Write every day, even if it is only a page or two.

- Title Quote by GRRM a collection of my writing to be shared. [Mostly in the GW2verse]

[arborgoldwrites]

non-canon: Little Sparrow

“Aren’t you just positively glowing.”

Autumn blinked, looking up from the sleeping bundle in her arms to the window just across from her. “You could have knocked,” she said with a weary smile. Arturius shrugged, lowering his hood and slowly coming to the side of the bed to look down at the sleeping baby girl in her arms.

“And make you get up? You just had a baby.”

The petite thief laughed tiredly, sinking against the pillows set up behind her to keep her propped up.

“Where’s your Lord?”

“Work. I told him not to worry about me… He said he’d be back soon though, didn’t want to be out and about too long.”

Arturius nodded, falling silent. Autumn shifted, holding her arms - and the baby - out.

“What-”

“Take her.”

With slow-moving arms, the older thief slowly plucked the child from her mother’s arms and cradled her in his own. Autumn watched his expression soften as he held a finger up to her tiny hands.

“What’s her name?” he whispered, watching the baby’s lips part sleepily.

“We haven’t named her yet,” Autumn replied, smiling up at her boss. “I’ve been calling her my Little Sparrow.”

“Appropriate. Another little bird,” he chuckled, slightly shifting his weight back and forth.

“I’ll be able to get back to work on some assignments-” Arturius looked down at Autumn and she grinned sheepishly under his stare. “No.”

“But I-”

“Little Bird. You just had your own little bird. Assignments can wait.”

Autumn’s cheeks puffed out at the minor scolding but she watched him move tenderly with the baby nonetheless.

“Mr. Blackheart, we don’t really… have any one else to ask this of but… would you consider being her guardian, if…”

Arturius’ eyes were back down on the tiny child, fast asleep. The most subtle of nods answered her question, and she watched as the man slipped a finger under the little sparrow’s hand.

[arborgoldwrites]

“I’m fine,” Nova grumbled in pure exasperation while the little asura chucked a hefty-looking ice pack her way. She caught it fine, sure, but not without wincing openly. 

“Of course you are,” cackled Yggdri with a plain shrug. “It’s just over-exertion-” she paused as Nova looked at her with a glower, “-Meaning you’ve been working too hard and you gotta take it easy. Few days of icing and relaxing should do it. Do you stretch?”

The engineer merely looked at the asuran with a look that practically screamed ‘what does it look like’. 

“Fair enough. Few days of rest and some minor stretches once the major pain recedes and you’ll be back to wiring explosives and gunslinging in no time at all.” 

Nova watched Yggdri with a mild sense of contempt as she scooped up her bag and waddled to the door. She felt scolded. 

“I won’t be here to follow up. Headin’ back to the ‘Wastes so, just take it easy.” The asura waved once more before showing herself out, closing the door with a snap. Nova waited for a moment before she went to throw the ice off, but found she was unable to move it. 

“Let it go,” she growled softly.

“Tsk, tsk,” hummed the voice as its body materialized, wisps of shadow dropping off the partially-armoured frame of Arturius. He continued to hold the ice at her shoulder, towering over her as she continued to sit on the edge of the bed. “You heard the doc’. Ice and rest.”

He released his hand and Nova continued to hold the ice once again on her own. He smirked at her before sauntering over to the table and pulling his jerkin on, strapping everything in place. 

“It’s just a few days,” he mused. Nova sighed loudly and he chuckled in reply. 

“There isn’t much going on anyway; you’ve given your people their tasks for the week, and I’m sure you can do less just once.You have subordinates for a reason. Get that cranky house cat to take care of some things while you relax.”

Nova let herself fall back onto the bed with a grunt, wincing as the heated pain shot up her neck. “Fine,” she groused.”I’ll stay put like a good patient,” she muttered mockingly. 

“Your stubborn nature is charming,” Arturius replied, “But for once, just allow the world to turn and your body the rest it needs. I’ll treat you to a drink if you can actually manage to stay put.”

“Lovely,” Nova mumbled. She didn’t ask where he was off to; he had his own business to attend to surely. Grunting, she shifted the ice on her shoulder, managing to avoid flinching when Arturius’ appeared above her, leaned over from the other side of the bed. 

“Don’t go running off and making it worse,” he tutted, setting a perfect scowl on his hooded features. Nova resisted the urge to punch upwards at him, the muscles in her arms twitching. 

“I won’t leave the inn,” she growled between gritted teeth. “I have faced much, much worse,” she reminded him as he straightened up and made to take his leave. 

“That I won’t disagree with, but I digress,” the thief chuckled. “It is often the smaller injuries we are not careful with.”

“Afternoon, Blackheart,” mumbled Nova, rolling her eyes. 

“Catch you tonight, boss.”

