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littlemissgeek8 · 6 years ago

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Okay I just wanted to say I love your dnd art like so much!! It’s amazing!!! If you don’t mind me asking, can you summarize what you’ve done in your campaign with Jemima Appleblossom so far? She’s so cute and I would literally die for your PC

Aww!! Thanks! It’s always a joy to run into people who likemy characters! :3 I can totally give you a summary of our campaign thoughunfortunately it is 30 episodes atthe time of writing, with 31 going up later today, and I was unable to shrinkit to a reasonable size. I’ll put it under a cut to save on people’s dashspace, and I’ll also put links here for the youtube playlists in case there’sanyone who’d like to watch it instead of just reading about it. XD And for anyone interested in the series, this recap will catch you up in time for today’s episode to go out!

For those not wanting to read through all 8,930 words ofthis, TL;DR: “Ragtag group of adventurers get pulled into another world wherethey find themselves rubbing elbows with gods, fighting monsters, makingfriends, reviving demigods and unwittingly unleashing some massively dangerousthings onto the planet. In between accidentally dying a few times.”

[Ghostwolf] [EscoNitz] [CriticalHat]

Well, we started off in Parnast, sent by our individualfactions to investigate a missing wizard. My halfling bard Jemima is a Harper,same as our other bard, the human Gineye. Our other party members included Lei,the Tortle Paladin, Zuradar the Tiefling ranger, Lilystra the half-orcbarbarian and Zareem, the Aasimar warlock (who works for the Zhentarim, theonly other faction I remember.) On our way to find the missing wizard, we raninto a bunch of Kobolds who attacked us, but one Kobold --with distinctivewooden legs and one arm-- was trapped inside a cart by his own people and gaveus some assistance. When we finally found the wizard he was in the process ofsummoning something that turned out to be a Water Weird, which subsequently atethe whole party, ending the first session.

We woke up a week later inside an infirmary, which we soondiscovered was in an underwater city—the water weird didn’t just eat us, ittransported us basically to another dimension far away from Faerun. Seeing usas adventurers, one of the triton soldiers from the town we woke up in took us upto the surface to the port town of Audio Bay. (I might be spelling it wrong,sorry, I don’t have good notes this far back.) There, a dwarven merchant namedJonah gave us a quest to track down some missing gear that was stolen from him,a quest which lead us to a well with a Zhentarim symbol on it (surprisingly,since none of our factions exist in this dimension) and inside said well, weencountered a “dungeon” of a dubious nature filled with hobgoblins and bugbearsin leather armor and chain shirts. (Yes it was a kink dungeon, no I don’t wantto remember much about it. XD) After thoroughly stomping everyone involved, aminiscule orc calling himself “Bob” entered the room, shouting at us forhurting his people (whom he then revived with no effort at all.) We told him ofour mission and he agreed to let us take the stolen weapons back, along withgifting us a mysterious box filled with magic coins and a magical shield to ourpaladin. It wasn’t until later that we discovered that “Bob” was actually thegod of slaughter, not until after Zareem managed to roll a natural 100 and hithim with an eldritch blast.

As we left the dungeon, we were greeted by a pack of strangelooking wolves and a tall, blond man in a black coat who asked us to give himthe weapons we’d retrieved. He wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer, nor did wehave much time to try convincing him that we’d been assigned to collect thembefore our hair-trigger warlock decided to cast Charm Person on this newcomer.Unfortunately, the man was carrying a Staff of Charming and nullified the spellbefore it could affect him, before wildshaping into an earth elemental andproceeding to do his best to squash us. It wasn’t until Zareem and Zuradarmanaged to capture one of the “wolves” who turned out to be another druid thatthe man relented, changing back and calling off his friends. He admitted hisactions were hasty and together we traveled back to Jonah’s store with thestolen weapons, where it was revealed that the weapons were a special orderfrom the druid himself, Edan. In return for the weapons, Edan financed someupgrades for our group through the organization he works for (including a sweetring for Jemima which changes her vicious mockery from a d4 to a d6.)

The next day saw Edan taking us to an open air market on thedocks to shop around for supplies, before taking us to a tavern and treating usto lunch. (It was a pretty low-key session though there was a lot ofnon-story-important horseplay.) At the tavern we ran into the druids we’dfought the day before as well as a familiar face: Hanzi, the Kobold with thewooden limbs. While we ate, Edan mentioned that the druids, Hanzi and himselfwere all from Faerun originally and offered to let us join the organizationthey were working with when they went back to their base at the end of themonth. Shortly afterwards (after Jemima spent some time performing for thetavern patrons) Edan left the tavern, citing a “call” from his celestial parent(which Jemima immediately recognized, due to her own bardic master having beenan Aasimar as well.) Before they could pursue, the party was given a quest toinvestigate something in the tavern’s cellar, which turned out to be a wholeton of giant spiders (and a lot of screaming from Jemima) as well as a mimicwhich had taken the place of a box intended for Jonah.

As we returned to Jonah’s shop with his shipment, a heavystorm had started rolling in off the ocean, and after checking in with Jonah(and asking him if anyone would have been trying to kill him by sending him amimic) we headed out to the courtyard to find Edan standing by a scorched areawhere several lightning strikes had taken place. One of the lightning strikesleft behind a glowing orb that turned into a box which he quickly pocketed andrefused to tell us what it was, but we learned some troubling information aboutthe how though the portal we’d come through was a common occurrence, somethinghad interfered with it and kept his organization from closing it on time. Afterthings nearly came to blows between him, Zareem, Zuradar and Gineye, we allheaded off to prepare for whatever the next day would bring and eventuallysleep.

The next day was stormy again, but we set out with Edan anda few others to the docks, hoping to stave off whatever horrible thing wasapproaching the town from the portal in the ocean. Almost immediately, Edanflew off towards a monster out in the ocean, leaving us to deal with a largenumber of minor water elementals who did a good deal of damage before welearned we could destroy them by damaging the summoning circles they came from.Meanwhile, Gineye (with his Special Eyes) noticed “Bob” and several cloakedfigures watching the proceedings from the air nearby. As we defeated theelementals, a massive bolt of lighting shot from the storm over the ocean,right into the monster Edan was fighting, killing it and throwing Edan’slifeless body onto the docks nearby. Jemima tried in vain to use Healing Wordto revive him, only to be shut down by someone sending her a clear mentalmessage that she was wasting her time. Soon afterwards we found ourselvesfacing the same Wizard we’d been sent to find, who had merged himself with thewater weird. The battle was short and fairly one-sided as we all charged himbefore he could do much, eventually leading him to attack Lei one-on-one.Nobody’s entirely sure what happened but the wizard disappeared and Lei learnedhe could shoot a beam of radiant energy from his mouth.

That concluded, the realization of what happened to Edan hithome as a few of us tried to go over to him, only to be stopped by two of thecloaked figures Gineye had seen. One, a massive bugbear went to solemnlycollect the body, while the other (a skeletal form we couldn’t see well) tooksome glowing orb from Edan’s head before leaving. We’d managed to save thecity, but we’d lost a friend in the process. The next week was spent helpingthe city rebuild from the attack, though for Jemima it was a week of privatemourning and a grim realization that the fairy tale heroics she’d dreamed ofwere only a fantasy in the face of harsh reality. Then, we were called in toJonah’s again, only to find “Bob” sitting there, along with a large box and thedruids we’d met earlier. He gave us a mission we couldn’t really reject—travelwith Jonah and the druids to take the mysterious box to a town calledSylvenstand, checking in with a few towns along the way. When asked why hechose our group to do this, he admitted that we’d been specially requested, orrather Jemima had been requested for this job and it followed that everyoneelse would come too. In addition, Jemima was given three gifts—the owl-headedStaff of Charming that Edan had used, his bag of holding, and Bob’s holy symbolon her wrist as a sign of protection. And so, the group set off cross-countryto Sylvenstand in an enchanted cart with a box they weren’t allowed to touch(or let anyone else touch either, save for one contact they were told to meet.)

Their first destination was Flatol, where they were sent toinvestigate some reports of some strange goings on. This lead the party toinvestigate a crypt, one decorated with symbols and writing praising Orcus, andinside we found the necromancer that we’d been sent to find who almostimmediately trapped us into seeing our worst fears, but before anyone couldreally dwell on them, the Necromancer himself was murdered by the thingconjured up by Hanzi’s fear: a terrifying shadowy cleric. The battle thatensued was brutal, with us trying to defend against the cleric’s powerfulattacks or healing each other as best we could, but in the end the nightmarecleric was defeated. However, the cost of fighting him turned out to be Lei’slife, for the killing blow on the cleric sent our unconscious paladin into hisfinal death saves (Thanks, Zareem for not moving your Shatter spell somewhereelse.) However, instead of outright dying, a glow surrounded him, bringing himback but without his hard shell and with a much longer tail. The coins we’dreceived from “Bob” on our first meeting with him had each bonded with one ofus and this was the first time they’d revealed their powers: saving the bearerfrom death but bringing them back with a change or two.

We ushered our now semi-naked Tortle back to the cart andprepared to move on (though not until after a horrifying lunch in which ourTiefling nearly petrified several people with some of the dishes he’d made and did actually petrify himself for a shorttime.) Then, we moved on to Glens, the next town on our journey. TheNecromancer we’d run into had gone to Flatol from Glens and we were informedthat another necromancer had been in town as well, along with a frighteningbounty hunter who was hunting him down. Our search for clues turned up little,but as we all went to meet up in the town square, a huge hulking barbarianleaped down into our midst, wielding a massive axe. We weren’t much of a matchfor him, until Lei managed to grapple him, giving Gineye a chance to use a boltof petrification he’d picked up earlier. The Barbarian failed his save hard,turning to stone before our eyes, but as Gineye removed his hood, a familiarface stared back—Edan’s, thoughframed by dark hair instead of blond. Needless to say, Jemima didn’t take itwell, and we carefully moved the petrified man back to the cart to be restored.Before we left, however, the axe the barbarian had been using decided to attachitself to Gineye, revealing itself to be not only cursed but sentient as well.

A cleric who was currently traveling with us managed torestore the barbarian, and a conversation later revealed that he was not, infact, Edan. He introduced himself as Ivan the Lucky, a bounty hunter who hadbeen chasing down the necromancers we had run into, and he’d been working longenough to have a solid reputation, so the chances of him being Edan withamnesia or something was extremely low. However, we couldn’t let him leave asone of the jobs in our contracts was to investigate the grisly murders in Glensand there was a good likelihood he was involved somehow. So, with Ivan in towwe headed off to the next town, Crance, which was currently embroiled in arebellion of some kind. However, we had to stop there to meet up with acontact, and since we weren’t given a description of the contact we had tocross our fingers and hope we found him. A couple of men in a tavern claimed tobe the people we were looking for and agreed to come back to the wagon inexchange for some help with a situation they were in. It was only after givingthem the information we had and letting them inspect the box (which thankfullythey didn’t tamper with) that we found out they were not, in fact, our contact,but a mysterious half-orc in town might be. They were with the resistanceagainst the tyrannical government in the area and they directed us to a guardshack where the half-orc and some of their own people were being held.

Our group headed over there and found the guards to besurprisingly easy to defeat, and in the cells were a group of heavily injuredresistance fighters and one massive, angry owlbear. The half-orc however wasnowhere to be seen, until we headed to a room in the back. There, we found himstanding over the corpse of the head guard, pulling a knife out of thestill-warm body. The distinctive red teardrop tattoo on his face marked him asthe person we were searching for, since it matched the mark Jemima had receivedfrom “Bob” at the start of our quest. The half-orc, Grug, followed us back tothe cart to properly inspect the box and pay us for the tasks we’d alreadycompleted, but took an immediate dislike to the currently sleeping Ivan. Heexplained that Ivan was Edan’s Alternate—somewhat but not quite the same personborn in another dimension, though many differences in environment and home lifecan lead to wildly different characteristics, jobs and lives. He then warned usto keep Ivan away from the box, stating that it was dangerous to have himaround when Edan was in such a “weakened state.” Yet again, Jemima freaked out,demanding to know what he meant by that before Zareem completely stopped theconversation by boasting about how Bob approved of him b/c Zareem had managedto hit him. In a fit of rage, Grug dragged Ivan’s sleeping body away andunleashed a bunch of monsters on us, since pissing off a paladin by boastingthat you’d hit his god is probably the worst idea ever.

Once the monsters were defeated we raced outside after Grugand Ivan, finding Ivan yet again possessed by Gineye’s axe as he’d been thefirst time we fought him. After getting the axe back from Ivan (which sent thelarge barbarian back to sleep) we turned our attention to Grug and the animatedswords he was currently attacking our cart with. A few near deaths later, ourfight was interrupted by Grug vanishing and “Bob” appearing in his place,demanding to know what was going on. Thankfully we were in our rights to defendourselves and “Bob” admitted that Grug was overzealous and a huge problem forhim, but he was obligated to keep the half-orc around due to Grug’s familyconnections. Still, Bob fixed our wagon for us and decided to travel with us toSylvenstand, stating that he couldn’t just teleport there due to the nature ofthe place. A few days of travel later, we reached the woods surroundingSylvenstand, a dark frightening forest that seemed to twist and move around,confusing travelers who dared venture into it.

Which is when we ran into the dinosaurs. About halfway intothe forest we were stopped by a dead end and a voice demanding to know why wewere there. When we explained our mission, the voice told us we could only passafter it had “tested our mettle” upon which an allosaurus and a swarm ofdeinonychus showed up. The battle was surprisingly long, made worse by thearrows being shot from an unknown source deep in the woods. However, thedinosaurs eventually backed down, but not until after Jemima heard a veryfamiliar male voice saying the phrase “You can do better” before their woundswere healed. The fight over, we trooped back inside the cart, following theAllosaurus (named Sharp) to the secret town of Sylvenstand.

When we arrived, Jonah took the mysterious box away, whileour group accompanied by “Bob” went to a building built into the massive treein the center of town. Before we could turn in our quest, we checked in with aman at the front desk by the name of Eldon. It was he who finally explainedwhat exactly it was we had been transporting all this time—Edan’s body,magically preserved and warded to prevent decay so that a reviving ritual couldbe performed once his soul was reclaimed. Then, we were ushered upstairs intothe massive tree to an enormous room where a humanoid figure seemingly made ofwood or possibly completely encased in wooden armor sat. Seeing as it wastechnically her quest, Jemima was chosen to speak for the party, turning in theletter they were sent with as well as being given a bag of coin to be dividedamongst the team later. Lei’s divine sense however, picked up the massive amounts of divine energy comingfrom the figure in front of them, as well as noticing the oak leaf symbol onthe man’s chest. Though the contract said we’d been sent to report in to a mannamed Tay’rados, there was little question that the true originator of thequest was none other than Silvanus, the god of nature and druids himself.

After some impromptu shopping at a small bazaar in town, weheaded off to the temple district to meet with one Captain Taylor who wassupposed to be able to help Zareem with a mysterious mark he bore on his chest.Captain Taylor agreed to help on the condition that we spar with him, anexperience none of us were quite prepared for, as he turned out to be anextremely high-level paladin who was pulling his punches. Midway through thefight, having taken a decent amount of damage, Taylor grabbed Jemima beforereaching an arm into her bag of holding, coming up with a purple coin that she’dnever seen before (she’d been getting small trinkets including a bag of dragonbone from Edan’s bag over time, but never seen that coin in all her searching.)Again, Edan’s voice chimed in with the phrase “You can do better” as Taylor’swounds began to heal. In an almost uncharacteristic display of kindness, Zareemhelped her get the coin back and to keep Taylor from taking it again, Jemimadropped it down the front of her shirt with a glare. Then, taking the staff ofcharming she’d inherited from Edan, she stormed over and slapped him deadbetween the eyes, shouting at him “How dareyou touch my things?” only for Taylor to shout back “How dare you take mybrother’s things?” When the fight finally ended, she confronted him about thosewords, discovering that Taylor (who is, in fact, the real Tay’rados and thenext in line to take over for Silvanus) wasn’t kidding about Edan being hisbrother, and the coin he’d taken was an Ioun stone that Edan had obtainedduring one of his many travels. The voice she’d been hearing was simply theHealing Word spell he’d kept inside it being activated.

