3263 réponses à ce sujet

[Mahumia]

Lovely story Sarah. I like the way you're portraiting Thomas. I have a similar view of him for a yet-to-attempt-fanfic.


<late edit because I slack and only just notice that it's ToP... some Louvette nomnom ^^>

Modifié par Mahumia, 06 octobre 2010 - 08:23 .

[Mahumia]

Sorry for threadkilling


They walked around in Amaranthine, restoring some supplies before heading back to the Vigil. Sigrun ran back and forth between the stalls, followed by Anders and the Commander. He just followed them, to deep in thoughts to actually pay attention. 'Delilah will be due in Spring... she'll be a mother... and that will make me an uncle... 'Uncle Nathaniel'... ugh no, that sounds horrible... 'Uncle Nate'... Better.'

"Nathaniel?" He looked up and noticed that she looked at him. "Pardon, did you say something?" She smiled: "Do you need anything?" He shook his head as he glanced through the wares of herbs and poultrices in front of them. "Nothing that they can provide me here, m'lady." She nodded and turned around to discuss the price for the products the others had chosen. His thoughts drifted away again.

'Bottles? Na, the little one will drink from the breast for a while... It's all such a miracle... She looked so satisfied, so fullfilled... How did Mother look again when she was expecting Delilah? Tired.. sad... yes... She didn't have the same look in her eyes as Delilah has now. No, she fought frequently with Father... did they even love each other? No... at least not anymore, if they ever did.'

He bumped into something. The noise got him out of his thoughts again. It took him a couple of seconds to realise that the noise came from a small child that had fallen down and was crying. "Oh, I'm sorry, I..." He began, but the Commander had already picked up the toddler. "O dear, didn't the big man watch were he was walking, little boy?" She winked at Nathaniel as she petted the kids head.  "I am not little." The kid sobbed. "Of course not, how stupid of me! You're a big and brave boy." She smiled at the boy as she examined his elbow, which was skinned a bit. "Shall we ask this silly man in his robe if he can threat your war injuries then?" The boy started to suck on his thumb as he looked at Anders with big blue eyes. Anders wiggled his fingers and a blue light emerged from his fingertips. The boy looked fascinated at Anders hands as the healing effects started to work.
The Commander mouthed a 'thank you'  to Anders. "So, big veteran, I think it's about time to retire? Where is your mother?"

The words had barely left her lips when a woman ran over.  "Timmy, is that you?" Her worried look changed to relief when the boy turned his gaze to her. "O thank the Maker, there you are!" "Mummy!" The small arms reached out to her. The Commander handed the child over to his mother. The boy wrapped his arms around his mothers neck, as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on his hair. "I'm so glad you found him. He keeps running away lately. I hope Timmy hasn't been a trouble?" She looked back and forth between the Grey Wardens. The Commander smiled and waved her hands. "Not at all, I'm glad he's safe and sound back in your arms." The woman curtsied a bit and walked off after thanking each one of them again. The Commander followed the pair till they were out of sight, before turning around and joining the others.

'And she? What must it be like for her to know that she'll never carry her own child in her arms? Poor thing... she'd deserve it. She would be good mother. The Couslands were a warm nest... so unlike the Howes used to be.' He shook his head as he watched her on the way back to the Vigil.

[Sarah1281]

@Mahumia: Aw, that was sweet and the ending was sad.

[Avilia]

@Mahumia - lovely

[Melca36]

Angry Nate





They are still unsure whether they could trust eachother in the screenie

[Mahumia]

Thanks Sarah and Avillia ^^ I just had to have a try at the prompt XD

And angry Nate is hawt XD

Modifié par Mahumia, 07 octobre 2010 - 08:05 .

[Sarah1281]

So tomorrow's Addai's turn.

[Addai]

Sarah1281 wrote...

So tomorrow's Addai's turn.

Oh crikey!  Is it?  Alright, let me get my act together.  I've been laying down on my Nate responsibilities.

[Addai]

Ok, so to recap, so far we've had

Nose
Relations
Conspiracy
Mother

Did I miss any?

And this week's prompt is:  Little boy dreams.

