elgara vallas, da'len, melava somniar

She would always be at war with her memories; she’d never accept it, but she supposed it was her new fact of life. She swirled the tequila in her glass, watching the liquid for a little too long before she knocked it back. The bite was a delicious burn all the way down her throat.

But what good was it if she just moped the whole night? She got up from the bar and found an empty pool table. She cleaned up after the last person’s game, placing all the balls in the triangle rack before she could begin, purposefully allowing time for someone to join her if she wished.

“Well…in Eora we have many types of animals.  We have deer, antelopes, wolves, bears, boars, foxes.  Things like that.  Best part is if you are a ranger, someone who is more into archery and nature then spells like a mage, can have an animal as a companion and they can bond.  Off course he have other animals like beetles, spiders, ogres, trolls, imps, Xaurips and such that are the creatures we need to be wary of and fight.”

She nodded along, recognizing most of the animals he listed, though one stumped her. “Xaurips? What are those? I’ve never heard of them.” She couldn’t help but shudder at the mention of spiders; she always had a hatred for them, though there was only one she could stand.

“One of my dearest friends was a shapeshifter, and she loved taking on the form of spiders and bears to terrify the other Warden.” Despite being close with both of them, it did always make her laugh when Morrigan would suddenly shift into a new form when the other wasn’t looking. While he’d disagree, it brought such a lightness to their journey.

“Oh no it’s quite fine.  I quite like walking around.  Especially at night when everything his nice and all you hear is the occasional animal.”  He says, nibbling on his cookie.  

“It’s sad that it’s so underappreciated, or even cared about. Never thought I’d miss getting snuck up on by a bear.” She sighed, remembering all the animals she used to see almost constantly. “Back home with my clan, we had these animals that helped pull our caravans when we moved— Halla, which look a lot like deer. Except with white fur and even larger horns, going straight up.” She mimicked the horns with one hand. “They were...almost sacred, in a way.”

She turned to him, small smile still on her face. “What were some animals back in your homeland like?”

“Ah Momo.  It’s nice to see you too.”  He says with a smile and a bow of his head.    “Sure.  They smell delicious…and I quite like cookies.”  Aloth takes one.

She beamed. “I’m glad! They’re one of the few things I can actually make, so I might just throw them at you often.” She grabbed another one, feeling deserving after work. “And thank you for joining me for a little walk. It’s no forest, but it’s as calm as we can get around here.”

She was just locking up the gym, tupperware container full of cookies she baked — what? she could be a personal trainer and still have a giantic love of food — in her free arm, when she heard the footsteps approach. She turned, smile on her face. “Aloth!” She greeted. “So nice to see you!”

She began to dig in, opening the container and ‘tasting’ one for herself. She extended the container to her friend, who she hoped would help her feel less awful about eating the whole two dozen she made and brought to work. “Want one?”

The joke brought a slight curve to her mouth at the thought of the woman going around winking at random. “A few weeks ago.” She replied hands shoving themselves into her pockets, it was tricky working around what she felt she could and could not say. How he had a habit of disappearing and reappearing other places, how when he did it on accident it often led to her. How suddenly she’d been the one to appear. How it was undoubtedly the universe dragging them closer again like magnets. “New Orleans, he was heading to school but didn’t come to mine after. I asked around he just ‘poofed’. Now I’m here and I think it’s because he’s here too.” No, because she knew it, could feel it, in her very bones.

Her brows raised. Thankfully, she knew of the city the girl mentioned, and knew enough that it was quite far from where they were now. It made a little more sense at the end, however. While she didn’t arrive in this place with her memories at first, she’d heard from those that did about how it was a sudden pull, one second they’re home and then they’re not.

She nodded, hoping for the girl’s sake her friend truly was here as well. “And when did you appear here?” She kept her voice on the low side to keep her words quiet. It was more for curiosity, for a confirmation that the girl’s situation was truly what she thought it was. She couldn’t help, but maybe it would help ease her knowing she wasn’t alone.

“This is a big city, but if he was here, would there be certain places he could be at? Like, does he have an intense love for pizza and could be around a pizza shop, or an almost terrifying obsession with architecture and could be anywhere there’s a pretty building?” Sure, she was just throwing things out to be odd, but it was also a distraction; there was only so much they could do in such a big city, and she didn’t want this girl or herself to start freaking out at all the possibilities.

Fight Like a Warden; A Playlist for Warden-Commander Momo Mahariel

Never Take Me Alive - I Was the Lion | Centuries - Fall Out Boy | Zombie - Bad Wolves | Something in the Dark - The Rasmus | This is War - Thirty Seconds To Mars | Legendary - Welshly Arms | Notorious - Adelitas Way | Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Lorde | I See Fire - Ed Sheeran | Bad Moon Rising - Mourning Ritual | The Doomed - A Perfect Circle | Gasoline - Halsey | War - Sum 41 | You're Going Down - Sick Puppies

Two Sides of the Same Coin; Mads & Momo Playlist, ft. @existruin

Bad Things - Jace Everett | Take Me To Church - Hozier | Kiss Me - Rob Vischer | Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab | Tied Down - Jaymes Young | Rose Tattoo - Dropkick Murphys | Believer - Imagine Dragons | Without You - Breaking Benjamin | Don't You Know - Jaymes Young | If You Could Only See - Tonic

Zevran could not tell if Momo had thought he’d forgotten about this all over the years, because, that was actually not the case. It had turned into a distant memory instead of thinking about it every day, but, the former crow had always kept their time together dear in his heart.

