Now why would I have a quarter-dragon like OC and not have her wave her tail about, eh? The wait is over. You're welcome. And cheers!
Snowdrifts and Tough Questions
Their momentary celebration for quick-thinking on the avalanche was cut short when a fiery blast from a passing dragon destroyed a trebuchet. It also rendered their avalanche useless when, with its fiery breath, the dragon cut a line straight through the snowdrifts leading towards Haven. What a bastard thing to do. Their forces were quick to retreat behind the walls, and Cullen's comment about the "beast" didn't even bother Melusine. From the looks of it, the dragon bearing the Elder One indeed was a beast. It had not acted in a manner that would place it on the same level as a Taninoui. That was both in their favor and not from Melusine's perspective.
"At this point, we just make them work for it." Cullen grumbled as they ran together toward the keep.
Melusine gritted her teeth. This royally sucked. An injured man fell to the ground in front of them. Cullen and Melusine worked together to haul him the last leg of the journey into the keep. Melusine saw a familiar face leaning heavily against the keep's door, motioning for everyone who could to come inside.
"Move." Roderick's voice was strong, though, in it, Melusine could heart a note of fatigue. "Keep going. The Chantry is your shelter."
As Roderick started to fall, Melusine shoved the injured man in her arms fully onto Cullen and reached for Roderick. Cole appeared just as he was needed, helping Melusine drag the obviously injured Chancellor to a seat leaning against one of the pillars. When Melusine pulled her hands away, she saw them coated in the Chancellor's blood. As much of an asshat as he'd been, Melusine had never-quite-wished him pain or death.
"A brave man," Cole said in a breathy voice. "He stood against a Venatori defending a villager."
Melusine looked in surprise back to Roderick and watched him shake his head. "Believe me, I am no templar."
"Still, though," Melusine reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, "that was a noble thing to do and, I hate to admit this considering our past skirmishes," Roderick's eyes narrowed, but Melusine smiled, "I really respect you for doing that."
The moment with Roderick was broken when Cullen returned, "Our position is not good. That dragon stole back any time the avalanche might have bought us. There's been no communication. No demands. Just advance after advance."
"There was no bargaining with the mages either." Dorian appeared then, shaking his head in frustration.
Melusine looked between the men and then to Cassandra and Vivienne as they came close, "How do we stop them?"
"We still have some more trebuchets," Cullen spoke animatedly and didn't notice Dorian's eye roll. "If we turn them we could-"
"We'd bury Haven." Vivienne's voice sounded bored despite the situation.
Cassandra flexed her hand on her sword hilt, "This is not survival able now. The choice is how spiteful we end this."
"Dying is definitely the last result," Dorian interjected, looking between them all. "I didn't join this Inquisition just to die at its first major battle."
Cole's soft voice drew their attention, "He knows a way." When everyone looked at the youth, he gestured toward Roderick, "He wants to tell us before he dies."
"There is a path. You wouldn't know it unless you made the summer pilgrimage as I have." Roderick gripped Cole's shoulder and allowed the youth to help him to his feet. "The people can still escape. Andraste must have shown me so I could tell you."
"What are you talking about?" Vivienne snapped, obviously uninterested in aimless verbal wanderings with a dragon at their door.
"It was a whim that took me to the overgrown path. But now with so many dead, and to be the only one who remembers." His words trailed off. Melusine resisted the urge to shake the injured Chancellor and shook her head at Vivienne when the woman shifted on her feet as if she were about to do that very thing. Roderick picked up where he left off after another moment, "But if this simple memory could save us, then this memory could be no accident. You could be no accident."
Melusine reserved her snort of amusement for her mind alone. If she really was from this reality, then those words would have bolstered her spirits, and she knew the Chancellor meant them for that purpose. She smiled and nodded reassuringly to him even as she thought of all the other places in her own reality she would much rather be at the moment. Her eyes widened. At this very moment, as crazy as it seemed, Melusine couldn't think of a single place. Maybe she was going crazy. Perhaps she'd been in this reality too long, and the computer algorithms were rewriting her consciousness.
Cullen's voice nearby brought Melusine out of her momentary panic, "You'll need to show us the path, Roderick. Templars, follow the Chancellor."
"Herald," Melusine raised her eyebrows at Roderick's choice of words, "if you were meant for this, if the Inquisition was meant for this, I pray for you."
"Thank you, Chancellor." Melusine reached out and again lightly squeezed his shoulder. "Let's let bygones be bygones, and when we get through this, consider each other allies?"
