Lullaby
“Hey, soldier. Got a moment?”
Orochimaru rolls his eyes, but turns to face Karlach anyway.
Karlach pulls at the back of her neck, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
“About last night-”
“What about it?”
She fidgets awkwardly, fumbling over her words.
“Well, you and Astarion-”
“What about us?”
Orochimaru raises an eyebrow at the woman, feeling both amused and confused.
“I mean- it’s not like I’m judgin’ or anything- I’d ride him to the Faewild n’ back if he gave me a chance, but just-”
She looks around to find the right words for what she wants to say.
“...Just be careful, alright?”
“Careful?”
Orochimaru isn’t sure whether he should laugh or not.
“He isn’t going to hurt me, so you don’t need to-”
“-No offense mate, but it uh, isn’t you I’m worried about.”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, uh- how do I put it-”
Karlach stares down at her boots, tracing circles in the dirt with her foot. Her tail swishes around like a nervous cat, and she looks profoundly anxious.
“-He just seems a little…fragile, y’know? Just be careful with him.
Such a sweet woman, already so concerned about someone she barely knows.
(And how perceptive, seeming to have Orochimaru figured out so quickly.)
“Don’t fret,” he reassures her, lying through his pointed teeth. “I don’t bite.”
He would give her a pat on the head if her scorching heat wouldn’t melt his hand off.
“Besides- whatever you thought was happening last night, it wasn’t anything indecent.”
“I- but you-”
Orochimaru rolls his eyes.
“I know how it looked. It was totally innocent, you don’t need to be so concerned.”
She probably thinks he’s full of it- he doesn’t exactly have the most trustworthy face, even though his reputation hasn’t followed him to this new realm.
“...If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
Karlach doesn’t seem convinced, but maybe decides it isn’t worth it to press the matter.
Just…be careful, okay?”
Poor, concerned Karlach. Already fussing over the well-being of companions she barely knows.
Such a sweet, well intentioned, absolute saint of a woman.
It’s enough to make Orochimaru sick to his stomach.
He’s known so many souls like her- sweet souls. Good souls. Kind souls who only wanted to look out for others, who devoted so much time and energy worrying about those around them.
It never ended well for any of them.
So many well-meaning souls laying dead in the ground- if they even made it back home for a proper burial. The ones lucky enough to live never do so without the scars their good intentions won them.
Hell, judging by the sorry state Karlach is in (almost more scars than untouched skin) it seems she’s already paid the price for her good intentions.
Even so, she still chooses to be kind.
How horrible.
He can’t help but feel sorry for her. That kind heart of hers will be the death of her if she isn’t careful.
He stands there still for awhile, listening to the others chattering amongst themselves.
“Hey, where’s Wyll?”
“Off sulkin’ someplace. He’ll get his shit together and we’ll see him around.”
Hidan is making his best attempt at being reassuring, in his own way. Karlach seems a chronic worrier, however, so his attempts aren’t doing much.
It’s about time they got going, so they have a brief discussion of their plans, and get going.
“Come on, Scratch,” Itachi calls out.
The dog comes bounding toward him, a rubber ball clenched firmly between his teeth, tail wagging, ears perked up.
Maybe that good attitude will rub off on some of them.
Of course the others found other things to do, leaving Hidan here on his own.
Annoying.
“Hey, you- can I have a word?”
Hidan points at himself, puzzled, just to confirm the tiefling is truly talking to him.
“Hey- you’re uhhhh-”
He struggles to try to remember the name- Wyll already seems to have them memorized, but Hidan has always been wretched in remembering.
“-Asharak,” the man says, with a small laugh.
“Right. Sorry.”
“Do you have a moment?”
“Got a few, yeah. Why?”
Asharak gestures toward a gathering of children, all sitting on the ground and staring at him like a group of startled baby birds.
“This may be a bit strange,” he says. “But the children have gone through so much. I think hearing from a warrior like you might lift their spirits.”
“I see…”
Hidan wants to say he’s not really the sort of warrior Asharak is looking for, but the tiefling looks so hopeful that he can’t bring himself to say it.
Before long, he’s standing before a gaggle of tiefling kids who eye him like some kind of novelty.
“Children,” Asharak says, “I couldn’t find Wyll, but his friend said he’s able to give us a bit of time.”
Approving chatter, and the children exchange marveled expressions.
“You look like you’ve seen some action in your time,” the man says, with a cautious smile. “Maybe you could share a few stories?”
“Eh? What kinda stories?”
“Battle stories. Daring escapes. Something to lift their spirits.”
“Lift their spirits, huh?”
The little tiefling children watch him with wide eyes as he takes a seat so he can be closer to their level. They gather around, staring with rapt attention even though he hasn’t said anything yet.
“I guess you guys are goin’ through some rough shit lately, huh?”
A few nervous nods.
“It’ll be better if we can make it to Baldur’s Gate.” Asharak says. “Things are…different there. Better. safer.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve already heard so much about that city, it must be a big deal.”
Hidan feels weird trying so hard not to curse in front of these children- and even then, not entirely succeeding. But he bites his tongue until it bleeds anyway, figuring he should at least try.
“Man, where do I even start? I got a knife put in my hand basically the second I could hold it and I just kinda got told to figure it out.”
The kids hang onto his every word, though the adults look a little nervous.
“Was it scary?” one of the youngest ones asks.
“Course it fu- I mean, of course it was scary.”
“Well, what did you do?” one of the older children asks.
