#nurvius

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Tags are always no pressure, check this fun thing out, with no expectation of response ❤️

@serensama, @woundedsoul12, @davrinsleftpectoral, @blackwall-my-tiny-husband, @serialsforbellara, @notyourmamasdeerbat, @strugglinggranola, @aetherflowers, @necromanticsoul, @jukkaricity, @genjyoandgojyoandhakkai, @elishnord, @pixiedurango, @aiyestel, @tkwritesdumbassassins, @sandcastlekings, @sorcerousadventurer, @the-font-bandit, @tarasmom, @talkmagically, @potatofantiger, @redheadsramblings, @viagosbrother, @chaosherald, @iicaru2, @handsignals, @wickedadaar, @kogarashi-art, @vishantikaffar, @mushrooms-x-moss, @nyx-de-riva, @redaresss

Humming softly, Turvi busied himself in their small kitchen. Though they had only been back in Rivain as a threesome for a few weeks, they'd settled into an easy rhythm together. While Naera was not much of a cook, he and Gladius had been taking turns, and he wanted to be able to surprise him. The bacon was sizzling away when he heard a deep voice behind him, making him jump.

“Smells good out here,” Gladius said, voice still rough from sleep. “I didn't mean to startle you.” He wrapped his arms loosely around Turvi as he leaned over his shoulder to see what he’d been cooking.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Turvi said, smiling and leaning back into the embrace, turning his head to accept a kiss.

“Oh you didn’t. The smell of food will always wake me,” Gladius chuckled.

“I just wanted to make breakfast for you and Nae this morning,” he said, pulling a bread loaf from the oven.

“Well you won’t hear any complaining from me,” Gladius grinned as he snatched a piece of bacon.

“I’m nearly done anyway. Can you hand me the eggs over there?” He asked, lifting his hand and pointing to the counter.

Gladius took Turvi’s hand in his own, turning it this way and that. “What are these scars from?” He asked, gently rubbing the marks with his thumb. "I don't think I've seen them before."

Turvi resisted the urge to pull his hand back to himself. It had been a long time since he'd had to explain those scars to someone new. He furrowed his brow slightly. "That's because I prefer to keep them covered. They're scars from shackles. When I was a slave on a galley, they kept us chained up most of the time. It didn't take long to get scars from it."

"How long?" Gladius asked quietly, with an undertone of menace.

"Eight years." He heard Gladius sigh softly. "I wasn't on that ship as long as most of my other friends." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to point that out.

"That's still a long time," Gladius pointed out, putting a hand on Turvi's back. Turvi shrugged. "Is there a reason you didn't let Naera heal these?"

Turvi looked at him out of the corner of his eye, not turning his head. "She offered, but I refused. An overzealous healer not only healed the wounds on my back, but healed them so much that there were no scars." He paused, trying to decide how to explain. "Erasing the scars felt like erasing my family too. They might still be slaves, if they're even still alive. I just… wanted this reminder for myself - of what I went through and the people I am missing." 

Gladius' eyes softened as he pulled Turvi into a tight hug. Turvi still had tongs in his hand, but he returned the gesture the best he could, relaxing into the spontaneous show of affection. 

"What happened to your family, the day you were separated?" Gladius asked, only pulling back slightly. 

"I don't know. The slavers were sorting people and we got split up. My brother and I were taken first, and we went in opposite directions. My mother kissed me goodbye and that's the last time I saw any of them."

Gladius pulled him close again, holding him tightly. They stayed that way for a moment, before Gladius muttered, "I'll find them."

"What?" Turvi asked, leaning back so he could see his face. Gladius eyes were shining with unshed tears. 

"I'll find them, if they're out there," he repeated, his jaw set with determination. "And if they're not, I'll find out what happened to them. You deserve to know."

"I've been trying to track them down but it's hard—"

"Were you sold somewhere in minrathous?" Gladius practically spat out the word 'sold'. 

"As far as I know. I was only 10."

