#but it's really fran and corbin for me

[franfalens]

starting yet Another relisten of dames and dragons presented by legendlark, my beloved.

i've just finished the first arc and i think there's something so special about the pairs who fall off the island together and how it kind of sets the scene for those relationships for the rest of the campaign, in my mind.

[fablewritesnonsense]

Avelis Pokemon League

Welcome to Avelis! A country where Pokémon and people live side-by-side. Where children study at the illustrious Avelian Pokémon Academy under Headmaster Wivvell's leadership, and take one quarter out of the year to travel the beautiful countryside of Avelis! What a wonderful year to be a student too! This is the Spring of the Avelian Champion League, where anyone that has completed their Gym challenges may compete for the coveted Champion title!

This year all students who have passed their formal evaluation are required to go on an adventure, this forces together an altogether unlikely group of students together for the spring. They'll explore Avelis, catching Pokémon, training to become better Pokémon trainers, growing closer as friends, and finding their own paths in this world.

Happy New Years, and here's to a successful final arc for the Guardians!

Chapter One: Orientation

The mini guardians attend their first day at the Avelian Pokémon Academy, and receive their first Pokémon.

A dark skinned little girl walked into the giant atrium filled with other nine-year olds and their parents. Her mother stood just behind her, adjusting the two bows that were wrapped around her little blue space buns. 

“Okay Fra’Nika, let’s go find-” her mother started, but she was interrupted as they were all but shoved to the side by another dark skinned woman dragging her daughter by them, and Fran’s mother held her close so she didn’t topple. 

“I told you not to come, Torva” she snapped, sliding around them was a tall man with brown skin, his hand firmly on the shoulder of a boy that was taller than Fran. 

“And just who was supposed to bring my son to his first day if I didn’t, Kai?” Torva asked with a deep voice. Both the boy and girl looked uncomfortable. 

“Just don’t sit anywhere near me,” Kai snapped over her shoulder, dragging her daughter down the steps. 

“The nerve of some people,” Fran’s mother muttered. “Come on love, let’s see where your father decided to sit us…” And she was directed away from the man and his son. 

Behind them walked in a runtish boy with black hair and eyes accentuating pale skin. A backpack was strapped around him firmly, and his godmother was holding onto it for dear life, almost lifting him off the ground as she led him into the room. 

“Just stay near me, Corbin, for the love of Arceus,” Demorah said, walking him towards some empty stairs. 

“But there’s a Pidgey!” Corbin said, trying to pull away to go pet the random Pokémon partner. 

“Absolutely not,” Demora said, steering him away. 

Not far behind them a large man walked in, his rosy cheeked and black haired step-daughter receiving a piggy-back ride into the stadium, walking next to a sturdily built woman pulling along her sister’s green haired child. 

“No, Buddy, I’m not going to be returning to work in the Great Crater, I told Slake’s parents that I’d be joining them in their research as soon as  I saw them off here,” the woman said, tugging Slake, who was staring open-mouthed at a Pinsir sitting in one of the seats. 

“Oh come on, Namavee,” Buddy said. “Now that Laika’s off, her Ma and I are gonna get really lonely. There’s plenty of battling to be done in the crater.” Namavee rolled her eyes as Laika played with one of her long black pigtail braids. 

“I may be able to split my time,” she conceded, and Buddy cheered. Laika cheered with him, though she hadn’t been paying quite enough attention to know why she was cheering. 

Once everyone was settled, the lights dimmed and Headmaster Wivvell walked onto the stage. 

“Hello, hello!” he said into his microphone. “To our parents, welcome back, and to our new students… Welcome to the Avelian Pokémon Academy!” The kids and parents alike cheered. “Yes, yes, it’s so wonderful to have yet another generation of Pokémon trainers walk through our doors to begin their journey. Looking out over this crowd of young faces I see the future! Researchers, Professors, gym trainers, Gym Leaders, members of the Elite Four, Elite Champions, all this and more I see in your eyes!” Fran buzzed with excitement as he looked over her, while saying the word “professor.” It was all she wanted to be.

