He was hungry...starving really. He hadn't eaten anything in three days and only bits and pieces of things snatched from kitchen windows for the week before that. He was dirty and exhausted and sore and he was still in the Imperium, so running around being obvious about his homelessness and hunger would mark him as a target for a slaver, despite the weapons he held.
But not once did he consider going back to Esperance; the nightmares he had every night were plenty of motivation to keep going. Although he didn't sleep much; he couldn't. There was no where to sleep, and when there was the constant threat that someone would recognize him hung over his head.
The only reason he ran in the direction of the silent plains was because he never recalled anyone ever talking about them, even though he saw them on the map in Esperance's study, and they were considered part of Tevinter. They were tainted by the blight thousands of years ago, and the towns and cities on the edge of it were dusty and dry and hot. People didn't come outside much during the day, and Nero found himself wondering what the point in keeping these places occupied was. There were no fields to farm, there were few wells, and the food seemed to come from an entirely other city. He was in Perivantium and he saw crates with the 'Vyrantium Shipping Company' stamped across them. It was nonsense to stay in such a desolate place. Even he planned on leaving.
He was more accustomed to the damp, lively atmosphere of the Arlathan Forest. Which was where the Dalish believed the ancient empire of Arlathan was centered. In those ages the Dalish called all the land Elvhanan, which in the old language means "land of our people," and it was there they stayed, ignorant that the world outside of their forests was changing. The stories say that humans first arrived from Par Vollen to the North, which always made him chuckle; was that not the same place they say that the Qunari came from? Maybe somebody should actually go explore the damned place and tell us who inhabits it. Anyway, then the humans brought war and disease with them, effectively ending the immortality of the elves, and the gods cast them aside. The Arlathan forest became very thick and dense the further in you went, and there were always at least three separate Dalish clans there. He only knew what it was like in the forest because Krispen liked to hunt, and needed protection from the elves. They hated humans, and they hated the Tevinter's even more. Or so he was told.
It was only a couple of days after lingering around the town that he realized the people that stayed here were harvesting something. A group of men returned to the town, with barrels full of a plant; later he would learn that it was the Silent Plains Rose, which was not actually a rose but did smell like one, its the only plant that can be found growing on the silent plains. It's a rare plant in danger of going extinct and a dozen of them are needed to make one vial of Ambrosia. And it's expensive.
He sighed and rested underneath a tree, affording himself some semblance of shade. Although he was still sweating, and wondering which direction he should go next. Running to the silent plains was not the best idea he ever had, and he had no chance of crossing the planes on foot. Maybe if he had traded the horse he had stolen for a camel instead of a few coins, which had only served to get him two meals. He had the sneaking suspicion that he had gotten screwed over in both deals, but how was he to know? He didn't buy anything before, he didn't know how much things cost, nor did he know how much things were worth.
The point was moot, he just knew that he needed to get out of the Imperium. He knew that slavers were still found outside of the Tevinter border, but they couldn't operate openly like they did here. He wasn't sure what he would do, he wasn't willing to be a whore, maybe he could get a job as someone's guard. He only hoped it would be that easy, chances are he would end up in one of those Alienage's he had heard about, apparently all the city elves like there. He wondered what they would be like.
Suddenly a shadow fell across him and he looked up to see a lithe form, obviously a woman, judging by the curves. She wore tight clothing, and green armor, it took him a moment to recognize it as elvhen. She had red hair, tied up, with strands loose in the front. She was an elf, which surprised him, he hadn't seen an elf in weeks that wasn't a slave, and she was definitely not a slave. And she was holding out half a loaf of bread, waiting for him to take it.
Against his better judgment he grabbed it and scarfed it down, never before had bread tasted so delicious. The only problem he had with it was that it was so dry, and he began to choke on it. The elf woman chuckled and knelt, offering him a water skin, which he gratefully accepted. He handed it back after taking several gulps, probably halving the contents.
He looked at her warily, unsure why she would offer such things..."I have no coin to offer in return, what do you want?" he asked gruffly in Tevinter, having not spoken much since he had escaped, his voice was raw and crackly.
She smiled and cocked her head to the side, speaking in the common tongue "I don't speak Tevinter very well anymore, but I think you just said something about coin." her voice was gentle, and sweet. He decided he liked it.