Roderick nodded before he allowed Cole to lead him down the hallway with the templars. Melusine nodded to Dorian and Cassandra. Both looked reluctant to leave, but it only took another pointed glare and a shooing motion before they complied with her silent order.
"So Boss," Iron Bull hulked towards the door, "we going out to play nice with the dragon now?"
"No, Bull. You and Vivienne will bring up the rear guard of the retreat. Sera and Varric, you need to double time and take up position near the middle of the forces, cover their flanks. Cassandra, Blackwall, and Dorian will be with Roderick and the others at the front."
Bull looked thoroughly disappointed but didn't argue. Varric frowned, "But what about you?"
"I'll think of something." She smiled. "I always do. Now get out of here while you still have time."
Her companions hurried off, only Varric sparing a passing glance over his shoulder before he disappeared. A few stray templars came running back into the keep and past her, accompanied by Cullen. He paused by her side.
"They loaded the trebuchets." He watched the others disappear and shifted on his feet to follow. "Keep the Elder One's attention until we're above the tree line. We'll light a signal to let you know when we've made it there."
Melusine nodded but stopped Cullen when he started down the corridor, "Take these." She unbuckled her sword belt and handed over her daggers. She hadn't bothered to carry a bow that day.
"I don't understand." His eyes widened. "You aren't planning on-"
"Oh no," Melusine waved away his concern, "I just figured these are good weapons and can be better employed by those in the retreat than by me here. We both know I'm about to get my ass handed to me, and perhaps killed," she saw Cullen tighten his jaw at her words but hurried on, backing toward the keep door as she spoke, "but I don't intend to die. And Cullen?"
"Yes?"
"Next time you see me, be sure to keep an open mind." Melusine winked. "Maybe talk first and shoot second."
She didn't give him time to question before she turned and hurried down to the trebuchets. Most of the other buildings of Haven were already aflame, and overhead Melusine could hear the dragon circling. She needed to gain their attention and stall. Melusine snorted. Not so difficult, really. At least she knew she could respawn, though she'd have to repeat this whole ordeal again if that happened, and that was always annoying as hell.
Melusine darted into one of the nearby buildings and found what she was looking for. A horn. She came back out into the courtyard and blew. Nothing happened. Shit. She'd never been good at brass instruments or woodwinds anyway. Melusine had always preferred percussion, especially the triangle. Looking around, she saw that there were two trebuchets still standing, and both were loaded. She ran to the first, gathering up random bits of debris in her arms as she moved. She dumped them all into the bucket with the boulder then grabbed a burning plank of wood. Melusine was quick to drop it into the bucket, shifting the contents around, so more items caught fire. Then she waited until she heard another pass from the dragon. Pulling the lever, she watched the burning shrapnel fly into the night sky and waited.
The wait was not long. The dragon flew low and let out another powerful burst of fire, destroying the trebuchet she'd just used and sending Melusine flying across the courtyard. The landing was both painful and ungraceful. Her vision swam a bit, and when she rolled over, she saw a giant of a man, if you could call him a man, walking through the flames toward her. She heard the growls and felt the stomps of the dragon as it came up behind her. Melusine struggled to her feet.
"Enough." The ugly man thing let out a burst of energy that pushed against Melusine's body and effectively silenced the dragon. "Pretender, you toy with forces beyond your ken."
"You are one ugly SOB. Did you know that?" Melusine shook her head to clear it. "What are you anyway?"
"Mortal begs for proof they cannot have. It is beyond what you are. Beyond what I was." It was because of the head injury that Melusine's head hurt now. This being, whatever he was, did not know how to give straight and simple answers. "Know me. Know what you pretended to be. Exalt the Elder One. The will that is Corypheus. You will kneel."
"One, you're fucking crazy. And two, my knees are arthritic. Have trouble bending them, you see?" Melusine feigned difficulty with the bending. "Why are you here? Did someone forget to give you back your favorite sweater?"
The creature thing stared at her with no expression except that of bored animosity. "I ask for nothing. It is not in your power to give. It will not stop me. I am here for the anchor. I will remove it now." He held some sort of orb thing and held out his hand toward her. The green mark in her hand pulsated and grew, sending a rippling pain through Melusine's body. She nearly fell to her knees from the agony. The creature smirked, "It is your fault, Herald. You interrupted a ritual years in the making. And you stole its purpose. I don't know why you survived, but this anchor will be mine."
"Well, I never asked for it. But it has come in handy." Melusine gripped her wrist as the power intensified.
"You have used the anchor to undo my work." The creature's power increased, and Melusine let out a whine of pain. "I will always come for it."
