there are flowers
in this world
that only grow
once the ground
above them burns.

you were that fire.

this is not my end.
this is my birth.
—Pavana पवन

Private & Selective DA: I OC blog

Lelaros, a Red Jenny

#burningarrcws


Written by Krissy

est November 2015

other accounts
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Exclusives

n/a

The big exciting day

oftheferalfolk:

                                                                                    @burningarrcws
Toeb was missing-
not that Luen was worried. No, he was a big boy and knew that dogs liked to run on their own sometime. The pack got too noisy when they were all together and would snap at each other’s heels. Except… Toeb and Hen were the only two that actively lived in Skyhold with them. Maybe Toeb went to go visit the pack then? (Luen wished he had gone too in that case. He missed Tummely and Staggers. They probably were full grown from their puppy bodies into lanky lab ones now.

He missed the pack but it was too dangerous for little elflings to leave Skyhold right now.
Thats what babae said anyways…

That left Luen under Lelaros’ care as babae and Hen went to look for Toeb. That wasn’t all bad. He liked his sibling but…he didn’t think that Lelaros liked him. He was always shooing him away and snarling at him like he had a thorn stuck in his paw. Luen could understand a sour dog any day but Ros was a big mystery. 

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He was quiet for a little longer as he kicked his legs back and forth restlessly in his chair. Finally he sighed and leaned over the surface of the table, chin resting on his hands. “Ros! Can we play a game? I’s boring in here. An’ it smells!” He wrinkled his nose, lips fixed in an exaggerated pout.

Why had Mallel chosen him for this? There were at least a dozen other people far better with children, far less busy and far more qualified to babysit than he. The Iron Bull, for one, could have so easily looked after Luen while Mallel was away. Luen adored him, after all, and Mallel seemed almost suspiciously close to the qunari. Even Varric would be more qualified than he. For half a beat he even wished Eugenie was there, with her children. At least then Luen would have someone around his own age to play with.

Frowning, Lelaros’ eye flickered up from his leads at the question, a frown forming upon his lips. He didn’t have time for games, there was work to be done.

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“It doesn’t smell.” Though perhaps Liari could use a bath. He’d call in one of his favors later for that. “Yeah, here’s a game for you. It’s called the Quiet Game. Means the first one to talk loses. Last person to talk gets a sweet. It begins— now.”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: {Luen}“There’s no sunshine.”

meme | not accepting | @oftheferalfolk

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        Hazel eyes flicker up from his embroidery, and cast a glance out of his window. “That’s because it’s raining, brat. Can’t change the weather for you, and you’re not going out there to catch cold. So you’re just gonna have to sit tight until Mal comes back.” He pauses for a moment, sets his sewing aside. “Come on. I’ll take you to Eugenie. She’s ‘round here somewhere.”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: “Are you letting pride cloud your judgment?”

meme | accepting | @oftheferalfolk

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“No, I’ve got this under control. Let me do my job, Mallel. I’ve been doing it for two years and I’m damn good at it. Just keep out of my way. It’s not pride that’s clouding my judgement, it’s you questioning me.. Just— give me space and let me fucking work.”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: Luen wrinkled his face. "You won't what?" (( GOD ROS ))
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            “I won’t have sex with them. Don’t ask me
             what that means, ask Mal.”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: {meme}{Luen} "But why do I have t' wear pants? The men a' th' tav'n said you never wear pants!"
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      “The men at the tavern don’t know shit, stop listening to them.
       I wear pants whenever I fucking feel like it. They’re just talkin’
       real big because I won’t fuck most of ‘em.”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: {Luen} ❝ i don’t need my pants, anyway. ❞

meme | accepting | @oftheferalfolk

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             “Listen, brat, it’s cold here, you’re gonna need pants.” With some hesitation, he picks the boy up and sets him next to Liari on the bed. Why Mal thought it was a good idea that he should babysit, he’d never know. Kids were weird and they smelled. “Just sit there and do— whatever brats do while I make you some decent pants, yeah?”

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oftheferalfolk-deactivated20161 said: ❝ are you… sassing me?"

meme | accepting | @oftheferalfolk

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                “Me? Sass you? Never.”

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oftheferalfolk:

“I always worry,” Mallel replied, voice stern and firm. “You think because you’ve grown up out of my sight and by your own strength that your fully capable.” He frowned, arms folding in front of him. The positioning was of self comfort, not an effort to make himself look formidable. He also wasn’t used to touch or closeness in general having kept to himself so many years. 

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“I’ve seen many people dead because of these demons. Experienced warriors and defenseless peasants alike. Out in the wilds or rotting within their homes. There isn’t a safe place as far as I’m concerned. You could have been one of the dead left to decay in the fields for all I would have known.” His lips thinned for a moment before he said, “You’re capable but as fallible as any.. I just don’t wa- ohf!”

