#act one

[korraofthereef]

PLEASE IM CRYING

[smiledog15578]

If you don't reblog and like this picture he'll find you and tell you to do your chores or he'll be very disappointed in you

[t0rturedangel]

╭ . . . 𝚆𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕 ੭

𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ; ♰ ৎ﹕𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴

Okay, before I start- i know that hazbin hotel has a lot of good ass songs, and I want to make own little custom songs but I cant write songs for shit however I can write poetry (not well but I'm trying) so instead of writing songs for you, I'll write shitty poetry that does not rhyme. Also sorry if my depictions of love aren't good- i have literally never been in love before, and if the ending is rushed, I'm not used to writing so much in one setting

➷ ＰＲＥＶＩＯＵＳ ＳＣＥＮＥ | ＮＥＸＴ ＳＣＥＮＥ

There once was an Cherubim angel,

so gentle and kind,

perched upon a cloud

You sat on a cloud, smiling to yourself as you watched over all the different angels talk to each other about their duties- heaven was perfect, no- no not just perfect, heaven was a utopia. No angel can do any wrong, it is only virtue that existed upon these clouds and you were among these creatures of purity, you were one of god's creations just as all the other's were.

The clouds around you were soft, almost as if they were made of the soft silk your robes were made of, they were formed to bring comfort to any angel that came in contact with them and while all angels were already joyful, the clouds merely helped them stary from sinful thoughts.

She waited for another angel,

a Seraphim named Lucifer,

a friend, so close to her

You wondered though, were was lucifer? He was always about yet you didn't have any idea on where or how to find him. In all honesty, you found Lucifer to be amazing- his ideas, imagination, creativity bought stars to your eyes (figuratively, you had no iris or pupil- your eyes, more specifically your sclera, were a soft yellow colour with white swirls decorating them), to you his words were so brilliant, other angels couldn't even begin to speak or think the way he does.

He always came up with new ideas, new creations him, you and the other angels can create- can look after and love. You couldn't help but indulge in his chats with you- adding onto his ideas in anyway you can and while you personally thought your ideas weren't as amazing as his, to Lucifer your ideas were flawless- he always said that.

Lucifer was brilliant, he truly was- you could never understand why the other angels despised his thoughts so much.

Perhaps, the cherubim was in love,

perhaps she enjoyed Lucifer's company

much more beyond just meer friendship.

Okay, you needed to slow down- you were always thinking how great he was, maybe you didn't just like him as a friend... just maybe you liked him a bit more. Though, that way of thinking should stop soon- after all you have angelic duties to do! there is no way you can just abandon them just because you adored Lucifer....'s ideas.

You took a breath and got on your feet, spreading your wings (you had four wings, two on each side) so you could take off and start your work, however when you were jus about to begin to fly a figure rushed to you- wrapping their arms around your torso.

The seraphim appeared,

all smiles and glee

he held his friend closely

with tender, with care

Lucifer came out of no where, though his presence was welcomed warmly by you : who held him back just as tight. " Luci! " you grinned letting go of him, he had gotten there just in time- it was almost like he knew you were about to fly off, " [name]! Ha ha! how are you? " he asked holding both of your hands- a dorky smile engraved onto his face " Where have you been? I was worried " that was half-true, there was no evil (what even was evil? you didn't know, it doesn't exist not yet ) but there was a high chance that Sera was telling him off again.

" How sweet, but don't worry I'm alright cherub " he brought your hands closer to him- something that grin he held could only grow as the seconds passed by, seeming like he wanted to say something " Luci- I know that look in your eye, you've being creating again! Tell me everything ", your own smile began to grow as you squeezed his hand.

" You know me too well! Okay, so i was thinking of trying to make [ creature ], sounds cool right? well guess what else! " and with that he began to ramble about his ideas once more, with you chirping in some of your own ideas which made Lucifer sound even happier.

The two angels were at peace,

within the company of each other-

did they love each other?

would they dare say it?

You flew around with Lucifer, laughing together while yelling out some nonsense that seemed to only make sense to you and him- just you and him. Though your fun was quick to end when the two of you reached the tallest cloud in all of heaven and the two of you- both out of breath- fell onto it. " That was fun! " you chuckled, still trying to catch your breath " yeah! I loved that " was the reply, then silence fell upon the two of you. Though it wasnt awkward silence, it never was when it came to [name] and Lucifer- it was comforting and peaceful.

Though this silence was broken quickly by you. Over the last few weeks, months you were coming to understand your feelings towards the seraphim, and while you could easily deny them- to avoid them and focus of everything but that but you just couldn't, you sucked with feelings especially hiding them! and plus, how could you live if you didn't tell Luci how you felt " Luci... I " love you, those words were suddenly lodged in your throat and you couldn't let them be said- be heard why did that happen, you were sure you could say them- hell you said them before to people who you see as family!, "sorry what i meant was I- " loved you for so long now, I love you and I don't think I can ever stop loving you " loved that too- it was so fun! "

She couldn't say it,

she was too scared to tell her dear Lucifer

of her true feelings... though did he feel the same?

