Disclaimer: I own absolutely and completely nothing. Bioware has that particular pleasure.
Summary: A City-Elf/Bann Teagan collection of drabbles and one-shots based on a prompt table from an LJ-community. These will be more or less in chronological order with the faintest traces of added plot here and there. Will vary from drabble length to one-shot.
Author's note: Light-hearted chapter before emotional ones, I always say. Opinions are always welcome, of course~
In this chapter: Strange things are done for bones.
005.
Blinking. This human blinks a lot. And grumbles, keeps fighting and struggling like a newborn pup.
"You sent your hound after us?"
His elf nods.
"After I told you to come through another exit. Knowing that I was supposed to come alone?"
A shrug. She does that when the reply is too obvious. It saves time, it saves words. Assan learned quickly his elf doesn't like to waste explanations. It makes her cranky and he gets no caresses when she is cranky.
"Your sister in law said you were to come along. Not that you could not be followed and hardly that you could not be followed by a Mabari. Isn't that right, my sweet?"
Her blue eyes turn to him and they're in a good mood. Ah, he did well! Assan barks in approval from his current position, appearing to all the world as if he's enjoying himself as much as her, laughing accordingly.
"You placed us all in danger!"
Oh. The human is angry and yelling far too loudly for his sensitive ears. This is a bad sign. People yelling means that his elf has to compromise, look bothered. She is important after all. Cannot afford to bother the wrong people. The Mabari turns his head a little to the side searching for that reaction but sees nothing like regret. In fact, her smile is as sweet as it is fake as she shrugs once more. So she's fine, everything's fine. His ears still ring though thus the dog moves just so and the yelling is cut off. Much better.
"I did no such thing," she says simply, drawing his notice with the constant tapping of her metal claw against the floor. There's a small puddle of blood slipping from it and that's more attention worthy. If Assan could frown, he would. Bad claws, bad cuts, dead elves, dead owner. Her fur needs a good scrub too. Something has to protect her when he's busy. "You came here to save the kid. I found a way to help you live through it."
Live, yes. Spare from embarrassment, no.
"How is this aiding?"
She bats her eyelashes, smiles even more sweetly and overall, makes a passable impersonation of the odd smelling woman which led them there.
"I told Assan to defend the dim-witted one. Not to stop him from demeaning himself." No one interrupts her bar silence. It is alright. The dog can read more of his owner than any of them. Any of them. In that moment, there's enough laughter in her eyes to fill the whole castle and the village. He likes it. Likes it as much as he likes her. "Assan, my sweet." He also likes her real smiles, rare as they are, bright and just for him.
"You're all done," she carries on. "Let's go get you a bone, shall we? Before the slow human cannot breathe anymore. And no, that doesn't mean you are fat. You need energy and rest, my strong warrior." Bone is the magical word for the Mabari but it's not needed. His mistress is happy, smiling in that manner that just means she's very very amused and calling for his presence alone. She's pleased, he's pleased and he did well. If he did well, he deserves her attention, – him and him alone - a big fat bone and maybe he will get to cuddle against her warm form at camp. Yes, the Mabari looks quite proud of himself as he slides away from the man's chest, allowing him to move for the first time in the past hour.
The demon found it amusing. His owner praised him for it. He's getting bones as reward and her fingers are already scratching the right spot on his ears. Right. There. Bliss.
Assan wonders briefly if his elf will want him to defend the stupid one more often.
Note: Prompt 005 (Bone) from Troyed community table of prompts.