faderift | [ OPEN ] Se sapessero tutto su di te

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[ OPEN ] Se sapessero tutto su di te

WHO: Zevran, Luciano, and YOU
WHAT: Catch all for the month
WHEN: June/Justinian
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Prose or Brackets are fine, roll with what you like most. If you want a specific prompt hit me up on plurk @ here!

[ After the Baptism (Early Justinian) ]

Early in the evening, after some small ceremony in Skyhold's chapel, Zevran can be found surrounded by his Kestrels, sitting quietly in a corner of The Herald's rest as they played music and sang a great many traditional Antivan pieces. There is food and wine and dancing and Zevran partakes only a little. While he may look tired and a little overwhelmed, the night is a joyous one all the same. In his arms, on his lap, or sitting on the table with Zevran's steadying hand upon his back is a small elven child. All wide blue eyes and blonde curls, tanned skin that is marred only by the smudge of ashes in a circle on his forehead as is custom, dressed in a simple cotton shift Luciano Arainai claps and squeals in turn, gnawing on whatever is within reach or patting down Zevran's shirt with sticky hands. He is a child, they are sticky, it is a known fact. To the end of the night exhaustion catches hold for both, leaving the infant cranky and Zevran struggling to soothe him long enough to slip away to their rooms.

[ Garden ]

Afternoons find Zevran lounging in the garden- fresh air is both good for him and supposedly healthy for children- as long as he is able to keep Lucci from shoving things into his mouth that are not meant to be eaten. Which is everything. Which means it is less lounging and more tugging upon a leash and harness he has rigged to let his child roam but not too far- only a few feet from where he is sprawled and sketching upon a blanket. Most of his attention is actually on his son but it does the boy well to assume he has leave to explore. At least until he crawls back to demand food or attention or- whatever it is infants want. Zevran is still learning to interpret his various burbles and shrieks.

[ Courtyard ]

Zevran is, for the moment, trapped under the dead weight of his son- the slightest shifting earns a familiar screwing up of Lucci's face that has him resigned to simply leaning back against the tree where he'd stopped walking to shift his grip earlier and wait out the nap. He dare not doze himself- too tense against the open area, how vulnerable they are, how exposed. Tensing too much causes the same small sounds of upset and thus he is forced to sit, mind that he does not lock up, and wait for Lucci to fall deep enough asleep that he might carry him back to their room or rouse himself enough to make the trip worthwhile.

[ Hot Springs ]

"Your voice does carry, you know." Idle and conversational, Zevran has found a shallower edge of the hot springs when he'd truly rather a deep soak- but elven infants do not swim well and as such he must sit over here. With a shrieking, splashing child rigged safely in some manner of wicker basket he'd lowered into the water to keep Lucci from falling over backward and drowning. And to keep these little floating toys (maker only knows who gave them to him, he cannot recall) from floating away. "Yes, yes, splashing the water is marvelous fun- please hold still."

Not that Lucci is one to listen, wriggling under Zevran's hands as he tries to clean...something...sticky from his son's hair. "What is this, honey? How did you get honey in your hair? When were you near honey?"

[ Training Grounds ]

There are rare days when Lucci is not quite so prone to shrieking and crawling, not quite so intent on escape and Zevran can wrap him in a sling of sorts, tucked up against his chest, and actually train his Kestrels. It is an adjustment, every so often he must away to change the child's soiled underclothes or to feed him and the extra weight is odd and leaves him sore at the end of a few hours- but with one hand on Lucci's back to support him, the other gesturing as he speaks in rapid fire Antivan, directing his Kestrels through their maneuvers.

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Araceli's remark will gain her questions from Korrin later, though her actions remind the Vashoth woman of what they had planned. She discards her boots as well, glad her hair is braided back and away from grabby hands and likewise keeping her rings near a pile, though her own dragon tooth necklace remains around her throat and she has no plans to ever take it off. When Araceli comes to the edge, she joins her and dips her feet in, sighing in relief as they sink into the warm water. The water-flicking gets a chuckle out of her and she smiles at the suggestion.

