#5e girl in thedas

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday

I'm in orientation for my new job, so One of the Good Ones is late! I'm about halfway done with this chapter and I'm very proud of this interaction, where Saoirse uses a divination ritual to reach beyond the Veil.

Tagging @weaveandwood @mumms-the-word @gale-force-storm @sorceresssundries and @alpydk

Also @miradelletarot I love you and hope you are doing well. I'd love to see what you're working on but no pressure <3

Also @orangekittyenergy is making me some BEAUTIFUL artwork for this story, I am so excited! Stay tuned :D

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI x 5e/Forgotten Realms: Cullen x OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

The faun was right. There was really only one question that she wanted to ask. "For what purpose was I brought… or… sent here, to Thedas? To Kirkwall?" The faun's smile grew a little, and eyes narrowed. Saoirse thought it might have been approval, or perhaps pride that she got the question right. Then a boisterous laugh, and the faun clapped their hands together and began to dance and sing, the melody beyond Saoirse's hearing. "The why you went to Kirkwall-town? Through rippled glass, and did not drown? You are tangled, muddied, strangled, but in the hands that she intended. She waits and wants for daughters still, to raise her flag, defend her will. You are needed, calm words heeded, in minds of those you have befriended."

[littlelostmabari]

It's so perfect omg look at that smirk!!! I love them 💜💜💜

Second part of a commission for the lovely @littlelostmabari of her OC Saoirse and Cullen ❤️❤️❤️

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 16: For Want of a Moment's Peace (Part III)

In which Antsa joins the Circle, and Cullen confronts himself.

This chapter is heavy. Mind the tags, take care of yourself. CW: blood (creation of a phylactery, tranquility), child abuse (creation of a phylactery), mage abuse / beatings, mentions of minor character deaths, inactive bystanders, anxiety/panic.

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags & CW on chapters)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 16 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

The chamber where phylacteries were made lay just outside the wards of the vault — wards that only a select few Templars and the First Enchanter knew how to deactivate. It was one of the most heavily guarded areas in the Circle, a thought that only crossed his mind as he realized he was letting a wanted apostate get close enough to the vault to see its secrets. Flashes of a soft smile, a head of wavy blonde hair worn down across her shoulders because he told her once that it looked nice that way. A melody of a laugh at a passing joke. Then a wail as sword met flesh and iron and stone and the last time he let a mage this close to him, this close to a phylactery vault she and Jowan had used blood magic to — He cursed under his breath and stopped Orsino and Antsa before they could round the corner. It took some convincing, and some promises that she would get everything back in just a few minutes, but he relieved Antsa of both her ragdoll and the pocket around her waist before he fell back and allowed Orsino to lead the child towards the chambers. This needed to be over. He needed the Witch out of the Circle. He needed his afternoon ration of lyrium. He needed everything to go back to normal.

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"Touch of Darkness"

(Soulmates AU, Gale x Named f!Tav : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

The dark took over their eyes too, as they told her there was nothing wrong. Their reassurances were hollow — something was fundamentally wrong with her magic, the thing that made her valuable and loveable and worthwhile. Notes of poison dripped across her stanzas, strings screeching when they were meant to sing. The Blackstaff herself told her afterwards that it was an accident. That collateral damage was always expected when mages of this caliber collect in one location. Waivers had been signed, families would be compensated.  Words, even from the Blackstaff, meant little to the eyes that followed her through the halls. Every whisper was a condemnation, every glance an accusation. Her guilt was a living thing, spreading from the wound in the Weave and clawing up through her veins until the walls of the Academy could do nothing but oppress and strangle.  She left a note for the Blackstaff, thanking her for the opportunity to study at the Academy.  She left a shorter note for her mother, apologizing for her failure as a battlemage protégé and resigning her position as heir to the Thundershade family.  And then she left.

