Rook's Roost Stuff

Alecto sighs again. She and Zesh had been arguing—if it could be called that, neither of them was angry—for over an hour, and the qunari hasn't changed her mind one bit. Quite the contrary, she seems firmly determined to take part in the fray.

"Zesh," Alecto begins for the fiftieth time, but her friend interrupts her.

"Don't 'Zesh' me. Not anymore. We both know I'm not going to change my mind, no matter what you think." The qunari looks at her friend, frowning. "I'm not going to stand back while you're risking your lives."

'While yours is on the line' was what she wanted to say, but Zesh has decided to keep her feelings to herself. She cannot risk their friendship over a mere crush, because that's what it is, surely. Still, when she and Alecto curled up together at bedtime and she felt the aslept mage's soft breathing, she couldn't help but fantasize about what might happen if she and Alecto were something more.

Unaware of this storm of emotions and doubts in her friend's mind, Alecto continues trying to get her to reconsider.

"You're not a fighter, Zesh, not in the literal sense." She takes her hands and caresses them gently. "You're not made to hurt others. It's one of the things I like most about you."

Fortunately for Zesh, Alecto is not wearing her magic bandage, so she cannot see how deeply the girl's face blushed. Even so, she remains unmoved. 

"You'll need someone to help you in the rear. Someone who can help you move the wounded, care for them, organise supplies if necessary. I've seen many things during my travels, things that may be useful in the times to come." And she doesn't say that she could do more. Just because she does not care to fight, does not mean that she can't. She could call to the spirits of Valor, spirits of War. Ask them for help. Have them embody her. But, she does not do that anymore. 

"I need to help, Alecto. I can not stand aside and do nothing." Zesh says seriously. Shaking her head in frustration. "I am of this Veilguard, am I not? That means I should do what I can to help. And I can do this at least." 

Alecto remains silent for a few seconds. She understands her friend: she wouldn't hold her back either, no matter the reason. Besides, Zesh doesn't seem willing to change her mind in the slightest. Finally, she sighs deeply and shakes her head. 

"I know you can do this and much more. Just... just promise me you'll be careful. That you won't do anything foolishly heroic. Zesh," Alecto takes her hands, running her thumbs over the backs of them, "I need you to come back here, if that's what you want. I couldn't bear to return knowing that all I would find was an empty room because I had lost you."

Zesh looks at her in turn. There are so many things she wants to say to her, but above all, that nothing in the world could make her leave her side. But she doesn't. She just nods shyly.

"I can promise you that. No foolishness, if you don't do it."

"Okay," Alecto murmurs, with a very slight smile, "no foolishness.”

Zesh knows about the cruelty of war, but this goes a little further. It is no longer just that the darkspawn horde repeatedly attacks civilians and combatants, or that the cursed dragon spits ice spears everywhere. What surprises and terrifies her at the same time is the firm determination of these self-proclaimed gods to end everything in one fell swoop, bringing the dragon that ravaged Minrathous into the fray as well. 

The qunari strives to help those in the most imminent danger, getting them out of the most dangerous area. All those creatures that try to stop her never even come close. Because Zesh knows how to fight, even though she tries to hide it, it is not yet time to show her skills. That is why she has chosen to stay in the second line, acting as support. Her way of helping the wounded is not only to take them to the healers or keep them away from the enemy. Some wounds are simply beyond remedy. In that case, she helps them depart in peace, far from fear and pain. Every time she has to do this, her heart breaks, but she feels the gratitude of those souls she frees.

Although it does not distract her from her task, Zesh cannot help but look for Alecto whenever she can. The woman is a purple shadow that moves at breakneck speeds, but she is easy to spot once she begins to unleash her magic. She uses the water from the swamp to her advantage, harnessing it to power the lightning bolts that constantly shoot from her daggers. Zesh could even swear she saw her conjure a huge thunderbolt raven, if such a thing is possible. She just hopes she doesn't overdo her powers, even though she made her promise she wouldn't. 

