Chapter Text
<"Percy?"
Percy's eyes flutter open, his vision slightly blurry from waking up and because his glasses weren't on him but were being held gently by Cassandra instead.
The day the Briarwoods attacked that night left him restless, and yet he finds himself napping on his sister's shoulders—his last sister's shoulders.
"Percy, wake up; nobody's here." Cassandra muttered under her breath. "We can talk freely."
"Hngg..5 minutes.." Despite their circumstances, he can hear her soft giggles as she watches him groggily mumble under his breath. like he always does.
"Percy, please, I have something to show you." Her tone was more stern this time, which finally drove Percy to sit in an upright position.
Cassandra gives him his glasses, which he happily accepts. "Urgh—yes, Cass?" He replied.
He takes a quick look at his dear sister. Her pale skin is full of scrapes everywhere. Her hair was messy and unkempt, and her baby blue dress is now covered with dirt and soot. Horror and fear linger in her bright blue eyes. It made Percy's heart crumble.
The Briarwoods' attack left them both shaken and scared. They both had watched their entire family slaughtered like lambs, and with nowhere to go, they went to Anders. Unfortunately, he betrayed them both. Now they were surrounded by darkness, deep within the castle walls, fearing for what was to come.
Oddly enough, the Briarwoods aren't here. And not a single guard was on sight. The silence of the dungeon was defeaning, save for the constant water droplets hitting the ground, which was the only thing he could hear other than his and his sister's shaky breathing.
The silence almost makes Percy want to go mad. The juxtaposition of the constant noise The laughing, the screaming—
Cassandra gets up and looks at both sides of the cells to see if anyone's coming. Surprisingly, there were none. She went to sit next to Percy again, then reached into her pocket and grabbed a piece of slightly burned bread. It was powdered with sugar and had a filling inside.
"Here." She reaches for his brother's hand and places the bread delicately on his palm, like it were something fragile. "I'm sorry, it's not much, but..." She smiles softly at her brother. "Happy birthday, Percy."
Oh, it was his—how badly the attack had shaken him up—he forgot his birthday—the thought of how he had to witness his own family murdered, their attackers laughing at their despair, before his own birthday.
He wondered if the gods above hated him. or if he simply relied on the gods' indifference his entire life.
"Cass.." He could feel himself trembling. Oh, how cruel the universe is, he thought.
He gathered the strength not to cry over such a little gesture. He can't make himself look weak, not when he's the only grownup his sister can look up to now.
"Cass you—no, you—keep it." He slowly gives her the bread back, but Cassandra makes a hand gesture to decline.
"You always made us little toys for our birthdays." Her smile was slowly faltering. "So me, Whitney, and Oliver decided to make something for you as well." She stated that tears were slowly swelling up in her eyes.
"We wanted to make your favorite bread; we managed to get Archibald's father to help us; it was a disaster." She chuckled solemnly. Her voice had a noticeable tremble.
Without a word, Percy hugs his sister tightly. Cassandra returns the hug as well.
"Thank you, Cass." He whispers softly, rubbing the back of her hair. Her grip tightened.
Cassandra laughed, her voice a little wetter and hoarse than before. "You forgot to make a wish."
Percy huffed a laugh as well. "It was already granted. because I could never have asked for something better."
They both hugged for what felt like an eternity. He fears what horrors are to come and what monsters will lurk in the shadows.
During the attack, Percy wished that anyone in his family had survived. And here he is, down deep in the castle walls, surrounded by darkness, hugging his sister tight.
His dearest Cassandra, still alive and breathing after everything,
Perhaps Pelor was kind enough to spare her life, even if just once.
He truly could never have asked for anything better.>
---
Vax and everyone were in an inn, and everyone was already either drinking the place dry or having their faces flat on the table.
Grog and Pike are having a drinking contest; Keyleth has already faceplanted herself after two drinks; Vex and Scanlan are betting who will win, which leaves Vax alone and silent but drunkishly watching the shitshow go down on the table.
He was in for drinking the tarvern dry, but he wasn't in the mood for such a thing currently. Their job of protecting goods from thieves didn't go so well. After trying to backstab one of the poor bastards, he got kicked in the balls by Grog because the bastard got out of the way, leaving him writhing instead on the floor.
He had to call in Pike because he really, really couldn't feel anything after that.
Nevertheless, it was a good time. Everyone was cheering and laughing, except, of course, the always broody Mr. Know-it-all De Rolo, who was sitting on the corner of one of the stools in the bar. Vax can always notice the white hair and navy blue tailcoat from anywhere.
He was the only fully human person in the group. He'd been traveling with them for a couple of weeks now and had apparently been picked up from a jail cell when they were trying to remove a phalactory from Grog.
He had proved to be a skilled fighter. But he's also weird, unsurprisingly. white hair, dirty clothes, and somehow ended up being the only prisoner in some remote town, which made it hard to believe he was a noble.
Still, he was charming, dignified, and a stuck-up ass as well. While it's true that Vax didn't mind, he could've liked the man even better if the baggage didn't include him being a stubborn ass as well.
He was talkative and smart, if he's willing to admit it. But he noticed something for the past few days; he was willing to ask a day before, but the man seemed to be a closed book. I figure now is a good time to ask anyway.
Slightly drunk and with nothing to do, he lumbered his way sluggishly to the corner.
"Why're you sulking alone in the corner?" He tries to open up a conversation, but there is no reply.
"What?" Vax tries to ask innocently. He sits on the empty stool next to Percy and takes a quick glimpse at his expression. He looked stern as always, but Vax felt like he saw something more dark in his face, unbeknownst to him.
