The Matchstick and the Orchid

Fair warning: there are hints of smut in this chapter

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Bessie was a good dog.

She was also the head of the house.

She knew it the moment she was created. Root was very smart, and gave her the best treats, but he just had "protect me" written all over him. Bark was extremely loyal and the best companion for a game of catch, and Ted was dependable, but Bessie alone had what it took to lead. So, the role of protector lay on Bessie's green shoulders, and she carried it with pride. Nobody suspicious or untrustworthy could ever enter the house, and she judged new arrivals harshly, but fairly: it's surprising how much number and quality of pats given to a plant dog can say about a humanoid.

To be fair, most of Root's visitors were amiable, and Bessie would be lying if she thought she had a hard time defending her pack. And she wouldn't lie, because she was a good dog.

Some visitors, like Carnan, Jacinta and Laurel, were simply the best because they've brought their own pets along, and playing catch with friends was amazing, even if said friend was a giant goat that kept headbutting the ball instead of biting it. It takes all sorts.

Other visitors just exuded presence, and Bessie respected them. Take Jaezred, for example. He didn't give as many pats as more excitable younger visitors, but he was calm, and dignified, and was clearly very good for Root. So, Bessie approved of their friendship wholeheartedly.

There were other, acceptable visitor options, like Varga, Celina, Ivan, Tayz or Sparks. They weren't anything special, but could throw a mean curveball or give a hearty pat. She didn't quite understand what their business with Root was, but they seemed to part on good terms, and so that was fine.

Clients who commissioned stuff from Root would occasionally show up in person to collect their orders. They were boring, but Bessie was reasonable enough to understand that a household cannot sustain itself on pats and treats alone, and Root did require money to live. As the head of the house, she was always polite with these one-off visitors, but no more than that.

There were, of course, some detestable types, like postmen, or travelling merchants, but a couple of good barks kept them at bay. As long as they realized who was in charge, she could live with it.

And then there was Glint.

He appeared on the day Jacinta got Aster. The first time Bessie saw a living fire in the house, to her shame, she got really scared. She was relieved when the matchstick man left and hoped to never see him again. Imagine her indignation when he showed up at their doorstep the next day! If it was up to her, she'd never let him set foot in their house again, but Root seemed weirdly fine with the genasi hanging around. Just another proof of how helpless he was without Bessie – the man didn't even realize that having an open flame in a house full of plants was dangerous! Well, she promised herself, she wouldn't let Root out of her sight whenever that menace was around, that's for sure! Someone had to remain vigilant!

Glint just smelled of trouble. Or maybe it was cinder. Anyway, it wasn't pleasant. Bessie remained polite around Glint, but always made a point to show that he was one strike away from being booted from the house permanently. Luckily, the man seemed to be smart enough to catch onto her meaning, and made sure to accompany his visits with careful pats and an occasional awkward scratch behind her ear. He even brought better guests to compensate for his presence: Alessiss was the queen of belly rubs, and playing catch with the tiefling gang tired out even Bessie and Bark.

But of course nothing good ever lasts. Glint's visits grew longer, and he and Root would just sit in front of the fire chatting, or reading books, or playing cards, or drinking wine. And sometimes Glint would turn up with that pleading expression on his face, like he was personally responsible for everything wrong with the world (and he probably was, for all Bessie knew!), and then the pair would just sit on a sofa, hugging, for hours.

"Root seems to like him, maybe he's alright?" Bark once said, wagging her tail in response to Bessie's off-pawed remark about how tedious it became to watch the man at all times.

Bessie huffed.

"Oh, my sweet summer Bark, I'm afraid you're too naive altogether! This will not do," she replied with a small groan, and jumped onto the sofa, where Root and Glint were currently sitting way too close together for the tiefling not to be uncomfortable with the raging inferno on Glint's head. Bessie couldn't risk her ward's un-charred wellbeing, and made a point of wedging herself between the two of them for the sake of fire safety.