Amidst so much destruction, Zesh pledges that if they survive, she will try to find the courage to talk to her friend. She is terrified of the possibility of rejection, but even more so of leaving this world without telling Alecto how much she means to her. Taking a deep breath, she hurries to continue her work. They will win this war, whatever the cost.

Although the dragons' corpses lay lifeless in the middle of the swamp, that does not mean the battle was over, far from it. There are still monsters emerging from unexpected hiding places, trying to catch those who, in the euphoria of a future victory, had let their guard down.

Alecto, as the Crow she is, knows this is precisely when she has to be most vigilant. Exhaustion, relief and, above all, the realisation of what has happened had claimed many more victims than she could count, people who, like her, had survived the worst of the battle. No, she isn't like that. She is going to survive that day. She has to. 

Only when the last darkspawn draws its final breath and the woman confirms that there are no more enemies to finish off she allows herself to lower her mage knife. Then reality sinks in. The corpses of friends and foes litter the ground, and the whimpers of the dying give the scene a ghostly feel, with the mist from the swamp covering everything with greenish, foul-smelling fingers. Her head aches as if it is about to explode. Alecto knows the reason: she has overused the bandage that restored her sight, but she will deal with the consequences later. Until that moment, she has followed all the rules scrupulously, hasn't she? And, after all, overexertion was not exactly a whim. Still, she decids to wear it a little longer, just until she sees that Zesh is okay. 

She discerns the familiar silhouette a little further away. The qunari looks tired but unharmed, standing tall and magnificent among those around her.

"Zesh!" Alecto cries out. She sees her friend turn around and the concern mixed with relief in her eyes, and only then she rests her battered body and lowers the cloth that covers part of her face. 

Exhaustion hits her so hard that she almost falls to her knees. She hears Zesh running towards her, calling her name, and smiles. She wants to cry with pure relief, to hug her, anything. Zesh is fine, and that is all that matters to her at that moment. 

"You're... you're hurt!" The qunari's voice is trembling, full of fear, and she feels her hands running over her, making her show all her exposed skin. Searching, surely, for some sign of the Blight.

"Don't worry," she murmures softly, "it's not my blood. I'm fine. Well, my head hurts like hell, but I'm not injured. I won't have to go through the Wardens' initiation." Zesh's grunt tells her that her joke has not been well received, but she giggles anyway. "Don't worry. Today's not going to be the day I die. If you are fine, then everything is alright."

Zesh frowns, glad that Alecto can’t see her. She seems unharmed, more or less, but it is better to be sure. She takes her by the waist, gently but firmly, to make sure she wouldn't collapse at any moment. To her surprise, Alecto does not protest, but leans on her and lets herself be guided, meek as a lamb, to the healers to be examined.

Arriving at the camp, Zesh gets Alecto settle on a trundle bed, sitted on the edge. "Wait here, I'll grab a healer-."

Alecto stops her with a hand on her arm. "I just have a headache, I'm fine. I do not need a healer, Zesh." Zesh shakes her head. "I need to make sure- I can't- I don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" She exclaims, frustrated. "Please, just let me take care of you." Zesh reaches up to cup Alecto's cheeks, holding her. "I care too much to let anything happen to you." She didn't think about it, didn't even realize. One moment, she's cupping Alecto's cheeks, holding her gently, the next, Zesh is leaning in and kissing her. Sweet, and passionate. Tinged with the shaky adrenaline of the moment. She has no idea how long it lasts- A minute? Several? It feels like eternity when Zesh pulls away, shaking visibly with nerves. "J-Just let me go find a healer!" Zesh moves to pull away but Alecto stops her again, tugging her in closer.

"Wait. Zesh-" Zesh isn't sure what Alecto's gaze is saying right now. Is she happy about the kiss? Mad? She doesn't look mad. There's something almost like… Hope. The same hope that is reflected in Zesh's eyes. So she stops Alecto with another kiss, just a quick, gentle press. "Please, we can talk later." Zesh assures softly. "Let me find you a healer first though." She gently pries Alecto's hand off and offers a small, reassuring smile. Then turns and goes to find a healer. Make sure someone gives Alecto a look over, and make sure that headache isn't something more serious. 

