Hello readers, I included an unoriginal song in this chapter and changed a few words in it; "Come In", by The Irish Rovers.
I hope all is going well in your life, and if you're having a hard time, then may my silly stories bring you a moment of peace.
Thank you for reading, please enjoy the festival, and happy belated Equinox!
Hawke leaned in the doorway of the Hanged Man, the occasional sorry soul slipping in next to him for an early drink. He polished a knife as he waited, watching the people in the bar and just enjoying not being in the City's capitol building.
I'm ready for a good time tonight, after the stress of the nobles.
He already felt better just being in the Hanged Man again. He waved to a familiar face, and watched Varric over by the bar. The dwarf shook hands with the bartender, both looking satisfied, and then he finished his drink before turning to leave.
Hawke smiled and raised an eyebrow as his friend approached him. "Something go well?"
Varric nodded, and they turned to leave, exiting out into the setting sun. "Really well. You might be looking at the future co-owner of the Hanged Man Bar, Master Varric Tethras!"
Hawke gasped and smiled at him with wide eyes, slapping the dwarf's shoulder. "Shut up, that's fucking cool! I know you've been wanting this! Shit this makes me happy," he bent down and wrapped his arms around Varric, hugging the much shorter man.
"Ack-! Hawke-!" Varric protested, and Hawke laughed merrily, a few Lowtown citizens skirting around the strange pair with a wide breadth and funny looks.
"You'll do great, Varric! And now I won't be kicked out so often!"
Varric growled lightly and pushed Hawke's arms away. "Ha, no promises Hawke, I can't say- ugh, you, get off me you giant human!"
They struggled as they made their way through the Lowtown streets, Varric yelling and Hawke gushing, the weather more pleasant than it had been for months.
Before long they started to hear the distant sound of partying people, the telltale sounds of live music, laughter, and clinking glasses. They came round the bend of the street and walked into a mass of swirling lights and colors, both men stopping at the edge to take it all in.
"Wow," Hawke murmured, blinking at the dozens and dozens of people talking or dancing under streamers and colorful flags hanging from the tall branches of the center tree in the alienage. Hundreds of candles flickered around the quarter; on tables, on the walls, in a circle around the tree's roots. The area around the tree was a flurry of dancing elves of all shapes, sizes, and ages, holding hands and frolicking around in a circle to the beat of the music. Hawke's gaze found a small band in one of the quarter's corners, the instruments consisting of a few lutes, flutes, and drums, and their tune light and merry.
"Hawke! Varric!" The two shook themselves from staring and watched a tipsy Merrill stumble up the steps to them. She wore a light blue dress and a crown of flowers, and held a half-full tankard in hand.
"Daisy, look at you!" Varric reached up to meet her in a hug, and he chuckled when she spilled some drink on his jacket. "Woah there, couldn't wait for old Varric to start the fun?"
"Oh, Varric, I'm so glad you're here! And oh, I'm sorry we've been starting, truth be told we've been drinkin' for a while now," she led them down the steps into the festival, weaving around mingling elves with tankards or flags. Hawke looked around with a grin, taking it all in, and momentarily caught the sight of a familiar redhead on the other side of the courtyard before moving crowds obscured his view. He followed Varric and Merrill over to a stand with barrels upon barrels behind it, and Merrill got them each a large glass of mead.
The sweet brew sparked along Hawke's tongue pleasantly, bringing him fully into the atmosphere of the festival. Hawke recognized an elder he had worked with once, and the older woman approached him with a smile, swaying along with the jig playing in the background.
"Hawke, welcome! Good Spring to you!" she knocked her tankard against his glass lightly and continued on, replaced quickly by another elf Hawke knew. Varric and Merrill joined him, and they talked and laughed with the people of the alienage as they drank to the sunset.
A loud burst of children laughter drew their attention, and Hawke looked across the courtyard to see an audience of elflings gathered around Lyra, whose sight made him blink. She stood with her hair let down in a wild mess, her red waves intertwined with flowers and leaves draped over a mossy green dress that flowed and danced with the wind. She looks like a Goddess of Spring, he thought to himself, and after remembering this was the Spring Equinox, his reaction was more fitting.
He and Varric meandered over to her, skirting around the dancing pairs the main crowd and ducking under swooping strings of flags. Hawke strained his ears to hear over the music, and watched as Lyra chose a volunteer from the excited children to stand in the center.