“I….” His mouth felt dry for a small moment when the small item was placed in his hand. “I can only apologize for never being able to keep the promise coming with it, Momo. I have wanted to. I really did….”

There was a constriction in her chest, a tightness that made her bones ache. Gods it felt like a lifetime ago, the implication of Zevran staying with their rag-tag group, with her; killing his former lover had hung thick in the air until they made camp once more.

She didn’t know what hurt more: that he broke his promise, or that she didn’t care as much as she used to. It was a funny thought, wasn’t it? Being sad over not being sad. It was just...during the Blight there were so many reasons to not care, to not fight as hard as she could and just get it over with...but he had been her reason to keep going.

“Then why?” She couldn’t stop her voice from breaking, but fenedhis lasa she deserved to know, after all this time. Even though it killed her, she had to force the words out, or she’d choke on them. “Why did you leave me?”

Truly, she couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so fucking happy, or maybe it was just the last time his lips descended upon her in such a chaste manner that stripped away everything else but that moment. 

She reaches for his jacket, reaching for the cuff of his sleeve and rubs the material between her fingers, able to feel his fingers so close to hers like a physical ache. “Don’t you mean our dog?” Somehow, he teaches her how to be soft, her voice tender, the complete opposite to what attracted them to each other in the first place. “—And I meant it. I always keep my promises, to you.”

It was something that a part of her had never wanted to let go of; a reminder, no matter how much it hurt. It arrived with her even when her memories didn’t, having become so part of her that whatever force that brought her here couldn’t tell them apart.

And now it was separated from her, resting in the palm of her outstretched hand, fingers curled over it like a shield. Even knowing he could see right through her, she put on a brave face, one that fooled every political adversary on the path to and during the Landsmeet.

“You should have this back.” She unfurled, laying bare what she once hoped would be hers. His earring sat in her calloused palm, the one he gave her so long ago.

Help ?  In the not traditional sense ?  It’s such a rare thing for Aloth to do that he just stands speechless for a bit.  “Are…are you sure it was me that did that ?”  He asks before sitting down and taking the menu.

So many things on here it’s quite confusing yet sounds delicious.  “Well let’s go with basic to be on the safe side.  If basic doesn’t really appeal to me then nothing will…but what is a basic pizza ?”  He asks. 

She nodded, more enthusiastically this time. She meant what she said; she wasn’t one to lie, or to beat around the bush. “Yes, it was you. The first elf I’ve met here, helping me open my eyes before I remembered. And, though I’ve been here a while, I never really made a friend.” Before Aloth, it was all co-workers she half-hated anyway, and kind clients who felt they were friends. No one that befriended her just because.

“The basic has just a few things on top. It’s baked bread with a tomato sauce with herbs, and melted cheese on top. Some people like little slices of meat on top and consider that the basic.” Flipping her menu over, she found a picture of said pizza, with the pepperonis on top. “Those are the bits of meat. I personally like it without them.”

“ most likely, yea. ” he responds lazily, eyes roving to gaze down at her open face. “ they weren’t very tickled havin’ lost their manhood, y’see. those poor little balls. gone forever. ” an exaggerated frown had somehow found its way onto his lips as he spoke. for life of him, he can’t hold it. erupting into soft, fond laughter at the memory before his brows knit together. “see, to me that just sounds like i’m gonna have t’ share belly rubs with another mongrel. y’sure you can handle two of ‘em in your life?” he’s not very fond of the idea of having to share.

She gives his arm a squeeze, smile never wavering from her face. “See? Their balls were taken, so they wanted yours in revenge. Eye for an eye, ball for a ball.” Her brow rose, challenging his frown, before his laughter finds her ears, and she finds herself melting into him, even more than she already had been. His gentle laugh was rare, typically saved for mornings wrapped up in each other, so she greatly cherishes hearing it whenever she can. 

“I have two hands, don’t I? I can give belly rubs to two mongrels at a time. It’ll be perfect.” Given her stature of being just about a full foot shorter than him, she couldn’t simply stand on her toes and kiss his cheek, so she settled for threading her fingers through his.

“I do agree it’s been a while. And I quite like having a friend…” He says. Well a friend other then Zevran he means. He quickly follows her and when he enters he first smells the food.

She couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. Even before she began having these revelations, when she believed herself to be of this world, she didn’t have many people she could call true friends. It was...freeing. “I do too. I want to thank you, you’ve helped me more than you know.” She led him to a booth by the window and, after sitting down, slid one of the provided menus over to him.

