Eyes of the Past - Dragon Age [(Ayaami) Mahariel/Alistair]
Fandom: Dragon Age [ (Ayaami) Mahariel / Alistair ]
Title: Eyes of the Past
Rating: G. Very SFW.
Notes: I purposely avoided using Ayaami's name at all, try to make it a little less specialized. Oh, also: SPOILERS. Mostly for the Dalish elf origin. Mostly.
Disclaimer: Dragon Age isn't mine. All that jazz.
She sat silently on the far edge of the camp, eyes fixed on the wolf companion she kept, which seemed to be resting lazily. She'd tried to explain it to him before, but insisting that her magically summoned wolf was a flesh and blood creature had only confused Alistair further. Of course, it didn't help that she seemed incapable of sticking to one name for the damned beast. It turned its ears back before looking at Alistair as he approached, and its master followed its example.
"So tell me," the templar asked, breaking the silence. "What exactly is its name?"
"Fen'Hahren Then Mana'Inan," she replied simply, then grinned at Alistair's feigned comprehension. "Elder Wolf with Watchful Eyes of the Distant Past."
"That's... quite a mouthful," he noted dumbly.
She donned a crooked grin. "That's why I never call her by name."
Her. The magical flesh wolf was a female. "Right. So. Why is it a girl?" He asked tentatively.
The elf laughed. "Why? Alistair, why are you a man?"
"Well. That's different," he said matter-of-factly. "I wasn't summoned. My mother didn't choose to make me a boy. So why did you make the wolf a girl?"
"I didn't make her anything. She is as she is." She looked fondly at the wolf, which had returned to its lazing about. "She was a friend of mine in the Brecilian forest. We used to call her Mamae'dahlen - Mother of the Forest." She turned a broad smile towards Alistair at the memory. "I always used to think she was a scavenger, but Tamlen--"
Her smile disappeared as her eyes fell to the ground. Alistair watched her for a moment, reading her movement.
"You've never told me how you came to join the Grey Wardens."
She smiled faintly. "Same as you, remember? Drink some blood, pass out?"
"Oh, come on, I told you," he goaded. "It's your turn!"
The elf then turned her eyes to the sky, not willing to meet Alistair's gaze, and pulled her knees towards her as she felt a sudden chill in the air. "Me and Tamlen," the name fell awkwardly off her tounge despite having called her mabari this same name every day, "We were out hunting, when we came upon these ruins. I had never seen them before - all the time we'd spent in that forest and we'd never seen them. They were worn down to nothing, the bare bones of what must have been a grand hall, infested with spiders... and monsters."
"Boogeymen, were they?" Alistair asked, pressing for details.
"Yes, and we had some terrible nightmares. Now if only I could just wake up," she trailed off as she glared back at him before dodging his eyes once more. "They were skeletons, beasts from the fade, and darkspawn. And a mirror."
"That must have come in handy. Your hair's a mess after you get into a fight."
"Not this mirror," she said flatly. "It... I think it was alive. There was a flash, and then nothing. When I woke, I was in camp. Duncan had found me, brought me back. But I was tainted." The word was venomous. "I was unconscious for two days. It had taken all of our Keeper's skill to ward off the fever. But Tamlen..."
Here the Warden fully turned her back towards Alistair, eyes searching the stars for an excuse. Alistair just watched.
"We went looking for him, of course, but we couldn't find him. Duncan destroyed the mirror, and when we returned to camp he told me that I had been tained. He told me it was a wonder that I'd survived, that there was no way Tamlen could have... even if he survived whatever it was that happened with the mirror, the taint would have--" She cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes. "We grew up together, you know. We'd been inseperable since we were children. I thought..."
She went quiet, her shoulders shuddering with her silent sobs. The wolf nuzzled into the palm of her hand and she jumped at the sudden touch before burying her face in the soft fur. A short while later, with a mumbled thank you, she stood and turned to Alistair again.
"This is my home, now," she said evenly. "You are my clan - you, Leliana, Wynne, even Morrigan." Alistair made a face, then, and she smiled, laughed the familiar laugh that comes with a sudden release of tension. "I regret what happened in my past, but I will never regret being here with you, now. As my people say, andaran atish'an. This is my home."