“We will have all sorts of classes for you, to prepare you for your life outside of the academy, and we will make sure you’re set on the best foot possible when you graduate,” he said, walking to the middle. “We did receive all of your aptitude tests, so thank you ever so kindly for making sure those were returned with the admissions paperwork on time.” a chuckle from the parents echoed through the crowd. Hearing everyone else chuckle, Laika mirrored them, and buddy tugged playfully on one of her braids.

“Once our presentation is over, and before you say goodbye to your parents for the school year, you will be called one by one to my office to receive the Pokémon that our researchers decided was right for you,” he said. Slake leaned into Namavee, and asked her what she thought they’d be assigned. 

“You will train with your buddy Pokémon for the next three years, learning the basics on how to be a Pokémon trainer. At the end of your third year, you will be evaluated on how well you have learned to function with your Pokémon. If you can show you are knowledgeable on every aspect of being a Pokémon trainer, and can work in harmony with your buddy, then you will be passed.” Torva looked to his son meaningfully, and the boy slouched into his seat. 

“Now, it’s actually highly unusual for students to even pass their evaluation at twelve, most won’t actually pass it until they’re fourteen!” Kai shot her daughter a look, and the little girl straightened in her seat. 

“And don’t be discouraged if you graduate without passing the evaluation, that’s not uncommon, and some of our best trainers have been late bloomers!” Demorah eyed her god-son, who was too busy trying to touch the Pidove in front of him to have heard a single word. 

“But, once you’ve passed your evaluation, you’ll be allowed every spring to focus on research, on filling your Pokédex, on gathering your gym badges!” he looked down at his calendar. “Now, who all here plans on going for their Champion title?” several hands shot into the air. “Oh very good! Well, lucky for you, the league opens up to champion titles every two years, so once you’ve passed your evaluation and have all your gym badges, you can compete to earn the champion title! It’s going to be a tough bracket, but I believe in you!” 

A round of applause went through the crowds. 

“And of course, if you don’t plan on becoming any of those things, if you plan on taking over your parents business or work to keep the Pokémon league running smoothly, we will have a space for you as well. Now, who’s ready for their buddy?” 

The entire room was filled with the excited cheers of nine year olds. 

***

The headmaster looked up as Demorah dragged Corbin into the room. 

“It’s been quite a while, Demorah,” he said with a smile. “Still working in Estra’s gym?” Demorah snorted. 

“No, I had to quit a few years back because Professor Pavilla hired Corbin's parents to go into the Red Fields with her,” she said, plop[ping the boy into a chair in front of the headmaster and holding him in place. The headmaster nodded. 

“Well,” he said, pulling something up on his computer. A moment later, a premier ball appeared on the desk. He gently tossed it to Corbin. 

“This one’s mine?” Corbin asked, and the headmaster nodded. Corbin held the ball out, and a Murkrow was perched on the desk, staring at him blankly. 

“You can nickname it if you-”

“Berger Gerger,” Corbin said definitively. Demorah gave the Headmaster a significant look, and the headmaster typed the name into the computer. 

***

Torva pulled his son in, and the headmaster smiled thinly. He remembered their time together in school. It had not been pleasant, though by the time they had met again as Gym Leaders, he didn’t remember Wivvell. 

“Gym Leader Torva, lovely to see you again,” he said. “I didn’t realize you had two sons, I just heard of the one. Hello Falen.” Falen gave him a dim nod and continued ignoring him.  

“This is the one,” Torva said. “Orestese is more of a step-child. Falen’s older brother. But I'm sure you’ve heard their mother’s time in Nakima made her quite unwell so she’s barely able to leave the house these days.” Wivvell nodded, pulling up the boy’s file on the computer. 

His premier ball appeared on the desk, and in a swift movement that Wivvell could hardly catch, the boy had scooped it up. A Maschiff appeared, and placed its head on the boy’s lap. Falen gave a small smile and scratched the dog behind the ears. 

“Hi boy,” he said softly. 

“Do you want to give it a nick-name?” Wivvell asked. Falen froze. 

“Can I wait? Get to know him?” he asked. Wivell smiled fondly at the boy and nodded. 