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI : Cullen/OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

“Those lyrium restraints need to eventually hold Orsino, so I need to know that we still have the upper hand. Find this Witch and bring her to me.” Rutherford saluted and turned on heel to leave, but Meredith wasn’t done. He stopped and looked over his shoulder as she continued. “In the meantime, I’m upping your lyrium ration. I don’t want her to get away again. Don’t worry, Cullen, when we’re done with her, I’ll let you have the honor of wielding the brand.” Saoirse expected to hear the sneer in her voice, but she sounded… resigned. Tired. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes wide, before they darkened and he gave a short nod over his shoulder and closed the door behind him. Saoirse turned her attention back to Meredith as she listened to his heavy footsteps recede, but the Knight-Commander had taken a seat and seemed preoccupied with whatever paperwork was on her desk. Slowly, Saoirse crept to the far end of the desk before making a dash toward the crooked mousehole behind the bookshelf. She’d learned two things, and she couldn’t decide which was more terrifying:  Meredith was planning on making her Tranquil… and the Knight-Commander of the Kirkwall Templars positively reeked of shadow magic.

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

I spent my whole weekend writing One of the Good Ones and planning out some one shots. Then I got tired and didn't post the WIP snippets

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI : Cullen x OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

This chapter is going to be a little messed up, sorry in advance. You'll want to mind the tags when it's posted.

The chamber where phylacteries were made lay just outside the wards of the vault — wards that only a select few Templars and the First Enchanter knew how to deactivate. It was one of the most heavily guarded areas in the Circle, a thought that only crossed his mind as he realized he was letting a wanted apostate get close enough to the vault to see its secrets. Flashes of a soft smile, a head of wavy blonde hair worn down across her shoulders because he told her once that it looked nice that way. A melody of a laugh at a passing joke. Then a wail as sword met flesh and iron and stone and the last time he let a mage this close to him, this close to a phylactery vault she and Jowan had used blood magic to — He cursed under his breath and stopped Orsino and Antsa before they could round the corner. It took some convincing, and some promises that she would get everything back in just a few minutes, but he relieved Antsa of both her ragdoll and the pocket around her waist before he fell back and allowed Orsino to lead the child towards the chambers. This needed to be over. He needed the Witch out of the Circle. He needed his afternoon ration of lyrium. He needed everything to go back to normal.

Currently Unnamed Starfield Smutty One-shot

(Starfield : Sam x f!Reader) (Rating: E / 18+)

It's date night in Neon.

A pair of eyes, watching. You could always sense his gaze, as if he had called your name loud enough to cut through the music. He was there, at your two o’clock, in the shade of a small booth. A glance confirmed. One hand swirled a whiskey, neat, while the other stretched lazily over the back of the booth, his legs crossed and steady against the vibrations of the music. The brim of his cowboy hat was pulled low, which was good. Meeting his eyes at a time like this inevitably turned you into a puddle — because you knew what you'd find there.  A deep, all-consuming hunger. And you were, as always, the prey. The whiskey glass raises to his lips with a smirk and a nod. The game begins. 

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 17: The End Begins (Part I)

In which Saoirse learns, once more, that her dreams have consequences.

Tagging @skinwalkingxana :)

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags & CW on chapters)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 17 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"Have any of you actually cared for a child?" Saoirse looked around the room at Varric, then Choir Boy, then Anders, then Fenris. "Look at you, you can barely take care of yourselves." Choir Boy murmured something about the Maker, but Varric shushed him. The storyteller knew the beginnings of a speech when he heard it.

"None of you have ever made that kind of decision. Have you? Have any of you gone to bed hungry because there was only food enough for one, and damn your pain, the kid has to eat? Have you ever had to hold them while they cry, telling them that their nightmare wasn't real?" She stood now, although it was partly thanks to Donny's shoulder under her hand that she didn't collapse again, her knees shaking from exhaustion. "Have any of you ever sat on a street corner begging day in and day out, debating whether or not to use the kid for pity, because it feels really fucking shitty but maybe her three-year-old face might get you enough coin to sleep somewhere with a roof that doesn't leak and beds that don't bite?" The weight of the day was taking it's toll. Her voice softened as she met Anders' eyes.

"Have you ever loved someone so much" — her voice hitched, and Donny's hand was on her hip, keeping her upright — "that you know you have to give them to someone else because you know you can't give them the care, the attention... the love they deserve?" Her gaze drifted into the middle distance, where the hazy face of Jhessem lingered in her periphery.

"Because I have."

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 18: The End Begins (Part II)

In which Saoirse finally gets some... answers? Also, someone is taken.