As she quickly realized, that was a mistake. For all their combined intelligence, Root and Glint were less than adept at reading the room, and thus they completely misinterpreted her gesture.

"Oh, look, Bessie's come for a pat!" Root cooed, and, excited, turned to Glint. "See, I told you she's growing on you!"

The wizard nodded with amusement, and gave Bessie an experimental scratch behind the ear. Bessie shook her head. His hands were warm, but she wasn't keen on being exposed to a fire hazard. Glint removed his hand, and they continued in amiable silence, men reading their books and discussing them as they went, and her lying between them. Bark gave her a confused look, and Bessie motioned for her to stay in her place. After all, a good leader would never mind taking one for the team, and there was no point both of them risking catching fire. Unfortunately, her selfless sacrifice was for naught: when she's received several more absent-minded pats from Root, Bark decided that it was worth the risk, and joined them on the sofa.

These little paw-wows became a habit. Nobody combusted. Yet. But Bessie wasn't about to lose her vigilance just because they've been lucky literally playing with fire so far. And since when did that kissing lark start? What was all that about? Root clearly didn't know what was good for him. To make matters worse, he kept completely misinterpreting Bessie's behavior, praising both her and Bark for getting on with Glint, and all she could do to maintain her composure was to sigh in reply. At least he seemed happy, which should have been good enough for her.

But last week enough finally became enough. Glint managed to get Root out of the house. What on earth for? He wasn't buying them treats, and wasn't taking them on a walk, wasn't visiting one of their friends, he just went somewhere! What a ridiculous notion! Root said his heartfelt goodbyes to her and Bark, explaining that he was going to see some flower. But he looked so anxious! Bessie wasn't clear why the flower couldn't be brought to the house, but could do nothing but accept the reality of Root leaving for some time with Glint. At least they had Ted and the others with them, so she hoped they'd protect the botanist if something went awry.

Root was away for a long time. The longest time. Almost the whole day. Absolutely unheard of. Even the others returned and left by the time Root was back. He returned, with Glint in tow, of course. At least their anxieties seemed to dissipate completely. The botanist was all smiles, and seemed to be over the moon, completely lost to the world. This state was not unfamiliar to Bessie.

"Ah, here we go, another eureka, it seems," she said knowingly, getting up from her pillow and heading towards the front door opening mechanism. Certainly Root being so happy and absentminded meant him going to the lab, and so the visitor had to leave, it always did. At least they'd get rid of the annoying matchstick man for the day.

To her surprise, she couldn't be further from the truth. Instead of bidding Glint a polite, if somewhat rushed, goodbye, Root kissed him on the lips long and hard. Bessie hoped he'd never do it again, because the grin it left on the genasi's face was so unbearably smug even Bark confessed to her teeth itching.

Instead of going into the lab, the pair whispered something to each other, and then proceeded into the master bedroom in a somewhat haphazard fashion, relying on the walls for support way too much for two clearly sober individuals. Normally, Bessie was all about manners, but even she considered the sheer amount of 'Where do you want to…?'s, 'Are you sure?'s,' and 'Now, please's the men exchanged to be utterly excessive for a simple process of moving from one room to another. There were more kisses along the way, but, thankfully, none caused that horrid grin again.

The bedroom door closed behind them, and when Bessie tried it with her paw, it didn't give. Locked out of a room! In her own house! She'd bark in indignation, but her voice was gone from shock. That was… unthinkable! And whereas Root had always had the courtesy to apologize for locking the lab whenever he was working on something dangerous, there wasn't a sign of an apology this time.

"Oh, is that how we are now? Fine!" Bessie huffed bitterly. She turned her back towards the bedroom door and scraped the floor with her hind legs in a slightly over the top fashion, illustrating how done she was with all that nonsense. She stomped to her pillow, passing a cowering Bark on the way. Bessie put her bum down, still facing away from the bedroom door.

