#astaarit

Late to the game on this (as usual)

Pics/info and visibility tags below the cut!

here’s my half of the art trade that @ferelder and i arranged!!! i drew her beautiful and glorious astaarit ugh and it was so fun 

i also couldnt stop once i started goin ham on her, and im not sure why shes conjuring an arrowhead, i just thought it was fun and made her look radiant idk *shrugs forever* hope you like

well. this micro story turned into a full blown fic. AND I WILL NOT APOLOGISE! I DO WHAT I WANT! :D

TruthEric/Astaarit

“I am not acting weird.”

“Yes, you are. You are acting incredibly weird.”

Eric is pacing up and down in the room, one hand on his hip, the other scratching the back of his head. His heart is heavy, the way it beats is almost painful, and there’s a lump in his throat that he cannot seem to swallow. He knows what’s coming, he’s known it for a while, and yet he’s still so nervous. “I… just… what do you want, Astaarit?”

“I want the truth.” The woman folds her arms, and her cold gaze calms Eric’s panic. A different kind of feeling takes its place… sorrow, perhaps.

“You want the truth?” he asks back, trying to buy some time. The more he manages to stall, the more he gets to be in her presence, he figures. “The truth is that… I love you.”

Astaarit’s mouth falls open, followed by a barely audible whisper of confusion. Her stare falls from his face, no longer being able to hold eye contact.

“I’m in love with you, Astaarit. I have been for a while.” He thought he would yell and shout, he thought that he would be angry, but instead he’s fighting against his tears - a battle he knows he will eventually lose. “You’re the most amazing person I have ever met. Everything you do, everything you are, it’s all… incredible. Your strength, both physical and emotional, your intelligence, your beauty - everything leaves me speechless.” Eric only pauses to take a breath. “You make me want to be a better person, and I’m so in love with you.”

The silence that covers the room is not soft and warm like sunlight on a spring afternoon, it’s more like snow in Emprise du Lion - freezing, harsh, and there are icicles hanging from the bookshelves. It’s not exactly the reaction Eric was expecting. He expected that wide smile on Astaarit’s face, the kind that could light up an entire town, the kind that makes his heart skip a beat.

Instead, all he gets is a terrified pair of eyes staring at him under furrowed brows.

“I… I can’t do this,” Astaarit finally speaks, shaking her head. “I need some fresh air.”

She storms out, and the man doesn’t follow her. The disappointment and the heartbreak quickly overwhelm him, and the trip he planned earlier to the garden doesn’t seem so appealing anymore. He is just about to lie down and wallow in self-pity when the door flies open.

“Actually, no.” Astaarit’s voice arrives before her body. “I can’t leave you here without a proper reply. You deserve better than that.” Eric looks up at his (ex?) lover; there’s grief in his big, blue eyes, enough to break anyone’s heart with a single glance. He stays quiet, in hopes that the woman will continue her speech. “You deserve the truth too. And that is that I do not feel the same way about you, Eric. I can’t. I do not know how.”

The mage grabs Astaarit’s hand, squeezing it with his own. “It’s okay. We have all the time in the world to learn.”

“You don’t understand. It’s not that easy.” She sighs, and she tries to conceal the way her lips tremble, but she can’t hide such a thing, not from Eric. He always notices the small things - the way that one vein pulses on her forehead when she’s angry, the way her eyelid droops just the slightest when she’s tired. “You deserve someone who loves you the same way you love them. I cannot give you that.”

“We could t-” Eric begins to plead, but he’s cut short by Astaarit’s finger on his mouth.

“Please, Frederic, just accept it.” The woman pulls back her hand and links her fingers behind her back, putting on a more professional appearance. “You’re a great person, and you should be with someone who can appreciate that in a way that I cannot.”

She turns on her heels and leaves, again. But this time, she doesn’t return.

Eric stays in the comfortable darkness of his quarters for days - he finds it somewhat poetic, it’s like his soul has poured out through the cracks and is now looming over him, taking care of him the only way it knows how: by hurting him even more. He doesn’t even want to be able to see, everything would just be a reminder of her, and he’s got enough problems as it is.

His sister, Lee visits him on the fifth day. She practically kicks the door in, and struts all the way to the window to open it as wide as she can.

“This can go on no longer,” she announces, pulling the blanket off Eric with one quick yank.

The man’s response is just an annoyed grunt. The last thing he wanted was this. “Leave me be, sister.”

“Perish the thought.” She shakes her head, and eventually sits down on the bed, right next to Eric. “You need to leave this room. You haven’t seen the sun in days.”

“So? I like it here.”

“Okay, listen… A girl broke your heart. I get it, it’s painful. But you can’t give up on your life because of it.”

Eric rolls his eyes - he really doesn’t need his twin’s lecture. Or rather, he does, he just doesn’t want to say it, not even to himself. “I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be with. She’s my soulmate.”

“Well, clearly she isn’t. Otherwise she wouldn’t have left you.” With her lips pursed, Lee shrugs. “I know it hurts to admit, but it’s the truth.”

The truth, Eric repeats in his mind, throwing his head back on the pillow. He’s had enough of that to last a lifetime. And yes, even the thought of leaving his bed pains him, but he knows that Lee will not leave until he does, so he sits up with a long, tired sigh escaping his barely open mouth.

“Fine,” he finally says, looking as uninterested as possible. “I trust you have a plan…?”

“I sure do, brother.” The smirk tugging at the corners of Lee’s mouth isn’t exactly promising, but Eric knows his sister, and he knows that no matter what, the two of them together can turn any situation into something funny and memorable. If anyone can cheer him up, it’s Lee.