The door closed and locked, leaving Nova with her continued feelings of frustration. How silly was it that she, the guild leader, found herself strained? Working too much, she reminded herself but nonetheless, here she was... trapped in her inn room with ice to her shoulder. 

Not working hard enough, maybe! yelled her subconscious and she gritted her teeth before relaxing. 

It was going to be a long, long couple of days. 

[arborgoldwrites]

welcome home, pt2

"We could have just waypointed," Arturius commented cheekily in her ear as the sun greeted them again over the forum. Nova glanced at him from her side eye before looking back to regard the white stone that curved and slipped around to form the new buildings and structures in the immediate area.

Nova slowly walked under the new cemented arch that lead into the city, keeping her distance with Arturius away from the gaggle of folk excitedly pushing their way through. Sure, they had all seen the people hard at work, the scaffolding everywhere, bits and pieces being brought in via airship or otherwise... but now it was all done and ready. The excitement was completely valid. 

The engineer was silent, lips slightly parted as she took in all the buildings and the glass of the piazza. She stuffed her hands in her pockets to stop herself from grabbing Arturius’ arm or balling them into fists. Arturius trailed along dutifully, though even he was looking around from beneath the shadows of his cowl.

“Where are we going?” he asked finally, pulling Nova from her silent observations. She turned on her heel, walking backwards as she pulled a key from her pocket. 

“Home,” she replied with a smirk that trembled; threatening to break into a joyous grin. She dangled the key off her finger for a moment before she closed her hand around it once more and moved along, occasionally looking around for a sign or street. 

Before Arturius could ask, Nova began to explain in an undertone, “I had a couple of favours banked here and there. Pulled some strings, paid some gold. It won’t be much, probably only just slightly better than the inn I've been staying in, but it’ll be something.”

“Why bother at all?” Arturius asked without pause, following her as she turned down a street that seemed to just be staggered apartments along the high sea wall. Something told him he already knew the answer. 

“Because, it’s home. Something tells me I won’t be here much, per usual - and especially with most money being found out in Maguuma right now... but it’s nice knowing there’ll be a little bit of something to return to.”

She flashed him a smirk and wandered along the small district, coming across a door that made her falter. “Here,” she mumbled, turning and walking up to it slowly, though it only made her pause once more. 

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

“It’s kinda weird,” Nova said after a moment, looking over her shoulder at the thief who crossed his arms. She scowled at the smirk that slowly formed from the shadows of his hood. “Been living out of inns and airships for the last year.” “So, keep doing that then,” Arturius replied as if that was the most obvious answer. “Hasn’t been all that bad, has it?”

Nova blinked once, looking at the door and the key in her hand. Carefully, she plunged the key into her pocket and turned around, thumb turned outwards and pointing down the street. “How about we grab a drink and I grab a room? Think on it or something.”

Arturius flourished an arm outwards, “Lead the way, boss.”

The engineer sighed, beginning to walk along with him at her side. She bit back a soft growl when Arturius’ elbow connected with her arm. 

“Welcome home.”

She looked at him, unable to suppress a chuckle. “Aye. Welcome home indeed.”

[arborgoldwrites]

welcome home, pt1

Nova’s eyes fluttered open - a world consumed partially in blackness blinking into view. She breathed deep, the weight on her upper back shifting as she did so. 

“Morning, boss,” chuckled Arturius, keeping himself comfortably draped over her, cheek against her shoulder blade. “Was wondering when you would wake up.”

The engineer shifted her head to face the right side more - although she could hear her companion fine, the thief’s voice was muffled in her left ear, and she preferred to hear him clearly. She never had to divulge the fact to him, that she was hard of hearing on that side - for either he already knew, or not - but he always did her the courtesy of sitting to her right anyhow. 

“I bet you were counting the minutes,” she drawled. It was not the first time she had caught him, listening at her back for her breathing and heartbeat to shift. She could feel him grin, a finger sliding up her spine before to her side. He wrapped his arm around her and dragged him more closely against him, his leg sliding over hers. Nova shifted, comfortably turning so that her back pressed to his chest. 

“What a terrible accusation,” Arturius mumbled into her messy silver hair. A finger now casually slipped up to her ribcage. Silence found them for a moment, a relaxing one, and he continued to caress her softly about her breasts. 

“Big day today,” he whispered finally as he dipped his head down to the crook of her neck. He grazed her skin with his teeth. She sighed. 

“Mn.”

He gently nibbled on the spot. “The airships are arriving.” His hand moved boldly to cup a breast and she didn’t complain, even going as far as arching her chest into his palm. 

“About time,” she answered lightly, accepting another kiss, this time on her shoulder. And then another. “It will be a welcomed sight.” She turned in his arms then, facing him fully. Arturius inclined his head back to allow her room. “We’ll be able to find more work there, surely. If not, west again.”