"Excellent idea, kadan. I can't imagine he'd love it any less than I do." And it's entertainment that doesn't involve hair-pulling, so it's a plus?

She darts a grin at Zevran and nods, accepting those terms with a salute. "Will do, Zev. I'll mostly stick to being terrifying on his behalf. Looming over assholes and making them flee will never not be fun. And that window of time is acceptable, if we can have your company afterwards sometimes. You know, catch up and make a meal with proper spices in it. Something tells me you need one without a baby throwing food or getting it all over himself, anyway."

"...You say that as if it is so terrible a thing- and while it is somewhat terrible I suppose- it simply is the way of things in Antiva. Bastards are handled one way or another, some through exile but most through assassination at any age. It is a known risk of bedding any of them and most women take their precautions accordingly." What, murder and politics aren't universal? How terribly strange. Zevran blinks a little at the vehemence but- perhaps he should not. She is a bright spot of optimism, his Araceli.

And a troublemaker, if that flicking water is any indication. Lucci giggles brightly, waving his hands about for more while Zevran attempts to dry him. The look he gives her over Lucci's sodden curls is not exactly murderous, but it is close, though tinted with amusement. "He is a bit young to be enjoying the spicier things in life, though Serena assured me she ate plenty while she was with child. It is what one does in Antiva- sweets if one wishes a daughter, spice for a son."

Politics are universal, the usual way the world likes to twist and turn on itself because it's in the nature of every being, murder, not so much. Her queen is very bloodless when it comes to fashioning her new Castileos about her and it goes very well - but then there are many who still know value when it comes to their own skin even when they must pay their own way, when the queensguard are gathered about her or when they reveal themselves, smiling like satisfied sharks at the end of parties. It's perhaps more frightening that they don't rely on masks like the Orlesians, that they wear their smiles and bravado to the bitter end, walking away as they ignore the pleas, the protestations, quiet in their queen's wake.

"I will not say that there are bad places where I come from - the little ones in Zimevur that come to our shores so quiet with the biggest eyes I have ever seen, and well, most of the thieves grew up without a parent, but within Castileos? There are lots of places that take a child without asking a question. But we share the same blood, so," she shrugs because well, when you do share the same blood then it does make things so very simple when it comes to that. Other things are more difficult, the reminder that she's from another world and that some things don't translate just so well even for her and Zevran when so much is so alike. There are times she must seem so naive, even when she wears the bard's face. But then people don't always expect that sort of girl to be able to turn around and knife them in the spleen without hesitating.

"A mother dreams of their child in Castileos, when they are a little pearl in the belly. I was different to most because my parents were and were not just my parents, the sea moved through them to make me, even more than it does with any of us." Her hand swirls lazily through the water to trace idle patterns before she makes a few flourishing movements the adults can follow where she proceeds to steal Lucci's nose, and then, from nowhere, produces a coin from behind one ear and then the other, holding them between her fingers to keep his attention.

"Do Vashoth parents believe those sorts of things?" She asks Korrin, clinking the coins to better distract a little boy because Zevran she is innocent of any wrongdoing at all but look at Korrin there with those long legs. "About sweets and spice? All I remember being told is that my mother drank as sailors drank, ate lots of shellfish, and that my father sang about the sea and the rhythm to her belly until his beard and curled moustache vexed her fiercely."

Zevran's point of view isn't an unknown one to Korrin, having traveled and worked with plenty of Antivans before. And yet, Araceli's optimism and relative innocence has charmed her, and made her want to work for better, even more than she already does. "I'm not exactly a fan of 'it is the way of things', as you might guess. If people kept thinking like that, the Circles would never have fallen and other needed changes never come to pass. But great change can take a lot of effort and a lot of blood. No good comes of bringing an infant into that."

And because Araceli started it, she flicks some water at Lucci as well, just a little. One good thing about babies is that they're easily amused.