What was wrong with you? You couldnt say it, why? You loved Lucifer- there you admitted it in your mind but you just cant say it to him. You sighed and stared at your mirror- looking over your face, your long hair (angels all had long hair, it was one of the things that they always cared for and almost showed off)

Of course he did,

how could he not?

he loved her more than anything

she listen to his ideas, she added onto them

she never hated them, never judged.

but then, the high order formed the earth-

Adam and Lilith.

" [name? " Lucifer walked over to you, a smile on his face- though he always smiled, this smile seemed different in a way but you couldn't place your finger on it however that did not stop you from returning his smile " Luci! hey! " you grinned as he stopped just in front of you " [name]? do you know the two humans? " " Adam and Lilith? " " yes! Me and Lilith... are in love!"

...

he.. he loved the human Lilith? The one who ran from Adam (you heard of this from Sera, and while you acted disappointed you agreed with Lilith's decision of leaving Adam, you would have too), he found her and fell for her? .. how? she hasn't even existed for that long! How could you possibly fall that quick? it was impossible right?

It took you a few seconds to compose yourself so you can smile for Lucifer, though it didnt feel right " That's... brilliant Luci! I'm so happy you found love- how does it feel like? " and with that question you bared the suffering of listening to Lucifer, the one you loved, gush about Lilith, and you were almost envious of Lilith- almost hated her, you never met her and now dear god you probably don't ever want to. You had lost your Lucifer to her, though... you suppose he was never yours.

and with that,

those confessions of requited love

would forever be sealed away,

locked behind their grinning lips

though the perish of love was not their only problem.

Lucifer went too far,

he created evil through the second bride,

she bit the apple, she took the fall

and Lucifer and his love was to blame

though you would not let him be punished alone.

You too were part of this.

" No! " You screamed as you ran to the shaking Lucifer's side, almost trying to shield him from the anger of the higher order of angels. " Leave him be! He has done nothing wrong! " you defended him, still caring over your friend. Nevertheless, the angels did not listen to your words in the way you intended- they saw this as a further act of aggression from you as you also had a part to play in coursing dear Eve into biting the apple from the tree of knowledge of good or evil, you lead her to the tree, plucked the apple with Lucifer in tow and let her bite it. Now you and Lucifer were being punished, Lucifer getting the harsher side of it.

The angel was thrown to the depths,

to a world name named Hell,

where the only side of humans Lucifer was granted to see,

was the side he created.

You were also punished to fall,

tho to hell was too much they said

so you fell the half way

now for ever trapped in a dead land-

forever banished to be alone.

𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 ⠆ ⸺ @reverse-soe @jellibean2018 @aliazy @sugarrush-blush @littledolly2345 @immahuman @marsilis

[jasonfender]

I'm trying to play falsettos in the sims and...

Honestly sounds about right

[short-story-unhappy-ending]

[awardenandacrow]

Number 5 for the Rook storytime prompts!!

I’m so sorry for the delay on this!!!! I never saw it in my notifications and only recently discovered how to access my asks otherwise (I am officially Old, apparently). I like this one a lot and had to really think on it before I decided how I wanted to approach it.

I kicked the ask around for a LONG TIME trying to decide if I wanted it to be separate from the fic, pre- or post- game, and nothing was really clicking. So instead, I had a think about what would be the absolute WORST time in-game for Naimy to be dealing with something as mundane but inconvenient as being ill. There are of course a whole host of options, but I got inspired where I landed and here we are.

Prompt 5: Rook Being Seriously Ill

[Naimy’s coming down with a “cold” while recruiting Davrin, has to make The Choice with a head wrapped in angry cotton, takes a dragon headbutt to the body, and then, when it’s all over, she just… collapses. AKA I gave Naimy the flu at the meanest time I could think of.]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: the first snippet falls chronologically directly after Spite enters Naimy’s dream (snippet 21), and this ask absorbs and expands upon snippet 4, the morning after The Choice (SPOILERS for the end of Act One).

I broke this up as much as I could into smaller pieces because we’re talking about a couple chapters worth of fic here that Naimy is sick… so while this isn’t all of it it’s LONG. I hope it’s not too overwhelming 😅 my bad 🤡

SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DAVRIN-ROMANCERS: I saw a post about how pre-romancing Rook, Davrin had always kept things casual, and it inspired me to cook up some angst. I’m not slandering our halla-singing gentle giant, but Naimy DOES have some early misconceptions about his character that WILL be addressed and sorted out. Enemies to that’s-my-super-annoying-idiotic-sibling-whom-I-love-and-would-kill/die for. I’m excited for it. You’ll see.