After our sparring match ended, Tay invited us to join himat the local tavern for drinks to celebrate Edan’s approaching revival, thoughnot before we returned to the large tree building to answer a few questionsabout the wizard we’d fought back in Audio Bay. That was where, after the armorthe wizard had worn attached itself to Lei, that the wizard hadn’t justdisappeared that day, he’d been stowing along in Lei’s brain the whole timewithout anyone knowing. He hasn’t shown his hand yet, but the eventual effectsof this are unknown. Then we trooped off to the tavern, Lei and Zareemintending to party and have a good time, Zuradar and Gineye picking a fightwith a time-manipulating satyr who’d magic’d away some of our gear earlier (wegot it back thankfully) and Jemima meeting a nice man who gave her a book oncreating a Guard Drake from dragonscale (which she conveniently had thanks tothe bag of bones and scales in Edan’s bag of holding.) The party lasted allnight, though most were passed out before it got too late, particularly Zuradarwho was the first out after he failed to seduce an elf lady two times in a rowand left to drink until he couldn’t remember anything.

The next few days were less eventful, mostly everyone havinga bit of downtime and resting up, preparing for the next phase of the revivaloperation: retrieving Edan’s soul from wherever it had ended up. The owlbearthat we’d encountered in Crance had been put into a crystal by Grug fortransport, and thanks to Eldon, it was healed (though it had to be magicallyde-aged to save it) and given to Zuradar as a companion under the name Pip.When the time came for the expedition to set out, Jemima made sure our team wasinvited, since she desperately wanted to be able to save Edan. The expeditionwould leave Sylvenstand through a portal that had been set up over the last fewdays, though the endpoint was unknown until the portal was actually opened,bringing with it a group of dimensional “police” who wanted to know why we hadopened a portal onto a plane known as “Lunacy.” Tay seemed visibly distressedat the mention of that location, but in the end we were permitted to pass,providing he didn’t come with us (astipulation he didn’t challenge at all.) Armed with a glass jar with a locatingspell cast on it, we headed off into Lunacy.

The jar lead us through marshy woods until we came upon ascene of grisly carnage. Two hags had been torn apart along with a shambling moundor two, and as we approached we saw the one who had caused such destruction: acreature seemingly formed of wood with a featureless wooden mask. Immediatelythe jar Jemima was holding began to glow and vibrate, but just as quickly thecreature melted away into the ground, causing the jar to go dark again. Afterwe were set upon by another hag (and discovered that the damaged Weave on thisplane made casting spells a risky chance that often triggered wild magic tohappen) we continued on, the trail having been picked up again by the jar.After some walking we came upon a small tavern, the inside of which was emptysave for a lone barkeep in fancy eveningwear. He offered to give us informationor magic trinkets, and explained that the creature we had encountered, the“Beastmaster” was keeping him trapped. Our whole party was sure it was a trap,with the notable exception of Zareem, who made an agreement to smuggle a blackshard out of the plane in exchange for a magic sword and an axe.

Thoroughly disgusted at our companion, we continued on untilwe came to another clearing. As Zareem dashed across the grass towards a gate,the ground turned into more shambling mounds which proceeded to attack theparty. Midway through the fight, a large bear with a wooden mask lumbered in,attacking the mounds with us. However, once the mounds were destroyed, the bearturned towards us instead. Jemima had already put together that the jarresponding to both the Beastmaster (whose mask looked shockingly likeSilvanus’s) and the Bear (one of Edan’s common wildshape forms) were somehowconnected to Edan’s soul and she was reluctant to fight until being remindedthat druids change back from their wildshape forms after losing all their HP.When the bear finally fell, it morphed back into Edan, before dissolving intodust with a cry of distress, causing part of the jar to light up. This spurredthe party forward, towards the next location. There they ran across Eldonagain, who had followed them into the plane. He was badly wounded butsurrounded by corpses, including one giant spider wearing a wooden mask.Another piece of the jar lit up as Jemima approached it.

Then, Gineye managed to spot something across a nearbylake—on an island in the center, strapped to a cross-like structure, was Edan,or at least his soul. Coming from his body were five tendrils, two of whichwere rapidly dissolving. Using the teleportation that he had gotten from a wildmagic surge, Gineye teleported over to the island and summoned his axe, usingthe soul-collecting power of the axe to free Edan by having him slice off thetendrils. Edan’s soul disappeared, along with the fragments in the jar and theBeastmaster across the lake, but as soon as he’d done that, a massive shapeappeared in the distance. Sensing danger, Gineye returned, driving us all torun with Eldon in tow, back to the portal we’d come through.

The giant creature, which revealed itself to be a Terrasque,chased us all the way to the portal, eventually parking itself right on theother side of the portal but very much within striking range should we try toescape. Then, it revealed itself to be the same person Zareem had made a dealwith--the one who had marked him with the symbol of Vecna—itself an old andpowerful Primordial. It offered to let us pass as long as we kept the guardsbusy enough for it to escape, since the plane was rapidly dissolving around usas the weave unraveled. We agreed, while secretly planning to alert the guardsonce we were through, and escaped through the portal. The dimensional “police”were on hand to help, and drove back the massive claw that came through, butdespite our efforts, a tiny portion of the creature broke off and disappeared.Still, we had what we had journeyed for and after relinquishing the axe to Silvanus,so that he could extract the soul, we nervously awaited the revival itself. Wewere graciously allowed to be present for it, and the process went surprisinglysmoothly for all the trouble we put in. Upon waking up, groggy and disoriented,Edan asked for his bag which Jemima unquestioningly returned. However, insteadof keeping it, he simply took out the wooden box from the month prior andopened it, revealing a deactivated Void card from the Deck of Many Things. Witha glare he turned to Silvanus, telling his father to try harder the next timehe wanted to kill him before storming out of the room (just in time for Gineyeto return from searching the town for a saxophone in order to serenade Jemima’sreunion with the man she was clearly crushing on.) Gineye’s return lead to anembarrassment-fueled brawl, culminating with the party members involved (sansZuradar and Zareem who had left to talk to Jonah again) waking up the next dayin the infirmary.

When the party reunited in the tavern the next day theyfound out about a list of jobs open to them, now that they had been acceptedinto Mantle, the organization based in Sylvenstand. The party was very excitedover an upcoming tournament (though Jemima had her eyes more on the Bardcollege which nobody even looked at twice) but Gineye demanded they go to thecapitol city Paplus first, upon seeing not only the capture of the resistanceleader they’d encountered in Crance, but also a name he recognized—Lord Darius,a man he’d known before we first met up who seemed to be somehow connected tothe scars Gineye hides under a porcelain mask. As we geared up to go, we askedEdan if he wanted to come along, which he agreed to do, as he wanted to get asfar away from Sylvenstand and his family as possible.

The furthest we could travel by portal was to Paplus’sneighboring town StoneHelm, a two day’s walk from Paplus. Once the journey byportal was completed, Edan took his leave, stating he would be taking the jobat the Bards college there, though the party (save for a heartbroken Jemima)were too busy making plans for marching order and cooking arrangements to evennotice. A days walk later, they set up camp, dividing the nighttime watch intoshifts. During the second shift, after Jemima had bedded down for the night atthe end of her watch, a group of drow appeared, demanding Zuradar tell them thename of the halfling in the nearby bedroll, and at her last name ofAppleblossom the drow attacked, easily subduing the sleepy party and cartingthem off.

We awoke in darkness, with our arms and legs bound, with theexception of Zuradar who had been inadvertently untied by his owlbear Pip, andZareem who instead found himself in a nice room as if he’d been invited as aguest instead of kidnapped. It wasn’t long before the drow returned, removingtheir blindfolds and walking them out of their cells to a large central roomwhere they saw Jemima trussed up and suspended over a fire, and a hooded man atthe end of the room. The man demanded Gineye be brought forward and demandedhim to take off his mask or risk Jemima’s life. Grudgingly, Gineye complied andthe man removed his own hood, revealing the face of a man Gineye had worked withbefore during a similar rebellion back in Faerun, Tiberius. Like many of the peoplethey’d met, Tai had found his way to this world as well and joined the currentrebellion due to his own curiosity at how similar it was to the one in theirown world, even down to the blonde lady behaving shockingly like Gineye himselfhad done. A betrayal from within their ranks had gotten her caught by LordDarius’s forces, and the traitor in question happened to be the reason theywere captured in the first place—they were searching for a young halfling manwith the last name of Appleblossom who was known to use polymorph spells withthe aid of an enchanted broom. Alternates again, the party realized as theygrouped back up.

As we had found our way not only to Paplus but the rebellionwe were supposed to aid, we found ourselves tasked with helping them take downsome high-priority targets. Namely, we were sent to investigate a guard house(since trying to talk a gnomish inventor into helping us without copiousviolence was sadly not anywhere close to our forte.) Inside we found no guardsat all, but instead a massive iron golem guarding the place which we wereforced to fight after the attempts to bluff our way past it failed. With sometricky maneuvering (and a hand grenade), Gineye managed to deactivate the golemand we entered the captain’s office. Our suspicions were on high alert when theguard captain’s voice didn’t quite seem to match his body, but before theErinyes possessing him could do anything, Gineye petrified the captain with acrossbow bolt, then shattered the resulting stone form to prevent the Erinyesdoing more harm.

By the time we returned, the other team had safely securedthe inventor who was currently very clearly possessed himself. After a gooddeal of fooling around and failed attempts at exorcism using the Command spell,Lei realized that as a paladin, he could perform the exorcism himself. With theinventor finally free of possession, he demanded we shut down the factory thathad been making the golems and mechanical enforcers for Lord Darius, butinsisted that we not harm Darius when the time comes for he was in fact, a goodman. The revelation that the revenge Gineye sought would be deflected by yetanother Alternate did not go over well.

So, we set off towards the golem factory with Gineye leadingthe charge, revenge still smoldering behind his mask. When we arrived, thefactory seemed deserted, but when the guard dogs that came out of a few nearbykennels turned into hellhounds, and an ice devil dropped in from above, werealized we were in trouble. The battle, though brief, was tough, painful andlikely made worse by the absence of help from Zareem (who spent all of his timeattempting to get one of the hellhounds to trust him in an attempt to keep it.)Meanwhile, the ice devil managed to get inside the mental world Gineye used toconverse with the spirit of his axe and begin to corrupt it, leading to Gineyebeing unable to get back in. In a desperate bid to regain control, he demandedLei kill him, hoping that the soul trapping powers of the axe would give him aback door and a chance to find “Axey” again before his coin revived him. With aheavy heart, Lei and Zuradar complied, using their own weapons to kill theircompanion.

Gineye fell, then disappeared, reappearing shortly afterwardsacross the room, but something was very much different. Instead of the cheerymask he wore, there was a more sinister one with a jagged smile and a sinisterred glow from his eyes. As it had several times before, the axe had taken overGineye’s unconscious body, puppeteering it into using all of its abilities toattack his friends. Hoping to somehow break its control, Lei, Jemima andZuradar threw themselves into combat while Zareem continued to ignore the fightand attempted to gain favor with the hellhound in the corner. Even aftercalling for help, Zareem didn’t join the fight, stopping only to retrieve anice spear that had fallen from the ice devil’s body and throwing it into a furnace,completing the job of destroying the factory that they had been given.

Meanwhile, inside his head, Gineye was locked in a battlewith a being that resembled a corrupted version of the mostly benevolent spirtwho had helped him for the last several weeks. Assuming (probably correctly,though no confirmation has been given on this point) that this was in fact thepower source of the axe, built from the many slaughtered souls trapped insideit, and having corrupted the actual “Axey,” he sought to free her from thecorruption. A few times her consciousness seemed to flicker, as if his attemptswere getting through, but he was running out of ideas. In one last desperate move,he pulled her into a hug, and when that didn’t work, he used the power of theaxe to summon two spears, stabbing them both through her back and into his ownchest, aiming for the coin around his heart.

Back in the real world, the spear tips manifested out ofGineye’s body before they and he vanished again, leaving only the axe behind.The party barricaded the factory and then rested, worried about their friendbut too battered and tired to leave (save Zareem who had done basically nothingthe whole fight.) As they were ending their rest, a figure began to crawl outof the axe nearby, eventually solidifying into Gineye, though mysteriouslywearing the dress his spirit friend had worn. Naturally the team had questionsbut Gineye was evasive and wanted to move on, stopping only to shoo Jemima awayafter noticing that her poking his leg was causing no sensation of touch.

Their mission complete and their party gathered, theyventured forth to return to the rebellion’s hideout, only to find the doorwelded shut and a trail of blood leading them towards the other door and an unconsciousTai. Thankfully his injuries were minimal, but Tai’s story was grim: during thetime they were away, the hideout had been attacked by the robotic enforcersthat Lord Darius was using, but during that time they had made contact with adivination wizard by the name of Monty who was also a transplant from Faerun,one willing to aid them in their cause. Monty had given them a tip, telling thatthe leader of the rebellion was going to be publicly executed the next day, whichhappened to be only hours away now. Together they went to the town square, nowfitted with a gallows and a horde of people gathered to watch the execution.

Something was very much off, however, as the party hid amongthe crowd, waiting for their chance to strike. The man introduced as LordDarius was a far cry older than the man Gineye had known, and something feltvery wrong about the whole scenario. Those feelings were proven right whenGineye was attacked by one of the masked enforcers and the cloak was knockedoff of the “prisoner,” revealing yet another masked enforcer. The crowd ran asour heroes found themselves surrounded by more of the metallic men. Having dispatchedhis own attacker, Gineye used his axe to create a rope and swung over to thebox with the elderly Lord Darius, soon after followed by Lei using his ownmisty step ability to teleport over.

Inside the box, while the old man may have been recognizedas Lord Darius to the crowd, behind him, hidden from the audience, sat a muchyounger man with a stony expression on his face. The same Lord Darius who hadscarred Gineye’s face. Gineye readied one of the many small powder keg grenadeshe owned, but before he could exact his revenge, the two figures flanking theyounger Darius revealed themselves—one, an arch devil and the other, a demonlord. The demon quickly whisked Darius away, while the arch devil took off intothe city, leaving a swath of destruction in his wake. Before long, our heroesfound themselves in the midst of a holy war, with hordes of demonic forcespreviously hidden in the town, rising up to fight an onslaught of paladins, clerics,and other warriors blessed by divine forces.

Flanked by Zuradar, Gineye ran after the arch devil that hadfled from the observation box, but quickly ran into a group of paladins andclerics who were also pursing the same target. Two of the group, marked by thesymbol of the Raven Queen, immediately took offense at Gineye’s existence, callinghim a “filthy undead” as one attempted to smite him with a lightning bolt. AsGineye protested the inhumane treatment (while the gaping hole in his chestproved their accusations correct) a paladin marked with the symbol of “Bob,”the god of slaughter they had met previous, came over and uppercut the one who castthe lightning bolt (said storm cleric looking shockingly like Zareem.) Thepaladin of Bob revealed soon himself to be in fact Grug, released from thepunishment he had been given by Bob, who urged them to leave before somethingworse happened.

The older Lord had been retrieved from the observation boxby the time Gineye and Zareem returned, but as they returned so did the archdevilwho Gineye had failed to catch before. Introducing himself as Bael, he demandedthe old man be turned over. The party refused, attempting to stop him throughcombat, but their efforts proved futile as he simply walked over and took whathe wanted, before disappearing. Through the use of a haste spell and his own paladinskills, Lei was able to track Bael’s movement back to the Lord’s castle, but itwas decided that the party should rest before continuing on. After a short rest(in which Jemima hounded Gineye for a while in regards to his new undeadstatus, one he couldn’t really deny when the gaping hole in his chest magicallypatched itself up) they trooped off to the castle, preparing for a confrontation.

Lord Darius was inside when they entered, Gineye fullyprepared to take him down one-on-one, were it not for the young noble killinghis older counterpart in front of the bard. Remembering the request from thegnome earlier, Gineye used a new spell, revivify, to revive him before whiskingthe old man outside to protect him. Then, as he returned, finally ready for hisrevenge, that moment was stolen from him as a dark shape appeared behind theyoung Darius, taunting the party before snapping his neck and summoning shadowsto attack our heroes. After having fought them once thanks to Grug, the partyknew how to deal with these shadows and the fight was brief, but by the timethey finished the shadowy creature had left, leaving behind the empty husk thatwas once Gineye’s most hated foe.

Gineye was all set to use his magic to revive or preservethe body, but the arrival of a man through a dimensional door stopped him. Itwas Monty, the diviner they’d been told about, who was more than happy to usehis magic to prove that even if Gineye preserved the body, there was no soulleft to revive him. However, Monty was able to speed them along on their waytowards finding the rebellion’s missing leader, as he directed them towards a dungeonarea that his scrying couldn’t see into—which must be the place as he couldfind her nowhere else.

