Chapter Eight
Alternate
I came down after a bath – hey, if you make an excuse, stick to it – to see that Alistair, Leliana and Aedan were the ones left behind.
Leliana held her hand out and Aedan grumbled but passed her a few coins. I lifted an eyebrow, "Who bet what now?"
Aedan sighed, "I bet that you would come down not having bathed. Leliana said you'd come down with wet hair."
Alistair was staring out the window. I sat, "I'm not telling you what that was all about. It's just… shocking. So… how mad is everyone to learn…?"
"Not mad – I mean, it'd be one thing if you'd known about the game before hand and let my family die, but you've been actively changing the bad things. Cailan was glad to be alive. Hawke… I don't think he'll tell his family anything other than to wear the rings. Lyna is a bit annoyed – but says if you really chose her appearance, then you did well enough. Solona was glad to know her family. Sereda and Faren want to know what will happen with their families. They know Farens' sister is marrying Seredas' brother, but that's all they know. Darrien wondered about Shianni – his… cousin, I think. Alim had no questions."
"As for me – I want to know how the current Divine dies." Leliana asked seriously.
"Peacefully," I said. She smiled brilliantly, "That is wonderful news."
"And then there's Alistair – he hasn't said a word, so we don't know if he's upset or not." Aedan nudged the prince.
Alistair leaned forward, putting his full attention on me, "What choices did I make as the Lone Warden? Was I… did I… do good or…?"
I sat across from him, "You did as well as you could with the situation you were given. In spite of your hesitations, you did allow Morrigan to come along. And by the end, you will have accepted her aid in a ritual. As stated, you and Leli were implied to be lovers. You saved Valor – named him Barkspawn. I think that's adorable and almost got you a Mabari of your own just for that. You will save the mage tower mages in order to save someone else – but you don't recruit the healer that wants to join us. Instead, she guards the entrance to the Denerim Alienage alongside the Templars. You will not recruit our resident drunk – but he shows up to fight in the market district anyway. You spared the Crows' life, but didn't recruit him. He took refuge in the alienage and defends it as best he can. You rescued the Qunari here in Lothering, but I don't know if you recruited him or not. You… allowed the sacrifice of volunteer dwarves – because that's how golems are made. Meaning you saved the Anvil of the Void. You found the Urn of Sacred Ashes and used them to cure a man. When recruiting the elves, you encourage the werewolves to kill them and instead gain werewolf allies. You likely chose King Bhelen – Seredas' traitorous brother – because he had better kingly views than Harrowmont. That gains additional forces too. You even convince the legion of the dead to fight on the surface – something that's never been done. You killed slavers targeting the alienage of Denerim. If Vaughn Kendalls hadn't been killed by Darrien, you would have let him free to fight. You would recruit Loghains' right hand, Ser Cauthrien. You obviously executed Loghain in the Landsmeet… and you marry Anora to rule Ferelden with her."
Aedan was gaping, "Maker."
"The choices you made that can't be made in base game are as follow – you managed to get both the Templars and the mages to your disposal; for us, it may be one or the other. You convinced Arl Howe to abandon Loghain and join you instead – he fights at the gates. You hire Qunari Mercenaries, likely the ones we will be later contracted to kill. We cannot convince Ser Cauthrien to fight for us if Loghain dies, but you did. And you appoint Bann Teagan to lead the Redcliffe forces."
"He recruited… Howe?" Aedan ground out.
I waved him off – looking at my stricken mate.
Alistair muttered, "… How bad is all of that."
"Actually, only a few of those choices are not the best. We're putting Bhelen forward, the Dalish Keeper we'll interact with created the werewolf curse so we can break it, but if I didn't know that… we'll save the people you saved anyway… and knowing those things ae possible, maybe we can convince them too. Not howe – fuck howe. But you did really well alone. And I must say – ending the blight with just you and two women? Not bad."
He flushed, "Well, women should always be in charge in my opinion."
"Wait – he's a commoner; how can he marry Anora…?" Aedan pressed. Then froze, "Bastard born… Makers' Ass – you're Cailans' brother!"
Alistairs' head whipped up in horror, "Please don't tell!"
"I won't – but you should," Aedan pressed.
