#hello zevran nation

[rainydaygt]

[click for better quality]

“Come along, my friend, we’ve much to do”

[cao-the-dreamer]

Tagged by @dungeons-and-dragon-age thank you! Never passing the opportunity to rant about my children :3 decided to go with the tarot cards too :D

Tagging mmm @razumairon and whoever else wanna play

NAME: Ymir Brosca

NICKNAME: Mimir, Love (by Alistair)

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Page of swords

HEIGHT: Smol (barely reach Alistair's torso)

ORIENTATION: Demi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Orzammarian

FAVORITE FRUIT: Peach

FAVORITE SEASON: Early autumn (especially when it rains)

FAVORITE FLOWER: Rose

FAVORITE SCENT: Wet dirt, rain

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, especially herbal infusions

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 10 (could sleep through blaring trumpets)

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs!

DREAM TRIP: Par Vollen, so she can say hello to unofficial dad Sten

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 8 (it's freaking cold on the surface)

RANDOM FACT: During her time on the surface, she discovered she loves playing with dirt when it rains. She ends up doing dirtballs fight with Alistair

NAME: Galenos Amell

NICKNAME: Gal (only by Sulemadin), big guy, dumbass (affectionate), mi corazon (by Zevran)

GENDER: Male

TAROT CARD: The Lovers

HEIGHT: Fucking huge (Sten-sized)

ORIENTATION: Gay

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher

FAVORITE FRUIT: Loquat

FAVORITE SEASON: Winter

FAVORITE FLOWER: Wisteria

FAVORITE SCENT: Wine

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot chocolate (the very thick kind)

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 2 + numerous naps he takes during the day (he can sleep while standing)

DOGS OR CATS: Both, he's not picky

DREAM TRIP: Antiva (maybe to take over the Crows with Zevran), Kirkwall (he wants to say hello to his cousins)

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: None (Zev is his blanket)

RANDOM FACT: He can change his body into water, but he forgets his clothes do not, so he will fight naked more often than not

NAME: Sulemadin Surana

NICKNAME: Dude (only by Galenos), Milady (by Morrigan), no one else is allowed to give her nicknames

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Knight of Wands

HEIGHT: slightly smaller than Morrigan

ORIENTATION: Mean Lesbian

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan, born in Denerim (she was raised alongside the Tabris family)

FAVORITE FRUIT: Fig

FAVORITE SEASON: End of winter/early spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Oleander

FAVORITE SCENT: Smoke

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: None (can't stomach them)

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 5

DOGS OR CATS: Cats, she takes care of Ser-Pounce-a-lot until she can give him back to Anders

DREAM TRIP: Emerald graves

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 2

RANDOM FACT: She likes to shift into a cat so she can cuddle with Morrigan or knock things off the table just to be a menace

NAME: Keti Hawke

NICKNAME: Kitty Cat (friends and family), Tiger (during her time with Meeran)

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Knight of Swords

HEIGHT: Average

ORIENTATION: Demi

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan/Half Elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Raspberry

FAVORITE SEASON: Autumn

FAVORITE FLOWER: Jasmine

FAVORITE SCENT: Jasmine

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Hot Chocolate with cinnamon

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 3-4

DOGS OR CATS: Neither, she likes mice

DREAM TRIP: Rivain

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1

RANDOM FACT: She carries mice in her pockets and performs tricks with them to cheer up her siblings or Fenris

NAME: Sotos Hawke

NICKNAME: Ferret, Toto (by Merrill)

GENDER: He, they, whatever you want he doesn't really care

TAROT CARD: The Moon

HEIGHT: Same as Keti

ORIENTATION: Asexual biromantic

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Fereldan/Half Elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Orange and other citrus

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE FLOWER: Dandelion

FAVORITE SCENT: Leather

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, with a lot of honey

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 3-4

DOGS OR CATS: He loves his dog but honestly he's not picky, he will cuddle anything he can