Tagging @skinwalkingxana :)

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags & CW on chapters)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 18 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"You are not the first she has called here," Marethari murmured. "I shall not reveal her identity to you, if she has not done so already. The creature you summoned, spirit or not, is correct. She plucks at the threads of fate like a spider plucks at a web, ensuring their strength and testing for flies caught in their strands." Marethari stood, looking out over the edge of the cliff towards the afternoon sun. "You will see her again, I have no doubt. She collects from those she has invested in."

"You sound like you know from experience," Saoirse grumbled as she refused to stand, heels of her hands pressed against her eyes. Marethari made a half-hearted noise of assent. "Great." Saoirse finally sat up and stared at the ritual circle, facing away from Marethari. "You're right that she hasn't told me explicitly who she is, but I have a pretty good guess. Hawke came to you some time ago, didn't she? As a favor for the Witch of the Wilds?"

Marethari paused, gripping her staff with both hands as if she would bound away any second, and then sighed and nodded her head. Saoirse felt the sardonic laugh from yesterday bubbling up in her stomach again, and she fell backwards into the grass. Her laughter echoed across the stonework and down the cliffside and she almost thought that other laughs joined it before she finally had to take a breath.

"Fuck me," she hollered into the open sky, arms outstretched to the heavens and tears rolling down from her eyes to her ears. "Hawke didn't want me to call myself a daughter of the Witch of the Wilds. She thought that would be inviting danger. Turns out" — she lost herself to laughter again — "I might as well have been Chasind all along."

[littlelostmabari]

Day 20: Demon or Spirit

I think this is legit an excerpt from One of the Good Ones or it's sequel, once the gang reaches Skyhold. Spoilers that Saoirse lives? I guess? 🫢 Also Quizzy is a bitch, I'm sorry.

Characters: Female OC (Saoirse the Druid, my 5e Girl In Thedas™️), Solas, Cole, Vivienne. Mentioned Saoirse x Cullen

Word Count: 1.2k

"I don't care, get rid of it."

One wave of her hand, and the Inquisitor was up the stairs to the broken down main hall and was gone. Vivienne met Solas' eyes with a smirk.

"An appropriate inaugural decision for the newly appointed Inquisitor," she purred, passing a hand over the soft pauldrons of Solas' armor as she circled him.

"Her inaugural decision was to dedicate the Inquisition to her own power," he responded. "I am unsurprised she has no care for those who do not share her particular brand of ideology." His tone was apathetic, but the grip on his staff spoke a different story. It was gnarled, twisted, and grinding the blunt end into the earth as Vivienne took her leave and made for the healers tents, a spell weaving between her playful fingers.

"His light is bright, but dimmed, darkened, deadened. He dims it because he worries that the brightness could blind. He sees her and thinks he was right. He's not right, he doesn't look in the right places."

"'Ello, Cole," Saoirse replied from her perch above the stairs where Cullen had set up his temporary command center. She had watched the argument unfold beneath her, watched as Cole ended the life of the man she could not heal. It was a mercy — he wouldn't make it to sundown, and nothing they had could quiet his pain. Now the spirit sat close to her, observing the same courtyard.

"He looks at iron and sees rust. He looks at a lion and sees a mewling kitten. A raven, a carrion bird." Cole murmured, watching Solas close his eyes and take in a deep breath. "He hasn't really looked at you, I wonder what he sees, and — oh, it's quiet again." Solas had turned to look up to the parapet where Saoirse and Cole were dangling their feet. He locked eyes with her, and his brows slowly knotted between his piercing eyes. Without thinking, she moved her hand atop Cole's where it rested against the corner of the wall, and squeezed. Solas' eyes darted to held hands, and the knot relaxed slightly as his head tilted to the side with curiosity.

"Why do you do that?" Cole asked, and Saoirse's head snapped to meet the boy's eyes, but they were hidden by the brim of his overlarge hat.

"Do what?" she murmured, attention turning back to Solas who was steadily climbing the stairs back up to what would become the main hall. It was also the most direct path to her perch, unless he could jump or fly the forty feet. She wondered which direction he was heading.