I spoke, "He tells everyone when we get to Redcliffe anyway. He was raised there so he's well known. Leave it for now."
Alistair relaxed, "Thank you. And uh… thank you for telling me…"
I nodded, "Ask and ye shall receive. You haven't fully rejected me yet – and you can't until I'm free. We can't fully mate until then anyway. As my mate, you get free wishes."
I then stood and headed to the kitchen. I almost jumped when my phone rang. I answered it, "Hello?"
It was Sia, "Hey sis – we're done!"
"… Sia… it's been… 4 days," I muttered confused.
"Uh-huh! Mom took over all of my duties at the restaurant and my other mates took up for Clover and Venjo. Mom told us everything about your mate. You sure he doesn't want you? It sounds like…" she trailed off.
"I'm sure. I've tried and tried and… failed. I'm giving up – I can't stand in his way, you know? I made sure – and he… he didn't… I can't." I couldn't keep talking about it – it hurt far too much that my mate didn't show even a little jealousy when it was discovered that the man that I spent the night with wasn't my mate.
She sighed, "Oh… well, I'm sending the package over. It's more than we anticipated. Maybe you can Pavlov him? Get his attention on you and slowly give him good things he likes so that he slowly comes to associate you with…" she started.
"No – I wouldn't… I can't manipulate people I care about even in such a 'harmless' way. I already gave my blessing, Sia. I appreciate the sentiment, though. I'm not the one that's part pixie." I chuckled.
"What – is that a dig at how I got Clover to fall for me?" she pouted.
"Not a dig – I fully respect how you did it. I just wish I could too. Anyway, thanks again. If you need something, let me know."
She agreed and hung up as the package landed on my counter in front of me. It was fucking huge.
I called out, "Alistair…? Come here please?"
Alistair was followed by Leliana and Aedan – the two were looking curious.
I motioned, "This is something I had commissioned for you. My sister and two of her mates worked on it, but it's for you."
He cautiously came over and opened the box.
He began pulling things out.
There were little Fae, Jinn like from Aladdin, Mer-folk, Banshees, swan-maidens, and every other kind of mythical person; dragons in all manner of poses – made of ruby, marble, stone, wood, and cheese.
I almost face-palmed. My sister had not only made him cheese, she'd made him cheese statuettes. But I couldn't be upset when I saw the awe and wonder on his face.
I did note that the bottom of the heavy box was lined with wood and stone runestones too.
He muttered, "All of this… is for me?"
"All of it. Every statue, every crumb, and every rune." I smiled, "I know for sure that you like those three things. I know good gifts for many of the people we'll pick up along the way, so I know what to hold onto. I, unfortunately, don't have cheat codes for the pre-Ostagar recruits, however."
He flushed, "What else do you think… would be… you know… for me?"
"Duncans' shield is something we can get later – that's something for you to remember him by. And your mothers' amulet – which Arl Eamon painstakingly put back together for you. Morrigan? She likes shiny jewelry. The drunk we'll pick up? That's a given. The Qunari? He likes paintings, cookies, and we can find his sword. The healer likes wine and books. The crow likes shiny things. Leliana likes symbols of Andraste and I have her favorite flower in the garden."
Leliana stilled, "My… favorite flower?"
"The small Ferelden wild flower that reminds you of your mother. Ironically, it's Andrastes' Grace." I muttered.
Her eyes widened, "You… even know about that?"
I nodded.
Alistair cleared his throat, "I'd love to collect Duncans' shield and my mothers' amulet… if you… know where they are?"
"The shield will be a while yet – but yes, I know where they are." I smiled.
He hugged me and I stilled. I made myself relax and enjoy the hug – the first affection my mate had shown me. I breathed him and found myself… relaxing naturally.
His voice rumbled above me – he was almost a foot taller than I was, "Thank you. No one… no one has ever thought to do anything like this for me and… I thought I'd lost that locket to my own foolishness. It's all I had of my mother – and I was a stupid kid. And… and something to remember Duncan by…"
It took me a moment to realize… he was crying. I noticed Leliana and Aedan slip out the door softly as Alistair pulled away a little, "This… it means the world to me."