Zesh had just kissed Alecto. Kissed her! Oh mighty spirits. How reckless she was. But- Oh but she had kissed her back! Alecto hadn't run away screaming, hadn't panicked. Okay, that had been unlikely, but the real fear was that Alecto would tell her sorry, I care for you, but no.

She didn't say that. Truthfully, they hadn't said much at all. The adrenaline of the battle, the panic Zesh had been feeling, and the high of winning had come crashing down and they had reacted in the moment. Zesh only broke away to usher Alecto back to camp to have her tended to.

But, they can talk. Soon. As soon as the medics are done with her, they can talk. Zesh is so excited for the moment. She knows now- Or well, she thinks- she hopes- that Alecto feels the same. That the kiss meant something more than just an adrenaline rush in the heat of the moment.

She rocks from foot to foot anxiously, waiting for Alecto, when her eyes catch on a tall figure not too far away, standing at the edge of camp looking out at the battlefield they ahd left. No- No it can't be. "Kadari?" She whispers, low to herself. 

Zesh needs to know. She needs to see. She walks away from the medic tents, towards the man. The Qunari with red hair. "Kadari-" The man turns at the name, kaleidoscope eyes landing on her and Zesh's heart stops. That is not Kadari. "No." She whispers horrified. "They wouldn't- Not for me. How could they do this for me?" 

The Qunari's head tilts, confusion written on his face. "Who is this Kadari?" He steps closer to Zesh and she steps back in response. "I- I know you-. You're- Yes, you're what I seek, aren't you?" The Qunari looks to be in pain, frowning, crinkles forming near the eyes. "But- I am waiting for someone. Auran-." The man groans, pressing his hand to his forehead.

Zesh can't help it, she flits closer, hand fluttering near his shoulder. "You poor spirit. They botched the magic on you, didn't they?" She can feel it. A shaman tried to bind this spirit to their will, but it's corrupted. The magic fraying. It looks painful, the binding. "Let me help you-" She tries to say. 

But, it is too late. She doesn't catch the spirit reacting. Reaching for her in a blink and putting her in a tight hold. Her breath grows tight and her head light as air becomes thin. He's choking her out! Zesh smacks at his arm, elbows, and tries to get the larger man off. But the spirit is indifferent to her efforts. 

'Alecto…'

Her name is the last thought she has before she slides unconscious.

It has been quite some time since Zesh left, but Alecto still takes a while to realise it. It is not surprising: the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings swirling around in her mind is overwhelming. 

It's not that the idea had never crossed her mind. The way Zesh spoke to her, touched her, even looked at her when she thought Alecto wasn't noticing, had made her doubt her friend's true feelings countless times. But she had always dismissed the idea. "How silly," she had thought back then. Zesh would never notice someone like her; the qunari was looking for more than mere entertainment, and that was what the Antivana had always been, of her own volition.

She had been mistaken, it seemed. Unless it was a spontaneous gesture in the midst of the joy of survival, Zesh did see her as someone worth loving. Despite all her inner chaos, despite the emotional disaster that Alecto thought she was, her friend felt differently. And if there's one thing the Crow knows, it's that she doesn't do things lightly: she's thoughtful, cautious, and wouldn't let herself be carried away by a whim. She kissed her, intoxicated by her feelings, with a sweetness that overpowered her. And not only that, Alecto had kissed her back, without hesitation. Remembering it makes her stomach tingle and a smile lights up her lips. The truth is that Alecto has long been unable to imagine life without Zesh by her side, so much so that she was the first person she wanted to see when Horace gave her that magical bandage. 

Then she becomes aware of her surroundings and rearranges the fabric so she can find her more quickly. Little by little, the wounded are being evacuated and everything seems calmer. Alecto wants to find her, embrace her, and above all, to talk. Because she is beginning to understand that she is not just a companion, and that what she feels when Zesh is by her side is much more than she has been willing to admit until now.

