Fenris (idonotbrood) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-07-26 22:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | !network post, cora amell, fenris |
Who: Cora Amell & Leto (Fenris)
When: July 26, first thing in the morning
Where: The Escargot, Paris
What: I think everyone would really like it if the tesseract kept its fun effects to the Tower. Really.
Rating: PG
Leto did not know where he was. He’d woken up alone in a strange place that did not look at all like any house or warehouse or building that Danarius owned. His sister and mother were nowhere to be seen. The clothes he was wearing were far too big for him, made for an adult, not him. The only thing that he could see when he woke up that was at all familiar was the huge sword that was lying next to him and that was only because it was a sword. He’d never actually seen it before. He whimpered a little as panic rose in him. He’d gone to sleep last night in the tiny room he shared with his mother and sister and he didn’t know how he could have ended up here. Had... had Danarius sold him? Surely he wouldn’t have? He hadn’t done anything wrong lately and his mother had always told him that Danarius wouldn’t get rid of anything or anyone he might be able to use and thus they were safe. His mother couldn’t have been wrong about that, could she? It was the sound of voices in the corridor outside that got him moving. He discarded the trousers he was tangled up in immediately. They were too big and he’d only trip over them. Besides the shirt was long enough to cover him almost to his knees. He grabbed the hilt of the sword, somehow not wanting to leave it behind, and dragged it over to the corner of the room. There was an odd-looking table there and he ducked under it, curling up in the corner and doing his best to hide. He didn’t know where he was but he was sure he shouldn’t be here and that frightened him. If that was Danarius coming, he was going to be angry. Leto hadn’t often made Danarius angry but he’d seen others who had. His master could be a cruel man when he was angered. Even if it wasn’t Danarius, it was surely going to be someone who wouldn’t be happy to find him here. If he could just hide and not be seen, he could get out of here and try and find Danarius’ estate and his family. Then everything would be okay again. There were wounds to heal, prisoners to interrogate, but the most immediate thought in Cora’s mind was breakfast. After all they had done in the past few weeks, breakfast seemed a reasonable enough thing to focus on. And despite the lack of alcohol the fact that Fenris still seemed to have holed himself away somewhere was not lost on Cora. Having watched him in battle and knowing his own reaction to her magic she could not help but think that the foolish man had been injured and had taken to hiding to lick his wounds rather than simply let her tend to them. In part she recognized his fear. Even the kindest templar was still a jailer. Her dear, sweet Cullen had called her a demon last they saw each other. Masters were just as cruel if not more so. Still his fear, rational or not, was not about to have her let him leave himself prone to infection. Instead she had taken to opening doors and popping her head in. “Fenris?” She sighed as she came upon the latest one, clicking on the switch. “Fenris, you are very lucky I didn’t drag the mabari all the way here.” There was... someone here. Cora’s magic was tuned to the energy that people gave off in life and death. The battle was far too fresh for her to ignore a small pull of energy from some living thing nearby. HYDRA was still a possibility, despite the success of their incursion. With a flare of power Cora focused in case an attack was necessary. “Whoever you are, I recommend you show yourself now.” Her voice was wary but stern as cold air began to swirl around her hands. Leto scrunched further back when he heard the woman speak. Mabari? They were the dogs the Fereldans had. He’d never seen one but he’d overheard Danarius talking to one of his friends about them. Apparently they didn’t much like Tevinter magisters. Leto had no idea whether that was true or whether they’d been joking but he hoped it was. Mabari were supposed to be smart and he liked the idea of a dog that was smart enough to hate the magisters. Then he felt the stir of magic. Growing up in a magister’s house meant he was very familiar with the feeling, like spiders crawling across his skin. That meant the woman was a mage! A magister maybe? Fear shuddered through him. There were supposed to be magisters who weren’t... like Danarius but he’d never met one. All of Danarius’ friends were just like him. Or worse. But the obedience that been ingrained in him from the moment he could understand kicked in when the mage issued an order. You did not disobey orders from a mage. That was the first rule any slave in the Imperium learned. He crawled out from under the table, shoving the sword with him but not picking it up. He stood up and tried not to show how afraid he was but his trembling surely gave him away. “I am here, Mistress,” he said, his voice wavering a little on the title. He kept his eyes firmly on the floor in front of his feet. A slave did not look his master or mistress in the eyes. There was a... child. The shock of that was enough to cause Cora’s magic to instantly dissipate as she attempted to process just what was in front of her. Because that was not a human child and therefore not someone that HYDRA had somehow been holding here. Which was a terrifying thought on its own. But the features were distinctly elven and that was a race that didn’t exist here. She didn’t sense any strange magic here but Cora had found that in this world that meant nothing. The sword was unmistakable though. No one but Fenris carried such a monstrosity. Even Sten’s had looked less massive, though likely because the Qunari had been twice the elf’s size. With the ease of practice Cora forced the tension out of her shoulders. Crouching down closer to his