#wolfes younger sister was sent to a different circle. but somehow she ends up in fereldans court and ends up dating Alistair. you go girl

[crows-of-buckets]

Great news, figured out a way for Ena to learn about Aviae!!!

Anyways, his older sibling is Revari (other rook, but in my canon worldstate they never become Rook. Ena just fit as the main character more which sucks bc I love Revari... Sigh anyways)

Revari has the same origin that they did as Rook: free some slaves, piss off some magisters. However, Varric isn't there to take them away to keep them from getting in trouble, so the Shadow Dragons decide to move them down to Dock Town. They basically get assigned Tarquin as a babysitter (that does not go well those two have a. Dynamic. Definitely one of the dynamics ever I've talked about it on here before, but when Revari isn't Rook those two figure out their shit SOOO much sooner. Actually have time to talk about their relationship and come to the realization that they are definitely just friends). Anyways during this time, they end up meeting Neve and the two become friends pretty quickly. Revari is a bit more hands on with the way they go about shadow dragoning (I've considered them working with Fenris in the past, which I kind of want to explore more eventually but know in my heart they've done at least one job together.) And by that I mean they have never thought twice about anything they have ever done. Both Revari and Ena have the worst impulse control known to man it's crazy.

Anyways, while Neve and Revari are friendly before the game, they don't actually become close friends until Minrathous falls and Neve stays in the city to help them recover. Revari has had to rein in their "quick thinking" (by that I mean charging head first into any and every fight) and has to stay more on the shadowy side of things. They're only alive because Tarquin had the good sense to talk them out of immediately picking a fight with all the venatori they saw (they aren't a complete idiot most of the time, but it seems my Surana family tree is extremely prone to getting very pissed off very quickly)

During this time Revari and Neve become very close, and by the time Neve returns to the Veilguard it's solidly crossed into mutual crushing. But they both have much bigger things to worry about, so nothing really comes of it until the blights are over.

Post Veilguard, they eventually start dating; I think their romance is still pretty close to how neverook goes in game, and both of them are fucking TERRIFIED of fucking it up. Neve still calls them "Trouble", all of that. Anyways it's probably a few months before Neve brings up like "hey maybe I should introduce you to the veilguard. You'd probably get along well you're definitely their brand of crazy"

Revari agrees, and NOW I'm getting back to the point I was initially planning for this post 💀. This is where Revari and Ena meet, and while they don't have instant recognition, it goes something like this.

Revari: So you're Rook. Is that your real name or...?

Ena: Nickname, my actual name is Ena. And yours?

Revari: Revari. Huh that's so weird I had a younger sister named Ena.

Ena: that's also weird bc I had an older sister named Revari.

Revari: ...

Ena:...

Revari: Are you from-

Ena: Denerim? Yeah. Oh my fucking god

The two of them get along pretty well (eventually I think they DO fight about the whole Minrathous/Treviso thing but tbh I think the joy of reuniting with the younger sibling you thought was dead makes Revari willing to ignore it. For now) Long story short Ena learns that he is in fact the cousin of The Hero of Fereldan (he had a suspicion bc he does remember his last name being Surana before he joined the crows, but he kinda convinced himself that he had made it up as a way of coping when he was a child or something)

Aviae and Ena do eventually meet, but Ena procrastinates it for months he is TERRIFIED of that woman. She has successfully survived TWO different crow contracts on her life, AND SHES CLOSE FRIENDS WITH ZEVRAN ARIANAI. He's slightly convinced that this is some elaborate plot to take him and Lucanis out or something. Aviae finds this hilarious when she learns about it

I think I've decided that I want Ena to be one of the elves taken during the "plague" in denerim during the first blight. Assuming DAV takes place in 9:49, he would have been 8 or 9 I think I need to check my timeline. He's my Surana's cousin, and the younger brother of one of my other Rook's (Revari isn't rook in my canon worldstate, but they are still a Mercar. They left for Tevinter at around 13 when their magic developed). Anyways him being my Surana's cousin is probably something he himself never actually learns (sadly). He doesn't even really talk about being from Fereldan at all, and I can't really say for certain that he would even remember his last name before he became a crow. Plus, he transitioned (kept his name tho) and so did his only sibling, so the likelihood of them recognizing each other is so painfully low.

Anyways, one of the Tevinter mages in the alienage claimed Ena had the plague, he gets shipped off. I haven't decided whether he was bought by the crows or scouted after somehow escaping (this one is becoming far less likely the more I think on it); either way, he ends up in the crows by the time he's 9. He gets his face scar like right before joining, so the first few months are even worse.

