twoforsurprise | One Short Day In Antiva City

One Short Day In Antiva City

Davrin might have forgotten Lucanis' offer about the tailor, but he had not. Not all of their excursions were for fighting demons or cultists or darkspawn, and eventually Rook was going treasure hunting on the Rivani coast with Taash and Harding. And just them. Quite adamant that only Taash and Harding were needed, in fact.

Andraste preserve them, Rook was apparently becoming interested in matchmaking.

It worked out, though. The timing. Lucanis ever so casually mentions that Davrin promised to assist him in some errands in Antiva and Rook is just so happy they're not at each other's throats that they're told to not take however long they need. Lucanis makes a mental note to pick up something nice for Rook when they're in Antiva City.

Ah, Antiva City. A less beautiful Treviso, Lucanis used to say. That was before the Ossuary, before the occupation, before the blight. Now it's hard to not see everything that's been lost. He doesn't insult Davrin by assuming the man can't keep up with the Crow routes along the rooftops and across ziplines, so much faster than the weaving crowded streets up the hill the city is built on overlooking the harbor the few times they need to duck down to street level.

"Should be right around - ah, there it is," Lucanis declares once they're half way up the hill, the financial district of the city settled between the Palace at the top and the harbor and all the wealth the shipping industry brings. This time when he drops down to the street level it is where they'll stay for the time being, heading to an understated store front with a simple hanging sign that looks like an embroidered rose carved into the wood of it.

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It didn't look good. But maybe there was a silver lining to the abomination thing.

Spite's eyes burned bright in Lucanis' body, wings flashing and burning off any of the blight that got close enough. They were trapped in a partially collapsed room in the upper floor - stairway fully gone, most of the second and third floors now gone, blight spiderwebbing him into a corner with only a few feet of breathing room, tendrils dripping red and viscous with the sickness it was ready to spread. The weak points to break them were not within reach of him - on the outside of the building, or under the floor entirely. Something a griffon might be able to destroy, though. In his trapped corner, Spite was half collapsed on the ground, holding a young trainee close as their breathing was uneven and raspy, black veins spreading out from their eyes, from their mouth, a wet cough bursting from lungs every now and again. Lucanis' body was injured too, though it was hard to tell how badly. A mess of blood against his side, but the dark of the clothing and armor made it difficult to tell how much. Maybe it wasn't even his. The way he'd gone paler than normal spoke of blood loss. When the bright purple of Spite's eyes faded his own were weary but alert as he still tried to look for ways out.

He almost didn't believe it was the griffon when he saw the beaked face poke in through the window across the room.

"--Assan-? What-?"

Assan knew his assignment already: save the idiot. He didn't have to wait for Davrin to finish his climb to start shredding at the weak points he could reach, the screeching and subsequent squelching of popped pustules informing Davrin what was needed. He watched for any as he climbed, struggling to cling on with legs alone to slash and hack at whatever he could reach.

It would be another minute before he could reach the window himself, given the side quest of slicing through what he could. But Assan was there. Assan that had spent enough time playing and flying with Spite by now that he could read the demon's intentions, like any predators hunting in a pack. He didn't need orders, but he would follow the lead of a friend to get them all out safely.

Lucanis had been fighting off Spite here and there for the better part of several hours as his own focus faded with the weakness of the injury. Seeing Assan, knowing the rapport the demon had with the griffon...

"Get the kid back to the Diamond. Please."

He was already blighted. Already dying. But Lucanis did not want to leave another one to die alone if he didn't have to. With that, he gave himself over to the demon.

Spite hissed, howled - finally in full control that he didn't have to fight for. He still felt the pain Lucanis' body was in, but it affected him differently. He pushed himself up, hoisted the young trainee into his arms with as little jostling as possible.

The floor lurched under their feet, the stone groaning as the load bearing blight tendrils were now being destroyed. As soon as the cage of blight was destroyed Spite was pushing through, out of the corner, wings snapping out once more ready to go and running for that window.