height, Cora attempted to make herself seem as small as possible. That distinct dropping fear of a templar finding her where she shouldn’t be was not so long ago that she didn’t remember just how it gripped her stomach. Before the wardens it was the only life she had truly known. Any templar was a threat, and likely that was all she seemed at the moment to this small boy. “Are you hurt?” she asked, pitching her voice soft as she held out a hand gently towards him. “You had me worried, I thought you were a soldier.” When the mage crouched down and spoke so softly, Leto’s eyes flickered up in shock before he quickly lowered his gaze again. His mother was always scolding him for looking and those few occasions he’d drawn Danarius’ ire had been because he’d been watching what the magister was doing. He knew he had to learn to keep his gaze down but... The mage was being... kind. Mages were not kind to slaves and certainly no mage in Danarius’ house had ever asked after a slave’s welfare. It... just didn’t make sense. But he had been asked a question by the mage and he must answer. “No, Mistress,” he said. He neither moved towards nor away from her outstretched hand. He honestly didn’t know what she meant by it. Was it to be a gesture of comfort, like his mother or sister might give him, or was it a prelude to a blow or a spell? He didn’t know but suspected the latter. “There are no soldiers here, Mistress. Only... me.” There were a hundred questions he wanted to ask but he knew he could not. If the mage wanted him to know something, she would tell him. “That’s good.” she said with a small hint of a smile as she went for a loud whisper. The ensuing months in New York had done a bit to ease her accent but she liked to still think that she sounded like she was from Ferelden. She had not met many people from Tevinter but they had their own distinct lilt. Not that it could counteract her magic, but it was the small details that would play into a larger lie that had enough truth to it. “They don’t know I’m here.” He couldn’t just stay in this small room, not with everything else that was going on around the base. This would have been far simpler if Monty had been the one to find him. This in general seemed far more something he would be able to handle instead of her. Even better would have been if she had Alistair with her, he always seemed to just put people at ease. The closest she had really ever gotten were those children in Redcliffe. Still she was in this mess now. Which meant she had to explain who she was. “Do you know what a Grey Warden is?” she asked, tilted her head slightly. Most children heard stories but Cora had no idea what they would tell slaves in Tevinter. Leto risked another glance at the mage. She didn’t seem to be angry that he was here but was she hiding from the soldiers she’d been talking about? That might be why she wasn’t angry. She sounded a bit strange too. Her voice didn’t sound like everyone else’s that he knew. Was she not from Tevinter? Maybe but it didn’t really matter. He frowned at her question and looked up from the floor. Grey Wardens? He’d heard of them. He’d been serving wine one evening when Danarius had been discussing the Darkspawn with some other magisters. He hadn’t understood a lot of it but they’d spoken of Blights and the Deep Roads and other frightening things. And they’d mentioned the Grey Wardens. Rather disparagingly too. Which made Leto want to like them. Anything the Danarius and his friends disliked had to be good. “The Grey Wardens... fight the Darkspawn,” he said quietly. Cora’s smile brightened for a moment. That was something she could work with. The wardens were respected even if they inspired fear and distrust in some. And that gave her something that was not simply being a mage confronting him in a room to work with. “Yes, we fight the Darkspawn. As a warden, I’m sworn to protect anyone from them.” It was mostly true. Cora had a tendency to play a bit loose with the definitions of her role. Such as technically not being involved with the politics of sovereign nations. However it did seem that there was a habit for those politics to become her business in relation to the Darkspawn. She finally let her hand drop, instead resting her arms on her knees as she watched him. “You’re not a darkspawn, are you?” she teased gently. She was a Grey Warden? His curiosity overcame his training and Leto finally raised his head properly to look at her. He wasn’t sure whether he was disappointed or relieved that she looked, well, normal. Surely a Grey Warden who fought the Darkspawn should look... He didn’t really know what they ought to look like. But there wasn’t really anything to tell her apart from any other mage. Which wasn’t the most comforting of thoughts. He smiled a little at her question and shook his head. “No, I’m an elf. I belong to the Magister Danarius.” When he smiled just that little bit Cora’s entire face brightened. There were memories in her mind of when she had first met Jowan, being so scared and young. The circle was nothing but pure terror. And he had come up to her with his silly jokes and false confidence and somehow had made the prison seem a little less dire. She imagined that little Cora had looked not all that different, albeit quite a bit haughtier. “That settles it then, doesn’t it? If you’re not a Darkspawn, I have to protect you. It’s my duty as a Warden.” Which was as true as anything she could possibly say. The Wardens protected the innocent when it came to the blight. Granted the world was far more complicated than that pure truth and there were so many different ways to describe an innocent. But for now it held. “My name’s Cora. Can I have your name?” Leto’s eyes widened and he looked a little dubious. A mage, even a Grey Warden mage, protecting him? That was new and he found it hard to believe. The two different concepts - Grey Warden and mage - warred with each other in his mind. The stories he’d been told said that mages in other countries weren’t like the Tevinter mages. They