He grunted as Luen came running up to them, tripping over Toeb to run face first into his father’s hip. As talkative as he was with the qunari he was silent now, peeking over at his brother with curiosity. Mallel sighed and pulled him up onto one hip, “believe it or not, he’s shy.”

“Because I am. Me still being around just proves that. If I wasn’t, I’d been dead four years ago. Or maybe it’s just ‘cause you still see me as a tiny brat still crying for your milk that you can’t see the truth.” His lips pursed then, and he mimicked his father’s movements, though his were out of defense.

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“I know it’s dangerous out there. But I’m not a warrior or a peasant. I’m something entirely different. And maybe if you didn’t underestimate me, you might see that. You don’t know what I’m capable of with just a little smile. I’m too smart to die in some field.”

He glanced down at his brother with guarded indifference. They had the same curling mop of hair, but Luen was still a little too young for Lelaros to see any resemblance between the too of them. “Course he’s shy. He lives in the forest with you and dogs and probably not much else, if you still live the way I remember.”

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oftheferalfolk:


Excuses were just that: excuses. Mallel glanced over the bar, drawing his fingers over the wooden surface before glancing back for Luen. The child was happy enough to chat up the qunari, tiny fingers fisted in the man’s pant leg. Golden eyes drew back to hazel then, unimpressed. “Say what you will but that does nothing to ease months of worry.” His voice was hard, ungiving. It changed completely in the next breath.

He reached out and pushed Lelaro’s hair back behind one pointed ear. Mallel smiled, old ink stretching across his face with it. “You are safe though. I suppose that is all that matters when demons are pulling themselves from the air.” Toeb whined lightly in relief, pushing back over to Lelaros. He pushed his cold nose against the elf’s ankle, laying down for a moment. Just a moment at best. The dog was too restless for his own good and something smelled fantastic on the other side of the room. 

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“That makes the both of us then,” Mallel said. He glanced back over at Luen who was chattering amiably still though the qunari had lifted him onto his shoulders now. For a war hardened mercenary he made a good sitter. “Skyhold is the safest place rumor says,” he added in a quieter voice.

He followed Mallel’s gaze, and at first he was confused, until he spied the curly mop of hair and the tiny little hands. So that was Luen, the child he hadn’t seen in nearly four years, a surprising reminder of how long it had been since he had seen either of them. The last time he’d seen Luen, the child was still attached to Mallel’s breast for milk and still crying for no reason at all. Now he wasn’t sure which was worse, a talkative child or a crying baby.

“You know I can take care of myself, one way or another. Could even back then. Have my whole life. Youd didn’t have to worry. I’m smart enough to find some place to shack up until demons stopped coming from the sky and it— or someone, patches up the giant hole.” Though he doesn’t mean to, he flinches at the touch, so unused to affection when there’s no ulterior motives behind it.

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As Mallel’s gaze once again moved to Luen, his mouth set into a thin line. How lucky his little brother was, to be so loved. It’s something he’d probably never have, not naturally, anyway. “Well, yeah. It is a fortress that’s damn hard to find.”

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oftheferalfolk:

Ah. So his child was here. Mallel didn’t express his surprise. Instead he tipped his head to the side, braids sliding along his shoulder. He tried for a smile, the expression laced with his clear disappointment. “Don’t try and look happy,” he replied. He patted the qunari’s arm with a muttered “excuse me” before he walked over to Lelaros, eyes narrowed. 

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“I am here to offer my services. I was about to write you and tell you as much but that seems unnecessary. Good thing since a certain boy hasn’t written back in a long while. Do you have any idea how worried I was for you?” Toeb gave a deep whine as his alpha drew near and he hopped down, skirting over to the elf to butt his head gently against his leg. Mallel dropped one hand to ruffle his fur but maintained his eye contact with the other.

“My magic is useful apparently. They seem to have enough hedge mages. I can’t imagine what a dog whisperer can do for them but there you have it.” He pulled a chair back and sat down with little intended grace, groaning with the movement. It was nice to be in a place with furnishings. Rocks and stumps were only so forgiving. “I suppose you are here for your ‘Friends’.”

Hazel eyes narrowed for a moment before gathering and folding his documents before promptly slipping them back into his bodice. Ah, the tone of a disappointed parent. How well he knew it. Other than anger, it was the only tone his father ever took with him. And now it’s come full circle and he’s disappointed both parents. He knew it was only a matter of time. He was, after all, a terrible wicked child.

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“You already knew how much I traveled, and that letters would be scattered. And once I came here, I had work to do, confidential work, and I couldn’t be writing too many letters. Too risky. I didn’t even know where you might be with a big hole in the sky, and I didn’t want to send Liari on some wild goose chase.” He needed her here, and needed her to ferry letters to other places.

“I’m here for myself, mostly, because I have the ability to help.” He was avoiding and he knew it. He didn’t quite like talk of Friends with someone who wasn’t a Friend, especially not in public.

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