#taerellavellan

[thereluctantinquisitor]

I have been out of the loop like WHOA, how's my favorite mercenary Maraas doing? Does he need a back rub? Cause I'm guessing it's still bad!

Maraas: Ha! You guessed correctly. I’ll just go lie down and wait for that back rub, yeah?

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

@taerellavellan

Well, here’s your opponent, but beware! He fights dirty:

[kurogoesinthedas]

taerellavellan replied to your post “omg so how is Fael's name pronounced? I've always read it as "Fah-el"...”

Meanwhile I always - unintentionally - pronounced his name as 'fail'. Oops. *hides forever*

[ryuchanwings]

Companion Rayne-Meeting a life long friend, Part 1

Rayne wasn’t sure what she’d expected on this training excursion to the outskirts of Tantervale, but it certainly wasn’t this.  

She’d gone out with the clan’s senior scouts and hunters, learning more about how to do things, and be USEFUL, and pay attention....  Well, mostly.  The young Dreamer couldn’t help it if she got a little distracted from time to time. There were a lot of interesting things in the world that demanded her attention.   Well, her teacher demanded her attention too, she supposed.  But there were only so many times she could hear the same things over and over before she started tuning them out.  The woods were cold, but not covered in snow, just damp and a bit gloomy. The weight of the lightly armored elves was such that they made little to no noise, and left no evidence of their passing.  Rayne’s ears twitched and she looked up at the passing of a Raven, carrying a piece of something shiny back to it’s nest, and twisted her head to look at a badger as it trundled across the ground.   So when there was an explosion of magical origin coming from the direction of the graveyard on the edge of the forest, that captured her awareness quite fully.   “Alarith-” “Yes, we heard it too.”  The dark haired elf turned, frowning in the direction.  “... We’ll investigate.  Rayne, Stay-”   “Right behind you, yes sir!”  The crimson haired girl replied as she snaped to attention. He scowled, brows pinching at his Valaslin.  “That’s not-” “Because you wouldn’t leave me behind, alone, after all the nasty things the Shems around here have been up to lately, right?  Especially not with magic like -that- being thrown around?”  The corners of her mouth lifted up into a small smile that was hopeful, innocent, and incredibly cheeky all at once.   The other members of the party looked at him curiously, wondering what his response would be to that.  He struggled for a few moments before heaving a heavy sigh and pointing at her.  “You stay back unless we say otherwise.  If we tell you to run, you run, back to the clan, and you don’t stop.” She nodded, energy vibrating through her.  She was no mage, never would be one as she was incapable of channeling magic, but she had a connection to the Fade.  Usually, it only showed up in her dreams, but occasionally she’d get ‘feelings’ from the area that usually indicated when it would be a good time to move on, or find something interesting.   The small Dalish band approached the source of the commotion with caution, stopping at the edge of the trees as they looked out over the soggy grass. The landscape before them was mostly a mixture of gray, brown and green, but laying on a patch of grass not far away was a swatch of scarlet, next to... “Is that a GRAVE?”  Katriel, one of the scouts said, her eyebrows lifting. “And the body, do you think-?” “Right, bows at the ready.”  Aralith said sternly.  “It’s suspicious.  If it’s a Darkspawn, or undead, we shoot to disable, then kill it.  We don’t need that around here.  If they’re still alive... we’ll see.” Rayne swallowed as they approached.  She’d never come across a zombie or a Darkspawn before, but she didn’t feel like there was anything nearby that was stranger than her aunt, the clan Keeper, so she tried to remain optimistic.   What they found was... An elf.  “A flat-ear.”  One of the others muttered, un-notching his arrow with a harsh breath as Aralith knelt by the body and turned him over, brushing a few insects loose.  “Must have escaped the slaughter nearby somehow.” “He didn’t escape all of it.”  Katriel said softly as she crouched by his other side, lifting one of the youth’s hands after cutting the ropes binding him to look at his bloodied and torn hands, rotten wood splinters imbedded in his fingers, nails cracked and torn, some having been removed completely.  “The shems buried him in there.  Alive.”  She said with a sharp nod at the grave, lip wrinkling in disgust.  “He can’t be much older than Rayne!” Rayne remained silent, merely standing nearby as she looked down at the unconscious boy, her brows furrowed.  He was really, really pretty.  His hair was the same color as hers.  And judging from the track marks on his face (And the traces of snot under his nose), he’d been crying.  Rayne had never been quite so utterly glad she was born Dalish in her life, and said a short prayer to Mythal in thanks in her mind.  “We’re taking him with us, right?”  She asked, her voice much quieter and more subdued than usual.   “Hah.”  Jawen, the male from earlier, scoffed.  “Rayne, we don’t just go around picking up stray-” “He’s a Mage, Jawen.”  Aralith said, glancing up at the blond.  “And powerful enough if he was able to blast his way out of a sealed wooden box six feet underground.  After we lost Hanin, all we have left is the Keeper and Arinaya.”  He glanced at Rayne, and she pretended not to notice, their disappointment that she couldn’t have taken more after her mother made clear long ago.  “We could use another mage, and I don’t think he has anywhere to go.” Jawen’s look was incredulous.  “He’s a city-elf!  He won’t know which end of an Aravel is up!” “He has time to learn.”  Aralith said as he stood up, brushing his hands on his leggings.  “Besides, I’m leaving it up to the Keeper to decide.  We take him with us.”  He turned towards the forest and let out a sharp, short whistle, calling his Hart from the trees.  The large, dark stag was at it’s prime, and dark coloration made it perfect for more stealthy missions.   “Rayne, help me with him.”  Katriel said as she took one of his arms and pulled it around her neck, lifting the limp young man from the earth as he let out a slight moan.   The young archer hurried to his other side, grunting a little as it was rather awkward for her to try and maneuver someone taller than her.  They managed to get him on it’s back, then after a few more moments of consideration, Rayne was told to get on as well.  “Keep him steady.”  Aralith ordered softly as she adjusted him on the saddle, slumped slightly but leaning against her thanks to the belt that tied them together lightly.  “And monitor him.  I don’t want to deal with a panicked mage in case he should wake up.”   She nodded, and that said, they headed off, back towards the clan.  At thirteen, it wasn’t like Rayne was the epitome of knowledge and wisdom.  She was whimsical, sometimes impractical, and a bit impatient.  But she had the feeling that this young man would pass her Uncle’s inspection, and that she’d just met someone who would be quite important in her life. ((To be Continued)) ((For @taerellavellan ))

