Taash sat up on their knees after finishing a set of push-ups. They glanced across their room to where Mel was sitting on the bed, a book propped up against her knees, reading. It brought a smile to their lips. There was something comfortable, even soothing, about the moment. Had they ever been so comfortable just being in the same space as someone? Not like this. This felt like taamlok. Sex was great, sure, but it wasn’t hard to find. This felt… special. This felt real.
@dragonagesapphicweek
Word Count: 200
Featuring Melovera Laidir / Taash
Mel stood at the counter in her mother’s kitchen, carefully cutting the sweet melon into chunks. She glanced up at Taash next to her, enjoying the rare opportunity to not have to look up at them. The counters were too low for their height, so they were hunched down on a low stool instead of standing. It was absurd, but charming in its absurdity. And it felt nice, finally being back with her family and having Taash here. If it weren’t for Taash she might have never come home. Mel leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Taash’s temple.
-----
Taash felt Mel’s lips soft against their temple and gone just as quick. They grinned at the way it made their chest and stomach flutter. It felt nice. No one else had ever made them feel like this before. Giddy. Silly. Foolish, but not in a bad way. Like it was a good thing to be ridiculous and weird. Taash turned their head just enough to look at Mel, a matching dumb grin greeting them. Somehow all of it felt new with Mel. Well, some of it was new. But every bit of it was exciting. Especially the silly parts.
The soft yet heavy sound of children trampling around cheap wooden floors. An indignant child’s shriek of offense. A maternal shout, a scolding no doubt. Then silence.
Taash found themselves smiling as Melovera cuddled firmer against them in the small bed. The two of them barely fit.
A loud whump, something heavy hitting the floor. Another shout, this time obviously paternal. Loud squabbling, young and old voices mixing together into an unintelligible cacophony.
Taash closed their eyes again. A house full to the rafters with three generations should be chaos. And it was. But in the chaos, Taash found calm.
---
Melovera Laidir is my Lords of Fortune Rook and canon Taashmancer.
Bellara prattled away happily about her latest project while she tinkered with the mechanisms. Evabas was lounging on the bench in the corner of her room, where they often dallied while Bellara worked. She used to apologize for talking so much, but Evabas swore they enjoyed hearing it. And maybe they really did. It was nice to be able to talk endlessly in Dalish without having to stop and remember to speak in one of the human languages. She could talk to Davrin too, but he was not around as much as Evabas was. Evabas spoke Dalish as well as anyone.
“You know, I keep forgetting to ask,” Bellara changed subjects suddenly, as she was prone to do. “Does your name mean anything?”
Evabas did not answer, and Bellara put her tool down, turning to look at her. The tall qunari looked genuinely startled, and Bellara was sure she had said something wrong.
“What?”
“Is that rude to ask? I’m sorry. It’s just, Taash was saying the other day that their name means little dragon. And Jadal said that Shathann means something about the importance of manners.” Bellara sat down on her stool, watching Evabas but trying not to stare at them. Sometimes she forgot to not stare. “It just made me wonder if your name meant something too.”
“Um, yes,” Evabas still looked uncomfortable as she sat upright. “It means ‘little thing’.” Bellara blinked in surprise at that. Thing. Little thing. That did not seem like a kind name. Maybe it was something that did not translate?
“Oh. Well that’s-”
“It’s not… Qunari don’t really have names. We get nicknames from our friends. When I ran away, the others just called me Evabas. I was scrawny and smaller than they were. And the Dalish had no idea what it meant, so they just kept calling me that. It’s a dumb name.”
“No! No no, it’s not dumb. I’m sure they meant it fondly. Like that you were a cute little thing.” Bellara felt hopelessly awkward. She had not meant to upset Evabas with her question. “I bet you were very cute. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a qunari child, but you had to be cute, right?” That got a smile from Evabas, and Bellara immediately felt better.
“Yeah. I mean, look at how gorgeous I am now? I was probably the cutest little grey kid ever. No wonder the Dalish kept me.” Bellara giggled and stood up, walking over to Evabas and settling easily on their lap. She reached up to touch their cheek and then kissed them sweetly on the lips.
“Exactly! We Dalish know a good thing when we see it, you know.”
“Well, I know that you do.”
—-------—-------—-------—-------—-------
“Taash!” Bellara shouted excitedly as she burst into Taash’s room without knocking. She was greeted by the sight of Melovera Laidir scrambling off the tall qunari warrior and nearly face-planting on the floor next to the bed in the process. Mel was still clothed, but Taash was naked from the waist up, and the qunari warrior lurched up to grab their girlfriend to keep her from breaking her face.
“Hey! You’re supposed to knock!” Taash shouted, clearly more surprised than angry.
