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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Lucanis hid his own smile behind his coffee cup. He felt like he should be offended at that laugh, but... the amusement was infectious, perhaps. ~~Maybe Davrin just had a nice laugh.~~

"Seheron taipan," he clarifies, casually. So, not just any snake, not just any venomous snake, but a snake that had such a massively lethal venom that it was known to be able to kill a qunari berserker in minutes with a single bite.

But really, they were quite a shy species, they preferred to run and hide. He kept antivenom right next to Irene's enclosure just in case, but in spite of having the snake since he was a teenager she had only ever bit a person once.

"I still can't figure out if you love or hate your cousin."

If any family member had given Davrin a living death wish to take care of, he would have loosed it into the nearest appropriate ecosystem and never looked back. Never mind that, as a Warden, he was more or less a living death wish, himself.

It was different. Snakes didn't come with a code.

A smaller version of the amused smile remained in place, encouraged by Lucanis' own pleased aura, as he took his coffee back up. Irene the snake had managed to make him feel comfortable for the first time in the room, if only by putting the whole getting fitted ordeal out of his mind for the moment.

"I did not ask him to take care of her," Lucanis feels the need to clarify. This he had not done to his cousin, but Illario had done to himself, apparently... which Lucanis was greatful for.

"When I was ambushed by Venatori, they somehow convinced my family that I was dead. He decided to take care of her. I'm certain he could have found someone else to take her, he never liked snakes, but..."

But for the memory of his dead cousin, he did it anyway. Their relationship was a complicated one.

He looked down into his coffee again. He should take her back, but he worried she would not recognize him now, or that the lighthouse would be a terrible place for her. She was probably happier in Illario's care.

He didn't have a good response to that for a moment. He didn't hide that fact behind taking a sip of coffee, either. Just tilted his head slightly, watching Lucanis. Ambushed by Venatori was a nice way of glossing over the year he'd been tortured and come back with a demon in him. For the first time Davrin wondered exactly how widely known outside of their little circle that fact was. Had Lucanis told his family, his fellow Crows?

It wasn't his business. Not really. But he wondered.

"Sounds like an interesting guy. You should give him a tour of the Lighthouse sometime."

Edited 2024-12-23 05:36 (UTC)

"I'm not sure he would enjoy the experience," Lucanis said, even as he showed a little amusement on his face at that. But no, his literal demon problem was considered 'Crow buiness', and beyond those who had the Cantori Diamond as their center of operations he expected it was not spread.

Of course, that also included all his family.

Had Caterina known, before she was killed? He hopes she had not. That she had died thinking Lucanis was still alive and well and not some abomination in his place was rescued. He lets out a slow exhale. Nothing to be done about it. Try not to think about it.

"In some ways we are more like brothers. Caterina took us both in after we lost the rest of our family," Lucanis explained. The phrasing was very particular- like it was an act of generosity for her to have taken her only living relatives left instead of leaving them on the streets as orphans to be noticed by an Heir if they had talent for Crow training.

The phrasing was noted and left alone. For now. He wasn't going to start another spat about the many terribly life choices of the Crows and the families within it here and now, when an innocent tailor might wander into the cross fire. He had plenty of time when they were on the road to let his thoughts be known on that one.

"Should I just call him that? Your brother. The feeling matters more than the actual blood."

What a question.

"Probably not where he could hear it," Lucanis answers.

It's smart that Davrin waited as well - not the tailor yet but his wife, with more coffee and fresh pastries made of a flakey rolled up dough.

"Ah, thank you, Alessa," Lucanis said, all politeness for the older woman instead of smirking challenge he had for Davrin.

Darvin was just as polite, biting off the follow up question as he took a pastry and made the appropriate thanks and compliments to the hostess. He may be here under a strange form of duress, but he had been raised right. Though he was going to have to start writing down the number of familial concerns he was gathering about Lucanis.

"Has he always had a sweet tooth?"

It was not until that moment that Lucanis realized that he had put Davrin in the perfect position to interrogate someone about Lucanis' past who was only too happy to answer. In his defense he expected Davrin to be too flustered over the whole ordeal to notice this opportunity until it had passed. Well, point for the Warden, and Lucanis made a mental note to not under-estimate his recovery time in the future.

