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erandir · 3 years

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Snowball Fight

12 Days of Satinalia: Day One

Rating: T Word Count: 1575 Pairings: Idhren Lavellan/Tainan Lavellan, Dorian Pavus/Idhren Lavellan Summary: Two stories about Vints experiencing snow for the first time and the good-natured hazing that follows.

Outside the ring of aravels the ground was more snow and less slush, and children's laughter filtered through the trees as they ran about and played in the powder. That's where Idhren was headed, to keep an eye on the children per orders when the Keeper grew tired of him moping about around campfires and getting in the way as the clan made their camp secure for the winter.

It was easier to hear the children than to find them. Amid the trees and low drifts of fresh snow they were playing some sort of hiding game that Idhren wasn't familiar with.

Then something struck him high on his back. Cold and wet and splattering up into his hair and then dripping icy water down under his collar. Idhren jumped and turned around, eyes wide in alarm and confusion. A child was peeking out from him from behind a tree, wrapped up in a thick woolen coat, arm still raised from his throw.

"Loren! We don't throw at people who aren't playing!" a much more grown up voice cut through the woods, and a moment later Tainan's red head appearered from within the brush. The child looked over at them, then down at the ground, properly chastized. "I'm sorry," Tainan said to Idhren, "They get a little too excited sometimes."

"You're... playing a game?" Idhren asked as he began to figure out what was happening.

"It's a snowball fight," Tainan replied, nodding. When Idhren only stared at them blankly, Tainan continued, "You do know about snowball fights, right?"

Idhren shook his head, "It doesn't snow in Tevinter," he reminded Tainan. And even if it did, this didn't seem like the kind of activity that would they would approve of.

Tainan's eyes went wide, surprised for a moment, and then a smile crossed their face that Idhren didn't entirely trust. "We'll have to teach you, then," they said cheerfully. "Did you hear, the city boy's never had a snowball fight," they called into the trees.

A few more children had appeared while they spoke. All the clan's children were still a little wary of the new first, and Idhren couldn't blame them. He was a foreigner and he had only been around for a few months. They didn't know what to make of him yet.

"You can be on my team for now," Tainan continued, "If that's alright with everyone."

There were some nods and mumbled agreements. One of the youths, older and a bit more confident than the rest and Idhren thought her name was Rissa, stepped out from the trees. "No magic," she said sternly. "Magic is cheating."

"Okay," Idhren replied. That seemed fair, but he still wasn't certain what this game actually entailed. "How do you play?"

"It's easy," Tainan assured. They crouched down and began gathering a fistfull of snow, "You just get some snow, and pack it tight into a ball. Then you try to hit someone from another team without getting hit yourself."

"Seems easy enough," Idhren replied, though he didn't see the appeal. But he'd never been that kind of child.

"You'll pick it up in no time," Tainan assured. "Loren's also on our team," they said, indicating the child who had originally struck Idhren, "And so's Samrel," they pointed to a tiny child cowering behind a sapling who looked barely old enough to comprehend the game, let alone play it. The two smallest children that Idhren could currently see. Of course.

"Now, everyone stop standing around, let's go!" Tainan enthused, and launched their fresh snowball at Rissa, who shrieked and barely managed to dodge out of the way.

Before Idhren even fully comprehended what was happening, Tainan had grabbed him by the arm and yanked him behind a clump of bushes to instruct him in the art of the perfect snowball.

It was more fun than Idhren had expected. Although, by the end his fingers were numb and he was shivering almost uncontrollably. As the children wore themselves out and the snowball fight petered to a halt, he blew into his hands to try and bring the feeling back into them.

"You'd better get back to camp," Tainan advised when they saw how cold Idhren was. "Keeper will kill me if I let you get sick."

"It wouldn't be your fault," Idhren assured. He had joined the game of his own volition, and he could have stopped to warm himself up.

As Idhren rubbed his hands together, Tainan took him by the shoulders and rubbed them briskly. It helped to bring his shivering back under control. "Well, I still don't want you to get sick," they said. Then, they blew into their own hands before cupping them around Idhren's. Tainan's hands were shockingly warm considering they'd been out here in the snow much longer and been much more involved in the game. Idhren felt his cheeks heat up along with his fingers as Tainan gently helped to rub the feeling back into them. "How's that? Better?"

"Yes," Idhren said, face burning in the cold air. "Thanks."

Tainan grinned, bright as the sun, and held onto Idhren's hands just a little bit longer than necessary before letting them go. "You can head back to camp. I'll round up the kids."

