Bg1 Khalid - Blog Posts

Learn Me Right

Jaheira x Khalid

This is a fic excerpt (~600 words). Someday, I’ll publish the rest. Because there is more — believe me, there is more.

Between the two of them, Khalid is the first to cry in front of the other.

They're tears of sheer frustration. They’d barely had time to sleep the night before, the day has been hell, and all he wants is a moment's quiet but the patrons of the pub below their room clearly have other plans. On a good day it would set his teeth on edge, never mind now. Jaheira is trying to cheer him up with that flirtatious banter she's so good at, something he loves, and this is the fourth time he's gotten completely trapped in the middle of a sentence. For fuck's sake, he's trying to compliment her (it's a favourite trick of his, disarming her with sudden earnestness) and somehow he can't coordinate his own mouth to say it.

He can’t find a way to tell her how beautiful it is when he can make her really laugh, that he wants to do it again and again for the rest of their lives, that when she smiles at him her eyes glow golden and warm and he feels it from shoulders to hips. He can't meet her eyes and his face is screwed up with effort, fists suddenly clenching as his head jerks uncomfortably to the side, and for a moment he's frozen there — and then he's crying.

The whole thing is mortifying. Khalid desperately swipes away the tears, turns away from her in his effort to hide it all. What must she think of him? Unable to keep it together even now, in this quiet moment between them.

Jaheira doesn't allow it.

She approaches slowly, sits in front of him on the bed. This is bad enough on its own, but then — then she’s holding his hands, moving them away from his face and clutching them firmly in her own. Khalid feels suddenly wild with panic. He can’t, he can’t, he —

“I-I-I —”

"No need to be ashamed," she says firmly, thumbs brushing over the backs of his hands. "It's just the two of us."

After a moment, she brings his hands up to rest above her breasts, and then both of hers move up to his face. Jaheira holds his head in her hands and kisses away the tears under each of his eyes, before her forehead presses against his. As her chest rises and falls with her breathing, he manages to copy her.

"Good," she says, a softness in her tone that's uncommon, that he's always treasured when she opens it to him. "That's it."

Her thumbs trace rhythmic circles over his cheeks like she’s trying to soothe and memorize him all at once. Slowly, the sharp noises from downstairs that had grated on him fade into undifferentiated murmurs, and there is nothing but her; the way she smells of the forest even after days spent in the city, the steel of her spine, the unshakeable calm in the eye of her storm and the way she can somehow bring him into it with her. He has no idea how he got so lucky, that he has the privilege to spend so much time at the center of her focus.

Jaheira is looking at him with that rare, precious gentleness that tells him she’s dropped her guard. That he’s seeing her all the way through, the way she always seems to see him, and all he wants in the world is to learn every path to get here with her. All he wants is her.

"I love you," Khalid whispers, and Jaheira’s eyes are suddenly wide and bright in a way he’s never seen before. For a tiny moment, they flutter closed, and he could swear her breath trembles.

She coughs. "Well, I --." Swallows. "I love you, too."

He suspected she felt it, but he had expected a smart remark, for her to hide behind a quip again. His heart swells.

Before Khalid can say anything else, she kisses him, one hand fisting into his hair, and he knows they'll both sleep soundly tonight.

jaheira and khalid scribble dump.

HAPPY JAHEIRA X KHALID BRAIN ROT ANNIVERSARY TO MEEEEE 🎉🎉🎉

(Kinda)

One year ago was not the start of the brain rot but it was the date I could find for when I started making fanart disclaimer I didn’t finish most of them lol

In honor of this special occasion let’s look back on some of it!

These are the dated ones:

It is the only finished one that I will be showing here lmaooo wow Khalid has changed over the year. For context this was before I saw githyankidanky’s design and was like “that’s him, that’s the guy”

I was doing an expression challenge at the time which I also never finished but THIS WAS THE BEGINNING

These two never got out of the gesture and the structure lol.

The text on the left one reads: “excuse me, he asked for no pickles”

The one on the right was going to be the picture Jaheira has of them down in her basement in Bg3 that Khalid got from the wizard since she banned him from poetry. I don’t know why I cropped it at the thigh?? I feel like it should be down to the waist at most but whatever past wren.

