BioWare owns all but the stuff I made up. : )
Hehe, Allaire, I mean Gnat sure does cause a stir, hm, MEOW, anyone? I am so glad the French really pleased some and didn't throw off you all who don't speak it or read it. And as Night Hunter MGS says, fear the Henson, I am glad that made you laugh. Hm, will she and Leli, or won't they, only one knows for sure. We will have more laughs, and some heart string pulling, you know it has to be done. : )
Author shout outs go to Sisimka, an author who has so many titles I can't possibly name them all, but I can recommend for Leli lovers her short "A Second Chance." She posts here and on the DA:O forum. And to Lady Jess on the DA:O forum, who reviews there to her story "Shades of Gray." She is LadyJessmyn on FF. And to a non DA:O but still fun must read for you Gundam/Sailor Moon fans, White Ivy's "Hide Me."
And a shout out to Night Hunter MGS who once again has given me the ammo to make you all laugh, along with another to Jim Henson, if you spit out your coffee, I blame Night Hunter MGS. It was his idea, and it was too damn funny not to use. So again a shameless stealing by me, some parts especially, but as you all seemed to like it, I figured you wouldn't mind, especially a Shale and Sten funny. Just watch you aren't sipping your coffee or other beverages this time, /Looks pointedly at LadyJessmyn. And shout out/homage to George Lucas and Star Wars, along with Night Hunter MGS who gave me the idea, after all, if Mr. Gaider and crew can do it in game with "Rip his arms off, Sten", we can on fanfic yes? Xeriana, glad you liked the French sweetie! : )
And to my dear friend Phoenix Fire Lady, you have nothing to be sorry for in not reviewing every day. Really, that goes for all of you, I mean, don't get me wrong, I am totally addicted to your reviews, and they fuel my fire. But please, don't feel bad if you don't get to review, I know real life gets in the way, I really appreciate that you all do as much as you do and as often as you all do. And again, my lurkers, you know who you are, because I don't (LOL), thank you too. I got more emails telling me I am on more story alerts and author favs, wow, just wow, really, just makes me blush. And like a dummy, I was puttering around this site and found my story is on two community sites, I don't know when that happened, and I am sorry I didn't see it before. A big hug and thanks to you too. : )
Sorry this is so late, I wanted to post it yesterday, but real life got in the way. Le sigh.
Blessings!
Kai watched Shale stand with her back to the wall, her stone face pensive, at least Kai assumed it was a pensive look, after all, the golem didn't have bodily...erm...functions. In fact it always surprised Kai when Shale joined them in the dining hall, her stone friend had always stayed far away in camp, and she didn't need to eat. Kai suspected that Shale wanted the company, and Shale had always gotten along with her and Sten the best of everyone in camp. In fact, Shale was the only one Sten called "Kadan" besides Kai.
He used it now, looking at the golem with his mouth crimping the way it did when he was bothered by something. "I heard your tale, Kadan, of this dream, I too had a somewhat unsettling...vision, as I slept after the battle. I admit that I had to meditate upon the teachings of the Qun for at least an extra half hour in order to focus my mind again."
"The Qunari also had one of these 'dream' things. May I inquire what it dreamt of?" Shale's glowing eyes fixed on Sten with curiosity.
"I, too, found myself in a strange place, in a city unlike any I've ever seen before. I also encountered a short, blue furred creature similar to your darkspawn."
"Did it have a curled nose and a legion of feathered fiends as well?" Shale's eyebrows shot up her stone face.
"No, mine had no discernible nose at all, but its eyes were large, prominent and wild. I was standing before what appeared to be a shop or store selling vegetation in boxes out front. The shop had the name of a barrel maker. On a table before me was a platter of cookies, as I was about to indulge in one, the wide-eyed darkspawn descended upon them from out of nowhere, yelling 'Cookie!', and devoured them in a violent frenzy that would put even the dwarf to shame. Before I could recover and impale it, it had the audacity to utter a word of thanks and trotted off as if nothing happened." Sten's stern mouth crimped more at the corners.