[Mahumia]

Vigils Keep, about 15 years before the Blight

"You'll be leaving? But I don't want you to leave!" The boy pouted at him. Nathaniel, still a boy himself, kneeled in front of his little brother. "Yes, I'll be leaving Thomas. I'll be a squire in another country: the Free Marches." "Why?" "Because I will learn how to be a good ruler, and how to fight. Father said that I would make him proud if I leave now. That one day I might become the Arl in his place." The boy stared at him: "Do you want that?" Nathaniel nodded: "Yes. I would like to be like father.... And what would you want to be when you're grown up?" Thomas looked up at the ceiling and pondered: "I want to be a hero, like Logh.. Ligh... the hero of River Dane." Nathaniel smiled and gave his little brother a hug. "That is quite a goal. But if you want something..." "You'll have to work for it." Thomas complemented him. "You've been paying attention at fathers words. That's a good thing, Thomas." He placed his hand on the little boy his shoulder. "You'll have to act in order to achieve something. But you can do that, you're a big boy." "Just like you, Nate." The boy wrapped his arms around Nathaniels neck. "Thank you... and look after Delilah for me, will you? You're the big brother now." The boy nodded as Nathaniel stood up and made his way to the gates of the Keep.

<Took me less then an hour, but I didn't want to make it a long story XD... and hope I won't kill the threat for once >

Modifié par Mahumia, 08 octobre 2010 - 08:04 .

[jenncgf]

Yay, prompt fills!

Mahumia, short is good I like both last and this week's prompts.

Addai, nice prompt! I'm looking forward to coming up with something for it!

Modifié par jenncgf, 08 octobre 2010 - 08:36 .

[Addai]

Awww, that was sweet. Too bad about Thomas, really.

[Lady_Scarlett]

Addai67 wrote...

Ok, so to recap, so far we've had

Nose
Relations
Conspiracy
Mother

Did I miss any?

And this week's prompt is:  Little boy dreams.

... You know, I'm scared.

I'm scared what my mind is going to do with that... It's like a front door being thrown open and unguarded...
Excuse me-- I will be doing this prompt.

[Mahumia]

Thanks Jenn and Addai.



I'm just curious about Thomas actually, since he's the only sibling who's mentioned, but never shown or really described (apart from being a drunk later on). And since I'm having too much time to think lately (painting walls, cleaning chambers, packing stuff etc), I keep wondering about those kind of things.



And Lady Scarlett... bring it on!

[Sarah1281]

Okay, here's mine.


Nathaniel Howe slowly crept around the corner and towards his father’s study. Adria had put him to bed quite some time ago but he was far too excited to sleep. His father had been away in Denerim for half the winter and they had received a messenger saying that he would be back to Vigil’s Keep that very night! How could he possibly sleep when he was going to be able to see his father for the first time in weeks? If he was caught, he’d get in trouble and be sent straight back to bed but he was just going to have to risk it.
 
Thomas and Delilah were already asleep, of course. Delilah had been  all boring and insisted ‘the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we’ll wake up and see that father’s returned’ so she hadn’t been interested in staying up to wait. Thomas had been but he was still just a baby, really, and so hadn’t been able to stay awake for very long. Nathaniel thought Thomas had actually fallen asleep before Delilah and she wasn’t even trying to stay up. Their mother wasn’t treating this as if it was anything special but, well, mother’s tended to be weird like that.
 
The light was on in the study. No one went into his father’s study when he wasn’t there which meant that he was home after all! As Nathaniel inched open the door, it occurred to him that his father might not be pleased to see him up so late either. He was supposed to listen to Adria, after all, and he hadn’t done that tonight. Either way, he hadn’t come all this way to turn back now.
 
Sure enough, Rendon Howe was sitting at his desk and writing a letter. He looked up when Nathaniel came in. “Ah, Nathaniel. What are you doing up so late?”
 
Part of Nathaniel wanted nothing more than to run to his father and give him the biggest hug he could but he didn’t because he was a Howe and that wasn’t how Howes behaved. Instead, he just moved closer to the desk and replied, “I wanted to see you.”
 
A small smile stole over the Arl’s face. “Is that so? While I appreciate the sentiment, you really should get to bed. It’s far too late for someone your age to be up.”
 