Inside the dungeon lay a maze of traps, pitfalls andsentient doors who kept their rooms locked with riddles. Inside the very last doorin the maze was a set of stairs leading down to a large room, where a strange,sinister ritual was taking place. A number of cultists surrounded summoning circles,two of whom were wreathed in flame, the one in the middle conjuring up a domeof solid darkness. As stealthily as they could, the party slid closer, Gineyemanaging to make it all the way to a door on one side of the room where he cameacross a terrifying sight: the same exact cell in which he had been tortured.

Unleashing the full power of the axe, he demolished the cultistsin a single hail of swords, which left the summoned fire elementals free toattack at will. Again, the fight was short, the most notable event was Jemimadoing her best to attack one of the elementals with the rapier she’d beencarrying all this time—while forgetting that without magical properties to it,the enchanted fire could easily melt it. Rest in peace, rapier, you were loved.Once the fires died down (literally) the team set about investigating the roomand the dome of darkness in the center of the room. Sadly, efforts to dispel itproved fruitless so the party turned their attention towards a mural on thewall, one depicting a multi-segmented circle, each with a crowned creature carvedinside. After close inspection—including noticing that one segment seemed todepict the same tarrasque they had unleashed upon the world previously—the partyguessed the mural was related somehow to the cult they had encountered, worshippingprimordials from the different planes (each of the elementals seemed to bedepicted, along with ones that looked celestial and infernal.) Finally, theygave one last attempt to dispel the dome, finally breaking the spell with awell-placed arrow, but instead of finding the leader inside as they’d hoped,all they saw was a shadowy creature who disappeared in seconds, followed by hermagical cloak which Zareem kept for himself.

As they went to leave, who should they run into but Grug andthe same paladins and clerics from before? Gineye, remembering their reaction tohim, attempted to hide in the stairwell, but the storm cleric (who still lookedshockingly like Zareem) detected him with his own divine sense. As the partyrushed to protect him, Zareem himself squared up, drawing his sword anddemanding that the paladin face him instead. It only took one single mightyblow from the paladin’s mace to instantly kill the already injured Zareem. Therepresentatives of the Raven Queen left, telling the group to keep “theirundead” on a leash, as everyone tried to figure out what to do now. It was thenGineye posed an idea: someone should let him borrow a 3rd levelspell slot. His words were cryptic, but nobody had any third level slots leftafter the long day they’d had, so Gineye lowered it to a second level slot. TentativelyJemima offered him one of her second level slots, and Gineye in responseplunged his hand into his own heart, pulling out an axe and handing it to her,fading into the axe as his mask appeared on her face. From inside her mind, heused her body and magic to cast a spell to preserve Zareem’s body, before the groupset about a much longer rest.

About halfway through their rest, Zareem revived, his coinhaving activated—giving him permanent wings and a new set of powers. Gineye leftJemima’s mind and reformed in the physical world, and after a bit of foolingaround with him trying to mind-hop into Pip the owlbear’s mind that ended withGineye accidentally killing (and immediately reviving) the poor creature, the teamdecided it was time to move on. The war had died down across Paplus, and theirmission was over though at great cost. After delivering the news of the outcometo Tai, the team set off in search of a Gnoll paladin of Silvanus who they weretold had a scroll for them

What they found instead was a mysterious bar—the same barthey had encountered in Lunacy, still run by the extremely shady feeling manwho just so happened to sometimes be the primordial of Earth. Zareem andZuradar both asked to see what goods he was peddling today, leading to Zareemgaining a +1 chain shirt and Zuradar acquiring himself a +2 bow (for only twoof his hit dice, a total “bargain!”). Meanwhile, Jemima found the gnoll seatedat a table and retrieved the scroll from him. The man let them leave afterthat, noticing how uncomfortable the other three were, but with a reminder thatthey could find him if they only looked for him.

Outside the shady bar (which had mysteriously vanishedagain) they discovered that the scroll was a teleportation sigil, but one thatthey weren’t capable of activating. One person however, was, and it took only asingle utterance of Monty’s name for him to appear through a tear in reality,casting the spell that would take them off to the tournament.

After the chaos of a holy war and a rebellion all in thespan of less than a week, the gang was happy to have a chance to settle down andrelax. Once in the tournament building, they had to sign up, either in solo matchesor groups of 2, which lead to Zareem and Zuradar becoming a group (fittinglynamed Heaven and Hell), Lei and Jemima teaming up (as Swords and Chords) andGineye going solo (under the name “The Entirety of France.”) Then, with an hourto prepare, the teams wandered the building, discovering their old friend Jonahhaving set up a merchants stall there. Jemima immediately informed him of theloss of her rapier, relinquishing the melted remains. In return, he gave her asword he’d fashioned from some of the dragon bones she’d given him, a rapierelegantly combining master swordcraft with the sublime beauty of the naturalworld.

Geared up once more, the matches began. Zareem and Zuradarfound themselves heavily outmatched by a pair of orcs. After Zareemaccidentally hit the younger (and far more badly damaged) of the two with acritical hit poison spray, inadvertently killing the orc, the older and moreexperienced orc proceeded to knock both of them out. Jemima and Lei’s roundwent much smoother, against a lizardfolk and a man in a strange leather dusterwho carried what could only be referred to as guns. Despite the strange man’sapparent prowess with his weapons, he managed to score only one hit on Jemimabefore he was knocked unconscious himself, and the Lizardfolk surrendered soonafter.

Gineye’s match however was stranger still. His opponent wasa man who seemed to disappear shortly after the match started, stayinginvisible or hiding behind dust clouds the whole match, but doing significantdamage to Gineye in the process. Finally, angered, Gineye readied a crossbowbolt, striking as soon as he saw the man’s arm clearly. The petrification boltworked perfectly, petrifying the man and winning Gineye the match (though notbefore a contingency spell activated, using lesser restoration on the man whograciously conceded.)

After their match concluded, Gineye left to find his friendsin the infirmary (though only Zuradar and Zareem needed much attention.) In themidst of their conversation, the man he had just fought walked in, joining thediscussion of the fights he had witnessed. He introduced himself as James and extendedan offer to Gineye to meet him for breakfast at a specific tavern the nextmorning. Tired from their battles, the group headed out to an inn to rest. Itwas agreed that Gineye should go to the tavern to meet James the next day (sincethey might be more relaxed if it was just him) while the rest would return tothe tournament location to find out what was going on. The tournament itselfwouldn’t start for two days, and the actual matches were entirely team-based,but since Lei and Jemima both had passed their matches (as well as Gineye) theywere allowed to form a team and invite the two who had failed their matches aswell.

Gineye’s investigation only put him more on edge. Jamesseemed very eager to recruit him away from the others, even offering to “helphim leave” should Gineye need it, in a way that suggested assassination wouldbe involved. He also knew more than he should, particularly about the war inPaplus and how Gineye’s party had come through a portal in Paplus that shouldhave originated north of the town of Tance, the same as another group whoarrived recently (where, unknown to James, the hidden town of Sylvenstand waslocated.) Gineye played along as best he could, mocking his teammates and theirdecisions and offering to send a package later that day that might be useful toJames’ group. However, once he returned, he clearly wasn’t eager to join such ashady group, but instead had Lei send a package over to the tavern—one containingthe Axe Gineye had pulled from his own heart yet again. However, to his dismaynobody actually took the axe while he was there and in fact nobody was home forthe full day, leaving him to sneak out the next night with a pilfered spellbookand a sour mood.

Finally however, the day of the tournament arrived. The gangwas among the first to compete, finding themselves soon in a large arena packedwith thousands of onlookers. In the middle of the arena, a Kenku introducinghimself as Veo Elmwood was acting as the Emcee, introducing first our heroes asthe “NaCl Pain Delivery Service” and their opponents as “The Hands of Nature.” Theparty (and especially Jemima) were pleased to see Edan again, along with hisalternate Ivan, the ranger Alice (whom Zuradar had attempted and failed to seduceback in Sylvenstand) and Leafsong, the Gnoll paladin from earlier.

However, instead of a fighting competition as the party hadexpected, it was instead a series of games and tests of skill, each with a “firstto 3 points” system of one-on-one matches. The actual games were chosen by diceroll, with the first being a drinking contest. Gineye stepped up, certain hecould win with his undead constitution, even against his opponent Ivan, butonce again Ivan’s luck was on his side as he came back with three points toGineye’s two. Next, Jemima found herself face-to-face with Edan in a challengeof pure luck as they rolled dice, each hoping for a higher roll than theiropponent. Right at the last moment, when it looked as though Edan would scoreanother point for his team, Jemima caught a glow around Ivan’s hand for amoment as the dice flipped over onto a natural 1. Finally, it was Lei and Leafsong’sturn, a test of endurance as they were forced to withstand increasingly harderthrown rocks without crying out in pain. In the end however, Lei managed tohold out the longest, scoring another point for our heroes. And as we left themat the end of that session, they were preparing for the next round of combat: atrial by combat, forced by Ivan again using his luck to twist the die to his favor.

And there you are, thirty episodes summarized as best Icould, with deep apologies for not being able to condense it even further. Ihope you enjoy reading it, and feel free to check out our episodes on youtube!

#d&d #dungeons and dragons #dnd #NaCl D&D #i'm so sorry about how long this took #turns out 8900 words takes several days to write #i could have been more succint i'm sure but i didn't want to miss anything #consider this a recap for anyone wanting to catch up?#again i'm sorry for the extreme length XD i'm more wordy than i think #venusvirago

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neilthefoxjosten · 6 years ago

Note

Helllloooo! Here’s a writing prompt , Andreil breakup? One where Andrew catches Neil about to run? I am ALL for the angst

Girl me too, I love me some angst! Thanks for the prompt, here we go!

Lips pressed together, hands knotted into hair, breath shared between the small space they held themselves in; Andrew felt like he was falling and the longer it went on the more devastating the crash.

Neil doesn’t protest when Andrew jerked away, doesn’t follow as Andrew escaped. Andrew slipped outside, lit a cigarette, and drew. He held the smoke in his lungs.

A count of four, exhale, smoke curling skyward. There was too much feeling where there should be none, a pipedream to good to be real, too real to last.

Andrew stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette under his shoe and went back inside, a mug of fresh hot chocolate left still steaming on the table beside the coach. The mug was a miserably bright orange, doubtlessly one of Neil’s. Seeing it twisted Andrew’s stomach in a way that he didn’t want to consider.

Andrew poured it down the sink without taking a sip.

**************************************************************************************************

Neil knew something was wrong, it was clear in the broken off kisses, solo cigarettes, and locked doors.

He knew better than to push, Andrew had been pushed more than enough in his life.

Instead, Neil took what was offered, gave everything he could in truths, and sweets, and space, and let the days of winter break tick by.

It came to a head when Andrew came back late, the telltale spots of purposeful purple shown with knowing precision, on Andrew’s neck and over his collarbone.

Neil felt something inside him break, something nameless turned jagged, but he doesn’t say a word. Andrew was never his, and he’d always promised he’d lose interest.

Instead of words, Neil grabbed his keys, carefully not watching Andrew threw his coat onto the couch and headed to the shower. Didn’t notice, wouldn’t notice, that Andrew didn’t spare him a glance.

With deceptively calm fingers Neil teased out a key from his ring, and then another. Placed beside a cooling mug of hot chocolate they looked almost picturesque.

Neil left the door locked behind him.

It took everything he had not to look back.

**************************************************************************************************

Andrew didn’t believe in regret.

Seeing the two keys on the table, one for the front door of the house, the other for the car; Andrew thought he might have to reconsider.

**************************************************************************************************Wymack didn’t question Neil when he knocked despite the hour being shockingly close to sunrise. Neil, in turn, doesn’t offer much in the way of explanation, muttering a thanks to the coach before crashing on the couch. The rest could wait, for now, Neil would sleep and hope he’d wake to an earlier time.

**************************************************************************************************

Andrew hardly saw Neil outside of Exy practice, the team seeming to have taken several steps back since they had left for break. Andrew didn’t care about that, ignoring Wymack’s tirades and Kevin’s rants. He stood idly in the goal as it lit up red time after time.

Night practice afforded him more glimpses of Neil, though the striker had taken to meeting him and Kevin at the court and running back alone afterward, returning to his new hole up in Boyd’s room night after night.

Andrew didn’t miss the slow disappearance of clothes from Neil’s drawers, finding yet another key left behind once they’re empty of everything but the clothes that they had gotten him for Eden’s.

Andrew pushed away the stir of feelings instead of trying to decipher them, locking them away with the key he dropped in with the abandoned clothes.

Nicky scampered out of his way as Andrew left the bedroom, going first to the roof and then the amphitheater. Being on the roof felt too much like hitting the ground.

Andrew almost missed falling.

**************************************************************************************************

The first game back was borderline disastrous, a win wrestled away from the Catamounts by the skin of the Foxes’ teeth. Palmetto was back to the team they were pre-Neil, Class I on raw talent with a disruptive lack of organization, an unplayable apathetic Andrew with neither the promise of sobriety or Neil able to make him raise a racquet.

Wymack was fuming in the locker room for debrief, waiting on Dan and Nicky to join after they had broken off to deal with the press. Once they entered the room, before they could even sit, he began.

“I don’t know who was playing on my court tonight but it wasn’t the Foxes I’ve been training for the past four months.” Preston, the freshmen goalie, looked cowed, but the rest of the team preferred either no reaction or a pointed glare at Andrew. The blond didn’t react.

“Your personal lives may be out of my pay grade but if it’s going to interfere with my team then it becomes my problem. So figure it out, before our match against ASU. Dismissed.” Andrew is the out of the door, followed quickly by the freshman, Aaron, and Kevin. The rest of the team spared Neil anxious looks, they hadn’t missed that he’d been talking less off the court, but they follow after as well; Neil acting as the tail.

“Neil,” Matt dropped back in step with Neil, speaking softly so the others couldn’t hear. “If you ever need to talk you know I have your back, right?” Neil managed him a weak smile, fake enough even the freshmen wouldn’t fall for it.

“I’m fine Matt, thanks.” The words felt counterfeit but it was all he had. Matt looked unconvinced, but let Neil push past him. “Don’t wait up for me after.” Neil didn’t wait to see Matt’s face fall, stepping into a stall, shedding his clothes, and turning the water all the way up.

He could feel his skin turning pink under the spray’s heat but he doesn’t care enough to adjust it, instead setting his face to the cool wall as the water pounded against his scarred back, carrying sweat and weakness away with it.

**************************************************************************************************

Andrew didn’t wait for his monsters to finish showering, getting into the Maserati with still damp hair.

He drove aimlessly around campus for a while, speed to slow to do any good at detangling the knotted thorns that had taken hold of his chest, a knot that seemed to grow and constrict by the day and hour.

He found himself back at the Foxhole Court, parking lot completely empty of fans and players alike. Save one, redheaded striker only now just making to leave. Andrew pulled up beside him, rolling down the window but saying nothing. Neil’s hair was still wet, dark where it curled over downcast eyes.

A few breaths pass and Andrew almost pulled away, thinking himself unwelcome, before the door opened and Neil climbed in.

The window is rolled up and they drive for a few minutes in silence, radio muted, before Andrew leaned over. He clicked open the glove box.

“Something of yours is in there.” Andrew doesn’t miss the nervous flit of Neil’s eyes, and swallowed. The knot tightened so hard around his lungs he could hardly breathe. It was worse than falling.

Neil reached forward with careful fingers, pulling out the trio of keys with stunted breath. Andrew can feel blue eyes on him but continued to stare at the road. He needed to turn the words over and over in his head, weeding out any uncertainty.

Two minutes passed before Andrew finally opened his mouth. “I made a mistake.” The knot loosened its hold by just a margin, letting him suck in a breath. It was the opposite of his fingers, tightened around the wheel.

“I- we were never-” Andrew cut him off, veering sharply to the side of the road.

“We were. I hurt you.” Andrew tapped his fingers against the wheel. “I didn’t realize.” Neil’s eyes were wide, fingers white around the keys. They would leave marks. “He didn’t do anything else.” Neil’s eyes fell to the loop, fist opening and closing around the keys. It settled on closed when he looked up.

“What now?” Andrew’s chest finally loosened at the question, thorns retreating as he held the answer off by lighting two cigarettes. He handed one to Neil, feeling fingers curl around it.

“That’s up to you.” Andrew took a drag, seeing Neil mirror him.

“Nicky’s been missing Eden’s.” Andrew shifted back to drive and pulled back onto the street.

