Chapter Text
Yasha, Beau, and Molly took turns carrying Essek, tucking him into their chests and keeping him warm. He was a slight man since before his stint in the dungeon and months without adequate food had only decreased his weight, leaving him about as heavy as a bird even soaking wet. They had no coats to offer to keep him warm, but with Fjords powers back he was able to at the very least diverge the path of the rain over Essek and whoever was holding him at the time so that he wasn’t getting as wet as the rest of them in his fragile state.
They’d decided to forgo going to the nearest town, opting for a small village a little further away so that they weren’t immediately found out for what they were, which was a group of legally insane fugitives.
For most anyone else walking in the pouring rain for a half a night and an entire day would have been miserable, depressing, and all together a terrible time. But not for The Mighty Nein.
The first few hours had been terrifying, yes. The creeping fear of being found out and followed by authorities or, god forbid, a survivor, looming over all of them and making them nearly double up their pace. It had been quiet, with everyone taking turns holding each other's hands, holding each other close as they walked, or checking on the half-passed out drow. But once the barest hints of daylight began to show through the heavy cloud cover the mood shifted drastically.
Beau was, surprisingly, the first one to jump in a puddle, kicking water everywhere and splashing Jester with a rather large wave. It led into a rowdy game of chase and Jester jumping on Beaus' back and shoving a handful of mud in her face as payback, all while the two of them screamed and giggled. Molly, mischievous as he was, caught wind of the mood immediately. It was Yasha’s turn to carry Essek and he was grateful for his free hands as he scurried over to the pair of them.
“Hold her on your back!” He ordered with a wide grin as he got behind the blue tiefling and began to tickle her mercilessly while Beau held her tight so she couldn’t get away.
“Molly!!” Jester screeched, throwing her head back in laughter as she squirmed to be set free.
“There’s no one here to tell us not to touch you now! I knew my knowledge of your tickle spots would come in handy one day!” He giggled, taking a surprised step back as Jester wriggled her way free and turned on Molly immediately.
The smile was immediately knocked off his face and replaced with a look of fear as he realized what was happening and turned tail to run. He made it about ten steps before getting tackled to the ground by a blur of pale blue and pinned by his hands to the wet earth, with Jester straddled across his lap in a way that made both Fjord and Caleb blush.
Jester used her tail to its full potential, poking and prodding Molly’s sides while he erupted in laughter.
After a moment he got a hand free and flipped them so she was the one prone on her back now, pinning her with his whole body weight as he was slotted between her legs. It looked as though he was going to go in for the kill, for the tickling of a lifetime, when he shifted and pulled her into an incredibly tight hug.
They laid there for a moment, wrapped in each other's arms, tails tangled around one another. It caused a small pause in the procession, but no one minded.
When they broke apart Molly placed a small kiss to Jester's lips and smiled, rubbing their noses together after. The two of them wore bright smiles on their faces as they righted themselves and brushed the worst of the dirt from their clothes, the rest would be washed away by the rain anyways.
Fjord had looked away at this point, the look on his face somewhat confused but mostly bashful, and Caleb wondered if he felt the same way about it all as he did. The kiss was innocent enough, and both Molly and Jester were incredibly tactile people, but those facts didn’t do much to relieve the ever worsening weight in his stomach.
From that point on everything felt like more of a game. The walk was a privilege, a new experience for many as they trudged through the forest. There was no going outside in the rain at The Asylum and feeling the Wildmothers tears on their skin brought tears to many of their eyes as well.
There was no stopping sundown. The rain had mostly halted and it was starting to get far too dark for the humans to see, plus everyone was hungry. Cad had foraged along the way, getting quite the haul by the time they were setting up camp, and Nott scouted out a fantastically dry spot underneath a particularly large pine tree that could house them all appropriately.
Caleb had hardly said a word since they’d started this journey. Everyone else looked so happy, connected, and yet he felt awful and severed, like he wasn’t meant to get out of there. He should have, for the second time in his life, died in the inferno alongside his victims.