He nodded, and repeated what he said in common tongue for her. To which she chuckled and said, "I do not want anything, I am just taking pity on what I am going to assume is an escaped slave."
His eyes opened in terror and he backed away, he had his hands on his weapons and was making to stand up when she held her hands out, indicating that she wasn't going to harm him. But he saw the knife belt, and was fairly certain he saw handles for knives or blades at her back.
He kept his distance when he spoke again, "how do you know what I am?" well that was dumb, he told himself, if she was simply guessing, she knows now. Idiot.
She lowered her hands a little, but took a step towards him, only stopping because he tightened his grip on his blade handle. She couldn't help but notice that his blades were clearly longer than hers, and he was larger...she wasn't completely sure she would be able to take him if he lost his shit and attacked her, so she tried to approach the situation calmly.
"I recognized myself in you. I was once a slave, and I escaped." she told him quietly.
He thought about this for several minutes before he let his posture relax and finally took his hands off of his weapons. She smiled and took a step closer, and he barely stopped himself from tensing. The last few years...whenever someone was close, nothing pleasant happened.
"I'm just passing through Perivantium, I need to go to Cumberland, on the other side of the silent plains, on the coast of the waking sea. I have business there...and i was sort of wondering...would you like to come? I can get you out of this desolate place, get you food..."she trailed off, wringing her hands, wondering why she was even offering. She refused to admit, even to herself, that it was because this was one of the first missions the Qunari had put her on, and she was lonely, and nervous...especially since she was in Tevinter. And he held weapons, surely they weren't just for show? And she remembered that hungry look, and how it felt when you first escaped, and she had only wished that she hadn't been alone. Maybe she would take him back to the Qunari with her, he would be given a purpose, and food, and a family. Surely he would like that.
He furrowed his brow at her, unsure what to say, he had questions, sure, but he wasn't accustomed to asking them. He had every reason to believe that she wasn't going to turn him over to slavers, first chance she got. Her eyes had showed an incredible pain when she told him she was once a slave. Did he want to go? Of course he did, but should he go? Why not? If he didn't find a way to get food legally he was going to end up starving to death or getting caught stealing and sent back to Esperance. He'd rather starve to death. So he nodded towards her in confirmation, that yes, he would like to come.
...
She sighed, "one of these days you are going to talk more, I assure you."
They were sharing a room in an inn in Solas, a week later. She hadn't learned much of the man, she didn't even know his name yet, he refused to tell her. But she understood, when you are new to freedom, telling anyone anything about you is daunting when you never know who is willing to turn you over to a slaver for a few coins.
She couldn't really be mad at him for keeping things to himself, she was keeping a lot to herself as well. She didn't tell him yet that she followed the Qun, or rather, was trying to, but was sucking at it terribly. She told him her name was Tallis, a part of her hoping he would recognize the term, and therefore he would know what she was, but he didn't. Nobody ever did. But that was fine by her, she was supposed to be secretive, and she was sure that if Salit learned that she had asked this man to accompany her, he would have a fit.
I'll just have to tell him i ran into him on the way back. she smiled to herself.
Nero watched her out of the corner of his eye, so far she had not told him what she was going to Cumberland for, but he was sure he would be able to help her with it. And then he would not owe a debt to her. He didn't want to be enjoying his freedom a few years down the road and have her show up telling him she needed his help, and he owed her. He would feel obliged to go, and Maker knows what would happen then.
But so far, he was enjoying the company, and she had kept her distance, presumably she had noticed he tensed every time she got too close. But that was quickly disappearing, they had been in Solas for two days, waiting for a caravan to take them across the silent plains on the imperial highway. She explained that they had to share a room when they got there, as she only had the coin for one, with one bed. He had offered to sleep on the floor, and was fairly determined to do so at first, but she kept insisted that they should share the bed (fully clothed, of course) and he had eventually caved. It had been years since he had laid in a bed, much less slept in one. He blamed his tiredness and hunger for caving so easily that first night. He had pleasant dreams, and the whole situation reminded him of when he slept next to Arsenio. It helped him not feel so alone and helpless.
