Chapter Text
Gale sighed as he made his way to his office to drop off his books. It had been quite a day teaching the children, including a few fireballs that had nearly hit him.
He was used to it by now. Many things tried to kill him but didn't, so nothing truly came as a surprise to him.
There was a ding on his phone to indicate some sort of message. He frowned, looking at it, entirely sure he had put the blasted thing on mute. Unlocking the device, he discovered some sort of new app. It just said “Chat.” Had his damned phone automatically downloaded some shit again? Had Mystra-Not-The-Goddess hacked into his phone to harass him some more?
Okay, maybe that last was an extreme, though she had become a colossal bitch since he turned her down. It was hard to explain, really, especially as a 20 year old male, why he didn't want to just jump into sex with anyone. She was pretty, but he just…
Well, perhaps he was simply a romantic. He wanted his first time to be with someone he truly connected with, to feel a spark, so to speak. Mystra (still not the goddess) was talented and pretty. She certainly knew magic he was still learning (though he could proudly say he was a prodigy, thank you very much). She had flirted with him even when he was a mere student and that had upset a few of his friends; he was young, and she was a teacher.
Still, when he finally graduated and came of age, he had gone out for coffee with her. As their conversation turned to more physical matters, Gale could tell that as flattered as he was for her interest, he did not want sex.
She had been furious, turned cold to him, and decided to make fun of him. Many of her close friends had laughed when they discovered he was a virgin. What man his age didn't want to fuck?
Despite feeling a little distraught that this Mystra was a total bitch, he quickly cheered up.
She was clearly not the one for him.
It didn’t stop her from harassing him at times and even a few times she suggested they fuck.
After dropping off his books, he deleted the app and made his way home. A car nearly ran him over, but their tire burst, their vehicle swerving and hitting the curb. No one was hurt, thankfully.
Just another day.
“Hello, my lovely Tara! Who is the bestest tressym in the world? You are!” He gave her several kisses and skritches behind her ears as she purred, utterly delighted.
There was a ding from his computer and his phone. That was the first time in a while. Frowning, he walked over. His eyebrows shot up as he saw the same app as had been on his phone. He glanced at his phone and saw the app was back.
The hells?
He deleted both, shook his head, and watered his plant. He was bloody well going to keep this one alive, damnit! He had promised his mother!
He hummed as he went and made himself some eggs because breakfast was amazing, and he could eat it whenever he wanted. He heard a ding.
The app was back.
“What in the world…?”
He went to check his computer. There it was.
Well, fuck that shit.
He sat down, clicking it despite his better judgement.
It popped up a screen very like an old chat.
“TEST. TEST. DOES THIS WORK,” was the first line. Then, “STOP DELETING THIS. I PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO THIS, MORTAL.”
Mortal? What the hell? And who typed in all caps?
“LAST TIME, STOP DELETING THIS. YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME. YOU ARE TO GIVE ME YOUR SOUL NOW.”
Gale realized that perhaps answering what was clearly a scam was a horrible idea. Maybe he had watched too many scam-baiter videos.
“Um, hello. Not to burst your bubble, but I rather like my soul, thank you.”
“IT'S NOT UP TO YOU TO DECIDE SUCH THINGS. I AM HERE TO COLLECT YOUR SOUL, NOW HAND IT OVER.”
Wow! Rude!
“Look, I don't know who you are, or why you're harassing me, but I don't deal with scammers.”
“I AM NOT A SCAMMER! I AM A GRIM WRAITH.”
“Suuuuuure. Look, if this is Mystra, this isn't funny.”
“WHY WOULD YOU ASSUME I'M THAT GODDESS? I TOLD YOU WHAT I AM. NOW, ABOUT YOUR SOUL…”
Gale nearly inhaled his eggs, laughing at whoever had the audacity to play this prank.
“Okay fine. You want my soul? You can have it.”
“TRULY?”
“No.”
“WHY YOU…ANSWER.”
His computer made a sound like a ring tone, and he picked up. His breath caught as he was presented with an entirely unexpected image.
It was an elf, pale as the glow from the moon, his eyes as red as rubies. His hair was in curls, short in the front, but far longer in the back. He knew people who would die for curls like that!
The stranger wore a sleeveless shirt with numerous zippers and buckles, all in black. It reminded him of several goths he had met.
He wore a jacket that had fallen off one shoulder. Gods, if this was a real person, the man had some lovely muscles!
“Do I make you speechless?"
Gale's cheeks flushed. This probably wasn't a real person anyway, just some fancy filter! A very pretty filter….
“I'm just shocked you had the audacity to call me.”
The elf frowned. “I told you to give me your soul.”
He felt his heart skip a beat. “And should I give you my heart, too?”
The elf sat up. “That…I…now look here! Hearts are not part of this conversation. We're talking about souls! Your soul!”
“Yes, I am rather attached to it. I don't think I want to give it to you.”
Even with the little frown on his face, the stranger was quite handsome. “Look, I can't change the fact you're on my list. I need to collect your soul.”
“Yes, I saw that when you typed, in all caps, might I remind you. It's rather rude to...well, yell on a chat.”
“W-what? What do you mean? I…”
Mesmerized, he watched as the elf's ears turned pink, a similar colour staining his cheeks, but then the video abruptly ended.
What in the world….?
Grinning, Gale typed, “why did you hang up? I thought it was kinda funny. Are you telling me you didn't know? That you weren't trying to intimidate me?”
“i dont know what you're talking about.”
He laughed, startling Tara from her snooze. “You utter liar! Hey, are you just not used to texting?”
The chat rang, and he answered. The elf's cheeks were still pink and he sort of glared at him. “Am I so obvious?”
“It's kinda cute, really. Did you know your ears move, too?”
“Cute! I am not cute! How dare you!”
“Your blush is telling me otherwise.”
“Well, you're not much better, are you? Now enough. Your soul. ”
Gale admitted to himself that his cheeks were probably equally red, if not more so. What was this man's obsession with his soul? “Fine.”
“Truly?” The elf sat up.
“Hmmm…well, maybe. How about…a little wager?”
Those beautiful lips curled up into a smile, showing beautiful (and sharp) teeth. This was a grim wraith? Seemed more vampire really….
“And what would be this wager?”
“One week to try and take my soul. If you can.”
The elf sat back, that smile still on his lips. “And what if I lose, little mortal?”
Bloody hells! He had never felt so flustered before, and they weren't even talking in person. “If…if you lose, I get your soul.”
“Deal. Now, my darling mortal, you should get some rest. Don't you have a job?”
Shit! When had it gotten so late? He still had a few papers to grade. “Yes, I do. Well, goodnight, Mr. Grim.”
The elf made a face, then shook his head. “Goodnight, Gale.”
His heart pounded, eyes wide, even as the video cut.
He knew his name.
“Who are you?! How did you know my name?” He typed furiously.
“I know many things about you, Gale Dekarios. Try to get some rest, yes? Unless you plan to just hand over your soul now?”
“We'll see who laughs last. Goodnight GRIM!”