The unfortunate thing is that most of these relics are now lost as I doodled them on the sides of my notes, I did find one though! And it was this:

True artistry right there tbh

So happy anniversary to me and many more!

jaheira x khalid for kiss prompt #9 a kiss on the ear.

starting in on these. THANKS for sending in requests!

Incredibly self-indulgent and questionably canonical drabble time! Set not long before Rasaad's admittance to the Sun Soul monastery.

(This was gonna be short but it got out of hand as usual whoops. XD )

-----

Rasaad: "You are familiar with Calimport then?" Khalid: "Oh y-yes! I spent many a h-happy hour at the Jet Jambiya. Wonderful ale." Rasaad: "I remember it well. My brother and I would often linger outside the better taverns, looking for inebriated patrons to, ah, relieve of their valuables." Khalid: "I can't say it didn't happen to me from t-time to time. Perhaps you picked my pocket!" Rasaad: "Oh. Yes. Forgive me, my friend. I feel great shame for much of what I did before finding Selune." Khalid: "I'm sorry, Rasaad. Making you uncomfortable was the l-last thing I wanted. Please, think nothing of it." Rasaad: "I shall try to do so. I suppose I have not entirely put those days behind me. Even now they find a way to disrupt my serenity." - Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear

The air of the khanduq market is hazy with late afternoon heat. Rasaad, at seven years old, is by now hardened to Calimport's desert landscape; he knows the heat will pass, but more than that, he knows how to operate within it, keeping to shadows in between his 'fishing' expeditions with Gamaz.

His older brother is the better thief of the two of them. Rasaad is quick and clever but a poor liar, and not as practiced at spotting a good mark in the ever-shifting city crowds. Today, though, Gamaz is busy fishing in the inner market, so Rasaad is left to his own devices, drifting aimlessly among the taverns that surround the khanduq like a blanket.

The taverns are rather hit-or-miss when it comes to pickpocketing. Most of the time, the bar patrons of this district have only as much coin as will buy them a night's ale. Gamaz has little compunction in stealing even from those just as destitute, but even at his young age Rasaad finds it disquieting in some way he doesn't yet have the words to define.

But every now and then, the drudach plays host to someone more important, some visitor from the rich districts come to sample the stronger (and cheaper) ale of the markets. And today, Rasaad spots one such - a merchant by his clothes, trotting on horseback down the street with his family behind him.

The man is tall, good-looking but with his looks offset by a haughty sneer that twists his mouth up at one corner. His wife, dressed the same gaudy and gold-embroidered style, bears a matching expression, as do his two young sons, each astride their own pony and marching in lockstep behind him. Behind them is a younger boy about Rasaad's age, equally well-dressed but not on horseback, trudging along wearily behind.

A good mark, Rasaad thinks. His little face twists in concentrated thought as he tries to consider what Gamaz (two years older and much wiser in the ways of thievery) would think. The two younger men are the best target; each carries a fat purse on his belt and neither seems to have much of an attentive eye, as they are both arguing with each other as their ponies trot along the street.

He watches as they dismount at a tavern door, all swinging from their horses with practiced grace and making an ostentatious show of sweeping the dust from their fine clothes. Each of them hands the reins to the boy that was following behind, leaving him with the four creatures to manage as they disappear into the tavern's dark and noisy interior.

Good, Rasaad thinks. They will get drunk, and perhaps their sons too, and the gold and silver and copper fish in their pockets will jump to the hook. In the meantime, he examines the boy with the horses, who is awkwardly fumbling with the various sets of reins to tie them all off to the hitching posts. A servant, presumably - and a rather nervous one too, as he jumps when Rasaad approaches.

"I can hold them for you," Rasaad says gravely. It is strategic, of course; if he can fall into talk with the servant boy, it will be easier to get close to his rich patrons when they come wobbling back out of the bar. It has, of course, nothing to do with the fact that the boy looks a little overwhelmed trying to hold all four creatures in place long enough to tie them off.

The boy flinches, squinting at Rasaad warily. "Y-you will not steal them?" he stammers doubtfully. "F-father says there's n-nothing but thieves up this d-district..."

Rasaad is not a very good liar, but luckily at this moment he can tell the truth. "I won't steal the horses," he says honestly, and holds his hand out. The boy relaxes, and then grins, placing two of the sets of reins into Rasaad's palm.

"Th-thank you," he mumbles. His voice is high and earnest, touched with a stammer that thickens the occasional syllable. "I'll have it all d-done in a moment. I'm b-better with the horses than Ayaan and Jamari."