"How horrid, it sounds vile enough to ally itself with the giant yellow bird. Oh, how I wish to squish them both!" Shale's mouth took on a deadly scowl.
Kai almost spit her wine out of her nose with laughter, "Sten, maybe your conscience finally caught up with you."
"My...conscience, explain, Kadan," Sten turned his lavender eyes on Kai.
"I was thinking of a bag of cookies you took from that child in the village outside of Lake Calenhad. You know the ones you gave to Carroll the Templar to take us across lake to the Tower during the Blight?" Kai put her hands under her chin, batting her eyelashes and grinning at the Qunari, "Perhaps the dream was the mark of a slow but guilty conscience, no?"
"You stole cookies from a child?" Gnat asked the bronzed skin giant, "I am a spy and sometimes assassin and I have never been that cruel." She flashed a grin and a wink at Kai, Leliana giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. Even Zev chuckled low in his throat.
"Oooh, Sten got busted!" Alistair's voice laughed in her ear.
"Vashedan, the child was a fat, slovenly thing. I relieved him of those confections, as he did not need anymore. It was for his own good."
"Uh huh, his own good, whatever you say, my friend." Kai laughed as Sten growled. She got up and went to see if the twins were done eating so she could take them for a bath, she was going to have to bathe them in Wynne's room. And then she had a brilliant, if not slightly vengeful, idea for lodging for her and Zev, they would simply stay in Fergus' room. Kai found that idea very pleasing, in a passive/aggressive, sibling sort of way. Kai grabbed a servant and asked them to make sure Fergus' bed was stripped and remade for her and Zevran. While they were doing that, Kai would go to Wynne's room to check on Argus and bathe the babies.
Fiona helped Kai carry the twins to Wynne's room with Wynne following behind. Wynne and Fiona started the water running while Kai checked on Argus, who had been sleeping but had awoken when she came in. He had a happy loll to his tongue and gave a small bark before settling back to sleep. Kai went and helped get Fi and Duncan bathed, they apparently enjoyed the mashed potatoes and the espinaca Kai asked the cook to get for Zevran, though the cook fixed it Ferelden style and cooked it until it was very soft with cream and butter. She suspected that Zev would need to let the cooks know how to fix it the way he mentioned with oil and vinegar. Regardless, Fi and Duncan enjoyed it if having it in their ears, their hair, and up their noses was any indication of enjoyment. She still wondered how much, if any, they actually got in their stomachs. She found out when Fi had a bit of upset tummy and proceeded to empty said stomach all over Mommy, which made it necessary for her to bathe also.
When she was clean and the twins were finally changed and asleep, they carried them downstairs to the main hall. As they walked down the hallway, the door to what had been her and Zev's room was blessedly silent. Kai still found herself blushing as if the noises from earlier were still going on.
They laid the twins out on a blanket next to the couch where Zev sat reading. Leliana and Gnat were engrossed in a deep conversation in Orlesian. Naseel stood behind Zaeed, alongside Rajed, laughing with one another. Shale stood behind Sten, while Keiron, who had been conspicuously absent from the dining hall when Kai came in, was leaning against the wall drinking from a tankard along with Oghren, watching Zaeed and Sten playing dwarven checkers. Keiron winked at her and gave her his usual cocky grin. Kai rolled her eyes at him.
As she passed, Kai heard Keiron giving Zaeed strategic advice about his stone pieces on the board. She stopped and watched herself when Keiron let out a great cheer, "That's the way, my Antivan friend!" Sten's stern face got darker, and a low growl could be heard.
Oghren belched, wiped his arm across his mouth and stooped to pour more ale into his mug from the keg he had sitting on the floor, "I would reconsider that move if I were you, you never want to upset a Qunari."
Keiron only grinned at Oghren, "But no one ever worries about upsetting Zaeed or I."
