faderift | (no subject)

(no subject)

WHO: Cyril and Sam
WHAT: Cy doesn't know about Sam's dog form. He thinks he's talking to a stray about something he hasn't shared with anyone.
WHEN: Um, sometime? That fits in? With everything going on... /whistles.
WHERE: Just outside of Skyhold
NOTES: Cy is dumb. Also this gets to be very NSFW towards the end.

Cyril had been pulled away from his stall in the courtyard to help some pilgrims who's cart broke on the road up here. It had broken his routine and gotten him outside of the castle. After everything was settled and the pilgrims were safe inside the walls, he had lingered outside.

He was starting to forget how much he enjoyed not being surrounded by crafted stone. Out here it was cold, and there was snow, and mountains, but he was alone and not cooped up.

He found a nice place that got some decent sunlight and sat. Now that he was completely by himself he pulled a silver ring from deep within his pocket and examined it, turning it over in his hands. This ring had belonged to Sam. Cyril had slipped it off his finger the first night they had met. Usually he'd sell such a thing, but he had kept this one and hadn't told anyone he had it.

Not even Merrick knew about it. Now that he thought no one could see him he could take it out and enjoy the shape of it.

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On nice days like this, where the air was cool and crisp, but the sky was clear, Sam enjoyed venturing outside the walls to practice his shapeshifting. Out here he could practice without being watched or bothered, just focus on the craft.

That and he just liked frolicking through the snow, especially when it was practically up to his chest as a dog. Or better yet, just rolling around in it, feeling the powder cling to his fur and watch as it exploded off him when he shook.

He was doing just that when he eventually picked up a scent and decided to follow it, sneezing from time to time when snow got in his nose. After a time he did find the small patch of sunlit snow and rocks, curiously moving closer to the figure that sat there. Once he was close enough to see who it was, Sam gave a bit of a bark, eagerly trotting over and stopping just short of where Cyril sat.

Cyril was a little surprised by the bark and shot up into a defensive stance until he realized it wasn't an aggressive animal. Slowly, he relaxed and held out his hand. He had quickly slipped the ring over his thumb in case there was a fight and it was still there as he let the dog sniff his hand.

"Hey you," he said softly in a tone meant for animals. "You out here all alone boy?"

Noting that he had surprised Cyril, he doesn't approach right away, not until he can see the elf relax. Only then does he draw closer, tag wagging as he presses his face into the offered hand. Considering this is the first time Sam has met Cyril like this he takes his time to sniff around, taking in the distinct scent that is Cyril that he can only notice like this, as a dog.

At the question he gives a small huff of a bark, more to make an agreeable sound that anything. He could ask the same question, why was Cyril out here? Which he silently does ask in a form of tilting his head and looking at the elf curiously.

Cyril pats the top of the dogs head and chuckles a bit. "Whoa, it's all right boy. I promise I'm friendly." He doesn't have any food to offer so he'll settle with rubs.

He pets the dog a couple moments longer, taking in how well his fur is tended. He thinks that probably means the dog has an owner who might be looking for him. After a moment, he sits again.

"If someone is looking for you, you can stay with me." He doesn't think the dog understands him, but he still speaks to him as if he does. He knows most dogs are pretty smart. As he sits he gestures for the dog to settle with him and then pulls the ring off his thumb. Idly, he toys with it, moving it from finger to finger as he pats the dog with his free hand.

He might be enjoying the attention a bit too much, making small happy noises as Cyril runs his fingers through his fur. Especially that spot near his ear. It's enough to dissuade him from coming clean right away that he isn't a dog - just a bit more rubs then he'll do it.

Taking the offer, Sam lays out across the snow within Cyril's reach, enjoying the coolness under his fur, the sun, and fingers combing through his hair. After a moment though he does notice something when it reflects in the sun, tilting his head back and giving a whine in its direction.

What did Cyril have?

Cyril notices the dog whining at his hand. "Oh sorry, did this gleam in your eyes?" he asks. "It's a ring. Not a chew toy." He holds it up for the dog to see. "See? Not a treat."

Then, after a moment, "I took it from someone I care about. Pretty pathetic right?" He asks, a bit of self deprecation in his tone.

Well it kind of did, but it hadn't bothered him that much. The comments about it not being a treat or a chew toy has him giving a little bit of a huff, tail thumping against the ground. Cyril really was too cute sometimes.

Hearing that it was from someone he cared about does slow the wagging a bit. Was it from someone in his clan? Merrick? Though it didn't seem too much like something Merrick would wear. In a comforting motion, Sam scoots to lay his head and a paw in Cyril's lap, looking up at him just a bit. Did it convey that it wasn't a pathetic action? Who knows.