"It seems most likely. I have connections, Turvi. Between my family and the shadow dragons, we're going to find them." He said it with such conviction that it was Turvi's turn to blink back tears, because he believed Gladius when he said it. 

Teva: (bio dad, Turvi) ((how I wish there was a lighter shade of purple for his hair)) Almost a perfect little replica of Turvi (though he is less likely to touch cursed items), kind and sweet, but just a little more responsible as he is the big brother and not the baby like his father was. When he developed magic, Turvi nearly lost his mind, but he was proud nonetheless. Always the first to ask if his parents need help and not afraid to physically pick up his younger siblings to corral them. Even when Ezra outgrows him.

Julia: (bio dad, Gladius) Cheeky but charming, she is a lot like Naera and will have to be watched around boys and bread; she will take a little nibble out of both (her mother is proud, her father... eh not as much). She is the best older sister who takes care of her siblings well and has inherited her grandfather/father's orderly nature. Her room is the cleanest in the house, Gladius thrilled beyond measure.

Elira and Samira: (bio dad, Turvi) All parents wonder what they did in their past lives to deserve these little magical tornadoes in skin; whatever it was, it was probably really, really bad. Like one of them was an archdemon or something. Little rascals are up to something all the time. Does it help that their magic developed super early? No. Of course not. But the upside is that one accidentally set the garden shed alight, and the other somehow froze the actual fire. So you know. Balance. Ezra: (bio dad, Gladius) The quietest and most serious of the bunch, Ezra loves nothing more than reading a book whenever he can (he will leave the room if his parents and siblings are all being a bit too loud) – though that's not to say he's not up for some of his family's hilarity. He just needs more breaks from it than the rest of them. He might be the spitting image of his father, but he wants to honour his other father by wearing his hair the same way.

Gladius looked more closely at the man, whose face was a shade of purple that could not be good for him. It was hard to tell with the patchy beard, but the bald spot on his head was definitely not the right shade. Sighing, he grabbed the other ankle with his spare hand and hauled the man back onto the roof as he spluttered and flailed.

"Now, just listen for a second while your blood goes back to where it's supposed to be," Gladius put a firm hand his shoulder, and could feel the man shaking. His face was going from that blotchy dark purple to something resembling his normal tan, but he judged it would take a minute or so. The man nodded briefly, and by his wince, regretted it immediately.

"I need to see the amended bills of lading for The Painted Dragon, which I have already confirmed exist," Gladius reminded the man, whose eyes were still wild as he caught his breath. "You know the ones I want, more than a decade old. The ones you and your predecessor were bribed to destroy, but kept for blackmail instead."

"They're in the safe by my desk," the man gasped out, and fished around in his doublet for a moment, before pulling out a key on a chain. It took him a moment to disconnect it, but Gladius waited, watching his movements for any sign that he was going to throw it and bolt. "Can't do much though. Too old to arrest anyone. No proof of bribes."

"I don't care about the law," Gladius gave him a predatory smile as he leaned close to look directly into the man's eyes. "I care about my family. Surely a man like you can understand that."

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"You may not find anything good," Tarquin had said, sighing into his beer and pushing an envelope on the table over towards him. Gladius had picked it up and looked briefly inside to see a few papers, scraps, and clippings with notes in the Tempar's neat hand and another one he didn't recognize. "But I know that's not the point." "But you did find some leads?" Gladius had looked up to see the man's eyes searching his face until he finally gave a nod. "Yeah, but you really owe Gallus one, the next time you're in town," Tarquin had flicked his eyes to the envelope before taking a large drink. "She was able to trace the names to a couple of ports, and at least one of those has a harbormaster so corrupt it makes our officials look like they're barely trying. He'll have something, people like him always do." "Thanks, Tarquin," Gladius had smiled, and tucked the envelope into his armor. "I really appreciate it. "I added names of some of our people in a few places in case you need it, and Mercar," Tarquin had fixed him with a baleful stare. "Don't let me hear about you burning down any government offices. I don't need the paperwork."