"The Keeper sent me to help," Idhren protested, though he longed to go defrost in front of a campfire.

"It's fine," Tainan assured. "They're all tired out and cold, it should be easy to get them in line. I know how to handle them."

"Alright," Idhren agreed, not entirely reluctant. "Thanks. This was... fun."

"Good, I'm glad," Tainan beamed. And that smile felt like it might be enough to keep Idhren warm all winter, so long as it was directed at him.

----------

Years - and what felt like half a lifetime - later, snow fell on Skyhold despite the myriad ancient enchantments that usually kept the temperature inside its walls mild. Idhren had grown if not accustomed, at least able to tolerate the south's freezing winters in the years since his departure from Tevinter. And the snow was a lot easier to admire from inside a warm tavern.

"You know, it doesn't snow in Tevinter," he commented to Sera as they watched people mill about in the courtyard from the open window of her room. "I'd never seen it before I came south."

"Bet that was a shock," Sera chuckled.

"Definitely," Idhren agreed. "I'd never heard of snowball fights, either. I think even if it did snow up there, Tevinter wouldn't like snowball fights very much."

"Nah," Sera agreed, "They're all too snooty for that. Don't know how to have any fun."

"I bet Dorian's never heard of a snowball fight, either."

Idhren watched the understanding dawn across Sera's face. "Oh. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, then?" she grinned.

"I'll get him to come outside," Idhren offered.

"And I'll shove snow down his robes," Sera giggled maniacally .

"Perfect."

He lured Dorian out of the library with an invitation to the tavern and the promise of mulled wine and a roaring fire to stave off the chill he'd been complaining about all week. They were halfway across the courtyard when a snowball struck Dorian square in the chest. He let out a huff of indignant confusion, and while he was distracted brushing ice off himself Sera appeared as though from nowhere with a handful of snow and a wicked grin. She acted before Dorian had a chance to react, grabbing him by the collar and shoving the snow down his shirt.

Dorian let out the most undignified squawk, jolting upright and practically leaping away, cursing the whole while.

Sera and Idhren burst out laughing. Sera actually fell to the snowy ground from the force of her laughter.

"You planned this!" Dorian accused when he managed to regain some semblance of composure. "I can't believe you would let her drag you into one of her inane pranks."

"Was his idea," Sera managed to gasp between fits of giggles.

"I'm sorry," Idhren forced down his laughter as soon as Dorian turned to him with an expression of shock and betrayal, but he couldn't completely contain his smile. "Consider this your introduction to southern winters?"

A lingering shiver shook Dorian's frame and he brushed some lingering snow off his shoulders in an attempt to hide it. "This is one of the barbaric southern customs you've picked up, then?"

"More childish than barbaric," Idhren said in defense.

"It's a snowball fight. You're supposed to fight back," Sera complained. At last her giggling had subsided and she began packing a new snowball.

"I think I'll pass, if it's all the same to you," Dorian drawled.

"Aww, you're no fun," Sera complained. She blew them both a raspberry and then stalked off, snowball still in hand. Idhren didn't want to know who her new target was.

When she was out of sight around the corner of the tavern, Dorian scowled down at Idhren and said, "You're terrible, and I hate you."

"Oh, don't be like that," Idhren sighed. "I haven't dragged you out of Skyhold once this winter. You had to get a proper taste of southern weather some time." He grabbed Dorian's hand and stood on his toes to press a kiss to the man's cheek. "There is still mulled wine. I wasn't lying about that."

Dorian pouted a moment longer before relenting. "Fine. I suppose that will make up for this indignity."

#12daysofsatinalia #12 days of satinalia #idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #dorian pavus #pavellan #lavellan #my writing #my fic #you gotta throw snowballs at vints in their first winter #its the law #idhren's feelings about snow are also mine #pretty but at what cost

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erandir · 3 years

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Semper ad Meliora AU Masterpost

Because it’s @dapolyshippingday and because it needed to be done, here’s all the writings from various AUs of my DAI longfic Semper ad Meliora.

Pairing: Dorian Pavus/Idhren Lavellan/Tainan Lavellan Rating: G or T Main Fic: Semper ad Meliora

Tainan Survives AU Ad Meliora Vertamur on AO3

The Breach

Redcliffe

The Winter Palace

Late Night Confessions

Cooking

Trespasser

Modern AU

First Date

Introducing the BFs to Felix

Halloween Party

An Inopportune Way to Meet the Parents (unfinished)

Miscellaneous

Soulmate AU: Triplet Souls

Herald!Tainan: Stronger Together

#dapolyshippingday #fanfic #lavellan #pavellan #idhren lavellan #dorian pavus #tainan lavellan #my wriitng

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erandir · 3 years

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Fic: Stronger Together (Herald Tainan AU)

How many AUs is too many AUs?