Araceli's stories about her homeland always get Korrin's attention, and though she's heard some of this before, it's still worthwhile to listen to her voice and passion. A small smile curves her lips as she shakes her head in response to the question. "About sweets and spices, no. Tama told my mother that dragon flesh -any kind- made for a strong, healthy baby but boy or girl preference was never mentioned. Either way, it must have worked, whether she was trolling or not. I wouldn't say that's a widespread Vashoth tradition, though. We tend not to have much of those, just 'look at the Qun and then do the opposite', pretty much."

It is a different world she lives in- a kinder one. A place where every child must be desired? It had to be a kinder place than Thedas, where children are only wanted roughly half of the time. "Well-"

He shrugs, returning his attention to his child. "I have been systematically murdering the largest guild of assassins for the past decade- so I must say while it IS the way of things, it may not remain the way of things."

And he may or may not have had it in mind when killing the Crows. Well- he hadn't, truly, but it was one of the many things that would change in their absence, perhaps. But that was for other people to worry over. Now? his world was bundled up in damp curls and blue eyes and flailing hands against the towel. "Korrin would you hold him a moment while I find his clothes?"

Sometimes softness keeps a person from breaking; is that not the first thing Araceli has taught in climbing lessons after all, to allow the body to go loose, to accept it? Here she might put on a mask as is expected of her, or rather a shell, pretty and hard but still brittle, a thing to step in and out of, to open and shut as she chooses. Her softness is her shield, and even when things here have hurt? They haven't hurt as much because nothing has broken within her, not once, not ever.

Some would call it luxury. Araceli doesn't know what she would call it when it simply is for her so she leans as if to adjust the towel and tucks the two coins into a convenient pocket of Zevran's wherever it might be found. What is two extra gold coins when a child might want something? Araceli doesn't really need all that much.

A part of her wants to laugh when she says the next words - how many times has she said or thought them in the last few weeks? "Sweat and ink wash away sooner than blood, but this sort of change takes time, nature is less easily changed and well, we all have our darker sides, no? Leandra," another glance to confirm no one else is around to hear, she cannot believe this secret has held between her and three others for over half a year now, "has us only take lives as needed but we do not have anything like the Crows at all. The past year of my life has been holding people to account and leaving them with nothing when they will not."

It is more satisfying than death but she is soft, isn't she? She doesn't like to kill if she doesn't need to but then none of them have seen her savage shark's smile when she walks away from someone digging through rubble for their status, have they?

"With him now we really have to do the thing we spoke about Zevran. We have real cooks. Real spices." Wink wink, nudge nudge, Korrin knows nothing but well, a celebration of all sorts of loves and life, isn't that called for?

"Me? I--yeah, alright." Korrin, completely distracted by Zevran's question, barely hears the rest of what's said. It's either her or Araceli, and she's not sure Araceli would forgive her if she handed over the very grabby infant who would reach for her curls in a heartbeat. So she reluctantly nods, reaching out for the infant all while keeping a wary eye on him. He's a cutie, no question, but babies and their bowels can't be trusted. Please don't poop, please don't poop....

"We certainly will. Give me a day and a time and I will help as best I can." How harried is he- that something so simple, so obvious as that gesture does not even register. Araceli is adjusting something of hers or his and he trusts her enough not to question it, preoccupied with finding the diaper and little leggings and shirt that he has taken to dressing Lucci in. The child chills easily, which comes as no surprise.

Lucci's fat little hands reach out, attempting to pat Korrin's forehead and horns. Horns are NEW.

"Ah- here they are." Zevran extends an arm to take back his son, lips twisted in a wry grin. "You look like I did when Serena handed him to me at first."

Next time Araceli will pin her hair or braid it securely, perhaps wrapping a nice scarf around it whilst doing the same for Korrin but right now with the steam making it worse? No. No she would not appreciate it being grabbed and she would act like any woman of twenty would, and no one would like that sort of huffy and stroppy Araceli stomping about later.