***

Fran practically pulled her parents in, and ran into the chair. 

“Hello professor!” she said excitedly, throwing the headmaster off guard. “I’m a big fan! I watched all of your Poke-mentaries!” Fran’s mother came behind her laughing. 

“Goodness dear, so eager,” she said. The headmaster chuckled and pulled up her file, and her ball soon appeared on the desk. He gently tossed it to her, and she almost caught it, almost juggling it before it fell to the floor and a Deerling popped out, grey winter coat glittering with frost in the lights. 

“Awww!” Fran said, reaching out and petting it. “I can name it, right? That was in the student handbook.” 

“Goodness, I think that’s the first time a new student has actually read the student handbook,” Wivvell said with a laugh. “Yes dear. What would you like to name it?” 

“Bae.” 

***

Buddy carried Laika in, and she also buzzed with excitement. In short order, she was given a Rockruff, though with no idea what to name it, she left cuddling it, while being held by Buddy. 

***

Kai walked in, and Wivvell gave her daughter a sweet smile. He had heard of the child, she was the talk of the whole community. The result of Kai and Torva’s torrid on-again-off-again love affair, hidden away in the depths of the Psychic Gym in Estra that had been passed down from mother to daughter for well over fifteen generations now.  

“Kai, lovely to see you, and this must be little Maeri,” he said. Maeri nodded and signed at him. 

”Hello Professor Wivvell, it’s lovely to meet you in person!” she said, and he grinned at her. 

“She said-” Kai started. He held up a finger. 

“Hold on, I’m a little rusty,” he said, cracking his knuckles before signing, ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maeri. I’ll have an interpreter assigned to you and add sign language courses to everyone’s schedules. That way your classmates will understand what you’re saying.” he signed back. Maeri beamed at him and signed a quick thanks. 

“I’ve picked out a very special Pokémon for you,” Wivell said. He had to change just a few things in the computer, but he could already foresee the issues this girl was going to have at the schools. May as well do something special. 

A premier ball appeared on the desk, and he tossed it to Maeri. She caught it deftly and a moment later, a silver Eevee was sitting on her lap. Her eyes widened as she gasped in excitement, and her arms were around the eevee. Kai beamed. 

“My buddy was an Eevee too,” she said to her daughter. “You’ve met my Espeon. You know you’re going to have to become very good friends with it so that it will evolve into an Espeon like mine, right?” she asked. 

Maeri nodded, scratching the Eevee behind the ear as it cooed. She also left thinking of a name for her buddy. 

***

The sun was getting close to setting when Slake walked in with Namavee. 

“Ah, one of my favorite researchers, Namavee, how have you been?” he asked. 

“Busy,” Namavee said with a sigh. “Yo-Un had me on my toes at that gym the last few years, though my two-weeks were put in two and a half weeks ago so I’m a free agent. Getting bullied into flying all over Avelis.” 

The headmaster laughed. 

“And hello little Slake, I worked with your parents in the Red Caves for a good while before working here. So much fun!” He said. 

“All the bug Pokémon in there are so cool! My moms send me pictures all the time!” Slake said. Wivell chuckled and nodded, pulling up the child’s file. Once again, a premier ball appeared, and  the child snatched it up, and a Rellor appeared, jogging it’s way around the room. “I love it! Hi Darius!” 

***

Once the last Pokémon was handed out, the parents and children gathered at the docks, saying final goodbyes and waving parents off as they boarded their ferry’s back to the mainland, and the children slowly trickled into the school. 

Tomorrow would mark the earnest beginning of their journey to be Pokémon trainers.

If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a like and a comment here, and also consider clicking on the header link to leave a kudo and comment on AO3 linked in the heading! Maybe even bookmark it and subscribe to my account? You'll get notifications when I post updates!

Have a wonderful day!

[thistlecrimes]

AND SO THE FINAL PART IS NIGH. 4/4. IT IS DONE.