DREAM TRIP: Orzammar

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, though he doesn't really need it since he's always snuggled with his dog

RANDOM FACT: He grew vertical gardens on the walls of the alienage so Merrill and the other elves could have fresh veggies during the season (they knew he used magic to make the plants grow but ssshhh they can keep a secret)

NAME: Tzipporah Lavellan

NICKNAME: Auntie, Tzip, Mama Bird

GENDER: Female

TAROT CARD: Strength

HEIGHT: Cullen Tall

ORIENTATION: Aroace

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher/Antivan

FAVORITE FRUIT: Mulberry

FAVORITE SEASON: Summer

FAVORITE FLOWER: Sunflower

FAVORITE SCENT: Rosemary, thyme

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Coffee with halla milk

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 7

DOGS OR CATS: Dogs! They make excellent hunting companions

DREAM TRIP: Going back home

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, she shares it with Alim

RANDOM FACT: She spent six months in the alternate timeline with Dorian instead of like, one day. Deeply traumatising but at least she came back with a weird ghost/skeleton puppy who's loyal to fault and keeps biting Solas' shins for some reason

NAME: Alim Trevelyan

NICKNAME: Frog boy, Lordy Froggy, your royal froggyness (all invented by Sera, they kinda stuck. He loves them)

GENDER: Intersex boy

TAROT CARD: Six of pentacles

HEIGHT: same as Sera

ORIENTATION: Questioning

NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: Free Marcher/Half elf

FAVORITE FRUIT: Apple

FAVORITE SEASON: Summer

FAVORITE FLOWER: Forget-me-not

FAVORITE SCENT: Clove, cinnamon, vanilla

COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea, the rest makes him too jittery

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: He has insomnia

DOGS OR CATS: Frogs :3

DREAM TRIP: The Anderfels (he wanna see a griffin!)

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: 1, shared with Tzipporah

RANDOM FACT: He built a pond in the gardens for his frogs; Sera found more for him but to keep them he had to wear one on his head for a whole day (which he did, much to Sera's hilarity)

[wild-houseplant]

for the romanticism asks, rhodri 7 (If your OC could meet any historical or past figure, whether in the real world or in their own canon lore, who would it be and why?)

Hey hi hello! :D :D Thank you for stopping by friendo!!

Ok so Rhodri's first preference is Zevran's mother, which I go into detail in this ask- answer here, god bless that poor woman's soul.

Preference number two is someone Rhodri has personally always been dying to meet.

The tl;dr of it is: Great Uncle Ab was a man of myth and legend, recounted in sparkling odes to Rhodri via a family friend. He was the first person to make a cactus sing. He built a bridge entirely out of shoelaces. He sang the Kirkwall national anthem in front of the then-Viscount but, having forgotten the words, made them up on the spot. The anthem was changed immediately after.

Great Uncle Ab had apparently made an absolute fortune in the invention of epoxy resin, and used this to make toast sundials that were all the rage in the first decade of the Blessed Age. He managed to lose most of said fortune after hiding it in a few different spots and forgetting them all. Great Uncle Ab was a fucking marvel. Rhodri would have punted Dorian Pavus into a Korcari bog to meet Great Uncle Ab.

The story of how Great Uncle Ab is linked with the family below. It's a ramble.

Now, for a little context: Rhodri insisted, at age three, that she was going to do research like her father. When she wasn't watching her siblings, she was marching into the library to join him and do her own work.

Naturally, Aurelio was thrilled with her enthusiasm, but it's very hard to actually do the academia gig with a talkative toddler squirming in your lap. To help things along, he indulged her for about a week, giving her activities of progressive size until she submitted a compelling thesis on the Friday and 'graduated' Saturday.

(the thesis was a full-colour picture of the family that hangs in Aurelio's office to this day)

As a reward for her excellent work, Aurelio had promised that she got to have a research assistant to help her with her next projects, now that she was graduated and teeming with Terribly Important Ideas.