CW/TW: bodily injury, description of illness & symptoms, strong language

——————————————————————————

Naimeryn thought a bit more sleep would chase away the nausea of her and Spite’s discovery, but when she awoke again, she still felt… off. Perhaps that was a normal reaction, she supposed, to discovering something so unexpected, and in the way she had. She picked at her pancakes, feeling immensely guilty Lucanis had made her favorite, and she could barely taste them. She caught him throwing a few concerned glances at her plate, and endeavored to eat more fervently. This only soured her stomach more, and the coffee didn’t help.

She wondered how he was doing, saddled with this new knowledge. She supposed it couldn’t possibly make things *more* awkward between them. He’d agreed to come along to try to recruit Davrin, after all. Hopefully having some time to think about it all hadn’t changed his mind.

But as Bellara and Harding began to clear the table, he told her he’d get geared up and meet her in the library as soon as she was ready. Naimeryn allowed herself a small smile of relief, and excused herself to go get changed as well.

As expected, Lucanis was ready and waiting for her by the library table when she emerged from her room. Her head was throbbing, but she told herself that was normal after such a fitful night’s sleep.

“Ready?” She asked him, attempting to put on an air of her usual cheer despite not feeling particularly cheery.

“After you,” he responded, nodding towards the stairs. Naimeryn always felt a little odd leading the others up and down the stairs, but as they reached the set into the Eluvian room, he fell into easy step beside her. She flashed him a genuine smile, then broke the moment by stepping through first.

“So do you know this Davrin fellow?” Lucanis asked as he stepped through the Eluvian and into the Crossroads.

“Not personally,” Naimeryn shook her head, starting down the next set of stairs. “I know *of* him. As I mentioned, he’s kind of famous around Weisshaupt. And I… know someone who knew him.”

“You sound…” Lucanis hestitated. “It does not seem you are a fan.”

“I’m not sure how to describe how I feel,” Naimeryn said honestly. “He must know *so much*, and I’d love to pick his brain. He must have been *so many* places! But… he also hurt someone I care about. Hi, Caretaker!”

“Dweller,” the spirit inclined their head and swept their hand to welcome her into the boat. A wave of dizziness took her, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear it, teetering precariously close to the edge for a moment before regaining her balance. That was… odd.

“Are you all right?” Lucanis asked, his hands outstretched as though he’d been about to grab and steady her.

“Yeah, I…” Naimeryn pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I’m fine, sorry. I don’t know what that was about.”

“The air varies, Dweller,” Caretaker said cryptically, suddenly standing on the dock at her elbow. “Be mindful.”

“Uh, yeah, okay,” she nodded, though she didn’t actually understand. She stepped more cautiously than usual into the spirit’s vessel.

“So this Davrin,” Lucanis said again once they’d been floating through the air for a few minutes. “He hurt someone you… care about, but you still want to recruit him?”

“That was… a *personal* thing,” Naimeryn said, fiddling with one of her braids. “From what I understand, he’s a no-strings-attached guy. Which I mean, I guess if both people are into that then that’s… their business.”

Involuntarily, she shuddered. Or maybe it was a shiver? “My.. friend. She wanted to revisit the strings, and he didn’t. She didn’t take it well.”

“No strings,” Lucanis mused, gazing into the ether. “You sound… disapproving. Is that not an arrangement you would find appealing?”

Naimeryn’s breath caught, and she felt herself flush. Aware he was watching her from the corner of his eye, she looked at the floor or the boat, lest her expression give something away she didn’t want it to. Was that… something *he* would want? Maker’s Balls, she really *was* doomed.

But why not? He was a Crow. Nothing was promised in the life of an assassin, surely? She knew little enough of the life, though her curiosity had seen her pepper Zevran with questions when the opportunity arose — exactly once. And the way Illario flirted… maybe committed relationships weren’t common in their ranks? Even Teia and Viago, though she suspected they were together currently, seemed very casual about it. Lucanis had probably seduced marks before. Sex probably meant nothing to him; or at least, it was likely a complicated subject.

Everything with him always seemed to be “complicated.”

But she… she couldn’t imagine being intimate with someone and having it be meaningless.

“No,” she said finally. “I don’t judge anyone for their preferences, or choices. But one night stands, friends with benefits… no strings. None of it ‘appeals’ to me, as you say. I guess I can understand it working for most Wardens. I mean we could die any time, and…“

She caught herself. *People* didn’t know about the Calling. She cleared her throat. Why was it so scratchy? “I don’t know, technically when you become a Warden you’re supposed to give up attachments, like family. It’s… *challenging* for us to have kids. We can’t inherit titles. We’re not *supposed* to get married, though nobody stopped Antoine and Evka.”