Gritting her teeth, Melusine grasped at sarcasm to keep her in the moment, "Sounds a bit obsessive."
"I gathered the will to return in my own name to bring back the glory of-"
Melusine snarled at the creature, "I really don't care for a history lesson."
The creature lowered his hand, and for a moment, there was a relief from the pain. "The anchor is permanent. You have bespoiled it."
"Well, that's just insulting." Melusine shook out her hand and studied the creature, then looked over her shoulder at the dragon. "Now what are you going to do?"
"I will begin again." Melusine noticed the signal then, a brief flash of fire far off in the hills out of danger. She hid her smile and returned her attention to the ugly bastard standing in front of her. "I will not suffer even an unknowing rival. You must die."
Melusine laughed as she began the retreat inside her mind, "Now you see this is where I heartily disagree with you."
The transformation was always painful as hell, and why wouldn't it be? Literally, every bone in her body was breaking and reshaping itself to accommodate her new form. Her skin ripped, and it too reformed as an entirely new scaly component. Her organs tripled in size, and her brain was momentarily crushed then reborn inside a larger cranium, her neural pathways working at three times the speed as when she was in human form.
Melusine hadn't known whether she could transform here. One reason why she kept dying at the beginning of this "game" was because Melusine wasn't used to having skin weapons could penetrate. She'd lived hundreds of years without ever suffering a scratch only to, on her first day here, quite literally die from a scratch, to her neck. She was thankful for this pain, though, as it was proof she still had this part of her identity with her in this reality. Though, she hadn't a clue yet if her scales were still impenetrable or if they too had lost that quality in the transfer.
Opening her now larger green eyes, Melusine looked down at the creature called Corypheus. She was not nearly as large as his dragon, but she was taller than Corypheus at least, and it felt good to stare down at him. She shook her head, clawed at the ground, and coiled her tail up into a strike position. For a further display, not needed but definitely self-satisfying, Melusine spread her wings and gave them a proper flap. She drew her lips back into a smile, revealing her venom-filled fangs when she saw the creature sway a bit from the strength of the wind she'd made.
The creature looked intrigued but far from scared, "What are you?"
It was always strange using her vocal cords in this form. While it was still her voice, it had a distinct quality, and it was much harder to convey accurate emotions through her voice or facial expressions. People saw the fangs, and the horns, and the tail, and the size, and forget to pay attention to the fact that she still had facial expressions even with scales.
"I can tell you what I'm not," Melusine moved backward, aware of the dragon trying to flank her as the creature stalked toward her, "I'm not dead, yet."
She used her dexterous tail to pull the lever of the last trebuchet standing. Then she pounced onto the boulder the soldiers had loaded into the bucket. Melusine moved at a faster initial rate and more extreme velocity than she could achieve on her own with take off, and it was a bitch to keep a grip on the boulder. But she didn't need to keep hold of it for long. She let go at the last second and watch with satisfaction as the stone smashed into the side of the mountain and triggered another avalanche.
Melusine heard the dragon down below cry with anger, but she didn't stick around to see if it would try to chase after her. The tumbling snow threw so much ice into the air it would be near impossible to fly through to track her. Melusine used that to her advantage, skirting around the edges of the debris field on her way toward where she saw the signal. The winds were picking up as time passed, and a snowstorm formed as she flew over what she believed to be the tracks of the retreating forces.
She couldn't keep in flight for long. The winds were too violent and bitter cold. Melusine landed near the last bit of discarded debris she'd spied. Compared to the others, this one seemed recent. The embers were even still somewhat warm, which was saying something in this weather. Melusine's inner eyelids flicked up to protect her eyes against the biting wind as she clawed her way through the snowdrifts in the direction she believed the others went. She was thankful in this form she didn't have earlobes, or else by now they'd have been frostbitten for certain. As it was, she couldn't feel the tips of her wings, the end of her snout, or her paws. But she didn't stop.
"There! I see something!"
Melusine stopped when she heard Cullen's familiar voice coming from further through the mountain pass she'd entered. There was no way she could transform back into human form. At least, not yet. It typically took her five days to change back, her body readjusting a little at a time each day until she finally woke up with her regular body. And then the other side effects of her transformation kicked in, but she'd deal with that later if her people didn't kill her by mistake now.
"It is the dragon! Quick! To arms!"
Melusine winced at the pain but shoved her wings out wide. It was the only way to show the green glowing mark that now lay at the center of her left wing. She reared back her head and wiped her tail around to create a barrier between her and the oncoming group of would-be attacks.