“That I don’t doubt,” Arturius agreed, thumb lightly tracing the engineer’s scars about her face once his hand had made it there between them. 

“What do you doubt then?”

The question brought a wolfish grin to Arturius’ face, but he didn’t reply. Nova stared hard at him and when he had no answer for her, she grabbed his jaw with one hand and pulled him by the chin for a kiss on the lips. His hand slackened and he held her face close, sighing when her tongue flicked against his lips.

“So, nothing?” she asked, tongue teasing his lips again at the end of her question. She rolled onto her back as he leaned into her, and then on top of her. 

“And what if I do?” he whispered, free hand slowly sliding up her thigh. 

Nova smirked and let his question hang, right eyebrow twitching upwards as if she were shrugging. Arturius sighed and dug his fingers into her leg, wanting nothing more than to spread her legs and-

“We should get going.”

He blinked and Nova chuckled, her hand reaching between them beyond their hips. He uttered a soft groan. 

“Remember?” she mumbled coyly, “Big day today.”

She released him, sitting up quickly and forcing him back. His legs kept her in place a moment longer and he grasped her jaw for another swift kiss before he allowed her to retreat, chuckling all the while. 

“You’re becoming a terrible tease, you know,” he uttered. Nova laughed, flashing him a rare grin as she slipped out of the bed and began dressing herself, though did him the courtesy of tossing him his pants first. 

“Wonder where I got that from.”

Arturius shook his head, following suit and diligently following her out of the room in short order. 

They had descended the Fields in no time, staying far from the crowds that were wandering into Lion’s Arch from the Canals like they had planned. Despite her mounting excitement, Nova remained complacent in face of the crowds at the bottom of the hills. 

Her lips pressed together tightly and she turned her head to regard Arturius fully. She fought the smile that wanted to rip itself into her calm expression. 

“I actually can’t believe this is happening.”

“Not even a little bit?” Arturius replied, eyebrows raising into the darker shadows of his hood. Nova shrugged. 

“It seems pretty surreal,” Nova whispered back, allowing her knuckles to brush gently up against his before she forced herself forward. 

“If you got better things to do, I-”

“No,” Arturius replied, making Nova glance at him as she continued her descent down the hill. The thief followed her and she nodded without complaint. 

She was going home.

[arborgoldwrites]

Assignments

Autumn tilted her head just so to one side, pulling her hood back to release her mess of auburn waves and curls. “Boss,” she cooed mockingly, turning her attention away from the street and to the taller thief who had joined her. Arturius raised his hand to her, leaning his broad shoulders against the stone wall, shadowed eyes falling on her face. Autumn did not miss his gaze darting briefly to the bruises poking out of the opening of her dress at her waist, or to the healing cut on her lip. 

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Autumn mused aloud, leaning herself back on the opposite wall that created the alley, finger playing with a curl. Again, Arturius’ eyes shifted, this time to the ring on her finger, and his lips coiled into a soft smirk. 

“Am I not allowed to meet with you in person, little bird?” he asked, feigning offense despite the deceiving smile that continued to linger under his cowl. “I see some things have changed between you and your noble.”

Autumn grinned, pulling her hand away to admire the simple ring around her finger. “Quite.”

“Marriage is a big step,” her boss warned. “Especially to a dead woman.”

“It’s a lovely cover, don’t you think?” 

“Do you love him?” What a stupid question, she thought as quickly as she answered:

“Of course,” Autumn replied lightly without hesitation. Her heart skipped a beat. Of course she loved Rheier. 

“So it is both. Love and cover,” Arturius chuckled. Autumn felt her cheeks flush, and she bit down on her index finger to contain herself. He was just trying to push her buttons, and if she could avoid taking the bait, she’d be better for it.

“I chased him into the Silverwastes. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.”

“It’s also stupidity, but, interesting of you to mention the Silverwastes...” The older thief replied, flicking his wrist at her from his belt. Autumn reacted quickly without a flinch, catching the thin tube in her hand and popping it open in another light motion. She slipped the map from its protective case, looking over it. 

“Rheier has one just like this.”

“How old is it?”

“Uhm... A couple of months now,” Autumn replied in a haughty mumble, eyes slowly tracing each delicate line. “From the little cartographer-friend you have?”

Arturius shrugged when she looked over at him and she suppressed a tiny growl. For keeping her so close, he only ever let her know just enough. “This one is new, I assure you. There have been reports that the recent Pact assault has failed.”

Autumn lowered the map and looked at Arturius incredulously. “Failed?” she echoed. He didn’t reply, just stared at her unblinkingly. She licked her lips, rubbing her chin with a wrist. 

