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yamnjamslam · 1 month ago

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hello friends, i'm posting this here because i don't have an ao3 acc yet and i'm spiraling over the fact that emmrich was 7th in the most romanced poll!! so, here's a purely self-indulgent drabble with my antivan crow rook cairo de riva (pictured in my pfp) tyvm (:

this takes place after the events from the game so beware spoilers!

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classes at the grand necropolis were in full session. mourn watch apprentices hailing from all corners of thedas gathered into the capacious lecture hall for a talk by the famous professor emmrich volkarin. the senior necromancer was more than eager to jump right back into teaching after being a member of the team that defeated the elven gods and ended the blight. as much as he had loved the adventure and the friends he made during that time, he always felt most comfortable in the walls of the necropolis doing what he truly loved, educating the up-and-coming generation of young scholars. the rows of seats were completely full by the time the talk was about to begin. the voices that were chattering about silenced as soon as a tall slim man approached the lectern.

“good evening everyone! i am professor emmrich volkarin, some of you may know me and others might not. no matter, i am more than excited to get to know you all this year and teach you everything you need to know about the wonders of the fade, spirits, and how to hone your skills in necromancy!” the professor’s voice protruded through the lecture hall, echoing off the walls so that even those in the far back could hear him. emmrich proceeded to approach the wide chalkboard that was in the center of the room and scribble down some important terms and diagrams.

cairo couldn’t understand a single thing that was being taught but was enjoying it all the same. being that he was the only one there that wasn’t part of the mourn watch, he was obviously not the target demographic for what he deems “this nerd shit”, but he was there nonetheless. he had probably heard the same lectures from the professor back at the lighthouse when cairo would barge into the man’s tower, take a seat at his desk, and demand to be educated. he loved seeing emmrich’s passion for his craft, the way his eyes lit up when one of his student’s raised their hand to ask a question, or the “wow”’s from the crowd when he performed an astonishing demonstration.

but, what the crow was really there for was the whispers from the crowd. he had developed a particularly keen sense of hearing throughout his time as an assassin so he was able to tune into the gossip that was circulating through the lecture hall while the professor spoke. most of the idle chatter was students discussing the topic amongst themselves or proposing thoughtful questions to one another in the hopes of asking for more clarification. however, some comments that floated to his ears intrigued him. “i heard the professor rejected the offer to become a lich!”, “yeah, apparently he did it to save that skeleton companion of his that’s always roaming around the necropolis…”, “ohh, well that’s understandable”. cairo had to agree with that one.

“the professor was part of the veilguard right?”, “yes! he fought beside lucanis dellamorte, first talon of the crows… ugh he’s so hot…” cairo had to hold in his laughter when thinking about how the first talon was probably sitting in the dellamorte villa right now, sipping a steaming hot coffee, completely unbothered, while being swooned over by a poor delusional mourn watch apprentice. priceless. “what? have you seen taash the dragon hunter? they can swing an axe to my head and i’d thank them!” cairo thought about the fact that taash was probably out in rivain right now, rummaging around a dragon lair, sweat dripping down their forehead from the harsh sunlight, probably daydreaming about throwing harding on their bed and… oh no, he couldn’t even imagine it, it was way too graphic.

“do you think the professor would ever have a relationship with one of his students?” now it was really getting good… “i dunno, don’t you think he might have a wife at home or something? he just seems like husband material for sure,” oh they were damn right about that. cairo was a malewife emmrich supremacist if he did say so himself. “you think he might be into guys instead?” one of the apprentices joked. cairo almost laughed aloud that time.

when the crow idly glanced at the clock, he realized two hours had gone by and the professor was already making his final statements. finally, it was his time to shine. suddenly, as emmrich was walking back to the chalkboard, an object flew across the lecture hall at the speed of light, landing just a hair away from the man’s head. the entire room gasped in surprise and began frantically looking around for the culprit who had disappeared like a shadow through all the commotion. the professor, eyes widened in shock, turned his head to gaze upon the cause of his near-death. when he observed it further, he noticed it was a dagger with a familiar design on the handle and a sticky note taped to the sharp end. emmrich released a breath he didn’t know he was holding as soon as he saw what was written: the words “i love you” scribbled inside a poorly drawn heart. he couldn’t tell if his own heart was beating out his chest from affection or the thought of his almost murder.

with a bejeweled hand, the professor pulled the dagger out of the chalkboard and placed it onto the lectern, “i apologize for the brief… intermission. however, that is the end of the lecture for the day, i hope to see some of you around the necropolis and feel free to come to me with any inquiries you might have! thank you”. he announced with a kind smile. the lecture hall erupted into voices as the apprentices packed up their things to leave and resume their studies elsewhere. they filtered out one by one until the capacious room grew quiet and only one occupant was left…

emmrich took a deep breath to compose himself before… “rook!” he called out loudly. promptly, cairo jumped down from the rafters and landed steadily on his feet, a wide grin gracing his features, “how’d you know it was me?” he teased as he leaned against the lectern, arms crossed over his chest. the professor rolled his eyes, “i don’t know many other crows who would write such a thing on their knives,” he replied. cairo couldn’t help but laugh, “awe come on, lucanis loves you too,” he joked, slipping the knife into his fingers and twirling it around with ease. “he’s also busy being the first talon… speaking of which, hasn’t he given you any orders yet?” emmrich questioned curiously. cairo tapped the dagger against his temple as if he was lost in thought, “hmm, now that you mention it… there might be one or two…” he admitted with a playful wink. emmrich’s jaw dropped and his eyes thinned at his lover, “darling… you can’t keep doing this!” he protested. cairo scoffed loudly, “look, i was lucanis’s boss before this, there’s no way i’m gonna take orders from that freak. and i say that with the most love in my heart” he chuckled as he spun the blade on his finger.