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As the sun started to kiss the horizon in an explosion of pinks and purples, Gladius found himself walking lightly up the pier, right on time. He could see Naera's purple hair whipping in the wind as she leaned over the railing of their ship to wave down at him with a smile. He gave her a big smile as he moved a little faster, scooping the elf up into his arms as soon as he set foot on deck.

"Turvi is making your favorite stew!" she laughed, as she gave him a kiss, smelling of spices and oil from the kitchen. "I promised to help test out the bread."

"I bet you did," he gave her rear a small pat as he put her back on the ground, and then leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "Just make sure there's some left for the rest of us."

"Rude!" she laughed but waved him off as she went to go below decks. She paused in the doorway to call back, "Xi said to go find them when you got in. Something about the next port?"

Gladius waved as she disappeared below, and swept his eyes around the deck, lighting on the captain who was admiring the sunset at the bow of the ship. The wind was starting to pick up, and he could tell they were restless to get back to see as he trudged forward.

"Well?" 

"I found something this time," Gladius crossed his arms and stood to look out at the sea, now going shades of navy and pink where the sky was reflected. Xi turned their face to him, waiting for the rest. "Any chance we can make our way to Kirkwall? There's someone there who may know where some of Turvi's family went."

"Really?"

"I saw their names," Gladius sighed out a breath. Elation and horror in equal measure as he saw the names, in a neat hand, of dozens of people trafficked away from their loved ones. To unknown fates. Some of them sharing their name with someone he loved.

"There's a contract to take silks to a few cities in the Free Marches," Xi gave the barest smile at his expression, and nodded towards the pier. "If you're willing to help load them tomorrow, we can make sure to make that one of our ports of call."

"Thanks Xi," Gladius smiled, shaking his arms out. "I'll tell them after dinner tonight."

"Probably smart," they nodded. "Last time you had big news Turvi cried in his soup."

"Can't have sad soup. Where would Nae dip her bread?"

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Tags are always no pressure, check this fun thing out, with no expectation of response ❤️

@serensama, @woundedsoul12, @davrinsleftpectoral, @blackwall-my-tiny-husband, @serialsforbellara, @notyourmamasdeerbat, @strugglinggranola, @aetherflowers, @necromanticsoul, @jukkaricity, @genjyoandgojyoandhakkai, @elishnord, @pixiedurango, @aiyestel, @tkwritesdumbassassins, @sandcastlekings, @sorcerousadventurer, @the-font-bandit, @tarasmom, @talkmagically, @potatofantiger, @redheadsramblings, @viagosbrother, @chaosherald, @iicaru2, @handsignals, @wickedadaar, @kogarashi-art, @vishantikaffar, @mushrooms-x-moss, @nyx-de-riva, @redaresss

Naera blinked hard again, a shadow passing over her as the large man to her left turned to look down into her face.

"You OK?" Gladius asked, eyebrows knitting together in a way that made her want to reach over and pat him on the cheek, all big hazel eyes and concern.

It was the first time she, Turvi, and Gladius had docked in Minrathous all together in a year, and the place felt like it always had. Fresh wood and concrete might have replaced what blight and darkspawn had broken, but the repairs were now well on their way to being just as seasoned, moss-covered, and splinter-prone as their predecessors. Ships of all nationalities spilled out people and cargo in equal measure, and took more on board in their turn. A coordinated chaos that repeated itself to varying degrees in every port they'd visited, with a different flavor for each.

The docks of Minrathous weren't ever a good place, but as Lords of Fortune, Naera and Turvi had seen worse. She'd barely even noticed the officious man who had walked up to them as they disembarked, chatting happily with Turvi about which of their favorite bars they would visit tonight. It wasn't like it was the first or last time someone took one look at their ears and did or said something terrible.