“When I went back a second time... I had a bit of an opportunity to scout the Pact camp a bit,” she started slowly, “Shortly after we left with Rheier’s mentor - lovely little fellow,” she mumbled, “We opted to separate and when we returned, we discovered the camp had been attacked.”

She glanced at her boss, nodding his head but listening intently all the same. “I was scared, you know,” she breathed. “I was convinced you were there, and possibly killed.”

“Because of a small injury?” Arturius asked curiously, that devilish smirk on his face once more. Autumn’s nose wrinkled at the sight of it. 

“I had no idea if you had moved on out of the Fort with your precious little kitten,” seethed the petite thief in reply. How she loathed that woman. “Regardless, I have experienced and witnessed first hand, just like you, the power of the Mordrem. If the Pact is reporting failure then-”

“I want you to go back and see what else you can find,” Arturius cut in dryly. Autumn gaped at him, a cold shiver firing down her spine. 

“You want me to what?”

“Your first assignment,” Arturius said, finger and thumb lightly brushing his trimmed goatee. “I want you to go back there, with your scribe-husband if you must, and dig around. Keep your head down - or find a new name if you must - and use this as an opportunity... Many will be flooding in to save the precious Pact, or for vengeance if they truly seek it... But we have a lot to gain from it.”

Autumn’s tongue pressed behind her teeth before the reasoning dawned on her. She tore her vivid green gaze away from the map again and lightly popped it back in its tube before attaching it to her own belt. “Don’t get me wrong, little bird,” he continued as she settled back against the wall, “Your work in the city here has been impressive since Mordremoth has become more bold... But we need to broaden our spectrum for the time being.”

“And you?”

“And me?” he replied. Ugh! How she wanted to throw a dagger at him for echoing her like a damn parrot. 

“Yes,” Autumn responded coolly, “What of you? What will you be doing? Have you not been there yourself?”

“My place is with Nova,” he replied, unsurprisingly to Autumn. “She does pay me, after all. I’d be disservicing her by abandoning her now.”

Yeah. She pays you very well I bet, Autumn thought vehemently as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Both in coin and beneath the sheets.

“Which brings me to my next assignment.. Slightly more long-term, however, though I’d like completion before too long.”

“And that is?”

“Keep an eye out on that guild, would you?” Autumn’s eyebrows visibly raised. “Key members, preferably... Your specialty, so I doubt you’ll have too much trouble.”

Autumn couldn’t suppress the wolfish grin that spread across her features at last. “What, you don’t trust your kitten’s little warband?” She cooed. 

“Do you truly think I trust anyone?” Arturius replied, bored with her games. Autumn’s cheek twitched as she hid a wince. It made her wonder, as always: Did he truly trust her? Nova? What a complicated creature he always proved to be. 

“Besides, you need to make it a proper habit to have a contingency plan.” He was up against her in a second, pulling her left arm away from her body by the wrist in a sudden movement. Autumn yelped in surprised, but did not make move for a weapon: she knew better. Her leathers raised slightly to reveal the healing yellow and purple blotches on her ribs. “Or is that what you would call this?”

“It had to be done,” Autumn hissed between her teeth. Arturius was less than impressed. 

“You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“I almost did,” she chuckled back dryly. He pulled her arm again and she let out a small grunt of pain. Healer or not, she was still stiff and slightly recovering. “It keeps Rheier off my mark, okay?!” She snapped finally, ripping her wrist away from his grasp. She glared up at him, despite their closeness. “He doesn’t need to know I’m beyond a common street-rat with a seedy job.”

Arturius’ stare didn’t falter, but neither did her own.

“Consider the second assignment a lesson for your future, little bird.” He stepped back, arm over his stomach as he casually bowed part way to her. He turned to depart when Autumn’s frustration lashed out at her. 

“Your lovely brother is back, you know,” she said.

“Keep an eye out on those two, but they are not your priority.”

“And where are you going!” She growled, frustrated. Arturius chuckled, waving a hand over his shoulder and disappearing in a calm wisp of black smoke, leaving Autumn standing there with a scowl. 

But not for long. She had work to do.

[arborgoldwrites]

Arturius walked along the outskirts of Fort Vandal, not the least bit surprised to see his contact lounging on a particularly flat rock that jutted out over the dips of the dunes surrounding the pass. He watched from a distance as she held her arms out above her, flat on her back, and drew shapes with her slender fingers in the sky. Her companion, a large jungle stalker, lingered nearby, sprawled lazily out on the stone.

It had been a while since he had made contact with the sylvari, Arturius realized as he followed the slope towards her, but each interaction was typically quick and in his favour.

“Mister Blackheart!” 

He stopped in his descent, only a dozen feet away now, and watched as the ranger rolled over and hopped up to her full height (not a bold statement) to face him. 

“I heard you coming,” she chirped through her mask, patting her long ears as she waved him over. 

