#post dragon age the veilguar

[mercars-musings]

Trust & Fish Sticks

Fandom: Dragon Age - The Veilguard

Pairing- Rook & Emmrich Volkarin {Mostly towards the middle & end}

TW- implied/mentioned: animal abuse (dog), dog accidentally choking on a marble; depicted: couples argument, PTSD, stray dog finding a home and safety, scared dog, aggressive dog, starving dog, flirting and some "immodest" touching ; genre: 50/50 sad and fluff, sad with happy ending, silly, cute.

Description-

Hewwo! This is a short sad & fluffy piece I wrote on Rook Mercar taming and adopting the angry dog that keeps barking outside of the dog crates in Dock Town.

Done as part of a Rook Story Prompt Ask Game on Tumblr! {This Ask Game Prompt was: 12. Rook making a new friend.}

Ask Game Here PS. The gods of fanfic decided I had to write this one first @ofcrowsanddragons so I hope you enjoy hehe! <3 /lh

Word count- 2.3k

Read on AO3: Here!

~ MAJOR SPOILERS FOR VEILGUARD BELOW ~

"C'mon girl, I won't hurt you… promise."

A low growl emanated from the mutt's chest as it widened it's stance and slowly backed up into the open cage behind it. She bared her teeth in a rage fuelled defiance, ignoring the tired man's best attempts at calming her.

"Hissera… it's been days, you need to eat something." Az sighed, trying his best to keep his voice steady so he didn't stress the Mabari out any further.

"Rook," a low voice warned, "We're going to be late for the meetin'-"

"I know, I know…" The taller man huffed slightly, slowly raising from his knees before turning to face his friend. "But it's been days Tarquin-"

"And she's survived this long hasn't she? I'm sure she'll find somethin' herself."

The Mabari's low growl seemed to stutter slightly at that, a glint of fear now noticable in her pupils.

Rook continued to stare at Hissera, searching the animals features for a sign of reconsideration, but sure enough the Mabari's growl seemed to return back to full force just moments later. With no other choice, Az simply gave a resigned head shake and slowly followed his fellow Shadow Dragon out of the alley.

~

"Hissera~ I have a treat for you~" Az sang, attempting to rouse the Mabari awake with his loud & extremely out of tune singing.

The dog's instinct to growl was stopped almost instantly by the smell that accompanied Rook's entrance. He seemed to be waving a carton of something that smelled practically heavenly to the half starved dog, so heavenly that it actually convinced her to leave the kennel again in an attempt to inspect the scent.

Taking note of the mutts interest, Rook slowly placed the carton down on the ground and pulled the lid back to reveal it's amazingly tempting contents: a large platter of fish sticks from Hal's stall {taken off the stick of course}.

Hissera had been offered it countless times before of course, particularly from Rook and a few passers by. Though she was always weary of the offer, fearing what may be lurking in it's contents. So, instead of taking the offer as she always desperately wanted to, she would hold her ground and simply continue to growl until the person offering would give up & leave.

Unfortunately {or fortunately depending on how you looked at it}, this time it seemed like she had reached her limit on denying food, as her mouth began to salivate & chip at her already wavering resolve.

Maybe… just this once. Surely, a small bit of poisoning had to be better than her current existence of mind numbing solitude and slow starvation?

Slowly creeping forward, Hissera felt the all too familiar pangs of intense hunger ricochet through her stomach once more, the smell of the fish seemingly making the pain harder to ignore. Luckily the pain did dull and eventually even subsided fully once she quickly scarfed the offering of food down, somewhat fearful that it might disappear if she took too long.

Rook watched the Mabari with a small smile, though a glint of sadness was also evident in his stare.

It had been weeks since Az first noticed the creatures thinning frame & tired eyes that seemed to grow more exhausted by the day. Even her barking had grown less sure of itself as her anger slowly twisted into fear, as if she was starting to realise her days may be numbered if she kept refusing help.

He'd tried time & time again to get her to accept even a small piece of food from him, but each time she reacted as if he was trying to attack her… did she think he was trying to attack her?

What horrible things had she been forced to endure for her to become this hesitant to accept help?

Before he could spend too much time lost in his thoughts, Az was pulled back to his surroundings by the feeling of something wet against his hand. When he looked back down, he noticed the Mabari gently sniffing his hand curiously as she stared up at him, eyes full of hesitancy & concern. Luckily, they also seemed to be filled with a good portion of hope & friendliness.

