Who: Leliana & Morrigan What: Morrigan's bored attempt at stalking (as a cat) backfires When: Recently! Where: Outside Shoegasm, and then at Leli & Gale's home Rating/Warnings: Relatively low Status: Complete!
If asked, Morrigan would say the decision that led to her seeing if Leliana was at work had been born from being bored. Maia was at work, and Morrigan had a light day of clients. And she was feeling restless, which was not the best mood to be in when attempting to mix potions and cultivate her plants. So, she’d decided to head off on a walk, intending to head to a couple shops to kill some time.
However, somewhere along the way a thought had occurred to her. Now that she had a very good grasp on her magic, she thought of shifting into one of her animal forms and “spy” on the spymaster. Why was this a good idea? Well it was something to do. And it allowed her to use her magic as well. As such, she turned and headed towards Leliana’s shoe shop, though she ducked into an empty alley a block before arriving. There, she found a place where she could change forms without being seen. A woman had entered the alley, but a black cat left it.
Morrigan dodged her way around people, feigning interest in discarded items on the ground or pretending she was hunting mice if any stopped to look at her. She also dodged any attempts at being petted. She didn’t wish to be taken for being a pet after all!
Upon arriving at the shop, Morrigan attempted to get a look in the window, which wasn’t the easiest thing considering she was small now. She mewed some displeasure as she looked up at the window.
Lucky for this trickster feline, Leliana was just about completed with her closing duties - the cash register rang up, closed, drops made in the safe, inventory completed, store all tidied up in this neurotic, pristine method. Employees had been let out early as the day wasn’t particularly busy and she rounded the rest of the closing chores best by herself without distractions, and what kind of employee didn’t like the surprise of being let out a bit early from when scheduled?
Lights were flipped off except for the bulbs that illuminate the display cases up front, particularly focusing on the iconic glass slippers that lured people in. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t noticed the cat upon the door opening, and she didn’t mind it much attention while she took the ring of keys and locked up shop. Odd thing was that it seemed to stay despite her nearness, so she had to wonder if it was either domesticated or just a spoiled stray.
“Hello there,” she blinked down, cocking her head to the side. “Aren’t you adorable?”
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Leliana was shortly on her way out so Morrigan didn’t have to contemplate too long about how to get a view inside. She had only just begun thinking about how she should’ve chosen her crow form when Leliana stepped out.
And then she was being called adorable and she bristled a bit, meowing in response. She was hardly adorable, and really Maia was the only one who could get away with calling her that. And even then it tended to depend upon Morrigan’s mood at the time.
Morrigan also wasn’t a normal cat. She only moved to not get stepped on, and she looked up at the spymaster, wishing she could glare at her properly, but she was trying to feign being a normal cat. So she turned her head and looked away. At least she owned cats and knew how they typically behaved.
How curious. There was something that was distinctly familiar about the eyes, which was an odd thought to think - it was a cat, there was nothing that was supposed to be special about it aside from its typical snooty and independent behavior. Very Morrigan like, come to think of it.
Why was it even here? It’s not like she had tuna stuffed in her purse or anything edible, and the cat didn’t seem all too friendly. Leliana wasn’t one to just walk away from a cute furry creature anyway, so of course she crouched down to her level and offered a hand to sniff at.
“I’d call you Morrigan if you were mine,” she chuckled. “You’ve got that same aura of disdain, kitty.”
Perhaps it was odd for a cat to be in this particular spot, something that she possibly should have considered so as to not be picked out as actually being Morrigan. In retrospect, it might have been a better choice to have gone as a bird. Birds at least were everywhere. Cats could be conspicuous in certain areas.
At the suggestion of having an aura of disdain, she bristled again, meowing pointedly up at the redhead. It was true, of course, but Morrigan could still take offense if she wanted to. There were better ways to put disdain, after all.
Luckily for Morrigan, despite having the senses and instincts of a cat, her mind kept her from giving in completely to those instincts. Which probably gave off more of a human aspect to her nature currently. She didn’t move closer to Leliana in an attempt to get food or pets nor did she turn and wander off.
For a second there she could have almost sworn that was a reaction to her words, almost as if the feline had understood her? Odd, she thought, and was surprised to not even received an attempt at a scratch - or any other reaction aside from apathy.
Unless...
Nightingale’s eyes tightened in thought. It was wild, wild assumption to make, but perhaps not exactly the most ridiculous one either in the context of this very life. The former bard had traveled with Morrigan, and while neither of them had ever been particularly enthralled by the other’s presence, the constant battles fought together made them very aware of what each of them could do. The Witch of the Wilds was a mistress of her craft, a force of arcane magic to be dealt with, and wasn’t she - ?
