The gray Mabari on the right is a male dog named Drake. When their firstborn daughter turned out to be a mage, Malcolm and Leandra Hawke decided that their child might require extra protection against any Templars that might come after her, so they saved and scraped together enough money to buy a Mabari pup, praying that the dog would imprint on their daughter and protect her against all dangers. Luckily, the pup took to Valerie Hawke right away, and young Valerie was absolutely delighted with her new canine companion. She tried to name the dog Dragon, since dragons were the biggest, baddest, coolest thing she could think of to name her cool new war hound after. Malcolm tentatively suggested Drake instead, as Drakes are male dragons, and it sounds a bit more like a real name. Valerie agreed, so Drake it was.
Drake grew up as Valerie's guard dog, and later helped protect Carver and Bethany as well, when the twins came around, though he was always Valerie's dog. He helped out with work around their farm and always kept a close eye on any Templars in their little village, lest they come after his master. When the family had to flee Lothering from the destruction of the Darkspawn, Drake dutifully followed the family. He grieved Bethany's death with the rest of them, and he struggled to adjust to their new, cramped life in Kirkwall. Valerie did her best to take Drake out as often ass she could, taking him out on jobs, letting him help train recruits with Aveline, and just generally keeping him well-exercised and keep him from being too bored.
Eventually, Drake settled well enough into city life, especially when the family moved to the Amell estate and their lodgings were more comfortable. He stood by Valerie's side through all the heartache to come - the loss of Carver to the Grey Wardens, the loss of Leandra to a horrifying death, the betrayal of Anders and having to execute her own friend, and eventually having to flee Kirkwall after helping save the mages. No matter what losses Valerie suffered, no matter how she blamed herself, Drake was always there, always by her side, always full of love for his master and never blaming her for a bit of it. When Valerie left to aid the Inqusition in their pursuit of Corypheus, Drake stayed behind with Merrill, to keep watch over her while she worked to help the alienages. He would rather be by his master's side, but Valerie couldn't risk her beloved pet with the stakes so high, not with how old he's getting, and she needs her beloved Merrill safe. Eventually, they will be reunited, and Drake will be at his master's side once again.
Unlike the stoic Enasal and the goofy Liquorice, Drake is an easy-going, chill sort of dog, far more laid-back and prone to thinking before he acts than his often rash master. However, he is far too loyal to Valerie to ever leave her side, so he allows himself to be roped into all of her schemes with a dog's equivalent of the roll of hhe eyes, even the ones he knows are foolish, because he has to be there to help her if something goes wrong. He is a steady, loyal presence in Valerie's tumultuous life. He never fully liked Leandra, since she could be rather harsh to Drake's master, and he wasn't above growling at Carver when he got too snippy with Valerie, though he protected Valerie's younger siblings just as fiercely as his own master. He adores Merrill for the happiness she brings to his Valerie's life, and he enjoys hanging out with Valerie's other friends, especially Varric, who is always a good partner to play Wicked Grace with.
The pig-like creature, a fictional species called a Tusket, is a male Tusket named Wrinkles. Inquisitor Kenina Adaar (drawn at that link very beautifully by @ghilenart) was out on a mission with some of her inner circle in the Fallow Mire when a nearby squealing sounded quite loudly. Out of fear that the sound would alert any nearby undead to their presence, they hunted down the source of the squealing to find a Tusket that had gotten its foot caught by a fallen rock and was now trapped in place. Kenina couldn't bring herself to kill the creature to silence it, not when it was looking at her with those scared eyes, so instead she freed it from the rock, even sparing one of her own elfroot potions to soothe the pain of its leg. That done, the Inquisitor and her companions went on their way, ready to return to their mission.
Except the Tusket didn't leave. It followed behind the group like a lost puppy, clearly grateful for the aid and curious about its rescuers. Kenina had always had a soft spot for animals, and couldn't help dropping little bits of food for the Tusket, or cooing to it when they stopped to camp at night and the Tusket inched closer and closer. When he finally came close enough to touch, she scritched behind its ear and it leaned into the touch with a happy snort. The rest of Kenina's companions were less enthused about their tagalong, but the Tusket eventually proved itself to them by squealing an alarm to them one night, just in time to warn them about an Avvar attack. After that, the Tusket was welcome warmly into the group.
When it was time or them to leave the Fallow Mire, Kenina was delighted that the Tusket continued to follow them. They brought him back to Skyhold with them, where Kenina named him Wrinkles and declared him to be her pet. Though she leaves him behind at Skyhold for all but the safest of outings, she spends as much of her time as she can with him when she is at Skyhold, and she dotes on her beloved pet and spoils him rotten, sneaking him bits of her food at mealtimes and giving him belly rubs and wrapping ribbons around his neck and tying them in big bows. Wrinkles, for his part, adores his Qunari master and follows her around as closely as her own shadow, snorting happily. When Kenina is away from Skyhold, Josephine looks after her lover's pet. Though she isn't as besotted with Wrinkles as Kenina is and was initially unsure how to look after such a pet, she comes to love Wrinkles dearly as well. After the events of the Exalted Council, Wrinkles moves in with Kenina and Josephine as they move in to the Montilyet estate, where all of Josephine's siblings, especially Yvette, spoil him rotten.
I'm really happy with how both of these guys turned out here. Â I played around with different ideas for a pet for Kenina for a while, but I think having a Tusket rather fits her, and I just love the idea of her spoiling this thing rotten and him completely adoring her in return. Â And of course, I had to draw Hawke's Mabari as well. I'm going with the idea of Mabaris having a longer lifespan than regular dogs, for it to make sense for him to still be alive by Inquisition. Â Anyway, this was fun, I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about my Dragon Age pet headcanons.
