Begging for Scraps

Gale's Side of the Story

Gale was an intelligent man.

One didn't learn to cast a spell such as fireball at the age of eight or summon a tressym as their childhood companion without having the intelligence to back such feats up. A prodigy they called him. A genius they labeled him. His peers at Black staff Academy gave him space while the instructors worked diligently to ensure he reached his full potential.

So he liked to consider himself at least above average intelligence. He was just very bad when it came to the actual socialization aspect of life. He would like to blame this for his apparent oversight. Because when he had decided to storm into Astarion's tent demanding the return of his stolen kitchen block, the last thing Gale had expected was to be struck face first with the evidence of their neglect for their resident vampire.

He wasn't willing to make the same mistake as before. If there was one thing that he could say about himself it was that he learned from his mistakes. Particularly when it came to social interactions. He rather had to adapt and it was easier to have a frame of reference. If somebody asked you how you were then they weren't necessarily curious about how you actually were. If somebody asked you your opinion on how an outfit looked on them, then they were likely seeking a compliment rather than an honest review. It wasn't perfect, but it created a frame of reference that Gale was able to work off of in future interactions to avoid any upsets.

It was merely a matter of turning a social situation into a series of facts. This was the exact same. Astarion had been traveling with them since the beginning. Astarion's tent was devoid of anything, be it essentials such as decent equipment or anything personal. Astarion claimed that this situation was nothing new. Astarion was concerned about causing a stir and potentially being kicked out of the group and left to fend for himself.

These were facts. These facts meant that they should all be ashamed to have put that much pressure on Astarion to continue hiding in the shadows. So Gale observed. He noted the passing comments about Astarion keeping his fangs to himself or little jabs related to his history. He watched the way that the vampire hung back when loot and goods were being claimed or a tent location was picked.

He saw the way that Astarion always seemed to pilfer an extra potion or two. Saw the way Astarion would somehow always wind up with the worst of the locations for setting up his corner of the camp. He could see how it had become almost second nature for one of the others to absently shoo him along when they came across the same spot at the same time until there was no other option available. It was infuriating, but that change would come in time. He was merely gathering the data.

Things came to a head rather spectacularly when Astarion finally spoke up. The rogue had been looking at a new set of armor while they were restocking when Wyll shot him down claiming the need for new alchemical supplies. This was ignoring the fact that Wyll had just bought himself another new blade despite not needing one when he could conjure one through his pact and Karlach was given a new pair of boots. Gale waited as the group dispersed before he pulled Wyll aside and demanded to know what was wrong with him.

Had pointed out exactly what he had observed. That he had gotten the boots that were more or less ineffective for Karlach but looked nice. It didn't matter that Karlach had a pair she favored already that were actually useful to her. He pointed out that Wyll had a magical sword bound to him through his patron and hardly needed another one simply because he had liked it. Pointed out that they had plenty of alchemical supplies and that if they were concerned then they could take more time on the road to scavenge and harvest what they needed. Had informed Wyll that as the de facto leader of their little group that he would be held personally responsible when Astarion was injured in a fight because they couldn't be bothered to make sure that the vampire was well equipped for their journey.