I smiled up at him and said, "I'm glad – though I didn't expect the cheese to be figurines; that was a surprise. My sister is famous for her cheeses in Elysion though. Her mate, Clover, is a Dryad – she carved the wood figures. Sia – my sister – her troll mate, Venjo, made the stone and gem ones. I suspect her witch mate, Alana, is the one that made the runestones… so they aren't just for show. Let's find out…"
I picked up a stone that said Fire in rune-script. "Let's see… to activate, you trace your finger over the rune… aha!"
The rune in my hand burst into brilliant white fire, hovering over my hand and the stone.
Alistair pulled another one out with a giddy expression and traced the rune that said air. A little vortex appeared above his hand.
"Makers' Breath – this is amazing! Alana, was it? She could sell these for a pretty amount here! Can we… Oooh – we can control them!" he exclaimed as the vortex in his hand playfully moved up his arm like a pet ferret might.
I chuckled and closed my hand over the Fire Rune to extinguish it. Seeing that, he did the same, "This is amazing – I can't thank you enough for this…"
I almost gave in – almost teased that he could just date me and call it even – but I managed to resist and said, "No need – it was a gift; given without thought of anything in return. Ahem – and anyway, I'd planned on getting Solona to give you your mothers' amulet, but… I slipped up. I'm sorry. It might have been more meaningful…"
"Don't – it's perfect this way. I have something to look forward to; both going to Redcliffe and getting near the end of the Blight. Hope and general happiness will be in short supply – so this… it's good. Though, I'm not sure how you thought it would be more meaningful coming from Solona." He muttered.
I blinked, "Isn't she the one you like?"
"What? No! I mean – I suppose, I like her well enough… but as a friend or a comrade. Makers' Breath – she's not… I don't…"
"What. A. Relief – I was looking for a way to let you down gently," Solona said in a teasing voice from behind us, "Not that you aren't very good looking, but… you're just not my type. See, I'm into women. Straight up – or maybe not so straight."
The others must have been getting back now.
I giggled at that – before confusion lit my face. My plan was useless if it wasn't Solona that he liked. Damn – I went to great lengths to compile a list of things Solona had told me she liked during pillow talk… from back when I slept with her.
"Then… who is it you like?" I muttered softly – but I don't think he heard me.
Maybe it really was Lyna – the first one that I saw him flirt with. But Lyna didn't like humans… maybe it was Sereda? That… made no… sense. She was a bit thicker – like me – and he'd only flirted with thin women that I'd seen. And if he liked Sereda… why not me?
And, I mean – it couldn't be Leliana; he only just learned that in an alternate version of events, they could have been together. So it wouldn't fit with what I'd heard back at Flemeths.
So… it had to be Lyna then. If it wasn't Solona… but she'd already turned him down. That would make things a lot harder. I wasn't sure if her aversion to humans was due to trauma or upbringing. If it was upbringing…
Oh – but if it was just that humans weren't her type, then it would be impossible.
My heart sank – my poor mate; the woman he liked didn't like him. He was bound to the laws of Jinni mate-ship after all. Unless another mating race – like Fae or something – had him as a mate too… then he was stuck until he rejected me.
I felt like shit – it was all my fault.
I walked quietly from the room. I ran into Aedan. He looked confused, "Hey… everything okay?"
"Yeah… I guess." I shrugged and continued off toward my study. I would have to wait until he rejected me fully to help him find someone else.
The next day, we were leaving Lothering as a group. We'd arrived as one, we would leave as one. I approached the Qunari. I'd spent the better part of yesterday looking up his language and thought I could greet him.
He was 7'1, placing my eye level around his waist area. His skin was a pale grey – like 'white' ceramics clay – and his eyes were a shade of brownish mud. Even after close to 30 days without food; he looked impressively built wearing only a sturdy pair of pants. His white hair was braided in cornrows and otherwise kept short.
I cleared my throat – and as he began, I cut him off, "Maraas Shokra – Anaan Esaam Qun."
He seemed to consider for a moment, "You are not one of my captors – and you are not of the Qun with hair like that. But you know my language – though you pronounce it oddly. Shanedan."
