Because everyone likes to play 20 questions. Cheers!
Twenty Questions, or Near Enough
"Can you, like, you know, get it when you're like that?"
Melusine laughed at Sera's question. The sound echoed off the mountainside, but they were no longer in avalanche-prone areas. While her penchant for humor and the resulting rumbling sound still caused some members of the Inquisition discomfort, her council members and companions. impressed Melusine. It took them only two days of campaigning to convince the rest of their numbers to accept Melusine. She'd only had to do a brief speech, not her most elegant, and her friends had accomplished the rest.
Scout Harding, Varric, Sera, and Blackwall accompanied Melusine. They oversaw scouting the trail ahead, eliminating any threats if seen, or deviating the rest of their forces to less treacherous passes. Cullen and his templars seemed to know exactly where they were going, but if anyone else knew they weren't saying. They'd been on the trail for two days, and Melusine was a horse-sized version of what she'd been when first finding them in the camp. Her antlers had already fallen off, and it hadn't surprised her when both Blackwall and Iron Bull snatched them up, citing crafting purposes. Neither had it surprised her when both Dorian and Solas requested samples of her venom with a similar output in mind.
"I suppose I could, with another Taninoui, or if I was into bestiality, with another creature of similar size to me." She saw Blackwall shudder at the thought. "But, not that it's your business but I know your curiosity will consume you if I don't tell you, I have never 'gotten in' in this form before."
"Not even for comparison purposes?" Sera sounded terribly disappointed. "That's a shame." She jumped onto a boulder and looked around but then seemed to interrupt her own scouting when she looked back to Melusine with another question, "Do you find humans or elves attractive?" Varric coughed from further ahead. "Or dwarves and Qunari? Don't worry, yeah, I'm being all-inclusive." She looked at the rest of their group with a nod and smile. "What about females? You swing that direction?"
Melusine sighed, but not in frustration. She knew that when the day came she revealed her true nature, be it in this reality or her old one, audacious questions like this would be leveled at her. She was so used to blending in and being average, though that had changed dramatically in coming here. Then, with this grandiose revelation, it had changed even more, and suddenly, people felt excused when asking highly personal questions. Melusine figured answering honestly would help keep her on their good side though and didn't shy away where she might usually have done so.
"I've never had intimate relations with any of those races." She almost said she had with humans, but that wouldn't have lined up with the rest of her story. "But having spent time in Thedas, I find attractive qualities among all races. I focus on character over outward appearances."
"Understandable." Blackwall muttered then, noticing her eyes on him, he continued, "Well, considering." Melusine chuckled.
"But like, if you had a preference?" Sera pressed, jumping down from the boulder and taking up her position halfway between Varric and the rest of them.
"Are you trying to woo her, Sera?" Varric barked over his shoulder, the amusement obvious in his voice.
Sera grinned, "Maybe. That depends, yeah? So, preferences, Mel?"
"I have experimented with females in the distant past," Sera's eyes widened and her smile grew, "but I much prefer males. And as to racial preferences," Melusine felt like shrugging and her wings quivered with the closest equivalent, "don't have one. I figure if someone reciprocates my feelings, regardless of race, that's a step in the right direction." She moved her head closer to Sera and nudged the elf. "Is that a satisfactory answer?"
Sera patted Melusine's snout and nodded. They resumed their mission in silence for a time. She hoped they found this place sooner rather than later. The side effects of changing back into human form were a bitch, and she'd much rather suffer through them in privacy. Melusine couldn't be blamed if she did something drastic to a member of the Inquisition, or a friend caught in the crossfire if they were still on the road when she changed back.
"When you're not like this," Scout Harding joined in on the question parade and distracted Melusine from her misgivings, "are there people of your race who are taller like Bull, or shorter, like dwarves?"
"Yes. We have as much variety in our stature and appearance as humans, dwarves, Qunari, and elves alike. Some Taninoui maintain certain dragon-esque features even when this form and could be mistaken as Qunari. But most can blend in without notice."
Harding had been so interested in Melusine's answer that she misstepped, and if hadn't been for a quick shoulder grab from Blackwall, the dwarf would have faceplanted into the snow. Melusine would've wagged her eyebrows at Blackwall in her human form, but as it was, she winked at him and earned an eye roll. She hadn't confronted Blackwall with her suspicions yet but pity the man when she did.
"How long do your kind live?" It was Varric's turn, asking over his shoulder.
He'd been one of the first to warm up to her. Aside from Bull's awkward sexual innuendos and excessive petting. Sera had been right along with him, followed close behind by Blackwall. Eventually, Dorian had been the one to remember she too had to eat and had brought her a sizeable portion of mutton the morning after her arrival. He'd eaten his own meal sitting nearby, falling back into casual conversation as if she hadn't been sitting there eating her meal in a very draconian way. Vivienne had surprised them all by painting the heraldry of the Inquisition on Melusine's chest after her speech. It would be Vivienne to do something like that. The woman was incorrigible with appearances.
Melusine refrained from going into the reality of mixed blood. It would make things more difficult to hide if they knew humans and Taninoui had and could intermix. They'd bought into her story of coming from across the sea, no point in letting them know she was only quarter-Taninoui. "Centuries and millennia, depending on the lifestyle and the form a Taninoui takes."
"How old are you?" Blackwall still kept close to Harding but not so close as to give anything away.
"Around one-hundred and twenty years old."
Harding and Sera gasped at the unexpected number.