His magic developed not long after, and tbh this is the only reason I think he even survived. He was never really good at fighting in regular combat, but he was pretty good at getting the fuck out of the way when someone was trying to kill him. I think the Crows take better care of their mages (I can't remember if this is canon or a head canon but whatever) because they're a better investment. (Even when they become abominations, as crows are known to do occasionally, I do think generally they receive "kinder" treatment)

He meets Viago somewhere around age 10 (they have around a 8-10 year age gap, so Viago would be 18-20. At least going off of Viago being 34 to 36 in Veilguard. Everyday I pray that bioware will release and actual timeline bc god I am tired of figuring this shit out 😭), and immediately decides that he is going to be loyal to this guy in particular. I don't know why he decides this, but he's like 10 so it was probably some stupid reasoning.

At first Viago is annoyed, but I think after a certain point his brain kicked in and he went "wait having another crow (even one so young) who is insanely loyal to me is an AMAZING investment on my end". Teia isn't around to be his moral compass, so at this time in his life at least 9/10 of his decisions are made to further his own goals. This is around when he starts actually taking an interest in Ena, and keeping him around as an investment. He starts teaching him poisons, and building up Ena's poison resistance. Ena is notoriously loyal as hell and twice as stubborn so Viago 100% plans on using that to his advantage. I think Ena's magic developed not too long after this so he immediately becomes more useful lmao

Depending on when Viago became Talon, I do think it may be possible that Ena was one of the first to become a full crow under his leadership. If Viago is ~30 in Eight Little Talons, he had to have been a Talon for a few years, so he was probably made one in his late 20s I think? Teia is mentioned being one of the younger talons, and she's ~28 in eight little talons I think, and I'm pretty sure she's been a Talon for a few years at this point. Anyways, assuming Viago became a talon between 26-28, Ena could have been one of the first full crows under his command, being made a crow between 16-18. However, timelines like this make my head hurt so this may be completely inaccurate lmao

Somewhere between Viago realizing Ena is a good investment and Ena becoming a full crow, Viago becomes annoyingly fond of his little protege. He ends up bailing him out of trouble FAR more often than he would like. Ena is painfully good at becoming the annoying younger brother figure in anyone's life, and Viago is NOT exempt from that.

[galivantingg]

Short Story Slam 2020

June 9th

for @short-story-slam

Galen's house was on fire. He woke to the thick smoke billowing around his face, and the screams of his pack outside his window. He leapt from his bed, racing for the back door as the front was engulfed in flames only to find some of his pack members banging on the door trying to get to their Alpha. Galen was only able to gather about ten of his pack members before the warriors from whomever were attacking came knocking on his door. He pushed them out through the tunnel in his basement, catching a glimpse of his would be killers before disappearing down the hole, part of the floor falling down on his escape. There would be no turning back for any of them. The attack came as quickly as it left, decimating the small pack of about one hundred werewolves. The whole thing probably only took about thirty minutes, the invading Pack not thinking it necessary to take any prisoners. As the small group raced through the tunnels, Galen was listening carefully for sounds of followers. He was still half asleep, not really sure what had happened, working solely on autopilot.

"Alpha," came the soft voice. It belonged to Marie. He took in her appearance in the dark, not able to make out much aside from the scrapes on her hands and feet, the fact that she was still in her pyjamas, and her eyes had a haunted look to them. He took her hand gently and opened the floodgate just a little, letting the warmth flow from his hands to hers. The scrapes faded, and she looked a little stronger than before.

"What happened," Galen asked softly. It wasn't a command, it was barely a question. It was more of a suggestion. She knew that, but she still answered.

"Velvel," was the only word she spoke. Her lips barely moved, her eyes brimming with tears. Marie lived with her parents and younger brother and sister. None of them were part of the eleven in the tunnel. How could Galen have missed this?

He squeezed her hand once and then released it, turning to the others who had collapsed on the floor of the tunnel as soon as they had stopped. He took in their faces in the dark. Astur, mother of three, none of which are here. Ayanle, Astur's neighbour. His mate Sagal was with him. Nala and Uba, the twins a few houses down were here too, their parents nowhere to be found. Bilan and her younger brother Zahi. Elder Taifa and her daughter Ruby made up the last of the group. Marie, Astur, Ayanle, Sagal, Nala, Uba, Bilan, Zahi, Elder Taifa, Ruby. That's all of his pack that remained. And himself. He was overcome with distraught for all of one minute. That's all the time he allowed himself to feel like this. He still had a pack to take care of. He would take care of them.