“You are all alone, aren’t youuuuu?” Oh, yes, the cooing increased tenfold. So much that in a swift motion, Leliana scooped the cat into her arms told hold against her bosom. “I can take you home with me - I have a bed you would love to sleep in, but please keep your claws to yourself. I sleep in the nude.”
Now, of all the possibilities that Morrigan had thought this encounter could have gone, none of them had included being picked up and cooed at. So when she was scooped up suddenly and held against Leliana’s bosom, Morrigan was actually in shock for a few moments as her brain tried to process what was happening.
Then at hearing the comment about sleeping in the nude, she was snapped out of it. She vocalized her horror and abject resentment at being manhandled like this. She tried to wiggle out of Leliana’s grasp. She didn’t want to be held against that bosom.
And if a cat could look horrified and angry at the same time, Morrigan had that look right now. This was so undignified being held like this. Especially when it was Leliana who was holding her. And it seemed that she may have caught on to the fact that this was Morrigan, but Morrigan was currently too focused on getting put down to think much about it.
Now that reaction was a bit more cat-like, although the suspicion still remained - there weren’t any claws or teeth yet, thankfully, but Leliana continued to have a secure hold on her. Even scruffed her some so she wouldn’t keep squirming like her life depended on it! Maker, did Kitty simply not like hugs?
“Oh, calm down, silly,” she tsk-tsked, adjusting the feline in her arms from that last squirm as she approached her vehicle. Compact and utterly adorable, the Volkswagen Beetle was personally stylized from within with a soft, purple and fuzzy steering wheel cover and other touches that very much betrayed the spymaster-assassin persona. “You came to me, I cannot just leave you!”
Her car clicked open, the door opened, and there went Morrigan with a toss into the car.
The claws and teeth remained unused for the moment. However, that could change if Leliana kept manhandling her. Or was this cathandling? Who really knew because lines tended to get blurred when a shapeshifter was involved. At any rate, Morrigan was definitely not approving of being picked up. In fact, that was a -20 deduction from her liking of Leliana, which hadn’t been all that high to begin with.
Nevermind the fact that Morrigan had started this whole thing by spying in cat form.
There was an undignified screech type sound as Morrigan was tossed into the car. She landed on her feet on the passenger side and she couldn’t help but to be repulsed by that purple monstrosity on the steering wheel. She cast a pointed glare at the spymaster in a rather un-cat-like fashion, then she tried to bolt out of the open door.
If this was actually Morrigan, the entire situation was completely and utterly hilarious to the once lay sister. If not? Well, she supposed the kitty would get a bowl of tuna and some water - Leliana loved animals as it was, so regardless of what was really going on it was a win-win scenario all around for her!
“No, no, no you don’t,” sang the ginger-haired spymaster, managing to keep that squirmy feline in the car and closing the door. It also meant her own attempt in getting into the driver’s seat had to be seamless and quick, and that’s exactly what she did - opened the door, got in, and shut it before Morrigan was able to escape.
Perhaps it wasn’t exactly wise to have a non-caged cat free in her beetle, but…
Oh well.
The engine came to life after a turn of her key. “Try and behave, please? You don’t want me swerving on the road and killing us both, do you?”
There was little doubt in her mind that Leliana would find this situation hilarious. Maia would most likely also die laughing at hearing about this. Morrigan, however, didn’t find this funny in the least. She really need to think about things far more thoroughly in the future so as to avoid situations like this again.
Now she was trapped in Leliana’s car. Morrigan hissed displeasure at the redhead. She looked around, trying to decide if now was a good time to return to human form. But considering the size of the car, the purple cloud that accompanied her shifting forms would be a dead giveaway of something unnatural happening.
So after the engine came to life, Morrigan gave another glare and a hiss at Leliana.
What a sourpuss indeed. None of that hissing was necessary, but she supposed she couldn’t begrudge the cat if it was all instinct and survival talking and not the displeasure of one swamp witch with the intentions of trickery. Two could play that way if it was the latter - she wasn’t considered the ‘redheaded trickster of the Lothering Chantry’ for absolutely nothing!
Off on the road they went to the direction of her and Gale’s home, in close proximity to the beach. It was a little secluded as she preferred her privacy and not to be among the bustling noise of urban distractions and she needed land for the nugs and Bela Nutella. Leliana also didn’t make their trip exactly merciful, either - of course she chose the most horrid station with the most horrid music to play and put it up at a high volume.
And when they finally drove up to the charming cottage-style home, very rustic and chic looking, with the flowers planted in precious teacups aligning the steps of the front part, the spymaster shut off the car and passed the cat a smile.
“That wasn’t awful, was it? Home sweet home.”
Of course it wasn’t a merciful trip. Morrigan was inwardly raging about the music choice. Her taste in music was more in the classical vein of things. She had other interests in music, but classical tended to be what she listened to if she needed background noise while making her potions and poultices.