[thereluctantinquisitor]

I cannot resist. 🐷 Maraas and Jarv because this prompt just screams 'bad back' jokes. Totally up to you if you actually want to do it though lol. Hope you had a good christmas! ^-^

“Jarv, you know you weigh a tonne, yeah?”

“I’ll have ye know it’s all raw muscle.” Jarvaazim’s grin was wicked as he held on to Maraas’ shoulders, seeming to enjoy the prospect of riding on the other man’s back. “Maybe if ye ‘ad a bit more, it wouldna be so hard for ye.”

Maraas snorted and jerked suddenly, as if to dump Jarvaazim on the ground. Of course, he held onto the Vashoth’s legs, mostly because the last thing he felt like dealing with was a pissed off pirate with dirt in his breeches. “Hey, watch it now. Don’t think I won’t drop you.”

“Ye won’t, if ye know what’s good for ye.” Jarvaazim cocked his head, leaning around to get a look at Maraas’ face. “And none o’ that ‘bad back’ bullshit either. I’m not Commander Cullen. Ye can’t pull the wool over my eyes.”

Unable to help himself, Maraas just chuckled at that. “Commander Curly’s too busy to chase me up anymore, I think. Poor man’s just given up.”

“Ay, well, don’t let him catch ye carrying me around, or ye’ll never have a leg t’ stand on.” 

“Well, you could get down and walk yourself?”

“Ah, nice try. Real clever. Not gonna happen.”

Maraas continued walking, the ascent to Skyhold seeming all the more daunting with a huge Vashoth clinging to his back. “You know, I’m starting to think that hit you took to the head wasn’t as bad as you made it out to be. No man with a concussion could talk as much crap as you do, Jarv.”