He knelt before each of his remaining pack member's gently holding their hands and healing their wounds. Physical wounds. There was nothing he could do about their mental wounds. He had no idea what they had seen during the short attack, but he didn't doubt it wouldn't leave scars. Think, he needed to think,

Galen is the Alpha of the Dhuuni Pack. They live high in the mountains, and were thought to be a myth because they have special powers: healing. They were not a myth, just very careful about being found out. Hundreds of years ago, they had thousands of pack members and were stretched out across many different packs, acting as their doctor. Then the Crusade began. The Dhuuni Pack were being killed off quicker than they could reproduce, suffering attack after attack, until finally they withdrew their surviving members and retreated deep into the mountains, never to be seen again. The reason behind these attacks? It was said that some of the healers were powerful enough to bring back the dead, something no human, or werwolf, should be able to mess with.

Somehow, hundreds of years later, when they were on the cusp of rebuilding, a pack found them, and apparently they knew enough about the Dhuuni Pack to attack them. Galen didn't know enough of the history behind these attacks, he felt like something was missing, but if anyone knew they were keeping it to themselves. Galen didn't press, but he felt that Elder Taifa knew something, and by extension, so did Ruby. It wasn't his duty as Alpha to know about the past, it was his duty to protect those in front of him now. So he did. He got them up, placing Ayanle at the back to protect them, and led them towards the end of the tunnel. It lead them down the mountain, safely evading the pack above, and left them at the base where there was a forest about ten yards away. Galen sent Elder Taifa and Ruby across first, then Ayanle and his mate Sagal. Astur with the twins, and Galen crossed with Bilan and Zahi. He walked backwards keeping his eyes trained on the mountain, but there was no sign of life. Just smoke rising from where their village had been.

The other were crying silently, but Galen didn't have time for that. He had to keep his pack alive. They travelled for days, hardly stopping. By the time they go to the nearest pack they were starving, and Galen couldn't do anything about it. They hadn't noticed they had crossed into another pack's land, the trees all looked the same to the Dhuuni Pack, but none of them could miss the wolves charging right for them. Galen shoved everyone behind him, Ayanle and Sagal stepping out slightly to protect Elder Taifa and the younger ones. They Astur stepped up too, turning the line into a protective circle. They had no time to move backwards into free territory, they had been surrounded. The wolves were snarling, and Galen sensed that his pack wanted to snarl back but he warned them not to. They needed all the help they could get.

"I am Alpha Galen," he introduced himself carefully, knowing not to mention what pack he is from. Who knows if these people are from the same pack that wiped out Galen's, or if they had the same intentions? Galen didn't know, and he couldn't trust anyone. Only his pack members. The wolf in front of him shifted standing tall. Galen kept his eyes trained on the floor. He did not want to give them a reason to kill them all. Besides, the Dhuuni Pack is infamous for not being battle trained. They are healers by nature, their pelts a light grey or white to blend in with the mountain, they were not meant for fighting. Galen knew how to fight, barely, he knew how to defend himself. He wasn't strong, stronger than most because of his position, but still weak compared to others.

The man regarded him strangely. "I am Beta Tristan." His words were clipped and short. He got to the point. "What pack are you from? Why are you trespassing?" His voice left no room for lies and argument. He would get his answer, or he would have blood.

"I cannot tell you what pack we are solely out of fear. We were attacked because of who we are, most of my people killed. We are the only ones who remain." Galen lifted his head and met Beta Tristan's eyes, allowing grief to fill his eyes. It was only a flicker, but Beta Tristan's eyes softened. "We only seek refuge for a while, then we will leave. We mean you no harm." Galen's voice was soft, but not pleading. He was still an Alpha, and he allowed some of the power to seep into his stature. He stood tall and proud, knowing that these may be his final moments.

Beta Tristan looked at him for a long time, then nodded shortly. "Come with us." He turned and walked back the way he came, leading Galen and the Dhuuni Pack to their pack house. "We are the Yabel Pack, and our Alpha is Alpha Aleph, he will see you and determine your fate."

"Thank you," Galen said graciously. He wanted to scream. This was so unfair, they were a peaceful people, why were they being attacked? He vowed then and there that no one would know who they were, and they would do their best to integrate into another pack and train in combat. Never again would his pack be so helpless. They walked for about twenty minutes before a big house came into view. There standing on the back porch was a short man, maybe five inches shorter that Galen, with his arms crossed. They closer they got, the more uneasy Galen felt, and it didn't click until he got within speaking range.

This was his mate.

Galen realized a moment before Alpha Aleph did, and shook his head ever so slightly to warn him not to say anything. They would talk about this later, when his pack was safe. Being mates with the Alpha was good and bad. Good because it meant that all of them had safe passage in this pack. They would no longer be looking over their shoulder. Bad because Galen didn't have time for this. He wasn't ready to find his mate, he was only twenty four, he had more important things to worry about, all of them concerning the small number of people behind him. All of this passed through Galen's mind at lightning speed, and in that time they closed the distance between them and the Alpha, who's eyes were now hard. Galen hoped that meant he was just angry, and not going to reject or kill them all. Angry he could deal with. Murderous he could not.

