bakerstreet | love at first sight

[ m/f ]

[Well yes, absolutely. Obviously. ~~I mean, look at her. What isn't to love~~ even without this bizarro enchantment bringing everything to the fore.

Perhaps the only thing that stops this magic from influencing this particular Soldier to drop to his knees and unveil what has neatly been stored at the back of his mind is the fact they're also rather close friends. So. In this particular moment, at the campsite, in the early hours of the night, Tav merely elects to stride toward the tiefling.

And.]

About tomorrow...

[Another day of hacking, slashing, and surviving. Nothing new. Yet...]

I feel we'll need your strength. Would you travel with us?

( Sitting on the ground in front of her tent, leaned back on her palms to stare up at the sky while she hummed some idle tune, Karlach did not even notice he was coming until he was right beside her.

And wow did she notice him then. The glow in her chest brightened, little flames licking along the ends of her hair and bouncing off her skin. )

Better be good news, soldier... ( said in jest, clearly. Karlach grinned as he continued though, sitting up so she could punch the air excitedly. ) Fuck yes! Ugh, gods! I was going crazy here!

[Karlach's excitement is contagious, shown by a shift in his stance to a more relaxed posture and a smile. It's always been easy to catch her enthusiasm, after all.]

Good to hear. As for tonight...

[There's a brief pause as thoughts of checking on everyone else come to mind, but the magic displaces them into nothingness. He takes a seat a few inches away from the tiefling's possessions, careful not to crush Clive, but close enough to be near.]

... I was hoping to talk about things other than parasites, the hells, or our next objective. We're both from the city. I was curious about your life before everything.

[It's foolish to think that in Baldur's Gate, with so many people, they would have ever shared the same space. But did they go to the same places? Enjoy the same things? Perhaps this magic had made all prior curiosities on his part come out into words- making such sentimentalities feel very important.]

Yeeesss? ( Karlach hears 'about tonight' and leans toward him, careful still because even with Dammon's repairs she's still burning hot. Still, she wants to be close - always does, really, because she likes him. A lot. A thought that makes itself known even more clearly tonight now that he's come go see her.

But then he mentions talking. And she's not disappointed, not really, but a girl could hope she was about to be propositioned by the man she adores, right? The thought alone makes her chest brighten. ) Oh. ( She hummed again; shrugged. ) I don't have any grand stories to tell, not really anyway. Just some outer city kid taking whatever jobs I could get, you know? Passing the time as best I could. What about you? I bet you got some tales to tell.

Me? Well, nothing aside from a few jobs. Errands, mostly. ...Yet perhaps that's for the best. After all that's happened to us recently, grand stories are beginning to feel commonplace.

[No- he's after the mundane. Little things, small things. Similar experiences even if experienced apart- insignificant things- tiny parts of what makes the whole of what life in the city is like. Like comedy night at the Elfsong. Or witnessing performances by traveling acting troupes upon the street- or even the low points of city life- such as making sure one doesn't walk underneath the balcony of the Blushing Mermaid without a means to cover one's head and clothing from any... misfortune from above.

He moves his arms behind him and leans back on them, his gaze moving to Karlach's face. ]

It's a long road. And if we survive it- we'll find a healer there, I'm sure. [If not there, then they're doomed.] You have business with Gortash you'll want to attend to. And I'll be there, if you need me to be. I'm sure everyone will- if you want us to. But...

[He turns his eyes away then, to the distant campfire. An action that suggests avoidance- yet his voice is sincere. Is he actually being coy?]

I'd like to see you again. When this is over- and under better circumstances, be it going somewhere in the city, or otherwise. As long as it's somewhere we're not ankle-deep in blood and bone.

[Not quite as gratifying as a proposition to make some fun right here and right now. But the feeling in his heart seems worth playing the long game for.]

You're right- can't go a single day without being dragged into another world-shattering event. Gods, what I wouldn't give to run errands - like real, boring errands like picking up bread for dinner.

( it's been so fucking long since anything normal and mundane happened. She got out of hell and went directly back into a world filled with chaos. But it was nice, with him, right now. Like the rest of the wild world wasn't hounding them, for once. Karlach scooted back enough to look down at him, then decided after a moment to drop down to her elbows, just a little closer while they talked. )

I do. Want you to be there, I mean. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you - all of you. But you especially.

( Karlach fell silent for a moment, the engine in her chest thrumming. Dammon said it wouldn't last much longer - a ticking timebomb set to devour her in flames at any moment. She had accepted her fate, sort of. But a few fleeting hours or days or weeks - if she was lucky - would be enough for her.

Was it even fair to say she wanted to see him again, too? ) Me too. I - I really do, Ara, with all my fucking heart I just want to see you without all of the bullshit; safe and warm like you should be.

I want that. So gods damn much. But I don't know if there's time.