And just as he was about to enter- there went Spite. Or Lucanis. Both. A body in their hands, and Assan rushing after them. The griffon circled back now that the demon and his cargo were free, talons and beak ready and willing to take on more of the darkspawn in the area. Davrin watched Spite fly, trying calculate based on the rough information he had of the lay of the land, if the demon was going back to the Crow headquarters. If so- well. Mission accomplished. But he was still a Warden. He could clean this area up a bit with Assan before heading back. Even if Lucanis was infected, he should have a window to get there in time and try to shove the Joining on him.

Though clean up was a strong term. No matter the noble intentions, the area was well and truly lost to the Blight. Even he could see that. The clean up was less saving the building and more stopping anything fleeing from the collapse from making it to less blighted ground. If left to his own devices, it would be an hour or so at most, and he would be (significantly more bloody and worn himself) heading back to find out just what had becoming of the assassin.

If Spite wasn't heading there and didn't stay to help- well. Assan would have to follow, leaving Davrin to cleaning up on his own.

It looked for a brief moment like Spite was heading back to the Diamond. Except.

No, he was just going to a different tower - one that while not free of blight, was at a high enough position that nothing was coming up it so he could leave the injured scout to rest on a bench on the open trellised balcony where he wouldn't be attacked. Then he was launching off again, landing like a striking hawk on the back of one of the fleeing darkspawn that Davrin had flushed out with his work, daggers flashing as he started cutting. Davrin had come back for him, he wasn't leaving the Warden behind. The three of them together would make much shorter work of this, and they would lose no more scouts to what sickened it.

When all was said and done, they were back in the less-of-a-death-trap tower. Some oddly convenient ladders had been involved, but Davrin had learned not to question those. Cities were odd, no matter who made them.

It was too late for the boy. Far, far too late. Without consulting Lucanis, without even meeting his eye, he knelt next to the fledgling and spoke, calm and even despite it all. Clearly not the first time he had said these words, nor the last time he expected to say them.

"I'm a Grey Warden. You're dying of the Blight. Tell me your name, and if you want me to end it."

Treviso at least had the excuse of the Crows needing to get to rooftops. Others ... less so. Spite had allowed Lucanis back in control for this, a rare instance of the two of them working in harmony. It could be done, if circumstances were right. For at least a short time.

When Davrin spoke, when he offered to end it, Lucanis reached out to grab his shoulder like that could stop him. He knew it was needed, but --

"Fio," the boy said after a moment of ragged breathing and another wet cough, giving Davrin a nod. "P-please tell the Seventh Talon I'm sorry that I didn't make it back."

He didn't shrug off the hand, didn't respond at all. He knew. It was a terrible thing to bear witness to, but it was part of the duty of a Warden. Sacrifice. There were far more kinds of it then simply dying to stop a Blight.

"You were brave, Fio. Be at peace."

It was quick, effective, painless in as much as such a thing could be. No dramatics, only a blade between the ribs, through the lung and heart. He stayed in place after withdrawing the blade, kneeling by the boy. Waiting for Lucanis to say his piece.

Lucanis' hand tightened on Davrin's shoulder, but he did not try to stop him. What use would it be? He was right, the child was dying. Not really a child, but they all looked that way when they died, young as they were. Face unlined by life, going slack as he took his final breath, as the light faded from his eyes.

If he had gotten there sooner. If they hadn't lost Heir in the first push of blight through the city. If Lucanis could be more.

He needed to work.

"I'll tell Teia. When I return to the Diamond. There's more choke points like that one that need clearing."

And Lucanis was already injured. He had somehow avoided getting blighted himself so far, but with an open wound heading into such places... how long that would last was anyone's guess.

Davrin's hand snapped up, grabbing tight to the wrist of Lucanis' hand on his shoulder. The blade he let fall and clatter to the ground for the moment as he stood. He was not letting the man go for an instant, but subconsciously trying to leverage the few inches of height he had on the man to lend some authority to his words.

"You are not going anywhere."

Think nothing, feel nothing-

"I need to work," Lucanis said, calm, but his eyes were hollow and distant.

