(Another lady dwarf and Alister drabble, because it amuses me.)
"Lovey, just because Zevran said they do that in Antiva doesn't make it true!" the dwarf grumbled, brushing an errant strand of hair from her face.
"I don't know, he seemed really earnest about it. Besides, it could be fun!" the much taller man implored.
The dwarf folded her arms under her breasts and glowered at the man.
"Lovey, Zev is the sort that could sell water to fish and have them thank him for the sale."
The glower failed to have its intended effect. The human kneeled to meet her gaze and favored her with his biggest smile, his large deep brown eyes imploring. For Stone's sake, he could out-do her master manipulator mabari for sheer charm when he wanted something badly enough. She was increasingly distracted by the desire to kiss him. Damn him and his being so adorable.
"Please? As a favor? I hear it feels really good!" he pleaded playfully.
He could tell he was on his way to victory, her cheeks were turning bright pink underneath her blue tattoos. That and her lavender eyes kept wandering to his mouth.
It couldn't be that bad, could it? she briefly thought, then shook her head.
"Alistair, you are mad! What makes you think that it wouldn't hurt? Having a full grown man walking on your back sounds like pain to me! Don't you get smacked around enough in combat? Or maybe you got smacked a little too hard on the head..." she replied.
"Madam, your words wound me more than any ogre could!" he said playfully and dramatically held the back of a hand to his forehead.
She couldn't hold back the giggle that flew from her throat. He smirked, eyes glinting with mischief.
"For one thing, I am not asking a full grown man to do it, I am asking you. Unless my vision is playing tricks on me, I'm pretty certain you are a dwarf of the female variety."
"Exactly. Dwarf." she emphasized the second word. "Not some stick thin waif of a she-elf. I bet they have she-elves do that thing in Antiva. If that's really even a thing." Natia argued, trying to deny her curiosity. "I'm more likely to wind up crushing you than anything."
He made a pouty face and fluttered his ginger eyelashes. She laughed and leaned in to give a kiss as a consolation prize. Natia found herself being grabbed and draped over his shoulder within a moment of their lips breaking contact.
"Funny, you don't seem heavy to me," he chuckled and began to haul her to their room at the inn.
"Ack! No! Bad, Alistair! Swooping is bad!" the tiny redhead squawked and tried to swat his rump. Her protests elicited a belly laugh from him.
"Scooping and swooping are not the same thing. I scooped!"