Halsin
Being a Druid meant the call of nature was always right at your doorstep.
Being a Druid who grew up in the wild meant you were more connected than many of your fellow Tieflings who grew up either in the cities or in the planes of Hell prior to the fall. It also had put you in a very awkward position when you arrived to the Grove, a place you had hoped to find sanctum in considering everything that had happened in the previous two days. Only you found it in a turmoil of its own, with the pot stirred until it was ready to overflow and temperatures as hot as Avernus itself, you had almost expected everything to fall apart the moment you left to go find this ‘Halsin’ man they had asked for. The leader of the Grove, or so you had heard. Gale, Astarion, and Lae’zel had been skeptical. You were too. Especially since they expected you to walk right into a camp of Goblins and come back out unharmed and with this person at your side. Hearing rumors about a bear had been what led you right to him. As a Druid you knew the basic shapes, you knew that a bear was one of the harder ones you could take shape of but it was also one of the more resourceful ones that many Druids who grew up in woodlands like this often felt drawn to.
Ironic in the end, considering you had always been drawn to something like the Elk. Not a deer, not like you had initially thought when you had learned to take the shape of another animal, but the Elk with massive horns you could use to knock trees down and throw foes when they got too close for comfort. It was the shape you had taken when you entered the prison and fought off the guards before they released their Wurgs.
It was the shape you dropped as the bear turned to a man who stood twice your size and looked at you like a normal bear would have a cornered Elk in the wild. Then he blinked and those piercing eyes had softened and he was soft as well when he approached and spoke and introduced himself as the man you had been on the hunt for: Halsin.
Being a Druid meant the call of nature was always right there. Halsin was no different and you found some comfort in finding someone else who was so connected with nature. That night at the party with everyone sharing drinks and pipes and stories around the fires you had found him just away from the party at the edge of the creek that ran aside the camp you had temporarily fixed. The moon was high and full enough you wouldn’t have required any light to see, not for who and what you were. You also knew Halsin didn’t need the torch that was a few feet away either, already watching you approach as that tail of yours flicked behind you with every step. You tried to carry yourself the way nature intended: a predator. A beast meant to chase and strike fear in others.
But under his gaze, you felt very much once again like that cornered Elk in the dark forest without a herd.
“Not going to join the others?” You asked. His arms were crossed and his smile still polite despite the way his eyes were roaming. He radiated a strangely calm confidence about him, his chin held up even as he looked down at you. Poised not to run but to strike should the need arise. Halsin shrugged his heavy shoulders and looked out to the others.
“I think I rather enjoy watching them have their fun. They’ve all deserved it.” His eyes returned to you and his smile curved a little higher. “You included. Shouldn’t you be with your friends to celebrate?” The way he poised the question felt like a careful manipulation of words. Both of you knew why and you gave away that you knew when you narrowed your eyes up at him. Astarion and Gale had been open about their advancements towards you. Lae’zel had been at some point too, though her advancements were retracted the moment you hesitated with an answer, leaving you to wander right over to the sauntering Vampire. Who was also a little upset when you denied him, though he continued to offer a few subtle touches and promises despite your polite declines. Gale was nice and accepted when you told him a polite no, instead opting to wander through the party and talk to the others.
Halsin had been watching you that entire time. Watching and waiting patiently until you had come to him first. It set something instinctual in you aflame. Not fear, you didn’t feel the immediate need to run from him at this observation, but caution. Like you had just realized you were in fact not in control in this situation and you were late to this realization. Halsin definitely already knew this.
“I think I’m intending to find some…interesting way to celebrate.” You tried to choose your words to be more aloof, maybe be a little more subtle. But being subtle wasn’t something you had much practice. Nature had never been subtle and it wasn’t in you to fight nature like that. Halsin’s lip turned a little sharp when he smirked.
“Is that so?” But when he spoke he didn’t sound at all like he was portraying. In fact, his voice was still polite and soft and his smile once more softened out as he shook his head. “Go. Celebrate. I’ll be here and we’ll leave in the morning, you should try to get your rest.”
You were confused after that. Halsin wasn’t someone who should have pulled away so easily. It was in your nature, therefore it should have been in his nature, to not deny the nature of things. And at the root of it, nature was screaming for something to acknowledge that spark you felt whenever you looked up at him. Whether it was a very quick romp in the tent that ended with a wobble in your step or an elongated tussle in the forest that left him picking leaves and sticks from his hair. Something should have happened.
But it wouldn’t for a while. Not until the problems that weighed on the older Elf’s shoulders was finally smothered down. Not until the Shadowlands had been reborn and the evil from there banished, leaving the land to slowly lick its wounds. Not until the darkness in his gaze wasn’t from guilt of a time when he couldn’t save the lands, but when it was instead how he looked at you over the fire at the camp just before you were supposed to reach Baldur’s Gate. New and old companions had gathered, wounds old and new being licked as they all shared new stories and the stew Gale had made sure to provide for the evening. Tieflings that had loitered in the lands unable to pass were now sharing the meal as well, many catching up with Wyll as he regaled them with the stories of his travels so far.