Here’s one where Tainan gets the Anchor and becomes the Herald of Andraste. And Idhren is also there.

Part 1/?

----

Idhren was still asleep when Tainan woke and crawled out of their tent, as was usually the case. They had set up camp on a rise overlooking the village, wary of getting too close to the settlement when it was crawling with Chantry folk and templars. But their location still had a fair view of activity going on at the Chantry and the road leading up the mountain.

The sun was only just rising over the mountains, so there was little activity in the village now. To Tainan, all the people looked to be milling about with no purpose, but Idhren had a way of reading the behaviors of city folk. Knowing Idhren, though, he’d probably sleep some hours more. Which made this a good time for Tainan to try and get a lay of the land. Just head up the mountain a little ways before it was crawling with shemlen, maybe find a good place to sit and wait for news.

Just an hour or so, and be back before Idhren woke.

----------

The cold woke Idhren. Sneaking in through the gaps in the tent and the folds of the blanket. And there was no warm body beside him on the bedroll to compensate. Which meant it was morning, and Tainan was already up and about.

Reluctantly, Idhren sat up and poked his head outside the tent. But Tainan was not there. Only the cold embers of their fire from the night before. “Tainan?” Idhren called out. No reply. Maybe Tainan had gone to find something fresh for breakfast. He pulled on his boots and cloak and climbed out of the tent.

He’d only just begun stoking the fire back to life when a chill ran up his spine that wasn’t from the weather.

He felt the explosion before he heard or saw it.

The Veil pulled taught. Snapped like threadbare fabric under too much strain.

A roar from the mountaintop felt in his bones. A sensation crashed over him like a tidal wave, setting every hair on his body on end.

The Veil ripped open and the sky along with it, bathing the mountaintop in sickly green shadow.

He could taste the Fade in the back of his throat. Acrid and metallic.

Then he saw the footprints in the snow leading from their campsite up the mountain.

----------

Idhren didn’t see them pull the lone survivor out of the temple ruins. He’d been preoccupied with a demon that fell out of the sky, and trying to make sense of what was going on. And praying that Tainan hadn’t been anywhere close to that temple.

But the rumors reached him eventually as he searched, frantic and increasingly desperate. Only one survivor, a figure who had fallen out of the Fade after the explosion. A Dalish elf with red hair.

In hindsight, walking up to the templar guards outside the Chantry and demanding to see their prisoner was not Idhren’s brightest moment. But he was terrified, and distraught, and it was so hard to think clearly with the Fade all around like a soup that made it hard to breathe.

Perhaps they wouldn’t have seen him as a threat if he’d been coherent. Or maybe he’d simply said too much - let slip his Tevinter origin. Or maybe they were just looking for anyone to blame for this disaster and there he was, a foreign mage that nobody would miss.

The templar’s silence pulled the magic from his veins and the breath from his lungs. Idhren wavered on his feet, but still managed to swing out with his staff - a weak show of resistance that was easily thwarted. Then they had him by the arms. “No!” Each templar a full head taller than him Idhren’s struggles were useless, but he struggled nonetheless. “I didn’t do anything! We didn’t do anything!”

They dragged him down below the Chantry hall, into dungeons that had no business being in a church. He caught a glimpse of Tainan then. A shock of red hair against the stone floor. “Tainan!” Idhren’s struggles redoubled. “Let me go! Tai -” something caught him on the back of the head and the world went dark.

----------

The last thing Tainan remembered was walking into the temple. And then waking up in a dungeon. There was some glowing thing on his hand. It hurt, and the frightening templar woman said it had something to do with the explosion.

Where was Idhren? Idhren would know what this was. Idhren would know what was happening.

But frightened and confused as they were, Tainan didn’t dare mention Idhren’s name as they were dragged up the mountainside. The shemlen thought Tainan had caused this. Tainan who wasn’t even a mage. What would they do with Idhren - a Tevinter-trained Dalish mage - if they got their hands on him?

And there was hardly a moment to spare thinking of Idhren. Not with demons raining from whatever that thing was in the sky, and whatever this thing was on his hand. It was all Tainan could do just to try and stay alive, and argue their own innocence. An argument that fell on deaf ears.

The temple was a horrific sight. Unlike anything Tainan had ever seen. Unlike anything they could have imagined. It was like walking in a nightmare.

