A/N: I got a wonderful prompt from Awinters25 and couldn't wait to write it! It didn't turn out exactly like I wanted, but it's my first time writing Oghren and my first real piece with Talia, so I didn't expect it to be perfect. I would've had more companions stuck with them, but writing dialogue for lots of people isn't my strong point, so I just went with three of them.
So, let me introduce you to Talia Brosca. She's fabulous. She's a dwarf commoner, romances Alistair, and has a great sense of humor. Well, she thinks it's great. She's the kind who goes around telling cheesy jokes and bad puns from the surface because they're new to her and she honestly loves them. She loves cheesy jokes and bad puns from Orzammar that she's grown up with, too, but that's beside the point.
Prompt: Your Warden and companions get locked in a wine cellar without an escape. How do they pass the time?
"Why do I let you drag me into things like this?"
Talia offered an innocent shrug, glancing over her shoulder to grin at Alistair. "I wanted to explore, and you can't say no to me." There were worse things, after all, than being lost somewhere in Arl Howe's estate.
He began to say something that Talia was certain would be - in his mind, at least - incredibly clever, but was cut off by Leliana. "As... interesting as this has been, we don't know how long we can wait before the Queen truly is in danger."
"You know," Oghren began, "big human place like this, I bet it has a wine cellar."
"Wine cellar?" Talia echoed, unfamiliar with the term.
"Yeah, a big place where humans keep all their alcohol, and... and wine, and stuff."
Immediately intrigued, Talia turned to Alistair, grabbing one of his arms expectantly. "You're human," she pointed out. "Where would a wine cellar be?"
"Uhh..." He glanced down the stone hall and gave a little shrug.
"We passed it a while ago," Leliana offered. "It was at the end of the last hall. But-"
Heading back the way they'd come - and dragging Alistair along with her - Talia waved Leliana's concerns away. "Anora will be fine." She wasn't surprised when Oghren fell in step beside her, or when Leliana muttered something about the three of them being absolutely hopeless before following. When she found the room Leliana had mentioned, Talia actually had to take a surprised step backwards; lined along the walls was more types of alcohol than she could name - and she was a dwarf who'd spent more than her fair share of time at Tapster's.
From beside her, Oghren clapped his hands together expectantly. "Well, Warden, where do you suggest we start?"
Before Alistair could protest, Talia bounded into the room, picking out a bottle that looked expensive. "To victory?" Oghren joined her in laughter, and Talia handed the slender bottle to Alistair. Bending down to the bottom of the cabinet, she tugged a stout bottle free, inspecting it. She didn't recognize the flowery name, but it was labelled as ale, and that was good enough for her. When Talia stood, she found Alistair still staring at the bottle she'd given him and Oghren already half finished with something he'd grabbed from a shelf across the room. Leliana stood near the closed door, arms crossed and shaking her head.
"Y' know, I kinda like this Howe guy," Oghren mused, setting his bottle down and pulling another one off the shelf. Apparently not interested, he pulled off a few more and inspected them each.
Taking a long swig from the bottle she'd picked out, Talia wrinkled her nose in disappointment. It wasn't strong enough for her tastes - nothing on the surface seemed to be. Switching bottles with Alistiar, she instructed, "Drink up."
"Maker," Leliana sighed. "You two are like children!"
"Go keep watch, then," Talia suggested, struggling with the cork.
Leliana turned to leave, giving the door a little tug. She paused, then pulled harder. "Talia..." She turned slowly back to the group.
"Sod it!" Talia grumbled. "It's locked? How?" Without waiting for an answer, she set the bottle down - it had turned out to be wine, which she was not fond of - and peered at the lock. It wouldn't be too difficult for her to pick, but she wasn't going to let Leliana know that. With an innocent shrug, she walked back to where Alistair was now sitting against one of the bare stone walls. She sat next to him, frowning a bit at his armor; it was just so hard to cuddle when there was all that uncomfortable metal separating them. Noticing he hadn't touched his wine-not that she could blame him-Talia grinned. "Not gonna join the party, Chantry boy?"
"I-hey! I thought we agreed you weren't going to call me that anymore?" As he frowned down at her - almost managing to look genuinely hurt - Talia stole a quick kiss.
With a little grin and a wink, she promised, "Oh, I have a feeling I'll pay for it later." It wasn't until Oghren began laughing that Alistair turned bright red, at which point Talia couldn't hold back a giggle of her own.
"So," Alistair cleared his throat, "we're just going to sit here until, what? Howe throws a dinner party and needs some wine?"
"Sounds like a plan." Talia leaned against Alistair, nestling closer as he put an arm around her; it wasn't comfortable, but it was better than nothing. "Just remember, it was your idea."
"Heh, you two lovebirds can-" Ohgren's sentence ended with an abrupt burp, but he carried on anyway. "Don't mind me. I'll just watch from-" another burp, "-here."
"Talia! We came to free Anora, and this," Leliana paused as she gave a pointed glance, first at Oghren then at the two Wardens, "is not helping."
Talia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Just let me know when you've got that door open, Sister."
"Talia!"
"Oh, alright!" Pushing herself up, Talia snatched another bottle of ale from one of the cabinets and shoved it in her pack before joining Leliana at the door. It was only a few moments before she'd picked the lock, letting the door swing open with a dramatic flourish. "After you."
Leliana just shook her head. "Sometimes I believe we're going to need a lot of help from the Maker, knowing who represents our hope as we stand against the Blight."
"Of course we need help." Talia elbowed Leliana gently, grinning up at her; the bard was joking, but she did have a point. "That's why the Maker sent you."
"I-Thank you."
"Now come on, gentlemen, or the ladies are going to have all the fun." Talia adjusted her pack and grabbed her daggers, once again alert.
From back in the wine cellar, Oghren mumbled something about ladies having fun, and Talia just rolled her eyes.
"You don't get to watch if you don't get your ass up here," she taunted. Turning to Leliana and Alistair, she grinned, "Well, let's go rescue us a queen."