#7thtalon

[velabanchels]

viago de riva's walking stick hits the ground with a solid thump as he vacates his carriage, andarateia cantori's residence sprawled out before him.

the carriage ride to rialto had been a short one, thankfully, as far as carriage rides go. it was no journey to lago di novo, that's for sure—a fact viago is more thankful for. not even the prospect of a visit to teia can rid the talon of the scowl on his sharp features, a product of having been tossed around like weighted dice for far too long ... but this excursion is viago's own doing, so he has little room for complaining out loud.

he had sent grier to teia for training, an act any other talon would consider odd. typically, viago likes to handle all aspects of training himself, and he's particularly meticulous about how it gets done. but when it comes to the art of seduction—when it comes to grier in particular ...

some things are better left to @7thtalon. viago would know.

the fifth and seventh talon being in cahoots is not new information, anyway, and viago doubts that sending grier to teia five days before his own visit will cause any particular problems later down the line. for all anyone else knows, grier is a plant: his way of gathering information from teia that even viago himself is not privy to. there is no way of proving otherwise, and anyone who claims they understand the innerworkings of viago's brain is a fool ... unless you're andarateia cantori.

viago's keen eyes scan his surroundings when his footman's voice reaches him. viago replies with a sharp command which sends the elf to work unloading his things from the storage compartment, and a familiar feminine voice sounds next from the direction of the front door. viago's blue eyes settle on the welcome sight of teia a second later.

no matter how much he resists, he can't deny the way his gaze softens just a little at the sight of her.

"i expect you have provided  the  most  thorough  training possible for this trip to be worth the effort,"  viago  says,  frowning  as  his  hands  grip  the  cane  before  him. he clenches the twin adders of the handle tight, a byproduct of what the mere sight of teia seems to do to him.  "you  know  i  despise  carriages."

[berthiindeath]

❝ Have you heard of how many contracts have been placed on your king? ❞ Arms crossed, her interest is that of one mildly curious. The Mourn Watcher may know nothing of it, but Teia had to wonder about Nevarrans' perspective on the matter. ❝ It's the oddest thing. They seem to be completed, and yet he always survives somehow. ❞

The mention of King Markus has Gwen's gaze stilling briefly, eyes focused on the floor below before she slowly draws her attention back up to look upon the talon, not unlike a startled halla. She's never been particularly skilled at evasive conversation. She is a mage, one tasked with ailing spirits, preparing dead, and the occasional haunting. Communicating with spies was not in her vocational description. Varric was the one who used to handle these situations; he was much better at it.

" Erm, well— " She clears her throat a bit as she finds lilac hues unwilling to look the crow dead in the eye. And just when she had finally managed to get Emmrich to spill the truth one night, or as much of it as he'd been willing to impart. But she could discern what he wasn't saying between the lines. She knows deep down she's being incredibly obvious, that Teia already has her assumptions which are likely being validated by her poor evasion skills. 

The perfect mark.

" I have never been granted audience of the king, " gaze still meandering over the craftsmanship of the curtains behind Teia's head as she tries to stall for her mind to come up with something convincing. Lords, this is embarrassing. " His Majesty is of sturdy stock and—trust me we're all thinking it but no one has gotten close enough to see. " Her voice trailing in defeat as she gave up the pretense mid-sentence. Lying would simply be a waste of both of their time. But she does heave a deep sigh, brows lofting to the ceiling as she leans against the wall with a light tap; who is she to dissuade her curiosities. At least she isn't calling her a death mage.

[spitedriven]

the / are things that can happen but don't always happen or she doesn't feel strongly about

lucanis' type meme

i always knew he tried to woo the wrong talon

[arcanederangementa]

@7thtalon sent ❛ i'll stand by you, no matter what challenges may come our way. ❜ for caterina

a life spent in the crows is a life spent not taking people at their word. such a statement should, invariably, be met with derision, perhaps contempt, certainly mistrust. but caterina knows andarateia, has seen her grow from orphan child to seventh talon in a span that should only have been capable for a seasoned veteran, or for the child of a talon.

andarateia is not her child, or even her grandchild but she is still caterina's and despite herself, the old crow finds her eyes softening, piercing gaze turning to merely stony. a street urchin elf with a sharp wit and steady hands looks back at her. the child she had been, the woman she had become. the weapon, caterina reminds herself. the talons are weapons, they are finely honed tools. there is little space for sentiment.

if it were anyone else andarateia was pledging loyalty to caterina would warn her against it. people, especially those you love, are bound to break your heart. instead, she presses a warm hand to the elf's cheek and graces her with the most powerful tool of all- a small smile. " you will always have a place at my table, andarateia. and at my side. " a devotee will always have a place. she knows andarateia will fight until her last for caterina. it is smart to encourage such blind devotion, for if the other houses come for house dellamorte, she knows she can rely on the support of house cantori. and where house cantori goes- house de riva will follow. an informal alliance of three houses will do well to protect all of them from attempted takeovers.