He bowed slightly, palms pressed to the front of his thighs. Alpha Aleph motioned for him to speak. "Thank you for humouring us, Alpha Aleph. I am Alpha Galen, and this is all that remains of my pack." He rose and averted his eyes, submitting to the Alpha. Maybe this would help with the anger.

He stepped off the porch and stuck out his hand for Galen to shake. He took it tentatively. Alpha Aleph's hand was warm and rough, the hands of someone who works hard. "I'm sorry that we're meeting like this Galen," his voice was soft and invaded Galen's mind. He wanted to plug his ears and stop hearing it. "We welcome you and will host you as long as you need. If you would like, you may even join our pack. I must admit, we have also just suffered an attack, so you would also be doing us a favour." Galen looked up at his mate's face and noticed the soft smile there. He was not angry, just a little confused. Galen nodded, understanding in his eyes. Alpha Aleph was not going to let Galen go so easily, no matter what he said.

"Thank you Alpha Aleph for being such a gracious host. It will take a while to reach a decision, so I thank you in advance for the time we will be spending here." Alpha gave Galen's hand a short squeeze then released it, letting their arms fall back to their sides. Galen immediately noticed the lack of warmth. He hated the way it made him feel. Aleph turned and walked up the steps and across the porch to the back door, holding it open for them. Galen led his tired pack members through the door, allowing Aleph to overtake him and lead them to wherever he wanted to take them.

It turned out to be the fifth floor of the house, which appeared to be vacant, with five doors in a row on both walls, each leading to a simple room with a double bed, a dresser, desk and chair. Plus a window overlooking the front and back of the house. At the end of the hall was a communal living room with a TV and a mini kitchen, so they didn't have to walk all the way down to the may kitchen during the middle of the night for water, Aleph explained. Galen noticed something half in the wall, it looked like a radio. There were the speakers, and a some buttons labeled one through six, as well as two labeled front and back. Galen pointed at it.

"Ah," Aleph said. "That's our communication inside the house. Because of the sensitive hearing, most of the floors and walls are reinforced so little sound can travel between rooms. There's one of these on each floor and in each room. It's like a phone?" Galen still looked perplexed. They did not have much technology in the mountains, he didn't know what a phone was. "So this is connected to all the other ones in the house. Simply push the button of the floor you want to address and speak into the speaker. It will come out of the one on that floor. There's a more complicated one in each room. You'll notice that each room has a number on the door," Aleph pointed out, and everyone started craning their necks to see. "The one in your room is meant to call other rooms. Push the numbers of the room into the keypad and it'll call it for you. You have to hold a specific button to speak, and when you do that you can't hear the other person, so end your sentences with 'over', okay?" It was a lot to wrap their heads around, but they nodded all the same. It seemed simple enough.

Soon enough Galen was alone with his pack members, choosing rooms. He knew that there wasn't a room for him, Aleph was probably expecting him to sleep in his room, but Nala and Uba took one room so Galen would have a room on their floor. When everyone was settled, he went hunting for his mate to ask for food. Some of them hadn't eaten anything in almost too long, the sooner they got food the better. Galen followed his nose, the scent of his mate unmistakable. Aleph smelled like rain. He smelled like the crisp mountain air in the morning, he smelled like rock dust. He smelled like home.

His hunt led him to the sixth floor, which was laid out like the main floor of a house, except for the separating walls. The stairs led up to a living room, on the far side was a dining room and kitchen. To the left was an open door leading into a bathroom, and further back on the left was another door. There. That's where Aleph was, probably in his room. Without thinking, Galen walked forward and knocked on the door. Within the same three seconds, the door was flung open and Galen dragged through it before being roughly shoved back against the door.

Galen had all of one second to realize what was happening before Aleph's mouth descended on his. His lips were hot and soft, moving insistently against Galen's. Galen could barely understand what was going on, but he allowed himself to become lost in the feeling. Minutes passed and they stayed there just kissing gently before Aleph finally moved back a bit, still caging Galen in despite being shorter than him, and smiled softly at him.

"I've been waiting to do that," he murmured.

Galen just stared at him. He could lie to Aleph, not after this. He couldn't lie to his mate. He looked at the ground, gathering his strength before looking back at his mate. "There's something I need to tell you," he said, determined to get it out. Aleph just stared at him in surprise. "We are the last remaining survivors of the original Dhuuni Pack," Galen watched Aleph closely for any reaction. There was none. Aleph laughed, stepping away slightly and holing up a hand clasped around Galen's. How did that get there? Galen looked at his hand, finally recognizing the warmth covering it. His eyes widened in shock and he looked up at Aleph's smiling face.

It was healing magic.