Whispering, chittering in the dark, red, red eyes watching me.
Who: Maia and Morrigan What: Maia is drunk and it's not even noon When: 6/14 Where: Their home Rating: PG-13 this is kinda depressing
Maia had so far gone two weeks without dabbling in blood magic, which was probably a good thing. Some of her dreams had repeated and had been a stark reminder of how dangerous it could be. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking notes and making formulas. Just in case. Powerful magic could be an addiction, though, and she just needed to keep herself from falling into that trap.
But she’d always been pragmatic when it came to magic and fighting the Darkspawn. And she was convinced they were coming. She didn’t tell anyone, but when she wasn’t dreaming Dreams, she was having nightmares about voices in her head. Voices that she sometimes heard while awake.
Best case scenario was the Calling, but Maia wanted to be prepared for the worse case.
Getting halfway through a bottle of Jack while laying on the couch with the cats curled up on top of her and Barkspawn laying on her feet was probably not the best way to prepare for anything but she was having a bad morning okay?
Morrigan had been up early that day. She did her normal rounds in her greenhouse, ensuring her plants were growing well. Then she spent some time working on some salves before she had to go meet a couple clients. She preferred working from home, but some clients couldn’t always make it to her place, so she’d go to them.
She’d stopped by Li’s to drop off a new salve for her to try. It was finally ready, and hopefully it would help the burn scars. If not, it was back to the drawing board. Then it was off to another client’s house to meet with them.
Finally, it was back home. Morrigan sighed as she came in the door, relieved to be home and have those things done. Then she came by the living room and saw the sight on the couch. She would’ve made a humorous quip if not for the half empty bottle of Jack.
“Are you alright, love?” She asked.
“I’m fine!” Maia hiccuped and took a sloppy swig from the bottle. It wasn’t like she was falling apart or something. “How was your day? I’d get up to greet you, but cats.”
The cats were comfy and their purring was soothing.
“Disturbing cats sleeping on you is the cardinal sin of owning them.” Morrigan responded, setting her purse aside and taking a seat. “So far so good, though tis not quite noon yet. There’s still plenty of time left in the day.”
“The ultimate sin,” Maia agreed, absently stroking one of them. She wasn’t sure which one, her eyes were too busy looking at Morrigan like Morrigan was the most beautiful creature on all of Creation.
“Really? Not even noon yet? You best get started then there’s another bottle round here somewhere!”
Morrigan arched an eyebrow in question. “You wish me to join you in drinking? I rather think you could drink me under the table in no time.” Despite the fact Maia had already had half a bottle of Jack, that was besides the point.
Tilting her head back, Maia giggled. “You’re probably right!” The words were sing song and she dislodged one of the cats on accident by swinging her arm around. “I can’t hear anything right now. It’s so bloody nice.”
Well that admission did just confirm Morrigan’s fears. Maia was hearing things, most likely darkspawn. So was it the Calling? Did she have to work faster and harder to get the cure ready? “Darkspawn?” She asked, needing to see if Maia would confirm that.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Maia sat up entirely. “Whispering, chittering in the dark, red, red eyes watching me.” She tilted her head. “It’s nothing, really.”
A slight frown crossed Morrigan’s face. “How is that nothing?” Because it definitely sounded like something and Morrigan needed to know what kind of something it was. Was it the kind that she could cure, the kind she could fight, or the kind where she had to kill Maia?
“Because it’s just dream bleed over. I haven’t sensed any Darkspawn. I go out sometimes. Looking. Hunting. It’s nothing.” So therefore, it was nothing!
“Knowing how Orange County can become, I doubt that it is nothing. It could be a precursor to something.” Or it could be the thing she feared it actually was. In which case, she needed to figure out how to make her dragon blood into a cure for Maia to drink.
Maia should really probably just be a vampire at this point with how much blood she’d consumed in their dreams during rituals or whatever.
“Morrigan.” Maia shook her head, and nudged the Mabari off of her. She tried to stand, wobbling as she did so. “I love you. But you’re worrying too much. This is nothing.” She swept her arms out. “And if it’s something, we’ll handle it.”