Once the car stopped, along with that atrocious music, Morrigan couldn’t hold it in any longer. Assuming they were somewhere people wouldn’t quite ask questions, she looked at Leliana momentarily before she shifted back into her human form, the cloud of purple and a little electricity accompanying the spell.
“I rather think you made me deaf!” She exclaimed as her ears were still ringing. The noise had been even more intense with the cat’s sense of hearing.
Ah, suspicion confirmed! Those transformative after effects had her cough some and squint her eyes, but overall Leliana looked quite pleased with herself - her mouth had pulled into a sly smile, icy eyes tightening into an impish leer. “I thought it was you,” she spoke oh-so nonchalantly. “Never has an animal looked at me with that much disdain in my entire existence. No, that look is unique only to you.”
Though, what had been the purpose of Morrigan’s little game? Surely there was no emergency. Did Maia dare her to do something? Was it boredom? “If you wanted to spend so much time with me, dear Morrigan, you could have just asked. I’d be happy to do your nails and braid your hair.”
“Perhaps they might look at you in such a way if you manhandled them the way you did with me.” Morrigan replied. She rubbed at her ear a bit, needing to get the ringing of that horrid music out of her ears. She would most certainly need to cleanse her ears later of it.
“You will keep well away from my nails and my hair,” she stated pointedly. Her nails were currently painted a rich purple, which was her norm. She didn’t change nail polish color very often, though if she did it would typically be to black. “I had no desire to be carried off in such a manner. I had simply intended to watch without being seen.” She’d expected Leliana to notice an animal, the woman noticed everything. She just hadn’t anticipated being carted off so unceremoniously!
Leliana was so, so tickled with amusement. Her eyes glittered with it. “Don’t forget, you decided to stalk me. My reaction was appropriate. Albeit little mischievous, but you really do make a very adorable cat!” Grumpy face and all, Morrigan would have given that internet sensation of feline a run for his money.
But there was no point in loitering within her vehicle so she exited, purse hanging from her elbow. “Would you care to come inside for a glass of wine? Considering I’m aware of exactly what I had you endure it seems like you could use it.”
That amusement only served to make Morrigan bristle even more. It was in that moment that she knew she would never live this down. Leliana would undoubtedly take great pains to remind her of it. Maia would do the same if she could stop laughing long enough to do so. “Perhaps if there is a next time I will choose a form far less cuddly.” Like a porcupine. Try picking her up and cuddling her then, spymaster!
Morrigan stepped out of the car, stretching a bit and smoothing her dress out. She eyed Leliana, momentarily debating. “I suppose there is no harm in that. I am not driving.” No, she’d fly back home after this. Flying was far quicker than sitting in traffic. It certainly paid to be a shapeshifter at times.
Come to think of it, this really was the first time she invited Morrigan over on a more personal level, wasn’t it? Things between them here were a bit more smoothed out, less petty, and had boiled down to mild distrust during their positions as advisers in the Inquisition. It also probably helped that Leliana wasn’t so doe-eyed when it came to Andraste - by the time their paths crossed her faith was shattered, blood on her hands as she casually made a list of those that needed a slice across their throat.
Inside, the home she shared with Gale was quaint. It carried the scent of roses and lavender, and the decor was a simple elegant with an aged, rustic charm. Homey, comfortable, and also inhabited by the four-legged variety - Bella Nutella, the chocolate service lab was let out in the yard for a quick bathroom break and the three nugs (Boulette, Schmooples and Schmooples II) followed.
Now that the ‘children’ were taken care of… “First question: red or white wine?” Leliana pulled two glasses from the cupboards. “And second question: why did you turn into a cat to follow me?”
It was certainly a positive that Leliana wasn’t so doe-eyed. Morrigan had hated listening to all of that in camp during the Blight, which was why she’d always pitched her tent far away from the others. Between Alistair’s bumbling, Leliana’s babbling and Zevran’s incessant talking, she far preferred to be alone. She hadn’t been there to make friends, and she hadn’t been in the Inquisition to make friends either. But Morrigan had changed during the years between the Blight and the war with Corrypheus. Motherhood had changed her, and now she was changing here, but she was fighting it, which left her being a little more prickly now. She’d already snapped at Maia a little for pushing at it.
The home was certainly intriguing. Not quite what she’d imagine the spymaster of the grand Inquisition would have, but she supposed Leliana could feel the same about the fact Morrigan actually wore complete outfits here and not the so-called rags she had been so fond of in the dreams.
“Red,” she responded easily to the first one. Morrigan was more in the mood for red wine at the moment. The second question, however, wasn’t so easily answered. Morrigan looked at Leliana. “Boredom, in part. I wished to see what you were up to without being spotted. Though as has been made perfectly clear, that did not go according to plan.”