“I’m not tired, honest!” Nathaniel claimed earnestly. His words were quickly belied by the yawn he couldn’t quite manage to suppress, however.
 
Rendon chuckled. “I see. Do you think a story would help you get to sleep?”
 
Nathaniel’s eyes lit up. He loved his father’s stories. “Oh, definitely,” he agreed, trying not to sound too eager.
 
“Okay, let’s see…what haven’t I told you before…I’ve told you a little about the rebellion, I know, and about King Calenhad,” Rendon mused. “Have I told you about the Blackmarsh?”
 
Nathaniel shook his head. “What’s that?”
 
“I haven’t? It’s on our very land, you know. The Blackmarsh used to be a fairly prosperous village but not too long before Queen Moira took over the rebellion, everyone in it mysteriously died,” Rendon told him.
 
Nathaniel’s eyes went wide. “What happened?”
 
“No one really knows,” Rendon said conspiratorially. “Everyone who happened to be in the village at the time all died and those who went to investigate afterwards claimed that they saw monsters in the village. It doesn’t really matter if that was true or not, because the rumors combined with the mysterious massacre were enough to ensure that nobody wanted to go near the land. Most people think it’s cursed.”
 
“Do you think it’s cursed?” Nathaniel asked, his eyes growing wider.
 
“I don’t believe in curses,” Rendon replied calmly.
 
“So what do you think happened?” Nathaniel pressed.
 
Rendon frowned. “I haven’t put much thought into it but this was shortly after an Orlesian baroness took over ruling the Blackmarsh. I don’t like to think of myself as overly paranoid but it wouldn’t be the first time during the occupation that the Orlesians committed such an atrocity. Why do you think so many joined the rebellion, even knowing what it might cost them?”
 
“Your grandfather didn’t join the rebellion,” Nathaniel pointed out. He didn’t mention his own grandfather, of course. Nobody mentioned Padric Howe around Rendon.
 
A shadow passed over Rendon’s face. “No…no, he did not. My grandfather was a very old man, Nathaniel. He had been alive back before the occupation even began. He remembered what it was like when the Orlesians first took over and I think that he just couldn’t let go of the past. He was a bit old to be a rebel, anyway.”
 
Nathaniel didn’t like to see his father upset and so he quickly changed the subject. “So many bad things happened and no one seems to know why or how to fix them. When I grow up, I’m going to fix it. One day, I’ll go to the Blackmarsh and I’ll set things right.”
 
Rendon chuckled. “Will you? And how do you think you’re going to do that?”
 
Nathaniel thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to go there to see what’s wrong with it first. And I should probably bring a sword in case there really are monsters there.”
 
“That’s always a good idea,” Rendon agreed. “Although be careful: you never know just what form the monster might take. It could look like one of the servants, one of your friends, your family members…”
 
“Even you?” Nathaniel asked, feeling a little disturbed by the notion that monsters could be everywhere.
 
Rendon looked surprised at the question. “Yes, even me, I suppose. That makes it all the more important that you go set things right one day, doesn’t it?”
 
As Nathaniel made his way back to bed, he couldn’t help but grin. There was still so much wrong with the world but one day…one day his little boy dreams would become grown-up heroics. He was sure of it. And wouldn’t his father be pleased then?

[Sarah1281]

@Mahumia: Congrats on not killing the thread.

That was nice, short, and to the point while still managing to be very sad given what he know happens to him. I guess Nathaniel's living Thomas's dreams, huh? 

[jenncgf]

Sarah, great prompt fill. I like the bit at the end where Nathaniel says, "even you?" It's like Arl Foreshadow is in the room!

[Addai]

Aww... 

I just knew that little Nate would make me  and .

[Avilia]

@Sarah - that was lovely. A bit of humanity from Howe and as Jenn said, Arl Foreshadow hanging about.

[Avilia]

A bit of silliness for my prompt fill.  Just for a change it isn't all mooshy and doesn't really have a point..as such.


"Does that usually work for you?"

Once the last tainted wolf was dead, Nate tucked his bow away. "Does what usually work for me, Anders?"

"That 'my father told me stories' line. Oh, don't get me wrong, I liked it, unusual approach. I just wondered if it worked."