“If they’re not ready in fifteen minutes we’re leaving without them. Make sure they grab us something presentable to wear.” Neil nodded and sent the text, the rest of the monsters waiting for them at Fox Tower, with a bundle of clothes in Nicky’s arms. They pile into the car.

“Did you guys finally make up?” Nicky asked immediately, voice loud in excitement. Neil beat Andrew to the radio, turning it up loud as a warning.

Andrew was feeling, but it really wasn’t that much like falling. It just took him too long to figure it out.

Okay this is unedited and I hate the last sentence but I tried! I’ll probably edit it and post it to a03 by weeks end. I hope everyone liked it, even with the angst. I’m still taking requests should anyone wanna shoot me an ask!~ Thanks for reading, please leave some feedback if y’all can!

Edit- I lied, I literally just posted it to AO3- FatesofConquest

#fox answers #fox rambles #all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #tfc #neil josten #andrew minyard #kinda angsty #breakups hurt #aftg fanfic #tfc fanfic #thanks for the prompt!#I used the asterisks because it doesnt linebreak nicely on mobile #oh well

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ahrorha · 7 years ago

Text

Flame of Winter

Bloody Orlesians. As much I find the quest in the Winter Palace brilliant, the whole concept of nobles playing the 'Game' makes me wanna kick them.

In this chapter, Ryan is back to his charming self (some of you commented he had a moment in the previous chapter, fear not he is back XD ). I had a hard time to figure out how to describe decorations, clothing and the judging atmosphere without repeating some words over and over again.

This has become a very long chapter. So much is happening before and during the ball, that I didn't want to cut in two. Also, I didn't want to rush to the last part of this chapter, because finally, the moment has arrived for some SMUT. I give out a warning if you are not comfortable with reading the details don't read the part between the double lines, but I think most of you will look forward to it.

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 17

Skyhold was buzzing with activity on their return. The actions of the Inquisition in the Dales had resulted in a flood of correspondence, visitors and delegates from all over Orlais. This together with the preparations for the ball at the Winter Palace, had Josephine running from one meeting to the next. She even had made schedules for everyone with lessons in etiquette, dancing and court politics. Everything was being checked and planned, from their luggage to their individual roles at the ball. It were hectic days, but considering their objective, it was no wonder Josephine was going the extra mile.

A few days before they would leave Eirlana and Solas were called to Josephine's office. Eirlana groaned. “I swear, if I have to hear one more time how to correctly hold a glass, I will turn all the drinks into ice.” Solas chuckled, he was happy she was her usual self again and that she had forgiven him. They had talked a lot during their journey back to Skyhold, and he had shared with her how important Wisdom was to him and why he had reacted the way he did. Of course, he had been careful not to tell too much, he couldn't afford another slip-up, like before. He even had made amends with Varric and Iron Bull, and he was grateful they had watched over Eirlana in his absence. When they told him about the attack on her, he was horrified. He carefully confronted Eirlana about what had happened to her afterwards. She shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal, but Solas could see at her whole demeanour that it was an act. She was trying to push it aside, as he suspected she did with many things. Until deep in the night they talked, slowly and with patience she opened up to him. With her buried against his chest, he listened to some of the things she had endured. His heart ached hearing details from her past, wishing he could take some of her pain away. He kept holding her, murmuring sweet words and encouragements, knowing he could do nothing more than be there for her. He promised himself that night, he would do anything in his power to protect her, to keep her safe, and if he could make her happy.

“Aren't you tired off all these lessons?” Amused by Eirlana's unusual reluctance to learn something new Solas smirked. “Not really.” She looked sceptical at him. “You can't tell me you prefer them over burying your nose in some dusty old tome.” “But my Lady.” he opened the door for her and made a grand bow towards her. “How else would I learn how to properly treat you with the respect you deserve.” Seeing his smirk on his face, she giggled; clearly, he was mocking the lessons they had received. With another ridiculous bow, he opened the next door leading to Josephine's office. She elbowed him playfully on his arm when they entered. Josephine looked up from the different stacks of letters before her. “Ah, you have come. I am happy to report your request for access to the University of Orlais has been granted. Sadly due to our busy schedule, you won't be able to ride for Val Royeaux at the moment, instead the University has provided an inventory of their library. You can compile a list of titles you want to study, and we will arrange for them to be sent to Skyhold. It may also be of interest to you that you have permission to visit the Royal Libraries during our stay at the Winter Palace, courtesy of Grand Duke Gaspard.” She sorted through the letters and pulled out a few. “We have also received several letters inquiring about you miss Eirlana. Your efforts in the Dales has gained the attention of some smaller but influential families. The University of Orlais has requested information about your healing methods and has extended a formal invitation for you to visit them. You will be able to speak with some representatives at the Winter Palace. Judging from the nature of the letters they may offer you a place among them. Of course, you are free to choose to follow another path, but know that everyone in the Inquisition greatly appreciates you and your skills.” Eirlana didn't know what to say. In her mind, she had done nothing special, only that what she thought was right as a healer. It made her happy to hear that some of her efforts were recognised, but she didn't know what to think of the invitation from the University. Her experiences in Orlais made her sceptical about their intentions. Though having access to their medical knowledge could be beneficial for her, the other healers of the Inquisition and most importantly the patients. . “Solas, Eirlana, there you are.” Leliana entered Josephine's office with Ryan, Iron Bull and Dorian in tow. “Please follow us to the war room if you have finished.” They thanked Josephine and followed them, Leliana came immediately to the point. “We have received new reports about the movements of the Venatori. According to my informants, they keep searching and digging in old ruins, especially if they are of elven origin. They have been sighted in these locations.” she pinned several markers on the giant map lying across the table. “As for what they are looking for we still don't know.” Solas was relieved to see that the places they were searching weren't crucial to his plans, but it was still vexing that they were looking in the first place. “If I have to guess they are looking for something that could help them in their goals. With the orb being ancient elven magic, they may be searching for more of such items and other forgotten magic. Judging by their locations, it is hard to tell if they are looking randomly, chasing rumours or have specific targets.” Leliana nodded. “We will be keeping an eye on them. I have also gathered more information about their leader. It is a mage named Calpernia, she has taken over the leadership of the Venatori. We know only a little about her earlier life. She is a former slave of a magister Erasthenes. As far as I can determine, the magister disappeared several months ago, together with her. ” “Erasth....” Dorian brushed his moustache. “I know him. He is an old geezer, more interested in his tomes and books than anything else. He is renowned in the Imperium for his knowledge of the Old Gods and has written many long and dull papers about them.” “This isn't much information we have about this Calpernia.” Ryan stated, his forehead wrinkled as he scanned the various reports. “Say Eirlana you were once a slave.” Most of the room went silent and stared at him for his blunt remark. Solas felt bile coming up, furious he glared at him. Eirlana put her hand on his, signalling it was alright. “Yes, I once was a slave.” “Why would she join Corypheus and do his bidding? Would she be loyal to this new master?” Wondering if he also questioned her own loyalty to their cause, she pondered about his question. “I think, it is safe to say, with Calpernia now in a leading position of the Venatori, that Corypheus had a hand in the disappearance of the magister. As for her loyalty, I don't know. What I can tell you from experience is being freed isn't something that any slave would take lightly. I will never forget that day in my life, and I will always be grateful towards Solas, but that doesn't mean I would follow his every wish or decision. I have a mind of my own, and so does this Calpernia. She must have her own plans and reasons why she is helping him, but judging by Corypheus actions so far, I doubt they have the same agenda. He must have offered her something that she wants. I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you she must be a capable woman. Leading people is not an easy matter as you know by own experience.” Several people around the table smirked, knowing Eirlana's remark wasn't meant as a compliment. Solas was proud of her, but his heart also tightened when she mentioned him. It was bittersweet to know she wouldn't follow his every wish or decision. Even he himself wouldn't, but there hadn't been any other way, and now there was no other choice. He couldn't change what had happened or what was to come, he had to finish what he had set in motion so many millennia ago. . It was already late in the morning when Varric entered the Herald's rest. He knew he shouldn't have stayed so long at the game of Wicked Grace last night, but it had been the last opportunity before they would head to the dreaded Winter Palace. Ordering a late breakfast with lots of strong coffee, he joined Iron Bull and Blackwall at a table. “How is your head tiny? You look like you haven't slept at all.” Iron Bull only grunted and continued to devour his big serving of bacon and eggs. Dorian joined them a few minutes later, like always well groomed and impeccably dressed, but he moved and sat down awkwardly. “You all right Sparkles?” “Expect from the headache from that horrible ale you served me last night, I am fine thank you.” “You didn't have to drink it.” “What? And miss out on all the fun to drink something that tastes like it was brewed in the Fallow Mire at the bottom of a tar barrel. I can still taste it on the back of my tongue.” “Is that what you taste?” Iron Bull grinned at Dorian and received a deadly glare in return. Varric was more awake in an instant, he obviously had missed something when he went to bed last night. Before he could ask any further, they were all distracted by Eirlana walking briskly into the inn. She ignored them entirely and marched straight to Cabot, the bartender. “Cabot, have our supplies arrived?” The dwarf nodded. “I will get them for you.” “Everything okay Snowflake?” She turned around and was surprised she had walked past them. Varric motioned for her to join them and poured her a cup of thee from one of the pots on the table. “Here, you look like you have been running around all morning.” With a sigh she sat down, thankful she could take a short break.

“So who got on your nerves?” Warming her hands around the mug, Eirlana let out another sign. “Ryan.” This peeked everyone's interest around the table. “I tried to talk with him about moving the infirmary. There is room here in the fortress, but he wants to create more housing space for the templars and new training grounds.” frustrated she kept going. “How does he expect for people to do their jobs or fight when they can't even recover decently. The clinic is still outside in large tents. We can barely keep them warm and not to mention it isn't exactly peaceful being next to the huge training grounds we already have. Our patients can't even get a good rest with the constant yelling, shouting and weapons clanging.” Dorian looked bleary-eyed at her and groaned. “How can be so awake and full of energy after last night?” “Maybe I need to come up with a new nickname.” Varric joked. Eirlana only noticed now that they were all nursing severe hangovers, especially Dorian, who grunted and tried to find a more comfortable position to sit. “You sure you are alright Sparkles?” Eirlana saw he was in pain. “Are you not feeling well?” “I am fine.” he groaned. “Please go bother someone else.” “Oh yeah, Dorian about last night...” Iron Bull grinned at him from across the other side of the table. Dorian facepalmed himself. “Discretion isn't your thing, is it?” “I was just wondering if you want your silky underthings back? Found them after you slipped out this morning. Did you leave them as a token? Or wait, did you 'forget' them so you'd have an excuse to come back?” Blackwall almost chocked in his coffee, and Varric froze, his fork full of sausage halfway to his mouth. “If you choose to leave your door unlocked like some savage, I may or may not come.” “Oh, you came. Three times if I remember correctly.” “WHAT?!” came Sera's voice from upstairs, dangling upside down at her feet over the railing. Dorian groaned now he was sure that everyone would know about his little tryst with Iron Bull by noon. Varric had already pulled out his notes and was writing feverishly, mumbling. “This is getting better and better.” Contemplating if it would be wiser to go back to bed, he noticed Eirlana scooting closer to him. Discretely she hovered her hand over his lower back. The pleasant tingle of her healing magic spread over him, taking away the edge. Letting out a sigh of relief Dorian muttered. “Thank you.” Outside the midday bell was ringing, Varric put away his notes and took one last bite. “We better get packing, or I promise you Josephine will watch us do it, and I for one don't want a lesson in how to properly fold clothes.” With everyone leaving Eirlana took the bottles of alcohol from Cabot and walked back to the clinic, she had a lot to finish before they would leave the next morning. . Restless Eirlana put her book away for the fourth time, she couldn't get used to being at the Winter Palace. They had been housed in one of the many guest buildings, that was a smaller version of the Palace itself. The decadence of the place irked her, everything was lustrous marble, heavy brocade, inlaid and embroidered with gold and silver. There was nothing personal to be found, everything was polished and enriched to show off the power and opulence of the Orlesian Empire. She was anxious about tonight's ball, not that she hadn't prepared for anything imaginable, but her past experiences with nobles weren't the best. Tired of wandering through her own room, she slipped into Solas' through the small discrete door of their adjoined chambers. Solas sat comfortably in a lounge chair, reading in front of the open balcony doors. The room had changed in the two days that had been here. He had moved some of the furniture around, and an extra table had been brought in. On it, several books were spread out, opened and marked at various passages, his written notes lying scattered among them. The clothes he had worn lay discarded on a sofa, next to his open clothing-chest that was rummaged through. Looking around, Eirlana couldn't help but laugh, even surrounded by all this display of wealth and glitter he was acting like he was at home. Solas raised his eyes up from the book he was reading. “Something amuses you, vhenan?” “It seems like you have made yourself at home here.” She began to fold and put away his clothes, shaking her head at how much he had managed to get the room in disarray in such a short time. She wondered how a man, who was so precise and careful in his studies and paintings, could have such a hard time doing the most simple mundane tasks. It struck her how relaxed he was, as if he belonged here, not a stranger to the overbearing riches surrounding them. His presence calmed her down, and she was relieved he would be at her side tonight. Having finished tidying up a little, she took a cushion and sat down at his feet, leaning against his legs. Solas continued to read, but his hand reached out to her, softly stroking her head and neck. Enjoying the simple gesture, Eirlana stole loving glances at him. It was comforting he was acting like this was any other place, he hadn't wavered even once since they had arrived. With a confidence out of this world, he walked around as if he had visited the Winter Palace countless times before. She took his hand and let her lips glide over the back of it. Exhaling Solas looked down at her. Seeing his warm gaze made her heart flutter. Making occasional eye contact, she slowly kissed along his hand, his nostrils flared when she reached his fingertips. “Careful vhenan, you are playing with fire.” he growled. After the Dales, Eirlana felt more comfortable at being intimate, knowing that she could trust him made her more confident. Teasingly she scraped her teeth over his fingertip, making him groan. It was somehow empowering that she could do this to him, that she alone could so easily chip his masks away. He showed her parts of himself only she knew. She squealed when he suddenly pulled her up and onto his lap. His book fell forgotten to the ground. Laughing she tried to escape from his entrapping arms. “I have warned you.” he hummed and started to peck her on her nose and face. Suddenly he gasped when she touched him with an ice-cold hand. “I think I can handle fire.” she smiled at him challenging, biting playfully in his nose. “You little...” before he could finish his sentence they were kissing. . There was a knock at the door. “Excuse me Sir, but do you know... Oh, I beg your pardon.” It was Rosie one of the elven servants within the Inquisition. “Sorry for the interruption, but I have been looking for you, Miss. Your bath is ready.” She had been appointed to them for a couple of weeks now. At first, Eirlana had been reluctant to have a servant, but Rosie's charming open personality had made quick work of any objections she had. “Don't worry Miss, you have your job, and I have mine. Mine just happens to be to make your life a little easier.” she had said when she introduced herself to them. Trapped in Solas' arms Eirlana flustered “My bath? But the ball isn't until tonight.” “And we have to get you ready. There is so much to do. After the bath, we must prepare and curl your hair, manicure your feet and hands. I have some...” Rolling her eyes Eirlana groaned. “All right, I am coming.” Amused Solas listened, he was glad that they were getting along, especially because Rosie was one of his spies. Under those blond curls, rosy cheeks and friendly smile lay a natural snoop and a woman who could take care of herself. She had the critical task to listen in to the whispers behind their backs and warn him if anyone tried to pry around, especially when they were gone. His secrets were well hidden, but it was good to know who was interested in them. It was also a reassuring thought someone was looking after Eirlana when he was away. Eirlana leaned against him before she slipped from his arms with a sigh. Reluctantly he let go of her. He was thrilled that she was becoming more comfortable in her own skin, but especially on days like these, when she was exploring her own comfort zone, it was difficult for him to pull back. It took him a while, after they had left, before he could focus on his reading again. . Checking himself in the mirror one last time, Solas couldn't help but smirk. They may introduce him as a servant tonight, but no one in their right mind would believe it. He was wearing a set of tight dark brown leather leggings, his foot-wrappings, made from the same material, were wrapped in a criss-cross pattern halfway up his calves. His long, high collared, sleeveless vest, was made from heavy brocade. The dark brown fabric was richly embroidered with golden leaves and branches, with deep red and black details. The vest had a split in the back, and a cuff of dark fur attached over his right shoulder, decorated with a pin of the Inquisition. Around his waist, a tan leather belt embellished with golden leaves was bound. Under the vest, he wore a tailored white silken shirt with slightly billowing sleeves. As a finishing touch, he put on a pair of dark brown leather gloves, with an elven leaf pattern stitched onto them. Pleased with himself he took the elongated jewellery box that lay ready and went to the hall to join the others. Noticing his change in appearance a few eyebrows were raised. “Well, you will certainly ruffle some feathers tonight.” Dorian commented. “Hmph.” Vivienne huffed clad in a golden and red evening gown with one of her signature wide standing collars and headdresses. She was clearly not impressed with his non-hedge-mage appearance. “Oh, my.” Dorian said, and Solas turned to where he was looking. “Maker's breath.” Cullen whispered, and Varric whistled softly when Eirlana came down the stairs. Lost for words Solas could only stare at her, it was a sight he would remember forever. Where he and the others had chosen for heavy fabrics, golden and bold colours, she was a breath of fresh air. She wore a gown with a tight white bodice, a high neckline and a white chocker. An oval opening on her chest showed a little of her skin. The white sleeves were elongated over the back of her hand and attached to her middle finger. A long skirt started at her hips and was made of several layers of a very light fabric. They were cut diagonal at different lengths and dyed in various shades of blue and white. They moved beautifully with every step she took. Over her bodice, she wore a low cut tight jacket, in a rich darker blue tone. From its shoulders fell long open flared sleeves, that were bound together in intervals along her upper arms. The fabric was silvery embroidered with an old elven leaf-pattern. When she walked, her bare toes slipped from under her skirt. Her hair was partially pinned up in an elegant updo of several loose braids and twisted tresses. The rest hang loose in a long waterfall of curls and waves. Expect for a silver pin of the Inquisition, she wore only one piece of jewellery. A single silver earpiece, depicting an elfroot plant that curled along and around her ear. Tiny silver chains hung down at the tip of her ear, emphasising she was elven. A hint of make-up adorned her lips and eyes. Joining the others, Eirlana walked towards Solas. “You look beautiful.” she smiled at him and blushed lightly, surprised at her own comment. Solas chuckled. “That would be my line, my Lady.” He bowed before her and gave her a courtesy kiss on her hand. Then he leaned towards her and whispered. “Vhenan, you are a vision. You take my breath away.” making her blush a shade deeper. Ryan was the last to join them, with everyone gathered they got to the carriages and horses. An honour guard was waiting to accompany the Inquisitor to the main entrance of the Winter Palace. Solas had chosen to ride his hart for the short trip, giving him the opportunity to leave if he needed to. With everyone moving he held onto Eirlana's hand and waited. “Vhenan, I have a gift for you.” he handed her the jewellery box. Surprised she stared at it and him before she stammered. “Solas. I... Thank you.” Carefully she opened it. On a cushion lay a beautiful necklace composed of strings of small silver snowflakes, some of them embedded with tiny blue stones. At its centre was a silver pendant, depicting a wolf asleep in the snow. With its head resting on its tail it lay protectively curled around a bright blue crystal. “It is lovely.” Carefully she touched it with her fingertips, she was amazed at the level of detail of the engravings down to the wolfs fur. “Here let me.” Solas took the necklace and stepped behind her. Her heart was beating wildly when she lifted her hair, so he could secure it around her neck.

