Secret Swooper gift for :rhia474
Title: Happy Thaig Day!
Rating: G. friendship fic.
Words: 1,148
Characters: Varric and Fenris
Summary: Varric wishes to celebrate a holiday with Fenris. The dwarven holiday of Thaig Day is upon them.
((I hope this manages to be amusing))
Varric swept into his suite in the Hanged Man. He was dressed to the nines with a red tunic on and a new fancy coat embroidered with gold."Happy Thaig day!" He declared, signaling to the bartender that he wanted a drink.
"Is that even a real holiday?"Fenris asked, not even bothering to get up from his seat at their usual table.
Varric picked up his ale. "Of course it is. You mean you never heard of the great dwarven holiday of Thaig Day? It is on this day that our ancestors came together from their separate Thaigs to found the great city of Orzammar together. It's a grand holiday in which all dwarves and their friends get together to celebrate the founding of the city by carving effigies of their house founders. It's also known as the day when all of Orzammar is completely sodding drunk."
There was a pause. Fenris answered, "Sometimes I'm not even sure whether you take yourself seriously or not. Why are you telling me this?"
"Well, Moody, I want to celebrate with you."
"Why me? Don't you have other people to get drunk with?"
"And miss your bubbly conversation? Not for the world. Besides, would it kill you to spend a holiday with friends rather than brooding in your house all alone?"
"I do not brood." Fenris said sullenly.
"Of course you don't." Varric said, "You just have a natural frown on your face, it comes naturally to you I'm sure."
"Wouldn't you rather go out with Isabella or someone a little more fun get drunk with you?"
"Ah, you could use the opportunity to let loose a little." Varric finished his ale and put the mug down on the table with a slam. "Bianca even got all gussied up for the occasion. I'm not one to let a pretty girl like that go through all that trouble for nothing. You in or not?"
Fenris finished his beer and put down the mug. He smirked, "Sure. I'm in."
Outside it was cold enough to see their breath as they ran through the streets of High Town. Fenris followed Varric though at times it seemed as if the dwarf was trying to lose the elf. Once it seemed like he had succeeded as Fenris turned a corner to go down an alley and saw nothing more than cobblestones and air.
"Great. He left me." Fenris stated, turning to head back to his home.
Said a voice. "Hey, up here Moody." Fenris turned his head upward and saw Varric smiling down at him. Even after all these years it still amazed him how quietly Varric could move when he wanted to.
"How do you expect me to get up there?" He asked, looking around for a ladder.
A rope fell beside him in an answer. Fenris grabbed a hold of it with both hands and tested the strength. After finding it was solid he began to climb up. Varric was waiting for him at the top and offered him a hand up. The dwarf went over and unhooked the grappling hook from the chimney it was strapped to after he was done with that.
"So what now? We play tag on the roof tops?" Fenris asked, looking out over the city. From the taller vantage point High Town actually did look rather pretty. It was easy to forget that there was virtual war brewing down below. It looked peaceful, everything was bathed in moonlight and clean. Even the burning torches near the Chantry seemed to give a comforting light.
"Now begins the real fun." Varric said, taking the pack down off his back. He took out a couple horns of blasting powder, some cylinders, and rope.
"Hold this, will you?" Varric said, handing Fenris a paper cylinder. "Keep it very still."
Fenris took the cylinder without complaint. "If you needed my help for this, what were you planning to do if I said no?"
"Who could say no to someone like me? I mean have you met me? I have a silver tongue and devilishly good looks, even you couldn't say no to that. Besides, I'm sure I could talk Hawke into doing it for me."
Fenris chuckled and moved on to the next cylinder. He sniffed and caught a familiar scent in the powder Varric was pouring. "Varric, why does this smell like lyrium?"
"Well the Thaig Day celebrations involve shooting lyrium and blasting powder over the rooftops of the nearby buildings. You need different mixtures of lyrium to get the colors just right. Our ancestors figured this out when they finally got bored of mining and decided to try and burn the place down in celebration."
Fenris made a noise that sounded most displeased, a groan.
"Don't worry. There's so little lyrium in it you won't even notice it's there. Just don't move it too much, the blasting powder is a bit sensitive."
After a few minutes the cylinders were all done. Varric took some of the rope and stuck it in the cylinders.
"You might want to back up, Moody. This might get a little loud."
Out of his pocket a bit of flint and steel. He struck them together til the rope caught on fire. The fire quickly consumed the rope and it touched the cylinders.
Varric laughed wildly as the flames went off. The powdered tubes went off with a loud bang. Color bloomed forth bright as the sun. Green like an emerald, red as a ruby, blue like the sky, and purple like violets. It was like a garden made of fire in the sky, shooting out over High Town. The nobles scurried out of their houses like little rats, looking up in the sky with a mixture of shock and awe.
Fenris backed up, surprised by the sudden flash and flare of the spectacle. Once the ringing in his ears subsided he went to go speak."Yeah. So little lyrium, I won't even notice? I think I would notice it even if I was blind."
"Ah, you wouldn't have held it still if you knew how much was in it. Besides, isn't the look of surprise on the people's faces below worth a little lyrium handling?"
There was a pause, a comfortable silence shared by friends.
"There was no holiday was there? What a surprise." Fenris said, watching the fireworks go off. It added a nice bit of color to the otherwise pale night. Greens, red, and blues. This was a much more pleasant use of lyrium than whatever the mages did with it.
Varric gave a wry smile. "Of course it's a real holiday. First annual dwarven holiday of Thaig Day. You just wait and see what the second day of the three day celebration brings. But for now get running. I think I hear the guards and Aveline is going to be pissed if she catches us."