"Hurry, Jhessem, pull your hood up, don't let them see your face. Whatever you do, don't let go of my hand." Cole whispered quickly. Saoirse could see the alley in her minds eye, the one she had dragged her sister down when the Flaming Fist had interrupted her panhandling. They thought Jhessem belonged in the orphanage, and she would never let the Fist take her little sister away from her, so they had run like their lives depended on it. They had run all the way back through to the flophouse where their mother wasn't. "I'm not your sister. Why do you reach for me?"

Saoirse looked down at where her hand rested on Cole's — or rather, where her grip was tight around his fingers. His hand was warm under hers, and much larger than Jhessem's five-year old hand had been.

"You miss her."

"Yeah, I do."

"You gave her everything you had, all of you. You gave her more than you had." Saoirse looked back up, and he had tilted his head up to look at her. "She had everything she needed. The rest is up to her."

Her hand was suddenly wet, over Cole's. Saoirse looked down to see a droplet of water resting on the pad of her hand over her thumb, and then brought the other hand up to her face. She hadn't realized she'd started to cry. She clutched his hand harder.

"You saw me, when the other's didn't," Cole whispered. "It's hard to hide from you, from Solas."

"I suspect it has something to do with her relationship to the Fade." Solas' voice was soft behind them, but it was startling enough that it nearly knocked Saoirse from her perch. He addressed her directly now. "Cole uses the connection that mortals have to the Fade to slip in and out of their minds. It allows him to interpret their needs and hide himself away. I postulate that he has a harder time hiding from someone whose connection to the Fade is tenuous."

"You don't dream," Cole stated, as if it was a commonly known fact.

"I do," Saoirse replied, finally releasing Cole's hand to wipe her face on her sleeves. "But you're right, Solas, I don't go to the Fade when I sleep." Solas nodded.

"Then it is less odd that you would not feel threatened by a spirit who has taken the form of a boy." It was Saoirse's turn to tilt her head. "I speak of Cole. He is a spirit of Compassion, who has entered… has manifested in this world in such a way that he has been uncorrupted by Desire or Despair." He gestured to the space in between Saoirse and Cole. "I am simply commenting that a mage with an anomalous disconnection with the Fade and a spirit who should not be able to manifest in the waking world so clearly… An odd pairing, but not, I think, undesirable. Especially considering the forces that wish to disrupt your existences."

His eyes looked beyond the two of them, back to where Vivienne and the Inquisitor were in a tense, gesticulating discussion on the landing near the main hall.

"I do not believe Skyhold is safe for either of you —"

"I'm not leaving." Saoirse stood, dusting off her breeches. "So don't ask. I'm not here for her, anyway."

"The lion and the mabari, round and round in circles. Which one bites first? Which bites harder?" Cole continued to kick his feet, looking out into the courtyard.

Solas snorted and Saoirse felt a blush creeping up her face, although she didn't quite understand why.

"He can stay with me, if he likes. I can read minds too, if the need arises. And I've gotten pretty good at hiding from Andraste's chosen bitch. Plus…" She sighed. "He reminds me of someone."

When she turned, she found Solas had replaced the curious look on his face with a soft smile. His eyes lingered on hers, then quickly darted to her hands resting on the pommel of her scimitar and dagger, then briefly at Cole, then to her face again.

"When you have a chance, I'd like to discuss these dreams of yours." Without another word, he turned and made for the door that led back into the antichamber where he had begun painting his enormous mural. Saoirse looked back at Cole, and then stuck a hand under his armpit and dragged him up to his feet.

"Come on, kid, Cullen looks like he needs a snack."

"Lion and the mabari, round and round," came the murmur from behind her.

"Yeah, yeah, remind me to ask Varric about that one later."

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday

Touch of Darkness is taking me an age to write because I desperately need the imagery to be right... and I don't know how it's going to end. One of the Good Ones has been planned out and now I just have to dropkick myself through the plot points.