Touching the pendant, she smiled shyly at him. “Thank you, it is wonderful.” A warmth spread through him, he had designed the necklace especially for her, the wolf meaning so much more to him than the old elven sign of protection. It was his symbol, a part of his name, a part of who he was, but it was also a representation of how he felt about her and how she affected him. Hoping that one day he could tell her the truth about himself he lifted her on his hart and rode after the others. . The ball was drenched in all the flaunting and boasting Solas expected. They had spared no expense for the peace-talks. Grant crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, shining their glittering light on the polished marble floors, and the golden surfaces of the pillars, statues, furniture or even the simple door handles. Draperies of blue satin and brocade decorated the halls and walls, and a heavy scent of incense and perfumes hung in the air. Servants in elegant uniforms and simple royal masks walked around, their trays filled with countless small artworks of dishes, and crystal glasses filled with the best wines Orlais could offer, all eagerly consumed by the many guests. Everyone with a shimmer of a title had come to witness the outcome of tonight and to steal a glimpse at the fabled Inquisitor. Dressed to impress they tried to outshine each other, in huge gowns, puffed sleeves, ruffles, grand hats, masks heavily inlaid with jewels, tightly tied corsets and colourful fans. If you walked around, you wouldn't suspect that the country was at war, not to mention suffering from the aftermath of the Breach and the rifts. Nothing had changed Solas thought, even after thousands of years had passed, the people in power still fought and played their silly pitiful games, never satisfied, always wanting more. Hidden behind their masks, they were slaves to their prestige, wealth and titles, thinking that they were more important than any other being on earth. Attached from what was really important they fought like hens and roosters in a henhouse, always trying to better their status. With some amusement, Solas noticed that more than one pair of eyes behind the masks was directed at him and Eirlana, as they made their way to their designated area. Whispers followed them through the halls. “Even the Inquisitor has brought elves.” “Tsss, I would watch your jewellery, if I were you.” “Is this even allowed?” “Celene's orders my dear.” “Never seen one like that.” “Where can I get one of those?” They clearly didn't know what to make of them. He felt Eirlana tensing up next to him; clearly, a little overwhelmed by all the people and whispers around them. Leaning closer to her ear he spoke softly in elven so no one could understand them. Don't worry vhenan. Remember under those masks they are just people. If it helps imagine, them in Vivienne's dress.” “Solas.” she gasped, a little shocked by his boldness, but she smiled imagining just that. . Iron Bull watched the two elves with renewed interest, especially Solas. His whole demeanour had transformed, something that couldn't just be explained away by his change of clothes. He knew that there was very little that could rattle the quiet apostate, but he didn't expect him to be this calm and composed. He stood out. He was walking around with an ease and confidence, like he was used to these gathering. It was as if he were of noble birth himself, something that wasn't possible. Bull had to grin when Solas talked softly to Eirlana, his eyes and movements telling everyone who watched them that she was his and that they shared an intimacy no one could touch. A couple of noble ladies even blushed and started to whisper behind their fans, as if they had seen something private and forbidden. As amusing as it was Iron Bull couldn't help but feel something was off. He had spent some time to discover more about them after the tip-off form Dalish but found nothing. They both were very diligent in their work and helping the Inquisition, almost a little too diligent in his opinion. Nothing had jumped out apart from their unique views on magic, and the occasional disagreement with Ryan. Making a mental note to dig a little more into their pasts he directed his attention back to the nobles and servants, every single one of them liars, spies and schemers, it would be hard to find out who was lying about what. . The ball soon turned into the bloody and twisted affair they all had feared. Solas found it almost disturbing how Ryan was handling the nobles and the Game with an alarming ease. Whenever the ball permitted it he, Ryan, Cassandra and Blackwall slipped away to uncover the secrets and plots behind the scenes. It didn't come as a shock to Solas to see that the servants and guards had paid with their lives for this pity feud within the royal family. Like always the common people were paying the price, just like the People had paid his. As expected the Venatori had infiltrated the palace, the challenge was to find out who amongst the more influential people was colluding with them. The runs behind the scenes were always short and quick, so they would be back before the Inquisitor would be missed. After checking himself for dirt and blood, Solas walked around, before returning to his post in one of the side wings. With growing interest, he studied the people around him and was surprised at how he was soaking up the dense layer of intrigue, plays of power, danger and sex. It was a silent pleasure he hadn't indulged in for so long, the open secrets, the fainted interests and amazement, the little well placed accidental touches, fake giggles and subtle whispers. It reminded him of the feasts of Elvhenan, of what once was his home, though with far less magic, boasting and obsequious flattery. Everyone was acting, watching, faking, no one was bold enough to be themselves. Even he was playing a role, though he was showing more of his true nature then he originally had planned. An elven servant tried her best to look seductively at him, as she filled his glass again. Solas noticed he was enjoying the attention he was getting, the stolen glances of the nobles, the elves watching him with interest. It was just like everyone used to watch him back in Arlathan. He was the wild card, dangerous, trusted and feared by everyone. Even when his world had been rotten to the core, it also had its beauty, freedom and unlimited potential. His ears twitched when he heard another demeaning remark about the elves. It was repulsive how the nobles saw them as nothing more like objects, lesser beings, mere sub-humans to do their bidding. Officially there was no slavery in Orlais, but he knew that most elves toiled for meagre wages. There were exceptions of course, highly trained entertainers and bards that were kept by the nobles like prized pets or possessions. Strolling through the halls, Solas got sight of Briala. He already had a brief encounter with her, hunting down some Venatori. In her short chat with the Inquisitor, she gave him the impression she was a capable and very calculating woman. In just the few months she possessed the key to part of the eluvian network, she had used it very efficiently to rally the elves of Orlais. Seeing the hardened woman giving polite smiles if need be, he was reminded of Felassans companionship towards her. Solas knew he had to approach Briala someday, to get the key he needed to rewrite and take control of the eluvians. Observing her a while, he wondered how Felassan could have seen her in Briala. Even when he now saw she was resourceful and brave to stand up for her people. It was a far cry from what she had done and the way she had changed him. His eyes wandered to Eirlana, who was talking with Josephine to some nobles, wondering who was changing him more. His stomach fluttered seeing Eirlana standing amongst them, she was one of the most kind-hearted, strongest, loving, beautiful and intelligent people he had ever known. He shook his head, she had been right, he hadn't known what love was, that is until now. He noticed a group of nobles whispering and pointing towards Eirlana. One of them, an older man, Solas recognised, the Lord of Val Colline, nicknamed the Pig of Colline, a man with a horrible reputation, with a distinct taste for elves according to the reports. To some extent, Solas didn't mind the growing attention Eirlana was receiving, but seeing the openly lusty stares, especially from such a man, as if she was some trophy to conquer and posses, had him on edge. . It was over, more blood had been spilt, another scheme completed and a new puppet sat on the throne. Solas took a sip of his glass, he could have guessed that Ryan would choose to support Gaspard. It was another military victory for the Inquisition, who now would have the full support of Orlais to fight Corypheus. It would be interesting to see what their powerful allies would do once the Inquisitions usefulness would disappear. For now, there was a macabre sort of cheerfulness in the air, after all the Queen had just been assassinated by the sister of the new designated ruler. Ryan's choices tonight would have repercussions for years to come. Leaning against a pillar, Solas continued to observe the nobles and their games. The sweetness of the wine lingered on his tongue, indulging himself he took another glass, knowing he already drank more then he should. Finally free from Josephine, Eirlana searched for Solas. Josephine hadn't lied when she told her that several families in Orlais had taken an interest in her. Her jaw ached from the forced polite smiles, and her head was swimming from all the small talk she had endured. To her relief most nobles she had been introduced to, were polite and friendly, they were family members of people she had saved, she even recognised some of them from the battlefields. Sadly most of the other nobles acted like she expected and their stares and whispers made her very uncomfortable. Now she was just tired and hoping she could leave soon. Solas noticed Eirlana, with a smile he gazed at her. She looked so fair this evening, it made his heart beat faster. He didn't miss the dark look she gave Ryan when she passed him; clearly, she was not pleased he had sent her out of the ballroom just before the assassination happened. The Inquisitor had shown he had mastered the Game this night, calculating and manipulating everything to his best advantage. “There you are.” Eirlana was relieved she finally found Solas. “Do you want to get some air?” She looked hopeful at him. He nodded and escorted her to one of the more quieter gardens. The laughter and music grew more distant as they made their way along the winding paths leading through the artful trimmed bushes. The night was pleasantly cool, and the air was filled with the honey-sweet scent of blooming flowers. Small lanterns had been lighted, and benches placed in alcoves occupied by a few couples trying to steal a private moment. “It feels good to be out here.” Eirlana stretched her back, glad the end of the ball was in sight. “I had the feeling I was watched the whole time and that someone was always waiting for me to make a mistake. I can't imagine anyone is enjoying themselves tonight.” “I noticed Vivienne had an extra thick layer of importance and snugness around her.” Eirlana giggled, Solas' opinion about Vivienne had taken a more cynical form ever since she lectured them both about proper court magic. “What about you? You looked more at ease here than I would have thought.” “The costumes may have changed, but the powerful have always acted the same as you well know. Empires come and go with the flow of time, with only their memories remaining in the Fade. Tonight was no exception.” “Seen is not the same as walking amongst them.” “True.” Solas said after a while, he didn't know what else to say. Every excuse he could think of sounded to fake or was one he didn't want to tell her. They came to a small square surrounded by bushes of roses in different shades and lighted by several lanterns. Turning towards him, Eirlana lightly took hold of his hands and intertwined their fingers. “I wish it were just the two of us tonight.” she spoke softly. Standing close together they both relished this short moment of peace. Solas leaned forward to kiss her, but she stepped away from him. Still holding his right hand, she turned her body and with a twinkle in her eye, she smiled at him knowingly. Solas recognised the way she moved her body, he was very familiar with that stance. “How do you?” “You are not the only one who has wandered the Fade and seen things.” Eirlana locked her eyes with his. She looked so beautiful, it took Solas breath away. Her eyes drew him in, as if she was leading him to a new world, one she created and only she knew the secret to. A peaceful world full of wonders, where to old and new were in harmony. He gladly stepped into it, but in his heart, he knew it was a dream that would never come to pass. He matched her stance, and they began to dance to the faint distant music. It was an ancient elven dance, one the world hadn't seen for thousands of years. Having only practised the dance a few times in the Fade, Eirlana missed a few steps, but soon she followed Solas' lead, and they glided over their private little square. Gradually the music changed its rhythm and slowed down, staying in tune they began to dance slower, more intimate. With grace, Solas moved behind her, stepping closer to her. Pressing his chest against her back, he leaned into her, curling his arms around her waist. Eirlana could feel his heat through their clothes, swaying to the music she leaned back, letting her head rest against his. Resting her arms on his she closed her eyes, she lost herself in the moment, a pleasant shiver spread through her feeling his warm breath brushing her ear. . “Eh, ehm” Iron Bull coughed. “Sorry guys, but the boss is asking for you.” Solas sighed as reality came crashing back, he wanted nothing more than to disappear at that moment. To take Eirlana far away so he could have her all to himself, without any annoying disturbances. He didn't miss Iron Bull's subtle gesture that something was amiss. Holding onto Eirlana more firmly he kissed her temple. “Stay here, I will be right back vhenan.” “But he said...” “I will see what he wants, wait for me here.” He followed Iron Bull back inside. “Sorry I had to barge in, but you know...” Solas motioned that it was all right, it wasn't as if it was the first time someone walked into them. He had a bad feeling what he would find after Iron Bull's gestures, his instincts warning him to be cautious. It was worse than he expected, the Inquisitor was drunk from the wine and intoxicated by his successes of the night. As the victor, he was surrounded by several nobles showering him with praise and flattery, hoping to get on his good side. Like a plague, they clung to him, sneaky and selfishly attempting to gain the most out of the spoils after the bloodshed. What was most alarming to Solas was to see the Pig of Colline among them, as well as other nobles with a more questionable reputation. “Solass, there you are.” Ryan's voice slurred a little from the wine. “I was jusst trying to explain to these fine people how you do your... your thingss.” “It is most fascinating to hear the grand deeds of the Inquisition by Andraste's Champion himself.” the Lord of Val Colline stepped in, looking with interest at Solas, his eyes searching the room behind him. “May I ask, where is your lovely companion of this evening?” Seeing the disgusting leering look in the man's eyes made Solas sick. Fighting down the urge to set him on fire and strike him down, Solas knew right then that he needed to remove this monster. From his spies he knew Briala was planning to make her move against the Pig, he needed to contact his agents to assist her. Maybe this was the opportunity to help her and gain her trust, all was it a little faster than planned. “My apologies but she already left, it has been a long and trying night.” Solas answered politely. “Can I be of any further assistance Inquisitor?”