You weren’t focused on them. After Rolan and his siblings had been reunited and the Tiefling had sobered up long enough for the three of them to give thanks, you had managed to keep your distance in the camp to avoid much socializing. Halsin, however, had spotted you immediately over the fire and you felt his gaze before you could see him. He was across the camp and surrounded, but he only had eyes for you.
He looked hungry and you were reminded very quickly of the beast beneath the man and felt the hairs on your body raise. That urge of caution you hadn’t felt in so long returned with a vengeance and you felt the unsettling urge to run. But you weren’t uncomfortable like you should have been. The thought came with a sudden rush of heat, which knocked the air from your lungs as you stood a little straighter. When you stopped reclining into the tree he stood a little straighter too. Mimicking you, he stepped slowly to the side to mock your own steps. A dance between the two of you that went unnoticed even once you started to slowly slip into the forest. He paused in his steps when you started to disappear into the bushes and tilted his head in question. There again was that soft face you’ve grown used to from the man. The actual man, not the bear, and you smiled at him before nodding back behind you.
His steps were sudden and more assured as he started to cross through the crowded camp. Instinct pulled and took hold to direct you to turn and no longer walk but sprint into the woods. You could see through the trees and bushes. Most of it was regrown from the damage done, though scarring to the land could be seen when the curled up, dark grass crunched under your bare feet. When had you lost your shoes? Oh, of course, once you started to run you had kicked them off, waving your tail to keep balance so you didn’t stumble and risk ending whatever game had started before you even got a chance to draw it out. They were too clunky and loud for what you were doing. Plus the feeling of the cool dirt between your toes, the mud clinging to your feet as you sprinted was something that couldn’t be compared to anything.
You had made distance by the time you heard the first sound of something behind you. It was light and fluttering and you only had to turn and look up to realize it was just a bird. Not one of those crows who had continued to ambush you when you tried to explore the lands before, but just a normal crow who cried out and took flight when you passed by it. You cursed and immediately turned a new direction. The creature had already given you away and you could only hope Halsin wasn’t close enough to-
A crunch, the snap of something in the tree line and you didn’t hesitate to once more take to sprinting. That instinct that guided you, kept you alive when you grew up in the wilds of the land, directed you to flee. It didn’t direct you to turn and fight with the horns you would have bore, it directed you to run like the prey animal an Elk actually is. It directed you to lower your head and avoid the low branches as something massive gave chase. You wouldn’t have had to look back to know the thumping and splashing were Halsin’s bare feet colliding with the puddles of mud you managed to jump or bounce around. The sounds of limbs snapping from the force of his own body hitting them was growing closer and you turned sharply around a tree. The roots were knotted up and should have tangled his feet, but he was older and faster and had experienced more than you could have ever experienced in the wilds and he must have thrown himself over them because he never fell behind.
Too close. He was too close and your heart was racing, your throat burning as you sucked in sharp gasps, your eyes wide as you tried to figure out a new path. Another right, another left, straight. Straight. Right and right once again, a sharp turn around that let you catch a glimpse of one large arm reaching out to grasp at the tree he could use to turn himself around and never lose his momentum. Your legs were burning. You haven’t had to run this long and this hard in a while and the ache settling in meant your steps were growing clumsy. Weak. And all it took was finally one simple mistake of your foot getting caught in a root and you fell.
You hadn’t expected him to be so close because the moment you fell he was upon you, the heat and mass of his body encircling your own with arms and legs and bracing so you both tumbled and took the brunt of it against his shoulders. You both rolled and tangled in limbs and leaves and it ended with him pinning your front to the ground, one hand against your shoulder and the other reaching out to grasp your wrist when you reached out to try and pull yourself away. That panic of being caught was transforming when you became more and more aware of the heat and length of him against you. The muscles of his body were fine tuned, a weapon in itself as his legs pinned your own and his chest pressed into your back so you could feel his heart there. His panting was heavy and raspy against your neck and he buried his face right into your pulse point.
“You run so fast,” He muttered and you became more aware of his teeth and lips against you flesh as he spoke. Then you became aware of his hips shifting and the length of his hard cock fitting just against your ass. He adjusted to press firmly and began to roll his hips slowly, steadily, and rasped out against your flesh. “Not fast enough, though. And you were caught.”
“What do you plan to do with your catch?” You threw your head back against his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut as you tried to roll your hips back. The pressure of him had you pinned, but the attempt had him inhaling and rumbling out the softest growl.
“What does a wolf do with the duck it’s caught?”