Rating: G. friendship fic.
Words: 1,148
Characters: Varric and Fenris
Summary: Varric wishes to celebrate a holiday with Fenris. The dwarven holiday of Thaig Day is upon them.
((I hope this manages to be amusing))
Varric swept into his suite in the Hanged Man. He was dressed to the nines with a red tunic on and a new fancy coat embroidered with gold."Happy Thaig day!" He declared, signaling to the bartender that he wanted a drink.
"Is that even a real holiday?"Fenris asked, not even bothering to get up from his seat at their usual table.
Varric picked up his ale. "Of course it is. You mean you never heard of the great dwarven holiday of Thaig Day? It is on this day that our ancestors came together from their separate Thaigs to found the great city of Orzammar together. It's a grand holiday in which all dwarves and their friends get together to celebrate the founding of the city by carving effigies of their house founders. It's also known as the day when all of Orzammar is completely sodding drunk."
There was a pause. Fenris answered, "Sometimes I'm not even sure whether you take yourself seriously or not. Why are you telling me this?"
"Well, Moody, I want to celebrate with you."
"Why me? Don't you have other people to get drunk with?"
"And miss your bubbly conversation? Not for the world. Besides, would it kill you to spend a holiday with friends rather than brooding in your house all alone?"
"I do not brood." Fenris said sullenly.
"Of course you don't." Varric said, "You just have a natural frown on your face, it comes naturally to you I'm sure."
"Wouldn't you rather go out with Isabella or someone a little more fun get drunk with you?"
"Ah, you could use the opportunity to let loose a little." Varric finished his ale and put the mug down on the table with a slam. "Bianca even got all gussied up for the occasion. I'm not one to let a pretty girl like that go through all that trouble for nothing. You in or not?"
Fenris finished his beer and put down the mug. He smirked, "Sure. I'm in."
Outside it was cold enough to see their breath as they ran through the streets of High Town. Fenris followed Varric though at times it seemed as if the dwarf was trying to lose the elf. Once it seemed like he had succeeded as Fenris turned a corner to go down an alley and saw nothing more than cobblestones and air.
"Great. He left me." Fenris stated, turning to head back to his home.
Said a voice. "Hey, up here Moody." Fenris turned his head upward and saw Varric smiling down at him. Even after all these years it still amazed him how quietly Varric could move when he wanted to.
"How do you expect me to get up there?" He asked, looking around for a ladder.
A rope fell beside him in an answer. Fenris grabbed a hold of it with both hands and tested the strength. After finding it was solid he began to climb up. Varric was waiting for him at the top and offered him a hand up. The dwarf went over and unhooked the grappling hook from the chimney it was strapped to after he was done with that.
"So what now? We play tag on the roof tops?" Fenris asked, looking out over the city. From the taller vantage point High Town actually did look rather pretty. It was easy to forget that there was virtual war brewing down below. It looked peaceful, everything was bathed in moonlight and clean. Even the burning torches near the Chantry seemed to give a comforting light.
"Now begins the real fun." Varric said, taking the pack down off his back. He took out a couple horns of blasting powder, some cylinders, and rope.
"Hold this, will you?" Varric said, handing Fenris a paper cylinder. "Keep it very still."
Fenris took the cylinder without complaint. "If you needed my help for this, what were you planning to do if I said no?"
"Who could say no to someone like me? I mean have you met me? I have a silver tongue and devilishly good looks, even you couldn't say no to that. Besides, I'm sure I could talk Hawke into doing it for me."
Fenris chuckled and moved on to the next cylinder. He sniffed and caught a familiar scent in the powder Varric was pouring. "Varric, why does this smell like lyrium?"
"Well the Thaig Day celebrations involve shooting lyrium and blasting powder over the rooftops of the nearby buildings. You need different mixtures of lyrium to get the colors just right. Our ancestors figured this out when they finally got bored of mining and decided to try and burn the place down in celebration."
Fenris made a noise that sounded most displeased, a groan.
"Don't worry. There's so little lyrium in it you won't even notice it's there. Just don't move it too much, the blasting powder is a bit sensitive."
After a few minutes the cylinders were all done. Varric took some of the rope and stuck it in the cylinders.
"You might want to back up, Moody. This might get a little loud."
Out of his pocket a bit of flint and steel. He struck them together til the rope caught on fire. The fire quickly consumed the rope and it touched the cylinders.
Varric laughed wildly as the flames went off. The powdered tubes went off with a loud bang. Color bloomed forth bright as the sun. Green like an emerald, red as a ruby, blue like the sky, and purple like violets. It was like a garden made of fire in the sky, shooting out over High Town. The nobles scurried out of their houses like little rats, looking up in the sky with a mixture of shock and awe.
Fenris backed up, surprised by the sudden flash and flare of the spectacle. Once the ringing in his ears subsided he went to go speak."Yeah. So little lyrium, I won't even notice? I think I would notice it even if I was blind."
"Ah, you wouldn't have held it still if you knew how much was in it. Besides, isn't the look of surprise on the people's faces below worth a little lyrium handling?"
There was a pause, a comfortable silence shared by friends.
"There was no holiday was there? What a surprise." Fenris said, watching the fireworks go off. It added a nice bit of color to the otherwise pale night. Greens, red, and blues. This was a much more pleasant use of lyrium than whatever the mages did with it.
Varric gave a wry smile. "Of course it's a real holiday. First annual dwarven holiday of Thaig Day. You just wait and see what the second day of the three day celebration brings. But for now get running. I think I hear the guards and Aveline is going to be pissed if she catches us."