𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲.

“ am i — yes, i am angry, aegon. ” he has to breath, so his tone remains level. he will not shout. not to aegon, of all people, who remains his nephew and blood, and who was a child. an easy one to love, at that, though the exasperation that runs through him remains unchanging. it had been present since the guards had told him the boy was nowhere to be found at the keep, and it had remained present whilst the guards practically tore the city apart in search for him, only to return as day turned to night with his nephew, and the news he had been outside the city limits. gods, he can imagine maekar's complains already. he wonders absently if he can avoid his brother finding out — it'd save him furious letters, he is certain, and a complain when they saw each other, as aegon was supposed to be under his and the king's care whilst remaining at king's landing as page. still, he was likely to find out regardless. gossip was unreliable in how it could travel, and he'd prefer to be the one to tell his brother the news than be accused of hiding matters, even if that would be his wish. “ the city guards have their own duties to attend to, and they do not include searching for you. ” duties that included keeping the order in the city, and he has no doubt this had only unsettled the usual days of the common folk, as they combed through the city searching for him.

       aegon  had  been  riding  with  his  head  over  his  shoulder  most  the  way ,  near  seeing  brightflame  at  every  corner  and  in  every  shadow .  it  was  in  this  distraction  that  the  boy  had  ridden  his  pony  directly  into  one  of  the  gold  cloaks ,  whom  towered  over  him  on  a  warsteed  and  accused  him  of  stealing  the  silver  grey .  it  was  only  as  the  boy's  hood  had  fallen  from  his  head ,  reavealing  his  own  matching  silver–gold  hair  had  the  knight  at  once  realised .  aegon  had  been  so  preoccupied  in  evading  aerion  in  that  moment  that  he  had  forgotten  to  be  wary  of  cloaks ,  white  and  gold .

❛ whilst i am living here? ❜  was all he  repeated ,  more  words  on  his  tongue .

it takes all of dunk's considerable restraint to not blurt out something indelicate about the kid's bald head, if he's being honest. it takes him aback, and his first thought is that the boy might be sick — arlan's hair had started to thin and fall out, toward the end. but the boy looks healthy enough, otherwise. he doesn't get much time to ruminate on it, though, before he's frowning, brow furrowing with it. he'd only been asking, out of an earnest concern, there'd been no need for the kid to get so snarky with him. ❛  you'd have a hard time gettin' hold of her. considerin' that she's dead, and all.  ❜ even as disgruntled as is about being rebuffed when he'd only been trying to bloody help, dunk can't deny the twinge he feels in his chest. a dead mother is a terrible thing to have in common, particularly for such a young boy.

another moment of shuffling his feet, debating with himself about whether or not to give up the goat and forget this entire awkward interaction, join the lads at the pub, before dunk's teeth sink into his bottom lip... then he's hopping the fence, clearing it effortlessly, almost, and putting the two of them just that bit closer. but his feet don't carry him toward the boy, they angle away, his body half-turned in the other direction. he heaves out a sigh, fingers curling around and fitfully squeezing at the strap of his bag. he can't, in good conscience, just leave the kid stranded here, especially if he's got no one coming to collect him. even if he does turn out to be a little shit. dunk supposes he can't blame him for any wariness — he's not exactly a small man, and he's a stranger to boot.

❛ the chippy? ❜  he  asked ,  ❛ will there be sweets? and puppies? ❜

       he  batted  his  eyelashes ,  lips  curled  up  in  a  polite  yet  subtly  teasing  manner .  his  father  had  drilled  into  him  the  dangers  of  strangers ,  the  age  old  tale  of  being  lured  with  creatures  and  confectionary .  young  as  he  was ,  he  wasn’t  an  idiot .  he’d  heard  stories  of  kids  like  him  being  swiped  from  the  streets ,  never  to  be  seen  or  heard  from  again .  a  touch  of  regret  hit  him ,  wondering  if  perhaps  boarding  school  wouldn’t  be  too  bad .  it  couldn’t  be  as  bad  as  whatever  happened  to  kids  who  were  snatched and stolen .  his  growling  stomach  then  fought  back  worries  of  home ,  realising  he  should  have  brought  a  snack  or  some  money .  he  knew  he  could  raid  the  vending  machine ,  once  the  giant  man  had  left ,  but  the  food  there  was  scarce  —  and  it  would  be  hardly  filling .