She smiled, thinking of them. “I guess if it’s another Warden, why not, right? You’re in the same boat.”

“New shores, Dweller,” Caretaker announced their arrival at their destination island. Naimeryn stepped off the boat, and the whispers began immediately.

“Ugh,” she grumbled, “I thought we cleared out all the Darkspawn from this area last time.”

“The Warden doesn’t know that there’s always more?” Lucanis chided, joining her on the dock.

“It’s the Fade,” she gestured vaguely ahead of them. “Shouldn’t the rules be, I don’t know, different?”

A violent shiver took her, and she wished she’d worn her old cloak, no matter how worn out. She’d known this part of the Fade was cold and snowy. What had she been thinking?

“You are the mage,” Lucanis’s tone was still teasing. “Shouldn’t you have that answer as well?”

She smirked at him. “You know what, Lucanis, keep questioning me like this and I’m gonna stop bringing you places with me.”

She’d expected a snappy comeback, but instead he looked completely tongue-tied. He opened his mouth like he’d also planned to continue ribbing her, but he suddenly seemed genuinely concerned she might mean it. Her brain didn’t give her a moment to sort through why that might be. She panicked.

“I’m kidding,” she said instantly, touching his arm. “You’re stuck with me.”

*You’re stuck with me?!?!* she screamed internally. *What* was she thinking? She let go of his arm and took a few backwards steps away from him, desperately trying to return to lighthearted and playful and not… whatever this was.

“Besides,” she could feel the heat rising to her face as she began to ramble. “You’d get bored cooped up in the pantry by yourself.”

That was *not* better.

“Uh, I mean — I — I —“ whatever other mortifying thing had been about to fall out of her mouth, it was thankfully swallowed up by a sneeze so powerful it made her head hurt twice as bad. It echoed around the hills and half-crumbled structures and the high stone wall.

Oooooh, no. That could not be good.

“Company,” Lucanis advised, unsheathing his blades and nodding ahead. Of course they had company now. Every Darkspawn on the island had to have heard that sneeze. They were lucky it hadn’t started an avalanche! Naimeryn felt her nose starting to run.

Great. Could this day *possibly* get any worse?

…

*It’s always something with these damned recruitments,* Naimeryn thought savagely. Not sensing that damned Ogre before it was *on top of them* in Arlathan. Slipping and sliding and falling over herself in the Ossuary. And now, recruiting a fellow Warden, *while battling a cold?!* It really was a wonder anyone had agreed to join their cause.

…

“You don’t need to apologize,” Davrin shook his head. “You’re in rough shape, and you still saved Assan’s butt back there. And if you mean it that you’ll help get them back…”

“Ob course!” Naimeryn said resolutely, if miserably.

“All right, then,” Davrin nodded. “Count me in. I’ve got some things to gather up here before we leave.”

“Take this back,” Lucanis said, wrapping his cape around her once more when she turned to him. “You help him gather his things.”

“Wha’bou’ you?” Naimeryn asked with a sniffle, confused, even as she snuggled deeper into the warm garment. That was nice.

“*I*,” Lucanis said pointedly, “am going to head back ahead of you and get started on a soup.”

“Oh,” Naimeryn said, perking up. “Tha’s so though’ful ob you.”

Lucanis stifled a smirk, and she flushed. She sounded ridiculous.

…

Naimeryn wobbled, almost toppling out of the boat.

“Easy, Rook,” Davrin said, gabbing her by the shoulders as Assan landed on the dock with a querying squawk. “Let me help.”

Too dizzy to speak, she nodded weakly, allowing him to all but lift her onto the ground before following behind.

“Hopefully Lucanis has that soup going,” he chided. “This wa—?”

“Rook!”

Naimeryn’s head snapped up at Neve’s panicked cry of her name. Her chest tightened at the sight of the whole team running down the stairs from the Eluvian towards them.

“What’s wrong?” She croaked out, shaking off Davrin’s steadying hand and stumbling forward a few steps to reach them.

“*Everything’s* wrong,” Lucanis’s expression was clouded. He looked more agitated than she’d seen him since the Ossuary. Harding and Bellara wore expressions of concern, and Neve looked beside herself with worry. “Treviso and Minrathos are both under attack.”

“Blighted dragons,” Neve added quickly. “One for each city.”

Naimeryn’s head spun. Dragons didn’t *get* Blighted.

Well. Not before Ghilan’nain, anyway.

“Damn it,” Naimeryn shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Her vision was… fuzzy. It shouldn’t be this hard to think. “We knew Ghilan’nain was controlling dragons after D’Meta’s Crossing, but *Blighted*…”

“You got back just in time,” Harding cut her off.