But Zesh is nowhere to be found. Not in the healers' tents, nor with the rest of her companions. Terrified, Alecto searches among the wounded and dead, but to her relief, she is not there either. 

"Shit, this is a mess." Zayn rubs the back of his neck, looking out at the marshlands that iced over and aflame in equal measure. 

A mess indeed. When Lailani said she needed them, Nadas didn't think it'd be a war zone. Darkspawn spilling out everywhere. And then there's the Blighted dragons, thankfully in the distance. But doesn't mean they'll stay that way with them hopping around like that. 

"We need to help hold the tide." Velimir says seriously, the tall Avvar looking out over the mess with a grim expression on his eyes. He thinks for a moment of the Grey Warden he recently met... Is this what he faces often? Brave man, to look at this and not flinch. Velimir turns to his crew. "Siro." He says warningly, noting the demon poking at a Blight vein with a stick.

Siro snaps his gaze up, eyes flickering with an unearthly light. "I'm behaving." He can behave. He has promises to keep, and Ser Candance to return to, he will not ruin anything here. Not if it puts those promises at risk. 

Nae bounces on her toes. "Come on, come on, I'm ready! Let's do this thing." Nae's blades are drawn, sharp and eager at her side.

Zayn's eyes gleam for just a moment as red as the pulse in the Blight veins. His chest aches, and his knuckles burn. Fuck, the Blight. Zayn rubs over his chest. "Maker, though the darkness comes upon me, I shall embrace the Light, I shall weather the storm." He murmurs the Chant. The red recedes as a faint aura of white surrounds him. Faith cloaking him in protection. "Ready when you are, Velimir."

"Then, we go." Velimir says seriously. They leave the safety of the camp and head for the battlefields. Towards where the Veilguard are holding the line against the Darkspawn.

They dropped into the battlefield right on top of quite the horde of darkspawn. It felt endless. A teeming, writhering mass of monsters making their way across the swamps of the wetlands. Nadas and Nae worked seamlessly together, cutting down enemy after enemy, back to back with each other. Perfectly in sync as twins should be. 

They all work as a unit, weaving in and amount among each other. Supporting and assisting. A well oiled machine. Siro supports from the rear with his magic, weaving protections and decaying darkspawn with curses. Velimir picks them off with bow and arrows as his animal companions run around the field making themselves menaces. Zayn leads the way, cloaked in his Faith, dispeling and displacing mana. 

The dragon soars over head and with a great breath pours ice down on them. Not on purpose, which almost makes it worse. The passing beast only sideswiping them on its way to face Rook and their companions. 

And oh how they are hit. Great jouts of cold breath coming down at them, huge icicles and sheets of ice spreading out on the ground as the crew dives out of the way. 

Zayn gasps as his back hits a wall, the ice forming a wall in front of him. He shudders, pushing at the cold wall, trying to stand but, he's trapped. Like he was before. Cold- 

So cold. He trembled in the dark of the cells and hugged himself. "Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just." He whispers the benediction over and over under his breath. "Maker, though the darkness comes upon me, I shall embrace the Light. I shall weather the storm. I shall endure." 

His Faith the only warmth in the cold. The only company in the isolation. The only sound in the silence. The glow of red shifting on the stone walls haunt him as he curls in on himself, fighting the malignancy growing inside him with prayer and the Maker's light. Please, Maker, let it be enough. Let it- 

Zayn blinks back to the world in front of them, hearing the roars of dragons in the distance. No- He's not there anymore. He's not trapped. The Maker's light protected him then and it will protect them now. Zayn has too much to lose. He has to get out of here, has to get back to Camris. He promised them forever, he can not allow himself to falter, to cut that promise short. 