“Insultin’ a man with a head wound. Real big of ye, Maraas. Didna realise ye were the kind of man t’ kick another when he’s down.”

“Only when he’s a giant dickhead.” Maraas spoke the words through a shameless grin, turning to regard his friend. “Can I just emphasise the giant part for a second here? I mean, you know you’re taller than me, right?”

“Aye.”

“Makes this pretty hard.”

“Tha’ it does.”

“Glad to see that concerns you.” Snorting, Maraas continued winding his way up the hill with his precious cargo. “You know I’m taking you straight to the healer’s right?”

Jarvaazim stiffened. “Like shit ye are!”

Sensing he had touched a nerve, Maraas kept prodding. “Well, I mean, if you can’t even balance well enough to walk, that’s probably something to be worried about. Wouldn’t want you to drop dead once I leave you alone.” He paused pointedly. “Or… you could prove that you’re fine, and I won’t say another word about it.”

There was a long, significant silence. Maraas’ boots crunched over the mixture of stone and slurry that carpeted their way up into the mountains.

“Fuck, fine. Put me down.”

A victorious smile spread across Maraas’ face. 

“Oh, well… if you insist.”

“Lazy bastard.”

“Lying asshole.”

They paused at that, weighing up the other’s insult. 

In the end, they both simply conceded with a nod. Fair enough.

[thereluctantinquisitor]

@taerellavellan replied to your post: So we had our final encounter of our three year...

Oh man that sounds scary! But geez, what a coincidence, that’s nuts! Crazy Australian weather lol. Well I’m glad you’re okay and no one got hurt. ^__^ Are you guys gonna start a new campaign?

It was! We haven’t had a storm that bad in years, so it was pretty wild. It was the kind that hit a couple of times before actually finishing. But yeah, the coincidence was crazy! Especially because we killed the Lich and the sun came out and it looked like a regular summer’s day lol (well, if you ignored the carnage of fallen trees and powerlines).

We’re going to start Curse of Strahd in the new year! I am very excited >:)

[thereluctantinquisitor]

@taerellavellan replied to your photo: Varlen: Oh hey, Leliana… you asked for me? BONUS:

Oh my god. I didn’t know I needed to see this until now! XDDD Dorian and Varlen should organize a fashion show or something

HAHA definitely! And their first runway victim...

HANIN GREATLY DISAPPROVES

[thereluctantinquisitor]

Omg all those prompts are so good 0_0 *wheezes* Okay, snowball fight in Skyhold's courtyard (include as many chars as you want) combined with either “we were playing in the snow and you suddenly tackled me to the ground and now…we’re just…staring… at each other…” or "PULLING YOU IN FOR A KISS WITH A SCARF", with Maraazim maybe?? >3> Hope you get your muse back soon <3

Well, here it is! Apologies if this is riddled with mistakes; it is 1am and I do not have any energy left to edit u_u

~2500 words. Featuring Hanin Lavellan, The Dawn Squad, Jarvaazim (@taerellavellan’s OC) and Maraas Adaar. Most under the cut <3

It was a rare thing, for the soldiers of the Inquisition tofind a few moments to just relax. Unwind. Breathe.The snow fell softly from a marble sky, decorating hats and the shouldersof coats, dusting its way across every signpost and steeple. There wassomething picturesque about winter. It froze the world in more ways than one;gave people longer to enjoy it.

So, as one might imagine, the sound of cursing and delightedsquealing came as something of a shock to Hanin.

Grumbling, he snapped his quill down against the table, hisreport barely a third finished and already overdue by more days than he caredto count. He had tried ignoring it, and it had worked for a time, but now thenoise had swelled to the point of inexcusable. And right outside his window. So, tugging on his coat and marching downthe stairs from his quarters, Hanin mulled darkly over what he would say.Terse, strict, and scathing. Their lack of duty did not give them leave todisrupt the work of others. He would set them to cleaning out the stables if hehad to, just to get a moment’s peace. He would—

Hanin threw open the door, teeth clenched, jaw stiff withirritation… then blinked in surprise as a blonde blur rocketed past him,laughing brightly until he copped a ball of snow to the face. He stumbled andfell with a fwump into the snow… thenwas up again almost immediately, grinning broadly, cheeks flushed, nose red,remnants of powdery snow falling from his freckled face as he began franticallypreparing his counter-attack.