The research assistant in question was named Tabitha ('Auntie Tab' to Rhodri), who prior to her current position had sold books at the Hightown Market. Aurelio had become a very familiar face at her stall over the years, and she was regularly invited to come over. Auntie Tab was a good eighty years old when she declared to Aurelio that she'd have to close up shop, as it was wearing her out, and Magister Callistus announced to her that she would be moving in with them. Auntie Tab, who had lost all of her relatives a few decades earlier and lived alone, accepted with alacrity.

Auntie Tab, to no-one's surprise, was well cut-out for the academic life, and she and the three-year-old Rhodri had always gotten on like a house on fire. You can imagine how thrilled she was to find out that Auntie Tab was going to help out with Big and Important Projects.

Auntie Tab, who had raised three kids of her own (don't think on that too much), was a fantastic teacher, and in their Research Collection and Evaluation sessions often regaled Rhodri with tales of Great Uncle Ab. Tab and Ab.

Auntie Tab thought it'd be a good idea, seeing as Rhodri was a little slow to develop language, to encourage her vocabulary by using particularly grand descriptions of Great Uncle Ab and his thrilling pursuits. When Rhod was starting to trot out the big words, Tabitha wrote the stories down to teach her reading and writing; her grand thesis at four was the alphabet-- in both upper and lowercase, and reading aloud the story of how Great Uncle Ab invented the postal system after 5yo Auntie Tab (at the time a serial mail thief) pilfered unopened correspondence from the Viscount's writing desk, and Great Uncle Ab had to find an excuse to hand the letters back to him.

Ok now I just want to write stories about Tab and Ab's grand adventures. My condolences if you read all this, Bumbles, I'll end it here xD

[illusivesoul]

Here it is, my first published piece of DA writing. A crappy one shot of a rarepair I've thought about for a while.

"Queen Cousland and Mara Cauthrien"

1500 words

Fluff and Angst

Alexandra Cousland and Mara Cauthrien were together in secret before the Blight.

After the hardships of the brutal year of war against the Darkspawn, they meet again to reflect and remember

.

This is the first time I've written Dragon Age content. I've played Origins for the first time a few months back, and I found Ser Cauthrien to be a really interesting character.

It's a rarepair idea I had for a while in my head of how Ser Cauthrien and a Cousland who later became a Warden might have known each other from before the Blight. Also because I love Ser Cauthrien coz she's a badass and she's very underrated.

I also gave Ser Cauthrien the first name Mara, since we never learn her real name in the game.

.

Cauthrien passed her hand softly along the edge of the sword, carefully feeling the sharpness of the blade. She remembered the day Loghain had given it to her, the proudest moment of her life. She had swore that she would use it against any and all enemies of Ferelden, and that she would die upon it if it would benefit her nation.

Yet, during the greatest threat her country had ever faced, a Blight that had threatened to wipe the land and her people from the face of Thedas, she had ended up killing more of her own countrymen than darkspawn. All in the name of the Grand Teyrn Loghain. Because he was the only one able to lead Ferelden through this crisis, and all those who opposed him were just power hungry and selfish brutes willing to crush anyone who stood in their way to the throne.

It had all seemed so certain, so clear.

So righteous and correct.

Except it hadn't been.

She heard the clicking locks of the door of the room where she had locked herself into opening, and the sound of chains being pulled across it.

Then the door opened, and she entered.

“Leave us alone” the woman spoke and the guard closed the door, locking it shortly after. The voice sent shivers down the former soldier’s spine.

“Hello, Mara”

Cauthrien turned and looked at the source of the voice. She had to swallow a gasp when she saw the woman in front of her.

“Alexandra Cousland. Or should I call you ‘Your Highness’ now ?”

The woman who always had her hair tied up now had it loose, the long black streams of hair now going past her shoulders. She wore a long dress of fine broidery and vivid colors which gave her a more imposing air than usual, and the tatoo on her eye only added to her the mysterious look she had always carried with her.