❛ i think i'll stay out here in the cold. ❜  the  hunger  was  turning  to  pain .  ❛ unless... there's pizza? any sort would do. ❜

PROMPT :  baldur's gate 3 sentence starters.    /   STATUS :  accepting !   /   @dromon

❛  i'm not being sour,  ❜ he mumbles, sourly. ❛  it's just...  ❜ valarr winces as the speakers begin to blare out another earsplitting cacophony. he barely manages not to drop the bottle he's holding, already made slick with condensation and the sweat of his palm, and throw his hands up to cover his ears. surely no one can actually enjoy this, he decides, watching the writhing mass of people jumping up and down, though it would be extremely generous of him to call it dancing. his brother is in there somewhere, having the time of his life, probably dripping with sweat and reeking, and if he thinks he's getting in valarr's car at the end of the night he's mistaken. the "song" changes abruptly, prompting a collective cheer from the masses, and his shoulders creep up towards his ears as he fights every urge to violently recoil. ❛  ...loud,  ❜ he finishes, barely a whisper, and certainly lost to howling of the partygoers. the worst part, he thinks, is that daeron is probably blacked out in one of the copious bathtubs in the house, not even participating in his own out - of - control birthday celebrations. he turns his frown on aegon, who's watching the festivities with rapt attention, though valarr can see at least a dozen things in his line of sight alone that he's far too young to be bearing witness to. he can't believe even daeron would be irresponsible enough to leave egg to the wolves like this—

hang on.

egg?

❛  ...aren't you supposed to be staying the night at uncle rhae's place, with aelor and aelora? i thought i remembered uncle telling everyone you were expressly forbidden from attending this party.  ❜

❛ no, that was last week's party. ❜  he  said ,  ❛ dad never said anything about this week's party. ❜

       there  was  a  casual  shrug  at  his  words ,  his  eyes  shifting  from  valarr  to  the  indulgences  around  them .  he  was  smart  enough  not  to  engage  in  what  would  truly  get  them  all  in  trouble ,  though  that  did  not  mean  he  hadn’t  completely  abstained  from  sipping  at  a  beer .  it  was  too  gross  for  him  to  drink  any  more  than  just a  sip ,  so  he  kept  to  the  sherbet  sticks  daeron  had  given  him  instead .

❛ anyway, uncle rhae thinks that cottage cheese on cucumber slices is a party snack. he calls it nachos, he's insane! i am not eating that. i want pizza, and waffles, and daeron lets me have them! ❜

PROMPT :  baldur's gate 3 sentence starters.    /   STATUS :  accepting !   /   @dromon

❛  yes, that is what one generally feels after being caught lying by their lord father.  ❜ a pause, valarr's head tilting thoughtfully. ❛  or so i would imagine.  ❜ he wouldn't know, truly, he's not in the business of deceiving his father — nor being caught, in fact, on those rare occasions where he does tell a white lie or two, usually to spare his father's feelings. honestly, he would've thought, given egg's propensity for it and the frequency with which falsehoods spill from his lips, he would be better at it by now. there's no judgement to be found, in his tone or the steady gaze he fixes on his little cousin, and valarr goes as far as to reach out and tousle egg's hair, as he might his own brother's unruly mop. a father's disappointment, however brief, must be a heavy burden, and valarr would alleviate it, if he can.

❛  perhaps a slightly less outlandish tale, next time?  ❜

❛ it wasn't a tale, ❜  he  reiterated ,  ❛ just because i... added a few extra details, that doesn't mean it's all a lie. ❜

More Dunk and Egg fanart, featuring Dunk, Egg, and Aerion Targaryen from The Hedge Knight! I went a little further with the stained-glass style this time, and I'm happy with how it turned out! Especially Aerion's cloak, which is supposed to be fully black if I remember right; I added in the fiery colours just to help it pop XD