Underhanded Favors
(Dragon Age belongs to Bioware)
We had been trekking for what seemed like weeks as we finally entered the walls of Denerim. The knights under Arl Eamon's rule had mentioned of a Brother Genitivi who had notes and studies on where the Ashes or Andraste may be kept. It was really our only solid lead, and I wasn't about to go through a wild goose chase just to see if there could be another route. My foot ached, but I continued on, not showing my discomfort to my fellow travelers. However, one in particular, I knew was looking at me. I could feel his deep eyes bearing into the back of my head as I led them through the dirt matted streets before us. I absently listened to Alistair going on of another 'And this one time at the Wardens' Compound…' stories, my head lolling from side to side as I felt an uncomfortable itch crawl up my flesh. It was uncomfortable, but I didn't complain as we continued on. As we reached the center of the city, I realized we really had no idea where to go from here. I stopped there for a moment, my long red locks swaying in the wind. I could hear Sten grunting at our lack of movement, but I ignored it easily. He was always boasting about how we took way too much time on trivialities like sitting and resting. If he had his way, we'd be walking on stumps instead of feet, and breaching the gates of the afterlife. He really needed to learn how to relax every once and a while. I gripped the edge of my bow before I turned to my companions, my green eyes scanning over their faces before I nodded my head a bit to them.
"We must find this Brother Genitivi as quickly as we can. The Arl doesn't have much time. Ask around, see if anyone knows of him and can give us directions to his home. I don't want to linger here longer than we must." With that, they all broke off, splintering into the crowd and dispersing. In that moment, Circe Tabris closed her eyes in relief and leaned up against a brick wall. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, to see her fatigue. She was their mighty leader, right?
"My my, and to think, I saw you as a figure of great strength and virility, Warden." A smooth voice caressed her ears as she turned her head to look up at Zevran. He was only other elf in their company of misfits, and sometimes I found I could relate to him the most. I knew what it was like to feel captive, enslaved. I leaned off the wall in that moment, tossing hair out of my face so I could give him a look.
"Shouldn't you be off listening to my orders like the rest? Or are you doing one of your selective listening techniques?" I asked rather sharply, watching that smirk spread across his lips before he stepped closer to him. A bit closer than I was used to. I leaned away from him a bit, watching him carefully as he leaned against the wall beside me, just staring. I was used to that, however, and I raised a brow at him in mock intrigue. "Get going, I don't really feature being here forever now." I said and with that, I began to walk away from him in order to find someone to speak to. I didn't get far however, as I felt a gloved hand grip my bare upper arm. I grunted at Zevran as he yanked me out of eye shot of any villagers nearby and my back connected with the wall behind me. I looked to see that he had pulled me behind a tavern and I looked beside us at a nearly half empty barrel of fowl smelling ale rested beside us. But that wasn't what held my attention. What had my nearly undivided attention was the elven man's body against mine.
"Work, work, work." He whispered to me, his lips near mine, almost taunting me. What was he playing at? "Do you ever shut the general part of that pretty of yours off, my dear? Hardly a nice place for fun." I hadn't realized how tense I had become until that moment as I felt his breath against my throat. My eyelids fluttered a bit as I felt his nimble fingers toying with the buckles that held my leather armor to my slender, slight frame. In that moment, I felt an intensity swell within me and shuddered in front of him. That only caused another smirk to form on his lips. He was lowering my guard as he removed my weapons from my body, watching as he set my bow against the barrel. I stared into his hazel eyes, that smirk disappearing from his face to make way for the expression that was hard to read. Lust? Anticipation? Then, his lips were on mine before I could react, my body slamming back against the wall once more. His fingers slipped through my bright red hair, his fingertips sliding up the sharp edge of my pointed ears as mine edged his jaw line. From there it was a blur. The sound of buckles loosening as our armor was removed. His breathing paced as quickly as mine as his hips dug into mine, a groan of relief leaving his lips as his mouth captured the flesh of my throat.
In a matter of moments, my small body was shoved up against the wall, higher than him as my legs locked around him tightly. My hands gripped at his shoulders and in that moment, I let out a sudden and power gasp. His face pressed against my chest, his hands resting against the wall on either side of my slender body. My hands moved from his shoulders to both sides of his face as I watched him carefully for a moment before bucked up against me, causing my eyes to close and a soft sigh to leave my lips.
I cried out and raked my fingers through Zevran's long blonde hair, his hands gripping at my body as he rested his head against my chest. We remained there for a few moments, my hands moving against his hair gently before looked down at him. He hadn't moved, and he looked as if he were staring at something beside them. I glanced before running a hand against the side of his face.
"Zev, are you alright?" I asked, my breath hitched and heavy as he slowly lifted his gaze up to meet mine. I waited for a reply, but one wasn't given to me as he simply nodded his head. From there, we replaced our armor back on our bodies the way it should be. I slipped my bow against my back before I turned toward him. He strapped his blades back into place before he looked back to me over his shoulder and slowly turned in mid step toward me. His gloved hand reached for the side of my face, brushing hair from my face before grinning down at me.
"Must continue our quest, my dear. Our company must be wrecked with worry as to where we have gone. Plenty to talk about when we reach camp. Plenty…to finish." He said with a gentle chuckle before he stepped to the side of me. I watched him for a moment before I fell in step beside him, my feet carrying us back into the center of town where Alistair turned to see us approaching. He stood at attention and moved out from a vendor, his eyes watching us curiously. I watched as the group slowly began filtering back together before us before I looked to Alistair.
"Well?" I asked and he nodded his head toward the left and pointed toward a house in a corner.
"We'll find him there." He replied before his eyes fell on Zevran. The two men shared a moment between each other which resulting in Zevran looking to his feet with an almost childish grin. Alistair stiffened, looking away from me as I nod my head, attempting to keep my commanding atmosphere around me despite what had just transpired. I couldn't suppress a light smile from veiling my lips as stepped forward in the direction of Brother Genitivi's.
"Let's move."