“What, um. What do we know?” Naimeryn’s heart was racing as she grappled with what to do. *Two* Blighted dragons. Two attacks. At the same time. *Fuck,* why couldn’t she just *think?*

“It has to be the gods,” Harding said resolutely. “Two dragons? At the same time?”

*That’s why I brought up D’Meta’s Crossing,* Naimeryn thought blankly. She *had* said that out loud… hadn’t she?

“Treviso’s a merchant city,” Lucanis said, his tone pleading. “It has *no* defenses. And the canals run everywhere!”

Naimeryn’s head throbbed. He was right. Why would the gods target Treviso, and not Antiva City? Minrathos was the capital of Tevinter, it was a logical tactical target. But Treviso?

“If we don’t stop the dragon, people will die,” Lucanis was saying. “Innocent people. *My* people.”

Naimeryn flinched. Illario. Teia. Viago. *Jacobus.* And Lucanis… he’d spent a year in the Ossuary, lost his autonomy, lost what his life had been before. Gotten out only to lose Caterina. Of course he was panicking. He was about to maybe lose *everything.*

But Neve. Minrathos was *her* city. Tarquin, the Viper, Dorian, Maevaris… Rana. Neve fought so hard to keep Dock Town afloat. They all did. What would happen if they had to split their focus between a dragon and the Venatori?

“They either die right away, from the dragon,” Lucanis shook his head.

“Or slowly, after, from Blight in the water,” Davrin said seriously, at her elbow. They both knew what that would mean. No fish. No clean water. Blight and other sickness would feeter and spread like wildfire. Blight was a slow, painful death sentence. And if it was in the water… all of Treviso would be effected, and Blight didn’t just go away. The Wardens might be able to contain it — if they’d even go to Antiva to try — but Treviso would be lost.

“We *need* to go to Treviso,” Lucanis said with absolute certainty.

“And just leave Minrathos to burn?” Neve demanded. Lucanis’s expression was stricken, then pained.

“Neve…”

“The Shadow Dragons *will* fight,” Neve shook her head, utterly ignoring the apology in his voice, “Right to the end of it. But we’re the only ones keeping the Venatori in check. And if we fail?”

Neve looked towards the others, as if looking for their support. Naimeryn had never seen Neve make a face like that.

“The Venatori will take advantage,” she said. “They’ll make a push for the throne.”

Neve looked pointedly back at Rook. “And hand the gods the *entire* Tevinter empire.”

Naimeryn swallowed with difficulty, her throat dry and tight and sore. The archon’s palace had blasted demons apart and taken shots at *her and Varric.* Surely they’d fire on a *dragon*? And surely there were more Templars like Rana and Tarquin, who would join the Shadow Dragons in fighting the Venatori?

“Is there *aby* chance we —“ Naimeryn started, not even sure she knew what she was going to say.

“Damn it! There’s *no* time!” Neve snapped. Naimeryn’s head throbbed, and she felt unsteady on her feet. She had to suck it up. Get it together. “I’ve got to go home! I *need* to be in Minrathos.”

“And I must go to Treviso,” Lucanis said, his voice shaking. “Go where you feel you must, Rook. *We* cannot wait.”

Neve had already started running, and Lucanis turned to run in the same direction, towards the other dock. Naimeryn couldn’t breathe. Her head felt so full. Bellara and Harding were staring at her, waiting for her to make a decision.

“What’s our move, Rook?” Harding wanted to know.

“I, I dob…” Naimeryn pressed her fingers into her temples. “We hab to trust that the Shadow Dragons have thibs handled in Minrathos, that the Templars and magisters who aren’t in the Benatori’s pockets will help. The archon isn’t Benatori, ob’iously, so the palace should be attackib the dragon too. I — as a Warden, I *can’t* risk Blight gettib into the canals. We *hab* to go to Trebiso.”

She said the last sentence directly to Davrin, pleading. She looked back to Harding and Bellara.

“We’ll split the team,” she decided. “Minrathos can use the backup. Go help Nebe. Stay safe, come back alibe, alright?”

…

“We hab to get to Minrathos,” Naimeryn mumbled as Teia and Davrin hefted her back to her feet. Her whole body ached.

“Rook, you can barely stand,” Lucanis frowned. “Why don’t you let us —“

“No,” Naimeryn said firmly. “I need to go. Maybe if we hurry, we can still help. I *hab* to try.”

…

After dozing enough to have her talk with Solas, Naimeryn lay awake all night. Tossing and turning was kept to a minimum — even slight movements were too painful to risk anything bigger. Her nose ran, her head throbbed, her eyes watered. She was too hot for her blanket. Then she was freezing. She ached all the way to her bones.

