#ariya tabris

[exalted-dawn]

DA protag portrait stickers for my friend @inquisimer ‘s BIRTHDAY :D happy birthday bb

[shivunin]

Through an Interstice Caught

For @ockissweek today I have borrowed @inquisimer's fantastic Ariya Tabris. Honestly, Mer, I went into this just thinking that the two of them needed a minute of quiet. Thank you for letting me borrow your gal <3

(Ariya Tabris & Arianwen Tabris | 825 Words | CW: canon typical violence)

“A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest, There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word.” —Walt Whitman, “A Glimpse”

The mirrors came when they chose to. 

That’s what Arianwen had been told, anyway, and she’d seen no evidence to the contrary. Still, this would be the first time she’d seen one in the wild, intact and humming at her. 

“Bad timing,” she told it, wiping blood from her cheek with her elbow. The final member of the darkspawn horde made a sound when she drew her sword from its chest, but she ignored this. Warden senses told her that no more were anywhere nearby—which likely also meant that the rest of the group had truly been separated from her. 

Oh, well. If the universe was offering a drink, she wasn’t going to say no. 

When she stepped through, the passage tingling over the unguarded parts of her skin, she found the place unchanged as always. An unfamiliar face was behind the bar, smiling at someone on the other side of the room and waving. A handful of strangers sat about the room in twos and threes, talking at a low volume, and—there. A very familiar face sat at one of the tables, hand pressed to her forehead. 

Well; at least there was that. 

Wen collected drinks—she hadn’t been paying attention to what—from the bartender and made her way to Ariya’s table. The other Tabris sat alone on a bench at the end of a long, wooden table, one elbow resting on the water-stained surface while she stared at an empty glass. 

“Bad day?” Arianwen asked, setting a glass before Ariya and taking the other seat. Ariya lifted a brow, examining Wen’s clothes pointedly. Wen glanced down at the viscera on her chest, drying in streaky brown over Warden blue armor.

“Could ask you the same thing.”

“The usual,” Wen said, and took a sip from her glass. Whiskey. She should’ve guessed. “Darkspawn, what else?” 

She paused, considered. 

“Zevran is back. Maybe for a while. Wasn’t expecting to see you so soon either. Seemed pretty final, last time we saw each other.” 

Ariya lifted her glass, as if in a toast, and downed it in one long draught. 

“I thought it would be,” she said when she’d swallowed the last drop. 

“But here you are,” Wen said. Ariya spread her hands in agreement. 

They were quiet for a time, still amongst the ebb and flow of other visitors. After a moment, Wen stood, sat on the bench next to Ariya, and examined the other Warden. Slowly, deliberately, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of Ariya’s forehead. She smelled faintly of metal and blood and ozone; perhaps her day had been as miserable as Wen’s. Maybe that’s why the mirror had come to her, too. 

“Glad you’re here,” she said, nudging Ariya’s elbow with her own. 

After a moment, Ariya took her glass and sipped from it, then leaned her head against Wen’s shoulder. It was, thankfully, one of the bits of her armor that had remained relatively clean.

“Yeah,” she said at last. “I am, too.”

They sat in silence for a long time, drinking when their glasses were full and resting against each other when they weren’t. She wouldn’t have been able to admit it before she’d stepped through the mirror, but it was a calm in the chaos that she’d desperately needed. Perhaps it had been the same for Ariya, who looked at least marginally less upset when her mirror finally appeared, glowing, along a nearby wall. 

“See you next time,” Wen said, nudging her with her elbow again. It wasn’t a question.

Ariya looked at her for a long moment, lips slightly parted as if considering saying something more. There were new streaks in her hair, Wen saw, paler against the rest. It hadn’t been that long since they’d seen each other; this did not suggest good things about the immediate future. 

At last, her expression softened slightly. 

“Yeah,” Ariya said. “Yes. You will.”

Wen nodded to her once more, watching until she met the mirror and stepped through. Alone, she took one last sip of her drink and considered. Whatever was yet to come would be hard; she was not surprised by this knowledge. 

Still, when it came she would have this place to step sideways into. When her world got worse, as it was almost certain to do, perhaps there would be someone here for her to lean against, too. For once, it felt good that she’d been that person for somebody else. 