Cyril chuckles a bit. "I promise it's not a treat for dogs," he says, misunderstanding the paw on his leg. To prove it, he holds up the ring to give the dog a better view of it. "See? It's just a ring."

Being offered to look, Sam obviously leans forward to sniff at it. Smelled of metal and Cyril, so clearly it's been on him for a while. Once more he looks up at the elf, head tilting ever so slightly as his tongue lolls out, giving him a goofy grin.

Cyril chuckles a bit and slips the ring onto his thumb and scratches the dog's ears. "I stole it, actually," he admits. "I hope you don't judge me too harshly. I slept with the guy who owned it and then took it because I thought I'd never see him again and now..." He sighs a bit. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. You'll probably think terribly of me." He looked over to the side for a moment.

"Now I am in way too deep."

He wasn't sure why he was telling a dog all of it. Probably to get some of it off his chest. He hadn't expressed these thoughts to anyone.

The tongue is back in at the mention of 'stealing', perhaps about to give a bit of a scolding huff for doing so, but Cyril asking to not be judged too harshly and then hearing the reason for doing so...

Sam finds himself whining a bit and placing his head in Cyril's lap a bit more firmly. That was actually a bit sad. A past lover perhaps, and it was now bringing up issues with a current one? It's a bit clear that something is going on with Taas, though it seemed a bit weird. Both Cyril and him seemed rather... carefree - perhaps not quite the word - on relationships.

Whatever it was it was obviously something he couldn't talk to him as a human even if they've both said they would be around if the other needed to talk.

Cyril smiles a bit at the dog and strokes his head gently with his fingers. "I only really have myself to blame. I told Sam I just wanted to be friends because I was scared of hurting him, at least now he's having fun with other people. I'd hate for him to be lonely." Then, after a moment, "You know if you end up being alone I might take you home and convince him to take care of you. He's Ferelden. That means he's bound to love dogs."

Him?

He makes a bit of a noise, one of confusion, when he hears his name, tilting his head ever so slightly in Cyril's grasp. Cyril mentioning that he would pawn a dog off on him would have been amusing, but his mind was still processing the other bit that had been mentioned.

Cyril told him he just wanted to be friends because he was worried about hurting him? Was it because he was a dog that he wasn't getting it? He makes another noise as he pulls his head away and looks off for a moment to process the information.

Edited 2016-07-20 21:58 (UTC)

The sound of confusion makes Cyril chuckle a bit. He reaches out and scratches Sam's ears a bit. "I know, I shouldn't be telling you all of this. You don't need to hear about me pining after someone." He grins a bit at the dog. "Especially not at our first meeting."

Then, after a moment, "I probably should find your owner, shouldn't I? Are they human? Or an elf? Maybe a qunari?"

He enjoys being scratched behind the ears, but it's hard to even pay it any mind when Cyril's words were spiraling in his head. All the flirting, touching, and teasing and just enduring it, keeping it platonic, because he thought he wasn't wanted that way.

Course this wasn't something he was supposed to know, this was a secret, and here he was just letting Cyril tell it because of his own curiosity. Sam's ears flatten guiltily at that idea, giving a small whine as well. What was he supposed to do with something like this? It would be hard to just pretend not knowing anything, especially when Cyril came over to spend time, but the other option...

Sam gives a sigh, or as close to one as he can as a dog, before pulling away and walking off a bit. Once he feels he has enough space he sits down, a cloud of black magical smoke surrounding him for a few moments, then dissipating in the wind. He gives another sigh once he's himself again, not turning around from where he's sitting, not quite wanting to see the look on Cyril's face when it all clicks.

Cyril watches the dog move away with a soft 'hey!' before getting up to follow. The smoke, though, that makes him freeze. He's seen it before - Pel has changed into a wolf and back in front of him. When he sees the form that rises from it he feels as if there is a weird grip on his chest. It's almost like the world is crumbling around him.

"Sam?" he asks after a moment. "You didn't..." He hurries to get a grip, to control the way his heart is hammering. "You didn't mention you were a shapeshifter." Then, a soft chuckle as if none of this is a big deal. "You might have mentioned it before."

At hearing his name Sam turns his head slightly, not enough to see anything, just enough so that his ear was more in Cyril's direction as he talked. He sounded... like he always did, which was possibly worse then the elf just getting mad? Either way Sam felt an odd twisting in the pit of his stomach.

"I-" Sam pauses, biting his lip a bit. "I thought it would be amusing to surprise you..." Not like this - he hadn't known something like this would happen. Honestly he had assumed that others, like Ellana, would have brought it with Cyril. Certainly he had time to do so during the many times Cyril came to just cuddle, but during those times conversation was usually else where.

Sam makes a noise as if he's going to say something then stops, then tries again. "... I had assumed I lost that ring..." Not what he was going to say originally, but it seemed like a good place to begin talking about this.