Title: Eyes of the Past
Rating: G. Very SFW.
Notes: I purposely avoided using Ayaami's name at all, try to make it a little less specialized. Oh, also: SPOILERS. Mostly for the Dalish elf origin. Mostly.
Disclaimer: Dragon Age isn't mine. All that jazz.
She sat silently on the far edge of the camp, eyes fixed on the wolf companion she kept, which seemed to be resting lazily. She'd tried to explain it to him before, but insisting that her magically summoned wolf was a flesh and blood creature had only confused Alistair further. Of course, it didn't help that she seemed incapable of sticking to one name for the damned beast. It turned its ears back before looking at Alistair as he approached, and its master followed its example.
"So tell me," the templar asked, breaking the silence. "What exactly is its name?"
"Fen'Hahren Then Mana'Inan," she replied simply, then grinned at Alistair's feigned comprehension. "Elder Wolf with Watchful Eyes of the Distant Past."
"That's... quite a mouthful," he noted dumbly.
She donned a crooked grin. "That's why I never call her by name."
Her. The magical flesh wolf was a female. "Right. So. Why is it a girl?" He asked tentatively.
The elf laughed. "Why? Alistair, why are you a man?"
"Well. That's different," he said matter-of-factly. "I wasn't summoned. My mother didn't choose to make me a boy. So why did you make the wolf a girl?"
"I didn't make her anything. She is as she is." She looked fondly at the wolf, which had returned to its lazing about. "She was a friend of mine in the Brecilian forest. We used to call her Mamae'dahlen - Mother of the Forest." She turned a broad smile towards Alistair at the memory. "I always used to think she was a scavenger, but Tamlen--"
Her smile disappeared as her eyes fell to the ground. Alistair watched her for a moment, reading her movement.
"You've never told me how you came to join the Grey Wardens."
She smiled faintly. "Same as you, remember? Drink some blood, pass out?"
"Oh, come on, I told you," he goaded. "It's your turn!"
The elf then turned her eyes to the sky, not willing to meet Alistair's gaze, and pulled her knees towards her as she felt a sudden chill in the air. "Me and Tamlen," the name fell awkwardly off her tounge despite having called her mabari this same name every day, "We were out hunting, when we came upon these ruins. I had never seen them before - all the time we'd spent in that forest and we'd never seen them. They were worn down to nothing, the bare bones of what must have been a grand hall, infested with spiders... and monsters."
"Boogeymen, were they?" Alistair asked, pressing for details.
"Yes, and we had some terrible nightmares. Now if only I could just wake up," she trailed off as she glared back at him before dodging his eyes once more. "They were skeletons, beasts from the fade, and darkspawn. And a mirror."
"That must have come in handy. Your hair's a mess after you get into a fight."
"Not this mirror," she said flatly. "It... I think it was alive. There was a flash, and then nothing. When I woke, I was in camp. Duncan had found me, brought me back. But I was tainted." The word was venomous. "I was unconscious for two days. It had taken all of our Keeper's skill to ward off the fever. But Tamlen..."
Here the Warden fully turned her back towards Alistair, eyes searching the stars for an excuse. Alistair just watched.
"We went looking for him, of course, but we couldn't find him. Duncan destroyed the mirror, and when we returned to camp he told me that I had been tained. He told me it was a wonder that I'd survived, that there was no way Tamlen could have... even if he survived whatever it was that happened with the mirror, the taint would have--" She cleared her throat and rubbed her eyes. "We grew up together, you know. We'd been inseperable since we were children. I thought..."
She went quiet, her shoulders shuddering with her silent sobs. The wolf nuzzled into the palm of her hand and she jumped at the sudden touch before burying her face in the soft fur. A short while later, with a mumbled thank you, she stood and turned to Alistair again.
"This is my home, now," she said evenly. "You are my clan - you, Leliana, Wynne, even Morrigan." Alistair made a face, then, and she smiled, laughed the familiar laugh that comes with a sudden release of tension. "I regret what happened in my past, but I will never regret being here with you, now. As my people say, andaran atish'an. This is my home."