“Oops! Sorry. I forgot.” But Bellara made no move to leave as Mel stood up from the floor. Taash’s hands got in the way as Mel tried to dust herself off and preserve her dignity, and then the slender Rivaini elf yelped as Taash jerked her back into the bed. “Can I ask you a question?” Both Mel and Taash just sighed loudly.
“If it’s a quick one, yeah.” Taash’s hand wandered down to Mel’s thigh and got a sharp slap from Mel for their exploration. Taash sighed again and sat up properly in the bed, not at all shy about their nudity.
“Thank you! I’ll be quick. Did you know that Evabas’s name means ‘little thing’?”
“Wait, it does?” Mel cut in, looking back at Taash. Taash just shrugged at both of them. “That… seems harsh. Is it like, an affectionate thing?”
“Dunno,” Taash answered simply. “I don’t think it is a thing. I’ve never heard anyone else called that.”
“I think it bothers them,” Bellara said quickly. “Can you tell me something else to call them? In Qunlat, I mean.” Bellara fidgeted with her hands while she spoke, and bounced up on her toes to try to hide her nervousness.
“Well, I mean, there’s Taarala-”
“No,” Mel cut in. “That one is taken.” Taash chuckled.
“Good point. You could call her kadan, if you feel that way?”
“Kadan… Ka-dan. Ka-dan.” Bellara tested the sound on her tongue. Qunlat was so harsh and stiff compared to Dalish, it made her tongue feel wrong. “I like that. That’s not so bad to say. What does it mean?”
“Uh, it means heart. As in, you are my heart.”
“Oh! Well that’s perfect! Thank you!” Bellara practically jumped with excitement and hurried out the door.
“Hey! Shut the door!” Mel shouted after Bellara.
“You said you were going to ward it-” Taash’s voice faded into nothing as Bellara left the hallway that lead to their room
—-------—-------—-------—-------—-------
Bellara hummed softly as she trailed a finger lazily over Evabas’ stomach. She had a leg hooked around one of Evabas’ thighs and was stretched out against their side on the thick pile of blankets spread out on her floor to approximate a bed. The size difference was always obvious, but in these moments, when they were skin to skin, not even the air between them, it felt both exaggerated and diminished. The muscles on Evabas’ stomach tensed a little as Bellara continued to tease her finger over them. How cute that Evabas was ticklish. How odd that despite both being mages, Evabas was so much more muscular.
“What are you thinking about?” Evabas’ voice sliced gently through the silence.
“Hmm?” Bellara stilled her exploration, reaching up to rest her hand in the valley between Evabas’ breasts, her chin now on their shoulder as she looked up to their face.
“You’re quiet. That usually means you are thinking about something,” Evabas observed and Bellara giggled.
“I was thinking about how pretty you are. And,” Bellara hesitated for a moment. Then she pushed herself up on her other hand, leaning over Evabas with her hand still on their chest. Her long hair, let loose in the process of their lovemaking, fell around her like a curtain. “I was thinking about something else.” Bellara shivered a little as Evabas’ hand found her thigh and slid easily up to her hip and then her waist. There was such strength in those hands, but Evabas was never anything but gentle and soft with her.
“Do I need to guess?”
“No, kadan,” Bellara said, trying to sound as confident as possible using the word. Evabas’ face lit up immediately upon hearing the word, and Bellara swelled a little with pride at seeing their expression.
“Who taught you that?” Evabas was staring up at her with a look of wonder in their eyes. It made Bellara’s heart sing even more, to see Evabas believing her without doubting. They struggled so hard, after everything, to genuinely believe they were truly loved and accepted.
“Taash.”
“That makes sense. Did they tell you what it means?” Bellara nodded and chewed her lip a little.
“I… I want to call you something beautiful, something that means how much you matter. To me. To everyone else. To the world. You have my heart. You are not a thing.” Evabas’ hand clenched a little against her waist, and she wondered if she had said the wrong thing.
“My name does not bother me that much. Aritama may not have meant it out of affection, but she didn't mean it out of malice either. But… I really like hearing you call me kadan. Can you say it again?” Bellara relaxed at Evabas’ answer and nodded happily. She pushed up slightly, wriggling a bit in an ungainly fashion against Evabas’ side and leaned in close to their lips.
“I love you, kadan.” And then she kissed them, slow and sweet, like she had all the time in the world to do it. And she did. There was a whole new world with a whole new future for them to find, together.
Rook Appreciation Week - Day 4 [Laidir - Artifacts | Hall of Valor | Treasure]
@rookappreciationweek
Melovera Laidir and Taash just cannot catch a break.
