"Halsin?"
Tav's voice is tentative as he calls out to the druid, not wanting to startle him. Unable to sleep in the strange, bioluminescent half-light of the Underdark, he decided to wander a little, rather than tossing and turning on his bedroll. He's come across Halsin quite unexpectedly.
"Oh, it's you, Tav," Halsin says, looking up from where he sits on an old stump. He stands to greet Tav properly. "Trouble sleeping?"
"I'm not used to the light down here," Tav admits. "And you?"
"I felt my nightly meditation might be better spent reacquainting myself with this place." Halsin's tone is warm as ever, but there is an underlying weariness that Tav finds curious.
"You've spent time in the Underdark?"
"Some." Tav takes the cue to leave it at that. He doesn't know Halsin very well yet, after all.
"I've lived my whole life in Baldur's Gate," the tiefling says to keep the conversation from falling into awkwardness. "I've never been down here before."
"Really? Would you care to walk with me a while?" Halsin's smile seems truly inviting.
"Are you sure? I didn't mean to disturb you." Tav's own thoughts have been muddled tonight. He's more worried about being a burden to Halsin than anything.
"I can show you some of the strange beauty here. We shall be quite safe if we don't stray too far from the myconid colony."
The two continue down the dark path, winding around impressively large fungi and strange vines. Occasionally Halsin points out a particular plant, naming its various uses, but otherwise they walk in companionable silence. Soon they come to a small grotto, and Tav gasps softly as the semidarkness suddenly explodes with colorful light. The cave is full of thriving fungi of all different kinds, and they glow enticingly from every surface. He hesitates before continuing, however, already having learned some of the perils of Underdark flora.
"All these varieties appear to be safe," Halsin says, looking around. "Nothing with a proximity defense; actually, most of them are medicinal. Oh," he brightens as a particular patch catches his eye. "These are actually good to eat. I may collect some to bring back to camp with us."
"They're beautiful," Tav murmurs, looking around. It feels so alien, which, having been kidnapped by aliens, is saying something.
"Aren't they?" Halsin is smiling at him, and for some reason, Tav feels himself blush a little. He hopes it isn't too obvious in the rainbow of otherworldly light.
He turns, casting around for something else to focus on. A pulsing pink light catches his eye, and he wanders into a corner of the grotto for a closer look. The mushrooms are small, almost hidden behind a large nightlight frond. The glow of their delicate, frilly caps brightens then dims in a steady rhythm, almost like a heartbeat.
"What kind are these?" he asks as he reaches out to touch the alluring little fruit.
"Hm?" Halsin steps nearer to see what Tav's looking at. "Wait! Tav don't-"
But the tips of Tav's fingers stroke the mushroom before he can stop himself. The pink caps suddenly swell to twice their size and explode, dusting the two of them in fine pink spores. Halsin tries to pull him away, but in the small space of the cave, there's no escaping the spray. The spores are strangely sweet-smelling.
"What was that?" There's a sinking feeling in Tav's stomach when he sees Halsin's panicked look. "Are we- are we poisoned?"
The druid lets out a shaky breath. "In a sense, but not fatally. We will just be... uncomfortable for a short time. It's not long-lasting."
"What does it do?" Though it's a relief to know it's not fatal, Tav readies himself for the pain and vomiting he expects with poisoning. "Is there an antidote?"
"Not one we could take advantage of in time." Halsin takes a careful step away from him. "It will not being painful. The spores of the heartcap mushroom are an aphrodisiac. When inhaled, they cause intense... arousal."
Tav's stomach does a little flip, but rather than a feeling of dread, the sensation is curiously pleasant. "Oh... Well, uh, should we..." His words die away. There would be no point in going back to camp where they might take spores back to the others, or embarrass themselves. "I suppose we'll just have to wait it out here."
Halsin nods. "We may want to, ah, keep our distance. As I said, the reaction can be quite strong."
Tav can see that he's trembling, and his face shines with sweat. He can feel his own body starting to react to the spores, skin flushing with arousal, sweat trickling down his neck. He retreats to a corner and sits, facing away from Halsin. "I'm sorry," he says softly over his shoulder. "That was stupid of me."
"I told you everything in here was safe," Halsin replies from his own corner. "I should have looked more carefully."
They both then fall silent as they wait for the spores to take effect. Tav pulls his knees to his chest and grips them tightly, gritting his teeth to suppress a whimper as he feels his co*ck begin to harden. The light from the fungi changes, seeming to pulse in time with his throbbing, wet c*nt. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block it out.
"H-how long is this supposed to last?" he hisses.
"No more than a few hours." Halsin sounds as though he's speaking through gritted teeth too.
"Hours?!" Tav blows out a slow breath, trying to steady himself. He's not sure he can stand it for hours. His curls his tail between his legs in an attempt to subtly stroke himself, aching for some relief. But it only stirs his blood even more. He hears Halsin inhale sharply behind him.
"Stop, please," he groans, and Tav stills his tail, with great difficulty. "Tav, I have to ask... are you..." He pauses, as if struggling to find the right words. "F-forgive me, but did they mistake you for a lass when you were born?"
Tav's face burns with... not shame, exactly. It's not a subject that has come up naturally with Halsin yet, and with all the druid's talk of the sacredness of the natural order of things, he's not certain he wants it to. But it seems there's no avoiding it now.
"And if they did?" He doesn't breathe as he waits for Halsin's answer.