Pg. 55 - YM

I KICKED MY FEET IN THE AIR FOR A MINUTE WHEN I SAW THIS. AKJDHFAJSDFHAKSJGF I’M INSANE ABOUT IT!!! THE ENERGY OF THIS PIECE!!!! Oh my god I love it, it’s so ominous and cool and weird and cursed and exciting, and it makes me feel like I’m about to watch a studio Ghibli adaption of the Damegeon dive campaign and Seeker looks so fucking cool and Elias and Mickey look so spot on I’m obsessed. I’m insane about the bonus campaign and I’m insane about this piece. I’m going to rub my eyes all over it. 🖤 👁 👁 👁 

Pg. 56 - Candace

AH WHAT A COOL MAERIE!!!! I really dig how you did her expression and the gold paint, AND THAT MOSAIC BACKGROUND OH MY GOD??? It’s so pretty, especially Kai’s face and hair, the way the tiles are organically shaped and placed in that area, it all comes together so nicely! I feel like it gives a really good sense of Maerie feeling trapped in Kai’s legacy at the beginning of the story, what a beautiful piece! HANG IN THERE MAERIE!!! 😭 

Pg. 57 - Sea

OH NO I’M SAD AGAIN!!! But this was very sweet, I like the diary format, and I think you did a really good job of capturing that ‘teen writing in a journal’ vibe. I thought you did a really nice job with the characterization and OH NO THE TEARS ON THE PAGE! Good job, you got me. 🥲 AND YOU ALSO ENDED IT WITH A KINGDOM HEARTS REFERENCE??!?!?!DHFADSJKHFASHF

You guys are too powerful. You’ve got to be stopped. 😭  Also the crossed out closing greetings got me as well, oof. Good work. 🙏 💦 

Pg. 60 - The Sleepy Pencil

AHHH HELL YEAH!!!! I love Almanac, and I love the energy and motion of this piece! This depiction is so good, love the character design and their expression, and I love the spotlight effect, reminds me of a TinTin cover! Also love the lighting on Almanac and the magnifying glass, it looks so good! I can’t wait to read this middle grade novel series! This child is so much cooler than I’ll ever be, thank you for reminding me of that. 😔 🖤 

Pg. 61 - Soda

YESSS DAMES SHOPPING DAY!!! THIS IS SO CUTE! I love an AU, and I love seeing everyone’s fun modern outfits in this! Loving Burger Jerger absconding with an entire club sandwich, and also I’m so glad I zoomed in to get to enjoy Laika, Zarune and Gingie having lunch together, it’s so sweet. Also DELIGHTED to see Ainsley, The Gap and Postminger hanging out in the background, they’re adorable! You would never know what little war criminals they are. Love all the businesses and posters, too! Love also there’s a rival coffee shop story unfolding in the background. Good stuff. 👌 💯 

Pg. 62 - Kat (not your DM)

Oh man, it’s like a Torvaic battle song! Very cool, I like to imagine the Torvaic forces singin’ it around the barracks. Love an ominous poem. Can also see it being something you find inscribed in some sort of secret Torva base as environmental storytelling. >> I like that it’s threatening, but also kinda fun! Looking forward to dying in our attempts. 👍 ✨ 

Pg. 63 - Lee Onysko

Whoa, I love how luminous this piece is! You did a really great job of rendering the glow of the tears! I love how intense and epic the whole piece came out, and all the characters as well! Marie looks so beautiful and so sad. Everyone looks so cool, you wouldn’t even guess that Corbin eats chum in his spare time! Gorgeous work! 💛 

Pg. 64 - Grace

WHAT KICK ASS STICKERS!!! Love all of them, but a few things in particular, I really dig the Slake sticker (I’m not biased), the rendering of Fran’s hair, Falen’s bitchin’ daggers, Laika’s character design- And then MAGICAL GIRL MAERIE!!! I love the costume design, all the details that incorporate elements of her guardians and the beast gods, and I the colors! I love that it’s so colorful but balances so well, I want to fight on her magical girl team for sure!!!!  💖💙💛💚  And of course, gotta love the hungry boy. A very cute logo design, but I’ll say this. I don’t trust him. >>