"My name is Avalon Angel of Elysion – my role is to serve the Grey Warden, Aedan Cousland, through this Blight that comes. I offer you the chance to find your atonement and reclaim your honor. To find your lost blade and return home with the answer that the Arishok seeks. He asked 'What is the Blight?' – how will you answer him from your grave? You will follow us about – you will help end the Blight." I said firmly.
Having studied the Qun last night, I knew that I needed to come off confident in my role.
He considered again, "Explain your hair."
"I am a Genie – a race that your people have never seen. I'm sure your people would also appreciate information on the new people coming to Ferelden through an alliance. People with a magic not effected by Templars, Lyrium or possibly demons. We will encounter Demons and Blood Mages through this blight – you may observe my peoples' capabilities. You will learn more about many other such races as well. People like Mermaids – they have scales, sharp teeth and talons; they live underwater and use the water to heal. I'm sure the Qun needs to know these things and it would be more believable coming from a Sten than a Bas."
"… You would have to release me first," he stated passively.
"Easy enough – I already had my friends secure the Key to your cage. Do you agree to follow us – at least until we've found your sword – your Asala?"
He thought for a moment more, "Very well. You appear to have honor. Though, I request that the one you follow spars with me at least once."
Aedan coughed, "Sure – why not. I took on an ogre, I'm sure I can take you too. Or I'll fall miserably and Alistair will just have to take over."
"Then I would fight with him too." Sten said.
I spoke to that, "I hear he faced down a dragon and lived – you may not be his match."
"Even better to follow him then," Sten replied as I unlocked the cage.
"T-to be fair… the dragon didn't even attack." Alistair stammered out.
"You're dragon-blooded; it's enough to give most creatures pause," I explained.
"Is he a Calenhad?" Sten asked.
"Wait – how did you know?" Alistair accused.
The others gaped as Alistair outed himself. Sten shrugged, "It is common knowledge among the Qun that the Calenhad bloodline is Dragon-Blooded."
Cailan laughed, "How's that, Little Brother – you just told the whole group!"
Alistair groaned, "Great."
"Brother…?" Sten asked. I shrugged this time, "Meet the King, Cailan Theirin. I'm hiding him from the traitors in Denerim until we can retake the throne."
"He does not appear to be hiding…" Sten pointed out.
"Of course not – he still fights with us; I just dyed his hair and gave him colored contacts to change his eye color. The difference is astounding," I grinned as we began walking.
Unlike what was said in the game – there was no ambush. I guess because no one knew we were wardens, they just knew I was a Princess affiliated with Loghain.
Speaking of that – this morning, each and every one of the 'Origins' wanted to play their origins to see if anything was different or if it really was spot on.
Sereda kindly informed me that she wished the Deep Roads had been so empty – both times – but they had been over-run.
Solona said hers was spot on, but Alim said that his harrowing was very different from what was in the game.
Faren hadn't liked that his mother was in there, but said it was close enough to true.
Aedan had been shaky seeing that he was the only survivor period in the game. He'd gone and hugged Oren tightly – not letting the boy go for some time.
Darrien had marveled that his character hadn't lost his tongue in the game; but that it otherwise went more smoothly that in real life. Apparently, it had been much harder to get to Shianni that the game implied – and Duncan had had to argue a lot more to recruit Darrien.
And finally, Lyna – I caught her crying when I heard the dialogue of implied romance between her and Tamlen. I knew then – she and Tamlen had been…
Alistair had watched as Aedan navigated the game fairly smoothly – each of them had used the tutorial – and exclaimed when he saw himself at Ostagar. I made him stop there.
Leliana had been fascinated by it too. Morrigan was grudgingly watching when Faren played.
We got a little further – almost to the bridge leading out of the town – when we heard someone shout. "Someone – help us!"
Aedan rushed forward so I did too – pulling a large sword from my home and shoving it into the Qunaris' hand. He took it without faltering and rushed forward. As the fighting ended and Aedan spoke with the Dwarf that introduced his name as Bodahn Feddic, Sten asked, "Why did we save the short one?"
"Who says we did? We fought Darkspawn – that's what Grey Wardens do." I shrugged before moving toward the dwarf.
I heard Sten say, "Ah – I accept that."