When Fjord started up getting a fire going it pulled Caleb out of himself just enough to speak up.
“Uh, perhaps you should build that a little ways out of the way? I… I need space to… to put up my… dome…” He sounded unsure enough of himself that it brought up a cocked brow from almost half of the group that had slowly been filing into their little camp area.
“Your what?” Fjord questioned.
“My.. dome.” He repeated, doing a not very helpful hand gesture of a dome shape in front of him.
“I believe what Fjord is trying to ask is; What in the Nine Hells is your ‘dome’, love?” Molly piped up from behind. It had been his shift to carry Essek and Caleb couldn’t even look at him without it sending a spike of horrible jealousy through him so he didn’t bother to turn to respond.
“ J-ja I suppose that… of course you all wouldn’t know.” He mentally berated himself for being so stupid as he looked around and picked a spot. “I am able to make a, sort of, makeshift tent of sorts. It is arcane in nature and once I cast it I cannot leave or it dissipates, but while it is up and I am inside of it we will all have total protection from not only the elements but any, uh, nefarious people or creatures that come our way.”
“Cay-leb! That is amazing!” Jester cooed, surprising the wizard by throwing her arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek from behind. He didn’t look at Fjord as she did, he knew too well what it was like to feel envy as his lover kissed another person and he couldn’t possibly stand doing that to someone as kind as Fjord even if it wasn’t really his doing at all. “I am so glad you’re part of The Nein now because you are literally the best wizard in the entire world and we would clearly be lost without you.”
“Thank you, Jester. But plenty of wizards can cast this, I am… mediocre at best.”
“Caleb.” Her voice lowered and she moved to stare at him now, forcing eye contact. “You are the best wizard I have ever met. Which means you are the best. Take the compliment or I will put mud in your mouth like I did to Beau earlier.”
“O-okay.” He relented, glad when she let go of him and allowed him to sit down and begin preparation for casting.
They all ate a rather hearty meal first, full of root vegetables and herbs, a bit bland without salt but no one seemed to complain. Their first meal as free people was going to be tasty no matter what it was because of the fact that they were free.
Molly held Essek between his legs as everyone ate, propping him up against his chest and spooning him bits of stew here and there. Essek took them obediently, eyes still half lidded in recovery, a bit of colour coming back to his cheeks.
“Don’t worry, Essek, tomorrow morning once me and Caduceus are rested we will pump you full of healing spells and you’ll feel much better!” Jester announced, smiling over at the drow who gave her a tiny little smile back but still said nothing.
Caleb stared into his makeshift bowl, forcing as much of it down as he could and refusing to even look over towards Molly. Luckily he had a lovely little Goblin pressed right up against his side to keep his mind off things. At least he had Nott, he’d always have Nott.
Once they were finished up Caleb excused himself for a pre-dome pee and then found his mapped out spot once more.
“Okay, uh, it is going to take me a few minutes to get this up, once it is you can all just come and go as you please, just treat it like a tent, ja ?” He sighed, setting down a few components that Fjord had helped him gather earlier and beginning the ritual.
The way Jester gasped as Caleb disappeared behind a bubble of soft amber would have made anyone think he’d just cast Magnificent Mansion and not just Tiny Hut. In the single moment of privacy inside of his sanctuary he let himself smile about it.
Suddenly everyone was piling in, lumping on top of each other and giggling as they went. It was an incredibly tight fit, but almost everyone was so desperate to touch one another that it didn't seem to matter much.
“Holy shit! We can see out!” Beau exclaimed as she claimed a corner and tugged Yasha down basically into her lap, obscuring her from view for a moment while they found a comfortable position to snuggle. “This is going to be extra fucking cool when it’s a clear night and we can look at the stars.”
“The stars…” Came a tiny little voice from the drow tucked against Mollymauk.