[grtivas]

@7thtalon said, "your  hair  is  a  mess,"  visible  even  from  a  distance,  as  teia  refrains  from  getting  too  close  without  explicit  permission.  it  would  take  time  and  patience  to  undo  that  -  and  a  gentle  hand,  to  not  make  it  needlessly  painful. care  for  presentation  as  he  does,  viago  would  not  take  the  time  to  oversee  a  fledgling  like  that.  her  time  in  salle  was  limited,  her  visit  to  villa  de  riva  short,  but  she  had  taken  the  time  to  see  how  grier  was  doing.  she  could  take  the  time  for  this  too. "you  need  to  take  better  care  of  it.  presentation  is  also  important  for  an  antivan  crow."  it  resembles  a  lesson,  though  the  core  message  is  less  about  the  crows  and  more  about  caring  for  themselves.  golden  eyes  seek  grier's  gaze,  all  warmth.  "i  can  help  with  that,  if  you  let  me  brush  your  hair."

grier's  eyes  light  up  when  she  spots  teia,  genuine  excitement  shining through.  the fledgling  can't  help  but  beam,  their  usual  guarded  demeanor  slipping.  it’s  been  too  long  since  they've  seen  the seventh talon,  and  there's  something  comforting  about  her presence—the warmth of a mother and the friendliness of a big sister rolled into one, or at least that's what grier imagines the latter might feel like.

"i  didn't  know  you  were  coming  by  today,"  she  admits,  voice  full  of excitement. grier bounces on their feet a little, their eyes bright. "are you staying long? please tell me you're staying for dinner, at least."

at the mention of her hair, grier's fingers reach for the tangled mess to brush it over her shoulder.

"it got windy," she admits bashfully, "and sometimes if it's too tangled i cut it with my knife." believe it or not, that last part is said with just a hint of pride. grier's hair isn't completely even, but it doesn't seem to bother them. "but i  guess  ... if  you  really  want  to,  you  can  try."

[illlario]

        @7thtalon  liked for a starter

"teia," illario purrs, "it is always good to see your face." not a lie, but definitely flattery. illario's tone constantly makes him seem the very opposite of genuine, like he's prying for information and planning to do the worst thing you can think of with it. "where has dearest viago been as of late, hm?"

truthfully, illario doesn't give a shit; he just wants to know if the coast is clear for him to flirt further. it's not that he's afraid of the fifth talon, but ... well ... illario's always liked to do things in the most underhanded way possible. he'd rather not have the de riva talon get even a whiff of the dellamorte's intentions with the seventh.

"organizing his gloves by color, perhaps? or maybe poisoning his fledglings?" illario's brows rise, then he waves a hand dismissively. "whatever he is doing, it should be a crime to choose that over reveling in your company ..."

[theodosiani]

every character you write is amazing?? you get such different characters so well. they each have their own voices and they can all be heard so clearly through your writing. i love your portrayals and the way you build flawed and interesting characters without watering them down.

How’s My Portrayal? || Accepting || @7thtalon

Lolol my real secret is that I write such different characters so I can hop around when I have writers block. I do really like exploring different aspects of lore via characters. Cosima only exists because I wondered what kind of crow would abandon Treviso and then took the bulk of crow lore we have from all the games and expanded from there. Ghilly’s my fun way of melding the dalish lore with the evanuris history. Shokrakar is a look at the lives of Tal-Vashoth in the Free Marches and what it means to be qunari but not Qunari. I like those kinds of stories, it allows me lots of zigs and zags to explore especially with folks who also go a little feral over dragon age lore.

[theodosiani]

Teia: Look what you’ve done, you’ve ruined her sense of taste! Viago: What are you talking about? She still has taste, it’s just bad. Cosima, eating a raw onion: I’m right here.

@7thtalon