart skip a beat, "Ah! Where are my manners, my name is Astarion." He slightly bowed.

"(F/N), that's Shaddowheart." He nodded towards her, she returned the nod. "You know, you should join us. There's probably more mind flairs around. And there's strength in numbers." 

He smiled at us, "Ah, now that's a wonderful idea. Lead the way."

I struggled with understanding what was happening. Was it the tadpole? Why did I struggle with remembering anything before the crash, but yet I knew that I understood Astarion's fear, his pain.

Night fell quickly as we finally walked far enough that the ship was no longer in site, we made camp as I lit the fire and untucked my bed rool. Shadowheart set up a tent in the corner and Astarion had a large red tent set up. I dug through my backpack looking for clues. My hand clamped around something solid, and square shapped. I brought it to the top to look at what it was before quickly shoving it back into my bag. My mind flooding making me nauseated. I grabbed the bag and walked father out into the woods where there was a small clearing surrounded by trees.

Confirming I was alone I took out the object. A music player. I had memories from another world, but I was here. I knew the story that was going to play out. "How the hells did I get here?" I asked quietly out loud. "How do I survive?"

Train.

I nodded, if I'm going to make it, and fight the fight I know approaches on the far horizon, I'll need to be much stronger. I put the headphones in and played music as I began to work out. First part of training monologs are always the work out!