As the same smirk slowly creeps onto Eric’s face, there’s a thought starting to form in his mind. In the last few days he had the chance to ponder about soulmates, and how certain he was that Astaarit was his one and only. But now, just sitting here with his sister, he realises that Lee’s right: she wasn’t his soulmate. Or maybe she was, for a little while. In that moment, it doesn’t really matter anymore. What matters it hat he has another soulmate, one who’s much more important, one that no girlfriend or boyfriend could ever replace, and it’s none other than his twin sister. Because soulmates don’t have to be romantic or sexual - a soulmate can be a sibling, a parent, a best friend. Anyone, really. It can be anyone, and one can have as many soulmates as they wish - the number is definitely not limited to one per person. He was just too blinded by infatuation to see that.

With this new knowledge making his heart feel less heavy, less broken, he stands up, he puts some clothes on, and he’s ready to follow his sister’s lead, whatever kind of adventure she might take him on.

“There’s a letter waiting for you on your desk, my dear,” Eric’s mother says to him, smoothing his shirt out on his shoulders with a gentle touch and a warm smile.

The man nods, and hurries to check said letter - he has no clue who it could be from, so it’s quite an understatement to say he’s surprised to find out Astaarit wrote to him.

Dearest Eric,

I hope my letter finds you in good health. It has been quite a long time since we last met, but lately… I have not been able to stop thinking about you.

Allow me to explain.

In truth, I did love you. Thinking back to those times now, I know that I was in fact in love with you. I did not understand the feeling back then, and I sincerely apologise for that. For breaking your heart so cruelly, simply because I was afraid. I should not have acted like that, but… it seems it was for the best.

I am writing this letter to you to thank you. Those wonderful months we spent together changed my life, they really did. They have allowed me to accept feelings I never thought I had the capacity to feel. They have allowed me to live a better life, a life full of love.

I am still with the Iron Bull, and, it surprises me as much as I am sure it surprises you, but I can now tell him that I love him and be sure that I mean it. I still can hardly believe it. Love! Ah, such a wonderful feeling.

I do not think I can thank you enough, Eric. All of this is possible only because of you. You’re the most selfless and wonderful person I have ever had the luck to call a friend.

I wish you fortune and happiness, and I wish you receive all the love that you deserve. I hope Cassandra is able to give you that.

Till we meet again,

Astaarit

Leaning against the doorframe, Eric folds the letter in half. He’s got a smile on his face, both because of the letter and the sight in front of him.

It’s a big family reunion that his mother organised. Everyone’s in the manor, both of Eric’s older brothers and their families, Cassandra, Lee even brought Cullen and his sister with her family - unfortunately, only they could rearrange their lives for a little while to visit, the rest of the Rutherfords were unable to attend, but thank the Maker that at least the ones that could did so. The whole place is filled with carefree chatter and children’s loud laughter, and for once, the lady of the house doesn’t bother Lee with her annoying questions about marriage.

Instead, she bothers her with questions about grandchildren.

But perhaps the most heartwarming sight is what happens later in the afternoon, once the initial excitement has calmed down. Talk about the Inquisition begins - the adults would like to know about the adult stuff, things that make the children sigh in boredom. That’s when Lee turns to Cassandra.

“Remember that one time we had to fight a dragon together?” the woman asks, a wide smile spreading on her face. Cassandra looks up at Eric, confused, and his reassuring nod makes her shake her head - she tries to act disappointed and disapproving, but he knows her well enough to know she loves the attention.

“A dragon?!” The middle one of the Trevelyan sons, Tristan’s daughters’ eyes are glittering as if they had just received that red haired doll they’ve been begging for for months. “You have fought a real dragon?!”

Eric sits back and listens, and Astaarit’s letter comes to his mind.

All of this is possible only because of her. If she had never broken his heart, he never would have fallen for Cassandra. He wouldn’t be sitting there at the dinner table, having just finished a delicious meal, watching as her lover’s tale earns small gasps and yelps from the kids, giving them the greatest story of a dragon slaying they have ever heard - a story that they will one day share with their friends, colouring in the details that they didn’t find interesting enough.

This is what love is, he realises. Being surrounded by people who aren’t afraid to laugh a little louder than average. Speaking with their mouths still open, because the food is delicious but they have important thoughts to share. Helping the 5-year-old sitting in the next chair by cutting up their food into bite sized pieces.

TY for the tags @zennihilation @redaresss @shadowknight19kay , this is so cute 🥰

Make your own Rookduck here !

🪲Anselm🪲

Looking serious and distinguished as always

🌻Kamaria🌻

Loud Friendly duck Kamaria with little duckling Atisha riding around on mamae's back

💀Elke💀

Elke has no idea what's going on, she just wants to go home

🌟Astaarit🌟

Duck queen Taari dares you to try and take her crown...or her snacks

Tysm for tagging me @mushrooms-x-moss @handsignals @apothe-cary @davrinsleftpectoral @sorcerousadventurer

Ferret your OC here!

From left to right: Anselm, Kamaria, Desiree, Zael, Sovran, Leonidas, Astaarit, Elke, Shukaku, Ryke

Show me your ferret Rooks!

Tysm for tagging me @mushrooms-x-moss ! Siren Ayla is absolutely gorgeous 😍

🪲Anselm🪲

Ans is a self-sufficient deep-sea dweller that you're unlikely to ever see on the surface. He found that skull in a shipwreck, I promise!

Thank you to everyone who asked about my Rooks! @stormemes11 @redaresss @apothe-cary @wickedadaar @draconicdivinity @tevintergallus @i-creatied-au @shadowknight19kay @amoaliquis

Y’all I was fighting for my life trying to answer these. My Rooks just did not want to let me in their heads. Anyway, answers are under the cut 😁