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"Touch of Darkness"

(Soulmates AU, Gale x Named f!Tav : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

She was deflated, the song of her a quiet lullaby in a minor key. It was a cello that soothed with sadness, but also a low bass note that echoed across the canyon walls with haunting, off-key resonance that unbalanced him. He stopped an arm span behind her and rooted himself, willing his connection to the Weave to fill in the harmony. The melodies began to form in the place in his mind where he wrote with the Weave, a composition unique to them and common all at once. Tears rose and fell unbidden as her viola entered with quiet staccato, wary of harm and of the pain of being burnt before.  She was opening to him, not as she used to be, but as she was now. Her lullaby was a broken thing, a wail of a mother at a child's funeral. It was not meant to drive his emotion but he was driven, as a funeral attendee is at a dirge sung of a son or daughter lost to war. She was painting him a picture, a quiet one that had none of her thunder, but a picture all the same. Pain and loss, but more than that — the expectation of future pain and loss. The anticipatory anxiety of knowing too much and having too little left to give. 

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI : Cullen x OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

"They're going to tell you that your emotions are dangerous, that anger and grief and love are things that can let the demons in. That's true." The girl swallowed hard and her eyes shifted to where he stood. "But they are also the things that make you alive, ara vherlin," the Witch continued. "They make you a person. They are good things to feel when you have control over them." The Witch was brushing the girls hair back from her face. "Don't let them tell you not to grieve for your mum. Don't let them tell you not to be angry that you live and she doesn't. Just make sure you remember that all your mum wanted for you was to be safe and loved, and don't do anything that would jeopardize that. Alright?"

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 14: For Want of a Moment's Peace (Part I)

This one starts out kinda silly and rapidly nosedives into hurt / no comfort.

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags & CW on chapters)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 14 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

Teaser under the cut since it has some CW: blood/gore.

Saoirse still hadn't quite processed the mechanics of how a mage became an abomination. It was psychologically disturbing to her to know that someone could be driven so far, into such desperation as to become this bulbous unnatural creature that smelt of tar and sulfur. In Baldur's Gate there had been talk of people making deals with devils for power, and when the deal came due they were sucked away to the Hells to serve as thralls and slaves. Here, though, these demons were present in this rancid Darktown hovel and had stolen the humanity from this mage. There was the briefest moment of grief at the idea that maybe this mage had to choose between becoming Tranquil and becoming this, but that was quickly sucked away with the spittle of an earth-shaking roar. Whatever they were before, they were now an enemy. Her brief hesitation allowed the Knight-Captain to catch up, pulling threads from within his own lyrium powers and manifesting them as a devastating Smite. Saoirse flung herself to the side as the light poured down from the heavens and the abomination screamed. Rutherford took her place and swung at the creature with practiced blows. His precise strikes stunned the Fade creature long enough for Saoirse to gather herself and pivot to the other side. She finally lunged and dug her teeth into whatever the abomination had left of legs. The taste was rotted, full of lyrium and iron, but she hung on and kept the abomination from dodging Templar steel. As a loyal mabari does, she thought to her chagrin. The bite sloughed off in her mouth and she lunged for another one but a second Smite got to the creature first. It was still standing. She backed off to reevaluate when — "MAMAN!"

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 13: To the Gallows, the Long Way ‘Round (Part IV)

Whew! The longest single scene I've written. 4.4k for one little chat (/s)

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 13 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

“Knight-Captain, I shall make you a promise here and now never to lie to you,” she offered, proffering palms towards him and taking a step away from the window and into the office. It was a terrible risk, and the sneaky rodent part of her mind was screaming to stay as close as possible to the easy exit. She pushed the thoughts aside. “I would only ask that you offer me the same courtesy.” His eyes narrowed.   “Why in Andraste’s name would I trust you, Witch —” “My name is Saoirse ,” she interrupted with some venom, and before she knew it he had started to round the desk and begun to close the distance between them. She ducked back  around the other side so that the furniture remained between them, her hand swiftly pushing her cloak back to reach toward her dagger. “I'm sorry for making a mess of things yesterday, for making your life harder, Knight-Captain. Truly I am.” She tried to bring back a piece of the calm they had reached a moment ago. “And I know you could kill me if you really wanted. A druid with a dagger is no good against a paladin with a longsword. So go ahead,” she said, cautiously. “Silence me. And when it doesn’t work, we’ll talk.” 