“Ha! Got you!” Ralon whooped, white teeth flashing againstdark skin, another snowball already in hand. He tossed it up lazily, catchingit again and losing almost half the snow in the process of showing off. “Who’snext, huh? Who dares to challenge me, Ralon, King of the—OOOF!”

Lyrene appeared almost out of nowhere, sniping Ralon with asnowball to the back of the head, knocking the man forward indignantly. Helanded in the snow face-first, his rear in the air, arms sprawled out in frontof him as the archer let out a thrilled laugh, skipping from where she had concealedherself behind a snow-covered fence. “Less talking, more throwing, your Majesty,” she jeered playfully as Ralon extractedhimself from the snow. But the Antivan did not rise, instead succumbing to afit of laughter, flopping onto his back and covering his face with one glovedhand in mock-shame.

Darren, who had been running around dodging snowballs tossedby some of the other off-duty soldiers, came to a breathless halt when henoticed Hanin standing in the doorway. His face immediately coloured and,puffing, he tucked his hand behind his back, snowball melting into his glove. “S-Sir!I, ah… we were just… um…”

“Come to piss on the parade, sir?” Cyrus asked. He waslounging against the wall of one of the buildings, a pile of pre-rolled snowballsbeside him, clearly content to just peg them at anyone foolish enough toventure too close. Connors sat beside him, dutifully rolling snowball aftersnowball, seemingly content with the task. The dark haired man cocked his head,smirking. “Huh. I figured your allergies would be playing up, what with peoplehaving fun so close-by.”

“I was working,” Hanin replied, still a little caughtoff-guard by the scale of the conflict taking place in the courtyard. Were those… forts on the far side? “Writingreports.”

“Oh…” Darren dropped his snowball and dusted off his gloveanxiously. “You were? Are we being too loud? Maker, I said we shouldn’t do this here…”

“C’mon, it’s the only place with enough room for us all,”Lyrene countered with a pout, wandering over to Darren and slinging her armaround the boy’s shoulders. “Stop acting like you killed somebody, yeah? We’lljust keep it down a bit.” She turned her attention towards Hanin. “That alrightby you, sir?”

Hanin thought on it for a moment… but Darren’s hopeful gaze,peeking out from beneath snow-tousled hair, was enough to break even thestrongest of wills. So, despite his earlier convictions, Hanin just grunted,leaning against the doorframe. Folding his arms, he regarded the group. “Verywell, then.” Darren let out a gasp of delight, Lyrene grinning and laughing aswell, but Hanin raised his hand to silence them. “On one condition.”

“Knew it was too good to be true,” Ralon noted with a sigh,having composed himself and moved to stand with Lyrene and Darren. “What’s itgonna be? Silence? No running?”

Hanin’s gaze flicked between the three members of his squad,then over to Cyrus and Connors, then over to the distant forts on the otherside of the courtyard. “Whose forts are those?”

Ralon frowned, and all of the Dawn Squad turned to regardthe two forts. “Riegler’s squad’s on the right, I think,” he said after amoment. “Yeah… that looks like Sanson and Naria.” Murmurs of agreement rose fromthe others. “The one on the left is Maraas’ and Jarvaazim’s.” Ralon snorted. “Ain’tno one getting into that fort.” Then,slowly, the group turned back to look at Hanin.. “Uh… what about them, sir?”

Confused, they all gazed at Hanin. The warrior, so bitterbefore, so angry, let the momentstretch for a time… then a smirk tugged up the corner of his lips.

“You have half an hour to take one of them.”

“Shit, those kids really don’t let up, do they?” Maraas letout a booming roar, hefting a large snowball in one hand, then leaped up,hurled it over the wall of the fort and sending it crashing into Darren, whowas quite literally knocked flat by the impact. His squadmates immediatelyrushed to cover him, pelting Maraas with counter-snowballs, and the largeVashoth ducked back down again, tossing his head back and laughing. Unrestrained.Fun. This was surprisingly fun. Heglanced across at his teammate, and snorted in amusement. “You wanna share someof those, partner?”