“I should never be surprised,” Arturius commented, approaching slowly as the ranger dropped back down onto her knees and started rifling through her things. Velvet, the cat, did not move other than to turn her head towards him and blink her eyes once; he bowed his head some in return. He crossed his arms and waited, eyes noting the thick scabbard that housed her greatsword and her imbued longbow perched atop of it. It almost ached him to see her handle such weapons so carelessly, but felt that she purposely maintained an aloof personality. 

After all, Etherie Withernot was a peculiar little sylvari. And he could have been completely wrong, too. 

“Here it is,” Etherie mumbled into her mask, pulling out a tube from her bag and popping it open with her thumb. She pulled the map from its container and handed it to Arturius, who unrolled it gingerly to reveal her always-impressive handiwork. 

“Up to date?”

“Changed some details just yesterday!” Etherie answered, muffled behind the fanged half-mask she always insisted on wearing. He peered over the parchment at her then back to her work, eyes following the flowing lines and notes that created the detailed map of the Silverwastes. 

“I was considering going just beyond the Hive,” he heard her say as he looked along the southern part of the map with a furrowed brow. 

“The Hive?” Arturius said when her comment registered. He rolled the map back up and took the tube from her hands while she was distracted. 

“Mhm, where Mordremoth’s lieutenants seem to find their source of power. I’m calling it the Hive,” Etherie explained hastily, “I doubt that’s the official name or anything.” Her voice dropped significantly and he had to lean in to hear her through the mask, “The Order has been studying the creature within.. What makes it regrow, the amount of leyline energy it is consuming.. that sort of stuff.”

Arturius nodded, mind already working on what he could do with the information. 

“But what stopped you from going beyond it? The Pact is already readying their airships to fly into the jungle, no?” Arturius asked, slipping the map away with a nod. Though, when Etherie didn’t respond in short order, the thief turned his attention fully to the ranger, watching as she fidgeted on the spot and her fingertips traced the fangs on her mask.

“Shrub. Seems unlike you, don’t it? You’re always the first agent I know to catapult into the maws of danger to scribble it on a piece of paper.”

Still, the sylvari refused to answer and Arturius felt mounting impatience. “What aren’t you telling me?” he demanded at last. 

“I tried to,” Etherie whispered, fingers still around the mask, “But there’s...”

“...There’s... what?” 

Her fingers moved delicately and her mask pulled away as she lowered her arms and leaned in. Arturius had forgotten what the tiny ranger’s face had looked like, even with the smooth sloping bark that split in rounded shapes to reveal her glow... but he would have remembered the broken gash from her lip to her jaw, and he certainly would have remembered it if it festered with a deep offset of golden-orange. 

His mouth hung open as he stared at it. 

“There’s something there, Arturius Blackheart, and I can’t go there yet.”

“What did this to you?” Arturius asked in a hollow voice. 

“The jungle did.”

He stared at her incredulously.

Etherie’s face contorted with frustration and her eyes narrowed. “It tries to talk to me. I can feel it, pressing in at the back of my head, through every branch...” she trailed off uncomfortably and shifted her weight back and forth. “As much as I want to dive head-first into what lies beyond, I...”

Arturius’ eyes trailed to the gash again. 

“Can you hear it clearly?”

“Not quite,” Etherie replied lamely. “But if you’re going there,” she continued, pulling her mask back on, her voice taking on the muffled filter once more, “Just let your Boss-lady know that the jungle is alive more than you humans know.”

Arturius watched her turn back to her things and pull her weapons over her shoulder. 

“You’re lying,” he breathed. She heard him; he knew she did. 

Sure enough, she glanced back at him. 

“You’re lying,” he repeated, “You are going back.”

Etherie’s eyes lit up, “Don’t be silly, Mister Blackheart. There’s a dragon feeding.”

She giggled beneath her mask and as she tried to walk past him, he grabbed her shoulder. Arturius glanced down at the tiny cartographer. 

“Be careful.”

“You’re worried about me?” she chimed. Arturius clenched his jaw. Not really, he thought, it was more a formality than anything... though the idea of ‘a presence’ was off-putting in any case. 

He didn’t answer, and Etherie slipped out of his grasp. 

“Don’t ruin that map, Mister Blackheart.”

Arturius sighed, though paused when something bumped his hip lightly. He glanced down to Velvet, who’s large almond eyes blinked once at him. 

“Take care of the little weed, will you?”

Velvet blinked again before slinking off after the ranger, leaving him alone with the map.

[arborgoldwrites]

Dungeon World: Well met - again, and again.

Edan hastily picked up his things and pushed his way through the crowd - praying to the Goddess Anh and the fighting pit beneath the city that she would still be there at the edge of her crowd. 

It was her; I swear it was her. 

“Hey!” He called out, gasping for breath with his arms laden with his things. “Hey! Wait!” 