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday

I love my darlings so much, look at all the trauma I give them! 😄

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

"Touch of Darkness"

(Soulmates AU, Gale x Named f!Tav : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

And again he was still thinking about the orb, and not of his Irra… should she look at him now and find him anything more than his failures. It was a crime of the highest order that this creature was still breathing, that the cretin that Gale of Waterdeep had become was still sullying the world with his continued existence. It was right that Mystra had called upon him to use what was left of her Chosen to end the Absolute — it would be penance and punishment. Karma. This mortal shell was better spent as a death in service of the greater good. Irra would be safe. At least he would no longer contaminate the ground she walked with Netherese foolishness and the hubris of a man who reached for the moon and landed, broken, on his back staring up at all the stars out of reach.  The decision was an easy one, the admission of it far less so. He thought back to the touch at the lakeside, where the brushing of his lips against bruised and bloodied knuckles had been his undoing. He thought of the sharp and the sour that flooded his tongue as her lightning gathered above Elminster and the camp. The conversation played through his head, and the convincing it would take for him to survive his Irra long enough to die for her.

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI : Cullen x OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Witch.” She grimaced at the lack of her name. “You have broken into the office of the second highest ranking member of the Templar Order. That alone would have earned you a flogging and penance in the stocks for a tenday at the minimum. But I have the strictest orders from my commanding officer to capture and sequester you for the Knight-Commander of the Kirkwall Circle to interrogate, at which point you will be made Tranquil for possessing magic beyond the control of the Templar Order.” His face was hidden from her now, pressed as his chin was against his chest. “The sentence has already been passed.”  Saoirse realized the ringing in her ears after the room filled with silence was her heartbeat. Her stomach was simultaneously in her throat and had dropped out the window somewhere below her.  “A death sentence for being different,” she whispered.

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 9: Breaking Faith and Other Things (Part II)

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags) AO3 Links: Whole Work | Chapter 9

In which Saoirse has her first dream, and Aveline is skeptical at best.

CW: Canon-level violence and language.

“So, you’re the Wildling,” the guard captain observed as she watched Varric fiddle with a mechanism until a twang of a popped spring uttered out and he breathed a sigh of relief. “I honestly thought Varric was having me on.”  “I’d never lie to you, Aveline,” Varric chuckled as he tucked his thieves kit back into his belt.  Aveline glared down at him. “You lied to me about what you had for breakfast this morning.”

This was technically posted last night but then I got eepy and went to bed instead of putting it up here. Happy Wednesday!

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 8: Breaking Faith and Other Things (Part I)

In which Varric spins a tale, Saoirse accepts some things, and Saoirse meets her first Fade spirit. Sort of.

AO3 Link Here. Notes under the cut.

"I'm telling you, both of you, that this is a terrible idea. Carver, Bethany, and I owed Flemeth a life-debt, or we never would have helped her. Nothing good can come from meddling with Chasind witches." “Isn’t that how Daisy ended up in Kirkwall? Helping you with that trip?”  “Yes, Varric,” Hawke snapped, finally brushing Anders aside. “Since then, she’s been holed up in the alienage, obsessed with that damned mirror and magic she barely understands. Merrill, Carver, Bethany,” she paused for a moment to choke back a strangled cough, “Mother — anyone who crossed paths with Flemeth is worse off for it.” She turned to Saoirse. “Why not just say you’re an apostate from Ferelden?” “Because the last time we had one of those in this merry band of misfits, they ended up in the Gallows.”

This collection of chapters wasn't going to exist but I realized I had to add some additional scenes to make sure the introduction to Carver & Cullen made sense (In "To the Gallows, the Long Way ‘Round").

I also I really wanted to flesh out Anders' and Hawke's personalities a little bit. Hawke is protective of her found family to a fault, because she's essentially lost her blood family.

Carver and Bethany are alive. They'll be here soon, I promise.

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 10: To the Gallows, the Long Way ‘Round (Part I)

Finally! I have had this in my WIP folder for months. This is the scene that started this whole fic!!!

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags) AO3 Links: Whole Work | Chapter 10

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

“Andraste’s ass, that could have gone better,” he muttered in a low voice. “It had to be Junior, didn’t it?” 

“Do you think Meredith sent him or was that just cursed luck?” she offered, telepathically. Varric nearly found himself face down on the street after tripping over his own feet. 