Beneath the agony that kept her body awake, a different kind prevented her mind from settling. Neve’s face swam in her vision off and on in a loop, intermixed with Tarquin’s glare and the sight of the Viper, writhing on a crate with Blight coursing through his veins. She knew that allowing Blight into the canals in Treviso would have been a much worse outcome than one Blighted man. Knew it to her core.

And yet the guilt threatened to eat her alive.

She didn’t know how long she wallowed in her misery on that couch before she heard the library door open and close, and someone shuffling about below. She had just managed to find a position that was… not comfortable, but almost, and so she laid perfectly still, hoping whoever it was didn’t need her. She willed the room to stop spinning until she dozed off.

Another indeterminate time later, the library door opened and closed again.

“You’re up early!” Harding’s voice.

“First chance to look around,” Davrin. “Might as well get to know the place I’ll be calling ‘home’ for a while.”

Naimeryn sniffled, and tried to sit up. If the team was stirring, she’d struggled to sleep plenty long enough. She wheezed, the pain in her ribs sharper than it had been through the night. Okay, a different way then. She tried to roll onto her side first, but she had to roll onto her injured right side to get off the couch, and that was particularly painful as well. Great.

The library door swung open and closed a third time.

“Morning! Has anyone seen Rook? I made her pancakes,” Bellara’s usual chipper morning voice was marred by poorly-suppressed concern. “Tarquin was pretty harsh on her yesterday.”

“I doubt she’ll be up and about for a while,” Davrin told her. “Getting full body head-butted by a dragon tends to take it out of you.”

A plate shattered on the floor. Crap. Naimeryn renewed her attempts at sitting up.

“She got *headbutted* by the *dragon*?!” Bellara asked shrilly.

“And neither you nor Lucanis thought *maybe* you should mention it?!” Harding added.

“Uh…”

Naimeryn could already hear both of their footfalls on the stairs. She grabbed the back of the couch and wrenched herself up, sucking in a seething breath to keep from crying out. Okay. Everything was fine.

“Rook?” Bellara burst through the door without knocking, Harding hard on her heels. Unable to gain enough composure to speak, Naimeryn managed a weak and unconvincingly cheerful wave before falling back to sit precariously on the edge of the couch again. Her nose ran, and she wiped it carefully on the back of her wrist. Gross.

“Elf root,” Harding snapped. “You big dummy, you need elf root. Be right back.”

“You dob hab to —“

“And ice!” Bellara said. “I fell out of a tree once, and Irelin put ice on my a— aaanyway. Ice!”

“Wait —“

But they were both gone. Naimeryn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She made a mental note to give Davrin an earful, though she immediately forgot. She hadn’t wanted them to worry — not about her. *She* was team leader. It was her responsibility to worry about *them.* And right now, there was enough on their plates to worry about knowing there were two blighted dragons on the loose. She already had to add the tasks of tracking down a dragon hunter and a Fade expert to their to-do list.

Now that she had no audience, Naimeryn gingerly set about getting back to her feet. Slow breaths. Slow movements. Easy does it. She made her way around the couch and picked up the hand mirror off the console table. Not for the first time, she wished she had a full length mirror.

Carefully, she undid the sash holding her night wrap closed, hissing at the pain of each movement. She hooked it open with her hip, holding the mirror upside-down and at an angle to get a better look at the bruising on her side and ribs. She groaned. Her flesh was puffy, covered in angry black, purple, blue, and… green? That was new. She’d never had a green bruise before. Was that bad?

“Rook?”

*Oh, no.*

Bellara and Harding hadn’t shut her door tight behind them, and Lucanis pushed it open easily with his shoulder. “Bellara said you needed ice — *mierda.*”

Unable to move quickly and thankful she wore her underthings to bed, she gave him what she could imagine was the most awkward, embarrassed smile she had ever given anyone.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

He seemed frozen in place, the ice forgotten in his hands. His eyes swept over dark purple satin, nearly the same color as her offended skin. Now that he could see more of them, she wondered, not for the first time, if he thought her scars were ugly.

What a time to be wondering if he could find her pretty! Standing half-dressed in front of him, struggling to breathe or, in all honesty, even maintain her semi-upright position, with red puffy eyes and a runny nose. Of course he didn’t; how ridiculous.

BLIGHT AND… *LAVENDER?* Spite hissed. He said the second word in a tone that was far too knowing, and set Naimeryn’s cheeks ablaze. *Oooooh, no.* She was so flustered, it didn’t even occur to her to be shocked that she’d *heard* him, despite Lucanis’s lips not having moved. Flustered, and… did she *really* smell like Blight? Well, she hadn’t really bathed before collapsing on the couch the night before; just cleaned up her open injuries…

Spite’s remark seemed to shake Lucanis free of his startled state, and he held up the wrapped bundle of ice without moving.