Word Count: 1,980
Laidir walked through the eluvian into the Lighthouse and smiled in relief. Bellara and Harding were already disappearing up the stairs ahead of her, which meant her ploy to loiter and fall behind the two had worked. Taash was behind her in an instant, coming through the eluvian. Laidir turned around to them, tipping her head back to look up at the tall qunari. It was easy to imagine it eventually becoming frustrating, but for right now the view was worth it. Taash looked good from every angle, but this one was the best. And it only got better when Taash caught her looking and stepped in until they were almost touching again, looming over her. Maybe it should be intimidating, or menacing, but it just made Laidir’s body thrum with excitement. Everything about Taash was like watching a razor edge of excitement.
The two of them stood like that in silence. Laidir could hear Taash’s breathing, feel the heat that poured out of them. It had to be the fire they kept inside of them, because no one else had ever been so hot. Literally. Figuratively too, but that wasn’t because they were ashkaari. It definitely did not hurt. Laidir met and held Taash’s gaze without wavering. That same figurative heat was charged between them. And she did not need to lower her gaze to examine Taash. Laidir had already spent a truly indecent amount of time watching Taash, learning the shape of her. The broad shoulders, strong back, and legs that went, whew, all the way from the ground to the very center of Laidir’s imagination. The way the red of the Qunari ropes circled the muscles of their arms, as if daring anyone to be foolish enough to not notice. Everything about Taash screamed confidence and swagger. And Laidir was so here for it. Wherever this went between them, she fully intended to enjoy every minute of it.
“So-” Laidir started, breaking the tense silence.
“Taash!” Davrin’s shout cut Laidir off and she closed her eyes to keep her immediate irritation from escaping out her mouth. “You’re back just in time. We’re going down to the Hall of Valor!” Laidir opened her eyes to see Taash looking over her head. Moment lost. She turned and saw Davrin, Rook, and Ingellvar stepping into the eluvian room together, all dressed for war. Laidir almost groaned out loud. All she wanted was one thing, and everything else just kept getting in the blighted way. But Taash did not move behind her, so there was still hope yet.
“I just got back-” Taash started to protest.
“Exactly,” Rook jumped in, her tone jovial. “If you come with us, we'll definitely make a clean sweep of the whole thing. And Aylin hasn’t gotten to go.” Rook motioned to the incredibly tall woman as the trio came to a stop in front of Laidir and Taash. Ugh they all looked so happy, even Ingellvar. Laidir felt a little guilty at the idea of keeping Taash from going if they wanted to, but she really hoped they did not want to. Unfortunately, she felt a large hand on her shoulder, and when she turned back to look up at Taash, it was very obvious that Taash did want to go. Laidir sighed heavily and shrugged.
“Yeah, alright. I’ll come along to watch.” At least she would get to see Taash smashing through the competition. It was a pretty amazing sight. Taash lifted their hand from Laidir’s shoulder and the trio of warriors swept past her to join Taash as they all headed to the eluvian. Laidir fell her entire body rebelling against this further setback, but turned and followed them. The world might be ending, but there was still time.
Laidir was largely left out of the group as they passed through the Crossroads and into the Hall. Not that they were ignoring her, they were simply busy chattering among themselves. Well, boasting and shoving was more like it. Even Rook, drastically shorter than all of them, and comedically shorter than Taash, was able to get in a few good playful shoves. Without asking, Laidir went up to the top of the stairs, where Isabela called the games when she was there, and climbed up to sit on the rail to watch. And what a show it was. Surprising no one, the four warriors of the Veilguard obliterated their opponents round after round. If they kept that up, no one was going to want to fight against them. On another day, Laidir might have been curious enough to watch the differences in the way each of them fought. Today was not that day. Today she had eyes only for Taash. Taash fought like a berserker, not entirely without finesse, but still heavily relying on their height, reach, and sheer size advantage. Without a shield, Taash also moved much faster than the other two, always the aggressor, overwhelming her opponents with blow after blow until their defenses crumbled. Laidir chewed her lip as she watched. What would it be like to have that stamina and strength above her in bed? Or maybe even below her?
Sooner than expected, but not soon enough, the Veilguard warriors stood undefeated and unchallenged in the mighty Hall of Valor. Isabela called it, announcing the overwhelming victory and the prizes won. Laidir twisted around and hopped off the rail as Taash and the others walked out of the Hall. She shouted a quick goodbye to an amused Isabela and then hurried down the stairs to intercept the group. They had their fun in the Hall, now it was her turn. She had been nice and waited long enough. Fortunately, the Hall was not particularly crowded today, so it was easy enough for Laidir to get down to the arena’s entrance. As Taash walked out last, she reached out to grab Taash’s hand, giving it a quick tug. When the dragon hunter looked at her she pressed a finger to her own lips and pulled at their hand again. Taash got the message and followed.