"Hey, how much for the one with the great tits?" the man had barked at Gladius in Trade, his High Town Minrathous accent laid on thick enough to sound like a caricature. "I could use a good time. I'll pay more than double if you throw in the blonde one." Gladius had stilled as Naera made a show of ignoring the man, giving him an assessing look out of the corner of her eye. Thin, balding, in very expensive, but dirty looking, clothing. Bags under his eyes and unshaven scruff making him look older and tougher than he probably was. He had swayed slightly as he stared at her chest, and then looked back up at Gladius to get an answer. "That's my wife and our husband," Gladius had answered evenly, still not moving. Turvi had gently taken her hand and shook his head as she started to flex them into static. With no answer, Gladius had rolled his shoulders slightly. Easily mistaken for a shrug. "You will apologize." The man had squinted at him, frowning. "Why would I apologize to livestock?"

"Nae?" Gladius loomed, concern still etched in his face.

"Why wouldn't I be OK?" she shook her head to clear the sting from her eyes, and reached up to give him a pat on the cheek with a bright smile. "We're here together, and have gold enough for all the bread and beer we want."

"Kaffas! I left the pouch on the table," Gladius straightened up and rubbed the back of his neck, looking apologetic. "I better go get our money. I'll meet you at the Swan!"

Naera and Turvi watched as he sprinted back towards their ship, dodging through the crowd as well as someone his size could in a hurry. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, replaying what had just happened. Under the pier the sounds of flailing continued unanswered by anyone around them, with a sharper edge of desperation to the cries as regular business continued unaffected.

"Do you think he knows?" Turvi asked after a second, giving a gentle tug to Naera's hand as they turned back towards the city.

"That we are so going to climb him like a tree when he gets back?" Naera shrugged, eyes bright. "Probably not. It will be a surprise!"

"It's not my fault!" Turvi protested as he took his own mug of hot, spiced beer with apples floating in it and sprawled into a nearby chair. He took a second to admire the wooly sheep painted on the side. "You were right, Nae, my feet got cold. I had to go back for shoes. I hate shoes."

"Do you.. have shoes?" Naera asked, her breath blowing steam off of the wine as she huddled around it. The pink in her nose was starting to spread to her cheeks, and her brows knitted together prettily.

"Yes! Well, no," he sighed. "I have somebody's shoes. I just took a spare pair that looked like they were the right size."

Slowly they all looked down at a very worn set of old leather boots. Gladius sat down next to Naera and passed a hand over his face so he didn't laugh as she groaned.

"What? It isn't like we have cursed boots on board!" Turvi looked up at them both, then back down with a look of alarm when he saw their expressions. "Well, not anymore, I guess? How was I supposed to know?"

"They were in a locked box, Turbs! With a little skull on it!"

"I thought the skull meant they were cool!"

Gladius drained the rest of his own mug, and handed it to Naera before leaning down to give Turvi a kiss on the top of his head with a smile. "You two keep warm, and I'll go find us a place to stay tonight after we finish shopping. And some supplies for our walk."

"Walk?" Turvi asked as Gladius gave Naera her own kiss. "What walk?"

"The walk to the next port," he laughed, pulling on his cloak after a brief struggle to get it out of Naera's lap. "Can't have you stepping on board a ship until you walk that curse out. Luckily for you, the next port is only a couple day's walk. I love you in your armor, but if we're going to walk through the hills in the winter, you need a coat."

Gladius was prodded by the round belly, a tiny foot kicking out hard enough to jab him. Hell of a roundhouse kick there, little one. He was not surprised to hear Naera grunt out and rub her stomach; whoever was in there was excited to come out and meet them. Or, well, whoever they were in there – Naera had confirmed in tears that there were two strong, little heartbeats. They did not know if the twins were Turvi's or his, or by some miracle, one from each; but it did not matter. They were theirs, and they would be loved so fiercely by them all that it would never have to be a question of who sired them in their unconventional little home, but a question of whose pancakes did they prefer – Papa's or … Papa's? The answer would always be … never Mama's.