Jarvaazim, who had a veritable mountain of snowballs by his side, cocked a brow at Maraas, handsalready working another clutch of loose power into a tight sphere. “Sure. When you stop wastin’ all ourartillery.” He flashed a wicked grin. “Rate you’re goin’, we’ll be out in halfa minute, easy.”

Again, Maraas just succumbed to laughter, shifting to movecloser to Jarvaazim. “Aw, c’mon. Don’t you want to see me floor some of Hanin’sducklings? It’s pretty fun once y—OOF!”

Sadly, sometimes being a Qunari was a distinct tacticaldisadvantage, and Maraas failed to keep his head low enough, copping a directhit, then another in rapid succession, thrown by Lyrene and Darren. However, seeing thedelight on the kid’s face at having actually hit him, Maraas made a big show of falling over, vanishing behindthe wall and groaning loudly, as if dazed. There, lying in the snow, he grinnedas he heard Darren’s delighted laughter and the sound of high-fiving drift overthe fort’s wall. “Reckon Hanin’ll have them cleaning out the stables later forslacking off?” Maraas asked Jarvaazim amiably, tilting his head towards his snow-sculpting teammate. Thepirate hummed, an amused smirk flickering across his lips. Maraas watched the expression appreciatively. Good lips, those...

“Sure. If they lose.” Jarvaazim hefted a perfect snowball in his hand, inspecting it for a moment as thoughit were a work of art, then launched to his feet. “Avast! I may be a man down,but ye’ll never take this fort!” He hurled his snowball, then another, catchingRalon and Cyrus this time. Then, Jarvaazim grinned, snagging a third snowballand aiming it at the pile Connors was building. It smashed into it, scatteringthe carefully moulded snow, earning shouts of dismay from the Dawn Squad astheir supply was ransacked. Triumphant and satisfied, Jarvaazim crouched backdown behind the wall, then tossed a wink to the still-prone Maraas. “Got ‘emgood that time. See? It’s all about tactics.”

“Yeah, yeah, tactics. Huh….”Maraas let out a sigh, his gaze slipping away for a moment to watch the clouds.Then it flicked back, a frown playing across his face. “You’ve uh… got a littlesomething. On your nose.”

Jarvaazim blinked, surprised by the sudden announcement, andreached up, brushing his fingers over his face. “What? Where? Did I get it?”

“Nah, still there.”

Frustrated, Jarvaazim swiped again, then turned towardsMaraas. “Now?”

“Nope. Missed it again.” When Jarvaazim groaned and cursed,Maraas just grinned, gesturing. “C’mere. I’ll get it, you big baby.”

“Ay, says the one who wanted to come play pretend with thekids,” Jarvaazim shot back, although both Vashoth’s tones remained playful. He shuffledover, proving wiser than Maraas and keeping lower than the wall. “All right. Goon, then. Go get i—mmph!”

Without further ado, Maraas reached up, snagged the scarfbundled around Jarvaazim’s neck, and tugged the pirate down for a kiss,catching his lips with his own, smiling as he pressed himself hard against theother man. Jarvaazim pulled back on instinct at first, then let out a grunt ofamusement, leaning into the moment once he realised what was going on. Afterall, he was down there now. Might as well make it worth the trip.

“You’re such a shit,” he informed Maraas once they brokeapart, air steaming between them as their breath mingled with the cold. Themercenary just laughed, a deep, wholesome sound, hand still tangled inJarvaazim’s scarf.

“Maybe,” he agreed after a moment, grinning, “but it keepsthings interesting. Where’s the fun in playing by the rules, right?”

Jarvaazim considered Maraas for a moment, then succumbed tohis trademark smirk. Shit, Maraas really likedthat smirk. “Sounds like one of my lines,” he mused. “Don’t tell me youactually started listenin’ when Ispeak.”

“Hm? You say something?”

Jarvaazim rolled his eyes and let Maraas tug him down foranother kiss. They hummed against one another’s lips, content despite the coldand despite the water slowly seeping through Maraas’ coat from lying in oneplace for so long. It was an easy thing to ignore, with such a good distraction…

Distraction….