"You are... as nature intended you to be," the druid replies, and Tav exhales with relief. "But... Oak Father save me, I can smell your c*nt, and it's driving me out of my senses."
And his words go straight to that part of Tav, making him moan with need.
"Halsin," he says weakly, "perhaps we shouldn't resist this... Just the sound of your voice is making me... I feel like I'll die if I don't touch myself..."
His resistance crumbles, and he turns to look at Halsin, who is already turned, staring at him like a dying man in a desert. The druid's eyes glint golden even as his pupils are blown so wide there's barely any iris left to see. Tav knows his own eyes are similarly distorted. His limbs seems to move of their own accord, pushing him up from the ground and propelling him forwards. Halsin pulls him into his arms, crushing him against his huge frame and capturing his lips in a hungry kiss. Tav clings to his shoulders and writhes against him, desperate for friction.
"Tav." Halsin sounds as though it physically pains him to stop kissing Tav long enough to speak. "The way the toxin works, we won't be able to stop–"
"Then don't," Tav begs. "I need you."
Their lips crash together again, and Halsin walks him back towards a relatively flat stone ledge jutting out at one end of the grotto. Tav offers no resistance as the druid spins him around and bends him over the smooth rock. He hears Halsin impatiently tugging at this leggings to free his co*ck, and he gasps when he feels him roughly yank down his own trousers and underwear, not even bothering to remove them fully. He moans as large, warm fingers swipe up his center to assess his readiness. It's all the warning he gets before Halsin suddenly pushes into him with a co*ck larger than any Tav has taken in some time. But his slick walls make way for every inch, and they both sigh with momentary relief.
There is no slow build-up, no teasing, no finesse. Only heat.
Halsin grabs Tav by the hips and f*cks into him with a frenetic pace that has the tiefling gasping with every thrust. It's not long before the druid is tensing, spilling deep into him as Tav's c*nt spasms around him with his own release. He withdraws, and Tav whines at the sudden emptiness, but Halsin merely takes a moment to fully rid them both of the hindrance of their trousers.
He flips Tav onto his back and yanks his hips forward, pressing his still-hard co*ck into him again. Tav's calves hug Halsin's waist, pulling him flush. Trailing feverish kisses along Tav's jaw and down his throat, Halsin grasps the open neck of his shirt with both hands and yanks, ripping it clean down the middle to reveal the tiefling's heaving chest. He gathers Tav in his arms and lifts his back off the stone, continuing to kiss down the newly exposed flesh. Tav arches into the wet heat of his mouth and moans as Halsin licks and nips at his ridges and pierced nipples. They build up to another climax almost as quickly as the first, crying out together as they sink further into the spore-induced frenzy.
They soon lose track of how many times they find release in each other. They exchange few words, instead filling the grotto with their moans and cries, the filthy slap of flesh on flesh. Halsin takes Tav again and again, on his back, with his ankles around his ears, on his knees, with his face shoved into the mossy ground. When he's filled Tav's c*nt, he f*cks his throat and fills his belly too. Tav takes it all, chasing all the pleasure he is given and returning it with wild enthusiasm. Gradually the influence of the spores wanes, and they collapse unconscious in a spent tangle of tired limbs.
* * *
Tav awakens to Astarion shaking him in his bedroll. He sits up abruptly, knowing this isn't where he fell asleep. His head pounds with a splitting headache.
"A-Astarion?"
The pale elf observes him, expression carefully neutral. "Do you remember anything from last night?"
"I... couldn't sleep, went for a walk. I came across Halsin and we..." Tav's memory of the exact details is hazy, but the evidence of last night is felt in every inch of his body. "We... Oh gods... The mushrooms..." His face flushes with shame even as cold dread sinks in his belly.
"Omeluum explained," Astarion says, his voice unusually gentle.
Tav blinks. "Omeluum?"
"He and his hobgoblin husband arrived in our camp early this morning with you and our druid friend in tow. It seems the two of you inadvertently came across Blurg's mushroom cave and set off quite the... interesting toxin. They found you unconscious. They gave you an antidote, but apparently not before the two of you endured the... full effects of the spores." The rogue watches Tav warily. "How are you feeling?"
Tav can't stop his mouth from falling open. His head is splitting and his body aches all over, but he's not worried about his physical wellbeing just now. "Astarion, I... I'm sorry."
Astarion only smirks at him, masking... Tav doesn't know what. "If you're expecting anger or jealousy on my part, I must disappoint you, darling. Let's just avoid those little mushrooms in the future, hm? Now, get the awkward part out of the way and go talk to the druid. We have a Drow to behead, and we don't have all day."
Tav hears the dismissal loud and clear, and exits Astarion's tent. He finds Halsin waiting at the edge of camp, the big elf's face all concern. There's a pack on his shoulder.
"Tav, I– Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
"No! I mean, I'm fine." He sighs frustratedly. "Look. I know last night was not what either of us expected or wanted. We can't pretend it never happened, but we've both got bigger things to worry about. I think we can still help each other, so... will you stay?"
This is clearly not what Halsin was expecting to hear, but the relief on his face is immediate. "Are you certain? I do not wish to sour our friendship or to complicate... other relationships."
Tav tries not to think about Astarion and the longer conversation he needs to have with him later. He only knows that he doesn't want Halsin to go. He tells himself it's because they need him for whatever awaits them at Moonrise. "Please, stay."