"What do you reckon she's doing, over there?" Varric voiced, and Hawke shook his head with a smile.
"No idea."
The volunteer was a young boy not older than 10, and judging by his comfortability around Lyra they were acquainted. Hawke blinked as Lyra and the rest of the children stepped back and formed a circle around the boy. Is he holding… a cantaloupe?
Hawke and Varric watched at the edge, along with a few other adults watching, probably some of the children's parents. Lyra commanded the attention of every pair of child's eyes as she gestured to the cantaloupe, then gestured to the sunset over the far horizon, all twenty or so little heads following her pointing to the lowered sun. When Hawke looked back to her she had produced a green apple, and she held it up for all the children to see as she continued in some kind of explanation.
"Ah, the fruit! It took her using fruits to explain it all to me as well," Merrill mentioned with a giggle, and Hawke looked down at her, perplexed.
"What is she explaining to them, Merrill?"
"Oh, you'll see, Hawke."
He blinked and fixed his attention back on his friend, not being able to make out her words but hearing the energy and excitement in her voice that held the children engrossed. She pulled a single arrow from the ever present quiver on her back, and in a quick motion that had the children flinch in excitement, she stabbed the arrow through the top of the apple, right through the core. Scattered giggles were heard from the audience as she continued explaining, and then she held up the apple so her arrow pointed to the ground, and slowly spun the arrow, rotating the apple.
What on earth?
"Have either of you heard the strange story that the ground we're stepping on is actually the surface of a gigantic sphere?" Merrill giggled as she drank from her tankard, and Hawke blinked at her, recognizing hearing that theory from somewhere. Now that I think about it, when we're on that tall mountain up in the outskirts, the horizon does look a bit curved.
"Daisy, what are you on about?" Varric steadied her, and she shook her head, trying to stay serious.
"I swear, Varric, that's what Lyra's saying! That cantaloupe is the sun, and we're all on that apple!"
Hawke looked back at her, and watched her lean in close so the children could see what she was pointing at on the apple she had skewered.
"Oh hey, the dwarves have some funny origin stories too Daisy, but don't ask me for them cause I couldn't tell you…"
The children had started raising their little hands, and Lyra had begun answering questions, smiling and encouraging the children's inquiries. Finally she knelt down in front of the boy holding the cantaloupe and ruffled his hair, and he scampered into the audience formed in a ring around her. In one a swift motion, she threw the cantaloupe straight up high into the air, pulled a dagger out, and sliced the cantaloupe a few times in a blurry of speed. Oo's and ah's emitted from the elflings, and she caught the slices of fruit, quickly cutting them into smaller pieces, and started giving one to each child.
The children dispersed after claiming their prize, and when all had been given a piece of fruit and a loving pat from Lyra, she stood and caught the gaze of Hawke with a wide smile.
He waved to her as she approached them, her hair tousled from the wind, her dress a stark difference from the leather they were used to seeing her in. Glancing down, Hawke noticed she walked barefoot.
"You both made it! Happy Spring!" She rested a hand each on Hawke's and Varric's shoulders, smiling to them both unguardedly. She met Merrill's gaze then and her eyes widened from remembering something. "Lethallan! Have you checked on the roast?!"
Merrill gasped and clutched at Lyra's arm. "Ah, by Sylaise, I forgot! I'll go now!"
With that she took off towards the stalls, and Lyra chuckled, meeting the two overwhelmed gazes of her two friends. "You've come at the right time; soon the main feast will begin. Come, I need a drink."
They turned and followed her to the stand with barrels, Varric almost shouting over the music and talk. "Robin, I'll catch up later; I have business I need to take care of before I drink too much."
Lyra nodded and waved him off, and her blue greens found Hawke's gaze, hers almost as overwhelmed as his were.
"It's good to see you. How was the Viscount's?"
"Ah, splendid," he winked at her, as they refilled their cups with more golden liquor. "I'm glad to be here."
They thanked the elf handling the barrels, and they naturally retracted towards the edge of the quarter so that they would more easily be able to hear each other. They stood a little farther away from the main festivities, the music low in the background.
"All is well, for the time being?" she asked, sipping her mead and speaking in a lower voice now that they could speak normally. Hawke sipped his mead as well and nodded.