were still mages, still dangerous, but they weren’t... well, they weren’t like the magisters. So maybe she really meant it? It would explain why Danarius had sneered at the Grey Wardens. “Leto,” he said quietly. “My name is Leto.” “Leto. That’s a strong name.” Whatever magic was at play here, the boy must be starving. Keeping him in this room would be entirely pointless. A slave with more fear than trust in his world was not someone she wanted someone else happening upon. He seemed to at least be beginning to put some level of trust in her. While likely she could simply order him as a mage, that sort of power was not one she wanted to wield against children or the powerless. “My wardens and I have taken this estate.” she explained, choosing her words carefully. HYDRA might as well be the darkspawn in her opinion, the architect certainly would be at home with these idiots. “Do you wish to join us for breakfast?” Leto’s stomach growled at the mention of breakfast but the word ‘estate’ reminded him that wherever he was, it wasn’t where he was supposed to be. And if he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, he was going to be in so much trouble. He was really hungry though. Danarius didn’t let them go hungry and his mother always slipped him extra food, claiming a growing boy needed to eat but he did always seem to be hungry. “I... I would like that but...” He bit his lip and a fearful expression started to grow on his face. “I really have to get back home. The Master will be so angry if I’m not where I should be.” He stiffened and looked down at his feet again. “Unless... unless he sold me to you?” He got a sinking feeling in his chest at the very thought. It didn’t seem right. Danarius wasn’t really the type to sell any of his possessions, everyone said so, but... it might have happened. He bit his lip again in an effort to stop it from wobbling at the thought of never seeing his mother and sister again. If this mage... Warden was his new Mistress, she wouldn’t like a crying slave. The urge to harm someone rose at that idea. To think that she would buy anyone, to put them through what she had gone through and more. Cora had gathered a reputation for being an executioner and it was people who treated others as things that earned that dark ire. But she kept her face controlled, the anger held back. “I don’t know the master of this estate, but it is in the control of the wardens.” Cora explained. The differences between their worlds would be difficult to explain if this spell lasted for a long while. There were no masters or people he would know or even surroundings that might seem familiar. It had been terrifying enough arriving here as an adult, as a child that was something entirely different. “If you join us for breakfast.” She started before offering her hand out again. “You can tell me about where you are from if you wish to return? I am sworn to protect you, and thus will abide by your decision.” Leto frowned a little. That... sounded alright. If the Wardens were in charge then maybe if Danarius got angry, he’d blame them and the Wardens were more powerful than a single magister, weren’t they? So Danarius wouldn’t be able to do anything to them, except maybe yell and make empty threats. And maybe the Wardens would say that they brought him home as soon as they could. And he knew how to stay out of Danarius’ sight so once the Wardens took him home and left, he’d hopefully be able to avoid any punishment. “Alright,” he said finally. He hesitated for a moment then rather warily put his hand in her... Mistress Cora’s hand. Then he remembered something. “Oh! The sword.” He turned to look at it. It was huge and heavy. It had been hard to drag it over to the corner but he hadn’t wanted to just leave it lying there. He then looked up at Cora, hoping she wouldn’t be angry. He didn’t think she would but mages were... unpredictable. “I... I think... I have to look after it. Only... it’s very heavy, Mistress Cora. I don’t think I can carry it.” Cora grasped his hand gently once it was in her own. The amount of fear and uncertainty was palpable off the poor boy. But there would be no retribution today against him. There was a flash of anger at the justification of his fear. Yes, the circle was broken, how mages were treated outside Tevinter was often cruel and bred brutality and desperation against and among them. But slavery... revisiting cruelty against another without power did nothing to help them. She smiled as she stood up and looked at the sword. Of course he would be concerned. “That blade looks familiar.” she looked down at him. “It belongs to a great warrior. I can send a warden to come collect it, we will make sure to keep it safe for his return. But your belly seems to be telling me that you’ve been in this room far too long, Leto.” The word mistress ran cold in her mind from his lips. That sort of title was not one she aspired to have. “And if you want something to call me by, you can call me Warden. Or Warden Cora. Only one man gets to call me mistress and he’d be terribly jealous.” she offered as a compromise. Leto looked down at the sword with more interest now. A great warrior? He wondered who it was. Danarius had bodyguards and just guards in general but he wouldn’t have called any of them ‘great warriors’. Anything but really. The slaves, especially the female slaves, all knew to steer clear of them as much as they could. Not that the guards would do anything unless they’d been given permission. They knew better. His stomach growled again at the reminder and he smiled shyly up at Cora. “I am hungry,” he admitted, willing to trust that the Wardens would look after the sword for him until he could take it back to Danarius. He frowned with confusion at her last comment, not really understanding what it meant. Why would someone be jealous about that? He decided not to worry about it. It must be a Ferelden thing. “Yes, Warden,” he said instead, far more interested in breakfast and willing to trust that the Wardens wouldn’t hurt him. |