No—not for somebody else. For Ariya. 

A flicker of silver at her periphery. Wen drank down the dregs, savoring the burn in her throat and the warmth in her belly. Somewhat restored, she set her hand on the hilt of her sword and stepped back into the fray.

[exalted-dawn-drabbles]

Happy Friday! As you're taking prompts tonight, could I get "But who is that on the other side of you?" (from Poetry Prompts) or ❛ here’s a copper for your thoughts. and a silver not to tell them. ❜ (from Medieval Sentence Starters) for your Tabris Cousins? I am intrigued!

HEHEHEHEH THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME EXCUSES TO WRITE THE GIRLS IM SO UNWELL ABOUT THEM. This little snip is mainly focused on my Tabris, Shaesa and my friend @inquisimer's Tabris, Ariya :3 (with slight mention to @rosella-writes's Rosalie) where the cousins decide to have a little chat about love interests :3 Hope you enjoy!

for @dadrunkwriting

Rated T: very slight sexual connotations, but mostly just family fluff and a bit of angst, ~900 Words

Copper For Your Thoughts | By Exalted_Dawn

“Copper for your thoughts?”

A single, glinting bit landed in the lap of Shaesa’s legs, looking almost arrogant as it winked in the firelight. She plucked it up in her fingers, turning it to study the shiny little coin. 

“Mmmm… mostly that we really must be moving up in the world. Look!” She held the coin back up to Ariya, who was standing behind her, head tilted. “There’s barely any rust on this one.”

Her cousin made a disbelieving sort of noise, the sort she always made when Shae refused to acknowledge the point of a conversation, and sat down next to her. “Not the thoughts I was in the market for, actually. I was hoping you’d tell me more about the ones that keep you staring all moon-eyed at Alistair like that.” 

“You’re trying to bribe me for information on my hypothetical love life now?” 

“I doubt you’d ever tell me otherwise.” 

Shaesa grinned broadly, but pocketed the copper piece regardless. “And here I thought I was hiding it so well. Even Rosie hasn’t noticed yet.” 

“Rosie hasn’t noticed because she’s too busy hiding out from the rest of the camp in Leliana’s tent,” Ariya scoffed, stretching her legs out far in front of her so that the fire could warm her feet. “Hate to say it, cousin, but you aren’t really that subtle.” 

Shaesa lifted her brow. “I can be considerably less subtle if you like.” She turned her gaze back to her original point of interest. Alistair was off across the camp, his back turned to them as he chopped wood for the fire. He was in plain clothes, barely visible against the dark woods beyond the glow of the flames. Only the lines of his shoulders, back, and neck were really properly visible, but it was enough to start with. “Let’s seeeeee… Well first, his back muscles make me think things that would probably make Chantry Sister Theohild cry. And I’m not sure if you’ve noticed the shape of his ass when he wears those pants, but-” 

Suddenly, a silver coin hit her square in the eye, and Shaesa yelped. 

“Hey!”

“I changed my mind,” Ariya huffed. “Have your thoughts back, I don’t want them anymore.” 

Shaesa snorted disbelievingly. “You’re the one who bribed me for them in the first place, you know.”

“And now I’m paying you not to share them,” she sighed. “Honestly, you couldn’t just be serious about things for just a few minutes, could you? I know that you like him, Shae, but I’m just worried. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” 

Rubbing at her injured eye, Shaesa pocketed the silver coin, slotting it in right next to the copper. “Rich, considering who you’ve been spending your time with lately.”

Ariya frowned. “That’s different. You and I both know that Zev is harmless, and if nothing else, at least he’s an elf like us. But Alistair-”

“You think I don’t know that?” Shaesa cut in, and this time all pretense of levity and good humor was gone from her tone. For the briefest of moments, her voice was cold and level, a bit angry even. But like ash on the wind, she let it go. Let her expression and anger mellow. Belatedly, she offered Ariya a smile. “I’m not serious about him, Ari, so you don’t need to be worried. We’re at war and he’s cute– that’s the extent of it. I promise. I’m just enjoying the view.” 

However, that response only caused Ariya’s scowl to deepen. She snorted. “Liar.” 