"Aye, the peace will hold, for now."
She relaxed some and gave him a meaningful smile, their talk of city affairs meaning more now after their talk last night. She reached over her shoulder and absently pulled out the arrow from her quiver, still impaled through the green apple. She looked over the party in front of them, bringing the apple to her lips and taking a bite.
"Alright, I have to ask. The cantaloupe? And the apple?" Hawke caught her sheepish smile, and she nodded, her eyes lighting up for her explanation.
"It's something I learned, about the land we live on, and its relationship to the sun above. The sun and the moon appear as spheres; perfectly round, the sun so far away but so powerful it must be unimaginably massive." she held up the apple with the arrow through the center, and she placed her fingertip on the smooth green skin. "Why not the ground we live on, belong to a giant sphere, as well? It makes sense, for the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, it must make a symmetric trip around down below us to be able to rise in the East again. We are a speck, a tiny spot on this apple, and the day and night cycle is one sphere revolving around the other."
She paused and smiled at the apple, before meeting his eyes. "I learned this from a book I found, when running through the Ferelden Circle." She sobered, looking off into the distance, as she always did when speaking of her time during the Blight. "If you've heard much about the fall of the Ferelden Circle, we had not the time to peruse. We fought tooth and nail to escape the abominations and shades, and I thank my luck every day that we were able to save as many mages in there as possible." She met his eyes. "I saved a few books from the libraries in there, and one of them happened to be on the science of astronomy, the study of the stars, and our place among them."
She took another bite from the apple, and Hawke spoke. "I haven't thought much about what lies beyond our skies, or beyond the sun and moon. How humbling, to think about it all." he frowned, and voiced a question. "But how can we know, does the sun revolve around the earth, or the earth around the sun?"
Lyra smiled and nodded, a spark in her eye. "Yes, it is quite puzzling! It is when thinking about the seasons that it helps put it all in a certain frame of reference." She held up the apple, with the arrow stuck down through the middle. "If we were, here," she pointed to a spot on the lower half of the apple, "and the sun were fixed where you are, the day would be one complete rotation around the arrow." She spun the apple slowly, and Hawke envisioned the night when they were faced away, dawn when the spot came round, and day when the sun shone directly on the spot. "But what is a season? Why are some rotations, hotter, or, closer to the sun than others? It is when there is a tilt!"
She exclaimed happily, tilting the arrow slightly away from him. He blinked, and she continued rotating the apple. "Here, the spot it closer to the sun, and has a longer time to see the sun, as in summer." She tilted the arrow the other way. "Here, the spot is farther away from the sun, and the days are shorter, for winter." She righted the arrow to be perpendicular to the ground, and she met his gaze with her excited one. "This, is us today; the Equinox, the middle day between the two Solstices. The turning from one tilt, to the other, the change from winter, to summer. The Spring Equinox."
Hawke shook his head slightly, a small smile breaking his face. How incredible. "You learned all this, from a random book you found, while running from abominations and shades?"
Lyra chuckled and lightly pushed him. "Yes, it all sounds quite radical, I know." she shook her head as well, her eyes smiling, curious and energetic. "And the book wasn't even complete; half the text was burned. I can't fathom all the knowledge in a single bookshelf in a Circle, let alone in the entire Circle itself." she drank from her mead, a blush showing on her cheekbones from getting worked up. "And I realize; all the Circles can't even communicate with one another! They each must have their own bases of knowledge and scholars and scientists, but the mages there are confined as prisoners so they may not even share the great work they've had to devote their lives to." she shook her head angrily, throwing her hands up. "It's madness!"
Hawke stared at her and burst out laughing, and she pushed him but laughed as well, covering her mouth in embarrassment. "Damn it, you, you've caught me ranting once again, please stop me when I get like this," she groaned to herself, glaring at him with a smile. Hawke shook his head, eyes twinkling in mirth.
"No, please don't stop, I was quite enjoying myself-!"
"Agh!" she smacked his shoulder, flower hair tossing, cheeks blushing, and not just from the alcohol. He laughed until his stomach hurt, and continued to tease her until they could barely breathe and she was yelling and shoving the apple towards him, forcing him to eat it.