Pg. 65 - Fungh0u1

What a lovely, dreamy back cover!! 😭 I love how peaceful and magical it is, it’s poignant and bittersweet and of course… Closing it out right with a final fucking Kingdom Hearts reference. Bravo. Well played. 😔 My hat is off to you. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can’t touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. 🥲 

AND SO, IT IS DONE. What an incredible experience to read from cover to cover, again, I must state how wonderfully done this zine is! It’s been an absolute pleasure to pore over, and I’m sure I’ll return to it when my weary old-man spirit needs lifting. Thank you again to everyone who participated, and thank you again to everyone out there who’s ever made fan work for the podcast, you are so, so appreciated! We’ll do our best to make this last arc of the campaign something that you’ll love! 💦 And I’m excited to bring you all new stories in campaigns to come, and to continue seeing the wonderful things that you make! 💖✨ 

And wherever your journey takes you, always remember, "GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!!!”

At long last, the Roll to Fall in Love!!! zine is available for download! Everything turned out absolutely amazing and we are so excited for you all to see it.

The zine is pay-what-you-want, and all proceeds will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society!

Thank you so so much to all of our contributors for their beautiful work and to the Dames/Legendlark team for making such a lovely podcast!!

[joyfuladorable]

Dames Doodles - Arc 3.5 Final Chapter Prologue

< Arc 3

A fond tearful farewell to a friend before a journey by sea, and a god repays her debt and sends her Chosen to help.

[roseshell]

Dames and Dragons, Court of Spears (Part 4)

[legendlarkpod]

ARC 5 FINALE SPOILER-Y ANNOUNCEMENT AHEAD!!!!!!!!!! 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

Hello, folks! Noel here! So!!!!!! That finale!!!! :) You may have noticed that Falen rescued Fran…. to DEATH??? Hahaha, so here’s the deal! I’m taking this next Dames & Dragons arc (mostly) off! We’ve been planning this for literally…. years? Since before we even started recording arc 3! I just took a wild guess at when I’d be ready for a break to work on personal projects for a bit and chose after arc 5! And it’s finally arrived! Holy shit! We’ve all been really nervous and excited for this interlude of changing things up! But I think it’s going to be fresh and fun and cool.

So, here’s how arc 6 is going to shake out, near as we can tell at the moment: Corbin and Slake will remain the main members of the party, but they will meet up with others who join temporarily as the arc goes on! I might even play one of them! >:) Others will be played by awesome guest stars, to whom we will be reaching out soon! I’m so, so, so, so excited for this part ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

On the back end: I will not be doing the sound editing! My beautiful baby birds are finally getting shoved out of the nest, and most of all I am shoving myself out of the nest, to trade in some creative control of my baby for free time! Upon my return, I believe we’ll be splitting the editing four ways. I will still compose the soundtrack for this arc, however, and I’ll still pop in for some Patreon and bonus stuff.

If you want to keep up with what else I’m working on in the meantime, follow me @noelshiri on Twitter! I will be releasing a self-produced album on my Bandcamp in the coming months, probably doing some peaceful music livestreams along with that, and~~~ other ~secret~ projects, as well. 🤠

TLDR: Noel is (mostly) taking a break for this arc! She will return fully for arc 7! We will have cool guest stars! Otherwise not much will change! I hope you guys are even 1/10th as intrigued and excited by this arc set-up as I am! STAY FROSTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[incorrectdames]

Corbin: FOUR MONTHS.

Slake: What's he talking about?

Fran: It's really not that big of a deal.

Corbin: THAT'S HOW LONG YOU STOOD BY AND WATCHED ME WATER A FAKE PLANT.

[smallwhalesdonotinteract]

I posted 173 times in 2022

That's 173 more posts than 2021!