“Yes, my darling.” Molly responded, peppering kisses along the crown of Essek’s head. “You told me so much about them, I can’t wait to see them properly and not through a window or in my very foggy memory from the first few weeks of my life.”
Caleb held back an audible whimper as he slunk against the side of the dome in the back. Sharing a space this small with the two of them was going to be hell. Literal fucking hell.
“I call Caleb!” Nott shouted, far too loud for the small space, launching herself forward and into Caleb’s lap to curl up like a cat.
" Was? ” Caleb responded in confusion, his hands up in surprise as he was pulled out of his jealousy and into a wave of uncertainty.
“I called you! Dibs! Everyone else can fuck off this is our corner and we are snuggling here!” She insisted, garnering a little whine of protest from Jester who was already mapping out how she could put herself in the middle of everyone for maximum cuddles.
“I…” Caleb started, a great pulse of adoration blooming in his chest at the green skinned woman in his lap who was already adjusting him as she wanted him to lay and making herself comfortable. He patted a hand on her head after a moment, the barest bones of a laugh escaping his lips. “ Ja , that sounds good Nottling. ” He cooed.
Between organizing everyone's placement and the arguments that it sparked, it took the better part of an hour for everyone to get settled in. But soon quiet started to take over the tent and it seemed as if everyone was in the beginning stages of trying to get some sleep.
“I can’t believe my Dad sent me there.” Beau spoke quietly, garnering a perked ear from everyone, her face half buried against Yasha’s chest, her voice coming out a bit muffled. It was clear, already, that she was on the precipice of crying.
“I was acting out and troubled and desperate for his fucking attention so instead fo helping me or dealing with it he just… sent me away.” The tears were coming earnestly now, and there was a shift as Yasha pulled her even closer and Jester crawled overtop of Fjord so she could slink in behind Beau and hold her from the other side.
“Oh, Beau.” The blue tiefling hummed, stroking her hair gently as she spoke. “Your Dad sounds like an ass.” Most everyone spoke something in agreement. “I’ve been so mad at my Mama for sending me there too, but she did it out of love, she thought I needed to be around professionals who could help me so I could eventually come home.” There was a sniffle from Jester now. “She kept telling me she wished she could come too so that she could get over her fear of the outside. I’m so glad she didn’t. I can’t stand thinking about her being stuck in there with us.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, little whimpers and sobs echoing through the tent.
“I… I feel so guilty about the fact that being in there, while awful, actually did… help me. All of you sound like you’re worse for being trapped there but I think I’m better.” Fjord was staring up at the sky, a tear slowly sliding down his cheek. “I learned how to cope with my PTSD, I don’t wake up sweating anymore, dreaming about sinking ships and sea serpents. I… if I had to do it again I wouldn’t go back, but I still… I just feel like… I don’t know…” Fjord stopped talking, closing his eyes and willing the tears to stop.
Another bout of long silence.
“I learned how to knit while we were locked up. That left me better than when I got there too, I think.” Yasha offered out, causing a little snort from Fjord who turned to look at her with a half-hearted smile.
“Thanks, Yash.” He said softly.
No one else spoke that night.
Until Caleb woke up screaming and choking on imaginary soot.
“Hey! Hey. It’s okay, love. It’s alright. You’re safe.” Molly’s voice drifted through the haze, both his hands held, one in purple fingers and one in green. “I’m here, Nott’s here, we’re all here.” He assured, keeping his arm outstretched and holding on to Caleb for as long as he’d let him.
“It’s just a dream, Caleb.” Nott added in, coaxing him back to laying down. When had he even sat up?
“Fire… I… all of you… I burned you all…” He whimpered, turning on his side and holding on to Nott like she was a teddy bear.
“You didn’t. We are here. We are alive.” Nott continued to soothe him. “Everyone’s here, right?” She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the group.
Every single one of them gave an affirmatory word or two, a small cacophony of voice that made Caleb’s breathing slow and steady once more.