“Whatever I had to do to stay alive,” he answers. “When you’re in the shi- I mean, in a bad spot, you get pretty creative with how you try not to die.”
The children are still hanging onto his every word, as if he has anything worth saying.
Hidan frowns, and ponders what more he could possibly say to raise morale here.
He’s shit at talking. Shit at comforting anybody, let alone kids.
But they expect something from him, so he figures he should at least try.
There has to be something he can say to brighten up these frightened faces…
Finally, even his lackluster mind starts to put the thought together.
He may be horrible with words, but there’s one thing he knows how to do quite well.
“You don’t gotta worry about those goblin bastards,” he reassures them. “Cause my buddies n’ I are gonna find out where they’re comin’ from and beat their asses so badly their own mamas won’t recognize ‘em. So you can get to Whatever’s Gate without any trouble.”
"Baldur's Gate."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
The children light up, giving each other hopeful looks and cheering quietly amongst themselves.
Asharak’s posture betrays his relief.
“Thanks. I prefer it when they smile.”
“Yeah…”
Hidan stands up, wondering in the back of his mind if this is all just helping these unfortunate children march more willingly toward their deaths.
Fuck it. They’re gonna have to face the music anyway. He might as well try to boost their morale so at least they don't die scared.
“If I gotta give you any kinda advice- make sure you watch each other’s backs. If you got someone watching your back, and you’re watchin’ theirs, that’s twice the chance to save your skin.”
A round of cheers from the children, like they almost believe him.
Asharak's eyes, however, portray a quiet sort of desperation behind his smile.
He ushers the children away, urging them to go play or find something else to distract themselves.
The moment they’re out of earshot, his smile falls.
“I can’t thank you enough,” he says, sounding so bone-crushingly tired. “It’s been hard to keep their spirits up these days…”
He holds his hands out in a gesture of defeat.
“Half of them lost their parents. Most of them lost siblings or cousins and all of them have lost friends. It’s hard to give them hope when they’ve been through so much already.”
Hidan doesn’t know what to say.
He’s never been one to try to give comfort to anyone else, nor has he ever been any good at it, the rare occasions he’s been inclined to do so.
So why does he care so much now?
(Maybe Wyll is rubbing off on him a little too much.)
“Sounds like it’s been a bad time.” is the best he can muster for the man.
“Where is Wyll, by the way?” Asharak asks. “I haven’t seen him today.”
Hidan lets out a nervous laugh before he can really stop himself.
(Even though there’s nothing funny about it at all.)
“He’s uh- he didn’t feel well, so he’s staying behind for a bit.”
Asharak nods in sympathy.
“Nothing too bad, I hope?”
“Nah,” Hidan lies. “It’ll be fine. Just havin’ a bad day, ya know?”
“Understandable. I hope he rallies around soon.”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Just give him a bit…”
It feels like a lie, but Hidan figures like airing Wyll’s dirty laundry isn’t the best idea.
If he wants to show his face to these guys again, he will. Eventually.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to wander off so far?”
“It’s not wandering,” Gale insists. “We’re looking for clues. We don’t all need to stick tight together all the time- we can cover more ground this way.”
“Mmhmm. Whatever you say."
They hear water up ahead- some intangible force keeps pulling them forward.
Scratch sniffs the air warily, tail rigid, ears pressed flat against his head. He lets out a low whine, letting them know something isn't quite right.
"What's wrong?" Itachi asks.
Scratch points forward with his snout, leading the way as the others follow.
“Do you hear that?” Astarion asks, running down the slope toward the water.
“Hear what? Hold on- wait for me-”
As they get closer, they start to hear it as well.
…a song?
Yes. It’s definitely a song.
A soft, soothing melody that soaks into their bones and lulls them quickly into a half-stupor.
“Something isn’t right,” Astarion mutters, even as they continue walking.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, the bones are a bit of a clue.”
Orochimaru looks around, and- sure enough, bones old enough that the sun has bleached and dried them out line their path, and the faint but unmistakable smell of rotten meat permeates the air.
They see a figure up ahead, right at the edge of the water. A curly haired child, smaller than perhaps he should be. Seemingly frozen in place.
Orochimaru approaches him, putting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks the child.
“Can’t you hear it?” the tiefling boy sighs dreamily.
“Hm? The song?”
The boy nods.
“It’s beautiful…”
“Come on, now. It’s not safe out here on your own.”
Itachi seems utterly enraptured by the song as well, cocking his head and wandering out into the water toward the source of the sound.
“Hold on now-” Gale calls out, trailing after him, trying to grab him and pull him back.
It’s as though he hasn’t spoken at all. Itachi is far too distracted, just like the tiefling child.
The song grows louder, and clearer.
A beautiful, peaceful melody that paints a picture of happier times. Of a loving embrace and warmth and safety that is nearly impossible to ignore.
It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on.
“Harpies.” Gale says, once he realizes what has to be happening. “Everyone, we have to leave, it’s not safe-”
It’s too late for any sort of warning.
Humanoid figures with enormous, feathered wings emerge from over craggy rocks. Scarily sharp claws cap each of their fingers, and they look hungrily down at the gathering below them as they continue to sing their haunting melody.
Hungry, predatory grins spread across their faces, and that’s more than enough for them to realize that this is a very, very bad situation.
Scratch's hackles raise as he growls a warning at the creatures.
It's a warning the harpies only cackle in mockery at. But a warning they ought to make good on.