“Please, Mara, don't be like this”

“Don't be like what, Alexandra ? I've heard of what you did. I…”

Cauthrien stopped talking and lowered her sight. Cousland sat beside her on the bed.

The scent of her perfume assaulted the soldier's nostrils, the familiar scent making her let out a deep breath.

“He didn't suffer” Cousland said.

“He deserved better, even after…" Cauthrien slumped her shoulders in defeat, letting her sword fall loudly towards the floor "Or perhaps not”

“He will always be remembered as a hero, one of the greater Fereldan patriots who returned us our independence. But his actions throughout the Blight…”

“You don't have to explain. I know. I was there with him when he was making those ‘actions’, as you called them”

Alexandra looked into Cauthrien’s eyes. She saw the dark bags that were appearing under them. She wondered how long it had been since she had gotten a proper night's rest.

“Is that why you came, Alexandra ? Did you came to tell how I'm to be publicly tried for being an accessory to a war criminal, for having aided the man who did more damage to Ferelden in a year than Orlais did in 80 ? And how I am to be hanged on the city gates so that all would know what happens to those who defy King Alistair and…”

“Mara. Stop” Cousland said as she turned her around and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet her gaze, her crystal blue eyes meeting Cauthrien’s deep black ones“I would never let such thing happen to you. Ever. Understood ?”

The soldier's eyes moved to the woman's hand, and over the scarred skin, saw a small knitted bracelet on her wrist, adorned with tiny pieces of painted papers which gave its color an eye catching allure.

“You're still wearing it” Cauthrien said, trying to hide the sorrow in her voice.

Cousland lifted her arm, bringing it next to her face as she smiled.

“I still remembered the Landsmeet when you gave me this. Seems like a lifetime ago. You snuck from Loghain’s side, found me and put it on me as you told me…”

“That as long as you had it you would carry a piece of me with you”

“And you better believe me when I tell you that through many times during this blasted year, feeling that bracelet on me was the only thing that gave me peace of mind, as I prayed to the Maker that wherever you were… he would keep you safe”

Cauthrien looked at her intently, letting out rapidly increasing breaths.

Then she broke.

Alexandra held her as she cried against her neck, feeling the hot tears falling on her skin as she kneaded Cauthrien’s hair, letting the torrent of emotions that were coursing through her come out. Before she knew it, she was crying too.

“All that time…” Cauthrien spoke between sobs “I missed you so much. When I heard… Ostagar and…”

Memories from that fateful day in the Landsmeet are still fresh in both of their minds.

Cauthrien stands before the gates of the room, sword in hand, determined to not let them pass.

Alistair, Leliana and Zevran draw their weapons, ready for a fight.

Alexandra moves forward, drawing shocked looks from everyone.

She places the tip of the blade against her chest, and gives Cauthrien that determined, cold look that sent shivers down her spine.

“Cut me down if you must, Mara. But I swear in the Andraste’s name that I will not raise my blade against you”

They both heard the tensing of Leliana's bow. Mara looks at Alexandra. This was the woman who had caused so much harm to the nation, according to the Teyrn. the enemy that for months she had been made her hate and distrust .

Yet now, as her sword pressed against her, she felt the doubt raising through her, the thought of striking the only person she's ever cared about like this proving to be too much.

She lowers the blade and leans forward, softly grabbing Cousland by the back of the neck, pressing their foreheads together.

They stand in silence for a few moments, feeling their breaths brushing against each other, neither wanting this short moment of peace to end. But it has to.

“Do what is right. Save Ferelden. And... don't die” Cauthrien whispers to her before pulling apart and walking away, doing her best to hide from everyone's sight, not wanting to let anyone see her breaking down.

“It's alright” Cousland said before giving a soft kiss to her forehead “That's in the past. I'm here now… We're here now”

After a long while, Cauthrien sat upright. Having calmed down, she stretched her hand and softly cupped Alexandra’s cheek, who leaned into the touch and planted a long kiss on the inside of the palm.