"Oh, come on, Bessie, don't be mad," Bark bashed the floor with her tail guiltily, as if she had anything to do with the current situation. "I'm sure Root didn't mean to offend you. He loves us! The door probably just closed on its own…"

"Well, if that's the gratitude I get for all my years of care and protection…" She snorted, before her leadership instinct helped her to get her emotions under control. "Well, I say! Enough is enough, Bark. I am not moving from this place until an official apology is issued. I will just stay here. Forever."

Bark's eyes were wide.

"Even if Ted invites us to play catch?"

"Even if Ted invites us to play catch," Bessie answered gravely.

Bark visibly shrank and remained silent on her pillow, carrying that universal look of a dog who fully and completely unfairly accepted the responsibility for everything wrong with the world at once.

The bedroom door remained locked for quite a while. Enough time for Bessie to start worrying. Root's experiments have rarely been quiet, and she wasn't used to hearing nothing for a long time. She even considered going closer to the door in the hopes of catching a strand of conversation, but her resolve and her offence were too serious to go back on her word so soon. It wasn't like there was any immediate danger-

A muffled moan pierced the air. It was definitely Root's voice, and by the sound of it he must have been in quite a lot of pain.

Now, that was one step too far! Although he had offended her by closing the door, Root was part of the pack, and Bessie was a good leader. She wouldn't stand by when he was hurt! She jumped from her pillow and ran up to the bedroom door, barking loudly, scratching the door and demanding access.

"Ah… oh, dear…" she heard Root's voice from behind the door. He sounded fine, if a bit out of breath. "It seems I… we've been a bit too loud…"

"Just loud enough if you ask me," she heard Glint's disgustingly smug reply, followed by a wet sound of a kiss.

A couple of minutes of later, Bessie's incessant yapping had taken effect, and the door unlocked, letting out Root, now dressed in his purple and gold bath robe, looking somewhat disheveled. He had a bit of a trouble focusing his vision, but other than that appeared completely unharmed. Bessie gave him a good accusing look nonetheless.

"Bessie, my dearest Bessie, I'm so sorry we've locked you out and scared you," he cooed, getting on his knees in front of her and giving the best chin scratches one could conceive of. As far as apologies went, this one was acceptable. Bark joined in on the chin scratch action as soon as she considered any animosity over and peace restored in the pack.

Glint appeared in the doorframe, wearing only his long overcoat, looking with endearment on the peaceful picture before him as if he had anything to do with it. Bessie glanced at him quickly just to check what he was up to. He seemed quite relaxed, and his fiery hair was in even greater disarray than Root's. After a couple of seconds of silence, the genasi apparently remembered how much he loved the sound of his own voice, because out of his pocket he produced a small book where he had all his spells, and which, unbeknownst to him, Bessie had wowed to destroy, but just hadn't gotten to chewing to pieces yet.

"So, prestidigitation works for dogs, cause they don't seem to smell anything off on you," he said, thumbing through the book absentmindedly. His voice sounded somewhat hoarser than usual, but otherwise quite level, and had that tinge of academic interest one normally has in their chosen field of study. "Maybe I should cast Silence in the future? You know, not to startle them…"

"They just didn't like the door locked," Root said without turning, but getting visibly flustered. Bessie gave Glint a low warning growl. "See? Bessie is used to be able to go everywhere! I didn't see you locking the door, by the way. Did you manage to cast a Lock spell without me noticing?"

Glint grinned. That wasn't a good sign.

"Mage hand. You do realize it gives me an extra hand that I can stretch for thirty feet?" He asked conversationally. "And operate independently of my real hands? To do… anything I want?"

Root blushed a deep shade of purple. Glint continued to thumb through his book nonchalantly.

"Oh, and did you know that Phantasmal Force effects are perceived as real? You know, temperature, touch, air movement…"

Root's blush went a shade darker, and his hands on the dogs' ears froze momentarily.