5 posts created (3%)

168 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@laikamaeris

@sumersprkl

@2dames2zine

@propafranduh

I tagged 14 of my posts in 2022

#dames and dragons - 5 posts

#dames and dragons falen - 4 posts

#falen the betrayer - 3 posts

#dames and dragons fran - 3 posts

#fralen - 3 posts

#is there a ship name? - 2 posts

#? - 2 posts

#dames and dragons diamond - 1 post

#i just want to clarify that i did get permission to post this and that it did involve me making the 🥺 face - 1 post

#love this dichotomy. real falen had a job to do and he was gonna do it. other falen decided his job was to be hot - 1 post

Longest Tag: 126 characters

#the 'we can put some avocados in a bag for you it'll be just like the real thing' 'you're so weird corbin. thank you' exchange

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

OMG IN THE LIBRARY IN THE DWARF KINGDOM FRAN FAILED A PERCEPTION CHECK TO SENSE THE EVIL FALEN. The Falen-sense doesn't work when she knows it's a fake Falen! Her uncanny ability to make impossible Falen-related observations failed her enough that he could sneak up on her!!!

5 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

#4

Me: "The real tragedy of Evil Falen being into Fran is that he can't pull her hair to playfully flirt with her. Because her hair is water."

My SO: "...uwuh 🥺"

Me: "Well that was a noise!"