She was clearly conflicted about something, probably about whether she should trust Rook or not.

The Shadow Dragon chose to stay still, letting the dog handle their exchange on her own terms which thankfully seemed like the right decision as after a few minutes like this, she started grinding her face against his hand in a surprisingly clear effort to get some pets.

Az happily obliged, running his hand through her fur, only being stopped when he reached some matting at the back of her neck. Despite the snag, she still seemed somewhat content, her tail wagging slightly though her eyes still focused on Az's, open & watchful.

~

"What, pray-tell are we meant to do with a dog, Rook?" Emmrich questioned, slight irritation colouring his tone. "And an aggressive one, at that?"

Az winced a little at Emmrichs tone, before glancing over at the Mabari who was quietly growling from behind one of their armchairs. The younger mage mulled over his lovers questions for a few seconds while he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"She's not… that aggressive…?" Was all he could muster, pathetic as it was.

"She is quite literally growling at Manfred. Manfred." Emmrich retorted, pointing back to where Manfred was waving excitedly at the very unimpressed dog.

"She's growling at us all actually," Az interjected, though the scowl Emmrich shot back made him quickly realise that he wasn't quite making the best case he could here.

"Look… I- I know it's not ideal Kadan, but… Hissera was hungry and shivering and she looks like such a shell of a Mabari… she needs help."

Emmrich paused momentarily, leaving a silence in the air between the two men that all but spiked the Qunari's anxiety to the damn fade and back.

"Oh Spirits preserve me Az… you've named her?" The necromancer whispered.

Rook simply stared back, a shy and nervous look etched into his features as he tried to find the words- any words that would help make Emmrich understand why he needed to do this.

"I know this looks bad- but seeing her… it reminded me of…" the words caught in his throat, just like it always did when he tried to speak about his time in Solas' damned prison. "Em… I know what it's like to be scared and hungry and alone and just desperate for someone to help- when I saw her…"

"Dearest…" Emmrich interrupted, the last of his willpower dwindling at the sight of his Rook looking so upset, "If you can keep her from hurting anyone then… I suppose we can keep her. For now at least."

Relief flooded through Rook's body, his eyes lighting up in excitement as he lunged at Emmrich, swinging his arms around the gentleman's shoulders & pulling him into the tightest hug possible.

"Thank you Amatus, I promise I will figure this out."

~

It had taken 6 months, a few incidents & many, many training sessions but, the newest addition of the Mercar-Volkarin household seemed to finally be settling into a mostly aggression free existence.

The adjustment was difficult, what with her trying to guard Rook constantly; her insistence on growling at random passerby's & of course her tendency to steal random bones from around the Necropolis whenever they weren't staying at their Dock Town residence. But, it was a well earned adjustment that filled Az with an unexpected, somewhat fatherly pride that he had only felt once prior when Manfred set a noble's cloak on fire.

Despite people assuring Az that he could cool it on the training, he made sure to do a refresher at least once a week to ensure that he didn't run the risk of Hissera & Manfred arguing again. Being mindful of each other had really helped the duo's relationship blossom into a close sibling like friendship and it would kill Az if they lost that.

"Okay Hissera," Rook started with a slightly ill fitting, yet still attention grabbing sternness to his voice. "Now, what do we do if Manfred keeps pushing your fur in the wrong direction?"

A low, semi quiet growl began to rumble out from Hissera as she backed away from Manfred, whom was watching intently & cautiously.

"That's great sweetheart," Rook then turned to face Manfred who was still stood only a few feet away from the Mabari. "Now, Manfred, what do we do when Hissera does that?"

Manfred raised his hands in the air, in a clear "I'm not gonna hurt you" motion as he backed away with an apologetic hiss. The motion caused Hissera's growling to slowly come to a stop as her hackles lowered from defensive position to a much calmer one.

"Great job Imekari!" Rook cheered, gently tossing a dog treat in Hissera's direction & a small marble in Manfred's. The pair whined & hissed happily as they began to distract themselves with their respective prizes.

"Wonderful job Dearest," a familiar voice rang out from behind Az, filling his chest with a brilliant warmth that he was sure he would never get enough of.

"Thanks Em," he responded happily, turning to face his lover.