Boredom. How flattering. A brow of hers rose as she did the business of removing the tinfoil from the bottle, uncorking it, and then pouring them a fresh glass each - blackberry Orlesian wine from Skyhold that’d been stowed away, and of course she needed a bottle or four of them in her home to sip.
“I always know when there are eyes on me, malignant or not.” Leliana offered Morrigan her glass. “Honestly, I was willing to think I had gotten very fortunate and was able to bring another pet home. It would have exasperated Gale a bit, but I suppose I’ve been underneath your glower plenty of times to recognize you.”
She took the glass, momentarily taken back to the court at Halamshiral. Morrigan had never quite been comfortable there, partly because she had to actually dress the part, and partly because there were enemies at every turn. The Game was one that never ended, and Morrigan knew there were people there who wouldn’t hesitate to have her killed considering how close she was to the Empress.
“At least Gale need not be exasperated at another pet being under your roof.” Morrigan quipped and took a sip of the wine. “Besides, I would make a terrible pet.” Maia would potentially think otherwise, but that was neither here nor there.
“You would scratch all my furniture and knock things off my coffee table while maintaining eye contact,” Leliana scoffed, but it was all meant in good humor. “I hope you’ve been sufficiently entertained, however? At the very least deciding to become my temporary - and failed - shadow has left you distinctly occupied.” In horror no doubt - considering how she just cuddled Morrigan right into her breasts and then tossed her inside the vehicle like a bag of luggage.
At least one of them came out laughing about all this! “Though, the next time you are bored you can always show yourself in your actual form,” she said after a sip of bittersweet wine. “I’d be less inclined to snuggle you. That should be an incentive, no?”
“Tis what any normal cat would do, would you not agree?” Morrigan responded with a smirk. “Though perhaps they would not do it was as much glee as I would.” Being a cat owner, she well knew those sorts of things. Bastet and Persephone tended to be very well behaved cats, but they were still cats who tended to scratch things they should not at times.
“That would indeed be enough of an incentive, yes.” Morrigan said. She was definitely going to take a hot shower when she got home. It was a miracle that she and Leliana could be in the same room together and have civil conversations as opposed to the catty ones they tended to have in Thedas. But being cuddled into Leliana’s bosom was definitely way out of the question for Morrigan.
It really was a miracle, wasn’t it - but the lives lived here had some considerable differences. At least for Leliana, who’d been raised in a very traditional Catholic setting in France but was then rapidly lectured and then shunned for her involvement with a woman. Love and acceptance was hypocritically preached, and it jaded her young enough to choose Marjolaine’s backstabbing over a corrupt church - both choices were awful, however.
Andraste’s teachings had sparked some sort of spiritual revival within the bitter and weary assassin, but even then it’d been cracked all over again when Justinia appointed her as the Shadow of the Sunburst throne. Bloodshed in the name of religion even if Leliana was heavily against the division of people the Chantry pushed; she wasn’t for the containment of mages, wasn’t for the mistreatment of elves or any other race. At least in this life she’d been able to assess things from a more objective standpoint.
But Thedas, as they all knew, was complicated.
“We should toast, I think, to being able to go through with what happened tonight without seething with complete hatred at the end of it?” It was a milestone for them, certainly!
Morrigan’s upbringing hadn’t been all that different from the one in Thedas. Her mother had still been a horror show, as only Flemeth could possibly be, and she’d been raised away from civilization to an extent. The Kent countryside hadn’t been that far away from civilization, but Morrigan hadn’t been allowed to do much until she went to university. The largest difference between her life here and her life in Thedas had been the lack of being a mage until recently. She wasn’t a hunted apostate here.
It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t quite the worst way to grow up. It had left her with a similar personality to her dream self, though perhaps she had less of an edge as she had in Thedas. Morrigan, however, would never quite admit to that difference.
Thedas was indeed complicated, and the Dragon Age seemed to be among the most tumultuous age in history. At least in recent history. The creation of the Veil may have taken the cake for being volatile, but with a Blight being relatively quickly followed by the mage rebellion and then Corypheus, it was hard to tell what war would befall the world next. Would the Qunari invade? Would Tevinter rise again? Or would something far worse come from the shadows? Max had told her about Solas, and that seemed to be the next war that would be fought. But who knew what else was brewing in the fringes of the world? Well, if anyone would know, or have an inkling as to what was happening, it would be Leliana.
“I think that would be an excellent toast.” Morrigan said, raising her glass. Sure, she still didn’t quite think of the two of them as friends, but Morrigan didn’t quite have the level of animosity towards the former bard as she had in the dreams. That, at least, needed to be acknowledged.