Them: "He could try 🥺"

~~~

My SO: "Don't post that, you're bullying me!"

Me: "I thought it was cute! I'm not bullying you, I'm just... metaphorically pulling your hair."

7 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

#3

Real Falen's first impression on Fran: *stabs two people she likes, has that awkward spit interaction with Corbin, leaves without saying anything to anybody*

Other Falen's first impression on Fran: *leans over her to whisper with a sexy voice directly in her ear* "Ooh, scholarly...~"

7 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

#2

I don’t know how old Diamond is, because all of the group swooning over him reads sort of like middle schoolers fangirling over a much older boyband member, but I DO know that if he IS age-appropriate to crush on any of the main group, he is HEAD-OVER-HEELS in deep, courtly love for Maeri. 

I mean, like. She’s canonically gorgeous, she didn’t lock eyes with him and immediately become a fawning sycophant, she’s incredibly powerful, she holds herself with grace and dignity, and she’s just genuinely good and kind and willing to try to rail against injustice and the systems that harm mortals, she’s a literal goddess but she still has a deeply human side. There’s nothing in that entire description that ISN’T bard catnip. 

Maeri is LITERALLY the stuff of songs. Maybe DIAMOND’S songs. We know that Jambo the Maskmaker knew the Survivor’s Ballad, but (as far as I know) we don’t know who wrote it. Maybe Jambo picked it up from Diamond. 

I just wanna imagine Diamond, newly-crowned champion of Dawson, getting saved by the Guardians and latching onto Maeri as his muse. He hears news of the battle, learns how she Names herself in the most dramatic and thematically appropriate way possible, and is DEVASTATED by the news that she has become trapped in the void. He prays to his benefactor, who gives Diamond a chance to save her. If he gathers all these powerful artifacts from all these dangerous places and brings them across the continent, he gets to bring her back. HE gets to be HER hero.

And then after all that work, somebody beats him to it, and his god shows up and shoos him off to the side while he bargains for his own life. 

And yeah, at least he gets to look really cool while giving the Guardians a concert, which is what he’s best at in the whole world, but Maeri doesn’t even look that impressed.

Heartbreaking.

49 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

With enough repeated exposure to the Guardians' concentrated attention, all antagonistic Dames and Dragons NPCs will eventually succumb to what I call the "Falen state," in which that NPC, against their better judgment, will let the Guardians steamroll their decisions.

Symptoms of the Falen State include, in chronological order:

- the urge to strangle one or more members of the party, which becomes more and more impotent until it disappears almost entirely, but may still flare up with provocation

- resigned tone of voice with flat affectation

- being unable to say no even after repeated protests

- extremely reluctant fondness for the Guardians

- unhealthy levels of devotion to the Guardians, which may result in the affected NPC uprooting their entire way of life, agreeing to help them kill gods, or helping them overthrow the government of their home nation.

NPCs who have shown symptoms of the Falen State include, but are not limited to:

- Falen

- Alden

- Orestes (He showed early signs but managed to cut contact before Stage Three)

- Strong Selni, Wolf of the Waves (She showed the most resistance, but was the single focus of the Guardians' attention for more uninterrupted time than any other NPC. She didn't stand a chance.)

The best way to avoid falling into the Falen state is to avoid contact with the Guardians, if possible. If you must be in contact with the Guardians, avoid being interesting enough to hold their attention. If you start to feel any of these symptoms while in contact with the Guardians, cease contact immediately. Those with only the early symptoms can still live full, happy, boring lives. There is no cure for the later stages of the Falen State.

72 notes - Posted October 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[camomills]

Title: Guardians Fandom: Dames and Dragons (Podcast) Word Count: 1,288 Summary: Moments of respite between a teenage Goddess and her friends. Notes: I want to write Maeri interacting with all of the Guardians so this will be a three-parter eventually, probably. It’s my first time writing for these characters so I hope they don’t come off as overtly OOC. I kinda only remembered that Laika is not supposed to know Maeri’s sign language too well in the middle of writing it (oops) so sorry if that aspect seems wonky.

Also, if you’ve never heard of @damesanddragons ,I recommend it.

AO3 Link

-

The smell of battle follows them long after everything is over.

It sticks to their hairs and their clothes and burrows itself in their minds. Burnt manflesh is an odor that’s easier to wash than to forget, Fran soon realizes; after the fourth time she’s rinsed herself off, she notices she’s not sensing the smell, but reminiscing.

It’s been a long march since the fall of the temple of Iol. Dozens of tieflings with fractured limbs and broken wings trek along in the large pack of wounded soldiers, seasoned veterans following the steps of four insolent teens.

As the hours pass, Maeri feels the eyes of her guardians drilling into the back of her skull, senses their disappointment, their anger, their broken expectations weighting on her shoulders. She feels unworthy of looking at them in the eyes after what she’s done. Her walk is peppered with an uncharacteristically ungraceful shaking as she unconsciously tries to distance herself from them, her scurrying brought to a halt as she feels something tug at her cape.

Turning around, she’s greeted by Corbin’s dark eyes, his brows knitted in worry. As she turns the others, she sees their eyes warm not with scorn, but with care.

“Maeri?”

“Crazy Maeri, you’re heading too far from the group! We already had enough excitement for today,” Fran says, teasing.

Laika simply steps towards the goddess silently, an armored hand draping over the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Maeri, c’mon.” Maeri casts her head down again, this time to hide surfacing tears of guilty relief.

They’re still willing to stay by my side.

They continue on marching, the four of them, together.