“So what happens now ? To us, if there is an us to speak of, of course. You have a husband now. You'll need to be at his side and rule with him” the former soldier spoke hesitantly, as if she was afraid of the answer she would receive.

“Alistair and I agreed to the marriage to remove Anora from the equation and to do what was best for Ferelden. He and I will indeed rule together, but on our personal lives we both know very well where we stand” Alexandra spoke in a confident and leading tone, her voice soft yet commanding. Cauthrien imagined how powerful she must have looked brandishing the Cousland blade and shield, in shining armor shouting orders as she led the armies of Ferelden against the Archdemon and the darkspawn horde. She regretted that she hadn't stood at her side through it, and the guilt felt like a hole in her soul.

“So that means…”

“That means the throne will need a new captain of the honor guard, and Alistair has already agreed that it will be you. Ferelden has precious need of experienced soldiers, and you are amongst the best of the best. Besides…”

Alexandra leaned forward, resting her forehead against Cauthrien’s. They stared at each other for a few moments before locking their lips together, a kiss that soon turned into a desperate whirlwind of emotion, of pain and longing of happiness and relieve. Of love.

They softly pulled away, still savoring the taste of each other in their mouths. Cousland smiled as she saw the reddened blush that spread across Cauthrien’s face. She always enjoyed turning the hardened, stoic soldier into a sentimental mess.

“The queen could always use a confidante. Someone to discuss issues, an advisor of many things. Don't you agree ?”

Cauthrien gave her a wicked grin “I've been complimented by you a few times by the strength of my opinions on certain ‘topics’. I'd be more than happy to advise you in aspects that you may consider necessary, Your Highness”

“That's what I like to hear” Alexandra replied as she stood from the bed “But please, Mara, when we're alone, call me Alexandra. Now, get cleaned up. Your ceremony is in the afternoon”

“Of course” Cautrien grabbed Cousland”s hand and gave it a long, deep kiss “Anything for you… my love”

[talizorahs]

hello, yes, i would like to hear more about avery

!!! im honestly so flattered ur interested in her, tbh she’s one of my favourite dragon age ocs

her whole arc through origins revolves around loss and how inept she is at dealing with it. i base this in her noble upbringing, closeness with her father and how she was sheltered from the lifestyle she is forced into as a warden. literally, she is the epitome of classism and privilege and her behaviour reflects that. she doesn’t even want to become a warden, didn’t want to leave her family, and how quickly she is cornered into it with their sudden deaths sends her literally quite mad.

she hates duncan, she hates alistair, she hates how she can’t go searching for fergus after ostagar, she hates the mud and the humidity of the wilds, and especially the responsibility and the whole grey warden duty. if she had it her way, she’d continue going on fishing, hunting and hiking trips with her father in the free marches, attend balls and noble parties with her mother, train with fergus and help raise her nephew.

as the sensation of loss passes and she accepts that this is her routine now, old leather and dirty boots, she still struggles to accept her family is gone and that the attention she received from her family and being a noble, is also gone. she is a national traitor and nobody treats her like a cousland anymore, just a criminal. that she never quite deals with well, as a result, she often will act out and make controversial decisions just to receive attention for it. notably from wynne or alistair, the voices of holy reason. their criticism becomes substitute for the special attention she used to receive under the cousland banner.

for example, she cares little for the dalish vs. werewolves debate and slaughters them all anyway, taking whoever is left as allies but only because alistair intervenes. she kills connor, kills zevran, personally kills loghain with no remorse or hesitation, insults anora, etc., etc.. the only thing she does take time for is tracking down howe in denerim and you can be sure she murders him like a dog. yet, it doesn’t make her feel any better, she continues to badly deal with her warden responsibilities as a murderous tyrant. firstly, because she was forced into this position, and secondly, as she has lost everything that was ever important to her.

