A/N: I love it when one pathetic little magic guy and one self proclaimed very skilled swordsman are very gay and very wholesome so have some fluff. Teldryn is the captain of the Talvas protection squad, Valan and Anna are close behind in rank and Neloth needs to not be so mean all the time.
Prompt: Elemental Spirit Intrudes
“Ah! Why won’t this work?!” Talvas stands outside the main tower flipping through what seems to be a spell book. “Problem?” I ask wandering over to where he stands and try to peek at what he’s looking at. “This ash guardian spell, it won’t work! And I can’t read Master Neloth’s handwriting either.” he pauses for a moment, looking off into space before closing the book and turning to face me “What are you doing here?” he asks with a not unhappy but certainly puzzled look on his face. Neloth isn’t exactly fond of me, or my occasional visits as he thinks I’ll distract Talvas, and yet he still comes crawling back when he needs someone other than Varona to make the trek from Raven Rock to Tel Mithryn with supplies. In response, I hold up the bag I’d come to deliver. Then I’m reminded of something I’d slipped in my pocket on the way out. “Oh, and I brought you a present.” I toss him the small cloth bound package which he catches while dropping the spellbook, I pat him on the shoulder and give him a quick smile before starting to head inside to the lab. “Wait!” Talvas calls before I get a chance to get to the door “Don’t tell Neloth I’m out here please. He, uh, he knows what I’m doing…just don’t bring it up at all, actually. Okay?” That is definitely a lie, which only further proves that Talvas is perfectly capable of getting into trouble without me, and I am not a bad influence as Neloth seems to believe. “My lips are sealed.” With that response Talvas visibly relaxes and picks up the spell book, getting back to attempting to do whatever it is he’s trying to accomplish today.
Dropping off the supplies goes as well as it can when Neloth is involved, we exchange a few words, he’s passive aggressive, I get paid, and the transaction is done. Unexpectedly I find Valan up in the lab as well, though he seems occupied with his own business which includes haphazardly sitting on top of the bookshelf reading. How he gets up there without knocking everything over is beyond me, I’ll have to perhaps ask Eno Hlaalu when I next run into him, as that kind of acrobatics was not part of my training during my time in the Morag Tong. Varona sits in the library sorting through paperwork, likely the lists of next trips supplies and the budget. I'd never want to be a steward but she seems to enjoy it as much as one can. With my work done I head back outside to find an unusual though not entirely unexpected sight.
Talvas seems to have gotten his spell to work, at least somewhat, though not completely as the moment I step out the door I’m faced with an angry sort of ash spirit and Talvas attempting to get it to cooperate, or at the very least fight it off. With a sigh I draw one of my swords and run down the ramp leading from the tower to go help him, eventually we defeat it. Once the summoned beast is dealt with, Talvas plops onto the ground silently with a thousand yard blank stare. Poor thing, he looks as if he’s about to cry, and so I too sit down next to him and wrap an arm around him giving him a light squeeze and a kiss on the head. “What happened?” I ask, also giving him back the spell book which had gotten discarded at some point during all the chaos. “Apparently the ash guardian requires a heart stone to be successful, or else it attacks anything in sight. I didn’t have one on me when I cast the spell and so…” he takes a moment to gesture to the pile of ashes nearby “that happened.” he finishes explaining. That’s not a great mistake to make, but an understandable one, and certainly nowhere near the worst on the long list of magical mistakes one can make. Still, an elemental spirit of sorts getting out of hand, intruding on one's personal space, and generally causing problems is never fun. “Is Master Neloth right…am I a failure?” Talvas mumbles quietly and out of the corner of my eye I see a tear fall. Giving him another hug and wiping away the tears I reassure him that no, he’s not a failure, and everyone makes mistakes. Now he at least knows for next time to have a heart stone on him when casting it.
After a few more minutes of sitting there I stand up and offer him a hand, pulling him back on to his feet. The sun is beginning to set, but there is still more than enough light to make it back to Raven Rock by nightfall. Talvas still seems upset, and understandably so, and the thought of him having to go back inside and deal with Neloth for the rest of the day doesn’t seem like a good move when considering his mental health. Even with Valan around to stick up for Tavlas I’d still worry. A result of having known Neloth for so long Valan is one of the few people capable of talking back to Neloth and Neloth actually listening at least to some degree. “Wait here.” I tell Talvas giving him a signal to hold on just for a minute before going back up the ramp, poking my head into the doorway and yelling “Neloth I’m stealing your apprentice for the night!” before slamming the door shut and walking back down to where Talvas waits. “What was that about?” He asks before making a noise as I take his hand and start walking on the path back to Raven Rock. “Just letting Neloth know I’m stealing you for the night, he can have you back tomorrow.” That makes him smile, if only faintly, as we continue our walk through the ash as the sun continues to set the lights of the settlement growing ever nearer. He should feel better with a good night's sleep in an actual bed instead of on the floor and a hot meal that isn’t rationed. Elemental spirit mistakes aside, he’s quite talented, if only Neloth would treat him better.
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