Siro chips at the ice that has spread over his legs and locked him on the ground. Siro is trapped, held down. Contained. He can't rot ice. Trembles work up his spine, breath shortening. The glow brightening in his eyes and the thing inside him that aches to Ruin arises anew. He's- 

Chained. They seek to chain him. They have pulled him from the depths of the Fade, the depths of the Sea. Where he had sunk down to hide, to be away from it all. He did not want to be found, and yet they found him. Pulled, kicking and screaming to the surface with their chanting. Pulling, dragging tugging. And he hisses the entire way, yowling and scratching at the bindings of the spell. All of him being compressed into something, into a shell to be hauled away and used. An object for them to play with. He IS RUIN. He will not be contained. He will not be used. These petty mortal mages think they can manage his immensity? He will show them how wrong they are. He will rot their world and consume the moldering ruins. 

No. Siro blinks. He's not that. Or… Not just that. Not anymore. They brought him up as Ruin, but he is also the beginning of the end, the Rebirth from the ashes. He not just spirit, he is a man. With a crew who relies on him, and a partner that he's made promises to. Siro will not rot this world. Lailani offered him a chance, a hand, a reason to be something else, and he will not forsake that. 

The ice has spread over so much. The cold freezing the air, chilling the breath. Velimir, old and battered, and long past his prime, still takes his bow and does his best to jam the end of it against the frozen wall, chipping away at the ice that traps him. He can see his breath and- It fogs the air that morning. Ice crystals taking shape each time he breathes. He feels hot all over even in this icy cold. His hands warm and stained red. His head pulses rhythmically. Where is he? What is-? He looks down at his hands, wondering if it's fox blood. They had been hunting… But, where is his brother? He doesn't remember.Through his blurred vision, he manages to stumble his way further into the den they had claimed for their campsite. The cave meant to protect them from the elements. It was certainly doing it's job as Velimir trips and stumbles over the still warm body of his brother. Dead. Not by claw, or teeth. Those wounds are man made. Sword and arrow. Like his sword and arrow? Velimir drags himself over to his brother and tries to shake him awake. 'Brother!' He calls, over and over. A fool's mission. Dead men don't wake up. 

But… But how? Why? His hands are covered in blood and his weapons missing. 

No. It does not matter anymore. Twenty years past, and there is nothing that Velimir can change about what happened. But he can change now. He has a crew to safe and dates to get to. He will not let the cold get to him. He continues chipping away, working with intent focus to break through the ice wall and get to his crew.

Not fucking again. Nadas pushes at the jagged spear of ice that has tipped over and landed heavily across his legs. His right leg taking the brunt of the weight. He can feel the joints creaking, the metal giving. It burns. He struggles, pushing at the ice ineffectually. "Stop it, you idiot, you're making it worse!" Nae hisses, crouched beside her brother. Her eyes bright with worry. "You want me to bring you back to your dwarf in one piece, don't you?" Nadas blinks at Nae heavily through the pain. Roderick? "Y-Yes?" His tone is mildly confused, uncertain. "Than stop squirming." Nae hisses. "Or you're going to amputate your prosthetics." She focuses intently on the ice, figuring out how she's going to lever it off. She looks around, looking for something to use. Anything- Just like-

It was a beautiful day in Orlais for a carriage ride. Ambre and Arsène had hoped to take a leisurely carriage ride to their cousins house in Halamshiral. Not that their cousins were particularly thrilled to see them. But, family is family, yes? And their father wouldn't hear any bad words about his Elvhen children. 

They have passed through this way so many times before to see their cousins, to see their family, that they didn't think much of it. Laughing and chatting as they sat in the driver's seat together. Arsène had hopped off to walk alongside the horses for a bit, stroking along their flank and talking with them. Doofus that he was. 

Ambre doesn't know why she even thought about it. Why that small, faint sound of stone on stone in the distance caught her attention. But her sensitive Elvhen ears twitched and her gaze flicked to the cliffside on their left. Just to see the rocks coming down. "Arsène!" She cries, leaping off of the carriage. Her brother, fool that he was, turned immediately to the carriage, cutting the ropes binding the horses with his sword and smacking their rear to get them running. Thinking of their safety first, fool. She dashes forward, planning- she has no idea what, something, anything- She miscalculated.

Without blinking, Arsène catches her around the waist and shoves her out of the way. Everything goes dark.