Intimidation having utterly failed- and he was in his full plate and everything- Davrin frowned down at Lucanis for a moment, realizing he wasn't reaching him at all. The man was half delirious and-

Assan bumped against his leg, causing him to glance down. The griffon stayed, head pressed against his thigh, looking intensely up at Davrin. Right. Well. He glanced at Lucanis again, chest tightening in concern.

Right.

He let go of Lucanis' wrist, grabbing him around the shoulders instead and pulling him in, blood coated armor against blood coated armor, wrapping his arms around his back and pressing his mouth next to Lucanis' ear.

"You can't fix this."

Oh.

Intimidation and force were both things Lucanis could shake off easily, especially right now. He had training for it, it was what he was used to facing, what he was used to ignoring.

This, though - so unexpected, it broke through the fugue that had settled over him, the same that had hit right after Treviso had fallen to blight the first time, when he temporarily left Rook's service to try to take care of things where he could. A brief sudden tremor ran through him and he berated himself for even letting that much emotion out. He should be better. He should be better.

His own hands came up, hesitant, wholly unfamiliar and unsure of the action, light against back.

"I have to try."

It was his city. His home.

"Yeah. We will. But you're going to die if you keep trying now."

And Davrin couldn't allow that. He was an ally, a verbal sparing partner, a good fighter, the most singularly stubborn ass he'd met outside of himself. And maybe important to him, for things beyond that. Davrin had consciously opted to not sort through a lot of things involving Lucanis, and he didn't break the trend now. Didn't stop and think or assess why, instead his just pressed a kiss into the other man's hair, just above his ear.

"I've got some potions. Let's patch you up and get you to the Diamond."

Maybe all the way back to the Lighthouse to fully heal him up, but he wasn't going to push his luck yet. At least at the Diamond there would be other Crows to remind him Treviso wasn't relying on him alone to shoulder it all.

The estate was closer than the Diamond, but - Lucanis still couldn't bring himself to go there. Without Caterina, what would change? He felt guilty, leaving the already too empty house to just Illario, but with the tension between them, it was probably a blessing for Illario to not have to deal with Lucanis, with the demon he carried.

He just felt numb, like he'd fallen into the canals in winter again. He was a blade - an blades did not feel hurt, did not feel anything, did not question or doubt.

Blades didn't get kissed so softly just above their ear.

"... alright."

"Alright."

Davrin pulled back slightly, just enough to try to get Lucanis to lower himself down to sitting on the ground. The potion would help, but he'd like to get some pressure on whatever gash was leaking out on his side before they started swinging from rooftops again. But he kept at least one hand on him at all times, encouraging the man to keep leaning against him even as he passed over the healing potion.

"They're worried about you, too, you know. Teia and them. You're not a one man army."

He was harping a bit at this point, maybe. But he needed to impress on the man, somehow, he wasn't still alone in some cell. He impacted those around him. Maybe more than some of those who had sworn to themselves not to form close connections were fully comfortable with.

"It's all I'm good for," Lucanis replied. No self-pity, no sorrow, a simple statement of fact. This was what he could do, better than anyone else. He owed it to them to do it for them. He still moved as Davrin directed, kneeling then sitting on the ground, the pain in his side sharp enough to mentally block out when he was active but annoyingly persistent when he didn't have a purpose to distract himself with. He took the potion, downing it in one go, hissed as he felt the worst of the injury knit itself back together, the bleeding slow then stop. Still tender, but no longer an open infection risk for the blight that surrounded them.

"You're too smart to be this stupid."

The blood flow seemed to have slowed, maybe stopped, but he still wanted to be sure before they started moving. He moved to undo the first few straps of Lucanis' armor, enough to pull it apart just enough to look at the wound first hand, trace lightly over the just healed skin if allowed. The second part was less medically necessary, but it was reassuring. Making sure his eyes didn't deceive him.

"And you're too old to be this naive," he shot back, but if he was feeling better enough to snipe back at Davrin that was probably a good sign? He wasn't sure sometimes. Their elven Warden always inspired an array of complicated feelings.