The small woman paused, turning her head just so. A smile peeked from beneath her cowl and she pulled it back slowly to release her unruly red waves of hair. 

“Yes?” she chirped - her voice was more musical than anything he had ever played. 

“You... Ah...” Edan hesitated, unceremoniously moving his things about to rest over his shoulders. “You left this uhm.. last time.”

He pulled the simple ring from his pocket and held it out to her; he could feel his cheeks burning suddenly. Her sharp green eyes flashed and she looked at the ring, to his face, and then back down at the ring. Edan noted her own blush creeping up on her. 

“So I did,” she said simply, stepping forward. The tall elf shifted on the spot, hand twitching when both of her own reached out and cupped it, curling his fingers back around the ring in his palm. 

“Hold onto it for me, will you? Just for now.”

Edan wasn’t sure if he had heard her, though. She was talking, sure, but he was too busy staring at her and memorizing every curve about her face, down to her neck and to her shoulders. Her melodic laugh broke him from his reverie. 

“You’re quite peculiar, Bard.”

And just as he had found the words to say, he had blinked... and she had disappeared again. 

There she was, with her braids in her curled red hair and smile about her full lips.Her boots shifted on the threshold, taking her towards the left and he instinctively followed her, eyes locked on the back of her head.

She let him follow. She had to have.

Edan sat himself down at her table without a word, eyes wide and lips parted as if he might have something to say; a hello, maybe.

But she beat him to it with a flash of her own smile, framed by her long hair and angled green eyes. They didn’t even know each other’s names, and yet, it never deterred them.

Edan leaned in as she did, and her lips tasted sweet - like the herbs from his home, and the mulled wine they relished in. His hands snapped up from his lap, holding her head and face in place, indulging in the curve of her lips against his own, dry from the road.

The night air was cool on his face, and Edan absorbed the feeling as he sank deeper into his bottle of mulled wine. The bench he rested upon outside the tavern weighed down just a little more, and without turning his head, he grinned and said to the wind, “Your name.”

“My name?” she repeated. 

“Yes, your name, little half-elf,” Edan drawled softly, watching her from the corner of his eye. “You have never, not once, given it to me.”

He noted her smile. 

And the way her hands shifted against her jerkin, balling the hem of it in her palms. 

“Right,” she breathed. “My name is-”

But Edan’s lips silenced her - forcefully - pressed tightly and passionately into her own. He thought she might push him away, but instead she grabbed the back of his head and kissed him back. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. 

He softly pulled her lower lip with his teeth and chuckled. 

“Don’t tell me,” he whispered. “I don’t want to know it.”

“That’s how you want this to be?”

“Mayhaps.”

Her lips softly pressed into the corner of his mouth. 

“Then I have no name, my Bard,” she whispered back, before leaning away from him just out of his reach, a smile about her lips.

It had been weeks, Edan realized as he sat shirtless on his bed at the inn his party had decided to stay at that night. He yawned, spinning the ring on a leather cord in his palm before pulling it over his head once more. Any attempt he had made to leave it somewhere for her, or give it to her when they happened to cross paths had failed, and thus.. it was clear that she meant for him to simply have it. 

He rose from his bed, pausing when a shift in the air made him alert. He turned on his heel to find the little half elf, standing near the window with the cords on her jerkin loose and open. 

They stared at each other for a long moment before they both rushed forward into each other’s arms. Edan’s arms coiled familiarly around her, as if they had done this dance a thousand times when in truth, never had she appeared before him in this way, and he lifted her up and against the wall, face buried in her hair. 

“Missed me?” she asked coyly, arms wound around his shoulders and lips against the point of his ear. 

He answered her with a firm kiss on her throat and a hand pulling the leather shirt up to her ribs. Her legs tightened around his waist. 

“Do you love me?” she asked, days later, when he found her in a seedy tavern. It was like he was drawn to her; mesmerized every time he had the chance to lay his eyes on her. 

Edan didn’t know how to answer the question yet she still remained beside him at the table, a wolfish grin about her face all the while. His fingers twitched on her wrist. 

“Can you love a woman who’s name you don’t know, who only appears to you at random?”

“I’m starting to think it’s not all that random anymore,” Edan commented. She simply smirked at him. 

“Perhaps it is not,” she answered cryptically. 

“Then perhaps I do share some feelings for you,” he replied. 

“Good.”

Edan opened his mouth and looked at her, the words lost to him once more. 

“It would be an awfully boring arrangement if it didn’t go both ways, my Bard,” the little half elf explained before she rose from her seat and, like she always did, disappeared into the night outside.

[nova-arterius]

nightmares.

Keep reading

[arborgoldwrites]

Old. Trying to find my inspiration. 

[arborgoldwrites]

Edan couldn’t stop staring.

