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fandomweekly2017-04-16 08:11 pm
toffeecat) wrote in fandomweekly2017-04-16 08:11 pm
Entry tags:
[#039] Falling into the Sky (Dragon Age)
Theme Prompt: #039 - Celestial Bodies
Title: Falling into the Sky
Fandom: Dragon Age
Rating/Warnings: G / none
Bonus: No
Word Count: 893
Summary: She had never been outside before, what if she wasn't careful?
She hadn't spoken a word on their way out of Orzammar. As long as she was getting out of there, she didn't care how, or with whom. And why shouldn't she, when all that this place had in store for her was incarceration, or worse; if she didn't die in the cells, she'd have been put to work in a thaig, or been fed to the darkspawn...
Natia shuddered. All she could do now was trust Duncan to lead her out of here. Whatever those Wardens would turn out to be, they couldn't be worse than what would've happened to her if he hadn't shown up. And she could still try to turn tail otherwise.
Though all of it was easily said, while she was still safe beneath the Frostbacks. She had known that they'd travel on the surface to Ostagar but actually standing in front of the enormous gate to take that first step outside was daunting. Not having the mountains above her, keeping her from simply drifting off-
She would not fall into the sky. That was ridiculous. Every time she had heard someone say it in passing she had scoffed at them; there were many lies the Assembly spouted so every dwarf would stay below ground, and only the threat of losing one's caste was more effective; well, she couldn't lose what she had never had, but the heavens didn't care about caste, if that new preacher was to be believed.
She certainly didn't, though! Everyone who lived here lied, those nobles living high and mighty in their big estates in the Diamond Quarter just as much as a Dust Town street rat she was, and this one was simply their favourite to tell.
Or was it? She had never been outside before, what if she wasn't careful?
Natia shook her head. She had to leave, wanted to, even, and this stupid, stupid belief would not keep her.
So she squeezed her eyes shut, when the heavy door wings were pried open, and began to walk forward. She tuned out all the voices and the noise she had gotten used to over the years, all to focus solely on each step that took her further away from her sister, from Dust Town, from the only place she had known, the only home she had ever had.
Until the voices were silent and Orzammar's noise was gone. New sounds had taken their place; weird chatter from the air, or a soft rustle around her ears, intermingling with the muffled clatter of Duncan's armour.
And her feet were still firm on the ground, lifting only when she willed them to do so.
She kept her breathing shallow; Natia wasn't too keen on finding out where exactly she would go if her lungs were too full of air. But even breathing felt different up here. Colder, so much colder than even the draughtiest nook in Dust Town ever had been, and cleaner. Newer. No coal dust from the forges that lay heavily that made her throat ache even when she went to bed, nor the stench of overcooked nug stew or old, stale grease from days ago wafting over.
She was on the surface. Really on the surface.
She inhaled deeply, and when she didn't start to float despite of it, she even opened her eyes.
At first, she thought she was blind. Natia groped frantically at the air in front of her, because this was how it began, and any moment she would lose her footing, and-
Her nails scraped something solid, and the surge of pain from the splinters in her fingers was not nearly enough to dampen her joy to have found something to ground herself.
One hand curled around the piece of gnarled bark of a tree, a tree she could now make out the silhouette of, she laughed in disbelief. Of course she wasn't drifting away! Only then, knowing she would fly off as likely as the Frostbacks themselves, she dared to look up.
"Ancestors..."
This was a kind of beauty Orzammar would never be able to mimic. The night's sky was dotted with bright and twinkling lights, as if someone had imbedded diamonds into its fabric, too many for her to count.
And suddenly, she felt even sillier than before. How could she fear falling up, when that was what she would fall into?
"That view is quite something else, isn't it?"
In her awe, she had almost forgotten the reason she was able to gaze up to the stars. But she was too enraptured by the wondrous sky to feel embarrassed; his casual tone did help, too.
"Does it always look like this?" she whispered, not caring that she sounded like an overwhelmed child.
Duncan chuckled mildly. "Only if there are no clouds, but yes." He paused, and though she couldn't see more than his shape, she felt his gaze upon her. "We should make camp here," he said eventually. "It's been a long day."
She agreed, and felt the exhaustion seep through her being and cloud her mind as they made their preparations for the night. But even though their fire had burnt down long ago, and Natia was wrapped into her bedroll, she didn't plan sleep. Listening to Duncan's breaths, she kept gazing at the stars, until they vanished at the break of dawn.