"Cullen!" She yelled, then almost immediately regretted it since, in this form, her voice was louder and deeper and would be more apt at causing avalanches. Thankfully, nothing happened. Well, nothing except the group slowed in their advance, though they kept their weapons ready. "I thought I told you to keep an open mind," Melusine waved her left wing a bit, drawing attention to the glowing mark in case they'd missed it the first time, "you know, talk first and shoot later."
Varric pushed forward, closely followed by Sera. Both of them gaped but were the first to lower their weapons.
"Mel?" Varric continued to stare at her, his eyes studying the reddish-brown hue of her scales, her snake-like tail, her black ten-point antlers, and who knew what else. There was a lot to take in, Melusine knew.
"Do you know anyone else with a giant green glowing mark on their hand?" Melusine retracted her wings. "Well, er, wing."
Varric looked ready to say something, but Cassandra shoved her way up front, her sword still extended toward Melusine. "If you are the Herald, then you will not fight us when we bind you in ropes and keep you at bay until we can know for certain if you tell the truth."
"If that will make you feel better," Melusine lowered her head and extended it forward, stopping just shy of her snout touching the tip of Cassandra's sword, "but can we do the rope binding near a fire? It's fucking cold out here, and I can't shiver."
The reception at the camp was not anymore cordial than the one at the mountain pass. More than a few templars and villagers armed themselves and looked ready to attack without order but were stopped by both Cullen and Cassandra. They had Iron Bull and Blackwall tie ropes around her paws. And they were about to tie one around her snout too, but Vivienne was the one to remind them that the only way they'd know if she was who she said she was would be by talking to her. Melusine reminded herself to hug the Iron Lady once she was in human form again. They didn't know what to do with her wings, so they tossed a rope over her torso and anchored her body down with stakes. Melusine didn't have the heart to tell them that this was perhaps the most pitiful attempt at restraining her she'd ever received but kept her mouth shut. She was thankful for the fires nearby and for a moment closer her eyes, blissfully soaking up the warmth and the knowledge that her people were safe for at least another day.
Solas was the first to speak to her, "Tell us what happened with the Elder One."
Melusine opened her eyes and studied the surrounding group. Her primary companions had sent the others back to their posts. She sighed, sending up a puff of snow and dirt scurrying across the ground at her companion's feet. She ran through the conversation as best as she remembered it, described what he looked like and what the orb looked like, and then explained how she got away along with the unfortunate reality that he'd also gotten away as well. Melusine noticed discomfort in Solas' face after her story, but whatever bothered him, he kept to himself.
"So," Iron Bull didn't ask permission from anyone before he came forward and took in her form, "you're a dragon?" He moved closer and held up a hand, 'Can I, boss?"
Melusine smiled but noticed the frowns on Cassandra and Cullen's faces, and the fear in Josephine's, she quit smiling. She gave a head tilt nod of assent, and soon enough, she felt Iron Bull's hand on her left flank. His touch was light at first but then grew bolder as he petted her like he might a horse.
"Hey, you're warm. I don't know of any warm dragons." He looked back to the others, a confused smile on his face. "She's soft too. Didn't think you'd be soft."
"Charmer." Melusine looked back to the others when she spoke again, "I'm not a dragon. I come from an ancient race, the Taninoui, that is mostly gone now. We can assume forms that are often confused with dragons, lindworms, wyverns, dragonets, but we are not beasts. We prefer to keep to ourselves and keep the reality of our existence a secret. We have never been at war with humans, dwarves, elves, or Qunari. At least not to my knowledge." So far, it felt good being able to tell the truth.
Solas looked skeptical, "In all my years of travel and study, I have never encountered such a creature before you."
"That's probably because I'm not from Thedas." Melusine wasn't about to tell them the complete truth, but she'd studied the maps in the war room enough to fib realistically. "I come from across the sea to the far east. I don't know how or why I was transported so far, and against my desire, but I was. As far as I know, no other like me live in Thedas. Before I came here, I didn't know Thedas existed. Even Corypheus was surprised by my ability, and he'd asked me what I was. If someone called the Elder One doesn't recognize my kind, I think it's safe to assume no other of my race have ever come to Thedas before."
The group members looked at each other. By this time, Sera and Cole had joined Iron Bull in the exploratory petting. Melusine didn't complain. The affection felt good in both forms, and in this form, it was much harder to reach certain itches, so having her friends around might prove handy. If she ever needed to assume this form again, that is.
"Do you eat people?" Sera asked even as she poked around at Melusine's claws.
