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chapter twelve. an eye for an ear
Fallon dragged her feet at the back of the pack, kicking every stray rock unfortunate enough to cross her path. She did so with a grumble that she didn't bother hiding, though it did little to stir the attention of anyone but Astarion, who shot her a cursory glance over his shoulder every so often, always with a sly look of amusement. She buried her eyes in the ground below, a foul pout affixing to her lips. What a sorry state of affairs.
Until she was cured, Fallon's fate was that of a leper, kept at arm's length and best not interacted with, lest she get the wrong idea. Orikas had shored himself in her stead and he did not even feign bashfulness at the promotion. Fallon couldn't help from wallowing in self-pity. In the turn of a night, all had changed.
They took a short break at noon, beneath the shade of an oak. Fallon took it upon herself to rest on a sunbathed rock, back faced to the group and her legs crossed beneath her. She was starved by then, for as practiced as she was at long stints of hunger, she had not eaten for the better half of a day and it was beginning to wear. Her quick retreat became one of regret as her stomach bellowed. As if on cue, an outline cut against her own.
A link of salami, wrapped in thin linen, landed at her side.
"I figured I best keep you satisfied. It wouldn't do for you to waste away after the evening we had."
She could hear his smile. Was it possible to know something so vividly after such a short while? Fallon shut her eyes yet it haunted her even behind the folds of dark.
"I'm not hungry."
"Here I was thinking you stubborn as a mule. Cut the moping." His voice grew sharp. "If you're at all concerned about the change, don't continue to take things lying down. You're better than that, aren't you?"
Fallon wanted to snap back but how could she? With the way things stood now, he was her last ally. Defeat quivered her brow and her rigid posture deflated. He was right, and worse still, he knew it. Just as she couldn't deny reality, neither could she fold to it. Doing so would leave her vulnerable, and such an affordance was still beyond her when it came to the vampire spawn. Astarion didn't wait to hear whatever percolated on her lips. As she heard him retreat, she unwrapped the link and took a sullen bite. The best she could do was hope that whoever this woman in the Wetlands was had an answer.
When they resumed their journey, so too did the conversation ahead of her. Fallon feigned disinterest as her ears perked, picking up her pace just a hair to fall downwind of the chatter.