She awakens slowly, groaning. Covered head to toe in stone dust, Ambre manages to gingerly sit up. Stone lays all around them, the carriage in ruins. She looks around in a panic, her brother no where to be seen. "Arsène! Arsène!" Ambre struggles to her feet, pushing her way through the wreckage, searching the stone. And then there! There he is. She can see his upper half of his body, but his legs. Maker, the stone is burying him up to his thighs…

Nae cuts the memory off with a fierce shake of her head. No. This is different. Ice instead of stone. And not nearly as much. She isn't going to fuck this up. She looks around for some sort of tool to use to help lever this ice off her brother without causing more harm. And preferably before the dragon comes back around over head. It would suck to be simply collateral damage. 

"Need a hand?" 

Nae turns her head, seeing Velimir standing there. And Zayn breaking through the ice, approaching her. And Siro, eyes burning a little dangerously, but there. With them. Beside them. Her grin widens. "Yes. Here, take this." She hands Velimir the piece of scrap metal and starts directing, getting everyone in place. They work together, the four of them to move the large downed icicle. Levering it off of Nadas and sliding him out carefully. Nae and Zayn both taking an arm to pull him out. "I've got you, brother." Nae hooks Nadas' arm over her shoulders, hefting him up carefully. Wary of the condition of his leg. The left seems easy to repair, but the right… Damn it, she'll have to look at it more carefully somewhere safe. 

Velimir sees that as well, grimacing. "We should fall back. Regroup. The Captain may have new orders for us."

"We're right behind you, Velimir." Zayn says seriously. He slides his shoulder under Nadas' other arm and helps to carry him off the battlefield. The group of them making their way safely away from the ice ruined land.

At the camp, Mikelo grimaces as he finishes patching everyone up. Turning to the others, he shakes his head. "Everything is as good as I'm going to get it. But, I can't do much more for Nadas' right leg. That thing is fried. It needs more work than either I, or Yoko can handle." Yoko nods, tucking her wrench in her belt. "I did what I could, but my engineering is rudimentary at best." She curls an arm around Mikelo's waist and leans against him with a soft sigh. "I am sorry, I can not do more. We need JC." 

"Fucking hell." Nae rubs the bridge of her nose. "You know how hard it is to find that bastard?" She turns to Lailani who's returned to camp as well, claiming the battle is over. They won. Wild to believe Rook actually did it. Actually took down those two fucking monsters. "Do you know where he is, Captain?" Lailani shakes her head. "Last I heard, he was at his mansion. But, you know him. He never stays anywhere long." 

"Knowing him, he left his damn dog there too and forgot to feed him." Nae rolls her eyes. "The man is useless."

"He is the only one though who knows how to repair these legs." Yoko says seriously. She brushes the strands of her grease stained hair back, her hands sticky with the fluids that leaked from Nadas' mechanical leg. She managed to get that under control, but Nadas' leg is still badly damaged. It needs more than Yoko's patchwork attempt at mending it. They need the inventor. 

"Don't worry about it. I'll find him." Nadas groans where he's leaning on the pole tent, having gotten up and limped his way out to find them talking about him. Talking about Jean Claude. "I always do eventually." 

"You can barely walk!" Nae looks worried. "I'll come with you, I can-" 

"No, no need, sister. I know you. You'll wring his neck and he'll get obstinate and you'll butt heads until my leg falls off." Nadas retorts. "I'll go. Take Roderick with me if he's willing to come. I'll figure it out. I promise." He reaches out to hug his sister close. "Thank you." He looks at the rest of his crew, warmth in his eyes. "Thank you, all of you. I don't know what I would have done without you all." 

"We have your back." Velimir says seriously. Zayn huffs. "We're crew. That's what we do. Watch out for each other." 

Siro tilts his head, half staring at the battlefield. Eyes glowing that sickly shade. A twisted delight in his eyes as the rot of the dragon's corpses reach his senses even from here. Decaying, dissolving. Returning to the Earth. His gaze finally returns to Nadas. "It is how it is meant to be."