#orderofunorder

[sulahnnan]

orderofunorder:

Her tension could be spotted from a mile away, it was expected given the nature of Thedas’ climate and the weight placed upon her head, he only wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, make her feel like she wasn’t alone in all of this, but that was the thing she wasn’t. They were all in this together, a pain shared was a pain halved. He slowly walks up behind her, as she clawed the table, emotion holding her captive.   “Ma biche,” he says softly, hands kneading the knots in her shoulders, slowly massaging away the constriction held deeply in her aching muscles. “Tomorrow is another day, leave this.”  

      ❧;;    “She would neither bend nor would she break--Ellana internalized all that she could, though there was only so much that she could physically bear. Isolated and confined with her frustrations, the warrior paced before careening forward over a wooden structure, muscles in her back stretching as those within her arms strained. Head hung, jaw clenched, she closed her eyes and focused only upon her own breathing; oblivious to the figure that padded into the room like a thief in the night.

              Her head lifted immediately, eyes snapping open the moment he spoke. Tension within white knuckles lessened as her palms drew back across the grain, though her attempt to turn and face him fell short once hands were felt upon her shoulders. A heavy sigh inflated and was released from her chest before eyes slid closed again, and her shoulders sank as if in defeat. 

             “If mistakes are constantly made,” she admitted quietly, digits rising to weave into tendril’s of silken gold, “then tomorrow will never come.”

[sulahnnan]

It was strange how happy he felt to be back in his usual habit – among those who had shunned him, yes, but in a place where he could blossom and be himself for the first time in a what seemed longer than it really, truly was. Now he was with new friends as well as the old who now clamoured to see him again; two faced as the dual masks they all wore for show. But this was business and serious business at that. If this failed, if they all failed his country would burn, and that was a terror that bared no thinking about. To stop this there was a plan and with that plan came positions and he needed to keep up his end of the mission. He simply had to chaperone Ellana, keep her from the nobles distaste and get as much approval as they could within the court before the night was out. No suspicion was to be raised, it was a night of peace-talks and drinks and that’s all it would remain, should there be no mistakes. If his wandering mind could realign with its task, that was. Blinking he pulls himself away from his hypnosis and rights his attention back to Ellana who as descending the stairs as elegantly as he said she needed, or as elegantly as the dress directed her. As she reached the foot he reached out for her hand, taking the small pale fingers into his own, helping her off the last step, fronting as the gentleman he’d been raised to be. “I’m ready if you are.” Born ready. This was his battleground. He stepped in sync with her, making sure she was walked steadily, pampered as if she were a china doll. Not at all but expectations were expectations. “Don’t be nervous mon cherie, it will be fine.” In the shark tank that was the grand game.

   ❧;;   Dainty, albeit strong fingers curled around the other’s offered grip and she moved smoothly across the marble floor. Even without the mask, Ellana had lived a life of maintaining a calm and neutral facade, though such tight-lipped seriousness was not necessarily what the court found most appealing. It was all quite literally a game--one in which the warrior had no desire playing--and yet she found herself here out of necessity, much to her great dismay.

               With careful steps lead by the experienced player at her side, Ellana moved along with his guidance; bright eyes flittering across the throngs of masked faces as they paraded through the threshold into the main hall. It was not nervousness that breached her bones, but rather an immense feeling of discomfort. This was not her battlefield--she was out of her element. The land upon which she currently walked should have belonged to her people, but instead of the warmth of familiar earth, she padded through cold, marble halls that were erected after Orlais had succeeded in its conquest. The thought of that much alone made her jaw clench and her stomach turn, but Ellana kept her chin high and her eyes forward; far more dependent on Walter in such a situation than she might have realized.

              “So long as you do not stray,” she breathed from between clenched teeth as murmuring began to rumble through the crowd like a swarm of hovering wasps, “unless leveling the famed Winter Palace to the ground is an acceptable option.”

[sulahnnan]

He isn't aware that he's staring but eyes lock onto her fiercely, it's only when she looks back that he realises. Quickly, and sheepishly he looks away, maybe she didn't notice, he was a fool to think but even more of a fool he thought to even look at her in that light, he tried to play it off, looked at the ground, the sky-- anywhere but and it was hard, he wanted to just look at her again. Tell her how beautiful she looked, but he froze and tried to brush it away.