Frowning, Maraas pulled out of the kiss, placing a stillinghand on Jarvaazim’s chest. “Hey… is it real quiet, or—”

Suddenly, the Dawn Squad came careening over the wall,whooping and roaring battle cries, snow trailing behind their coats and boots inan explosion of white as they breached the forts defences and surrounded thepair of Vashoth. “Surrender!” Lyrene declared as they all aimed snowballs atthem. “Or we’ll be forced to… wait…”

Maraas watched in amusement as realisation dawned on each oftheir determined faces, exhilaration turning to confusion turning to understanding.“UGH!” Lyrene abandoned her snowball, vaulting back over the fort wall withreckless abandon, crying, “Nope! Not worth it!” Connors followed, albeitsilently, until only Cyrus, Ralon, and Darren remained. The three young menstared down at the Qunari, who stared back, utterly unperturbed by the untimelyinvasion.

“Well shit, don’t let us stop you or anything,” Cyrus saidwith a smirk, folding his arms. “Was a lot of work getting this far – might as well get a showfor it.”

“Hm, gotta agree,” added Ralon, nodding sagely. “But eitherway…” He flashed a grin. “We win.”

“We did?” Darren asked, seemingly shocked by the prospect.He was also the only one who remained steadfastly in the confusion stage of the realisation process. But his expressionbrightened nonetheless, and he clutched his snowball close, as though it were aprize. “We won!”

Jarvaazim opened his mouth to argue, but Maraas tugged himdown again, chuckling, keeping his voice low. “Ah, c’mon… let the kid have it.”He released Jarvaazim and sat up, brushing the snow off his coat and raisinghis hands. “All right, all right! You win – we surrender,” he declared loudly,then let out a melodramatic sigh. “Alas. It was a hard battle, but it seems FortHorny has fallen.”

“Oh now that’sdisgusting,” Cyrus declared, wrinkling his nose. “Really?”

“First order of business: renaming Fort Horny,” Ralon announced with a snort of laughter. Darren justblinked, blue eyes flicking between his squadmates and the pair of Vashoth.

“I don’t get it. What’s wrong? It makes sense.” He gesturedwith his melty snowball to Maraas and Jarvaazim. “They both have horns.”

Laughing, Maraas hauled himself to his feet then reachedout, ruffling Darren’s messy blond hair, earning a squeak from the boy. “That’sright. We sure do. Keep up the good work, kid.”

Darren pouted, sensing there was something he was missing,and Jarvaazim stepped forward, draping an arm around Maraas’ shoulders. “Cyrus’llexplain it to ye after, lad,” he declared, then winked at the man in question,whose expression had gone from amused to horrified in a matter of seconds.

“Like hell I will! Ralon, you do it.”

“Whoa, hey, you heard the big guy – it’s your job!”

“This isn’t fair! Can someone please just tell me what I’mmissing? What’s wrong with the name?”

Laughing, Maraas and Jarvaazim exited their fort to the sound of the trio bickering, acceptingdefeat with a surprising amount of grace. “Can’t believe we lost to that lot,”Jarvaazim grumbled as they wandered off towards the tavern, thoughts of thewaiting fire all too alluring. Maraas just hummed, nodding, content with hisarm wrapped around the pirate’s waist.

“Ah, they fought well,” he said. Then, he started to chuckle.Jarvaazim cocked his head, bemused as he regarded Maraas.

“What?” He frowned, then added accusingly. “What did you do?”

“You know that mound of snow at the centre of the fort?”

“Aye. The one you told me not t’ touch.”

Maraas glanced across, eyes glinting, and grinned a wickedgrin. “Let’s just say… I cleaned out thestables earlier.” He gave Jarvaazim a knowing look, then burst intolaughter when he saw the telltale look of horror sweep over the pirate’s face.

“Oh now that’sdisgusting,” he declared, then snorted despite himself. “Well… they’re in for anasty surprise when they go digging around in it.”

Chuckling to himself, Maraas reached out, shoving open thedoor to the tavern as they arrived.

“And that, my handsome sea-loving friend, is why you never underestimate your enemy.”