“If you want something to drink, it should be riiight here. And I can order us a more basic pizza, unless there’s something that jumps out at you that you’d like to try.” She points to the spots on the menu, then grabs one for herself.

“ oh, little bit of this, lil’ bit of that. some of ‘em crawl inside ya, some of ‘em like to get you to drink somethin’ and make you forget what they did to ya. sort of a mind fuck when you wake up the next mornin’ with one mother of a headache, but relieved. like you’ve had a good fuck the night before. ” a solid, needy part of him is glad he has her full attention. as if it were the same belief he used to thrive on. there’s a sweet taste in his mouth, honey-like and thick. belief seemed to him always sugary. when the first bowl of milk had been set out for him, the ol’ granny had sprinkled in a bit of sugar cane. it made his teeth ache, but his bones stronger. 

there had been something pure in her reaction. not the hungry look of greed most men and women have while he does his tricks. as if she’d been impressed not with the coin, but the act of producing it. he liked the way her eyes followed his fingers. and with the taste of sugar in his mouth, his grin widens. a hand moving to hover over her empty glass, “ oh, this? ” and suddenly a dozen or so of his coins pour themselves from his open palm into the glass. the sharp clink of each coin draws attention and a few eyes whirl in their direction. perhaps it hadn’t been too smart to advertise that the man could literally shit gold, but it was too much fun to watch her lips move in awe. 

“ you may not be an elf from the motherland, but ya sure impress easy like one. ” he pulls a coin as if from behind her ear, pinched between his fingers and held in front of her. 

Momo scrunched her nose at that. Oh— that didn’t sound fun at all. There wasn’t anything that she knew of that was truly comparable but… “Well, isn’t that a pain in the ass. No wonder you hate them— pleasant side-effect aside.” An image of a brightly-hued sprite danced behind her eyes, yanking her jaw down to force a potion through. She shook her head, ridding the image, replacing it with the tall man before her, a man who was becoming more intriguing by the minute. She’d be the first to admit she didn’t think much of the drunk who had angrily spouted…whatever it was at her, and her initial reaction had been far from kindness or any inclination to spare him more words. And yet here she was, eyes lingering longer with each glance.

She tilted her head, something like a smile pulling at her lips. “Can’t say I know anything like that. Except demons, though they’re limited to tempting mages. Which I am not.” It was freeing, somehow, to speak of such things with a stranger. She wouldn’t deny that his bluntness, laced with a familiar dirty tone that reminded her so much of the attitude of her home.

She watched in awe as the coins spilled from his palm, an act so simple yet so entrancing. Her smile stretched wide across her face, eyebrows pulled up; she felt like a girl again, watching their Keeper send sparks of electricity into the air to add effect to a campfire story. She laughed, almost giddy when he ‘pulled’ one from behind her ear. “I can’t help it— that is impressive. I guess that’s the first thing your elves and I have in common. Besides the ears, of course. Have you always been able to do that?”

━━ @ofelvenblood ft momo mahariel        /        closed starter !

a breath and the wind is strong in her lungs. the stretch of her back muscles, fingers coming to her lips. a familiar, fluid dance. on the release, the arrow escapes between her fingers. shoshana hadn’t held a bow since she was a child, yet it felt just like yesterday as the arrow buries itself at the center of the target. the university had sequestered a warm spot on the lawn for summer activities, bow and arrow among them. she holds one of the bows in front of her, made of cheaper wood and plastics. it felt rough in her hands, but a part of her was gleeful to be holding it. 

“ ━━ OH, I’M SORRY. ”  she is quickly tugged from her dreamy thoughts of ancient weapons. the dark haired woman standing near had reminded her that perhaps she’d taken up too much time at this station. “ would you like to try? ”

Some of her fondest memories were of her childhood among the Dalish, traveling from the Brecilian Forest to the Hinterlands, even across the sea and up to the Free Marches— but it was all forests of greens and browns, as far as she could imagine. She loved being in the sun more than she could put into words, and while there weren’t many forests in the immediate area, she wandered every grassy area she could.

The university was an easy spot, hoping to conceal the large city around them with bits of green. Truthfully, she hadn’t been paying much attention when she came across someone, but it was the bow that had caught her attention. She smiled, fondly, at the memory of a red-haired woman with a love of the Chant, firing her own arrows. The question caught her off-guard, but she smiled.

“Sure, I’d love to. It’s been...years since I’ve held a bow.” It was truly a lifetime ago, using her bow to help feed her clan.

He listens to her and now…now he’s hungry. “Well. . I suppose eating it would be a good experience…but I don’t want to impose.” In truth he doesn’t have many friends because he’s secretive and he’s terrifed he’ll ruin it.

She nods enthusiastically. “Oh trust me, it’ll be life-changing. And you’re far from imposing. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you, I think since—” She pauses at the memory of the infection, “well, it’s been too long, in any case.” She then began the short walk to the shop, truly just down the street.