Although he mostly wanted to talk to him just so he could annoy the grumpy man, he also noticed how his attitude changed. He was silent always, but these past few days have had him sometimes not even talking or engaging in conversations. simply answering questions from anyone in the group. It made him concerned, which was rich coming from Vax himself, if he's likely to admit it.
Vax slung an arm lazily to his shoulders, and gods above, the man was as stiff as a rock.
"Oi, frdddie, what's bothering you?" He asked, and the words somewhat snapped Percy out of something.
"Huh— Oh. Forgive me, Vax. I didn't notice you." Percy replied sheepishly, his posh accent making Vax giggle.
"I had an arm around you, and you didn't even notice?" He said it in a fake, exaggerated tone.
Percy gave him a smile, and chuckled. "Sorry."
It was one of the rare times he heard the man smile, let alone laugh. He wonders if he was drunk or something, but he notices his eyes are locked on the untouched glass full of cheap ale sitting in front of him.
His smile was shortlived however; now he's back to his usual stern expression.
But there was something aching in that smile, something restrained that Vax couldn't understand.
Vax sighs. "Alright, tell me what's wrong already." He dropped the act and took a sip of the cheap ale.
"What?" Percy looks at him, confused.
"You haven't talked to any of us a lot recently, i noticed." He took another sip. "What's going on?" The half-elf noticed that he was starting to fidget with the glass in front of him.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" He blurted at Percy like he had just said something insane.
"I don't know how to approach you folks yet, not when you just got me out of a cell weeks ago." His words were sharp, and his voice is audibly annoyed now.
"Thats bullshit." Vax takes another sip. "You literally gave my sister all of your money; you talk to Keyleth often; and you always make snappy remarks at Scanlan's innuendos."
Percy was still silent.
"Percival."
Vax's tone was final. Percy sighs loudly, aware that the slightly drunk, stubborn half-elf is not going to drop the subject unless he gets an answer. So he obliged.
"Fine. I'll indulge." He scoffs. Vax can feel his satisfied smirk creep in.
"I must admit, it's quite dumb." Percy deflated on his seat a little bit. Hunching his back and head slightly down.
"We say dumb shit every day. Surely it can't be that exception. If it makes you feel better, I promise I won't tell anyone." He replied. Percy visibly looked surprised at the response, then sighs again.
"Today's my birthday, or well, it was." He confesses, finally drinking the untouched ale in front of him. "Coming how that it's almost the end of the day."
"Wait—it was?" Percy shrugs. Vax exclaimed in a whisper, almost accidentally knocking his glass off. "We could've drank every tavern in this goddamn town with you! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"It's not a big deal." He shrugs again nonchalantly before taking one big swig of the ale, the now-empty glass cup making a loud thud after slamming it on the wood.
"Yeah it probably doesn't, and I probably wouldn't have given a shit before, but still, we're a group now after all. or friends, I suppose." Vax takes another sip of the ale.
"Honestly, you should've told us this yesterday," he says, taking a sip of his ale.
"You've been helpful with us for the past few weeks, we could've gotten something nice for you." He continued. At the corner of his eye, he notices Percy wince at the statement, then look away. How odd.
Another silence. Vax wondered why the man was so quiet. Is it that personal? Did he accidentally unlock some kind of hidden backstory that he only unlocks when in a certain type of level? He'd only known the human for weeks; surely they're not that close yet.
"I don't like celebrating my birthday," Percy replied almost absentmindedly, "especially not since...."
His voice came to a sudden halt, forcing himself to stop midway from almost revealing something.
But from revealing what?
There was something in his eyes now. The glowing light in his eyes highlighted something dark in them. It felt like they were embedded with deep longing, grief, and ache.
"Again, it's not a big deal." He spoke suddenly, now barely a whisper, which broke Vax's train of thought. His eyes were completely locked on his hands resting on the table now. Vax notices the knuckles whitening from the grip.
The tone of his voice was indiscernible, but the man sounded genuinely hurt. It wasn't like the Percy he's used to. It made Vax uncomfortable.
The corner now fell into an uneasy silence. Percy kept his hands clenched, staring intently at the empty glass. Vax hums uncomfortably to break the tension and reaches for his pockets. He takes the last bit of his rations and hands it to him.
"Here. Sorry, it's not a lot, but happy birthday, Freddie."
His green eyes meet his. There was a glimmer of familiarity and grief in them. They almost looked like they were reminiscing about something.
And he doesn't know if it's the alcohol taking effect on him or if Percy legitimately looks like he's about to combust into tears.
Percy quietly mutters "thank you" and accepts the rations with a soft smile. a smile that's not from the adrenaline of battle or one from a sharp remark he makes, but a genuine soft one. a smile he never sees on Percy.
"Don't complain if it's not much; it's not my fault I didn't get you something nice."
Percy couldn't help but chuckle. There was something else in his eyes now. Grief still lingered, but now it was filled with happiness he couldn't discern.
He looked at the man again; he was still smiling. It was a nice sight.
A part of Vax wonders what led him to be this restless on his birthday, unable to even celebrate it without being reminded of something horrible. He knows when to ask such questions, so out of respect, he holds his tongue for now.
"You're going to wish for something before the day ends?" Vax pats his arm around Percy, granting another hefty chuckle at him.
"No, I don't think..—" he looks back to the table where the rest of the group was, all still drinking and cheering. ".. don't think I could've asked for anything better."
The smell of alcohol was prominent in their noses, and the laughter felt like it had all dulled down in their little corner. Percy kept holding on to the rations delicately, like it was something fragile, as both quietly drank the night off, enjoying the atmosphere that they both conjured.
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