Sure, people were clapping and laughing and throwing coins while he sang and stopped to play his pipes, but he could only spot one face in the middle of the surrounding civilians who had stopped to share the bard’s song. 

She was a half-elf, wearing the smallest of smirks, with long curly red hair dotted with braids and ties, and even a small feather. Her angled green eyes were the only thing he could see. 

And when he had stopped playing and went to scoop what coins had been thrown to him, he looked back up to find the curious woman was gone.

Edan scowled to himself, for he couldn’t have imagined the woman, but gave up on the notion in short order, retiring for the evening to the inn. He stared into the depths of his mulled wine, a deep frown about his face. 

“For a bard, you seem awfully preoccupied.”

The voice - melodic as an elf’s - made him snap his head upwards to full attention... at first in front of him, only to realize that the little half-elf had sat herself comfortably beside him, elbow on the table and chin in her palm. She smiled, full lips curved eloquently as if she knew something he didn’t. 

“I uhm.. I...”

Edan could only shrug, at a loss. “Who are you?” he asked bluntly at last. 

She shrugged a small shoulder, smile unwavering. “A person... just a traveler such as yourself.”

“You don’t look well traveled.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

Edan didn’t doubt that, based on the way her lips stayed firmly put in her smile. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” she asked after a fashion. The bard looked down into his mug and lifted it, pouring the rest back and nodding his head before his mug even hit the table again. 

The night was long, filled with laughter and smiles. By the end of it, a few drinks in, the petite half-elf went to make her leave. The bard was quick to grab her wrist when he realized...

“Your name.”

“Hm?” she replied. He didn’t realize how close their faces were. 

“What’s your name?”

She laughed, a sweet sound to his ears. “I’m nothing but a little bird.” And with that, she slipped her hand slowly from his own and winked at him, disappearing into the throngs of the busy tavern. Edan stood swiftly, trying to catch her in the groups, but she was already gone. 

Not entirely. 

He opened his hand to find a silver band - well worn and meant for her finger. 

[nova-arterius]

More writing drabble, AB and AT, Little Bird

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[arborgoldwrites]

I need to write more AB & AT Interactions. >:(

[arborgoldwrites]

Arturius could feel Nova’s breath on his skin. He parted his lips, his words lost as he studied her hard eyes, set under a furrowed brow and when she leaned in closer, stooped over him as he sat in the armchair,  he did not recline further back out of her reach. Her lips met his in a pensive manner, tight and unsure though something about them was still so, so inviting to him. 

He shifted, sitting up as he passively accepted the kiss, though his hands soon grabbed her face to hold her still and her lips eventually softened. His tongue pressed lightly to her lips, inviting her to accept him and, to his surprise, she parted her lips and her tongue met his own. 

Somewhere in between, Nova had seated herself, straddled, in his lap and her own rough hands had grabbed the sides of his hood, holding them together. Their kiss was gentle, slow moving, but their hands wandered and yearned for more despite the quiet moment they were sharing. Arturius uttered a soft moan, but he barely heard it over the loud thunk of his heartbeat in his ears, but Nova still answered it with another swift and firm kiss on his upper lip. 

“Why do you stay here, then, if you don’t care?” Nova asked coolly. “Mercenary or not, you certainly don’t stay for the coin.” She didn’t turn to face him, merely continuing to inspect new wares that had been dropped off from the Reach. 

“There’s coin involved?” Arturius asked, feigning surprise. In truth, Nex had been supplementing him decently enough and allowed him more than enough room to continue his own work on the side. He didn’t hide the smirk on his face when she turned to him, pointing a bullet pinched between her fingers at his face. 

“You’re a mercenary, Blackheart,” she muttered. How he wanted to push her against the wall right then and shut her up. “And I’m sure there are a few reasons you stay other than pay.”

She was right in some shape or form, he realized as he clutched her waist and shuddered when she sighed softly in pleasure against their embrace. 

Nova shifted in his lap; closer, for just a moment before she leaned back out of his reach with a smirk. Arturius stared at her, grabbing her tightly when he realized she meant to leave. 

“There’s at least one reason.”

“I can see that,” she whispered back without missing a beat, knowing he was pulling up their conversation from hours before. She leaned forward again, lips brushing against his before she slipped out of his grasp and stood before him once again. 

“Hopefully you’ll divulge the others in time.”

“Maybe,” mouthed Arturius, a wolfish grin spreading across his features. “Or maybe not.”

[arborgoldwrites]

Dungeon World: The Thieves Guild

We’ve been playing a table top game, Dungeon World, over the last couple of months. Part of the fun and enjoyment of it is creating the world around us as we adventure through it, including gods, cities, guilds, and so on. 

This is a codex I created for The Thieves Guild. 