"That's 'cause a pair of nug humpers like you don't go around tearing people's arms off and beating them with them when they lose, Qunari have been known to do that." Oghren nonchalantly went back to gulping his ale.
Kai felt herself suppressing a laugh, it was true, Sten could and would rip arms off, as she threatened to have him do to that merchant when they were looking for his Asala. She doubted he would do such a thing over a game of checkers, still, one could never tell with Sten.
Kai watched Keiron's reaction as he glanced at Sten who had his large muscled arms crossed and more of a scowl on his face than he usually wore. He glanced back at Oghren, who had not changed in the slightest in expression or body language.
"I see your point," Keiron looked at Zaeed, "On second thought, Zaeed, let the Qunari win."
"Bah, would that not be a hollow victory for you, my fine muscular friend? Qunari win by skill and not intimidation." Zaeed grinned at Sten, "Intimidation is only a side effect of that skill, no?" Sten's usually immobile face broke into the closest thing he ever gave to a smile. Kai had to shake her head at Zaeed in wonder, she'd only seen that smile once, when she gave him his Asala back.
Kai went and sat next to Zev on the couch, he reached over to the table sitting to his right and handed Kai the leather bag with Lelyth's ashes before wrapping his arm around her and drawing her to him. She nestled her head on his shoulder, feeling his warmth, taking comfort from it when she felt so cold, as she caressed the leather bag beneath her fingers. Zev said nothing. He knew he didn't have to. He just kissed the top of her head and went on reading.
Kai looked at the book. It was the book she had given him at Solstice, The Black Fox. "You are just as bad as Wynne with The Rose of Orlais, you're going to wear out the binding," Kai teased him.
"Hmm, I managed to save it from the room when I retrieved the ashes. It is too precious for me to leave behind, like the person who gave it to me." His fingers danced along her silky hair, "How do you want to handle things tomorrow, with Lelyth's siblings?" She could hear him keeping his voice neutral.
"I have no idea, I mean, they know she's dead, I sent the letter she had in her belongings, the one they all write and keep for family or spouses in case they should fall. One of the soldiers we recruited at Gwaren took it when he went to Waking Sea with some of the villagers to hide out." Kai grimaced, "But they need to hear it from me, they are my responsibility now. The family Fergus found for them here will care for them. They are an elderly couple who lost their only son in the Battle of Denerim during the Blight. Fergus said they are overjoyed to have a house with young people in it again." He only squeezed her closer, stroking her hair. Kai felt wet warmth on his shoulder. She hadn't even realized she had been crying.
"Come, my dear friend, I think we should get you to bed, tomorrow will be a difficult day for you." Zev stood up, grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. He picked up Fi and waited by the door for her before starting off to the living quarters, and went right into Fergus's room. He always seemed to know, when he caught her expression, he laughed. "I did not have the pleasure of having siblings, but it seems only fair in retaliation, no?" She laughed at him and merely nodded.
They put the twins in the middle of the bed and got in themselves. She was smiling at them, noticing how long their eyelashes were as they lay on the smooth skin of their round cheeks, Maker, she missed them when she was away. She was so absorbed it took a moment for her to realize Zev's pale amber eyes were watching her, she looked up. "What is it Zev, is something wrong?"
She saw him flush slightly as she had only seen him do once. "Not wrong, no..." his eyes flickered to the twins and back to her again, "Just an interesting observation, you have said 'our' with regard to the room we share and the bed."
"Have I?" Kai smiled at him, "Well, you did offer me the earring. So, you and I are a 'we,' aren't we? And if we are a 'we,' then what 'we' share becomes 'ours,' right? Why, does it bother you that I used the word 'our?'"
Zevran laughed, "No, it does not bother me, far from it, and, I do not think I can argue with logic such as yours. Even if I were unhinged enough to offer any such objection, I may be many things, but insane is not one of them." He stroked her cheek, "Speaking of the earring, we could take care of that tomorrow." He kissed her lingeringly before blowing out the candle.