“Go back to sleep, darling.” He heard Molly say, the hand in his squeezing once and then letting go. He wished it would come back almost immediately.
At least he managed to get back to sleep.
—
“I’m not an invalid, Mollymauk! I can feed myself just fine!”
The familiarly unfamiliar voice woke Caleb from his rest. Everyone else had already filed out of the dome, he could see them sitting around another small fire and enjoying some more of Cad’s cooking. There was sun peeking through the tree’s branches, it was nearly nine in the morning, birds were chirping softly. Caleb felt awful.
He sat up and sighed, rubbing his eyes, giving himself a moment to adjust before stepping out of the dome and letting it vanish behind him.
Jester was the first to see.
“Cay-leb!! Good morning!” She waved excitedly and scooched over on the ground, patting the area next to her for him to sit.
“Uh… Hallo .” He waved back minutely, looking off to the woods and then to her. “I will… let me… I’ll be back after…” He stuttered, pointing towards the treeline and disappearing to take care of his overfilled bladder. When he came back he plopped down next to her and accepted a bowl (small hollowed out piece of wood) full of breakfast and nodded her way. “Danke.” He smiled. He didn’t dare look across the fire.
“So, you are real then.” Essek’s voice rang out, forcing Caleb to acknowledge him, to look over. The drow looked so much better. His skin was much more of a purple-blue than before, the grey completely gone. He had a bit of violet to his cheeks and the tips of his ears. His eyes and cheeks were a bit less sunken in. He still looked weak, Caleb could see the shake of his fingers as he brought his food to his mouth, but not nearly as bad as before.
“ Ja . I am.” Caleb replied, doing his absolute best to smack on at least the facsimile of a smile.
“I had convinced myself I dreamt you up. I thought you were a hallucination brought on by my brain's last grip on consciousness.” He squinted slightly.
Essek was pressed up against Molly, batting the tieflings hand away every time Mollymauk tried to assist him with eating, staring straight ahead at Caleb as if he was prey.
“I… sort of felt the same way about you at first. I believe the first thing I said to you was ‘Are you real?’” Caleb snorted a fake laugh and finished his food, he couldn’t manage it all but he put the dish down anyways.
“Well. I am glad we were both real then.” Essek shrugged, looking over to Molly now for a moment.
“I told you to introduce yourself. You didn’t introduce yourself.” Molly rolled his eyes, nudging Essek’s side gently.
“And I told you that that was a stupid idea because he already knows who I am and I know who he is. Introductions would be redundant.”
“Essek.”
“Molly.”
The two stared at one another for a moment before Essek finally groaned and looked back over at Caleb.
“I am Essek, by the way.” He said, though it was nothing but annoyed.
“Caleb.” The wizard responded, his voice much more meek in nature.
“Nice to meet you, Caleb.”
Was there a hint of… jealousy in Essek’s voice? Surely not. Caleb must be imagining things.
Chatter continued on around them as people finished their food and began to plan the days journey ahead, Fjord took a natural leader role in the planning, Caleb as usual took a backseat.
“Alright, we managed to steal twenty-five gold out of Ikithons office.” Fjord noted, counting out the coins for the tenth time. “That should be enough to get us clothes, then lodging and food for at the very least a few nights while we figure out our next move.” He looked to everyone for agreement and then continued. “I’ll go in to town first, since I can disguise myself so I’m not wearing this dumb asylum uniform, and I will get clothes for everyone by myself. I’ll come back, we can all change, and then we are… I guess home free? At the very least we aren’t going to draw attention to ourselves.”
It maybe wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only one they had.
Essek insisted that he was well enough to walk, and Molly lent him his sweater to drape over himself so the sun didn’t get on his sensitive skin, and with that they all set off for another day of walking.
About an hour in Caleb, who had been by himself in the back for the entire time, felt a hand grab his.
Molly was staring at him, eyes wide, worrying his lip between his teeth.
“Can we talk?”