HISTORY

The Thieves Guild started many, many years ago when a band of rogue elves hailing from the northern Elderwood elf tribe broke off to pursue lives (long, long lives) of thievery and treachery. They set themselves up in Shadesport (extremely far south of their former northern home), a small, dark port city already notorious for its pirating and black market activity. From there, they begun recruiting promising individuals off the street to create the guild as it is today.

There has been a lot of mingling between the humans recruited into the guild (or whom stumbled upon it in hopes of better chances at survival) and the elves, resulting in many “children of the thieves” as they are endearingly named; half-elves that now take up a fair number of its ranks. Halflings are also present, though only one halfling has a high rank amongst the guild’s order.

LEADERSHIP

The guild is overseen by its skilled and hidden leader, the nameless one*. Only one person knows who they truly are, and she is known as its direct right hand. Avery (the Deceitful, the Swift, the Wanton, among many of her other nicknames for she has many, many traits) is a half-elf, still young of age, and can speak with the nameless one’s full authority where she sees fit to do so. Although there are hundreds of rumours about the nameless one and who they are, one rumour is known as fact, and that is they are a human.

Beneath the nameless one and its right hand, Avery, are the five immediate council members. One halfling, two elves, and two humans comprise the group, and they take charge of many informant duties, dossiers, and more. They are arguably the most charismatic and have skills and assets important to keeping the Thieves Guild at it’s highest potential unless it finds another way to grow.

MISC.

The Thieves Guild uses a quick finger code used to prove allegiance to contacts based in cities and towns outside of Shadesport. Runners and scouts in particular, aside from the leaders, are adept at this silent code, which has been used since the rogue elves initially founded the band. (Think complex sign-language of our time.) Aside from the aforementioned groups, most members of the guild are only capable of proving their alignment, while the others can have full-fledged conversations in secret and silence. It has proven useful on many occasions.

The guild is well known, and its people are set apart from cutpurses and the like. Members are talented at specific tasks and are set out accordingly, including gambling and courting. Otherwise, guild members are often sent on information-gathering missions, high-priority theft missions and the rare assassination (very few and far in-between. Typically direct enemies of officials). However well known, though, they are only contactable when they seem to want to be.  

[nova-arterius]

Happy Birthday, A.T.!

Autumn rolled softly onto her other side, a small noise - a whine - falling into the sheets as she closed her eyes tightly and pressed her face into her pillow. “Go away,” she moaned tiredly, to no one in particular but the beautiful spring sunshine that poured in from all the open windows. She had worked late, and sat down with Rheier with a bottle of wine when she got home - that she drank mostly to herself. She wasn’t even sure if he had any for himself. 

He was probably just letting me get a rough night off my chest, she thought hazily. 

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[arborgoldwrites]

"What the fuck is going on?"

He grabs the front of her jacket and lifts her just slightly off the heels of her boots. There is confusion and anger in his eyes and wrought in every line of his face, but hers remains cold and impassive. Something glitters behind her single visible eye, but he can't place the emotion behind it. 

The charr in the room snarls and roars, advancing quickly but the woman merely raises her hand, gaze still locked on the man holding her tightly at the jacket. The charr stops, and he's growling but neither of them are paying attention to whatever he might be saying, if it's coherent at all. 

"I don't know," the woman says, lips barely moving even though they twitch, wanting to form a snarl of her own. Her voice is icy and unshakable. 

She doesn't even reach for one of her pistols, nor does she make a move to grab his arms. He lets go, nearly pushing her back in the same movement as he steps back. 

"I'm going to find out."

"I'll help," she says, watching as something familiar flickers in his eyes, if only for a brief moment. "But you need to get the fuck out of my face before I do."

He turns and leaves, disappearing into the shadows mid-step. 

When she's sure he's gone, she turns and feels her heart pound. It hurts. Something hurts and she doesn't know what. 

"Commander, you should have let me cut him down," the charr snarls at last. "You go too far in protecting him."

She turns and glares, "And you go too far in questioning me!" Her voice raises, but it is strong and unflinching. Neither of them back down and she adds, "I'll deal with it. Don't get involved"

[arborgoldwrites]

Alright, it's started... I made a more up to date/polished time line of Nova's back story... I'm going to pick some of her most key events and fix up some blurbs I already have and upload them. I got a few projects now, which will keep me busy writing. 

I also have another bit too that kind of ties in with her, so that'll be nice to share as well.

[nova-arterius]

The Invasion of Lion's Arch

Writing Prompt: Lion’s Arch 

Nova’s POV

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[arborgoldwrites]

Old, written in lieu of the destruction of Lion's Arch in Scarlet's Invasions last year. 

[nova-arterius]

Morning Routine

Miraza bugged me about posting this writing drabble of AB/NA "Morning Routine"

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[arborgoldwrites]

Old, written sometime last May. Again, reblogging for myself.