Rage - Cache x Karlach

The cold winter wind howled through the campsite. Cache sat at the campfire shivering, pulling her fur cloak tighter around herself. The rest of the companions had gone off to the tavern tonight to celebrate their victory against the Absolute. But Cache wasn't up for it. She had lost too much over the last few months. Lost herself, did unforgettable and unforgivable things. She lost Scratch. The attack on camp a few weeks ago was too much of a surprise. Their furry companion didn't even have a chance to warn them, to fight.

Tears pooled in her eyes again, and a drop fell in the dirt at her feet. The campfire crackled and she winced. It sounded too much like necks breaking. She anxiously twirled Scratch's collar in her hands. She couldn't bury it with him. Wouldn't. This would serve as a reminder of how badly she failed that night.

The crunch of footsteps sounded out behind her, and she jumped to her feet and whirled, her dagger unsheathed and ready in her hand. The tall tiefling, Karlach stood there with her hands up. "Woah woah woah, Just me." She smiled softly, understanding on her face. Karlach was there that night too. She also carried the weight of it. Cache's grip softened and the dagger slipped out of her hand. Karlach frowned and closed the distance between them. Right before she could pull Cache into a hug, she stopped. Right. The infernal engine in her chest was burning too hot again. Disappointment was clear on Cache's face. All she wanted was the comfort that Karlach could offer. But Cache's cold powers were drained after today and she couldn't summon anything strong enough to cool Karlach's embrace down enough, not even for a little bit. She sighed and turned back to sit on the log in front of the campfire. The wind howled again, ripping at the cloak, sending Cache into another round of shivering against it.

Karlach stood behind her for a minute, as if debating something. She rocked back and forth on her feet before coming to a decision. She walked up to Cache and crouched next to her.

" Have room for one more?" She said, smiling. Cache met her gaze, saw the kindness mixing with the sadness in her eyes, and nodded. She moved over to make room. As soon as Karlach sat down next to her, the air warmed. The benefit of having a living furnace at your camp. Cache slowly stopped shivering, and subconsciously leaned toward Karlach. The smell of burning fur filled the air and she jumped back. Her favorite cloak was singed on the side that touched Karlach's arm. Karlach smiled apologetically, understanding her frustration at the lack of physical affection. Anger filled Cache. Her dog was dead, and she couldn't even get the comfort she needed from the one person in this camp that she loved most. What a twisted reward for defeating Farun's greatest threat. She shot to her feet, the cloak falling off her shoulders.

"This is BULLSHIT. I can't even LEAN ON YOU!" Cache screamed, panic clawing up her throat. "I - I-" her voice began to shake as the tears spilled over. Her body shook with her sobs as she angrily stomped to a carafe of water at the side of a tree. Lifting it, she turned back to a shocked Karlach, her eyes wide.

"Cache..." she said warily. "What are you doing with that..." Karlach's eyes somehow widened even more with realization. Cache furrowed her brows and threw the clay jar filled with ice cold water at Karlach. Steam hissed as the jar exploded and coated the tiefling. Cache placed her hands in front of her and muttered a spell, and a huge wall of ice exploded from her hands and hit Karlach straight in the chest. Karlach shouted in pain but held steady at the impact. Steam was coming off of her in billows, and as soon as it cleared, the glowing in her chest had dimmed significantly.

Cache slowly walked up to the tall female in front of her, her eyes icy. She stood in front of her, so close that their breath mixed. "This should give us about an hour before you're burning up again," Cache whispered, before pulling her in and slamming her lips to Karlach's.