“oh my… well then, he was right when he called you a menace,” emmrich teased. cairo threw his head back with a laugh, “and you love it,” he replied, pointing his dagger at the man. emmrich nodded his head with a chuckle before changing the subject, “so, what did you think of the lecture, dearest?” he questioned, turning around to start erasing the chalkboard as another professor would be needing it later. cairo leaned across the lectern, “well i learned that lucanis and taash have some avid fans and that your students have been questioning your love life,” he responded. emmrich’s eyes widened, “what did they say?!” he gasped. cairo bit his lip and acted as if he was struggling to remember, “i believe one asked if professor volkarin would be interested in dating a student… then the other shot back by arguing that he might have a wife at home since he’s so “husband material”, and the last one wondered if he might be interested in guys. all very good questions which i’m also curious about… so what’s your answer professor?” he revealed with a shameless grin. emmrich’s cheeks grew pink out of embarrassment, “instead of asking such silly questions they should have been focused on the lecture!” he denounced, his erasing becoming more aggressive. cairo merely watched in amusement at his lover’s flustered expression and admired how cute he looked, “what’s the matter? scared to talk about your relationship?” he joked.

upon hearing that, emmrich froze up, his hand completely coming to a stop and his breath hitched. the crow’s eyebrow rose in confusion at the sudden change of attitude, wondering if he might have said something wrong. soon enough, the senior necromancer had placed the eraser down and turned to look at cairo with sorrow in his eyes, “i’m aware that was only a joke but… dearest, you know i wouldn’t want to hide our relationship unless it was absolutely necessary, right?” he confessed, stepping closer to take the male’s hand into his own. the coldness of the the jewerly that adorned emmrich’s hand felt familiar and comforting as cairo intertwined their fingers, “i know… i get it, not everyone is understanding of the age gap.. i told you, i’ll be here no matter what so… you know, whenever you’re ready, there’s no rush” he asserted, his normally playful demeanor vanishing for the moment as his expression grew serious. emmrich’s heart fluttered at the sentiment, he was overjoyed to have found someone he can forge a serious, healthy, and hopefully long-lasting relationship with, something he had never thought he could achieve in all his years.

“darling…” he uttered as he stepped even closer so their bodies were almost touching. cairo’s eyes thinned as a teasing smile returned to his features, “you sure you wanna do this in a lecture hall, professor?” he questioned. emmrich looked around at the rows of empty chairs, then to the clock to make sure it wasn’t time for the next class to start. once he had confirmed they would be safe for the moment, he leaned in and softly pressed their lips together. cairo was quick to reciprocate, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck and rising on his tippy toes to deepen the kiss. after a few moments, the two leaned back for air and the shorter male rested back on his heels. as they stared into each other’s eyes, they couldn’t keep smiles off their faces, happy to be able to spend precious moments like this together after all they had been through. “i love you,” emmrich whispered, wanting only the male in front of him to hear despite there being no one else in the room. cairo chuckled, “and neve called me the sappy one,” he teased, sticking his tongue out playfully. the professor rolled his eyes before joining his lover in laughter.

“ROOK!” a familiar voice shouted from not too far away as the couple was busy lost in each other’s gazes. at the sudden interruption, cairo quickly unwrapped his arms from the man’s neck and shuffled away while emmrich did the same, both pretending to look unbothered after being caught red-handed. however, when they looked towards the source of the voice, they both released breaths they didn’t know they were holding, “manfred?! you scared the shit out of us…” cairo choked back a laugh as he watched the skeletal apprentice skitter over to the front of the room to stand beside the professor. emmrich placed a hand to his rapidly beating heart and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, “thank goodness it was just you manfred… what have you been up to?” he questioned, noticing that the skeleton’s robes were slightly more singed than they had been before. “FIRE!” manfred shrieked as he summoned two small flames from the palms of his hands and waved them around vigorously. cairo and emmrich exchanged worried parental glances at each other before emmrich took the skeleton’s wrist bones into his hands and placed them at his sides, “manfred, what did i say about using your fire so recklessly? come, i must go speak to myrna and vorgoth about this…” he sighed before motioning manfred towards the exit of the lecture hall.

cairo watched the two figures approach the door before emmrich turned and met his eyes with a smile, “darling, will you be coming over for dinner?” he called out inquisitively. the crow twirled his dagger with a smirk, “if the first talon doesn’t chew me out for too long, then yes,” he chuckled, “but if not, you know i always have room for dessert,” he winked teasingly, fully aware of what he was doing. the professor with cheeks as red as ventaori robes promptly rushed out the door with manfred in tow and cairo was left by his lonesome, giggling to himself over how cute his lover is.

end.

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