infatuation ☾ bg3 writings

kinktober 2024: face sitting (shadowheart x lae'zel)

The underdark was a dark and hostile place full of explosive fungi and angry Duergar itching to swing a greataxe. For the past couple of days Shadowheart, Tav, Wyll, and Lae'zel had been tip-toeing their way through, exploring ruins and arcane towers and acquainting themselves with Myconid in their attempt to reach Moonrise. As it already was, their search hadn't been going smoothly. They'd nearly been gored by minotaurs on their first day, had barely escaped being burnt to a crisp by noblestalk on the second, and only hours earlier they'd had to subdue Wyll when he'd gone mad after accidentally wandering too close to a patch of timmask spores... Their goal for today was to find the Drow, Nere, and take his head – quite literally – and they had! The issue that they seemed to face now was finding their way back to camp. It was obvious that Grymforge was old and crumbling, they'd already had to blow through a wall of rock and debris just to free the Drow, but an entire ceiling crumbling on top of them? That was unexpected. One misstep onto a hidden pressure plate was all it took to send a shockwave through the stone before it all came crumbling down in an impenetrable wall between half of their party.

Hours had passed since the ceiling collapsed, separating Shadowheart and Lae'zel from Tav and Wyll. They'd spent those hours navigating through hostile darkness and crumbling Sharran ruins, guided only by the dim glow of molten rock pooling in shadowy crevices and the flame cradled in Shadowheart's palm. It felt as if they were the last souls left in the echoing depths of the temple – them and the occasional Hellsboar. Each turn revealed only more withered relics and lifeless skeletons, and each dead end or narrow corridor only worked to wound their frustration tighter, edging them closer to inevitable madness if they didn't find a way back to the others soon.

"You know, Lae'zel, this wouldn't have happened if you'd simply been paying attention," Shadowheart muttered as she stepped over another skeleton in Dark Justiciar armour. "I thought a warrior of your caliber would notice something as obvious as a pressure plate."

The Gith suddenly stopped from where she was walking a few steps ahead, her gaze snapping to the other in a way that was fierce and unyielding. She'd been forced to listen to the half-elf's biting comments for the past hour and a half and had somehow managed to hold her tongue. For the most part. "I notice what is worth noticing, not every trivial stone beneath my boot."

Shadowheart stopped walking and crossed her arms, her green eyes narrowing at the sound of her tone. "Perhaps, but that trivial stone caused a cave-in that nearly killed Tav and turned Wyll into a flattened pile of gore. But by all means, keep charging blindly ahead."

Lae'zel sneered and stepped closer, her fingers itching towards the hilt of her sword. "I act with strength, not hesitation. Perhaps if your Goddess had blessed you with better instincts, you'd see that."

Shadowheart's blood simmered beneath her skin. "And maybe if you could control yourself for five minutes and stop acting like our leader, we wouldn't be trapped in here."

Her heart was pounding between her ribs, but she wasn't sure if it was from the fury she felt or if it was the strange allure of Lae'zel's intensity that always seemed to radiate from her. Their voices dropped to low, angry murmurs, their bodies tense and close as Shadowheart dared her to come a step further, and deep within the ruins of the temple, their differences began to bubble to the surface once again. They hadn't fought since that one night Lae'zel had attacked her for the relic, but that didn't mean they were friends by any means. No, they were quite far from that.

Lae'zel took another step towards the cleric, her features twisted into a scowl, and that was when Shadowheart lunged. She grabbed the Gith by the front of her armour, shoving her back against the rough wall of the temple, effectively sandwiching her blade to where it was held against her back. "You obviously want to fight, but let's see if you're as good with your mouth as you are with your insults, shall we?"