"Of course you knew it, you're good with magic. I wonder if there's a way to make my mirror images interact with physical objects…" He looked up, deep in contemplation. "I think they can't do that at all. The earthen grasp can, though. If you're into that sort of thing, of course…"

Root took a sharp breath, stood up and walked up to Glint, grabbing him rather unceremoniously by the lapels of his coat and getting into his personal space until there wasn't any space left to talk about. Opposite to Bessie's expectations, the genasi didn't move or look even mildly concerned, the fire burning steadily on his head. Instead, he embraced Root by the waist.

"Ready for round two, I take it?" He purred in the weirdest combination of smugness and tenderness Bessie had ever witnessed.

Root gave a slow but confident nod, almost brushing his nose against Glint's. He half-turned back to the dogs, still blushing.

"You'll excuse us for a bit, right, girls? We won't lock the door, but… ehm… could you please maybe stay here? I promise we'll be quieter," he said before all but dragging Glint back into the bedroom and closing the door behind them.

Bessie barked in distress. She didn't trust the genasi one bit, but Root asked her very nicely. So, she returned to her pillow and stared into the magical fire in the fireplace, silent and waiting. She waited patiently, as only dogs can. And Bessie was a good dog, but even she eventually had enough. She glanced away from the fire, catching the sight of Bark pacing nervously and looking at the flower clock as if she had the slightest chance of understanding what it said.

Bessie sighed. If even Bark was tired of waiting, perhaps it was the time to exhibit her best leadership qualities and once more take initiative. She stood up, leaving the warmth of the fireplace with some regret, and put her paw against the bedroom door. This time around the door gave, as it was indeed unlocked. She made a couple of careful steps forward, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light in the room. Bark was already right behind her, just as worried and just as loyal.

When her eyes got used to the darkness, she took in the room. Clothes were in a disarray on the floor, so unlike the usually tidy Root. The only item of furniture not covered with a webbing of discarded garments was the bed. In it, Glint was lying on his back, a rare expression of peace on his features, one hand carding through Root's short hair tenderly, another resting on his back. The tiefling lay draped across Glint's chest, embracing his sides, purple shoulders covered by a duvet. A happy smile was plastered across Root's face, his eyes closed. He seemed to be either sleeping or just about to doze off. It was a peaceful picture, but Bessie would not be outdone by this sudden change from a couple of hours before. She sniffed the air. It felt… scrubbed of all smells somehow. She sneezed, causing Glint to smile. She jumped onto the bed and poked Root's face with her nose just to check on the man.

"Hm…" he murmured sleepily. "I'll walk you in the morning, Bess, I'm so delightfully exhausted…"

Glint chuckled fondly at that annoyed murmur and kissed the top of Root's head. The genasi suddenly winced, caught off guard by Bark who, satisfied with finding Root safe and sound asleep, was making a nest next to his shoulder. She finally got herself comfortable and released a content sigh. Bessie looked at her curled back skeptically. They slept with Root often, that seemed an overreaction to their usual arrangement. If anything having one more person in bed was an encumbrance. She sat next to Root's other shoulder, fidgeting with her paws a bit to get comfortable.

And then she suddenly realized why Root wanted to sleep with Glint and didn't mind the fire hazard. The genasi oozed warmth like the biggest hot water bottle. It was a deceptively calming sensation. Warmth seeped through the skin and into the bones like the heat from a fireplace on the Mid-winter morning. Bessie suddenly felt very sleepy. Maybe she could lower her guard just once. She stood up and stomped around, choosing the best place to sleep. Glint's shoulder-length hair were currently not on fire, instead reminding embers gently glowing in a fireplace. She walked over them and landed herself in the crook of his neck.

"Oh!" The man shuffled, trying to get his face from underneath her side. They've finally settled. "Oh, is that how we're sleeping now? Well, fine, I guess…"

As the blessed silence once more reigned over the room, Bessie sighed, relaxing against the warmth and softness of the pillow. Perhaps, she thought as she fell asleep, perhaps her pack could use a good hot water bottle from time to time. As the head of the house, she'd allow it.