A/N: Here comes the part with Sindal. Hm, I can't help but think that the part with Tsujatha had been much more of fun than with Sindal...

Disclaimer: I own (or won) nothing – just Sindal is my creation and this fanfic is my fault.

Between the Two of Us - Sindal

Twenty five: Sindal is extremely touchy about people asking questions about her father. Not about Gorion – she gladly answers each of these, her voice always laced with fondness and longing. But ask her about Bhaal and she will close off. The change is subtle – slight frown and straightening of her shoulders, and usually unnoticed by others. Apart from him, only Imoen and, interestingly enough, Minsc, are able to take on that; the rest either does not care or are too busy with talking about something else every time it happens .

Twenty four: She is open to listening to other people all the time – but she is at her most open when she's slightly tipsy. He realizes that at the moment when they are at Five Flagons, the whole place full of celebrations and she drops on the chair next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You know," she says, her voice quiet – yet perfectly clear, "there is this one guy I think I feel for. Do you think I should tell him?" It leaves him surprised, as well as a bit heart-broken. "I think you should make your interest known to him, Sindal," he responds. She gives him a smile – small and gentle, and before he has any chance to realize what's going on, she kisses him on his cheek, gone in the next moment, leaving him there with his heart beating madly. Yes, definitely make your interest known, before it's too late.

Twenty three: She absolutely adores memorising new things – poems, songs, plays, facts or languages. After years spent at Candlekeep (obviously a paradise for someone who is after scholar knowledge), her memory is excellent – it never ceases to amuse him that people actually believe her when she makes that apologetic face of hers and says she forgot.

Twenty two: She passionately hates the stories where the hero saves damsel in distress. Sure, she will compose and tell these, should the audience demand them, with the same care as if she were composing everything else – but once finished and alone, she would grumble about useless heroines, who obviously have no self-respect, that they are just sitting somewhere and wait for a dashing knight or prince to get them from the trouble. "Seriously, Tsujatha," she told him once, "how can these women expect me to respect them, when they obviously do not respect themselves first?"

Twenty one: She sings when she is having her bath. He heard Minsc and Jaheira talk about this particular perk of their leader once but didn't quite believe it – until he once stumbled upon their leader by mistake, scaring both of them in the process. He knew she was a bard, singer and actress. But up until that time not that long after their initial meeting he didn't quite understand what it entailed.

Twenty: It's common knowledge inside their small group of adventurers that Sindal has nightmares very often. Most people suppose that the nightmares are about Bhaal or Irenicus. In truth, the nightmares are about them. Them being killed because of something she did or didn't do.

Nineteen: When comfortable, she flirts. He saw her flirting even Renal Bloodscalp – who seemed to be genuinely amused – and even Aran Linvail; but she never meant anything by it and both of the men took up on it, and while they flirted back, it was apparent that it's only for their amusement. But when it matters, her silver tongue suddenly loses its smoothness and she very obviously has to search for the words which would show what exactly she means.

Eighteen: Her favourite flower is lilac – its colour soft and calming to her, the smell reminding her of the hours spent in the forest around Candlekeep, sneaking around to avoid being seen by anyone or anything else. The smell clings to her like a charm, one would say – Sindal would go at great lengths to get the lilac soap or perfume.

Seventeen: She hates preachers. Well, not those who are genuinely interested in people who are interested in what they have to say. She hates those who wouldn't hesitate to go over dead bodies, who seek to degrade and humiliate those who follow them. She once almost made one young cleric cry, when the woman started to nag at her and she didn't show much interest in what the woman had to say. Well, she may have been in interested – but the way woman said it made it look very uninteresting, almost insulting. The following hissing match ended in cleric at the verge of tears and Sindal nearly storming from the room, snapping "don't preach to me, woman, and I won't be forced to be blasphemous." Truth to be said, they never had seen the cleric in the streets ever again – as the High priest of Lathander assured them, they took care of broadening her opinions before they let her walk the streets again, when they were doing some work for the order.

Sixteen: If one thing scared her when she lost her soul, it was the fact that her eyes started to glow. If it had been possible, she would avoid even coming closer to anything what could show her the reflection of herself in the first few weeks, before she told him what was so very wrong about glowing eyes. It was only he asked her about the source of her uneasiness that she told him that when Gorion had been murdered, Sarevok's eyes had been flashing just like hers were now – and back then, the memory of flashing eyes was enough to give her nightmares for weeks.

Fifteen: She has no problems with fighting spiders that are about her size – but show her a small spider that is as big as her fingernail and she will climb the walls just to get away from it.

Fourteen: The most embarrassing thing which ever happened to her happened during the dress rehearsal of Wizard of Turmish play, where he had to play Velen and she was playing Karenina. But as she was walking around the stage, some other actor stepped on her skirt. Which on itself wouldn't be such a disaster – but as the skirt was not part of a dress, more like a separate article of clothing, as she made few more steps, the skirt just slid down and she found herself on the floor, with the skirt pulled down on, exposing her butt quite nicely, if Tsujatha could say anything. Also, she had nice little tattoo on the right cheek of her butt. It looked like a small butterfly.