Gladius replaced Naera's hand and rubbed circles where their child had brutally attacked her, and she hummed happily, her golden eyes cracking open just a trace, afraid that the sun would be up already. The deep frown that appeared on her face at the sight of their bedroom lit up was enough to make him chuckle. The woman had never been a fan of waking up, but with her sleep constantly interrupted, it meant she was even more crabby in the wee hours of the morning. 

"G'morning," he said, pressing a kiss on the space between her furrowed eyebrows.

"No," she replied, closing her eyes, burrowing deeper in his hold, earning her another laugh from him. Gently, he pushed back the amethyst coloured strands of hair and tucked them behind her pointed ear, a small shiver running through her at the sensation. 

"No?" 

"Mhmm, no. Sleep. S'not morning." 

"I'm afraid it is, love," he said, his tone apologetic as though it were his fault the sun decided to rise again. 

Her frown eased into a pout, the kind that softened both husbands' resolve almost as fast as either Teva or Julia's large pleading eyes. They had learned how to do it from their mother after all. "No," she insisted, trying to pull him even closer. "I refuse. I denounce the morning." 

"No matter how hard you try, Nae, morning will always refuse your refusal," the man behind her yawned, a messy blonde head peering up from behind her to kiss her shoulder. "You've been cursing the poor thing since I've met you, and yet you continue to fight with it. And you call us stubborn." 

Gladius laughed through his nose and sat up to greet the newly awakened man with a quick kiss. Turvi sank back down to draw Nae into a hug from behind, the smaller elf doing her best to snuggle into him. 

"How are the trouble makers?" Turvi asked, his hand beside Gladius', fingers overlapping as they both held her. As if on cue, another kick was felt at the sound of his voice, and Nae let out another groan, slapping his hand gently to chide him. 

"What did I say about speaking?" she said, unable to hide the smile in her voice. 

"… Not to?" he offered, pressing another kiss to her shoulder, laughing against her skin. 

Naera nodded, eyes still closed. "Mhmm. That's right. No more speaking from you, mister. You're only allowed to communicate through interpretative dance, otherwise these children will kick another hole to come out of me." 

"Sorry." 

"Turbee!" she snapped when another kick assaulted her. 

Turvi was about to apologise again when Gladius cleared his throat, eyebrows raised as he shot an amused look at their husband. The blonde elf promptly shut his mouth and locked it with an imaginary key, settling into his position back on the bed, rubbing at her hip, Naera letting out a coo and a smile so large, Gladius knew that there was no moving for Turvi now. 

"So, are we feeling like Orlesian toast this morning? Eggs? Bacon? Fried fish?" he listed off, waiting for Naera to perk up at one of his suggestions. 

"Yes." 

"Y-Yes? Yes to which?"

"Yes to all," she replied as though it were obvious. 

She was right. It should have been. Naera could have given him a run for his money when it came to appetite before she was pregnant, but now? With twins? The more food, the better. 

"Coming right up." Gladius bent down to steal a kiss from her, only to be wrangled back down, her small arms winding around his torso to yank him down. She was always a strong little firecracker. "Nae, I need to get up to make breakfast. Teva and Julia will be up soon, and if they're not fed, they're going to come here and–" 

"Soon," she said, frown returning with a vengeance. "Cuddles for now." 

"You have Turvi–" 

"Yes. But I want both." 

"But–" 

"The babies want both," she countered before he had the chance to retort, knowing that the giant of a man would be powerless to deny her. Spreading her arm out wide, Turvi behind her following in suit, his large grin obvious from Gladius' view, both spouses waited for the wilful human in their marriage to acquiesce. Which he always did. 

"Fine," he huffed, happily held by two sets of arms, the three of them pressed closely together as they all preferred, legs and arms all tangled so none could ever tell where one ended and the other began. ---

Softly tagging as per request: @kabsey @blackwall-my-tiny-husband @sorcerousadventurer @jukkaricity @serialsforbellara (I can't remember if you said to tag you in everything or if I was having a very specific dream XD)