"It wasn't a line, it was the truth." It was an effort not to laugh when the mage nodded seriously. Did the man think about nothing but bedding the next available female?

"The truth. I see." He must remember that. "Interesting."

"Stop lolly gagging you two, there's darkspawn to kill!" Oghren shouldered his axe and made to follow the Commander. "Move it."

"Who died and left him in charge, do you think?"

"It might be a dwarf thing, you know, boss everyone around to make up for the lack of height. And in his case, the smell." Anders grinned when Howe laughed. "Now, tell me about this line of yours."

"I see the Commander waving at us. Perhaps later might be better?"

"Waving at me you mean." Brushing at the wolf blood covering his robe and face, Anders lifted his chin. "How could she resist?"

"How indeed." Nate followed the mage, still smiling. This was going to be an interesting trip.

. . .

"Right." Anders plonked himself down opposite Howe. "Tell me all."

"All what?" For someone he'd met only days ago, the mage seemed to have decided they were best friends.

"That line of yours. Stories about the Blackmarsh." Trying not to appear too eager, Anders took a bite of his stew.

"Stories?"

"You know, the Baroness, haunted marsh, creepy dead things. Tell me."

"You want me to tell you a story?" He gathered from the nod that the answer was yes. "Aren't you a little old for stories?"

"You're never too old for a good story. A good story, told well, is like reading a well written book. Only without the need to actually read."

"I see. A book you listen to?" He might be a little, frivolous, but Anders was certainly entertaining. "My nanny used to tell me bed time stories."

"Those are the best kind of stories." Eyes half closed he thought about it. "A woman's voice whispering to you in the dark."

"Ah. Not quite, but yes, they are the best kind." It seemed a long time since he'd heard a woman whispering to him in the dark. It would probably be a long time until he did again. "Adria's stories were always fun and full of romance. My father told me the dark frightening kind. With demons and darkspawn."

"And the Blackmarsh?"

"And the Blackmarsh." Anders nodded encouragingly, so he finally gave in. "Very well." After a mouthful of Ale to clear his throat, he took a breath.

"Once, long ago there was a village...."

. . .

Lilibeth walked into the dining room and stopped, staring in surprise. Not at her two new wardens, sitting together, eating, but at the clutch of females surrounding them. All seemingly mesmerised by something Nathaniel was saying.

Moving slowly she approached, hoping not to be noticed.

"And I wanted to go there and find out what happened."

"Oh that's so cute, isn't that cute?"

When the servant who'd spoken sighed and looked a bit dazed, Lilibeth shook her head. Women, they could be so silly at times.

"You did go didn't you? And you fixed it." Impressed with the effects of his vague idea, Anders prodded Howe to continue.

"Helped fix it, yes. It was nice to fulfil my childhood dreams."

Oh, wasn't that sweet? Lilibeth, sat in an empty seat nearby to listen.

"What other stories do you know?"

Nate glanced at the woman who'd spoken, the young guard who watched the front gate. "There was one about the Wending Wood. But its getting late, isn't it. We should."

"Oh, tell us, please. Just one more. Please." Her plea was echoed by the other women and he sighed.

"Very well, one more."

[Avilia]

@Mahumia - that was sweet.

[Sarah1281]

@Avilia: I love how Lilibeth went from 'oh, they're being silly' to 'oh, that's so sweet!' in literally two lines. It's really too bad that ISN'T a line because Anders is probably onto something with that.

[Addai]

@Avilia, you have my number. LOL Very nice.

[Avilia]

Thanks guys I must admit I was inspired by comments about that convo in this very thread. There is something extremely appealing about it.

[Lady_Scarlett]

...

*Weighing options*
...

A pound of salt or a pound of feathers?
A pound of salt could get me into trouble...
A pound of feathers could be considered cheating...
A pound of salt repels demons-- wait, no Supernatural crap, even if it's on right now, Scarlett...
A pound of feathers is really squishy-- but I'm not going for squishy...

Hmm... I need to decide if I'm going to behave or not with mine... 'cause I have two ideas and I have them both written/about finished being written...

Anyway, I like what's up so far! It made me smile.

Modifié par Lady_Scarlett, 09 octobre 2010 - 04:42 .