"Oh, yes!" Alessa said cheerfully, as expected, only too happy to get their new guest talking. "Of course, he tried to pretend he did not. But he would always take a pastry and bring another home for his cousin too. Such a sweet boy."

"Ah, let's not bore the Warden with ancient history," Lucanis tried to interject.

"Don't be modest," Davrin countered, his own smirk showing up just for a look at Lucanis, then smoothing back out to a charming smile for their hostess.

The war continues. At least until the tailor returned and he was back to being a living mannequin.

"I'm sure you were a very interesting child."

La Rosa's return could not come fast enough. Lucanis shot the briefest glare at Davrin when Alessa was not looking his way. Sir, is this not beneath you, or something?

"I was quite boring," Lucanis insisted.

"Well behaved," Alessa corrected, reaching out to pat Lucanis on his arm. "Other young men his age, so rowdy, but he was always soft spoken and polite. Thoughtful, too. Once - oh, he could not yet have been twenty, I had to apologize for not having cornettos with the coffee that day because the woman we bought eggs from had to go south to take care of family and I could not find another person at market who wasn't charging exorbitantly for them. Just said he understood and there was no need to apologize - and then comes back an hour later with a basket of eggs and the name of a chicken farmer just outside of town and the days she came into Treviso to sell if that was too far."

Lucanis had far too much self control to blush, but he was quietly dying inside. It would figure she would tell the egg story, it was one of her favorites.

A small smile played on his lips as he watched Lucanis with amusement through the story. The dread Demon of Vyrantium- and literal demon host, to boot. Exactly who, without the requirements of his family, would this man have grown to be?

"Mm. Our friend Harding told me he came back to our group from a trip to Treviso with hand selected treats for each member. Too bad I wasn't on board yet."

Though given how this day was going, Lucanis may have just brought him back a slap to the back of the head in revenge.

When is a knife not a knife? It's like one of those riddles Taash hates that their mother probably would ask.

"Is this not a treat?" Lucanis asked, voice all mild innocence. It was excellent coffee and delicious pastry - and several new shirts, soon enough. "Though I was considering picking something up for Assan so he does not feel left out for me taking up your day like this."

"Assan?"

"Davrin's pet."

"Don't let a griffon hear you call him that."

It was, as Lucanis must know, a knee jerk reaction. Assan wasn't just a pet anymore than Solas was just an elf with a complicated romantic history. Honor must be defended.

"And unless you've invented a shred proof fabric, don't waste your gold."

Well played, Crow. It takes a few bites of pastry for Davrin to fully realize how easily Lucanis had utterly redirected the conversation. Asking the woman for sketching of her grandchildren couldn't have done a better job.

In truth it had been a two fold strategy of an answer. Lucanis wasn't certain how secret the whole griffon thing was. On the one hand people said it was before Davrin joined the team, but on the other Rook was regularly requesting him to knock down pallets chained up in the middle of dock town to give them something to climb up. So. 'Pet'. Good and nonspecific. And if Davrin just had to clarify...

If the information got out it was not Lucanis' fault, and it was a far more interesting subject than his own childhood.

"A griffon!" Alessa declared, looking between the two. "I thought they were extinct?"

Lucanis raised an eyebrow at Davrin. Your move to explain, sir.

They were technically a secret, yes. A secret only known to the Grey Wardens. And the Mourn Watch. And the Lords of Fortune. And the Veil Guard, the Threads, the Crows, all of Dock Town, Treviso, the remains of Inquisition, the Venatori, probably the Divine herself knowing Harding- really the list was shorter for people that didn't have a way to find out. And compared to ancient Elven and Dragon gods running around Blighting the land, it seemed almost unimportant to conceal. Really, it was a bit of good news in all the darkness, as Evka's sentiment had been.

"Where they went and how they came back are Warden secrets," he consciously didn't look over to see Lucanis' likely eye roll at that, "but, yeah. They're back now. I think they knew the world needed them. But they're not really ones for fashion."

Now he gave a side eye at Lucanis, underscoring that a certain Grey Warden was not exactly one for it, either.

Edited 2024-12-23 20:08 (UTC)

That eyeroll was practically audible, Davrin didn't need to be looking.