“Ancestors, get out of my head,” he snarled, reaching around to grab her by the scruff. He stumbled over to a set of crates just before the opening to the next main thoroughfare. “We don’t play with mind magic, Wildling, that shit is off limits.” Saoirse did her best impression of a shrug, which was hard with the wrong joints and his fingers pinching her shoulders together. 

“I’m not in your head, you’re hearing my thoughts ,” she offered, making direct eye contact with him and trying to convey the sincerest honesty she could manage. “ Otherwise we couldn’t talk when I’m like this.” 

“So you can just… get into people’s heads? Make them hear voices?” Varric rolled his eyes and reached his unoccupied hand up to his face where he wiped loose hair from his eyes. “And that’s just a normal thing where you come from? People wonder why us normal folk don’t trust mages out of hand.” Saoirse narrowed her eyes and snapped her teeth in displeasure. 

“No, I trained to do it. It’s not magic, it's like my shapeshifting. And it's not common but it’s not unusual in Faerûn ,” she admitted. Her eyes met his again. “ If it’s any consolation, I’m not reading your mind. I can do that ,” — his eyes widened — “ but it’s a personal rule not to do it to anyone I know unless I have permission.”

“What fool would let you read their mind intentionally?” His head tilted to one side, one eye narrowed slightly more than the other. He was still processing.

“Oh, you know, some guys are into that ,” she winked. Shame she didn’t have the full range of facial expressions, that would have been a hilarious side eye. “ But I’ve only really done it to make sure someone was on the up-and-up before dealing with them. It takes a lot of training to hide facial expressions and body language, a lot more to hide thoughts .” She paused for a moment, thinking and raising one clawed fingerlet to her elongated nose. “ I told you I need components for spells. That one needs a copper piece and some hand patterns, so if you suspect me of reading your thoughts, just check if my hands are empty,” she offered again. 

“Copper for your thoughts?” he sighed. “Bit on the nose.” She shrugged again. 

“I’m happy to cast it on you later so you know what it feels like, but again, I won’t do it to you unless you consent .” Suddenly a grin broke across his face. She didn’t like the look of it. “ Varric…”

“So, you say you won’t do it to anyone you know,” he started. She repeated his name as he placed her gently back up on his shoulder, free to perch out from under his collar. “I could get some strangers around in the Hanged Man, offer to play some cards…” She didn’t need her telepathy this time, he quite understood the wheezy laughter of the black rat he carried the rest of the way to the alienage. 

Read the rest on AO3! Whole Work | Chapter 10

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Update :)

I haven't written anything in a while because of Veilguard... and also I'm American so... ::gestures at everything::

Here's a snippet of the first chapter in the next act of One of the Good Ones.

Good news? Saoirse levels up! That means more advanced spells and a couple new awesome wild shapes.

Bad news? People know who she is now, and watched Cullen permit her magic.

Worse news? Anders is gonna Anders.

"You will come to understand, Saoirse. He is not innocent in this."

"But he —" Grandmama raised an eyebrow. "One of them has to understand, has to see that what they are doing is —"

"Exactly as they've been taught."

Saoirse hung her head. "Then this was all for nothing."

The rolled parchment was back, beating her violently over the head until she begged Grandmama for mercy.

"You are my wild cub," Grandmama screeched. "I will not dream with you and listen to your defeatism. Where-ever you walk there will be good to do! Things to change! People to help, or I will go to Chauntea having failed utterly in my duty as your grove mother." She only stopped when she saw Saoirse's smile, then her giggles peaking out from under the last rap of parchment against her warding fingers.

"I missed you, Grandmama," Saoirse murmured, lifting herself upright until she was eye to eye with her elder. The briefest thought passed through her mind, of what it would have been like to grow up here, at her Grandmama's and her Elder's feet, learning the ways of Sylvanus and Chauntea as she came into her powers.

She could not control her motion half as well as she could control the ocean waves, and she crashed into her Grandmama's arms with a hug and a laugh — because there was no more grief she could share tonight. Only joy that she had seen and been seen and not all was lost.

The leaves picked up around them, swirling in the joy of the two women holding each other, a family once again for even the briefest moment. When they broke apart, Grandmama had a smirk a mile wide and a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"We have some time yet, girl. What say you and I learn what Chauntea has to teach you?"