This thing on their hand hurt more with each passing minute. Ached so much it was difficult to hold onto their bow. But that pain was nothing compared to the scorching, tearing, stabbing that radiated up from their palm when Tainan raised that mark to close the hole in the sky.

----------

The next time Tainan woke they were not in shackles, and the people in the village stared at them in awe and reverence. Tainan didn’t understand the name they’d been given, but that didn’t matter right now. They needed to find Idhren.

“I need to find my betrothed. He wasn’t in the temple with me, he must be in the village somewhere.” Lying low, probably, until he knew it was safe. He was afraid of templars, after all. “He’s a mage, he can help.”

Across the table Cassandra and Leliana shared a glance that made Tainan uncomfortable.

“Have you seen him?”

“Your betrothed,” Leliana spoke in a calculated gentle tone. “He is Dalish like you? Slight? With dark hair and purple eyes?”

A feeling of dread settled like a rock in Tainan’s gut. “Where is he?”

“I will show you.”

She led Tainan through the Chantry hall and down into a dark basement level that Tainan vaguely recalled being dragged through the last time they woke up after a blackout. That feeling of dread in Tainan’s stomach grew stronger the further they walked, until they stepped into a room lined with barred cells.

Even in the dim light Tainan spotted him right away. Only one cell was occupied. A small figure huddled into a ball and pressed into the back corner. As far from the templar stationed at the door as possible.

“Idhren!” Tainan pushed past Leliana, racing across the room to the cell door. Of course it was locked. “Get him out of there,” they demanded, tugging ineffectually at the bars until the lock was undone and the door swung free. “Idhren. Idhren.” Tainan’s knees collided hard with the stone floor beside Idhren’s huddled form.

Slowly, hesitantly, Idhren’s head raised. Those big violet eyes stared up at him with that same broken expression as the night they first met. “Tai?” he asked, voice faint and uncertain.

“I’m here, city boy. You’re safe now.”

“Tai.” This time the name came out a sob. Idhren’s body unfolded. Arms reached out and latched around Tainan’s neck.

Tainan clutched him back. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” As Idhren trembled in their arms, Tainan turned a furious glare in Leliana’s direction. She at least had the decency to look contrite. “What did you do to him?”

“He showed up shortly after we brought you back from the temple. We thought he might have something to do with the Breach. He’s been under templar guard since. I’m sorry.”

Locked up and cut off from his magic for days. No wonder Idhren was in such a state.

Tainan slipped one arm under Idhren’s legs and pushed to their feet. Idhren barely shifted in their arms as Tainan carried him out of the cell. The Breach and everything else could wait, first they had to make sure Idhren was alright. That was more important.

#lavellan #dragon age fanfic #dragon age inquisition #dragon age #dai #idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #fic: semper ad meliora #my writing #an AU of an AU?

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erandir · 3 years

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🏡 for the polyshipping ask meme!

🏡 How do they divide responsibilities for house work?

Dorian has never done house work a day in his life. He can barely make his own bed, probably. This is a man who grew up in a house full of servants and slaves, after all. He’ll help out with things when asked, but many regular maintenance tasks (like dusting) simply don’t occur to him. Mostly he just keeps his own things neat and cleans up after himself.

Idhren cooks. Idhren likes cooking and he’s pretty decent at it. Even when they have servants he’ll occasionally pop into the kitchen and make something when he has the time. He’s also the resident neat freak, and does most of the general cleaning and nagging the others to clean up their things.

Tainan is the best at any physical labor that needs to be done. While not exactly a handyman, they’ve lived on the road and in the woods long enough to do simple repairs. And also gardening.

#polyshipping ask meme #idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #dorian pavus #criticallyours

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erandir · 3 years

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Trans boy’s first haircut!

This is a scene from SaM I’ve low key wanted to visualize for a while. Idhren cutting off his hair was so symbolic of his growth as a person, of fully coming into his own and casting off the shackles of his past. He changes his hair again between endgame and Trespasser for a similar reason.

#idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #my art #lavellan

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erandir · 4 years

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Shows up 4 years late with an art meme.

Template by Marian Churchland

#lavellan #idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #tabris #rowan tabris #dragon age #fanart #my art

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erandir · 4 years

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Fic: Tainan Lives AU - Trespasser

Still writing AUs of my own AUs over here.

I don’t write enough scenes with just Dorian & Tainan, and every time I do they’re sad.