“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want help with this?”

“No,” Naimeryn said, too quickly. “I mean… no. Ah. You dob hab to — I’m sure you hab… Crow… stuff?”

“Crow stuff?” the corner of his mouth quirked up, but his expression was more concern than mirth. “Nothing more important than this. Teia would not forgive me if I treated the ‘savior of Treviso’ so callously.”

Naimeryn gasped, winced. Lucanis was at her elbow in a moment, though he still made no move to touch her. “Please tell me people aren’t actually callib me that.”

“Well, Teia might. She is quite fond of you.”

“Elf root tea!” Harding announced, pushing into the room. Her eyes fell on Naimeryn’s side, and she groaned. “Oh, Rook. You big dummy. Lucanis, put her ass back on the couch.”

“But —“

“There’s nothing you need to do *right now*,” Harding said firmly, putting all her weight on one hip and giving Naimeryn a stern look. “You need to rest. *Now.*”

“She is right,” Lucanis said, nudging her elbow with his.

“Traitor,” she mumbled, allowing him to lead her back to the couch. He sat next to her, carefully pressing the ice to her side. She sucked in a hissing breath, then choked on it and began to cough. *Creators,* that hurt. Harding set the tray on the table as Lucanis tentatively splayed his hand across the middle of her back. Naimeryn groaned. Harding held out a cup of tea for her, and she reached for it. Her head throbbed. The next thing she knew Lucanis was on his knees, and both he and Harding were holding her up off of the floor.

“Naimy, you’re burning up,” Harding fretted. “Lucanis mentioned you were coming down with a cold when he came back early from recruiting Davrin, but with everything going on, I completely forgot!”

“As did I,” he admitted with a deep frown.

“We’re tryib to keep the world from endib,” Naimeryn groaned. The whole room was spiraling, and she again thought she might vomit. “Arlathan’s go’ Blight, there’s Darkspawn ib the Crossroads, a monster took a buncha griffons tha’ *aren’* essinct, Minrathos is burnib and now Solas wants us to recruit two more people! I don’ hab time to be *sick.*”

Her two companions carefully guided her back down into a reclined position.

“If you overdo it trying to fix everything *right now*,” Harding said, picking some ice out of the parcel Lucanis had brought and pressing it to her forehead, “you’re just gonna get worse.”

“Bellara is remaking the pancakes,” Lucanis told them. “I’ll go have her make soup instead.”

“I’ll jus’ comb to the dinin’ hall,” Naimeryn insisted. “I’ll drink my tea, I’ll ea’ my soub, an’ we can figure ou’ wha’ our nest mobe is. I can tell ebryone at once what Solas said.”

“Rook, I am not sure that is a good idea,” Lucanis frowned. “You just almost passed out.”

“Oh, is that what that was?” she murmured to herself.

“I think you should rest for the day,” Harding told her. “Later tonight we can all meet in the library and you can tell us about Solas then.”

“Do you think Nebe is *restib* today?” Naimeryn asked miserably, reaching for them both to help her up. They exchanged worried glances, but each took a hand and hoisted. Naimeryn swayed, gripping their hands tightly. The edges of her vision were black. She shut her eyes tightly and willed the dizziness away.

“I can’t just lay about and do nothib,” she tried again, opening her eyes slowly. Everything was squiggly. “I hab to —“

“Rook!” Harding’s voice sounded far away, and the room turned on its side before strong arms caught her, and everything went black.

If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :3

[thesorcerersapprentice]

This questionnaire is lifted from the popular book ‘Save the Cat! Writes a Novel’ by Jessica Brody. It’s designed to help flesh out your main character's personality, motivations, and backstory. I filled it out for Altaluna, the protagonist of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

TAG LIST: (ask to be + or - ) @the-finch-address @achilleanmafia @fearofahumanplanet @winterninja-fr  @avrablake @outpost51 @d3mon-ology @hippiewrites @threeking @lexiklecksi @ashirisu @thelaughingstag

[sugarmottasnumber1fan]

im falsettos fan so falsettos question 😛

i 🩷 act two for some reason

[faerie-sue]

Taking a ladder to gods know where

[nimmexx]

The brainrot I have over this musical is haunting my existence in the best way possible, however I can't think of anything else (not that I want to)

[smiledog15578]

Emotionally unstable

[the-false-dragon]

"Oh my this won't do at all!! Let's make this all a little more... ENTERTAINING!!"

[missmacfire]

No! He's not eating this one

Just some highlights from Astarion reading the book of Thay

[short-story-unhappy-ending]

It all starts 4/4/25.

