"Bear in mind that if I can't fight well not only are you down one fighter, but Lae'zel and Shadowheart are going to try to kill each other, so you'll be down either the other fighter or the healer and also there's no guarantee that the one that survives is the one with the good plan for tadpole removal."

He puts his wrist to Astarion's mouth.

At no point did he expect this. He expected to steal, he didn't expect to be gifted. He smiles. "You're far too kind."

He bites.

It still tastes heady and rich, and he can focus on it properly without worrying about being caught.

It's like introducing a starving man to meat, after a life of water and gruel and not enough of it. 

He is never, ever letting go. 

Astarion is visibly-- not with it and not tracking whether Cayden has fainted.

Cayden pulls his wrist away well before he's light-headed. "Enough, now, I do need to fight tomorrow."

He leans his head against Cayden's chest. "Thank you. I won't be needing that for a little while."

"All the decisions you made tonight were stupid." 

"But they all worked out, didn't they?" Astarion looks more alive, like a wilted plant that's been watered. He's also... warmer?

"You were hopefully smart enough that you planned to kill me so I couldn't go back to the group and tell them about your biting habit. But they saw you flirting with me and saw us go off together. If I show up dead in the morning, they're going to figure you did it. I'm not from this planet, I don't know what weird kind of thing you are, but Gale absolutely does. And then-- even if you manage to convince them it was some other monster, what happens? Lae'zel and Shadowheart try to kill each other without me to stop them. So you're down either both fighters or a fighter and a healer. Maybe all three, if you're unlucky. How are you planning to get to Balder's Gate without someone to attack from the front so you can sneak-attack, or to patch you up when you're wounded? If your plan had worked, you'd just turn into a mindflayer. 

"You're trying to get the big strong dumb guy to like you, because he's too dumb to notice that if you suck his cock and he steps in front of a sword for you you're getting the better end of the deal. It's smart, I respect it. But if you want that to work, you can't kill me. Once you realized it would be easy to get me alone, you should have been seducing Gale. He's the easy kind of wizard, all you have to do is pretend to be interested in magic. Probably you wouldn't even have to fuck him." 

He's being read for filth and he hates it. "I wasn't planning to kill you. I was planning that you would be distracted enough you wouldn't notice it was anything other than a normal bite. I've seen other people manage that." Cazador.

"I feel very flattered by your concern for my wellbeing."

"You should feel flattered about how good you taste."

"You know, if I were smart you'd be dead."

"But look, we're both alive, and now you have an ally who is even more capable than he was before. Being trusting worked out well for you."

Awwww. Little baby is trying to be manipulative. "Let's get closer to the camp and go to sleep."

"People would ask questions if they found us passed out here." Astarion reluctantly stands up. 

"I mean, they'd probably just assume we fucked. I don't want to be accosted by a random tiefling."

"The fact they would answer their own question doesn't mean they wouldn't ask it."

He's never been much of a cuddler-- we do not need to maximise contact, thank you very much-- and he has no clue why he wants to stay in contact with this person he met not 12 hours ago?

Separate bedrolls are fine!

Cayden has the wizard's trick of sleeping anywhere.

He is definitely not pining 

Morning comes. 

Shadowheart and Lae'zel don't seem like they got the most sleep, but they are functional.

Astarion is irritatingly perky.

Gale looks... bad. He's pale, sweaty, and shaky. Hangover? Nightmares? Poorly timed cold? It's not clear.

"You okay?" he says to Gale.

Gale pokes the coals of the fire and laughs weakly. "I have been better." He speaks quietly. The camp is small,  but so small that a quiet conversation would be immediately heard. "If you happen to find any magical trinkets as we're going about-- nothing useful-- do let me know."

Quietly: "I can give you my Wand of Cure Light Wounds but I would like to be able to keep curing light wounds with it."

"I'd count that as useful, even if we do have a cleric."

"I'll keep an eye out."

To the group as a whole: "So... does anyone have a plan?"