Rasaad, who has never had occasion to ride a horse ever in his life, finds that they are rather stronger than he expected; one of them tosses its head and nearly yanks him sideways off his feet. But he sets his legs hard and holds on, not wanting to look like a fool in front of the other boy. "Who're they?" he asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

"My b-brothers," the boy explains. He jerks his head towards the tavern, and Rasaad blinks.

"Why en't you in there with them?" he asks, perplexed enough to break his thin veneer of disinterest. "That was your father?"

"My b-brothers are their mother's sons," the boy says glumly. "I am not. So they care little for me, and I walk b-behind, and wait here." Then he brightens a little. "B-but the horses are nicer than b-brothers, anyhow. They don't kick me."

Rasaad frowns. His memories of his own father are muddled, and all too dominated by the smear of red with which he ended. But he knows about brothers; he has Gamaz, and would not trade him for anything, as it is the two of them against all the hard world of the Calimport streets. It is hard to imagine a life with brothers where that bond is not everpresent and unspoken.

"Your brothers kick you? You should kick them back," he says matter-of-factly, hopping up on a nearby crate, his dark eyes suddenly smoldering with mild indignation on behalf of this stranger. He doesn't usually like the rich boys he's encountered, but this one doesn't make a show of it. He seems quiet - kind, even, judging by the way he's petting each horse's nose as he Rasaad wonders if he sees much of his father's coin. "Or I could kick them for you."

The boy looks alarmed. "N-no! They would have the amlakkar on you," he says, shaking his head. "It's-- it's all right. J-just the way of things." Then he smiles, just a little, leaning against the tavern wall. "But th-thank you," he adds with a sheepish chuckle.

Rasaad grunts, folding his arms across his chest. "Why did you come around here?" he asked.

"F-father has a new business deal," the boy explains. "We-- they-- are celebrating." He frowns, not quite meeting Rasaad's eyes. "He likes t-to come this way when he wants to feel important," he adds in a low voice.

Rasaad scowls. Yes, he knows many merchants from the rich districts like this; they come to the less ostentatious corners of the city just to enjoy the way all eyes turn to them when they walk through. They make good marks, usually - but that doesn't make Rasaad like them. "Think a lot of themselves, do they?"

The boy blinks, then glances furtively over his shoulder to check that no one is listening. Then he grins a little, and nods, and hops up on the crate next to Rasaad. Rasaad grins back; he's starting to get an idea.

They've been sitting half an hour or so in cautious conversation when they're interrupted abruptly by a shout from inside the door.

"Khalid!" The boy jumps at the word - his name, evidently - and then scrambles to his feet hastily as the two brothers come staggering back out of the bar. They smell not of ale but of expensive Moonshae whiskey, which they have evidently downed with significant rapidity.

One of them claps a hand none-too-kindly on Khalid's shoulder. "Ready th' horses again," he slurs. "Th' proprietor here was not - properly - respectful, so we'll not be stayin'--" he breaks off, squints at Rasaad. "What're you looking at, boy?" he snaps abruptly.

Rasaad slides slowly off the crate, peering up at the young man and not bothering to conceal his dislike. With exaggerated politeness, he bows, backpedaling a few steps. "Nothing, saer," he says. "I was admiring your garments. If you'd step this way, I should like to see them a little better in the sunlight..."

He trails off, takes a few steps back out into the street, and his eyes narrow in sudden focus as he gathers up everything Gamaz ever taught him to the front of his mind. The two rich young men - too drunk to question the idea that someone might wish to admire them - follow him agreeably towards the shaft of sunlight painting the thoroughfare... and he strikes.

It is, perhaps, one of the deftest bits of fishing he has ever managed, and he is only sorry Gamaz isn't here to see it. He manages to make it look entirely accidental, but shifts his body as he comes off the curb as if he has tripped, and strikes his full weight into one of the boys. At the same time, he lets his opposite leg catch the other boy at the back of the knee. The dual impacts send both boys sprawling out into the street, a cloud of dust rising up around them, and as they fall, his fingers flick across their belts, lifting both heavy purses from beneath their tunics and into the wide hidden pocket in his own.

"You impudent little cur!" The older of the young men comes up off the street, and Rasaad is pleased to see that a measure of horse dung is liberally mixed with the dirt now painting the front of his finery.

