Prompt: Write a chilling, edge-of-the-seat, stay-up-late-reading suspenseful story about whether your character will get the new puppy he wants.
Notes: Evangeline Hawke She's going to be the Hawke that I use most of the time, similar to Kya Surana for Origins. Oh, and, Eva is a blood mage. It's mentioned here, but isn't important yet.
No, I didn't follow the prompt. I started to, but the temptation to write a cute, fluffy Anders scene was too great. Also, I wanted to write something happier than the last two.
Of Mabaris and Men
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Pretty pretty please?"
Anders threw up his hands in frustration, sending the papers he was writing flying to the ground. "You're the Champion of Kirkwall, Hawke. If you really want a puppy, get one. You don't have to ask my permission." He leaned down to retrieve the papers, then added with a grunt, "It's your estate, anyway."
Eva felt her face melt into a pout. "If you don't want me to, I won't," she mumbled, twisting a piece of her auburn hair around one of her slender fingers. "It's just that none of the cats stay at the estate."
"If we got a kitten and raised it there, it would stay," he pointed out.
"Maybe. But I don't want a kitten. I want a Mabari."
The clinic was silent.
With a tired sigh, Eva sauntered over to Anders and sat on the edge of his desk, her shadow draping over his papers. "Are you really okay with me getting a puppy?" she asked, beginning to swing her legs lightly and letting her feet tap his chair.
"I deal with your blood magic, don't I?" Anders looked up to meet her gaze, a slight smile beginning to form. "How hard can a puppy be?"
Ignoring the blood magic comment, Eva snatched the paper away from Anders. "Certainly easier than listening to you go on about this manifesto," she grinned.
"That's a recipe for an antidote for spider poison, love."
Her eyes grazed the paper and she sighed. "Whatever." Eva tossed the paper back on the desk and hopped off. "I'm going to get my puppy."
Even at only two months old, Eva's new Mabari puppy was barely small enough to fit on her lap. The puppy shook its tawny head, sending drool flying onto both the couch and Eva. With a little laugh, she wiped her face and gave her puppy a good scratch behind the ears.
"You little troublemaker, you," she cooed. "What am I going to name you?"
The Mabari cocked its head, staring up at her expectantly.
"Anders once had a kitten named Ser Pounce-a-lot," Eva informed the Mabari, absentmindedly stroking his rough fur. "I suppose we could name you Ser Drools-a-lot?"
The Mabari gave a weak whimper.
"Fine, we won't. How about…"
As she juggled names around in her head, the front door of the estate opened and closed. Anders' voice called out, letting her know he was back from his clinic for the day.
"I'm in here," Eva giggled, waiting for the look on Anders' face when he saw the Mabari.
But to her dismay, Anders walked into the study with a little smirk, his hands behind his back.
"What?" Eva asked suspiciously.
"Hold the Mabari," he ordered. Once Eva had a firm grip on his collar, Anders revealed a small tabby kitten, just large enough for him to cradle in one hand.
Giving a little squeak of joy, Eva threw her arms around her Mabari puppy. "They're so perfect, Anders! It's like we have our own little family now, and I can spoil my baby and we can just be… perfect." Beaming down at her Mabari, she added, "And you can sleep in our bed until you're old enough for your own room, and you," she smiled, turning her attention to the kitten, "can have your very own bed in our room."
Anders joined her on the couch, shielding the kitten from the Mabari's curious eyes. "I'm not having that thing in my bed," he joked. "Not with as much as he's slobbering right now."
Gazing down at her Mabari with pride, Eva crooned, "Well, if Anders doesn't like you, he'll just have to sleep on the couch, won't he? Tell Anders not to be so mean."
With a pitiful whimper, the Mabari pawed at Anders.
"That won't make me like you any better," Anders frowned. From in his hands, the kitten began mewling softly and stretched forward, trying to inspect the Mabari. "Where are you going?" Anders muttered, pulling the kitten away from the hound.
"They just want to be friends. Isn't that right, dear?"
"Hmph."
"I was talking to my puppy," Eva stated a-matter-of-factly, grinning at Anders' exasperated sigh. "It's going to be lots of fun, taking care of two children at once. It's going to make Aveline rather cross, since we won't have any time to help her anymore."
"Evangeline Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall, apostate maleficar," Anders announced. "Thedas would positively crumble without your constant supervision."
"It would," she agreed. Eva nudged the Mabari until he jumped off the couch, then slid over to Anders and rested her head on his shoulder. She stared at the little kitten, its ocher eyes meeting her green ones. "What are you going to name it?"
The kitten began poking at one of Anders' fingers with a tiny, hesitant paw, and the mage chuckled. "I'm not sure. She's certainly a curious little thing, though." He set the kitten on the floor, throwing the Mabari a stern glare.
"Don't worry, they'll be great friends," Eva assured him. "We'll be the best parents in all the Free Marches, and all the other children will be jealous."
Anders draped an arm across Eva's shoulders. "When they grow up, our children will brag to all the other children that their parents freed the mages."
Eva remained silent, wondering if Anders' thoughts had shifted from their young pets to children, running around the estate and sleeping in Leandra's old room and having their father's eyes. That was certainly where her mind was, and the thoughts made her smile. A cold nose on her knee jostled her back to the present, where her Mabari was looking up at her expectantly. "Oh, you poor thing, you're probably starving." She patted him on the head, then stood to find something to feed him. "Anders, we're terrible parents, starving our children like this."
"It's your Mabari," he pointed out. "My kitten is fine."
Rolling her eyes a bit, Eva leaned down and picked up the little tabby, cradling it in her hands. "Hello, dearest," she greeted the kitten. "Let's go find some food for you and your big brother."
"He's breathing on my face."
"He does it because he loves you," Eva mumbled into her pillow, keeping her face buried away from both Anders and her puppy.
"No," Anders insisted, "I think he does it because he's on my side of the bed, not yours."
Eva grunted in answer, rolled over, and fell asleep.
"Dear, sweet Maker!" Eva shuffled backwards as best she could, her movements hindered by sleep and blankets. No more than an inch from her face stood the little tabby kitten, kneading the mattress curiously. "Anders!" she called. "Come get your cat!"
"She's just exploring." His voice drifted from the other side of the bedroom, from behind Eva.
The kitten plopped down in front of Eva, her tail swishing into the mage's face and effectively cutting off any response she would've had. "Anders," Eva mumbled, trying not to get the kitten's tail in her mouth, "I swear. I cannot wake up to a cat in my face."
His only response was a light chuckle.