Astarions POV
The night air was warm, a bit humid, making the ends of my hair stick to the back of my neck. I groaned in annoyance, twirling the stem of my wine glass in between my fingers before bringing the half empty glass to my lips. The red liquid pressed against my lips, tasting warm and a bit stale. I practically spat all over myself, coughing loudly before slamming the glass down on the table beside me.
"Oh, wonderful." I hissed, looking down at my white shirt that was now stained with drops of red. "Now, I'm sticky." I wiped my neck with my hand, feeling the remnants of sweat and old blood. I scoffed at my own clumsiness, threw back my tent flaps and stepped outside. It was the dead of night, a time when only vermin or viper lurked in the shadows. I rolled my shoulders back, tilting my neck side to side in a sort of stretch. And I am most definitely a viper. A low light emitted from the tent furthest from the rest, catching my eye. I wonder why she is still awake. I found myself picturing her dull (e/c) eyes, and how they look at me through the slit of her helm...how she looked at me two nights ago...I wonder what she'd be considered. Viper? Vermin?
I shook my head, dispersing those strange thoughts from my head before starting for the lake far off in the distance. Why am I even thinking of the woman? She's a walking bloodbag for hells' sake, a midnight snack at best. Really, the only mildly interesting thing about her is that she is the first oathbreaker I've ever met, and I've been around for quite a long time. What was her oath anyway? Didn't she mention it before? Ah, yes! One time when the others cornered her into telling them! I furrowed my brows, rubbing my temple as I tried to remember. But what was it? It must've something dreary and heroic for me not to remember. Something like, 'Keeping the peace of the realm' or 'Protecting the blind'. That would make her vermin by default. Though...she doesn't seem very heroic, does she? I tapped my chin thoughtfully as I walked by her tent, slowing my steps unintentionally as I listened closely to hear any kind of movement behind the fabric. She doesn't bat an eye to monsters like me, if anything she seems to be more comfortable in the dark and shadow, with the vipers and the vermin. But this would have to be an oath she could break, so it wouldn't be something too good, would it? I couldn't see her committing something as brutal as mass genocide. Still... I hummed as I approached the lake. If she is neither viper nor vermin...what exactly does that make her?
I came to a sudden stop, my feet practically sinking two feet deeper into the sand beneath me. There she was. Naked and bathing in the lakewater, when only the vipers or vermin stirred, where no one would ever see. Except me, someone who lurks in the darkness and hides in the shadow, I could see her. And oh, she was beautiful. Her naked skin glistened under the light of the moon while the water gently lapped against her breast. She must've heard me coming miles away because she was already looking at me, a devastating glare over her shoulder, while water dripped from the tip of her nose. Those (e/c) eyes shot daggers into me, making me question why I had ever thought them dull in the first place. From this distance, I could barely make out those dark, deep lines that dragged from the bottom of her eyes and down to the middle of her cheek. From this, very far, distance I could barely see what made her an 'Oathbreaker'. And that was, by far, the least interesting thing about her.
She didn't speak, no, she didn't have to. With one look, I suddenly knew.
She was the Viper.
And I was the Vermin.
Viper / noun / A venomous snake with large, hinged fangs, typically having a broad head and stout body, with dark patterns on a lighter background. Predator.
Vermin / noun / Wild animals, farm animals, or small game. Prey.