Thirteen: She adores Minsc's stew. She adores it so much that every time Minsc cooks, she is the first one to get some of it. Also, she is the only one who eats it in such a hurried way which ends with her having half of the stew on her face, instead of in her stomach. It's cute, Tsujatha thinks, while he chuckles at the sight of her.

Twelve: Unlike so many elves they meet on their journeys, she doesn't have pierced ears. When he asked her once, out of curiosity, soon into the beginning of their journey, she blushed before she answered. So, there had been this one scholar, woman of name Phlydia, who once offered to pierce her ears. But since she was scholar and not someone experienced in piercing children's ears, not long afterwards Sindal ended with bloody ears, fear from needles and small hoops she used as rings instead of earrings. The way her eyes shone when he presented her with a pair of small clips few days later made it worth every single coin they cost him.

Eleven: She sucks at winning at desk games. When she plays the game of "Do not get angry, man" with Imoen for the first time they got her out of Spellhold, she loses so badly that Imoen starts to complain about a cheap winning. Sindal just gave her a smile and said: "Sorry, sis, but all my luck in game run away when I found Tsujatha."Imoen groaned. But he… he felt warm inside.

Ten: She doesn't mind to be wearing clothes covered in mud or green by grass. But her sword must always be flashing like a mirror. It was like obsession. When she was telling him about her life back at Candlekeep, she was smiling when she mentioned one of the guards, Hull. He came to Candlekeep when she was ten and he was twenty, and she had terrible crush on him. She tried to show him her affection by polishing his sword into the mirror shine – while he appreciated the gesture and was definitely flattered by the affection, he gently turned her down, and once she got over the awkward phase which followed the gentle rejection, the flashy sword became a joke between the two of them, the memory bringing her comfort every time she polishes her sword.

Nine: The first instrument she learnt to play had been ukulele. It was brought to Candlekeep by a sailor who travelled to Maztica, and its sound charmed Sindal into learning to play it. When she left Candlekeep, she also dropped playing it. Just before she left the place, she wanted to play the newest piece she learnt to one of the monks – and in the priest quarters she met not one of the priests, but one of the assassins sent after her. The ukulele she owned was used in self-defence; she smashed it over the killer's head, destroying the instrument in the process. Ever since then, she always played lute, lyre or harp, as the ukulele held too many painful memories to her.

Eight: For someone who claims to have no time for fools, she is very calm and patient with Minsc – whom he thinks a delusional fool. The fool is also the only other person who starts to see red when she is hurt. And she is the only one who can calm him down, breaking through the murderous rage with just a softly spoken: "Minsc." The two of them are attuned to each other in ways he would have though impossible – he realized that only after he had been exceptionally mean to the man and Sindal wouldn't talk to him for several days.

Seven: She hates liars and traitors, being such a faithful and true creature she is. But when Yoshimo proves to be a traitor, the only emotion she feels is a deep sadness, for she came to count the rogue amongst her closest friends. When the time came, they just stood there, looking at each other before Yoshimo begged her to forgive him before he killed himself. His heart had been the most precious thing in her backpack until the time they made it to Athkatla again.

Six: Although she didn't love Anomen the way the man longed for, she was still fiercely protective of her friend and had a tempter to be wary of. When the three of them (he, Sindal and Anomen) walk around the Head Quarters of the Order and she hears some of the squires making insulting remarks about him, she yells at them with such fervour the prelate himself came running and kept on saying excused for ten minutes. She then them both by their arms and drags them away with such force they have no other. Anomen later tells him that this had been the very first time someone stood up to him. It makes him to see the man in different light – just like Sindal wanted.

Five: When she is successful in something, she likes to high-five people around. None of them knew why – but seeing her carefree smile and hearing her delighted laughter, they indulge her nonetheless.

Four: When she has the time when they are at Five Flagons, she would sneakily pull out her embroidering basket, as she calls it. It's just pieces of cloth, tambour frame, several needles and colourful sewings. So, every time no one is looking, she embroiders a piece of the cloth – and during the next few days someone finds a piece of embroidery in their pack.

Three: When she's forced to remain on one place for too long, she tends to drive everyone around her – well, herself included – nuts. When she was forced to bed rest for two weeks when she got seriously ill after they had been helping Tradesmeet with the druid troubles, they all were ready to tear their hair out by what she was able to do. She read all books available, she sewed every tear in their clothing she could find, she painted her nails, she experimented with hairstyles she could do with her hair… To keep herself busy at all times she sorted all their spell components, scrolls, artefacts they collected so far, even counted the seeds for herbs Jaheira had stored away in a pouch. In the end, it's Minsc who finally figures what to do with her – he brings her an empty book, bottle of ink and several quills. During her bed rest she wrote ten ballads, one play and three songs.

Two: She likes to play matchmaker. Anomen and Imoen didn't know what hit them – until they are engaged and Sindal makes remark which busts her.

One: All her life she dreamt of being married in the church in Candlekeep, with her friends being present, as she had no other family. When they get married, it's Hull who leads her down the aisle, Firebeard together with some other scholars are playing several instruments so their wedding is full of her beloved music, and Tethoril performs the rites. When they are alone later that day, she whispers to him that this day was more than she ever imagined. And he was happy to give it to her, as she only rarely asked for anything herself.