    ❧;;  It was all so awkward–the event, the dress. All of it. She couldn’t stand how the darkened silk clung to every curve or her body, or how the lace itched her skin; she would have preferred the natural materials she was accustomed to an a full suit of armour, and were it appropriate to wear such things to a formal gathering, she would have done it in a heartbeat. She didn’t like how vulnerable she felt, or how restricted her movement was. The quicker the peace talks at Halamshiral went, the quicker she’d be able to shed the clingy garments that she cursed inwardly over and carry on with more pressing issues.

               From atop the stairs, Walter’s gaze went unnoticed. At first she smoothed the wrinkling layers by her hips; sliding rough hands over the material, body swaying, head tilting and locks of bottled sunlight tumbling over her shoulder. Her line of sight shifted however, and Ellana righted her posture before clearing her throat–apparently oblivious to it all. Her mind was elsewhere however, focused on more important things. Strong shoulders were pushed back proudly then, and she began to descend the shallow set of stairs with a certain precision. 

              “Shall we?” 

[sulahnnan]

It had taken a few attempts but getting back into it was easy, just as with bike riding: you never forget. Painting had always been a passion but knives had taken the place of brushes and his practice in the art was not quite what it used to be. What sat before him though made him smile, looking at it he could see clearly her face, painted in the subtle nature hues that she came associate with. Surrounding it was a simple wooden frame, stained an earthy brown. Blackwall had helped on this occasion, carving two Halla antlers from willow to adorn the top, setting it out from being just a boring conventional frame.   The problem with this was how it would be received – Ellana was a practical woman, and a gift with purpose might have been more suitable yet he supposed this was unique and personal. Really he hadn’t intentionally set out to do this, she just ended up being his muse in passing and one thing had lead onto another until eventually he ended up with this in his hands. Asides from Blackwall nobody knew either, and if she didn’t like it she could always use it as kindling for the fire. Placing it on her desk to find he leaves a brief note: Ellana, Don’t tell everyone I’m being nice it will damage my reputation. I understand this is incredibly vain but I thought you might appreciate a gift. I couldn’t find you to give this to you personally but I’ll imagine your face and I’ll imagine it looks incredibly delighted to find such a masterpiece, ha.  Thank you for everything.  Walter P.S Blackwall made the frame. 

 ❧;;   The parcel was not noticed immediately, for by the time Ellana made her way into the suite the sun was just beginning to rise. It was dark and she was exhausted in every sense of the word, but yet she laboured on–only pulling herself away from tedious work when she’d been all but forced to by the hand of an equally persistent companion. So alas she retired into chambers she never felt all that comfortable within, and meandered her way through the dark. 

             First she gravitated towards the offset desk located by the verandas to drop off a thinning stack of documents, then intended to retreat to bed. Though it was as she approached that an illustration obscured by the dim lighting and a hand-written note caught her tired gaze. As her tired eyes adjusted, her workload was set aside, and strong albeit delicate fingers plucked the intricately carved frame up from her desk. The letter was read in detail, the painting admired, and it was within that private moment that Ellana allowed her calm and stoic mien to falter as her lips were graced with with a subtle, yet appreciative smile. She held the image up in the orange morning light that began to pour through the window, igniting the earthy tones. Something of an endearing laugh rumbled within her chest, and she paced away from the desk to replace an image that had been earlier mounted on the wall with the gift she’d received. The note she folded and tucked away–a reminder, a memory for when she needed it.

[wildwindtrail]

orderofunorder replied to your post “dare!”

"Well." He starts, looking at her surprised and a little flushed, "didn't think you actually would."

Nedra chuckled. “Sorry about that.I blame the game.”She smiled at him. Nedra didn’t know him, he was new in this tavern. The others that she had played with weren’t her friends either but just travelers having fun, few drinks and a game.

She sat beside him. “I haven’t seen you here before. I’m Nedra.” 

[wildwindtrail]

orderofunorder replied to your post “dare!”

(What a way to say hello Haahahahaha!)

Quite true ;D 

[sulahnnan]

orderofunorder​

   ❧;;    “This is ridiculous,” she hissed as her nose wrinkled                   in apparent irritation, 

                                             “there is nothing rational about this.”

[howprettyareyou]

orderofunorder

“Waaaaalter,” Sera groaned, poking him. “Remind me next time that coming back to Denerim always goes bad.”