when it becomes obvious, however, alistair’s position as royal blood gives her opportunity to seize that same noble power again, she relents. this is during the redcliffe debacle which for avery happens at the very end of her arc with the urn of sacred ashes. as such, she plans to take the throne, and the public will let her. to them, she is the tragic grey warden, having lost her family to a corrupt arl, and does whatever it takes to unite thedas and stop the blight. only the party and her (reluctant) allies know how tyrannical she is and how, if she seized power again, it wouldn’t get much better for ferelden. anything she learned as a cousland noble is gone to the resentment of losing them and her grey warden journey.

the person who takes the brunt of this understanding is morrigan, who for the most part of origins, actually remains avery’s friend. she uses her to kill flemeth, in a way, as morrigan can recognise giving her some positive recognition, even if it is a lie, will be enough to draw avery in. she doesn’t need to act out for morrigan’s attention, simply spend time with her, away from the others’ eyes and ears. when the pressure isn’t on her shoulders, however, avery is just a scared young woman - she is only just twenty when she is thrown into being a warden - and reminds morrigan of her upbringing. manipulation turns into shreds of genuine compassion, morrigan eventually offering advice, which is when redcliffe and haven come around.

avery changes when the throne is in sight, and morrigan notices. the other members of the party do too. some have only remained around to follow alistair hoping he will actually do the right thing and unite ferelden against the blight, like wynne, leliana and oghren. sten is rather impartial but does end up siding with alistair. they manage to sway morrigan when the landsmeet drops and avery reveals her ambitions for nobility again. she detests anora, insults her and removes her from the picture in front of the court, and proposes herself as queen instead with alistair by her side. needless to say the latter is horrified, but the view of the public is their powerful duo has gotten ferelden this far, it can continue beyond the blight.

on the night of the battle of denerim, rather than talk of the dark ritual, the party plots to remove avery from power. it ends up playing out that morrigan lies about the ritual and bedding alistair, with avery thinking herself safe during the battle due to the baby. here, morrigan’s self-interest comes below the interests of ferelden, a development i attribute to her pity of avery during their travels. their relationship did change her views albeit only a little bit. pride has it that avery demands the final blow, and with it, takes her own life to end the blight. alistair takes the throne alone, avery with five minutes as queen, attributing herself the title “the blood queen”.

SO THAT’S AVERY FOR U and her tyrannical adventures through ferelden. it was interesting for me to examine such a character, i just liked thinking about the implications of noble privilege and different motivations. all of my wardens before avery have been reluctant heroes, or just heroes, but i’ve never had such a conceited warden before. her relationships are interesting to explore, especially the one with morrigan as it is quite unique for both characters. avery seeks a mother-daughter relationship out of it and morrigan eventually ends up relenting to that idea. maybe she becomes kieran, in a sense, and horrifies morrigan enough she can’t fathom raising a child just yet. she feels responsible, in part, for not deterring avery from the throne. i mean, she seized it technically, the reality of how close they got to having a tyrannical probable dictator on the throne struck them all hard.

devil’s advocate characters are just super fun for me. i don’t necessarily support any of avery’s decisions personally, she is deeply flawed and just plain evil. i didn’t make her to be controversial, either, it just was a plausible character for me that i wanted to explore.

THANK U SO MUCH FOR ASKING ME THO I MEAN IT. i’m so glad you like her bc i definitely worked super hard on fitting her into canon and considering all of this tiny interactions which led the story to where i wanted to go. UR LOVELY THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! i hope you like her too

[feyriane]

Thedosian Field Trips, p.8

Chapter 8: Dragonflies (Link to AO3) On Friday, after the morning briefing, Aena and her group went straight to the nearby river for the last experiment of their field work week. Sera was cackling ahead of her, happy to “finally play in the mud”, as she’s been screaming all the way. Strange, for someone who didn’t want to be associated with elves – and even less with the Dalish. But Aena’s friends contradictions didn’t bother her anymore. She was used to it by now. Crossing the line of trees, Aena finally arrived on the river bank. The river was calm, peaceful. Its waters were flowing gently and reflecting the rising sun – making them shine and sparkle – a beautiful sight, even in the morning. And its waters were blue. Blue and devoid of any eutrophication or pollution. Unlike back home… Ugh. Bitter. She felt bitter when thinking about it.