Watching Korrin, she continues to give Zevran her best innocent face that worked on her father since she was his golden girl but not nearly so often as her mother since her mother brought her into the world and saw her nearly each and every day. Her mother knew when mischief was afoot.

Perhaps someone should get Lucci one of those bear pelt hooded and sleeved blanket contraptions from Korrin's loud dirty friend, although the idea of Zevran toting around a very small bear-child almost has her laughing. "It must be a terrifying thing though, I've never even held a baby, to have one brought to you with a tale such as his when you least expect it, when they seem so wriggly but then everyone always says they are fragile too?" Which is the another good reason not to just hand a baby to Araceli since here is a thing she is actually bad at.

Lucci's easy enough to hold, at least; Korrin's had backpacks that way far more than the infant. And she doesn't mind the tiny hands, since she's reasonably sure they're not too stickly what with being fresh out of the water. So, she lifts him up to pat her horns. They're not sensitive, not like hair, so it's allowed. Now she's gladder than ever that her horns remain unbroken so far, as there are no sharp edges to cut those tiny hands.

That said, when Zevran extends that arm, Korrin returns the elven infant very promptly. He can be held for (maybe slightly) longer periods when he actually has a diaper on. Flashing a smile at his father, she shrugs. "Yeah, babies aren't my forte. I'm better with them when they're housetrained." So, speed that up. She glances to Araceli with amusement, nodding. "And that one is definitely a wriggler, watch out. Holding them isn't that bad, though, as long as they can be passed on to someone else when they become too much of a handful."

"Apparently? There is a right way to do it and a wrong way." He'd never known. The infants he'd been about remained in their cribs. Assassins, as a rule, did not touch children. That did not mean they were spared- simply handled from a distance. If that was to spare them the literal blood on their hands or simply done for the sake of efficiency- he'd never learned.

All he knew was every crib that went silent was one more weight on his mind when time came to hold Luciano.

"Mia had to show me. And how to change the diapers-" Which he folded on, now, and pinned into place. "And how to feed him in such a way he would eat what was put before him instead of spitting and throwing it everywhere. Even then- he still does both. It is apparently marvelous fun."

"Lux did his business outside." Even on a ship he'd learned how to do that much by the time he'd come to her and so the thought of changing has her trying very hard not to gag. It feels ridiculous to be afraid of holding a baby but all she can think of is what would happen if she dropped him, how terrible it would be, how fragile a baby must be. Still, she puts on a smile. "Maybe in your rooms or ours? When I am sitting. On a soft bed."

If he's so wriggly.

"I didn't know that you and Mia knew one another - will you pass on my regards next time you see her? It's been too long but she's a very busy woman, and now busier still I see." There's affection in her voice; perhaps it's not surprising that Araceli has met Mia Rutherford and holds her in high regard, but the story of their first meeting is a good one. "Well, who can blame him, we have all suffered some of the terrible cooking in Skyhold, isn't that right Lucci?"

Since his hands are on Korrin's horns, Araceli steps up to smile at him, a little less uncertain about the whole thing when she can tease again. What a terrible influence you're unleashing here Zevran.

Korrin knows Mia far less than Araceli does, but anyone who'd assist Zevran in caring for this new bundle of joy (and poop) has her respect. She wrinkles her nose at mention of Lucci's feeding habits, shaking her head. Now part of her wonders if Barrier spells protect against thrown food. "Gross, kid. No wonder your father needs a spa day."

Glancing down to Araceli, her grin returns. "I'd rather not suffer more by wearing it, if it's all the same to you. And I suppose this means we'd have to cover the room in pillows so that he doesn't hurt himself climbing onto or falling off of everything. Maybe Lux can herd him."

"Mia and I share a room." And more, if the softness of his smile and warmth in voice when he speaks of her is anything to go by. There are not words, not properly, for what they are. But they are something to one another, something dear- and that is more than enough for him.

"I shall be pleased to do so." It will be good for her to hear it- she is not often as well appreciated as she should be in his mind. "He does enjoy climbing. And crawling. And- I have devised a little harness with a leash so I do not lose him."