“Is there somewhere we can be alone?” Laidir asked, once they were well enough away from the others to not be heard. Taash’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Yeah but I’m… pretty sweaty,” Taash offered.
“I don’t mind,” Laidir grinned at them and for a second she got the joy of seeing Taash genuinely caught off guard. But the qunari recovered quickly and nodded, grabbing Laidir’s hand back. Where her tug on Taash’s hand had been little more than an insistent suggestion, when Taash pulled there was no choice but to follow. Not that she wanted to resist. Instead she focused on keeping up with Taash’s impossibly long strides. Spirits preserve her, she was very tall for an elf but Taash was impossibly tall. Even some of the qunari men she knew stood in Taash’s shadow. As they cut through and around the clusters of people, Laidir felt her heart start to pound in her chest. It was really happening.
Taash turned sharply, pulling Laidir into a tall, narrow tunnel in the stone only to stop short. Laidir collided with Taash’s back and Taash let go of her hand with lightning speed, slipping their arm around Laidir’s shoulders. She was effectively trapped against Taash as the qunari glanced up and down the hall quickly. Then Taash opened a door and stepped through. Laidir almost stumbled, but Taash kept her upright. No sooner than was she through the door than Taash kicked it shut behind them, and Taash was lifting her into the air. Laidir’s eyes widened as she found herself suddenly looking down at Taash instead of up. It was a wild change of perspective that sucked the air out of her lungs. Her hands instinctively found Taash’s shoulders and she wrapped her legs around those strong hips. A blush actually crept up her cheeks as she felt Taash’s hands slide down from her waist to her ass, giving her a confident squeeze. It was already worth the wait.
So she kissed them, bending down just a few inches to press her lips against Taash’s. A hungry groan passed between them, and then Taash returned the kiss. Their lips were warm and soft but not yielding. If anything, Taash seized control of the kiss quickly. Laidir slid her hands up to cradle Taash’s jaw in her hands. Both of them sucked in what little air they could when their lips would part for mere seconds. Taash tasted like fire and brimstone, spice and pepper. Their breath was every bit as hot as their skin, but each press and swipe of their tongue seemed to wipe the heat away so it could build anew. It was like kissing an inferno and some part of Laidir was aware that no one else would ever compare to this. Nothing could compare to this.
Taash moved forward, still holding Laidir up like it was nothing. That alone was a thrill even greater than Laidiir expected. She had always liked women taller and stronger than her, but Taash was exceptional, extraordinary. One of a kind. She had caught the dragon, and she had no intention of letting go. Laidir pulled herself tighter against Taash, her hands slipping back from their jaw and chin to the back of their neck. A spattering of tiny, soft hairs, too small and fine to be pulled into Taash’s long braid, teased her fingers. She itched to undo that braid, to see Taash with their hair as wild as their eyes. But that could wait.
Laidir felt Taash’s legs stop as they connected with something, but she did not pull away to look. Their kissing had not broken for more than a few seconds to gather air, and there was no reason for that to change. Breathing was for the weak. All she needed was to taste more of Taash, to feel Taash’s skin burning hot against every inch of her skin. Taash’s hands squeezed her ass again and her moan of approval was swallowed up by the kiss. But Taash clearly understood, because they did it again, harder this time. Laidir felt a spike of desire run through her. It was like she had a fever, one she had no interest in curing. Could it really burn like this forever? Spirits, she really hoped it could.
“Well isn’t this cute?” A rich Rivaini voice cut through the fog of lust. Taash’s hands jumped up from her ass to wrap protectively around her as they pulled back from the kiss. “Now get out.” Laidir looked up, cheek to cheek now with Taash as the qunari carefully turned their head to look at the door.
Isabela stood in the doorway, one hip cocked out with a fist on it and her amusement written plain on her face. Spirits, why?! Laidir groaned in wordless frustration.
“We were jus-”
“Oh, I can see what you’re doing. And I approve. But I have one rule, sweetings, and that is no one fucks in my bed without me.” Isabela’s amusement was like sand on Laidir’s nerves, but at least she was not angry with them. Taash still had not turned, or relaxed their tight grip around her.
“You cou-”
“Ah. No. Fine, two rules. Go on, out.” Laidir could feel the huffy sigh in Taash’s chest before it left their lips. Taash took a step back and then relaxed their grip, lowering Laidir carefully back to the ground. She had never felt the urge to kill a friend before, but she felt it now. Isabela would probably win that fight though, even old as she was. However old that actually was. No one seemed to know.
“Fine,” Laidir admitted begrudgingly and slunk shamefully out of Isabela’s room, Taash close on her heels. Looks like the Lighthouse really was the only option.