[A smile comes to his face as she scoots- and, well, yes- the sight of her biceps rippling in the firelight at the fluid movement is... certainly something that does things to him. But. He moves his gaze, again, to her face. The flicker of the flames in her eyes. Such kind eyes, despite all the suffering that should have robbed her of it.]

You mentioned that he was an arms dealer ten years ago. He'll likely still have connections... possibly to the Upper City. So, we'll have to find out the best way to go about making him vulnerable. ...But we will get him. He's going to answer for everything.

[It's a promise. As for the engine...
He knows a return to Avernus isn't up for discussion. Karlach has made her stance clear- and while deception and persuasion are his forte- how can he attempt to persuade her to go against her wishes? For the last 10 years, she hasn't had agency. Not about her own self, her own body.

She decides. No-one else. So Avernus isn't mentioned.
But, he wants to mention one thing... ]

Dammon will think of something. And if he does not- there must be other infernal mechanics around. Baldur's Gate seems our best place to look. If not, Waterdeep. If not, Amn. We'll find someone. I'm sure of it.

[Onto other things.]

I feel warm now. You're almost as warm as sitting next to the fire.

See, this is why I like you. Always thinking ahead, making plans. I was just gonna run in screaming and swinging my axe. ( It's only partially a joke, really. Karlach's plan for vengeance didn't exactly come with a step by step guide. She just wanted him dead and gone so he couldn't hurt anyone else. Gods if she only knew how difficult that would be now.

Karlach smiled, hopeful and a touch sad. Ara was so sweet, so optimistic. She wanted to be optimistic, too - was, for the most part, but less so than she would like with regards to the infernal engine in her chest. It was going to explode if she stayed on this plane. There was no getting around it. She just had to make the most of the time she had until then. )

Yeah. Alright. ( she's not gonna tell him he's wrong. Maybe he's not. Karlach tilted toward him, careful still even after being told she could touch people. She still ran hot - absurdly hot. )

Good. I'll keep you safe, too, if you stick close. Now and always, whenever you need me. So I guess I've technically got what I wanted - you safe and warm beside me.

( a beat. She shifted her weight to balance on one elbow. ) Can I touch you? Not like - not like that, at least not right out in the open, but just... feel you. ( the way her hand moved suggested a hand on his cheek, if nothing else, ready to retract if he said no. )

That's the reason? [A brief laugh. Playful.] I've tried everything else short of waking up at the crack of dawn to pick flowers and risk Lae'zel's scorn by borrowing her wheel to sharpen your weapons for you.

[A joke, of course. Jokes are easily traded between the pair of them. But... ah. A joke with a glimmer of truth behind it would not normally be uttered. That has to be the magic. And strangely, he doesn't seem to mind.

He blinks as the request is made. And silently, he adjusts his position in order to better tilt his head toward her hand. Were his eyebrows to end up singed off... It would be worth it. ]

Well, it's not the only thing I like about you. Shall I wax poetic about all the things I adore, or- wait. Really? For me?

( Karlach never was a subtle woman, and she probably didn't need some strange magic to make her more inclined to blurt out all the things she wanted to say to him, but it certainly didn't hurt to have a nudge in that direction. She felt her heart - her engine. Whatever. - swell, the pulse of it bright in her chest. He could probably hear her muttering 'please don't burn him, please please please' over and over again as she shifted closer, pressing a warm palm to his cheek with the faintest hint of an instinctive flinch. When he didn't immediately burst into flames, she sighed. ) How's that - you okay?

No- that's not needed.

[Can't have her thinking that he's fishing for compliments, after all! ~~Even if he is. A little.~~ When he feels the warmth (and gods, it is warm) of her hand against his cheekbone, it is altogether a different kind of heat from what one would feel sitting across from the fireplace. It is not just surface level. It is deep- spreading below the surface of his skin, past the flesh underneath that makes up his cheek- sinking right to the bone.

And with it is a strange sort of thrum. Unlike a heartbeat's steady rhythm. It is a constant hum, almost. And gods, he feels it.]

All I need is-

[An adjustment. It has been a mere matter of seconds yet his skin is starting to prickle- and with her hand in direct contact for much longer, he is sure he'll have a fine handprint shape in welts across the side of his face in no time at all. So. His own hand moves to lightly cover hers, then to draw it away. Then his eyes lower, and he raises both of their hands to his lips- turning it over to expose her slender fingers, her long nails.

...And then he dusts her knuckles, lightly, so lightly- with a series of touches from his lips.

Really. With the conversations they've had in the past about being pent up- he should not be doing this. Yet he finds that he cannot help it.]

...Come closer.

( Karlach was ready to retract, always fearful that she'd scorch his skin - that the fix Dammon gave her wouldn't last for long and she'd hurt someone - hurt him - but gods did he feel good. That simple touch was like heaven, the feeling of his skin against her palm, the contrasting coolness in comparison to her fiery touch.