"Thats wonderful," Alessa said, because Evja had been right that at least all the news wasn't bad. A light of hope desperately needed. "You know - my son had one of those rocking griffons as a baby. His children just love it. They'll be so happy to hear."

And as for the fashion-

"I was hardly going to get a shirt made for Assan as well. Merely ask for recommendations to a good butcher in Antiva City while we are here. Although..."

He turned his attention to the older Dwarven woman, back to all pleasant and polite smiles. The well behaved young man all grown up.

"Could I perchance purchase a bag of scrap fabric, do you think? The cast offs that are normally bought by the rag pickers."

"Oh, I don't see that being a problem at all. I'm not sure we have a full bag yet..."

Lucanis waved a hand, 'no worries'.

"It is no emergency. Send it along with the other purchases to the Estate if there is one by then, or whenever convenient if not."

"Of course, I'll go let my husband know. I imagine he'll be about ready to have something for you to try on, Ser Warden - thank you so much for your patience and the good news," taking up any of the dishes that were finished, Alessa made her way into the back with a bounce in her step.

Davrin waited until he heard the woman's footsteps fall away, and that her husband's weren't replacing them, before looking over at Lucanis with a raised eyebrow.

"More ropes? Assan and Spite are going to build a nest with all the remains at this rate."

He couldn't help but snort a small laugh at that mental image, unbidden as it was.

"For further shredding," Lucanis clarified, tone mildly offended. "Shathann is keeping us well enough stocked in ropes to not need to outsource. Besides, there's likely to be some bright colorful patterns in there, Harding might like to use them to patch something up."

... he was pointedly trying to not think about how much use those ropes were getting, how that was definitely not what Taash's mother had been sending them for. He didn't know why it made him feel heat on his neck to think about, it wasn't anything illicit. Getting a chance to sleep because Spite, apparently, could be tamed by Davrin. Or at least brought to heel.

"Do griffons build nests? If so he deserves variety of material to choose from."

Spite, it was hard to tell what was what the demon did and what was a case of - like an unruly child - him witnessing something and simply trying to repeat it.

"Shredding and tug of war," he pointed out. He'd meant more tug-of-war-ropes, but got why Lucanis took it that way. What might be a faint blush- hard to tell, even if Lucanis was several shades lighter than him- was the only reason he tried to clarify. He wasn't aiming to make Lucanis feel bad about the situation that was actually working out. That could only end in him going back to being half-asleep during battle again. Bad for everyone all around.

"And that's...I don't know. I think so, when he gets old enough to want to impress a mate. I was only ever supposed to keep them safe, not figure out how to raise the next generation after this one."

Ah, well, now that was even more mildly embarrassing. Time to just ignore all that.

"Well. At least you will probably not have to explain to him how to make an egg?" Lucanis said instead of addressing anything else. Sure he was more than just an animal, but he seemed to have pretty solid instincts from what Lucanis was hearing.

"I'm going to forget you said that."

Entire conversation? Gone. He was having enough trouble with the fact they next generation would have to be, by default, inbred. Unless there was another ancient monster out there guarding a different clutch.

"But I know he'll appreciate you cooking for him. Just don't start it unless you're ready to make it a habit."

Trust Davrin, the once mighty Warden reduced to near full-time truffle hunter.

Maybe inbreeding didn't matter as much for griffons. One could hope whoever saved the one clutch had a plan for just that ~~and wasn't just doing her best in the 11th hour while struggling against her own Calling, praying whoever found them would have a solution~~.

"I have seen what everyone else eats when left to their own devices, I already make a habit of it for everyone else, why not him as well?" Lucanis didn't do one hundred percent of the cooking, but it was basically in the high seventies. "Besides, did I see you trying to feed him yams at one point?"

"What's wrong with yams?"

Said with the defensiveness of someone that has definitely spent at least a week eating nothing but baked yams on the road. Possibly more than once.

"Clans have lasted entire winter seasons on yams."

Lucanis leans in a bit, that faint smirk coming back to hear the defensiveness.

"And you are an elf. I admittedly do not know about griffons, but I have never witnessed a cat or a falcon eat a yam before," he said, ever so slightly teasing, but a bit exasperated as well.

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Now imagining ugly Christmas sweater Assan

Omg, adorable.... little halla on it 🥺

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