“You did pay me to keep my thoughts to myself,” Shaesa reminded. “But I swear I’ll be careful. I may not be as smart as you, but even I’m not that dumb.” 

From the look of Ariya’s gaze, her cousin wasn’t convinced. 

Shaesa turned her gaze back forward. Back to Alistair. That was fine, though. It didn’t really matter what her cousin thought, because she’d meant what she’d said. Alistair was all kindness and laughter, with his nice smile and big brown eyes, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t really anything she could do about the fact that it just wouldn’t work out. Provided neither of them died on this suicidal mission to try and unite the country and end the Blight, where would they even go from there? They’d have to trek all the way up to Rivain before they wouldn’t be gawked at for holding hands out in the street. 

And Shae was needed here, with her family. 

“You aren’t dumb,” Ariya said at last, sighing as she slumped against Shaesa’s shoulder. “And I suppose, from a certain angle, he doesn’t look terrible.” 

“Better than our old and saggy betrothed that we’d been prepared to marry before leaving Denerim?” Shaesa pressed. 

From the corner of her eye, she could just barely make out the curve of a grin tugging at her cousin’s lips. “I remember mine being rude and smelly, but yes.” 

Shaesa grinned back. “Good. That’s what I thought too.” 

A breathless laugh bubbled up from Ariya, but neither moved from their spot as they settled in to watch the flames and the other warden beyond. Alistair was good-looking, but Shaesa wouldn’t trade this for anything. Never. 

“I don’t suppose you’ve tried having this little chat with Rosie?” 

“And risk getting my head chopped off?” Ariya asked. “Besides, I doubt I could afford her fee anyway.”

[inquisimer]

WIP Whenever

I was tagged by a handful of people in WIP games recently, but fell behind on accident and then it became an insurmountable thing to tackle, you know how it goes. So! Starting fresh with a little WIP whenever, from my Zevran/Tabris help Lucanis fake his death pre-Veilguard WIP >:]

tagging forward for whenever! @shivunin | @greypetrel | @dreadfutures | @the-rebel-archivist | and @skinwalkingxana

-

He could still hear the whistling of her dagger as she flipped it between her hands, waiting for…what? If she’d been told to kill him with flair, or humiliation, she’d just had the perfect opportunity and done nothing.

Well she did say…

“If not to kill me, then what?”

“Oh, I’m just keeping you occupied,” she said casually. “He needed a few minutes of your attention divided.”

“He?”

“That would be me.” Lucanis whipped around as someone new spoke, concerning but also not for the familiar Antivan accent that wrapped around his ears. A black-cloaked elf that could only be Zevran Arainai pulled the cord of the curtains and light flooded back into the room. “Shall we put our blades away and have a civilized conversation? I believe we were invited.”

“You were.” Lucanis pointed to the other elf with his chin. “I have no idea who she is.”

The dagger vanished from the elf’s hands and she hooked a thumb in her belt, holding her cloak back from the badge pinned there. Lucanis sheathed his sword.

“Of course,” he murmured. “Warden-Commander Tabris.”

Ariya let her cloak fall back over the badge. “I don’t really use that title anymore.”

“It is mighty useful in tense situations, however,” Zevran said cheerfully. He swept out a chair and gestured for Lucanis to sit. Grumbling, he retrieved his now lukewarm coffee and joined the elves at the table.

“Took you long enough to get here.”

Now that he wasn’t actively targeting them, Lucanis got a better look at the former Crow and the legend he called a lover. Both were strapped with weapons, as he would have expected. There were the obvious: the catch of her cloak on the hilt of her sword, his daggers strapped flashily on his belt. And there were the more subtle: a hilt all but hidden at the lip of her boots, stiletto blades tucked into her plait, throwing daggers nearly invisible at his wrists.

They’d come prepared. Or they just always traveled with a small arsenal. He would, if he was doing what they had been doing.

Their faces were lined with age and the kind of stress that only sat on those charged with holding the world together. But there was laughter written there too, and love. When they moved, they adjusted to each other naturally, automatically, covering each other’s blind spots without a second thought. Not just covering, Lucanis noted, gaze lingering between the elves. Tabris was actually sitting in Zevran’s blind spot, and he seemed even more relaxed for it.