Along with getting good sleep, he was eating well too. He asked where she was getting the money to afford to feed them both, when she could only afford one room, and she told him that she technically could afford two rooms, but she was trying to keep the money for as long as she could. That was also why she was ordering the cheapest food at the Inn. He had nodded and watched with rapt attention as she bartered with the Innkeeper everyday for their food, and hoped he was absorbing something.
He watched her smiling to herself, and could tell that she was daydreaming again. She didn't do it very much when they were walking to Solas, but it seemed she daydreamed quite often when she was comfortable. And it pleased him that she was that comfortable around him, as it had been a very long time since anyone was. It...touched...him. She's kind of pretty, he decided. Her eyes were amazing, he had never seen any like them, not on an elf. But then, she had said the same about his, he chuckled quietly to himself.
That seemed to have caught her attention and she reached a hand out and rested it on his forearm, just above his gloves, so that their skin touched. She didn't seem to notice when he jumped a little at the contact and only smiled when he blushed, "you're laughing." She told him, "that's always a good start towards talking."
He nodded but looked away, he wasn't completely sure why he was blushing. He liked her, sure, but not quite the same way as he had liked Arsenio. He wasn't sure what love was, but he thought he had loved Arsenio, Tallis...he just liked. He realized that he would like to sleep with her, which was quite the step for him. He wasn't sure if there had ever been anyone he had wanted to sleep with. He hadn't really even wanted to sleep with Arsenio the first time they met.
He turned his head to look at her again. They were both sitting on the bed, cross legged, and waiting for a descent time to go to sleep. The caravan was to leave the following day, around noon, and the sun had just set, so he knew that they were going to sleep soon. Should I try to have sex with her? he wondered, I'm good at it, maybe she'll really want to keep me around if we have sex...but what if she isn't interested in having sex? Then she might get angry or feel uncomfortable that i tried to and ask me to leave...merda. Maybe I'll try flirting with her for a few days, and see how she reacts...if she doesn't then I'll know, right?
...
They were almost on the other side of the Silent Plains when the Bandits struck. The man driving the cart stopped it and pulled a sword out from where his feet were resting. He jumped from the cart with a holler, muffled by the wind and the cloth covering most of his face to protect it from the sand.
Nero was quite surprised by all the sandstorms that plagued the Silent Plains, he had imagined maybe he would see a few in the distance, but maybe only experience one. Instead it seemed like they spent the entire trip at the heart of one. He wasn't sure how the driver even knew where to go, but Tallis assured him that he would be used to it.
He winced as he jumped from the cart, the cloth head wrap thing that he was wearing was fine and dandy for protecting his face, but there wasn't anything for his eyes. He hated it, and had spent most of the trek with his eyes closed. He headed to the front of the caravan, to join the driver in battle. But stopped for a moment when he noticed Tallis a few feet away, kneeling on the other side of the cart.
He watched her throw knives in the direction of the battle, and somehow she missed the driver completely but got three in the chest, neck, and cheek of one bandit, another one got a knife in the throat, and another caught one in the stomach - his head was quickly decapitated by the drive when he bent over in pain.
Nero was impressed, he had never seen anyone throwing knives, he had only read about it. It seemed convenient. It was then he decided to join the fray, he pulled his blades from their scabbards and wished, for a moment, that he was able to call upon something. His powers were basically useless here. He quickly helped the driver and Tallis dispatch the remaining five bandits and helped the elf collect her knives from the bodies of the bandits while the drive waited patiently, pleased that his companions weren't useless.
"That's a neat trick." He hollered to Tallis over the wind.
He saw her eyes crinkle, indicating she was smiling, "it is, I'm also pretty good with hand-to-hand, but I prefer to use my knives. Less chance to get stabbed that way." she told him.
It wasn't until they had gotten back in the cart that he spoke again, "perhaps you could teach me how to do that." he suggested.
She blinked at him several times, evidently surprised by the request, before laughing, "sure. But you aren't keeping any of my knives."
...
It wasn't until they had crossed the Minanter River Bridge that Nero realized he wasn't in the Tevinter Imperium any longer. The driver of the caravan was heading east, towards Tantervale, and was unable to take them any further. He didn't realize he was smiling until Tallis told him so.
"Oh." was all he could think of to say.