He thought it quite ingenious at the time.

Lucci, for his part, reaches for Araceli with a bright smile, pleased to see someone else that's new. "He has taken to mushed apples quite well, at least. I think they may be his favorite."

Were it anyone else? Araceli would pry. But Mia spoke so kindly when Araceli played cards with her and she was so very homesick that her own smile softens. "She is a very fine lady with such a warm heart." She's glad for Zevran but that's something she can tell him another time, maybe if they get their quiet roof time with her lute again.

"A climber, well he can join me in assessing the lessons. I despair, Lucci, the students that come to me they are a disgrace, I tell you, an utter disgrace," she tells him mock-seriously, nodding as if he surely understands her every word, her eyes so wide so he knows just how grave a matter this is. "You would put them to shame." What better way to seal this future deal that to boop her nose against his very gently? (And well Zevran mentioned a harness, and she carries Lux on her back, perhaps when Lucci is bigger and her hair is secured so he can't grab it she can carry him up a few lower places that he might see the world.)

"If he came to us though, I would of course feed both of you too, I can manage mushed apples and you've never had a proper dinner out of me Zevran and that is a crime."

That they're sharing quarters is more of a surprise and Korrin raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't pry beyond that. Consenting adults and whatnot. Besides, Lucci seems to be benefiting. Mention of a harness and leash has her chuckling, though. "Interesting invention, Zevran. I'm sure my parents would have wanted something like that when I was busy getting into everything." Is there any question that she was a feisty infant herself? Because there shouldn't be.

"She's absolutely right, though, that must be fixed. Why don't we--hey, no, you don't want that in your mouth." Spotting the baby reaching for the dragon tooth hanging from Araceli's neck, she carefully moves it aside, away from tiny grasping hands.

Luciano scowls mightily at the tooth being taken from his chubby little hands- but the kind voice, the nose to nose contact has him giggling in short order. How can he be displeased with pretty ladies smiling at him?

"Perhaps I might start selling it to raise money for the Guild. Good for dogs, cats, and small children." Zevran slips out of the springs himself and finishes drying his hair, not bothering to oil or comb it. Another time, perhaps, for now? Lucci needs to be taken to bed within the hour. "How has such a tragedy come to pass? We must see this fixed. I owe both of you a few Antivan delights as well- and if we need extra hands in the kitchen? The Kestrels take direction easily."

Dragon's teeth are sharp Lucci, you wouldn't want to find out just how sharp, not in your mouth at any rate. How many times did she have to teach Lux not to chew certain things? (Perhaps she can very carefully introduce them, if she bribes Lux, and Zevran makes sure Luciano's hands are soft and gentle since babies can be very grabby.)

"Or for drunkards so they don't get lost on the way home. I would love to cook with the Kestrels, I was telling our new Tal-Vashoth friends about them last time I saw them, I didn't think you would mind. They needed reminding of more poor souls that love spices after I told them the tale of my poor kadan's woe as I fluttered my eyelashes."

Disaster averted, in more than one way, Korrin reaches over to gently ruffle Lucci's hair. She makes certain to keep her own dragon tooth away from his reach, though being significantly taller than either of her companions helps. Sorry, kiddo, though they'll likely get him plenty of real toys to play with.

Araceli's suggestion of using the leash for drunkards is met with an amused snort. "I know a few at the tavern who'd be in regular need of it. You'd be a hit in no time. I can only be drunkard transport for so many people at a time, after all." And that's only if she can trust them not to get sick on her. "Woe, indeed. Only through such heroic efforts have I been spared neverending blandness. And sure, bring the Kestrels. How are they?"

Sure, when she'd met them Korrin hadn't been at all trusting. Sparing them certainly hadn't met with approval then, though in the time that's passed, they've aided the Inquisition and haven't caused any trouble. That's good enough for her to relax her stance.

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[ OPEN ] Se sapessero tutto su di te

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