She opened her mouth to apologize, fingers flexing, then stilling as she watched him kiss her knuckles. Her eyes widened, sparks flying off her skin, and a giggle - not unlike a giddy schoolgirl - burbling from her lips. )

Are you sure? By the fucking hells I need this... ( She shouldn't, but she can't resist, drawing closer still as if pulled in by some unseen force. Still ready to retreat for his safety- but maybe she could have a moment. Even that would be enough. Karlach leaned in, paused. Took a breath. She'd follow his lead on this one. )

I'm sure. There- That's perfect.

[Dammon's work had held so far- and while there is a part of him that envisions something going terribly wrong, and his life irrevocably changed by having his lips cauterized together and his eyelids seared shut- ~~his wisdom stat's atrocious.~~ There's worse ways to go. The prospect of having his organs rot, his skull splinter like an overboiled egg and his face splitting and tearing apart into a mass of writhing tentacles is never a distant thought- and really. The thought of that has no upside.

...Karlach is an upside to the very worst that could happen here. Just for a moment, this moment, even if this curious magic has an influence or he's just always been a fool, it seems worth the risk. So. He raises his head from the crisscross of her fingers and leans upward, catching her lips in his. Just a touch, at first. A quick, gentle touch- before he draws closer once again and kisses her once more- long. Lingering.

As much as he can linger before it gets too hot, obviously.]

( She could feel the heat rising, boiling hot under the surface of her skin as she grew more nervous; more excited. She let him kiss her first, test the waters so to speak, even if it took every fiber of her being not to surge forward and try to devour him. Would that she could... )

Mmm... ( A soft hum of approval. This time she tilted her head and leaned in to return his affection, lips pressed firmly to his. Her lips parted, tongue swiping quick like a lash of fire across the line of his mouth - just a taste before she whined and cocked her head back; flames crackling over her lips. ) Shit! Are you all right? ( She's asked it a lot, she knows, but she can't help it - when the risk of burning someone you care just by being close is so high, everything seems dangerous. ) You taste so good I almost couldn't stop myself.

[It's surprising how soft her lips are before the kiss grows more intense. But that is somewhere where Karlach is quite unique.

She's strong, of course. Terrifying in some respects- both as a demon hunter and in battle. She's strong, fearless, even- she can stand knee-deep in the broken remains of her enemies and crack a joke, or even a quip.

But there's a softer side, too. One that's dualistic, just as much a part of her as any of her physical strength. One that makes no attempt to hide behind anything. One that happens when she's defending those who can't defend themselves. One that comes out when she's dancing and thinks no-one is watching, when she's humming out a particular earworm, and... well, even here. Her concern. It's touching.

...And warranted. Given that the telltale scent of (his) singed hair suddenly fills his nostrils and the tingling of his lips has started to feel more like the telltale tingling that signals the start of slight burns, her concern is definitely warranted.

He withdraws, moving his hand through it carefully, unable to stop a smile coming to his features. And, with a (soothing) flick of his tongue across his lips- he moves his hand to (gingerly) rest at her cheek... for as long as it can.]

So do you. Hold onto it for me. When [Not 'if'. When.] we get your engine fixed, all we'll have to worry about is finding an excuse to slip away from the others.

( Was he smiling? Karlach felt the butterflies in her stomach so fiercely she thought she might have been infected by something beyond the tadpole - and maybe she was, in a sense. Besotted; enraptured by him in every aspect - fully and completely in love even without (but due in no small part to) the strange magic apparently wafting through the camp. She had nearly burned his lips off and he was smiling and licking his lips like he liked the taste of fire. )

I will... ( The taste of him was something she would never forget, nor that desire for more of his touch. Karlach resisted the urge to lean into his palm no matter how much she wanted to, but she did dare to fleetingly brush her lips over his fingers - just for a split second. ) The second I can, I'm going to get my hands on you. My mouth, too - I want every inch of you in every way you can imagine. ( She wasn't begging or demanding more from him tonight - but the desperation in her voice was real and raw, her lips trembling slightly, her fingers flexing on the furs they sat upon. Every part of her ached for him, somehow even more so than it had before.) Until then, at least I have my imagination. ( and the ability to handle her own flames, as it were.)

love at first sight

serval landau | hsr

naganohara yoimiya — genshin impact

kaedehara kazuha . genshin impact

nilou | genshin impact

Naminé | Kingdom Hearts | f/m

Karlach | Baldur's Gate III | ota

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HOWLS also do you want pre or post engine fix

I'm totally in for post-Dammon tinkering if that's cool with you!

You got it chief

\o/

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Assuming they have no idea what became of Gortash in this tag ofc!

Vaguely waves my hands. I'll roll with whatever fam.

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