"Clumsy fool!" snaps the other, who has climbed to his knees and is wiping fruitlessly at a damp bit of mud that has smeared across his face.

Rasaad lets his dark eyes go very wide, and backpedals a few steps away, holding his arms out to the side in a placating gesture. "I'm so sorry, saers. So sorry!"

"Get out of here right now, if you know what's good for you!" snaps the eldest, raising a hand. Rasaad darts backwards with practiced ease to avoid the blow, and looks past the two disheveled men to the young boy still standing by the horses. Khalid, out of his brothers' line of sight, has a wide, delighted grin on his face, his eyebrows lifted to his hairline.

Rasaad grins back, then turns and bolts, disappearing into the crowd and down a nearby alley into the shadows.

Love them ♥️

I especially love the hot springs drawing, love Dynaheir's expression

(now I wanna draw hot springs.…)

let a thousand flowers bloom for minsc and khalid. i keep thinking about what fun their dynamic could be

I like the angelic scion outfit a lot

I’ll finish shading someday idk

jaheira and khalid doing the meme

Coloring/lighting isn’t my specialty but I had fun

jaheira x khalid head kiss

Some very VERY rough sketches from when I was designing Khalids mother

Rip her in that last one

I now have a hc that since Khalid wasn't there the shadow thieves asked her where he was (perhaps under a false pretense of living if she tells them), of course they’d find him one way or another but less work ya know, but she refuses to tell them

sketchbook jaheira and khalid

Something about that last jaheira….

There’s something about her that is scratching my brain

I love her so much

Mapped out the progression of my khalid design. apparently it’s been 11 months of this already. happy new year!

you know, Khalid, it has been a long day without you. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

May or may not be cooking something up

Something I think about is Khalid’s mother

Because in the first game in Khalid’s background she is not mentioned at all, and in siege of dragonspear she is mentioned as ‘not thinking much of him’ but to a lesser extent than his father did who we all agree was a POS

1. What was she like?

like her life probably sucked a lot.

She was an elven concubine in a country that is pretty much devoid of any other elves, and so she was seen as exotic, which is probably why Khalid‘s father had her as a concubine in the first place.

She would always be below his actual wife and I won’t get into all of the horrible things that could’ve happened to her prior or during this time

And then on top of everything, she has a illegitimate kid with the dude!

I doubt Khalid’s father or his wife (mother of Khalid’s half brothers) was particularly interested in raising him, so it was probably all on her.

So now on top of her life already probably sucking, she has this kid in a world that is guaranteed to be hostile towards him because he is considered lower by default.

There’s no way she could protect him from that even if she did try.

Maybe there was a combination of resentment of having another thing on her plate to take care of but also guilt about having this kid that she feels is guaranteed to have a miserable life

2. Was their relationship purely indifference and neglect or was there some love?

Is it possible that she walled herself off from him so that when he was inevitably hurt it didn’t hurt her as much? Like self protection so she only had to feel her own hurt

Were there good moments? Where she would protect him or comfort him in ways she felt she could?

Maybe she held some hope that because his father was of the merchant class Khalid would get further than she could only to have those hopes crushed within her lifetime

3. How does Khalid feel about her?

Maybe he is a bit overly forgiving of her actions because of he knows her circumstances (Which probably annoys Jaheira lol)

Maybe there’s some resentment for not being the mother he needed but he feels guilty about having those feelings

Maybe she just fades into the background of his childhood

There’s so many possibilities because we know nothing about her so we get to fill in the blanks!

I made Jaheira and Khalid in the sims 4! I’m not very good at making sims and looking at it now I think I made jaheiras head too long but eh

I don’t own the pack that has pointy ears so i found some cc ones, I can’t edit them like I’d want because of that but we make do

Also apparently base game doesn’t have scars and I really thought it did so that’s on me

They are legitimately all over each other and keep taking breaks from whatever they’re doing to kiss which is cute but also unhelpful when I’m trying to grind up their skills lol

Also have some funny moments

Canon, also sorry the quality is shit idk why

Jaheira is not beating the baby fever allegations with this one lmao

scraps of a drawing dry spell

Drawing out the game dialogue of meeting Jaheira and Khalid at the Friendly Arm Inn (if you speak with Khalid first)

Mapped out the progression of my khalid design. apparently it’s been 11 months of this already. happy new year!