[awardenandacrow]

FANFIC SNIPPET 4

[the morning after The Choice. Naimeryn slept little, riddled with doubt over whether or not she had made the right call, how Neve must be feeling, and struggling to get comfortable despite her injuries. She finally decides to just get up when she hears some of her companions in the library below…]

CW/TW: discussion/description of bodily injury, mild language

——————————————————————————

“You’re up early!” Harding’s voice.

“First chance to look around,” Davrin. “Might as well get to know the place I’ll be calling ‘home’ for a while.”

Naimeryn sighed and tried to sit up. She wheezed, the pain in her ribs sharper than it had been through the night. Okay, a different way then. She tried to roll onto her side first, but she had to roll onto her injured right side to get off the couch, and that was particularly painful as well. Great.

“Morning! Has anyone seen Rook? I made her pancakes… Tarquin was pretty harsh on her yesterday.”

“I doubt she’ll be up and about for a while,” Davrin said. “Getting full body head butted by a dragon tends to take it out of you.”

A plate shattered on the floor. Crap. Naimeryn renewed her attempts at sitting up.

“She got *headbutted* by the *dragon*?!” Bellara asked shrilly.

“And neither you nor Lucanis thought *maybe* you should mention it?!” Harding added.

“Uh…”

Naimeryn could already hear both of their footfalls on the stairs. She grabbed the back of the couch and wrenched herself up, sucking in a seething breath to keep from crying out. Okay. Everything was fine.

“Rook?” Bellara burst through the door without knocking, Harding hard on her heels. Unable to gain enough composure to speak, Naimeryn managed a weak and unconvincingly cheerful wave before sinking back to sit on the couch again.

“Elf root,” Harding snapped. “You big dummy, you need elf root. Be right back.”

“You don’t have to —“

“And ice!” Bellara said. “I fell out of a tree once, and Irelin put ice on my — anyway. Ice!”

“Wait —“

But they were both gone. Naimeryn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She made a mental note to give Davrin an earful. She hadn’t wanted them to worry. There was enough on their plates to worry about knowing there were two blighted dragons on the loose, and with tracking down a dragon hunter and a Fade expert.

Now that she had no audience, Naimeryn gingerly set about the task of getting to her feet. Slow breaths. Slow movements. Easy does it. She made her way around the couch and picked up the hand mirror off the console table. Not for the first time, she wished she had a full length mirror.

Carefully, she undid the sash holding her night wrap closed, hissing at the pain of each moment. She hooked it open with her hip, holding the mirror to get a better look at the bruising on her side and ribs. She groaned. Her flesh was puffy, covered in angry black, purple, blue, and… green? That was new. She’d never had a green bruise before. Was that bad?

“Rook?”

Oh no.

Bellara and Harding hadn’t shut her door tight behind them, and Lucanis pushed it open easily with his shoulder. “Bellara said you needed ice — mierda.”

Unable to move quickly and thankful she wore her underthings to bed, she gave him what she could imagine was the most awkward, embarrassed smile she had ever given anyone.

“Hi,” she mumbled.

He seemed frozen in place, the ice forgotten in his hands. His eyes swept over dark purple satin, nearly the same color as her offended skin. Now that he could see more of them, she wondered not for the first time if he thought her scars were ugly. What a time to be wondering if he found her pretty! Standing half-dressed in front of him, struggling to breathe or, in all honesty, even stand.

“Blight and… *lavender?*” Spite hissed. He said the second word in a tone that was far too knowing, and set Naimeryn’s cheeks ablaze. Oooooh, no. And… did she really smell like Blight? Well, she hadn’t really bathed before collapsing on the couch the night before; just cleaned up her open injuries…

Spite’s remark seemed to shake Lucanis awake, and he held up the wrapped bundle of ice without moving.

“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want help with this?”

“No,” Naimeryn said, too quickly. “I mean… no. Ah. You don’t have to — I’m sure you have… Crow… stuff?”

“Crow stuff?” the corner of his mouth quirked up, but his expression was more concern than mirth. “Nothing more important than this. Teia would not forgive me if I treated the ‘savior of Treviso’ so callously.”

Naimeryn gasped, winced. Lucanis was at her elbow in a moment, though he still made no move to touch her. “Please tell me people aren’t actually calling me that.”

“Well, Teia might. She’s quite fond of you.”

“Elf root tea!” Harding announced, pushing into the room. Her eyes fell on Naimeryn’s side, and she groaned. “Oh, Rook. You big dummy. Lucanis, put her ass back on the couch.”

“But —“

“There’s nothing to do until I hear back from my contact, and Bellara from hers,” Harding said firmly, putting all her weight on one hip and giving Naimeryn a stern look. “You need to rest. *Now.*”

*Bellara was deffo remaking dem pancakes*