Seeing Ryan was already talking with someone else he made a small courtesy bow and left, after all, he was playing the role of a manservant. On his way back he spotted Josephine, quickly he stepped towards her. “The Inquisitor is trying hard to make the wrong kind of friends.” he said to her discretely. To his relief her eyes went big and searched immediately for Ryan, seeing him she thanked Solas and went to him. Trusting she would sort things out Solas resumed his way, it was high time to leave this ball. He needed to get Eirlana away from here fast. Angry at Ryan's ignorance and stupidity he walked back into the gardens. His ears twitched when he picked up Eirlana's giggle from afar, unwittingly he quickened his pace through the winding hedges. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her and Cullen sitting on a bench under a magnificent climbing rose. Cullen was brushing his neck, smiling fondly at Eirlana, who giggled about something he said. Already agitated and the wine running through his veins Solas briskly walked towards them. “Solas.” Eirlana greeted him cheerfully. He forced himself to calm down. “Vhenan, if you wish, we have permission to leave.” Noticing something was off, she nodded and turned towards Cullen. “Good night Cullen.” Cullen opened his mouth, but froze a moment, before he mumbled. “Good night.”

For a while Cullen stared after them, he already had received some not so friendly looks from Solas, but this was the most hostile one yet. His message was clear, back off she is mine. Not that Cullen didn't know that, but smothering his own feelings was sometimes tricky, especially in moments like these. He had come to the gardens to escape the annoying nobles that had pestered him all night long. It was a pleasant surprise when he came upon Eirlana, she looked so beautiful, and before he knew it, he approached her. They ended up talking on the bench, both complaining and laughing about the ridiculousness of the nobles. It made him happy that so much had changed between them, ever since the day she and Solas had stumbled into Haven. She made him smile, and he couldn't help that he sometimes wished for a future together with her. It was an impossible dream of a future free of the order, free of the pain, a future in which he was living happily with her at his side in a simple house in Fereldan. Cullen shook his head, knowing that it would never happen, it would be a miracle if he managed only one of those things. He didn't blame Solas' reaction, in part he could understand him, especially tonight. Eirlana kept silent until she and Solas rode away from the palace. She saw he was struggling, something had happened that put him on edge. “Solas what is wrong?” He kept riding without answering, not trusting his emotions. The desire to take her away and protect her from all that was wrong in this world had never been stronger. He wanted to lock her away in one of his created realms, hidden away, guarded and cared for by people he could trust. It was a selfish desire, one that would put her back in a cage. Even when it would be a golden one, it would still be a cage. “Solas!” she took hold of his face forcing him to look at her. He swallowed hard, fighting his own impulses. “I am sorry vhenan. I couldn't stand those nobles and the Inquisitor any longer. I needed to get you away from there.” . Entering her room, Eirlana let out a sigh. She felt like she could breathe again. Solas followed her, and with a flick of his wrist, he lit the candles in her room. To her relief, he had calmed down a little, but something had rattled him, and a strange tension was lingering between them. Not knowing how she should act she started to pull some of the pins out of her hair. Looking in the mirror she caught him staring at her with an intense burning gaze that made her shiver, and her heart beat faster. Watching him, she opened her jacket and let it slip off, revealing her laced up back. Suddenly Solas averted his eyes and walked away, opening the door separating their rooms. Confused she spun around. “Solas.” The word was out of her mouth before she could make up her mind what to do. She knew only one thing, she didn't want him to leave. He looked at her questioningly, and she turned and pulled her hair over her shoulder to the front. “Can you help me open this?” “Of course vhenan.” his voice sounded strained. Her breath hitched when he stepped closer and touched her. He had taken off his gloves, and his warm hand brushed along her neck before his nimble fingers started to unlace her. The tension she felt intensified with every single touch on her skin. Solas tried to focus on the task she requested with difficulty. His desire for her was set aflame by the wine and the events of the evening, seeing her back slowly unveiling added only more fuel to the fire burning within him. This was getting dangerous, he needed to leave before he did something inexcusable. For a moment his hand hovered over her naked skin before he pulled it back. Clenching his fist he abruptly turned around, “Good night, sleep well.” and with a few paces, he was through the door. Eirlana stared at the closed door, she could guess why he had left, his burning stare told her enough. Now alone, a sadness spread through her. Reaching over her shoulder, she touched her back still heated from his touch. What should she do? Alone in his room Solas ripped off his vest and opened his shirt, a few buttons flew off in the process. He flung open the balcony doors to let the night air in, he needed to cool off. His eyes caught sight of a flagon of wine, and he poured himself a glass. After he took a big gulp, he filled it back up again. His blood was boiling, fuelled by the alcohol and the jealousy he felt thinking back at all the men that had paid Eirlana to much attention during the night. A part of him was pushing him to give in, to stake his claim, to take her and let the world know she was his. He felt disgusted with himself to have these thoughts, they were part of the selfish monster he thought he had left behind. It made him sick that his dark, selfish side was so easily resurfacing by a few greedy stares of a couple of shemlen. His emotions in turmoil he noticed the candles going out in her room. Letting out a deep sigh he closed his eyes, this would have been so much easier if he had listened to himself and buried his feelings. He laughed at himself, when had he ever chosen the easy road. No, even when he had many regrets in his life, he would never regret meeting her, she was his light in a dark time, a blessing he didn't deserve. In a big swig, he emptied the glass cursing his own desires, cursing his past and his task. Letting out another sigh, he reached out for the flagon once more, knowing he would regret drinking so much in the morning. . “Solas?” Solas froze, he hadn't heard Eirlana come in, slowly he turned around and swallowed. Clad in only a sleeveless nightgown and a shawl she stood behind him, her hair loosely pinned up. The moonlight pouring through the windows engulfed her in a surreal light, and for a moment Solas thought he was dreaming, that she was an illusion. Why was she here? He didn't move, frightened to chase her away, scared that she would disappear at any moment. She stepped closer and reached out to him. He took in a sharp breath when her fingers touched his bare chest feather-lightly. Slowly she brushed her lips against his, kissing him tenderly. His resolve was wearing very thin, he had to stop this, he couldn't... “Vhenan?” he broke away from her. “I want to spend the night with you.”

Solas couldn't believe what she just said, she couldn't possibly want to... Eirlana's eyes drew him in, she looked so beautiful, slowly she let her shawl slip from her shoulders. Stunned he watched her, his body already reacting to her presence. Suddenly the dream was shattered when her hand went to his groin, taking it with a delightful pressure, his manhood responding immediately. With a strangled grown he quickly pushed her back. “Sorry! Did I hurt you?” startled by his reaction, she panicked, she had done something wrong. Taking a deep breath to calm himself Solas tried to recover, never would he have expected that from her, it was the total opposite of her otherwise shy and hesitant demeanour. Seeing her reaction only affirmed what he already knew. Everyone had always taken from her, demanded from her, used her. No one had ever loved her, cared for her, showed her what it meant to be together. “No, vhenan.” Solas said a little out of breath. He closed the balcony doors, giving himself a few moments to realise that this was reality. He stepped towards her and saw she was rattled, her mind searching where she had gone wrong. He had scared her and at that moment all of his objections and reason were not important. Softly he caressed her cheek, he wanted nothing more than to banish all of her bad memories. Slowly he started to kiss her and mumbled: “Just let us go a little slower.” His hands stroked her bare arms. Tentative Eirlana raised her hands to touch his chest. Solas could tell she was now questioning every move she made. He didn't want this, he wanted her to enjoy every moment, to receive her touch because she wanted to, not because she felt obliged to. Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips placing sweet kisses on it. . Slower, it was easier said than done Eirlana thought. She didn't know what to do, she felt hesitant to touch him. Not that she was a stranger to sex, but for her, it had always been connected with shame, disgust and pain. She knew it shouldn't be like that. She wanted to be with Solas, to feel his love and touch, and to give him pleasure in return, but now there was a growing knot in the pit of her stomach, fearing she would do something wrong again or spoil the mood. With her insecurities returning, she questioned all she knew. She was afraid to touch him, afraid she wouldn't touch him enough, afraid to disappoint him. Inhaling sharply, her thoughts were disrupted when Solas started to suck and lick at the delicate skin of her inner wrist. A pleasant shiver ran along her spine when he continued to kiss up her arm, leaving a wet trail that cooled in the night air. Like in their dance, he stepped behind her and leaned into her. Concentrating on him she began to relax again. His lips feathered over her collarbone, and her breath hitched when he reached her sensitive spot. His breath brushed hot against her skin, kissing and nipping her, it made her tingle in delight. Sighing she moved her head to the side, giving in to his touch, his warmth. This is what she wanted, this is why she had chosen to come here. There was nothing to be afraid off, there was nothing she could do wrong. Her confidence returning, Eirlana slipped away from him. Watching him she moved slowly backwards to the bed, pulling her hairpins loose. Seeing him staring at her with admiration and desire empowered her. Smiling at him, she tugged at the straps of her nightgown, leisurely loosening them. Solas had to swallow when her nightgown fluttered down, after briefly resting on her hips it pooled at her feet. Standing naked before him, she looked like a vision, with her delicate developing curves, small breasts, her skin almost translucent in the moonlight and her hair a shimmering fall of waves. For a moment he could only stare at her taking in every detail of her, she was so lovely and yet so vulnerable. Mesmerised Solas stepped towards her, his vest hitting the ground with a thud. “You are so beautiful.” he whispered before capturing her lips, his fingers gliding over her arms. He shuddered in delight when he felt her hands move with confidence over his chest, slipping his shirt off his shoulders. Stopping for a moment, he pressed his forehead against hers. He needed to know. “Are you sure?” Eirlana brushed her nose against his, before kissing him tenderly. “Yes and no.” she smiled. It was the truth, there was a strange mixture of want, desire, fear and anticipation inside of her. “And you?” “Yes and no.” Solas confessed, he wanted nothing more than to love her, to touch and feel her, but he was also still keeping the truth from her. Who he was, what he had done and must do in the future. They both laughed nervously, as if they were lovestruck teenagers, getting intimate for the first time. . Sitting down on the bed, Solas slowly pulled Eirlana back, so they were both lying down. He was careful not to lean too much over her, so she had room to retreat if she needed to. They kissed again, and his hands began to wander over her, exploring her sides and stomach, caressing her softly. Leaving her lips, he kissed down her neck and collarbone, before travelling down on her chest. He could hear she was holding her breath when he almost reached her breasts. He skimmed the edge of them, brushing his nose along the soft rising mounts, before moving lower to her ribs. She tensed when he started to lightly kiss her there, dragging his inner part of his upper lip along the exposed skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps that spread over her body. His hands moved all along her figure, cherishing every part of her skin. He kept her on the edge of tickling, caressing her with his lips and tongue until her breath sped up and her stomach began to pulse under his every touch. Only then he moved back up towards her breasts. Taking his time he gently stroked his thumbs along them and placed soft kisses on the tender flesh. Her breath hitched when he finally reached her nipple and took it into his mouth, gently sucking it. He smiled hearing her beautiful moan when his tongue began to lick and roll around. Cupping her breasts more firmly he began to knead them, alternating between them with his fingers, mouth and tongue, teasing her nipples until they turned into stiff peaks. “Solas.” Eirlana panted, she was not sure what she should do. This was so different from what she knew. His hands were on a journey to explore and cherish every part of her, her body was reacting in ways she had never felt before. Afraid of these new sensations and afraid she wasn't doing enough, she desperately took hold of his arms. Solas halted and kissed her on her lips again, looking deep into her eyes. “Shh, don't worry. Just do what feels good for you.” he gave her another heart-throbbing kiss. “I won't stop until I have tasted every part of you.” Her stomach fluttered hearing his low heated voice and seeing his burning but reassuring gaze. Stroking and kissing her, Solas kept his attention on her upper body, giving Eirlana time to relax again. He wanted to show her there was nothing to fear and give her pleasures she had never experienced before. He wished for her to come undone by his touch, to burn her past away and replace it with all the love, tenderness and sweetness he could bestow upon her. . Eirlana felt a strange tension spread through her, but it wasn't an unpleasant one, rather a wonderful anticipation for what was to come. It was as if a burden was disappearing from her shoulders, taking away her doubt, her fear and her shame, all that was left was Solas and his love. Slowly her hands began to move again. She wanted to feel more of him, to explore his body in turn, she loved him with all her heart and wanted him to feel the same pleasure as he gave her. Giving in to her instincts she began to move, her touches and kisses becoming more confident. Her fingers traced and caressed his muscular body and moving her legs she glided them along his, making Solas hum. His mouth began his journey again, after giving her breast some more attention he continued downwards. Her stomach clenched, and she let out a breathing laugh when his lips fluttered lower than before, teasing her taunt sensitive muscles. Gradually Solas let his body slip off the bed until he was on his knees. A little out of breath Eirlana sat up leaning on her elbows, wondering why he moved to the floor. Her breath hitched when he took her feet and pressed a kiss on them and started to work his way up her legs, kissing, caressing, kneading, tasting, worshipping every inch of her skin. Solas was careful when he slowly parted her legs, knowing that it could make her uncomfortable. He watched her closely when he began to stroke her inner thighs. Eirlana held her breath, her first reaction was to close her legs, but by now her mind and body were in a heated haze of anticipation and pleasure. As much as she feared to be touched there, she also wanted it. Seeing how tense she was Solas got up. After kissing her, he pulled several thick cushions towards them, arranging them so she could lie more upright and see what he was about to do. “You are wonderful.” he whispered in her ear. With care, he parted her legs again, kneeling down between them. Not stopping caressing her, he stared at her most intimate parts, even here her hair was white. The sparse soft curls started on her mound of Venus and covered her nether lips leading to her pink folds. Kissing her on her stomach, he slowly made his way to her mound. He could hear her holding her breath again when he started to kiss, lick and suck gently at this soft part of her body, gradually he moved lower until he almost had reached her outer lips. “Solas don't.” Eirlana reached for his face and pushed it away, her voice a heady mix of uncertainty and desire. He looked at her, his eyes filled with love, lust and promise. Pressing her hand against his cheek, he looked her deep in the eyes. “I said I wanted to taste every part of you.” Not breaking eye-contact he turned his head slightly and scraped his teeth over her fingers, nipping softly at her fingertips. Eirlana shuddered and slowly let go of his head and sunk back into the cushions. Solas started to kiss her mound again, slowly moving lower. He could smell her heavy scent of sex, and he couldn't wait to let her drown in ecstasy. Carefully he licked and kissed her outer folds before he parted them. Seeing the gleam of her arousal heightened his own. Eagerly he let his tongue roll over her inner folds and moaned loudly being finally able to taste her. Grabbing the sheets to prevent herself from pushing him back again, Eirlana trembled when she saw him staring in fascination at her most intimate parts. She inhaled sharply when his tongue suddenly moved all over her, the sensation and the vibrations of his voice overwhelming her senses. Her heartbeat sped even more as he kept going, flooding her with sweet pleasure. She wanted to touch something of him, but his body was out of her reach, desperately her hand went for his head again but this time not to push him away. Feeling her stroke his head Solas started to kiss and lick her more intensely, with intervals he looked up at her. She looked gorgeous with her lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed and her eyes half hooded. Her whole expression telling him she enjoyed every move he made. With his thumbs massaging her mound of Venus he slowly kissed and licked her deeper, time and time again he moved up and teased her on and around her pearl, sucking it gently. Gradually Eirlana's soft moans became louder and more intense, her nails scraping lightly over his scalp. He pulled at her nether lips with his mouth, cherishing and loving every part of her, eating her out more and more. He had to moan when she finally let go completely and parted her legs even more for him, he could taste her heightened arousal. Slowly he let one finger enter her, she was so warm and moist. He felt her stiffen at the intrusion, but he kept licking and kissing her until she relaxed again. With care he began to move his finger, adding one more after a while, massaging her soft passage from within. “ Solas.” Eirlana panted, her body felt like it was on fire from the pleasure he brought her. Whatever he was doing she didn't want him to stop. She groaned and arched her back when he suddenly reached a particular spot within her. He growled, knowing he was the one who did this to her, wanting to give her more he kept moving his fingers, his tongue licking and rolling all over and around her throbbing pearl. He felt her inner walls twitch, not stopping he kept going, knowing she wasn't far from her climax. He curled his fingers inside of her, teasing her spot again. Suddenly she pressed his face against her core, closing her legs around him in her peak. It was exhilarating to feel her clamping onto him, her inner walls pulsing around his fingers. With skilled hands he kept touching and caressing her, drawing out her peak. . Getting back at his feet Solas smiled at Eirlana, her pupils blown wide apart by her arousal, her whole body glowing with pleasure. Letting her catch her breath, he stripped off his last clothes. He sighed, when his throbbing member hit the crisp air, finally free from its confinement. Ignoring the urge to touch himself, he sat down next to her. Recovering from her orgasm Eirlana moved upright and leaned against him. Wanting to have her all the control and freedom she needed, he pulled her on his lap, making sure his member was securely trapped between their stomachs. Lovingly Eirlana straddled him, embracing him she pressed herself against his warm body. Coming down from her high she lazily kissed him tasting herself on him. Solas groaned when her tongue slipped over his lips, opening his mouth they entwined their tongues together. It was wonderful to feel her heated body against his, he brushed aside her hair and raked his nails teasingly over her spine. She arched her back beautifully to his touch, pushing her breast forward with her nipples still hard and sensitive from his earlier ministrations. Eagerly he took them into his mouth, rolling his tongue over them. Her hands grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him back. Moaning Solas let go, thrilled she was taking control. With lust filled eyes Eirlana kissed him desperately. This was so different, this felt so right. In the past, she had learned to quickly finish the job so she would be left alone again. Never had she enjoyed to give pleasure to someone else. Now she was fascinated how Solas responded to her every touch, how his breath hitched and his muscles flexed under her exploring fingers. She let her hands glide over his body, kneading him, scraping her nails over his skin and could feel his trapped member throbbing against her stomach. Grabbing his head, she pulled it to the side giving her access to his neck. Her lips roamed along it, licking, and scraping her teeth against his muscle. When she bit down on him, she could feel him shiver, thrilled she bit him harder, sucking and rolling her tongue over his flesh. Feeling him grab her more tightly at her hips, she experimentally rolled her hips, pressing her heated centre against the base of his member. The moans that escaped Solas made her smile, and she continued her journey, revelling in the pleasure she brought him, wondering how he would react to what touch. Solas had to force himself to keep his hands still, to give her time to explore him at her own pace. It was exhilarating to feel her move freely against him seeking out her and his pleasure. When she tried to grip his head, he wished he had still his hair, so he could feel her pull it. With closed eyes and parted lips, he gave in to her, moving as she wanted, his body shivering when he felt her kissing and licking his neck. A thrill went through him when he felt her biting him, knowing she was leaving a mark for the world to see. When she rolled her lips, he couldn't help but to grab her and push her more against him. He shuddered when she licked him up his neck until her hot breath brushed against his ear, letting him moan again when she traced it with her tongue and bit down lightly at his sensitive ear-tip. His heart almost pounded out of his chest when she whispered. “I want you.” her voice full of want and desire. “Ma lath.” Hearing Solas slightly out of breath and his deep voice loaded with promise and longing made her shiver. Her pounding heart skipped a beat when his words sunk in. Lost for words she kissed him, and hugged him tightly, knowing that he meant every letter from the bottom of his heart. . A little hesitant Eirlana raised her hips, releasing his member that was trapped between them. Solas' hands were resting on her hips, but he was not guiding or pushing her. Looking into his eyes, she guided him to her core and slowly slid down on him. In union their lips parted, breathing in each other's moans, until he was fully seated inside of her. Holding still she leaned against him, her eyes closed. She could feel her walls clenching around him, stretching her, filling her. Solas didn't move. He grasped her waist more tightly, feeling her finally around him, her heat engulfing him. It was almost too much. The feeling was overwhelming for both of them, to be finally connected. “Ar lath ma” her breath brushed along his upper lip. He grasped her waist more tightly, groaning “Ma lath” once again.