I held out a hand and set all of Bodahns' things to rights – startling the dwarf. He was 4'6 with light brown hair and green eyes complimenting his pale skin and thick beard. I almost faltered – my mothers' grandfather looked exactly like him; gramps was a dwarf. He wasn't around anymore.
Sandal – the mans' adopted son – was taller. He stood at 4'10 with shaggy platinum hair and very pretty blue eyes. I had read that he might have been the bastard child of an Aeducan – and I could actually smell the kinship on him to Sereda.
Sandal seemed fascinated with me, "Hullo."
I smiled, "Howdy. I hear you like salamanders?"
Bodahn jerked in shock as I held out a small cage of the lizards. Sandal beamed at me before handing me a runestone and saying, "Boom."
I chuckled, "Glad to have it – my sister-in-law makes something similar. I can arrange a meeting if you like."
Sandal looked to Bodahn with wide, pleading eyes as Alistair pulled out a few of his runes to show them. I loved that he heard my words and instantly wanted to show them off.
Bodahn looked torn, "It might be a bit much excitement though…"
"Nonsense – see, I'm a Genie. I have a very large home where you and your boy will be quite safe as we travel and if you want to walk with us, you can while leaving your wares in the house. It's a separate plane – technically within my magical core. There's more than enough room – and I'm sure Sandal would adore the Griffins in the roost and Maria might like him too. She's a Harpy – part bird, part woman of vengeance. And, as I said, your boy can learn to make Witches' Runes from Alana." I smiled.
Bodahn looked considering, "And… he'd be safe then?"
"What safer place to be in the midst of a Blight than camping with the Grey Wardens out of the way of Darkspawn?" I asked.
"Why? I mean – not that we aren't grateful for your assistance, but why us?" he asked.
"You look exactly like my mothers' grandfather, Sandal shares blood with Sereda, and you would catch up to us each night anyway since – safety in numbers. This way, you can relax and not worry about your wares being burgled, sandal being harmed, or darkspawn hurting you so you don't leave your boy alone in the world."
"… Nice Lady; I wanna follow nice lady," Sandal clutched his cage of salamanders possessively.
Bodahn sighed, "Oh, very well. Let's see this place you have.
I took us all in at once – Sten needed to see it too.
Bodahn gaped as he looked around. I said, "Aedan, you give Sten and the Feddics' a tour. It's our turn to stay in anyway now that we're out of town. Solona – your group for the trip to the forest?"
"Hmm? Oh – right. Morrigan, Darrien, Faren and Lyna." She said. I sent the 5 out as Sten asked, "What was that?"
"We move in groups of five each day so not everyone is tired all at once – it's for optimal outcomes. If the group that's traveling all day encounters bandits and they're too tired to fight properly, they call my name and others will take their place to fight – so the bandits fight people who are in top form. I can teleport, but only to places I've been before or can see. On top of that, I do have a limit to my magic – I brought Aedans' nephew back from the brink of death, for example; he wasn't dead yet, but he was close. Oren is only 8 – so I was only magically drained for 6 hours. Bringing you back, I might not be able to use my magic for… 2 days? Height, weight, and age are all factors in that."
"Why do you follow them when you are so powerful?"
"When a Genie turns 25, we become bound to a token. This token then goes out into a world and we are bound to grant 3 wishes to the best of our abilities to each 'master' of the token. This persists until a master uses their 3rd wish to free us or we serve 200 masters. We do not age until we are free, but we are killable. Once we are in the hands of our final master and they have vowed to free us, we can meet our soulmates. We get visions at age 20 of how many and what race our mates will be. I have two human mates. We cannot fully mate with them until we're free. And that's important to this conversation because our lifespan matches our youngest or last mate after being freed. So, if my 2nd mate is older than Alistair here, my lifespan will match his regardless of if we mate or he rejects me."
"… you are slaves until you have met those conditions?"
"Essentially. To top that off, we can take up 'crusades' – Aedan is my master and has used only one wish while vowing to free me with his third. He cannot make that last wish until we've avenged his family's massacre – because I vowed to his dying father that I would kill the son of a bitch. So, I am able to freely use my magic to aid in this – though there are universal laws to which Genie magic is bound. Our masters can't ask for more wishes, we can't resurrect the dead, I can't kill using my magic, I can't change peoples' emotions – like making people fall in love or hate someone – through magic, I can't change the past and so on." I was laying out the weaknesses and limitations early.