Cyril wants to laugh and pretend like he had no idea what Sam was saying. What ring? he considers saying, but that would just make him seem all the more pathetic. Instead he tilts his head a bit to try and see more of Sam, and then inches a little closer. "Well, haven't you heard a thing about the Dalish?" he asks. "We'll rob you blind. You really should be more careful." He manages to sound so casual, so at ease, when he feels like his stomach is twisted up in knots.

He comes closer and holds it out. "Here," he says, offering the ring back to Sam. His heart feels like it's stuck in his throat. "It was pretty silly of me to take it."

"Last I checked I was able to see." It's a terrible joking response, but it's so easy to fall into the humor with how casual Cyril sounds. Taking his ring hardly counted as robbing him blind, and he supposes that this was better than having just lost it.

Sam doesn't move when he hears Cyril move closer, but at hearing 'here' he cannot help but look more fully over his shoulder. At first his gaze is pointed upwards to looks Cyril more fully in the face before his eyes are drawn to the hand being held out to him.

The offering only has Sam's eyes saddening a bit, though he doesn't go to reach for it. "I... don't think it's silly." A pause. "Why did... do you think you would have hurt me?"

Cyril keeps his hand outstretched for a while longer and then pulls it back once it's clear that Sam isn't going to take it. He honestly feels relieved to still have it and the ring disappears into his pocket where it had been most of the time since the night they had met. After a moment he considers the question and tries to word things well.

He still feels like the world is rushing around him, like his head and heart are too full and too large, but he manages to talk. Sam deserves to talk.

"You..." he starts, and then stops. "You deserve happiness, Sam. I mean it when I say that. You're beautiful, and thoughtful, and so sincere. You try to make everyone around you feel at ease. You strive to make the world better in any way that you can. You deserve someone who can be as devoted you as they are to anything. You deserve a lover who can be tied to you and who will never stray or look elsewhere." A pause. He had thought that Sam had had that and it had been a heartbreaking relief. "I can't do that. I'm not that sort of man. If I had tried to be with you, I would have ended up breaking your heart in two. I don't know if I could have lived with that."

He stays facing Cyril as he talks, though at times his eyes to move to look at nothing in particular, still intently listening but also in thought.

"So you're saying that... since you cannot be tied down that means you couldn't be a devoted lover? And I couldn't be happy because of that?" It certainly had been nice when he had found someone to have that kind of relationship Cyril was speaking about - even if it had been short - but he didn't find himself any less happy with one he had now. It wasn't a Relationship, they were free to be with other people, but he wouldn't say James wasn't a devoted lover because of it.

Maybe that's why he can understand where Cyril was coming from, but equally confused by it. "... Are you happy? So far you've been saying about me, but I don't see myself as unhappy." Well maybe now considering he was hearing about this.

Cyril seems a little surprised by that question and then he covers up that emotion with a shrug. "I have moments of happiness," he responds after a bit of thought. "I enjoy being with you, for instance." Maybe not right this moment when he felt embarrassed and exposed, but in general Sam did make him feel happy, or at least content.

"I'm not certain that anything will make me feel happy forever."

"If you enjoy with me then why can't you be with me?" There's a pause before Sam sighs once more and purses his lips, brows scrunching in thought, figuring how to make that a bit more clear. Cyril already told him 'why', but the reasoning had been at the beginning and they've both changed some since then.

If this had been some other secret, Sam could have easily just up and walked away to give Cyril his space, he could tell Cyril wasn't exactly comfortable right now - a bit too stiff even if his whole manner was calm. This though? It was hard to just walk away. Pretending he didn't hear would have driven him nuts. Getting up and walking away now... that would certainly do damage.

"I'm not trying to push you into anything, Cyril. I'm just well aware of taking happiness where you can get it. I l- really like being with you, and I don't see why you wanting to be with others as well has to stop that from happening."

Cyril's eyes narrowed a bit as Sam spoke. For a moment, he thought he ought to check that this was a dream or something else like that. The whole event felt so weird and distant, like he was watching it from somewhere else instead of inside his own skin.

He looked down at the snow and slid his foot over it for a moment, making a streak to give himself something to do. "If you're all right with that then don't see any reason why that would stop us..." he says, finally. His voice is more thoughtful than serious. He still wasn't sure this was real.

Well things were certainly odd and unusual, he hadn't expected today to go in this direction in the slightest. Sam is quiet for a time, watching as Cyril looks at him then to the snow, listening to it shift with his movements.

The tone of Cyril's voice has him turning slightly more in his spot to look at him better. "You don't sound quite that sure," he says a bit teasingly, trying to smile just a bit, feeling just as awkward with all this. "Think that might be a first."