They kissed each other long and passionately until they couldn't resist the urge to move any longer. With her arms resting around her shoulder Eirlana rolled her hips, feeling him shift inside her. With her movement Solas slid his hands to her behind, grabbing her cheeks to encourage her. They began at a torturous slow rhythm, that had them both on edge, their bodies wanting more and don't wanting to stop at the same time. She moved her beautifully against him, and teasingly nipped his under lip only to pull away when he tried to kiss her. They both laughed and revelled in their intimacy. Slowly they bodies heated up, making their movements growing bolder and more profound. Eirlana could see Solas was keeping himself back, wanting him to enjoy it as much as she did she stroked his fingers along his ear, knowing what it would do to him. With a muffled groan he trusted up into her, sheeting himself deeper within her. She gasped and smiled against his lips, breathing in his pleasure. They sped up, moving more strongly, smiling at each other, drinking in their shared love and passion. He felt her fingers curling around his head, pulling and pushing him against her neck. His lips brushed against her fast beating pulse, not able to resist the temptation he hungrily bit her there. Hearing her moan his name he feverishly sucked and worried her skin, leaving his mark on her. She began to lose her rhythm and desperately held on to him. Grabbing her hips firmly he took over, guiding her to her release. He could feel her core throbbing around him, telling him she was close. “Solas, please.” she moaned. “Come for me vhenan.” letting go of her, he moved one hand between their bodies and rubbed his finger against her pearl. She shattered around him, her body shivering and throbbing from her second orgasm. Solas buried his fingers into her hips and bit his tongue, to not follow her. He wanted to pleasure her even more and wished this night would never end. He groaned loudly when he felt her pulsing around him, his name on her lips like the sweetest spell. Her fingers dug into his scalp, pressing her body against his as if she wanted for them to melt together. Out of breath and overwhelmed she went limp in his arms. He kissed her shoulder and held her until she caught her breath, his member throbbing within her, urging him to move. Gently Solas lifted Eirlana, hissing when he slipped out of her, slick and wet from her release. He helped her onto the bed, making sure she lay comfortably against the cushions. Moving between her legs he rubbed himself against her opening, scooping up more of her nectar before he entered her again. “Vhenan.” Breathing heavily he waited, making sure she would be alright with him on top of her. He half closed his eyes when he felt her muscles still flutter from her orgasm. When her arms came around him, welcoming him, he groaned. He wanted to move slowly, but her heat and his need made it impossible. Lifting her leg, he changed his angle, and he began to trust, his eyes not leaving hers for a second. His heart soared when her hands grabbed his butt and wrapped her body around his, meeting his thrusts. She was his, and he was hers. His movements were getting deeper and harder. He wanted to bury himself her, wanted to drink every moan and pant from her parted lips. His hunger and pent-up need was taking over as he sped up. He would never forget this moment, he would never get enough of her. Desperately he moved, kissing her feverishly. Eirlana's mind was going blank, her whole world had shrunken to just them. Her body was melting from the heat of their slick skins moving together. Sweat dripped from him onto her body, tickling her skin as it rolled down. His body was moving fluently under her fingers, his muscles were moving in harmony with his trusts. Overtaken by the sensation she dug her nails into him.

Uttering a wild-sounding growl Solas tried to press himself even deeper inside of her, with even more fever he moved even faster, he was so close, so close. Wanting desperately for them to come together he moved his hand and pressed his fingers against her pearl again. Her reaction was almost immediately, her walls clenching around on him, begging for him to let go. With a deep throaty moan, he came, releasing himself deeply inside of her.

With the build-up suddenly gone Solas' body collapsed, sweaty and heated he lay on her, holding her tightly. Catching his breath, he managed to roll off her with some effort, his body shaking from the high he experienced. They both lay still beside each other panting, unable to say a word. Lazily Solas rolled to his side and put his arm on her waist, her skin hot and sticky with perspiration. He started to place a long slow kiss on the first patch of skin he could reach. Eirlana rolled herself against him, unable to believe what she had just experienced. Smiling and out of breath, she snuggled up against him. With their naked bodies entangled, Solas managed to drag one of the sheets across them, after a few long slow kisses they drifted away, both content and sleepy they dozed off, Solas holding her possessively in his arms. . Already half asleep, Solas' ears twitch. Slowly he opened his eyes, seeing Eirlana curled up next to him he snuggled himself against her, closing his eyes again. “Shuffle.” There was that noise again, it sounded like it was coming from just outside his room. Solas was immediately wide awake, carefully he sat upright, listening intensely. There were people on the move outside on the balcony. Silently he moved out of the bed, wanting to reach his staff. Eirlana stirred, waking up by his movements. “Sol...” quickly he covered her mouth. “Shhh.” and motioned towards the door leading to her room. Alarmed by hearing the clear sound of people moving and muffled voices, she also slipped out of bed. Suddenly they saw the door slowly being opened. With a few quick strides Solas had reached his staff, whoever it was next door, their intentions couldn't be good. He felt Eirlana's magic around him as she erected a barrier. The door swung open and armed masked men stepped through it. “There! Capture the elf! Kill the other one.” Solas could see the leader of the men pointing at him and with their blades drawn the men immediately began to attack him. With staff in hand, he shot out his fade fist, sending the first men flying back. Ice shards and lightning flew through the air, killing the next who came through the door. Solas was alarmed, they were here with a purpose. More men poured into the room, stepping over their fallen comrades, Solas tried his best to hold them back when Iron Bull came storming through the door swinging his battle-axe. Other people were moving in the hall, hastening to come to their aid, the noise of the fight had woken quite a few people. With the odds now against them, the leader and a few of his men escaped over the balcony into the night. In just a few moments everything was over. “What happened here?” Cassandra asked, clad in simple linens. “Someone check on the Inquisitor!” “We had a nightly visit.” Solas replied, still naked he picked up his shirt and helped Eirlana cover herself. She was visibly shaken and looked questioning at him, knowing that this was not a random attack. He was also troubled by the leaders call. “Vints, when do these bastards finally learn.” Iron Bull grumbled, then he turned around and started to laugh. “Look that's what a true warrior is like, always ready to fight, even in his birthday-suit. I should have done that.” “Please don't.” Dorian groaned. Putting on a legging, Solas went over the events. This had been the second attack where they targetted him and Eirlana, and their instructions had been clear, capture one, discard the other. His eyes shot for a second to Eirlana, wondering again if it was him or her they wanted. Who had value to them? There was no doubt the Venatori had their spies within the Inquisition, the same as he had, the Qunari, the Orlesian court, Ferelden and no doubt others. It was a miracle that there was not more bloodshed in the halls of Skyhold. Could it be that Corypheus had discovered who he was? Not that wasn't possible, it was far more logical that they knew what the Inquisition knew, and that was that she is a healer and he an expert in elven lore and the Fade. He would be the more logical target. Why had they come into her room? He had entered hers, before moving to his. Had they assumed he was in there? Had they entered the wrong room? He looked again at Eirlana, no it had to be him they were looking for, she had no connection to anything except her role in the Inquisition as a mage and a healer. She would be of no interest to them. They must have discovered his knowledge of the orb, maybe they needed him in the hopes of unlocking it further. Could he use this to lure them out? Still looking at Eirlana he dismissed it immediately, it was too dangerous, they had called for the death of her. A chill went through him, what would have happened had they succeeded in overpowering him. No, he wouldn't risk her well-being, he had to find another way to get to his orb. “They properly went in here to get revenge for tonight. Thank the Maker they failed.” Cassandra sighed before barking more orders to the guards to double their patrols and be on the lookout for those who had fled. . Soon Solas and Eirlana found themselves in Dorian room, who had 'other' arrangements. “Solas?”

He looked at her while he pulled back the sheets so they could finally get some sleep. “Those men they were looking for someone.” She had kept quiet, not knowing why Solas hadn't said something. “I know vhenan.” “Why didn't you tell them?” After some consideration, he answered. “Because I don't want them to put any guards on us. I don't know why or who of us they were targetting. As far as I know, the only person of interest to them is Ryan. If the others knew they were looking for one of us, they would look even more over our shoulders. They would ask questions about what we are doing and why. Being in the Inquisition is hard enough at it is, and I want to continue my work to fight against Corypheus in peace. I don't see the need to worry them even more.” He took her hand and hated himself for manipulating her. “I know it is frightening to be suddenly attacked, but we are safe here. Besides we are both more than capable of defending ourselves and we are protected by the others. Of course, you can share what you have heard with Cassandra, Ryan or the others. I won't ask you to keep silent on my behalf.” She was silent for a moment and then nodded. He embraced her, regretting there was yet another secret she was keeping for him. “I am sorry.” he murmured. It was already getting light, exhausted Eirlana slipped into bed. After casting a ward to make sure they wouldn't be surprised again and shedding his leggings, Solas followed her. Lying down he possessively took her in his arms, she turned her head towards him, and they shared a long lazy kiss. Slipping his hand under the shirt, she was wearing he softly caressed her stomach. ““Ar lath ma”” he whispered and held her tightly, his heart soared when he heard her whisper. “Ma lath” .

With difficulty, Solas woke up. He had far to little sleep, and his head reminded him of his excessive wine consumption of last night. He frowned when he tried to open his eyes, and the sun was greeting him with her bright light. Not wanting to wake up he buried himself back into the cushions. His legs brushed against Eirlana's, and he hummed as the memories of last night came back to him. Snuggling against her he pulled her more into his arms. Awoken by his movements she stretched herself lazily, she smiled at him, mumbling. “Morning.” and kissed him. Sadly their cuddly morning didn't last long. Too soon they had to get up and pack their belonging. It was strange that all their weeks of preparation was packed up in a few hours to return to Skyhold. “Vhenan.” Eirlana turned towards Solas, she had just closed up her clothing chest. She was surprised to see him with another jewellery box in his hand, although this was a smaller one. In it lay another version of the necklace he had given her. It was a simpler version, attached to a couple of leather cords was a silver pendant. It depicted the same sleeping wolf, but the crystal at its centre was smaller and rougher. “I knew you couldn't wear the other one on a daily basis, so I ordered a second one, one you can always wear.” “Oh Solas, it is wonderful.” she hugged him. “Thank you.” . “Solas, did you pack everything?” Iron Bull grinned at him. “Didn't know elves were carrying that much.” They stood with the carriages and horses, waiting for Ryan. Eirlana started to blush at his remark, and Solas decided to just ignore this one. Dorian groaned and slapped Iron Bull on his back. “Enough you savage.” “Hmm savage? Want me to conquer you again?” he closed in on Dorian, trapping him between his chest and one of the carriages. “Erh erhm.” Cassandra rasped her throat. “If you are finished we have to get moving.” “Yes, Mam.” Iron Bull stepped back from a furiously blushing Dorian. Solas shook his head but had to grin at the exchange.

Ma lath – my love

Ar lath ma – I love you

#flame of winter #Solas #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dragon age solas #eirlana #fanfic #solas romance #solas x oc

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barbecuedphoenix · 8 years ago

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Hi^^ May you write about Valkyon? Like, he lost Floppy and is super worried, because he can't find her anywhere, and it's been awhile.. Then Gardienne comes to his rescue xD She appears with a very safe and ok Floppy. Valkyon is so relieved, he says something like "Thanks, I love you". And then gets all embarrassed, "It was not what I meant!". And then she says something like "I know, I know, Kyon. But I can dream, right?". And then? How would he react? Be free to write in your way, I love it ♥

Sorry for the late-ish post, Anon. It wasn’t until this weekend that Ifound enough time to write this.

Because this is a detailed prompt. And I had to obligewith a one-shot. ;)

Actually, this was originally a vignette that sat in my hard-drive for acouple of months, because I didn’t know how to finish it. Until your prompt provideda really interesting ending. So I, uh, hope you don’t mind if I combined them… ^u^’

The Valentine’s Gift

The Musarose was one of the most precious familiars in this world:docile, intelligent, nimble, and innately-affectionate, with a snowy coat thatwas the envy of all other velvet-obsessed clothiers, and a specially-adaptedtail that mimicked a rose in full bloom, right down to the scent. All in acreature barely big enough to fit into a man’s hand even when full grown.

This was exactly why Valkyon refused to let his out of her nestwhenever he was working.

For reasons of its own, nature made Floppy just the right size tofit inside a wild Corko’s mouth. Which was exactly where he found her once, onthe day the faux rose on her tail ‘bloomed’ to signal the end of puberty, andValkyon had cautiously let her explore the beach to celebrate.

The Corko didn’t make it to the sea. And that was the end of allunsupervised outings, as far as he was concerned.

Still, that incident didn’t stop Floppy from venturing out of hernest on her own. She was a wild spirit. At least three times a week, wheneverthe Obsidian Guard chief dashed to his quarters in the last few minutes of hislunch-break with a sachet full of poisonous ladybugs painfully bargained for atthe market, he would find only an empty nest waiting for him.

Hard-won experience as a rebellious Musarose’s handler, plustwenty years of field training (professional and otherwise), had taught Valkyonto remain calm, collected, and perfectly methodical in scouring HQ for hiserrant familiar in-between his jobs for the day. And not simply shake itupside-down to find her before another peckish beast did. (He already triedthat the first time she disappeared; it hadn’t ended well. The archivistsjoined forces to throw him out of the library, and Jamon lost a tooth.)

But today, when the shadow of the sundial’s gnomon on the Arcadethreatened to pass the twelve-hour line, and there was still notrace of Floppy in or around HQ, not even twenty-odd years of field work couldkeep him from worrying. This wasn’t just a routine game of hide-and-seekanymore. This was a rescue operation. This was ripe migraine material.