Clan Lavellan was dependent on the Minanter river for food, but the large cities upside of their reservation kept polluting it. The Dalish had brought up the problem to the humans countless times, but the cities representatives kept rejecting the fault on each other. The elves’ fight was getting them nowhere and the already poor reservation now had to buy food from the cities’ human merchants. No wonder the humans didn’t want to fix the pollution problem… It made her sad to think about it. Aena and her older sister had so often played in the river when they were kids. Now, none of the Lavellan children had that opportunity anymore – indeed, no parent would let them approach the polluted waters. Sighing, she joined the others and lowered on the ground the aquariums they would use to hold all the little aquatic animals they’d catch. Then they’d have to identify them all. She knew she would probably end up alone doing that job once again. Even sweet Bethany could not handle it for more than a few hours. Speaking of which, Bethany was already ankle-deep in the river, gathering the general water samples for chemical analysis. Was the water quality better or worse than the other years? They would eventually find out. The field report they had to write was so complex and long that Aena was starting to panick whenever she started thinking about it. So many things to do, so many statiscal analyses, and so little time. They had only a week to complete it once they’d be back at Denerim University. But oh well. They’d manage. As always. Bracing herself, Aena closed in on the members of her field group. Usually, she was a shy being… But here, she was among friends, wasn’t she? “Carver, come with me - we’ll recover the bags!” The big boy nodded at her. “Aye, aye, captain!” Aena took off her shoes and socks, carefully putting them to the side. Many people thought Dalish elves didn’t wear shoes in their reservations – and that surely had been true at one point – but it wasn’t the case anymore. She remembered Sera asking about it more than once – but the blonde elf was busy speaking with another student at the moment. Aena ventured in the water, followed by a grimacing Carver. The water was cold, but nothing Aena wasn’t used to. They both made it to the center of the river, where the current was twirling gently around nearly exposed rocks. That’s where the assistants had put them – bags of smaller rocks and pebbles, between which animals had surely found shelter by now. Sorry little guys, she thought. Carefully, Aena bent down and dislodged one of the bags from between the rocks. Carver was holding one of the empty aquariums, and she put the bags in it. When it was done, both of them went back to the river shore, where the other students were waiting. As Carver put the aquarium back to the ground, some of them looked inside, wondering if they could already spot some animals. “Come here, people!” Bethany shouted to everyone. All remaining students came closer, organizing themselves in groups of two. Soon, each group had a bag, two buckets and an empty aquarium. Aena found herself in a group with Carver. Sweet. He usually was quite persistent when assigned a task – so maybe she wouldn’t be alone for identification, this time. “Ready to find out which little beasties we got in there, Aena banana?” Aena rolled her eyes at the nickname but did not object. Even when they were ridiculous, she liked having nicknames. It meant people cared about her, right? It meant that she belonged? Right? “Ready!” She plunged her hand in the bucket, taking a handful of rocks and pebbles which she transferred in the other basin. When the dragonfly larvae crawled on her arm, Aena remembered Merrill’s words. Disgusting and awesome. That’s biology. *** Eventually, some of the field trip professors arrived. Harding passed by with another group of students, telling them about some of the particular geology of the region. “Beyond the river we can observe older geological formations… See?” said the geology teacher’s voice. Aena had that field session earlier in the week, so she didn’t listen to what Harding was saying. She stayed focused on the task at hand, giggling each time Carver was making a face as he pulled more and more little beasts from the water. “So this region is mainly formed of limestone rocks?” Oh. Solas was accompanying today’s geological field trip, it seemed. Just her luck. Harding’s group stayed, until