Title: Falling into the Sky
Fandom: Dragon Age
Rating/Warnings: G / none
Bonus: No
Word Count: 893
Summary: She had never been outside before, what if she wasn't careful?
She hadn't spoken a word on their way out of Orzammar. As long as she was getting out of there, she didn't care how, or with whom. And why shouldn't she, when all that this place had in store for her was incarceration, or worse; if she didn't die in the cells, she'd have been put to work in a thaig, or been fed to the darkspawn...
Natia shuddered. All she could do now was trust Duncan to lead her out of here. Whatever those Wardens would turn out to be, they couldn't be worse than what would've happened to her if he hadn't shown up. And she could still try to turn tail otherwise.
Though all of it was easily said, while she was still safe beneath the Frostbacks. She had known that they'd travel on the surface to Ostagar but actually standing in front of the enormous gate to take that first step outside was daunting. Not having the mountains above her, keeping her from simply drifting off-
She would not fall into the sky. That was ridiculous. Every time she had heard someone say it in passing she had scoffed at them; there were many lies the Assembly spouted so every dwarf would stay below ground, and only the threat of losing one's caste was more effective; well, she couldn't lose what she had never had, but the heavens didn't care about caste, if that new preacher was to be believed.
She certainly didn't, though! Everyone who lived here lied, those nobles living high and mighty in their big estates in the Diamond Quarter just as much as a Dust Town street rat she was, and this one was simply their favourite to tell.
Or was it? She had never been outside before, what if she wasn't careful?
Natia shook her head. She had to leave, wanted to, even, and this stupid, stupid belief would not keep her.
So she squeezed her eyes shut, when the heavy door wings were pried open, and began to walk forward. She tuned out all the voices and the noise she had gotten used to over the years, all to focus solely on each step that took her further away from her sister, from Dust Town, from the only place she had known, the only home she had ever had.
Until the voices were silent and Orzammar's noise was gone. New sounds had taken their place; weird chatter from the air, or a soft rustle around her ears, intermingling with the muffled clatter of Duncan's armour.
And her feet were still firm on the ground, lifting only when she willed them to do so.
She kept her breathing shallow; Natia wasn't too keen on finding out where exactly she would go if her lungs were too full of air. But even breathing felt different up here. Colder, so much colder than even the draughtiest nook in Dust Town ever had been, and cleaner. Newer. No coal dust from the forges that lay heavily that made her throat ache even when she went to bed, nor the stench of overcooked nug stew or old, stale grease from days ago wafting over.
She was on the surface. Really on the surface.
She inhaled deeply, and when she didn't start to float despite of it, she even opened her eyes.
At first, she thought she was blind. Natia groped frantically at the air in front of her, because this was how it began, and any moment she would lose her footing, and-
Her nails scraped something solid, and the surge of pain from the splinters in her fingers was not nearly enough to dampen her joy to have found something to ground herself.
One hand curled around the piece of gnarled bark of a tree, a tree she could now make out the silhouette of, she laughed in disbelief. Of course she wasn't drifting away! Only then, knowing she would fly off as likely as the Frostbacks themselves, she dared to look up.
"Ancestors..."
This was a kind of beauty Orzammar would never be able to mimic. The night's sky was dotted with bright and twinkling lights, as if someone had imbedded diamonds into its fabric, too many for her to count.
And suddenly, she felt even sillier than before. How could she fear falling up, when that was what she would fall into?
"That view is quite something else, isn't it?"
In her awe, she had almost forgotten the reason she was able to gaze up to the stars. But she was too enraptured by the wondrous sky to feel embarrassed; his casual tone did help, too.
"Does it always look like this?" she whispered, not caring that she sounded like an overwhelmed child.
Duncan chuckled mildly. "Only if there are no clouds, but yes." He paused, and though she couldn't see more than his shape, she felt his gaze upon her. "We should make camp here," he said eventually. "It's been a long day."
She agreed, and felt the exhaustion seep through her being and cloud her mind as they made their preparations for the night. But even though their fire had burnt down long ago, and Natia was wrapped into her bedroll, she didn't plan sleep. Listening to Duncan's breaths, she kept gazing at the stars, until they vanished at the break of dawn.
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