"It's the first time I've seen you smile," she told him, "it definitely makes you a lot more handsome."
"Thank you." he said, honestly flattered. It was the first time she had remarked upon his appearance.
She giggled, "no problem, there should be an inn a little ways ahead. Lets go."
He was grateful for the news, it was getting dark and he was hoping to avoid camping as long as he could. It always felt so much better to have a roof over your head and four walls around you when you were going to he was in the Imperium or not he knew that there would always be danger on the road, bandits and whatnot.
She led the way, and the sun had completely set by the time they saw a lantern through the trees. Once there she got them a room and had some stew sent to it, which they ate slowly at the table. She was surprised to find that his good mood also moved him to talk more, and she ended up telling him the theory behind throwing knives correctly, and blushed when he complimented her on her skill. They had run into another group of bandits just before they reached the river and she had gotten a good look at his own fighting style, and he was good, graceful, and deadly. So she took the compliment to heart, it was no small thing coming from someone as talented as he was.
They decided to go to bed when they were done the meal, as she wanted to leave when the sun rose. As they kicked off their boots Tallis tried to sum up how long it would take to finish her job. It would take at least another week or so to reach Cumberland, and she would have to gather some intelligence on her objective before executing it, and that would take maybe a week or so as well. And as much as she was enjoying her time with Nero, she was excited at the prospect of taking him to learn the Qun. She was sure that he would love it.
They were given a small bed this time, and it was chilly so they both got under the blankets, whereas usually Nero would stay on top of them. She didn't complain when he rolled onto his side to face her, and snuck a hand around her waist to pull her closer. She was laying on her back and when she was pulled towards him she turned her head to look at him, wondering if he was really up to what she thought he was up to. The Qun would frown upon this, she knew, they would rather set you up with someone and meet once a year to mate. But she was not the same race as them, and it had been so long, and he certainly was attractive...
He searched her face warily, looking for a sign that she did not want this, but she did not push away when he pulled her towards him, and she was not looking away now. She even rose up to meet him when he lowered his head to kiss her. He was suddenly very excited. He was kissing someone by his own will, his own choice. The freedom, the knowledge that he had control over whether he wanted to do this or not, was exhilarating. He urged her to open her mouth and allow him entrance, when she did he let his hand trail down from where it was cupping her face to curl around the neck of her armor. Making her gasp when she felt his fingertips brush her nipple underneath the metal.
Encouraged he moved his hand to her side and began undoing the laces he found there. She took the opportunity to begin unbuckling the straps of his leather armor. It wasn't long before it was hanging open and she reached up to touch his chest, somehow surprised by how toned he was. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, the man was clearly in good shape, but she was surprised all the same. He pulled away and raised himself to his knees to untie the other side of her armor. As he did so her fingers gently stroked down his abdomen; he shivered and bit his lip, goosebumps marring his flesh. She smiled and, sat up to push his armor off of him, and then pulled her own top off and pulled off her gloves. He did the same.
They paused as they looked at each other, and then she pulled him towards herself and he pushed her down, cupping her breast and pinching her nipples at the same time. She gasped and arched her back, causing him to smirk. She laughed and pulled his head down so that they could continue their kiss, and he adjusted his position, so that one of his legs was between hers. She grinned into the kiss and ground her hips upwards, causing him to groan and pinch her other nipple, hard. She arched her back involuntarily this time and moaned loudly.
Then she grew impatient and pulled at his pants, undoing the strings holding them up. When they were loose, she pushed them down and worked on her own pants while he sat back to take his pants off and toss them on the floor. She had a small opportunity to glance appreciatively at him in his naked glory before he was attacking her neck with his tongue and teeth and his fingers were teasing her most sensitive spot.
He was surprised by how wet she was when he sunk his fingers into her, and it wasn't long before she was thrusting into his hand. He was suckling on her nipples, and overall enjoying himself when he heard her speak roughly.
"Now. I need it now."
He found that orders were so much more fun to follow when you knew you could say no.
...
Three weeks later they were climbing over the wall into the courtyard of a Guard Captains home. During that time Nero had learned that he was decent at throwing knives, not quite as good as Tallis, but that would take practice. And she was pleased to learn that he was quite the expert when it came to sex, and even wondered once, after they had finished, if she could find a way to convince the Qunari to set her up with him. If she was only supposed to be allowed to have sex once a year, it might as well be with someone who knew what they were doing.