 *

*

*

 The sun descends at an agonizingly slow pace, but it descends nonetheless. With the lowered visibility brought by the settling night and the piling fatigue of hours of walking, the troop decides to stop and rest at the breezy field past the mountain until dawn.

It’s a rare moment of reprieve where Laika gets to doff her armor and let her hair down, her beaten, stained gray gambeson less regal but more comfortable than heavy chainmail. She doesn’t mind how her long, dark hair gets entangled in her horns as she’s slouched lazily under the shade of a great oak tree, the thick, grizzly fur of a gigantic wolf chafing against her skin. She scratches Zarun’s neck, commending her grandpa for his bravery back at the temple, sending his tail into a frantically lethargic wagging only a wolf his age can produce. He trots away as Gingie beckons him to join her in hunting something in the nearby woods, leaving Laika by herself.

Shortly after, Laika sees a short figure climbing the hill.

It greets the girl lying down with a sheepish, nervous wave, and Laika responds in kind.

“Hey, Maeri,” she greets with her husky voice.

Maeri approaches Laika and sits by her side, perhaps more awkwardly than intended; she avoids looking into her eyes and kicks the grass before sitting - she doesn’t know why she does that - and knocks her head against the tree trunk as she lowers herself down. Laika shoots her a look as if to ask “did that hurt,” and Maeri shoots a string of hand signals so chaotic amidst her nervousness she could as well just be flapping her hands

Maeri raises her hand again after her hand flourish, but keeps it still for a moment. Laika stares at her, expectant but calm. Even bloodstained and sunken-eyed, Laika has a gentle aura about her; something about the spark in her eyes , Maeri thinks to herself.

There’s a couple of seconds of silence as her hands don’t say anything. She trembles for a second before gesturing. I wanted to talk to you, she signs , about... back at the temple. Laika nods, and Maeri’s hands weave intricate patterns through the air.

Back then, Corbin warned me that you were in danger, that you could - her motions halt for a second, and she looks pained, - that you could die. And I went ahead and ran anyway.

Her toes clawed at the damp soil beneath them, Maeri’s nails caking with dirt as she fidgeted around with her hands before resuming.

I- I don’t want you to think that is because I don’t care. I’m sorry, so so sorry, and I’m so glad you’re alive but that doesn’t change the fact you might have not made and I ran away and--

Laika squinted, trying to parse out the quick hand gestures like she was speed reading. She’s been getting better at understanding some of the signs composing the Goddess’ elocution after a certain time under Corbin’s tutelage (a surprisingly good tutor, really), but it was still like reading with holes in the page. She seemed to get the gist of what Maeri meant, though.

“I was pretty mad at you back at the temple, not gonna lie,” Laika interjects, and Maeri bites her lip so hard it hurts.

“But I already gave you an earful about that.” She pauses, and taps her fingers against the ground, pensively. “Listen, we- we need each other, Maeri. Me, Fran, Corbin, we can’t do this- whatever this is, without you, and I get you can’t do this without us.”

Maeri raises a hand and prepares to sign, I know, I know, I’m sorry, so sorry --

“But I guess that that’s scary, like, being a God and all that, and you were going through a lot. So when I tell you that you have to do better, I ain’t just talking about doing stuff for us. I’m talking about trusting us.” Laika sets a palm over Maeri’s shoulder. “Trusting us to carry this burden with you, and stuff.”

Perhaps Laika realizes how mushy she’s sounding, because she averts her gaze, glad her face can’t grow any redder due to her carmine complexion.

“I mean, that’s my duty after all.”

This awkwardness reminds her of their first meeting, how she freaked out seeing Maeri’s godly figure before her then. She doesn’t see her as such an imposing figure now - she’s grown too familiar for that, - but the fact she still finds her looks to be smiting remains the same.

Maeri can’t help but chuckle at Laika’s unexpected bashfulness, and she squints away tears that welled up in her eyes without her notice. Your duty as my guardian? She signs. I told you don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Laika needs a few moments to process Maeri’s hand motions again before replying. She looks unsure, whether about her sign reading or what to say,  before replying, “I mean as your friend.”

Maeri couldn’t understand it - Laika’s kindness, or any of her guardians’, for that matter. Their patience with her seemed to be infinite. At that moment, Maeri, too, was glad her skin tone doesn’t give away her face might have grown a bit hotter.

The much-taller girl extends her hand. It takes Maeri a moment to understand as she releases a gentle gasp of “oh, got it!” and performs the super cool handshake she came up with together with her friends in what feels like ages ago. A goofy grin tugs at both of their faces.

I’m really glad that you’re alive, she signs.

“Trust me, I’m glad I’m alive too,” Laika quips, and the Goddess smiles even warmer this time.

They spend a while admiring the view of such a beautiful place after witnessing so much destruction - the soothing breeze, the rustle of emerald leaves, the pair of huge wolves running close to the river’s margin. It helped remember they were fighting to keep places like this from suffering the same fate Iol did.

Fatigue eventually takes the best of Laika and she dozes off on the prickly grass. Maeri smiles at her, and gently waves her goodbye before going back to check on the others.

She signs to Laika, even though she’s sure she couldn’t see it.

Rest well, Laika.

[incorrectdames]

Corbin: Now just because Azzam and I are gonna get married and I'm definitely rich now doesn't mean I'm gonna forget my roots. You all get something, so fire away.

Maeri: Corbin, your friendship is gift enough for me.

Fran: Forget friendship. I want a fleet!

Corbin: All right, Fran gets a fleet.

Slake: Yeah, uh, I'd like a, a really cool... cool ship!

Corbin: Come on, you can be honest.

Slake: I want rare expensive insects; I'll send you a list.

[incorrectdames]

Fran: Well now I just feel like an asshole.

Corbin: When do you not?

Fran: Almost always. I really like me.