The mead was sweet and strong, the sunset ended into night, and the music grew to faster jigs. They settled slightly as the quarter became even more crowded, with more and more people joining the festivities after getting home from work. The talk and laughter swelled along with the music, and soon the smell of roasting food wafted over the mass of bodies.
"Ah, do you smell that?" Lyra asked him, grabbing onto his arm and sniffing the air. He sniffed as well and his eyes widened from the strong scent of roasting boar, coupled with some strange and unfamiliar spices that tickled his nose but sent his mouth watering.
"By the Divine, that smells heavenly," he met her gaze and found her hungry gaze similar, and they wandered together towards the smell.
Hawke had finished his second glass of mead and was feeling the touch of alcohol lightly playing along his senses; the candlelight exaggerated and provoking, the music and sound of people exhilarating. I haven't been to a festival this size since Lothering.
He followed Lyra closely through the crowd of mostly elves and a few humans and dwarves, her red hair and green dress standing out easily. They approached the stall providing drink, and next to it had emerged another stall just as big and just as busy, from where behind came the smell of cooking food. Lyra reached the table in front, and Hawke watched Merrill turn around and see them from behind the booth.
"You two! Be the first to try the roast!" she turned and cut off two slices of the hanging meat, and another elven woman held out two freshly baked flatbreads for her to place the meat in. Lyra and Hawke reached out and received the food eagerly, and Merrill leaned over the table slightly, meeting both of their eyes.
"I think Varric and Fenris are over in the far corner, playing Wicked Grace," she said quietly, and Lyra met Hawke's surprised eyes briefly. Fenris is out? Merrill shared their surprise before continuing. "They've both had a bit to drink, and I know they can handle themselves, but I saw quite a lot of coin on that table last I glanced."
Hawke chuckled, nodding to her in understanding. "I'll go check on them; thanks, Merrill."
She waved to them before heading back to help ready the food, and Lyra placed a hand on Hawke's shoulder. He smiled down at her, gesturing to the far side of the quarter. "I'll do damage control; will I see you around here?"
She nodded and gave him a smile back. "Yes, we must dance, later. 'Tis not a complete Equinox without."
Hawke smiled sheepishly, butterflies threatening his stomach. "Oh, I don't know, I have only danced a little before…"
She shook her head before taking a bite of her roast, and she set off towards the center comotion, raising a hand and waving to him, eyes flashing over her shoulder mischievously. "I'll find you!"
Hawke chuckled nervously and shook himself before digging into his roast as well, taking a minute to just stand there and appreciate the incredible flavors. Alright. Varric just got a huge promotion, Fenris is still getting over a hard break-up. I hope they haven't gambled away too much already!
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The Dalish man peered over his hand of cards, narrowing his eyes at the three others at the table. Hawke blinked at him innocently, his skill of charm in full effect from the two empty glasses sitting in front of him. Fenris slouched next to him but was fully invested in the game, raising an eyebrow in impatience from their opponents' time of deliberation. Varric sat back with his feet on the table, nursing a drink in one hand and expertly fanning his cards in the other. Hawke's eyes flicked around, watching the three with a small smile.
Samros, their fourth Dalish player, threw his hand on the table, taking a chance and breaking the fragile tension in the air. The other three did as well, and there were groans and moans as everyone saw the result of that round.
"Fenedhis lasa!" Samros cried out in loss, Fenris scowled in bad luck, and Varric chuckled lightly, hiding a hiccup that only Hawke could pick up.
"Don't worry, lads, you'll just have to come to the Hanged Man and earn it all back!" he leaned over the table and clumsily slid the pile of earnings towards him, Fenris angrily downing his drink and Samros groaning.
"You're too good at this, Master dwarf, the Spring brings me no fortune this year," Samros grumbled, and Hawke chuckled, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Chin up, brother. Varric usually has strong luck in the early evening," he leaned closer to whisper in the man's pointed ear. "but the more you get him to drink, the sloppier his hands."
Samros met his gaze with raised eyebrows, looking back at Varric with more hope in his eyes. Fenris sighed, his cheeks and ears blushed, and stood from the table, slightly wobbly.
"I need more of this mead. Anyone else need a fill while I'm up?"
Varric and Samros handed him their tankards and Hawke gave him a smile in decline. "I'm broke. You three will have to find someone with coin to fill my seat."