It wasn't like Genies hid any of this anyway – it was in our introductions to our masters anyway.
"… I see. Can you fight?"
"Yeah – mostly with a bow. Oh – and you should know; extra 'weight' on genies isn't weight at all. It's our expanding magical cores. The 'fatter' a Genie looks, the more powerful they really are. We also pick our kings and queens based on that – the more powerful, the more likely they are to be king or queen. My dad is the current King. Actually, we don't weigh what we look at all – magic isn't dense like fat is." I shrugged.
"Good to know. I would like a book with all of this information in it. For the Ariqun." He blinked steadily.
I frowned, "Alistair – can I trouble you to teach me how to write in Thedasian Rune-Script? I only know English… and the Ariqun wouldn't be able to read that."
"You're just going to give them that information?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course – Genies like being reminded of their limitations; it keeps us humble. And we don't hide it – this is all stuff I've repeated 200 times now. We tell every master so they know what to expect when making wishes. Everyone on Elysion knows this stuff too. Witches would hesitate to give out such information – so might Dragonkin. But Genies, Angels, and even Mer-folk wouldn't give it a second thought. We can't overcome weakness if we refuse to acknowledge that it exists. Some things can't be overcome – so we learn to deal with it; like vampires and their extreme sun allergy."
Sten inclined his head and – just before leaving the room with Aedan – said, "Your people are smarter than the Bas I've met before."
"We know our roles – and we don't aspire to more than that. I am only called Princess in Thedas because my father is the king. I refuse to aspire for his crown – that can stay with the true Princess – Ziva."
"Oh… uh – oops. We forgot to tell you. Ziva already abdicated in your favor… your dad told us while you were unconscious after Ishal…" Alistair coughed.
I paled, "Excuse me? But… my mates are both human. I'll only live another few decades at most! Unless my second mate wasn't born yet… or is too young… also – she's more powerful!"
"Yeah – but people here call you princess and it wasn't like she wanted it anyway. You also still have enough time for a new generation to take the helm, is what your father relayed." Aedan called out before leading the Qunari and two dwarves off for the tour.
Alistair coughed, "I… have a question. So – you know I didn't… reject you… by now. Why is it that you thought I liked Solona?"
I looked around – not having realized the others had all ambled off – and sighed, "You… flirted with Lyna first. But she shot you down. Then you flirted with Solona and… she flirted back. It was rather rude of her to do so if she has no interest in men, I think – she led you on; well, I thought she did."
"We never flirted," he looked so lost – so lost that I was beginning to doubt myself. I coughed, "The… ahem – you told her that you had 'other lines' you could use on her when she asked about what changed… after a joining… and she said she'd like to hear those. If that wasn't flirting then I have no clue what is."
He sighed, "I… wasn't flirting – or if I was, then it was just… it was just something I do on occasion. I've gotten good at telling people most people what they want to hear – I suppose it was just easier than getting a whack to the back of the hands or a harsh scolding or missing out on dinner. I won't lie – I've still caused my share of trouble. I guess Solona and I trading witty comments might seem like… flirting… but she has no interest in me – nor I in her. She certainly isn't the woman I hold affection for. Actually, in my youth, there was this one guy…"
My eyes widened – oh storms… he was, "You… like men?"
"What? Oh – I mean… I have higher standards in men than I do in women, I suppose. I only found one man that I might ever hold affection for in… that manner. But for the most part, I do like women…" he was bright red – like he hadn't meant to reveal that.
My eyes widened – that sounded like bond-sharing, "Who was he?" my voice was excited and he looked surprised.
"What? Why do you… want to know?"
"It sounds like bond-sharing, Alistair – when two mates of one person share a unique bond and could potentially be partners too! Meaning that man could be my second mate!"
His eyes widened, "My childhood crush might have been because we're both mated to the same woman?"
I nodded excitedly, "It's very possible – my mother shares a bond like that with my Elven mom, Widow."
He looked incredibly pleased for some reason, "So you won't take others to your bed…?"
