Tav was not sure what the hells was going on. Astarion carried her like that in her wolf form all the way out of the Elf Song tavern. He put her down on all four paws and placed his hand on her head to pet her like one would a dog. Not a dire wolf druid. 

“Now put those terrible bores out of your mind, my pet.” Ever the master tactician and manipulator, the vampire already had a delicious plan formulated for his plucky and loyal companion. Not that he had ever trusted the rest of their companions, of course, but at least now he knew for certain where they stood. It was not with him, and because of their foolish shortsightedness, they had no purpose in his grand plans after defeating the Absolute. Unlike Tav, who had earned herself a seat beside his throne. Astarion continued to pet her head and scratch behind her ears, and he felt inspired by her wolf form. “I adore how loyal you are to me. You deserve a treat.” Tav felt awkward at how he seemed to be treating her like an actual pet, but at the same time, this was the most affection Astarion had shown her since he broke things off with her. “Come along, and let us go and have some fun. What would you like to do? Hmm?” He sang and sauntered forward. “Shall we drink fine wine and dance the night away? Or find some villainous cads we can send to meet their Gods?” 

Tav dropped her wildshape and ran a hand back through her messy red hair. She was far to drained, mentally, magically, emotionally, and physically, to hit the town with anyone. Especially not the one man holding the key to the lion’s share of her baggage.

“Honestly? I just want to find somewhere nice and quiet to meditate and sleep.” One of the features of being a half-elf meant that like many other hybrids, neither meditation nor sleep on it’s own would be enough to recover from her exhaustion. She needed at least four hours of solid sleep, and maybe an hour or two of meditation. “I need to rest and recover.” She closed her eyes and held either side of her neck. Astarion appraised her and felt a pang of anger in his belly. 

“You haven’t rested yet? Not even in a trance?” His red eyes lit up with murderous intent. “It’s been hours, Tav. I’ve been out for a quick bite and back.” He held her chin, which prompted her to open her eyes and look at him. “Has our little band of freaks been barking at you solidly since we returned here?” Astarion’s rage would have been intimidating if Tav wasn’t A, used to his mood changes, and B, too tired to be concerned anyway. 

“Yeah.” She lifted her chin free and turned to the right to look back towards the tavern. As much as she needed to get some rest before the next battle landed on her lap, she didn’t fancy facing her companions. Not while their tempers were still hot and Tav was still wrestling with her own feelings. Were her friends right? Had she made a bad call because it revolved around Astarion? Would she have decided differently if it were someone else? As she struggled with what was clearly the truth, Astarion took in how weary the druid looked, and she was nearly as pale as he was. The silly little thing has always struggled to tell our little band of needy burdens to find a suitable ditch to rot in. It isn’t like she’s had nothing on her own plate to deal with. 

He nodded and smirked down at her absent expression. I am the only one who gets to snap their fingers and bring Tav to heel. He had plans for her, after all, and in his mind, he envisaged expertly sneaking walls up between Tav and the rest of their associates. After today’s display, it served them right, honestly. If done so subtly enough, it will be too late before anyone can stop me. Better yet? Tav will be happy with her new leash and snap at the hands of anyone who tries to take her from me. The vampire ascendant used his superior stealth to his advantage and snuck up on his prey. If Tav’s a really good girl, I’ll even give her a pretty new collar. Something golden with an A on it. Oh, and with an enchantment so it grows and shrinks with her wildshapes. That way, the entire world will know who her master is at all times. How delightful. 

“Then let’s leave the night of celebration for now and have a quiet night in instead.” Tav flinched at the flamboyant declaration to her side. The vampire was perfectly silent when he wanted to be. He’d used her moment of distraction to sneak up on her and lean over her right shoulder to whisper in her pointy ear. “Our associates are useful, but a tad shortsighted when it comes to the bigger picture. We can hardly fell the absolute when scraping from the proverbial barrel.” He chuckled and slunk around her to fill her vision. “They are also being rather tedious.” He rolled his eyes and winked at her. “Let’s not subject ourselves to their subpar company tonight. I know of a particular good bottle of red that I think we should enjoy.” Astarion plucked her hand from her side and looped her arm around his. “You can curl up in front of a roaring fire and rest to your heart’s content.” He bumped a hip with hers and suppressed the urge to cackle with victory at the dreamy look on her face. Oh, how well he knew his prey. Tav enjoyed a social gathering, true, and could drink Karlach under the table. However, the druid also enjoyed quiet contemplation and reading whatever dusty tomes she managed to salvage. “Me, you, a full-bodied red wine, a warm, quiet nook, and a good book. How does that sound?” 

“Perfect.” Tav sighed and slumped into Astarion’s side. He hid the urge to peel his lips back over his fangs with disgust. She was barely putting one foot in front of the other. If those morons had taken a moment to actually look at her and past their own idiocy, they would have seen she was in no fit state to defend herself. No wonder she stood there and took that farce of an interrogation back there. “Which tavern are we headed to?” Her eyes half shut and she looked moments away from passing out. Astarion did scowl then, but quick as a flash, he put his perfect charming persona back in place. 

“I’m not taking you to a tavern.” Astarion guided her to a stop and cupped the back of her neck. “I’m taking you home, darling. Now, hold still.” I doubt she has the capacity to wildshape into something small I can carry like a squirrel, so instead, I’ll take her into an alleyway and cloak her in my mist. We’ll be home in no time. 

“Who’s home?” She lifted her chin and saw her groggy reflection in his gleaming red eyes. It almost felt like she was drifting as he leaned to one side and drew her down the side path of a blacksmith’s workshop. 

“Why, ours, my sweet.” His eyes pulsed with vampiric magic, and her vision became filled with a plume of mist.