With that he stood from the table pulled into a corner in the elven alienage, and waved to his drunk friends, thinking maybe this should be their last round before he cuts them off. He meandered towards the center tree, the throng of dancing people cheering at the end of a song, the band holding out the last chord of a song extra long for dramatic effect.
The people cheered and clapped as the band ended the song, and Hawke leaned against a lamppost, just enjoying the view of so many happy people.
Not something you see every day, this amount of fun and joy.
Suddenly a voice shined out from the others, an alto female voice that started along with a lute. His eyes found the band, and in the middle of the instruments was, Lyra?
"Come in, come in I'll do the best I can
Come in, come in bring your whole bloody clan
Take it slow and easy and I'll shake you by the hand
Sit you down I'll treat you decent, I'm a Dalish man!"
Her voice rang out through the alienage with a light and jolly tune, the band playing along with her and supporting her notes with notes of their own. Most of the elves seemed to recognize this song, and after the initial shouts and cheers they split into pairs and started dancing along the beat.
"I've traveled East, I've traveled West, I've roamed from town to town
I've cut the harvest down in Clare, met people of renown
Wherever I went the welcome mat was always waiting me'
So fill your glass along with us and Arlathan be free"
Hawke watched her smile and nod to the musicians, her hair swaying as she clapped and tapped her bare foot to the beat, the look of such pure joy on her face lighting up her features like nothing else could.
"Come in, come in I'll do the best I can
Come in, come in bring your whole bloody clan
Take it slow and easy and I'll shake you by the hand
Sit you down I'll treat you decent, I'm a Dalish man!
When I am gone some other place and my memories going dim
Raise your glass and join the toast, invite the spirits in
Then think about the good old times and you'll remember me
When good old songs were roaring out and the porter flowing free"
The sound of dozens of voices rising to join hers in singing the chorus sent goosebumps along Hawke's arms. He smiled to himself as he watched his friend, recognizing her Dalish accent slipping out.
"Come in, come in I'll do the best I can
Come in, come in bring your whole bloody clan
Take it slow and easy and I'll shake you by the hand
Sit you down I'll treat you decent, I'm a Dalish man!"
As she finished the last note, the people of the alienage cheered and shouted, raising their cups to her. She clapped and cheered as well, bowing low for the dancing crowd before turning to talk to the musicians.
Hawke walked over to her as she and the band laughed, one of the elves getting up to give her a hug. They kissed each other on the cheek before she turned with a smile, her eyes rising and widening when they found his.
"Hawke! Have you come to dance?!" she asked excitedly, her eyes bright from the performance adrenaline high. He chuckled and raised his hands, shaking his head at her in disbelief.
"Lyra, since when can you sing?" he smiled at how her accent hadn't dropped yet. She waved him away and smiled sheepishly.
"Ah, the Dalish teach all their elflings how to hunt, but first you learn how to sing." she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the band. "And you, must learn to dance!"
He lightly protested before she introduced him to the four musicians, made up of two Dalish elves and two alienage elves, all four nodding to him with smiles.
"My friends! Will you help me, play an easy jig for Hawke to dance to?"
Hawke felt a rush of adrenaline as he looked at her, feeling partly afraid and partly excited, and the band started playing a catchy tune that the people around him all recognized quickly. Lyra pulled him towards the dancing area, looking back at him with delighted eyes. "This one's quite simple; there's only three steps!"
Hawke shook his head and threw himself into the dance, his senses filled with the excitement, his movements led by a friend. He couldn't hide the smile that kept popping up on his face.
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"Shit, he's heavier than he looks," Lyra groaned as she nearly buckled under the dead weight of a red headed dwarf, almost thankful for the cobblestone sticky with drying alcohol. She shifted his weight on her shoulders and stepped around a random table, cups and burnt out candles lying scattered all across the quarter. She strained her dulled hearing to make sure Hawke was behind her carrying the other passed out companion, and they trudged their way through the chaos and party wreckage towards her hole in the wall. Only a few elves were left in the square, and from a guess looking up at the grey sky, Lyra would say they had an hour or two before sunrise.
She crouched low and laid Varric down outside her door, making sure his head didn't bang against the ground, and Hawke paused behind her, also dangerously swaying with Fenris passed out cold on his shoulders. We probably shouldn't have had those few more drinks after dancing, she thought with a chuckle as she fished her keys out from the bottom of her quiver.