Melusine chuckled but stopped as soon as she started when she felt the rumble in the earth from her own mirth. Certain members of her friends were still quite skittish and having them think she was growling at them would not help.
"I can honestly say I've never eaten a human, a dwarf, an elf, or Qunari. I have eaten horse, felt terrible about it too. Cow, goat, chicken, too many feathers for my taste, fish, whale," Sera's eyes were wide, "the list goes on, but I think you're satisfied knowing you don't look like dinner to me, eh?" Sera nodded before going back to studying Melusine's claws. Melusine turned her gaze back to the others, "Any more questions?"
"Do you breathe fire?" It was Blackwall's turn to ask, coming closer and staring at her snout.
Melusine was careful with her head shake, not wanting to knock anyone over, "I have venom in my fangs and can inject venom through a valve in the tip of my tail. It paralyzes first then shuts down the nervous system of anyone injected. It is painless if you get past the initial bite or stab that is." She pulled back her lips to show her fangs, then lifted the end of her tail and waved it around a bit to get noticed. "The other dragon didn't seem impressed with my lack of fire breathing abilities either."
"Why didn't you change back before you found us?" Cullen remained where he was, standing furthermost away with his arms crossed. "You could have continued to farce if you'd changed back. Assuming you can change back."
Melusine winced, "I deceived none of you by claiming humanity. I even told Varric months ago that looks are often misleading." He tipped his head to the side then nodded at the memory. "I know my hints have been coy," her eyes fell on Vivienne, "but I rather figured this would be inevitable. Our enemies were getting stronger, and I knew I was far better equipped to help the Inquisition retreat in this form than my human form. I guess subconsciously I've been trying to prepare you mentally for the inevitable shock."
"Gotta say, boss," Iron Bull leaned against her wings, basically rubbing himself on them, "you're kinda hot as a dragon."
Melusine rolled her eyes, "Your charm knows no bounds, Bull. Are you just jealous you're no longer the largest member of the Inquisition?" His eyes widened as if he hadn't thought about that, and Melusine again had to swallow her desired laugh.
"Change back." He insisted, looking around the camp as if in a panic that someone might find him less than he was now that Melusine was so much more.
"Well, this answers Cullen's question and your request. I can't. At least not for another five days or so. The initial transformation is near instantaneous. Hurts like hell, but it's fast. But it takes longer for my body to shift back. Everything has to break again, reform again, downsize, reroute, etcetera. A little bit happens each day until I'm finally back to normal." Melusine felt someone lift her tail and glanced back to see Sera and Varric inspecting the tip. Blackwall had moved on to study her antlers, with Solas taking an interest in her left wing, though he hadn't reached out to touch her yet. Something was tickling her back and she glanced up to see Cole transported to her hindquarters. "How do you like the view from up there?"
"They must see you are you. You are Andraste's chosen. The view is the view. It is seeing the success. The asset of you." Cole sat down and seemed content. He weighed next to nothing, so it didn't bother Melusine. "I like it up here. May I sleep here?"
"Hope you don't roll in your sleep. But I don't mind." Cole immediately laid down and was silent. Melusine looked from Vivienne to Dorian, then between her war council members, "I am still Melusine. No matter the outer guise, I am still me. I still have the mark. And I am still committed to seeing that all rifts are sealed and now, to ensuring that this Elder One fails in bringing an end to Thedas."
"I don't know if the people will accept you." Josephine wrung her hands together. "You are so…unexpected. They'll see you as dangerous. An outsider." Her eyes darted to the other council members. "We may lose our allies because of this."
"Pish posh." Vivienne waved away Josephine's fears. "Until someone else pops out of the Fade with a green mark that closes rifts and sends demon's packing, she is our only hope. Now is not the time to be caught up in appearance bias."
Dorian smirked, "Ironic coming from you, Lady Vivienne."
"We will speak to them," Cassandra spoke for the first time, her lips thin and her shoulders strong, "we will help them see beyond the outward appearance to the heart of the Herald." She looked at Melusine then at the others. "We must."
"It won't be easy." Leliana smiled. "But I believe we can do it."
Melusine tipped her head to the side, "Just tell me what I must do to earn their trust again, and I'll do my best."
"Hey, boss."
Melusine broke eye contact with the contemplative Cullen and looked over at Bull. He was draping her wing over his body, "Mind if I sleep here? I've never slept with a dragon before."
"Only if my purity will remain untouched come morning, Bull."
Bull's laughed echoed in the camp, and though it was a strange thing to find comfort in, it seemed her companions all marginally relaxed at the sound of it. Maybe things would turn out okay after all.