Main fic: Semper ad Meliora More Tainan lives AU on AO3

---

When Idhren slipped into the make-shift war room and shut the door behind him Dorian knew better than to storm in after him, even if he wanted to do nothing else. Instead he clenched his fists and asked, “How long has it been like that?” He could hear Tainan fidgeting beside him, and when no answer came he turned away from the closed door to look at them. “His hand. How long has it been like that?”

Guilt was written all over Tainan’s face. They met Dorian’s eyes for only a moment before turning away.

“Tainan,” Dorian said more urgently.

“It wasn’t that bad before,” Tainan said quietly, eyes trained on the floor and hands wringing together.

“How long?” Dorian demanded.

Tainan cringed and Dorian almost regretted the force of his tone, but his heart had been sinking slowly into an ever-growing pit in his stomach for the past several hours. He needed to know. “When we visited the clan,” Tainan answered eventually, “That’s the first time I saw it do that without a rift around.”

“That was… months ago.” More than angry, Dorian felt betrayed. Hurt. They had kept this from him for so long. Not a single word in letters or in person now that they were finally in the same place again. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He asked me not to,” Tainan admitted, uncharacteristically meek.

“He asked --.” Dorian couldn’t even finish voicing the thought. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Didn’t want to believe it. From Idhren alone he might have expected this, but not Tainan. Maybe he should have. “Of course,” he scoffed, turning away, “He’s always been the more important one.”

“What? No!” Tainan insisted, alarmed, “That’s not true, Dorian. I swear. It wasn’t that bad before.” Hands grasped at Dorian’s sleeve, gentle, beseeching. “I’m sorry. Please. Don’t be like this. Not right now. Please...”

Dorian still hurt, but he could no longer stay angry when he at last looked back at Tainan, and he could see that they were breaking inside just as much as he was. And with Idhren keeping his secrets behind locked doors they had no one but each other. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked again, hating how much it sounded like a plea.

“We didn’t want you to worry,” Tainan said, voice soft and low. “He said there was nothing you could do.”

And Tainan didn’t know enough about magic to say any different. Maybe that was true, maybe he couldn’t have done anything, but Dorian could have at least tried. “I could have at least been here. Instead of halfway across the world.” He should have never gone back to Tevinter. If he hadn’t been here for this council - he couldn’t finish that thought.

Tainan’s hands left his arm and drifted up, coming to rest gently against his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” they breathed again. And then their arms were wrapping around Dorian shoulders and pulling him in close and Dorian couldn’t do anything except cling to them in return.

They stayed like that, clutching at each other, until Dorian heard the door creak open and abruptly pulled his face out of Tainan’s hair. But it was only Leliana, not Idhren. She took one look at them - halfway apart but unable to fully relinquish their hold on each other - and her face crumpled in sympathy. “You should know,” she began, “The Anchor is spreading again.”

“How bad is it?” Dorian asked before he could think better of it.

“Bad,” Leliana said simply. “Just now it-” her eyes trail over to Tainan, “behaved in a way I haven’t seen since the Breach opened.”

At his side Tainan sucked in a breath through their teeth, fingers tightening against Dorian enough that he can almost feel fingernails digging in even though the layers of his robes.

“I’m sorry,” Leliana said, bleeding more sympathy than Dorian ever thought her capable of, and spared them one last glance before drifting off to whatever tasks she’d been set.

Dorian didn’t know how to feel. He hadn’t been there, at the beginning, but he knew it was bad. Tainan was still clinging to him, but he felt almost numb, in a way. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.

And then the door opened again.

This time it was Idhren, and he froze when he laid eyes on them. In a heartbeat Tainan was gone from Dorian’s side and wrapped around Idhren instead, clutching at his slim shoulders so tight it must hurt. But Idhren just wrapped one arm around their waist. His bad arm, Dorian realized, it’s hand fluorescing green against Tainan’s armor.

“We can still fix it, right?” Tainan was saying into the side of Idhren’s head.

“I don’t know,” Idhren admitted quietly. Over Tainan’s shoulder his eyes met Dorian’s. He reached out with his good hand, beckoning, and then when Dorian took it pulling him into a group hug that had become all too familiar.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dorian asked, one last time, in barely a whisper.

Idhren looked up at him, a thousand words in his violet eyes, but all that he said was, “I’m sorry. Whatever happens, know that I wouldn’t trade these years for anything. I love you.”

A lump lodged itself in Dorian’s throat that he couldn’t swallow and could barely talk around. “I knew you would break my heart, you bastard.”

He just never thought it would be like this.

#pavellan #dorian pavus #idhren lavellan #tainan lavellan #fic: semper ad meliora #tainan lives au #fanfic #dragon age

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