"I need water," Hawke mumbled behind her, and she nodded in agreement. Once she got the door open they each picked up their perspective charges and stumbled into her small apartment.
"Bed in the back room," she lead them into her single room that had her bed, and she and Hawke dumped their friends onto the mattress as nicely as they could in their own drunk states.
"Should probably, get their weapons," Hawke wiggled Fenris's broadsword out from under the elf, and Lyra unhooked Bianca from Varric's back before turning him over not too gracefully. They made their way back out into her main room, using the walls to lean on as well as each other, and Lyra went to the sink and drank directly from the faucet, manners be damned.
"May I?" Hawke asked as she wiped her mouth, and she chuckled and nodded, stepping back for him to do the same. She forced herself to move over to her couch and picked up one of the pillows, as well as the blanket lying on the top. She tossed the pillow on the ground next to the couch and made to lie down on it.
"You're not setting to sleep on the floor yourself," Hawke asked from behind her, and she waved him away.
"I'll be fine, I could sleep on hot coals and thorns right now for how tired I am."
"Please let me, it's the least I can do for crashing here," he placed a light hand on her shoulder, and she raised an eyebrow at him, hiding how nice his offer felt. So kind and thoughtful, even when he's this drunk.
"My couch isn't much better, I'm afraid… I wish I could offer you a decent bed, but mine's covered in dead bodies," she joked, and he shook his head, looking at her, worried.
"I can't imagine you having to sleep on the ground next to me while I get the couch," he made to crouch next to her, as if to take the spot on the ground, his blues anxious as they pleaded with her. "I wouldn't feel right is all."
Lyra cocked her head at him, a smile finding its way on her face as a laugh started to bubble up in her. "Hawke I'm sure I've slept on the ground many more times than you in my life!"
He smiled as well but glared at her in his funny determination. "I wouldn't make it one more night!"
Lyra laughed brightly from his silliness and slapped his shoulder lightly. "Ridiculous!" she made to sit down on her blanket but suddenly his arm wound its way around her waist, tickling her. She squealed and laughed, and he gently pulled her up to the couch, his own chuckling growing. "Hawke!" she squirmed and lightly pounded her fist against his chest, glaring at him but unable to hide her smile, and he released her quickly, his blues shining at her in tease.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep!" he defended, and she laughed and shook her head, before he quickly lowered himself/fell onto her blanket on the ground below before she could stop him.
"Aedan Hawke, this is unnecessary!" she shook her head at him as he settled onto the thin blanket below him. She sighed dramatically and laid down as well, silently thankful for the cushions below her, and feeling the exhaustion begin to hit her. She looked to her side to see Hawke settle down similarly down below, his muscular arms hugging the pillow to his chest, his tired blues blinking open and meeting hers, looking at her with a curious light.
"Hearing my first name has made me think, in this whole past year, I've never asked you your full name."
She blinked and then cocked her head, shrugging. "I guess I hadn't thought to share. Not many would know my clan name around here." She smiled softly, her voice dipping into her accent once again. "I am Lanyra Lavellan."
Hawke questioned her with his eyes, intrigued. "Lanyra? Lyra is a nickname?"
She nodded, smiling from memory. "Aye, Lanyra is my given name. Once the Blight started the war and I left my clan, I spent most of my time with humans. 'Lyra' is a humanized version I just naturally adopted."
"Wow," he thought for a moment, hugging her pillow closer to his chest. His blues were light, and honest. "You could call me Aedan, if I could call you Lanyra?"
Lyra blinked for a moment, raising her head slightly to look at him better. My name. I hadn't heard anyone call me that for a long time. It brings me back, she thought, but as she looked down at Hawke's open gaze, she smiled slightly. I could get used to it.
"Alright," she nodded, giving him a smile. He nodded to her as well, and they both rested their heads, the tidal wave of fatigue washing over their bodies and making her limbs feel like lead. Her eyelids slid closed and her mind rejoiced at the rest. Hawke whispered softly, his voice fading along with their consciousnesses.
"Thank you, for tonight. Happy Spring, and good night, Lanyra."
Lyra smiled as she slipped away into bliss. "Somniar emma atish'an. Dream with peace, Aedan."