But she didn't think that a female in her profession would be allowed to have children, and she didn't' really want to be stuck at home raising some kids anyway. She liked Nero as a friend, sure, but she didn't want to run out and marry him. Although sometimes when they were catching their breath and sweating afterwords, the idea had it's merits...
She shook her head to clear them of those thoughts. She didn't have time for that stuff right now. She had to pick the lock to the cellar and then pick the lock to where the guard captain kept the stash of things they took from bandits, or whatever, that they planned on returning. She wasn't sure why they kept them in the Guard Captain's house, and not at the prison. She had said as much to Nero who suggested maybe they didn't want thieves who stole something important to be able to break out and retrieve what had been taken from them that easily. By the time said thief figured out that their stolen item was not at the prison they would probably get caught, if not, they would risk a greater chance of getting caught by breaking into Guard Captains house.
It sounded reasonable enough, but she personally hadn't met any guardsmen that were clever enough to think of something like that. But it didn't matter, she was here to retrieve a book that a Tal-Veshoth had stolen before he left the Qun and sold when he was gone. Said Tal-Veshoth was dealt with, and she was sent to retrieve the tome. She knew it wasn't a particularly valuable book, since she was being sent to fetch it instead of someone more familiar with such a task.
She motioned for Nero to keep watch for trouble as she fiddled with the lock into the cellar. Suddenly a terrible thought struck her, what if she wasn't sent with someone more experienced for this mission because they wanted to see what she was capable of alone. She glanced at where Nero was kneeling, his eyes roving over the walls and entrances into the courtyard. Should she tell him to leave? She really didn't want to...but if this was important...would they believe her lie? Would they kill him upon seeing him, because of her lie? Would they exile her? She shook her head, it was too late now, she had to finish this and could continue going over her worries later.
Finally she heard a click and the padlock came undone. She cracked open the hatch leading to the cellar and motioned for Nero to be silent, which he already was. After listening for several seconds she concluded that nobody was down there, at least, not in the immediate vicinity and descended through the ladder. Nero followed, gently closing the hatch behind him.
They were both kneeling behind some boxes while she considered her next move. She knew that the room she needed, the one with the tome inside of it, was upstairs, on the first floor. And there were usually guards patrolling the estate, but they switched off at midnight, when the chantry bell tolled. By her estimation she had a half hour to get up there. She wished she had more time, but she had to wait for the guards on the walls of the courtyard to leave or look away. It took her quite some time before she realized that they weren't going to leave, and she knocked them both out with a needle soaked for three days in a potent sleeping potion. The one thing that she had forgotten to check on before trying to execute this thing, and it nearly undid the entire thing. How could she be so stupid?
Nero, seeing that she was distracted again, probably beating herself up over the guard thing outside, nudged her with his shoulder, bringing her back to the situation. She nodded at him and stood to lead him through the basement. They were going through a gated arch with the door open. If he had been paying attention he might have noticed that there were springs on the door, and by the hinges, and that it was obviously a trap for intruders. He was too busy listening for something other than them moving to notice the pressure tile in the floor. The one Tallis absentmindedly stepped around, without telling him.
He cursed when the gate slammed shut with a loud clang, and cursed again when he realized it locked automatically. She turned around and gaped at him, unsure what to do, when he heard the hatch that they had entered by open and voices drift down from it.
"Tallis, get me out of here!" he hissed quietly.
But she was backing away, knowing that she didn't have time, the chantry bell was going to go any minute now, and this was important.
When he realized that she wasn't going to help him he said, "Tallis?" and then, angrily, "Tallis, what the fuck are you doing!"
She shook her head, as the first guard grabbed Nero by the shoulder. He didn't have time to react before one of Tallis' knives flew threw the bars of the gate and kit the man in the eye, killing him instantly. When he turned to look for her, he saw her back as she ran up the stairs and out of the cellar.
"Tallis!" he yelled angrily. He unsheathed his weapons and faced the guards, the rage he felt at being abandoned by her helped fuel his call to the fauna outside, and guided his daggers.