She’d probably die, but it would be handled. Maia didn’t actually want to die. Not when she finally had everything she ever wanted. Even if it seemed like she was sabotaging it.
“Even if it is nothing, I’d rather be prepared for it being something.” Morrigan responded. “I’ve been working on figuring out a cure for the Blight. Dragon’s blood is the key, I simply do not know the how of it yet.” At this moment, she didn’t know if that would go over well with Maia. They’d talked about the cure, hell looking for a cure was what Maia was doing in the dreams while Morrigan had been in Orlais and then with the Inquisition. But right now, she wasn’t so certain Maia would be receptive to that.
It didn’t really bother Maia. She knew what the alternate was, and she was terrified of it. But she flung her arms out. “See, that’s the bloody problem. Blood. Where are we gonna get a dragon, or enough buckets of the stuff to make a difference.”
Her hands dropped, and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what to do, Morrigan. If this is the Calling.”
Morrigan clenched her jaw to bite back an irritated response to Maia. She took a breath, then responded calmly. “I am a shapeshifter, and I can turn into a dragon. That should be good enough.” Her and Max had been researching. It was just how to turn the blood itself into a cure.
“...What?” Maia looked surprised. Obviously that had never occurred to her. What’s more, she didn’t like the idea. She held up a finger and took a swig from her bottle. “First of all, no. Second of all, no! I’m not bleeding you dry on some red herring! I’m not worth it!”
“Even if it required all of my blood, you are worth it!” Morrigan snapped. Of course, she had no idea how much blood it would require, but the research suggested it wouldn’t be all of it. Morrigan wouldn’t be dying in the process. “It is not a red herring! Dragons are immune to the Blight. There is extensive research on the subject that Max and I have been studying.” There was a huge, involved explanation as for how dragons were immune, but Morrigan wasn’t going to break into that when Maia wasn’t sober.
The bottle fell from Maia’s hand and bounced on the carpet. She stumbled around the coffee table and grabbed Morrigan by the shoulders. “I’m not… I’m not worth it. Do you think I want to live, without you? I’d rather die first, and I don’t really want to die, luv. If it’s you or me, it’s better if it was you.”
Morrigan looked at Maia when she grabbed her by the shoulders. “Yes you are, but I will not die in this process, I assure you.” Though reasoning with a drunk Maia would probably be like talking to a brick wall. “I don’t want you to die, and I certainly don’t want live without you either. I am trying to help you, and I have a way to do it.”
“I don’t want you to die, Morrigan. I didn’t go through a bloody Eluvian just to lose you again.” And they’d become separated anyway, Morrigan with her own plans and Maia desperate to cure the taint. It felt like no matter what fate strove to tear them apart.
“I’m not going to die, Maia!” It was probably futile to keep this conversation up. And chances were that Maia wouldn’t remember it later anyways. So it was really all just a moot point.
Maia wrapped her arms around Morrigan’s shoulders. Which was really rather pathetic and she’d be mortified later on if she did remember this. She mumbled, “Don’t wanna leave you, either.”
Morrigan blinked at Maia wrapping her arms around her shoulders. That wasn’t expected, but she just went with it. “No one is leaving anyone.” Morrigan tried to assure Maia as she wrapped her arms around her back and hugged her close. It probably wouldn’t get through to her until she was sober, if she remembered it at any rate.
“Promise,” Maia whispered, even though she was the one who should be doing any promising. It sounded like she was about to become a sobbing drunk.
“Yes, I promise. I am not going anywhere.” And if Maia tried to leave, Morrigan would go after her. Hearing the tone of Maia’s voice, Morrigan tightened her arms around her.
That was enough to make Maia relax, her entire body going slack as she buried her face into Morrigan’s neck. She closed her eyes.
Morrigan held Maia tighter, gently rubbing her back with one hand. She closed her eyes and just held Maia, giving her some comfort and wanting to help her feel better. She loved this woman, and she was bound and determined to help save her from the fate that awaited all Grey Wardens.