"Of course not – if you share a bond… if we know who my 2nd mate is… there's no reason to. But I have to hear his name from your lips. You share the bond with him – if you say his name, I'll know if this really is a bond or not – and if it is, then he would be my mate. Please – I need to know."
"… his name is Cullen – Cullen Stanton Rutherford of Honnleath." Alistair said softly with a blush.
I felt the knowledge wash over me – it was as I thought! I beamed at him, "My second mate… Cullen…"
I pulled out my laptop and began looking up information on him – skipping the 'involvement' section since I didn't want to ruin anything. I almost salivated at the 'inquisition' picture – I'd learned that people here more lined up with that game than the first two in terms of looks.
I went directly to trivia. Let's see – he… had a crush on Solona? Oh for… you had to be kidding me. Oh – he would be in Kirkwall? I couldn't wait to meet him. Though, some of the trivia hinted that he met the warden in Origins after the prologue bits. Hmm… I hoped.
Oh – he enjoys chess-like games? I'd add earth and Thedas versions to my room. Hmm – should get hair styling gel too, it seemed. And he liked Oakmoss and Elderflower.
"What does he like? I can only find a bit of what he enjoys – gifts aren't mentioned for him." I pleaded.
"Chess, strategy, training… he's your typical leader type, I guess." Alistair had a soft smile on his face. I guess thinking about Cullen… that would be a way to circumvent needing to reject me.
He and Cullen could be together. We could share Cullen, hopefully.
If… my heart seized – what if Cullen didn't want me either? I shook the thought away.
I looked up pictures of Cullen to get a sense of his preferred style… I mostly found him in armor and went red at some of the… ahem… other pictures.
Alistair was looking over my shoulder and he hissed a breath, "Maker… that picture is…"
He pointed to one labeled 'come here, kitten' – topless in bed with a crooked finger. I swallowed hard and nodded, "Uh-huh…"
I found some of him in formal wear – something about a winter palace? Regardless, the way he held a hand out while he was half bowed looked like he was asking for a dance. Alistair muttered, "Hmm – I didn't think he danced."
I froze when I clicked on the next interesting picture – it labeled one as Cullen with a blue-grey Mabari holding a red ball – labeled 'fire-ball' – while Cullen was shirtless holding a sword and a white ball. Beside him – in the same manner of dress – was Alistair playing with a brown Mabari trying to take a bone from his hand.
The captions were in some form of Asian script so I couldn't read it, but I couldn't smother the groan that came from my lips.
Alistair cleared his throat, "M-Makers'… Breath… your people…"
Then Alistair shook his head, "I do wonder why every picture of him has a scar above his lip – he didn't have that when he left for Kinlock Hold."
I froze, "Kinlock… Hold?"
I hadn't pieced that together – the crush on Solona, meeting us during the blight…
Alistair nodded, "That's where he was sent – same day Duncan recruited me 7 months ago. Why?"
Storms' Fury, "Kinlock… is going to be overrun by blood mages soon." I muttered.
"Oh, Andrastes' Flaming Sword – we could go there first?"
"Too late – our course is set for the forest. But we will go there next. I want to meet my second mate." I said firmly.
"Right – so… stocking his closet then?"
"Apparently, that will entail a lot of armor. But he'll have jeans and some loose shirts too. Maybe some leathers? Certainly better formal-ware than what was pictured. He'd look nice in a tux… hmm" I typed 'Cullen Rutherford Formal'.
I found a picture of him in a tux! I showed it to Alistair and he blinked, "That does look good. Who drew that?"
"… Someone whose handle is 'Lily Rutherford' on the site of tumbler."
I then decided to play with him a little and typed 'Alistair Theirin' into the search bar. I think I blanked when I saw them and he choked, "I… don't look that… cute – do I?"
I was about to answer when I came on a picture of him and Morrigan facing away from the 'camera'. Morrigan was placing a paper that said 'Toadstool' onto his back. I giggled. Alistair shook his head, "She totally would do something like that, wouldn't she?"
I nodded before closing the laptop, "She would. If you play along tomorrow morning, I bet I can get her to say something almost halfway funny."
"… play along?" he asked.
"Don't take insult," I smiled at him.
"… Alright – I'll 'play along'." He chuckled.
