Chapter Text
It had been a quiet day, slowly leaning into a quiet evening. Most of today was spent hiking, finding their way through the mountain pass. They had made camp somewhen this afternoon and after they set up their tents, some of their merry little band had set out to scout the area. Tharin, Karlach and Halsin stayed at camp, finishing up. Halsin had disappeared into the woods, looking for firewood a while back and Tharin and Karlach settled in the middle of camp to play a few rounds of cards.
“How do you keep winning, soldier? Stop using your fey magic!”, the barbarian complained.
“I don’t use magic! I’m just naturally gifted.”, he smiled sheepishly and gathered the battered cards to shuffle them for another round.
“No way, no one has that kind of luck. You’re cheating, I know it!” Karlach wasn’t completely wrong. It was in his nature to twist at the strands of luck, he couldn’t help it. Still, it wasn’t impossible to beat him, you just needed enough wit and good enough cards.
“I don’t cheat, you just-“ His train of thought was interrupted when he saw a certain druid appear at the borders of camp. He was carrying a collection of roughly chopped logs over his shoulder, an axe in his other hand. Tharins first thought was if Halsin could carry him like he carried those logs, the smaller tiefling thrown over those deliciously strong shoulders. He didn’t mince his thoughts or words for that matter. He rarely felt shame which often led to interesting situations. Karlach turned around to see what Tharin was looking at.
“Hey Halsin!”, she called and waved. The druid offered a warm smile and raised his axe. When she turned around, Tharins eyes were still fixed on him.
“Tharin? You there, soldier?”
“Mhm.”
Karlach grinned.
“Druid caught your eye, huh?”
“You don’t know the half of it.”, he sighed and turned his attention back to the cards.
“I can’t blame you, you have to have a groin of stone to not be attracted to that.” She took up the cards and started organizing them in her hand.
“Even then. Those muscles could melt stone.”, he looked over his cards and laid one down, “Or break it for that matter.”
Behind them, Halsin had put down the collection of wood next to a tree stump. He put one log down and began chopping them into smaller pieces. As he raised his arms, Tharin could see the well-defined muscles tensing, wondering what it would feel like to be wrapped in those strong arms. He bit his lip, his fangs drawing blood.
“Tharin, your turn.”, Karlach pulled him back to the game.
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” The barbarian laughed and turned around again.
“Do you want to give up so you can drool uninterruptedly over that hunk of a man?”, she suggested teasingly.
“What, no. I’m here.” For a while he managed to focus, rarely stealing glances of the druid.
Sweat started soaking the elf’s shirt and with that his concentration was gone again. How could someone look so hot while chopping wood, clothing drenched in sweat, bark sticking to his hands? Tharin swallowed. Absentmindedly he layed one card after the other, not even bothering to manipulate his luck anymore. Halsin stopped and stretched, throwing the latest log aside before he grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Tharins mouth fell slightly open at the sight of sunkissed skin bathing in the evening light, beads of sweat rolling over his back. He thought about how it would feel to run his hands over the druid’s skin, marking his exposed neck, claws digging in his back, scratching deep.
“Tharin, I can see your cards.”, Karlach pushed his hands towards his chest, slight annoyance in her voice.
“Yeah, sure.”, he brushed her off and continued, “Was Halins always this muscular?” Karlach turned around once again and a deep chuckle escaped her throat.
“You are down bad, my friend.”, she laughed. Tharins attention span was short, even shorter with that display of desire incarnate nonchalantly letting his muscles shine. The tiefling tried to remember when he had ever been so drawn to a person and couldn’t. The leather straps around Halsins arms strained against his biceps as he let the axe come down on the logs.
“How can you not be? I mean, look at him!”, he tapped his cards against his lips, “I don’t understand how that man can be single.”
“Well? That’s your chance.”, she smiled and played another card, “Time for you to climb Mount Halsin.”
“I tried. He’s not interested.”
“You did? When?”
“At the tiefling party. He was very polite about it, but he sent me away.” Maybe he had too much wine, maybe he was too bold, too much. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone rejected him because of his chaotic nature.
“Pah, are you sure that wasn’t a dream?”
“Yes, why?”
“I’ve seen how he looks at you, mate. Nothing in that says rejection.”, she explained before throwing another card between them.
“His words say otherwise.”, Tharin sighed. So, he was confined to looking, dreaming, imagining what that divine man could do to him. A warm tingle collected in the centre of his body. His mouth went dry before he cleared his throat and continued playing.
“I don’t know, soldier, maybe he’s just unsure on how to approach you.”
“Unsure? That man? I doubt it. Besides, I approached him! He had every chance to-“, a rush of sinful thoughts better not spoken out loud came to him.
“To?” Karlach smirked.
“Well, you know what I mean.”
“Ha! I’ve won!”, Karlach exclaimed and raised her hands. For the first time in decidedly too long, Tharin paid attention to the game.
“Hells.”, he gave up and threw the rest of his cards between them.
“That’s what you get for gushing over Halsin for the past half hour.”, she teased, triumph in her eyes. Tharin stretched and let his hands ran through his hair, catching on his horns and the golden rings that adorned them.
“Yeah, I know.”, he groaned and buried his face in his hands.
“Is someone being as sore loser?” For being such a big person, Halsin could be remarkably quiet as he appeared next to them.
“Something of that nature.”, Karlach answered the druid. Tharin could practically hear the smirk in her voice. He carefully looked through his fingers, catching a glimpse of Halsin standing there, still half naked, his shirt thrown over his shoulder. By the gods.
“Well, I think that’s it for today.”, Tharin sat back up and gathered the cards to put them back into their pouch, “I’ll start making a fire.”
“Don’t let me disturb you! I can start the campfire, I just wanted to take a quick bath in a stream I found nearby. I’ll be back soon.”, he explained before using his shirt to rub the sweat from his brow.
“Ah, great, Tharin just talked about how he needed a wash as well! You two can go together and I’ll tend to the fire!”, Karlach chimed in. A quick flash of panic ran over Tharins face. What was she doing?
“If it doesn’t bother you, my friend, you’re welcome to join me.” Halsins voice was so inviting, so friendly.
“Uhm, yeah, I did say that.”, he repeated, an edge of passive aggressiveness in his voice, targeted at Karlach who seemed incredibly happy with herself, grinning from ear to ear.
“Great! Teamwork, friends, teamwork!”, with that she stood up and gave Tharin a sly wink before disappearing towards the woodpile. Halsin smiled softly.
“Shall we?”
That man was going to be his ruin.