[ Needless to say, Rand's answer โ which basically amounts to a shrug โ comes as a surprise to Astarion, though he's hardly inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, as the former shepherd approaches the little copse that Astarion's picked out, what the vampire spawn offers is not an immediate segue into a meal (will wonders never cease) but: ]
Last chance to change your mind, petal.
[ He keeps his tone light, the implication being (he hopes) that the warning is more of a courtesy than anything else. (Which it is, in the end, given that things will really only go badly if Astarion loses control and tries to drain the poor boy completely, in itself an outcome he'd rather avoid. He's aware of other adverse effects โ namely, about a day of mild wooziness โ but that is, at least to his mind, a relatively low cost of doing business.) Still, he beckons the other man over from where he sits in the shade of a tree. ]
I promise I won't take offense if you do. Well, maybe a little.
โdragonmount.
Last chance to change your mind, petal.
[ He keeps his tone light, the implication being (he hopes) that the warning is more of a courtesy than anything else. (Which it is, in the end, given that things will really only go badly if Astarion loses control and tries to drain the poor boy completely, in itself an outcome he'd rather avoid. He's aware of other adverse effects โ namely, about a day of mild wooziness โ but that is, at least to his mind, a relatively low cost of doing business.) Still, he beckons the other man over from where he sits in the shade of a tree. ]
I promise I won't take offense if you do. Well, maybe a little.