…He really should have begun forging that suit ofarmor for her sooner. The schematics had been sitting in the forge for over ayear. But she wasn’t big enough when he first commissioned them, and in themonths afterwards, he just hadn’t had the time to finish.

With the sky overhead brushed with violet and the first pinpricksof silver, Valkyon tromped back up the Arcade to the walled garden where thecentury-old cherry tree stood, for the third time that day. He didn’t evenglance at the new fairy lights strung from the branches, swaying gently withthe evening wind and lighting the pale canopy to the color of blush. Instead,he was scanning the half-thawed ground for telltale footprints, for early grassand fallen petals disturbed by the passage of a hand-sized creature. Especiallyaround the little jar at the base of the stone wall encircling the tree,containing a very irate green ladybug.

It buzzed furiously from inside the glass as Valkyon’s armoredboots brought him to the jar, then came aloft, wings humming an angrier tunewhen the warrior picked up its prison. The grass around the jar was completelyundisturbed, as it had been for the entire afternoon.

His face had been locked in a frown for two hours straight by thispoint, through the slowly-building migraine and each unsuccessful turn in hissearch. But here in the solitude of the garden, Valkyon allowed the last sixhours to empty out of him in a long, gusty sigh, which ended with him sittingdown heavily on the stone wall, axe and armor clanking in hard agreement. Hespent one minute just shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose toease that headache thundering around his skull. It never really worked, but itwas the routine that counted. He always needed to leave the bridge of his noseclose to crimson before he finished putting all his thoughts in order.

This time, he left eleven other jars of ladybugs in all her knownhaunts across the HQ, each capped with cheesecloth tied over the mouth of the jarwith twine, which also attached a short stick to lean against the side of thejar. It would have taken Floppy no time at all to shimmy up the stick, chewthrough the cheesecloth… and fall inside the jar with the ladybug. A littlemean, perhaps, but it was justified when she didn’t return to the nest afterthree hours. This one in the garden had been the last of the dozen that hechecked, for the third time. None of them held an apologetic-looking Musarose.

He even left one jar in the kitchen, the single warmest place inHQ, and universally tempting to all familiars. Karuto had picked up thetenderizer—about the size of a stake mallet, with spikes—the moment he saw the‘filthy insect!’ that Valkyon placed on his floor. But the old satyr had takenone look at Valkyon’s expression, then at the axe still slung behind theveteran warrior’s shoulder, and for the first time, decided to shut up andretreat to the wine cellar, his hooves clopping something to the beat of ‘helpme!’ on the floorboards.

The jar stayed next to the larder. That was really the only timethat Valkyon smiled all day.

Though it all might be for naught at this point. This was the mostelaborate snare he had designed for Floppy—and he made several over theyears—and not one of the jars even sported gnaw-marks. Either her familiar’swiles had taken a sharp spike when he wasn’t looking, or something had happenedto keep her from reaching any of them. But what?

Even if some strange instinct compelled her to go outside thecity, she would have doubled-back in less than an hour. This was barely decentweather for a tame Musarose.

Seven feet above, the cherry tree shivered in the brisk earlyspring wind. Faery lights swung and clanked against the gnarled ebon branchesas another shower of petals fell to the grass, and on the silver-haired warriorsitting underneath as still as a statue. Still pinching his nose. A delicate,powdery perfume fell over the grounds in the wake of the flying petals, likeanother dusting of pink invisible to the eye, and he missed most of it.

Valkyon’s tawny eyes flicked impassively at the ground once thewind died. His mind automatically clicked through more calculations. A groundcarpeted with fresh petals would make finding tracks that much easier. For asmall Musarose… and/or a larger predator that may creep into this garden. Bloodtoo would be that much easier to see against the pale flowers.

He was up again in a rapid sequence of clanking plates, settingthe jar down on the ground with a thud that rattled the beetle inside. A briskswipe at his hair dislodged what petals had stuck there. His temples werestarting to throb again in warning as he stared critically into the westernsky, a deep line returning between his brows, and the edge of steel re-enteringhis eyes. Over the alabaster city walls, the roof of the sky had turned afire-touched violet. The view did nothing to charm him.

He had less than an hour before night fell in earnest. He neededto move now. Perhaps get a lantern and one or two volunteers incase he needed to continue the search after dark.

Because it had been at least six hours since Floppy wentmissing—exactly thirty hours since she had last eaten–, and this could onlymean that if she hadn’t already collapsed in exhaustion somewhere, or startedhibernating from the cold, something had gotten to her. Withthe numbers of civil servants at an all-time low, feral familiars were a commonsight inside the city walls. Sometimes even in HQ itself.

If she was still alive, he would get started on that armor firstthing tomorrow morning.

Valkyon strode briskly through the bowed archway leading out ofthe garden. At exactly the same moment, a small figure had the same idea,coming from the opposite side. They met in the middle.

As it often happened, the young lady ricocheted off him and landedhard on her backside in the grass. Valkyon remained standing, feeling just alittle stupid for not even flinching.

“Ow!” the Guard of El’s newest recruityelled at him from the ground, her cheeks flushed pink, rubbing her nose whereit had bounced off the cuirass buckle on his chest. “Why don’t you ever watchwhere you’re going?”

Frankly, Valkyon thought that was an unfair statement, because italways took at least two to make an accident. But at the fierce light in hereyes, he bit back his immediate response and said instead, “Sorry. Ididn’t know you were heading here.”

“Oh, why wouldn’t I?” she snapped back.“Practically everyone visits the tree at least once on Valentine’sDay.”

The name set more gears clicking in Valkyon’s mind, and now hismind’s eye reached back to a few hours earlier that afternoon. To when he firstnoticed the shell-shaped lanterns suspended from the cherry tree during hisinitial sweep for Floppy. And this same girl sitting on the stone wall, with awhite box of chocolates carefully-unwrapped next to her, the air above hersaturated with a fruity perfume that he could smell from across the yard, andcompulsively smoothing out a tulle skirt that looked… at least a few months outof season, with El still in the last days of winter thaw. Her legs from theknees down had been dotted with goose-pimples.

…Right. Today was St. Valentine’s day. Itcompletely slipped his mind. Unsurprisingly. He hadn’t stopped to talk thatfirst time he came across her this afternoon. Floppy had been missing for a fewhours by that point.

Valkyon moved to help her up, but the young lady—now wearing moresensible clothes for this brisk early spring—waved his hand away and pickedherself off the ground. She started brushing off the grass testily from theback of her trousers, her expression still as dark as a thundercloud.

The Obsidian commander retracted his hand and took one step to theside, just in case. “Are you… planning to meet someone here?” heasked. More to make polite conversation than anything.

It seemed to have the opposite effect. Her eyes rose to meet hisand flashed lightning.

“Yep. Twice now. At least he ran right into me this time.“ Shecould freeze the ground all over again with her voice.

“Oh,” he replied. Then he blinked hard. Oh.

In a flash, Valkyon finally strung together the revelations of thelast thirty seconds. Starting with this irate young woman’s defiant scowl. Tothat bashful smile she had worn when he came across her under the cherry treehours earlier. And the way that smile evaporated like morning dew when he setthe bait for Floppy at the base of the stone wall and walked off.

He assumed that she was waiting for someone, and he hadinterrupted her womanly preparations. So it was in his best interests to moveout like a bandit.

But was that box of chocolates from this afternoon… meantfor him?

“I…” Pulse pounding a crazy pizzicato, jaw clenching inembarrassment, Valkyon scrambled for words to fix the situation, which even ona less taxing occasion was not exactly his strong suit. A hot flush crept uphis neck, and defied strict orders from his brain to climb still higher. Hisheadache felt ready to kill him. “…honestly didn’t know. I’m sorry. I wasin the middle of something then. In fact…”

The gears in his mind started to spin double-time as Valkyon—asclose to a nervous wreck as he could ever be, with Floppy missing or dead,night falling fast, and now sucker-punched with the knowledge that he hadbrushed off a pretty and very angry young woman who wanted to spendValentine’s with him—contemplated his quick exit.

But the girl beat to him to it.

“Looking for Floppy, right?” she asked acidly. Withoutwaiting for an answer, she unbuttoned her coat, and from inside, drew out atiny bundle wrapped in the ends of her woolen scarf.

The bundle squirmed and unfurled on its own in her hands. Floppy’spink-shot ears and whiskers sprung out of the folds of the scarf like the newyear’s shoots, followed by the rest of her face, her bright black eyes blinkingin the light, beady nose twitching fitfully in the cool, spring air. Herwhiskers twitched double-time when she spied Valkyon; a high-pitched chitterescaped from the depths of the scarf.

Valkyon’s hands were on the girl’s in a flash. “Where didyou find her? What happened? Was she hurt?”

The girl, wisely, let go and allowed him to scoop Floppy into hishands. “Oh, no,” she replied, her expression now as flat as thebottom of a pan. “She was just nosing around in Ewelein’s box of cottonballs again. I was doing a supply drop-off right when she found her, so Ivolunteered to bring her back.”

Floppy squeaked once in answer and scurried up Valkyon’s arm toher usual spot on his shoulder, the full head of the faux rose on her tailbouncing along behind her. Her wiry whiskers tickled his ear as she sniffed athis cheek—her usual greeting after playing hooky from the nest.

A broad grin stretched its way across Valkyon’s mouth, but hebarely noticed. “Strange,” he remarked, one hand cupped protectivelyaround his familiar. “I was there earlier, asking Ewelein if she had seenFloppy at all. She insisted that she hadn’t. You must have very goodtiming.”

The girl shrugged and cocked her head to one side, her eyesflicking to the cherry tree. A bashful smile quirked the corner of her lips.“Oh, you know what they say. Sometimes things come to you only when you’renot looking for them…”

“Is that another quote from your world?” Valkyonchuckled, his eyes still on Floppy—or her general direction; the cold convincedher to bury herself under the curtain of his hair and curl up against his neck.“I better tell Ezarel that he’s not the best judge on human wisdom.”

This, strangely, made the girl’s cheeks color faster than when heaccidentally knocked her onto the grass. “Don’t you dare, Kyon. He’llnever let me hear the end of it,” she tried to laugh, glancing down at herboots as she started buttoning up her jacket, her scarf flopping loose aroundher shoulders. Then she changed the subject with four magic words. “Ialready fed her.”

Now Valkyon could only stare at her.

“On our way here, we came across another jar with a liveladybug inside. And Floppy was starving; can you blame her, with this weather?I hope you don’t mind that I opened it.”

The warrior at last found his tongue again. “…No. Of coursenot,” he muttered softly, still staring at the girl before him. That's…what they’re meant for, in the end.“

It might be the approaching twilight, the smell of the fallencherry blossoms perfuming the air like virgin roses from right beneath theirfeet, the comforting warmth and delicate weight of Floppy back against hisneck, or the reproachful ghost of St. Valentine hanging in the air around them,whispering that not too long ago, there had been chocolates waitingfor him. Because right now, Valkyon couldn’t take his eyes off thepink-faced, pink-nosed young woman before him even if he wanted to.

A pink-nosed young woman who was kind, thoughtful, modest, wise,and brave enough to stand up and rail at him after being jilted this afternoonand then knocked flat onto her backside. Not to mention beautiful in that furrywinter scarf and coat still covered in turf stains.

“Cat got your tongue, Kyon?” the girl asked, nowgrinning impishly at him.

Valkyon blinked, and just to show that some things weren’timpossible, felt his neck burn two darker shades of red. How long had he beenstaring at her without saying a word? Longer than usual, it seemed. Yet why didit matter to him now to try to be better company?

The little creature now chewing at the ends of his hair was onegood hint.

He needed to say something… appropriate, for this situation.

“Thank you. I admire you for what you did today.”

The girl’s bottom lip dropped open, half an inch lower than whereit normally should be. Then she began turning crimson herself. But incredibly,she screwed her expression back into a smile and started to laugh, planting herhands on her hips and arching her eyebrows high. “…If I didn’t knowbetter, Valkyon, I’d say you have feelings for me.”

…All right. Perhaps that was not the beststatement he could have made.

Right now, he fervently wished that he was a troll. So he couldturn to stone on the spot with what little daylight was left.

His ears burning like fresh coals, and with Floppy barely adistraction in his hair, Valkyon turned to plan B whenever a conversationplunged south and becoming a statue was out of the question: he shut up,crossed his arms over his ample chest, and glowered down at his boots.

People could read premeditated murder almost anywhere they wanted.Valkyon just learnt over the years to use his height, weight, silence, andgeneral fashion choice of plate-armor-and-battle-axe to steer them to thatconclusion much faster than usual.

But somehow, this dour silence had no effect at all on the youngwoman beaming at him.

With all the heart of a man staring into the maw of a live dragon,Valkyon knew that he now needed to explain exactly what he just said.

“All I meant,” he began at last, glaring squarely at hisboots as he forced the truth out from between his teeth—which were determinedto stay locked in that self-conscious grimace-, “was that what you didtoday is appreciated. Considering my rudeness from before. That’s all.”

In answer, the young Guardian clasped her hands behind her backand stepped forward until there was less than six inches of space between them.Right into his line of sight. She tipped her little face up to him and, impossibly,winked.

“I know. But a girl can dream, right?”

Now Valkyon didn’t think anyone could blame him for not knowingwhat to say. His practiced grimace dropped like yesterday’s news.

“Oh.”

In the silence, she reached forward, and up. Her hand unerringlyfound Floppy from inside the sheaf of his hair. Against his neck, he could feelhis Musarose curl and stretch in relish at the new fingers stroking her head.

“If you ever need help finding her again, you know where tofind me.”

The image of him knocking on her room door flashed throughValkyon’s mind, and was just as quickly shoved into the dark recesses of hissubconscious. If he had to, he would, but… he didn’t enjoy how the idea ofvisiting her room made him feel right now. When she was standing this close tohim.

Her hand was still tangled somewhere in his hair, just a whisperaway from his bare neck. She smelled like witch hazel, wool, and the firstherbs of spring.

He mentally gave himself a firm shake. “How about here?”Valkyon countered quickly. “It’ll be easier to find each other in thegardens, compared to inside HQ. I can drop off a note.”

She mercifully retracted her hand, but the smile she now gave himwas one of her best yet. (When did he start evaluating her smiles?) “WillI count on seeing you here next time?” she asked, eyebrows arched high.

A joke for a joke. “Nobody knows how to forge my signatureyet. So, yes.”

Her face crumpled for a moment, and then her laughter escaped likesteam through a fresh crack. For the first time that evening, Valkyon knew hesaid the right thing. He felt a matching smile break through, but settled forsimply taking in the sight of her laughter, at her breath misting the air, thespots of rose blooming across nose and cheek like a new day.

Floppy’s tail swished again, the soft petals of the faux rosegrazing his shoulder, and she preened herself casually below his ear as theGuardian shot back:

“Then it’s a date, wise guy.”

The Guardian’s familiar was pacing before the door when it finallycreaked open, and its damnable human returned to their room, now lit by only asliver of moonlight that slipped like a thief through the crack in the velvetcurtains.

When her boot stepped on it in the dark, it hissed like a boilingtea kettle.

“Oops! Sorry…!” she whispered back,quickly pushing the door closed with her backside. Then she bent down to mollifyher incensed friend, rummaging deep through her coat pocket. “Hey, stopbeing so snippy. I didn’t see you there, honest! Now, here: I got yousomething. For all your help today.”

At the sight of its favorite food, offered well before theirscheduled feeding time, the Guardian’s familiar dropped its hackles and sniffedher hand with polite, regal interest. Its maw snatched the treat from her palmbefore the next second was out, leaving a thin trail of spittle as sparechange.

As it chewed away, all transgressions between them forgiven, theGuardian crooned and stroked her voracious familiar, wiping her hand clean onits back.

“You like it? Because you’ve earned it. That squeaking morselyou caught today was the best thing you’ve brought back all week.In fact, since you two got along so well for the whole afternoon, what do youthink about making another play-date? Say… two days from now?”

The familiar perked its ears and nodded as much as it could withits jaws still pumping like bellows.

The Guardian beamed beatifically as she rubbed it behind its ears.“You’re such a great sport. Valkyon’s never in his roombetween six to twelve. No surprise that Floppy gets bored sometimes,right?”

FIN

I still stand by my opinionthat Valkyon is pure fun to write. ;)

#request #Eldarya #Valkyon #Floppy #prankster! Guardian #one-shot

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