Like most of the more agile Crows, Lucanis favored hardened leather over metal for his armor, and it had been damaged. The straps were easy enough to undo and open up to get at his side, cloth under it soaked through and tacky with blood, but the skin whole under it if he was in desperate need of cleaning up. Still, it was the tender very literal thin skin of the freshly healed, and deep bruises marked where gouges once were. Lucanis drew in a breath as Davrin carefully touched the spot, but it wasn't wholly from pain.

"... Am I blighted?" he asked, because while Davrin might have the senses to be sure, Lucanis didn't. For all he knew he had that poison running through him already and his own days were numbered.

"No."

The answer was soft and automatic as he followed the line of bruises with his finger tips. He'd be able to sense it, if he were. The strange, gut-deep pulling towards a shared curse he felt towards every darkspawn. Towards the poor corpse in the corner. What called him to Lucanis was something much different and far less understandable considering how, even now, it would be terribly satisfying to strangle the man. Just a little.

"Not from lack of trying on your part. You have any idea how hard it is for the rank and file get to our hands on the ingredients for a joining? Don't pull this again."

Not to mention how few survived the initiation- but he bit that part back. Warden secret and all. But, okay, maybe he wanted to strangle him a bit more than a little, as he thought how easily this could have gone another way. He tucked Lucanis' shirt back down, then moved to pull the both of them up to standing.

Edited 2024-12-25 21:58 (UTC)

"Here I expected you would simply let me suffer the ultimate consequences for my actions," Lucanis said, which was half true. If he could finish the job before it made him too weak to go on, no point in subjecting yourself to his constant company, right, Davrin? But if the job was still ongoing...

He stood - he probably didn't need Davrin's help but he accepted it anyway, just to keep touching him. He still felt... unmoored. He worried that if he stopped using the other man as an anchor he'd float away again, and Lucanis was just enough back to himself to know that would be bad.

After all, he didn't promise not to pull this again.

"Back to the Diamond, so I can pass on Fio's apologies as well as my own."

Davrin was relying on the fact that, hopefully, Lucanis would have some idea of a more stealthy way back to the Diamond than Davrin had tried to carve through the Blight to get here. They still had Assan to scout and attack what he could, but he was equally unwilling to stop supporting Lucanis. He glanced back at the body of the boy, frowning. There was no point in bringing a blighted body back- in fact, as a Warden he'd strictly forbid it if asked.

"Is there...I don't know. A special dagger or pin or something we should being back?"

Lucanis wanted to bring the boy back. To have him not be just another blighted corpse, even if he was one that got to see the sky one last time. So he could get a proper cremation. There were far too many bodies for that anymore, though. Too many bodies and not enough fuel and they burned through the night and the blight kept spreading.

"Heir gave daggers to her favorites," Lucanis said softly "I think he was one of them."

He moved smoothly, leaving Lucanis to Assan's constant presence against his leg for a moment as he patted down and retrieved the daggers. It didn't get easier, just leaving people behind. Even if he followed no particular god and held no specific form of burial sacred, there was always the twist of wrongness in simply leaving a person to rot like carrion.

"It doesn't seem like it, I know." He murmured as he offered to take Lucanis' weight again and start heading out. "But it's good it still hurts. It means they're still people."

To him, as a Gray Warden that saw little but the aftermath of a Darkspawn attacks and could simply chalk such deaths up to being unavoidable and unnoteworthy, and to Lucanis, a Crow that, at least in Davrin's eyes, could far too easily slip into seeing all lives as little more than names on a ledger. It was good people still mattered to them both.

While Davrin retrieved the daggers, Lucanis brought a hand down to rest against Assan's feathers. He timed his own breathing to match, in and out again.

"The Grey Warden lecturing the Crow on being a lesson? Interesting," it wasn't one of Lucanis' better jabs, but it was an attempt. He took one more look at Fio - so young, was he ever that young? - before nodding not towards the street but farther along the balcony. It was one that wrapped around the whole building.

"Zipline on the other side, we can get to another roof from there. It should be a clearer route back to the Diamond."

He was just assuming Davrin went straight ahead and through all the bad spots to get to him. Like the arrow he'd named the griffon for.

"How did you find me?"

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