Blind trust. Lucanis had never given it to anyone. Knowing the Crows, and House Arainai, he could only imagine what it must have cost this woman to earn it. Unwavering loyalty, at least. And a great deal of blood—others, and hers, most likely.

“Ran into a bit of a scuffle at the border,” Zevran said, smiling until Tabris coughed pointedly. “Yes, yes. If you need to call any covert meetings in the future, do try to avoid Rivain, if you would. But enough of that,” the elf clapped his hands together and both their gaze’s sharpened on Lucanis. “I believe we are here to speak of information. And skills. So what does the great Lucanis Dellamorte want from us?”

“And what does he want in return?” Ariya muttered under her breath.

Lucanis sipped his coffee, swirling it with his tongue before swallowing. There would be no going back, once he spoke. Of course, that was rather the point, wasn’t it?

“I’m going to fake my death,” he said. Only the second time he’d spoken it out loud, and it fell from his lips with finality. “I want you to help me do it.”

[puffy-shirt]

My ocs.... blease... love them....

Commission info!

[exalted-dawn]

“Some bonds break because of too much care.”

The Tabris Cousins, 9:41, Ten Years Post Blight. Featuring @inquisimer’s Ariya Tabris, @rosella-writes’s Rosalie Tabris, and my own Shaesa Tabris. The Shadow. The Pillar. The Vanished.

Close-ups below the cut!

[exalted-dawn-drabbles]

AND ONE MORE because you dangled that tabris cousinverse in front of me, so for Shaesa & Ariya (& Rosalie? if you want and ro doesn't mind :3):

❛ promise me you’ll still be here when i wake up. ❜

happy writing >:]

;w; welp what can I say but that you probably saw this coming... Tabris Cousinverse!AU with @a-song-in-the-stillness's Ariya Tabris and a brief mention of @rosella-writes's Rosalie Tabris. What happens when you betray your cousin for the sake of a man who would sell your family without a thought or care? Only what should be expected. She should have expected... for @dadrunkwriting

Rated G: Angst, Post DA:O final battle, ~500 words

Words That Should Have Been Spoken | By Exalted_Dawn

‘Promise me you’ll still be here when I wake up.’ 

Those had been the words on her lips as Shaesa had shut the door in her face that night. Her cousin had not even looked at her. Had not spoken. Said nothing in the wake of their victory. What more need she have said? The look of betrayal in her eyes after the final fight had said enough. The Terror and shock as Rosalie had lunged for the finishing blow, rather than Loghain as they had agreed. And the confusion as Loghain had picked her up afterwards, her hand clutching his and both notably alive and well.

What was there more to say when the two people you would do anything for betrayed and lied to you? All in the defense of a man who would have seen their family put in chains.

Nothing.

So Ariya had kept her words tied to her tongue that night, unable to speak in the face of Shae’s bowed back as her cousin disappeared behind the oaken door, all tense lines and hurt and anger. The door slammed shut, a stark bookend to their journey without the presence of a triumphant grin to bear it. As Ariya retreated for the night, their victory sat hollow in her heart because of it.

She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised when they found the room empty the next morning. 

Not a single possession had been left behind, and the sheets on the bed were crisp and unslept in. Alistair was gone too, of course. Neither had been seen– a miracle, by Alistair’s build alone– which meant they must have either snuck out during the chaos and celebrations last night, or in the bone-dead stillness of the deep morning. Even in the best case scenario, they could be well out of the city by now. And if they had left in a rush… 

No, certainly not. Shae and Alistair had both been injured, and even if in perfect health, Shae surely wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye to uncle Cyrion or Soris or Shianni. She wouldn’t. 

So that had been the first place they had gone in search of her cousin. Back to the Alienage, where this whole mess began. They had questioned neighbors and street vendors on their path in towards the heart of the settlement, where their homes sat cradled between a dozen rotting, wood walls. No one had seen her. And when they finally did reach Shae and Rose’s door, all that greeted them was a single sealed letter, pinned to the wood with a knife. A single letter, with three simple sentences scrawled in chicken scratch: 

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I love you.’

‘Goodbye.’

Shaesa Tabris was gone without a trace. 

Ariya had stood silent as the door slammed shut, and now her cousin was gone. She was gone…

[puffy-shirt]

getting ready p.2 

commission info