"How much longer do you think you'll live for?" Harding asked the follow-up question.
Melusine's wings shook again with another shrug, "If I'm not killed prematurely, probably a few more hundred. I'm not old by Taninoui standards." And it was true. Even quarterlings like herself could live up to half a century if they were very good with their health and very careful.
"How do you not get bored, eh?" Sera seemed to be the most curious, or at least the most vocal. At Melusine's closest equivalent to a questioning look, Sera added, "I mean all those years alive. The elves used to be immortal, but now we're just like everyone else. I'm glad for it, personally. Most elves are like Solas." Sera made a face and groaned. "Piss drinkers the lot of them old ones."
Melusine found it fascinating, the dichotomy between Solas and Sera. Anytime they were forced on a mission together, they either ignored each other completely or did their best to annoy each other. Sera couldn't stand it when Solas spoke in his native tongue, and Solas couldn't stand it when Sera displayed animosity to the ancient elven ways. Melusine supposed it was a generational gap. Solas did act like an old fuddy duddy, and Sera had the maturity level of a highly sugared five-year-old.
"I figure boredom is a lack of imagination."
Sera made a hacking noise, "Now you're starting to sound like him too. Spare me!"
"No, I mean. I could just wander around being critical of everyone and claim higher intellect and insight because of my age," Sera nodded, clearly thinking of Solas, though Melusine was thinking of some other Taninoui she'd met, "but I much prefer to keep a low profile. I'm far more comfortable when I'm not in the front if that makes sense. I like to study things, especially the movements of things, the heavens, the whys and hows of existence and how it's connected to both stable and unstable movements, seen and unseen."
Sera blinked, "Eh, what now?"
"Science. More precisely, astrophysics. It is the study of movement in the heavens, through time and place." Even Varric stopped to stare at her in confusion. "With such long lives, it is common for Taninoui to study something and break it down until it cannot be broken down anymore. We like to know something thoroughly and, more than that, we like to create things that can mimic nature, but that can be controlled. We do many of the same 'tricks' that mages do, but we do it through what we call science. Where I come from, some walkways move on their own, mounts that are machines and direct themselves, and we have boats that go underwater, but while you are inside them, you can still breathe."
Harding smiled, "I'd like that. A walkway that moves on its own." She looked around at the mountain pass. "It'd make life easier for certain."
"But where's the fun in that?" Blackwall moved to stand beside the female dwarf. "Challenge is what makes us who we are. It helps us build and grow. Without challenges, we'd be without purpose and as useful as a nug."
"I agree with Blackwall. Though we made these things, the Taninoui haven't stopped. They are still building and developing, only incorporating the things made into society so the next generation can take what's already been done and expand on it." Melusine felt like she was doing a fairly good job of helping her companions envision her world but from the lens of this reality.
"Is that all you do? Study?" Sera grimaced. "Sounds horrible."
Melusine smiled and was grateful her friends no longer shrunk back at the sight of her fangs, "Well, obviously not. I took time to develop my stellar wit, write a few stories, learn a few languages, even collected some tavern tricks that earn me free drinks."
Melusine was the one to move again, prompting the others to return to their mission.
Harding shifted closer to ask her next question, "Has there ever been someone special to you?" She immediately blushed and looked away, "I mean, you don't have to answer that. I was just curious and-"
"It's okay, Harding."
"My name is Lace." At Melusine's look the dwarf laughed, "My mother had high hopes for my feminine side."
"Well, Lace, I am not bothered by your questions. I'm the first of my kind any of you have encountered, so it's normal." Melusine scanned through her memories, recalling the close calls of love she'd had over the years. "I've never been married, but I have had a few lovers. On at least two occasions, we even used the 'l' word, but most of them were relationships of convenience." It was complicated having a deep intimacy with someone who would run scared into the street the minute they found out you were quarter "dragon." Melusine shook her head, "I would like to experience that before I die, though. Same as most. I'm not so different in that."
Lace nodded, color entering her cheeks again. For a split second, it looked like her eyes darted towards Blackwall, but the dwarf increased her walking speed and broke Melusine's study before she could know for certain.
"Hey," Varric called from up ahead, "I think we found it."
The rest joined him, and as Melusine came to the crest of the mountain pass, she saw an immense stronghold carved into the mountain a few miles ahead of them. Her mouth dropped open and Sera was the one to voice her own question.
"Why the hell weren't we in that one this whole time?"
Blackwall shrugged, "Would've been much nicer, that's for sure."
"I think I should fly on ahead and see if there's anyone already in it that we need to be wary of." Melusine stretched out her wings. "I'll be there and back in a jiffy."
"Can I ride?" Sera's eager face had Melusine laughing.
Melusine nodded, "Only if you like to live dangerously. My body often alters unexpectedly, and I could drop from the sky or lose the ability to carry you."
Sera gave a whoop, "Sounds like fun!" She climbed out without aid and wrapped her arms around Melusine's neck. "Let's go!"
"You brought this upon yourself." Varric laughed as Melusine took a few trotting steps to gain momentum.
It was much harder to achieve lift, due to both her size and her passenger, but Sera only uttered a few curses at the initial deadweight drop they experienced when Melusine leapt off the cliff in front of them. Her wings unfurled, Melusine could eventually soar back up to the same level as when they'd dropped and winged her way toward the stronghold. Sera let go of her neck and spread her own arms wide, her laughter bouncing off the clouds they flew through.
"Best day ever!"