[ It's for the best, really, that Rand takes it as a joke β Astarion wouldn't know what to do if he took it seriously beyond attempting to play it off. But whatever display of earnestness he's freed from as such is brought back into play by the offer that follows.
Granted, the feeling it sparks is not dissimilar to the way in which he's thrown off by almost every answer Rand gives him. To agree to one bite had already been quite the shock (not to mention the revelation that had followed on its heels), but to offer himself up as a meal in relative perpetuityβ
The look on Astarion's face is not unlike the expression Rand had worn just moments previously; awe, in some measure, though filtered into something more like uncertainty on the more permanently skeptical canvas of Astarion's face. He's not about to refuse the offer β the assumption that people aren't exactly falling over themselves to give blood, as it were, is true, complicated by the status of vampires and their spawn as monsters β but he also doesn't quite know how to accept it.
He settles on a breath of laughter, the sound carrying something life as he flops onto his back in the shade. ]
Careful, petal, else I'll drink you dry.
[ Of course, it's a jest β as much as it's within his control, he's not trying to repay kindness with exsanguination β but it's the only way he knows how to respond other than to be honest, which is a horrible prospect. Still, he swallows his pride, if only because Rand isβ well, Rand.
With each word measured: ] But ... thank you. Iβ I don't take such a thing for granted.
[ as it turns out, it's no easier to be on the receiving end of a look like that. he swallows, shifts his weight, and finds himself relieved when astarion flops over. he breathes out, soft and slow, but finds astarion's huff of laughter contagious. ]
No, you won't.
[ contradicts without a lick of hesitation, mouth curving into a smile despite himself. astarion didn't do so today, after all, didn't even come close. maybe astarion has to battle the danger of losing control, but...so does rand, every day. and if the vampire spawn is ready to act like that's no large thing β ready to believe, rand has to correct himself. there's no act to treating him the same. maybe rand struggles to believe that his identity β light, his identity β makes no difference, but he can believe in astarion. that is so much more easily done.
so he leans sideways, angling to prop himself up on an elbow; get closer to eye level, as it were. he has to move carefully, gingerly, mindful of the wound in his other side. a fine thing it'd be, to pull it open and begin bleeding right after making astarion this offer, right after letting him have some blood. well, he considers wryly, maybe it'd serve as proof of his sincerity. see, he really did mean that astarion could have blood any time.
but β he gets there, anyway, stretched out in sweet-smelling grass. astarion is rewarded with a broader smile than before. ]
Well, that's good. I wouldn't offer to just anyone.
[because he knows so many blood drinkers β see, he's funny!!! he's hilarious!! in fact!!!!! ]
[ It's a pity, Astarion thinks faintly, that their paths cross each other rather than running parallel, at least for the moment; it robs him of the ability to go back to camp and immediately ask Karlach if he's correct in thinking that Rand's behavior is deranged, or at least deranged-adjacent, consult with Wyll as to whether or not this really is acceptable normal behavior, and generally gossip with people who have about a good a handle on the subject's behavior as he does. But, alas, Rand has yet to meet the little band of misfits he's been traveling with, and so he has no frame of reference to consult but his own.
As such, his expression goes from dubious at that no, you won't (confident!), to even more dubious at what follows, his brow wrinkling and his mouth pressing into a line that attempts to convey that the notion of laughing didn't even cross his mind once. But, really, it's a case of protesting too loudly β he's grown fond, for better or worse, and the fact that he isn't immediately acquiescing to anything and everything is proof enough of that. ]
If I find out it's an offer you've extended to anyone else, I shall be extremely cross with you, [ is what he settles on as a response, spoken lightly enough to make it clear that he knows Rand isn't exactly encountering vampires left and right. Other sorts of danger, surely, butβ well, he wouldn't have been as curious as he was if Astarion's condition were a common one, would he?
Speaking of whichβ ]
Well, now that we've gotten the big one out of the way β did you have any other questions for me? You won't have a better opportunity to ask whatever else you'd like about vampirism, I can guarantee you that.
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Granted, the feeling it sparks is not dissimilar to the way in which he's thrown off by almost every answer Rand gives him. To agree to one bite had already been quite the shock (not to mention the revelation that had followed on its heels), but to offer himself up as a meal in relative perpetuityβ
The look on Astarion's face is not unlike the expression Rand had worn just moments previously; awe, in some measure, though filtered into something more like uncertainty on the more permanently skeptical canvas of Astarion's face. He's not about to refuse the offer β the assumption that people aren't exactly falling over themselves to give blood, as it were, is true, complicated by the status of vampires and their spawn as monsters β but he also doesn't quite know how to accept it.
He settles on a breath of laughter, the sound carrying something life as he flops onto his back in the shade. ]
Careful, petal, else I'll drink you dry.
[ Of course, it's a jest β as much as it's within his control, he's not trying to repay kindness with exsanguination β but it's the only way he knows how to respond other than to be honest, which is a horrible prospect. Still, he swallows his pride, if only because Rand isβ well, Rand.
With each word measured: ] But ... thank you. Iβ I don't take such a thing for granted.
no subject
No, you won't.
[ contradicts without a lick of hesitation, mouth curving into a smile despite himself. astarion didn't do so today, after all, didn't even come close. maybe astarion has to battle the danger of losing control, but...so does rand, every day. and if the vampire spawn is ready to act like that's no large thing β ready to believe, rand has to correct himself. there's no act to treating him the same. maybe rand struggles to believe that his identity β light, his identity β makes no difference, but he can believe in astarion. that is so much more easily done.
so he leans sideways, angling to prop himself up on an elbow; get closer to eye level, as it were. he has to move carefully, gingerly, mindful of the wound in his other side. a fine thing it'd be, to pull it open and begin bleeding right after making astarion this offer, right after letting him have some blood. well, he considers wryly, maybe it'd serve as proof of his sincerity. see, he really did mean that astarion could have blood any time.
but β he gets there, anyway, stretched out in sweet-smelling grass. astarion is rewarded with a broader smile than before. ]
Well, that's good. I wouldn't offer to just anyone.
[ because he knows so many blood drinkers β see, he's funny!!! he's hilarious!! in fact!!!!! ]
no subject
As such, his expression goes from dubious at that no, you won't (confident!), to even more dubious at what follows, his brow wrinkling and his mouth pressing into a line that attempts to convey that the notion of laughing didn't even cross his mind once. But, really, it's a case of protesting too loudly β he's grown fond, for better or worse, and the fact that he isn't immediately acquiescing to anything and everything is proof enough of that. ]
If I find out it's an offer you've extended to anyone else, I shall be extremely cross with you, [ is what he settles on as a response, spoken lightly enough to make it clear that he knows Rand isn't exactly encountering vampires left and right. Other sorts of danger, surely, butβ well, he wouldn't have been as curious as he was if Astarion's condition were a common one, would he?
Speaking of whichβ ]
Well, now that we've gotten the big one out of the way β did you have any other questions for me? You won't have a better opportunity to ask whatever else you'd like about vampirism, I can guarantee you that.