Aena and Carver had finished collecting their animals. The other groups were already leaving… She wanted to trail behind and speak to Solas – or at least only admire him – but she couldn’t really do it discretely, could she? He was really fucking her up, she thought – before scolding herself for the rude thoughts. What was she becoming? Her older sister would likely be both horrified and delighted. Aena shook her head. “You coming, Aena banana?” Carver was holding their loot, looking at her expectantly. “I… uh. I’m going to stay a little, to hear what Harding is saying…” she lied. She was lying… Carver shrugged. “Suit yourself! ‘Going back to the station, I’ll wait for you.” Aena smiled while looking him go back to the forest. Aaaaaand… he was gone. Before she could turn back, a hand was on her shoulder. “Hello.” Solas was smiling at her. “You like geology that much?” he asked, almost innocently. She blushed. “Shut up…” Her voice was weak, and fortunately for her, Solas changed the subject. “Did you catch interesting things?” “Maybe. We’ll have to analyze the samples. Back… back at the station…” “I’ll see you in the laboratory, then… Later.” He teased. Creators… “Yeah… plenty of work to do. Ugh.” Solas smiled politely but did not add anything else before disappearing through the branches. Ha, was he disapproving of a student actually complaining about work? Wasn’t that the national sport in all universities? Maybe not in Arlathan. Aena distractedly noticed Solas wasn’t making any sound... Who didn’t make any sound while walking in a forest, really? “My, my, what a naughty girl you are.” She almost tripped on her own feet – a situation happening more and more frequently these days, she briefly realized. Standing upright again, it took her a moment to realize someone was standing between the trees right in front of her. His skin was tan and his blond hair were up to his shoulder, crowning him in an unreal gold light. Had magic existed in their world, Aena would have thought he was casting some spell on himself. He was grinning madly, apparently very satisfied of the effect he had on her. “Who are you?” she asked, suspicious. She was sure he wasn’t a student in biology. Granted, he could be from a different major – like Sera or Bethany. But still, she hadn’t even seen him once since the beginning of the field trip. Which was… kind of worrying? “Oh, let’s change the subject if you like!” the other elf smiled. Then to Aena’s great surprise, he bowed to her. “I am Zevran. Zevran Arainai. I’m sorry if I startled you. I was trying to find one of my dear friends, but instead I found a student making out with a teacher.” “You came back to the subject I wanted to avoid!” She croaked miserably. Okay he had to be that guy Sera had told her about, right? A friend of Isa’s? At least he couldn’t really denounce her to the Denerim University, could he? “Now, I am a simple man. And chivalrous, with that. I will say nothing about your little… adventure. But that is a story I’d like to hear about nonetheless.” “I… I don’t… I’m not sure…” Great, she was stammering now. This relationship was going to be hard if she reacted this way each time someone mentioned it… Of course, it was supposed to stay a secret. Failed step one. Good job, Aena. “Isa wasn’t lying when she told me you were pretty.” Zevran added as if it were nothing. She blushed, unable to find her voice as he kept staring at her with a lop-sided smile. “I’m sorry, I am embarrassing you.” He smiled gently. “Would you be kind enough to guide me to the other students? As much as I like wandering in the woods, I am rather tired right now.” “Yes, of course.” She answered, trying her best to regain her composure. “This way.” They started walking towards the station. Zevran did not ask about Solas again (to her relief) so she started asking him questions about himself. She learned that he was an exchange student from Antiva City and indeed an old friend of Isa’s. She wasn’t really sure she understood how they had met exactly – but given what the elf said, maybe it was better that way. “There’s the building.” She said when the old station suddenly came into view. They had crossed all the forest back, following the old rusted tracks. Timidly, she turned to Zevran. “Are you gonna stay here? I mean… sleep and all?” “Is that a proposal?” He winked. Aena rolled her eyes. What had she done to the world – to be surrounded by people like that?