"I will admit," Emmrich started, glancing over at the newest addition to their little family momentarily. The sight of Hissera & Manfred pushing the marble around between them brought a small smile to his face. "I didn't think it possible to get her this well adjusted so quickly."

"Rude." Az teased, "In case you've forgotten, I am the animal whisperer of Dock Town."

"Clearly," Emmrich chuckled, shaking his head incredulously. "You would think I'd learn to expect nothing short of perfection from you my Dear."

The words sent a rush of heat to Rook's cheeks, causing him to glance away sheepishly as a blush began to creep up his neck. Before he could look away for too long though, Emmrich's hand cupped his cheek & forced Az to face him again. A rush of butterflies began to form at the pit of his stomach as he stared back at the gorgeous man before him.

"Y-yeah… you should've." Az stuttered pathetically, desperately trying to think of a playful retort but coming up short due to the sudden proximity of his lover's body to his.

"Thankfully, it's a wonderful lesson to revisit: I always adore seeing you out do yourself my Dear." Emmrich whispered, finding himself quite enamoured by how embarrassed Rook was getting. So enamoured in fact, that he lent in slightly, just enough so their lips were near touching, but not quite.

"How do you always know what to say?" Rook murmured back, his lids half closed and throat growing drier by the second. A well of passion slowly began to burn at the pit of his stomach, pushing past the prior embarrassment he felt at just how much the Mortalitasi could affect him years into their relationship.

"I have a wonderful Muse," Emmrich breathed out against Rook's lips, leaning in a little further to brush their lips against one anothers.

Unfortunately {or fortunately depending on how you looked at it}, before the pair could continue any further, they were abruptly dragged back to reality by a hissing Manfred & a hacking Hissera.

She'd swallowed the damn marble.

~

Thankfully, it only took half an hour of panic & a quick regurgitation spell to get the marble out of Hissera and into the trash.

"Please never do that again," Rook chided as he stared down at the guiltiest looking Mabari he had ever laid eyes on. A few moments passed before he groaned and crouched down to gently stroke the top of her head. "You're lucky I had to learn that spell back at the circle. Do you know how expensive emergency vets are?"

Hissera stayed quiet, staring up at Rook with the absolute biggest and wettest eyes she could muster. The last few months of living with Rook had taught her well, if Az's immediate caving was anything to go off.

"Maker, you have no right to look that cute." He mumbled, scratching behind the Mabari's ear adoringly.

"I could say the same to you, Dearest," Emmrich chuckled from the staircase, forcing the blush from earlier to shoot back up to Rook's cheeks like no time had passed at all. "I'm going to bed, would you care to join me?"

Az glanced back up at the man, his mouth gaping for a moment as the offer seemed to cause his mind to go a little fuzzy with the returning, creeping desire he had felt a little less than an hour ago.

"I-I'll be right up," Rook eventually squeaked out as his eyes lingered on Emmrich's lips.

A small smirk tugged at the corners of Emmrich's lips as he turned to make his way up the stairs, making sure to swing his hips in the way he knew drove Rook wild. A choice that proved quite effective as the younger mage was left swallowing thickly, a heat slowly re-forming in the pit of his stomach which prompted him to quickly address their defacto children once more.

"No more marbles, okay?" Az sighed, interrupted by a petulant whine from the Mabari. "Nu-uh. Anymore complaining & I won't stop Manfred next time he tries to pick you up."

A slight grumble left Hissera's throat, though after a few seconds of registering Rooks words she simply nodded before resting her head on one of the Rooks hands.

"Good"," Az, chuckled as he gave a gentle scratch to her chin. "Now have fun and please be safe you two." Rook warned as he stood up & quickly made his way up the stairs. The noise of a happy skeleton's hiss and a dogs paws trodding along on the wooden flooring, bringing a small smile to his face.

[deadrocks]

If you're new to the Dragon Age games or if you just want to play the first game again but don't have it, good news: Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition is $4.99 US on GOG. Even better, it's part of their "Good Old Game Preservation Program," which means they've put significant effort into making sure it still runs on modern PCs. I've been able to run it smoothly on my laptop as-is, and with mods as long as I'm using the 4GB patch. The game does absolutely look 15 years old, and fans are incredibly mixed on the combat, but the story and companions are worth it. And once you buy it on GOG, you own it and can save the installers. No app download, site login, or internet connection required.

The sale runs until January 3rd, but if you miss it this time out, it goes on sale pretty often!