Archive of Our Own ^beta

{Present Day}

Antoine sat there on the dirt ground of the High Anderfels, watching his sons play around with the griffons, the feathery companions had grown significantly since joining the Wardens.

Just like Mila always wanted, she was riding on Stormwing’s back while Amir and Etienne were standing off chatting to her, the snow-white Elf carried an umbrella with them to shield their pale skin from the boiling hot sun while her darker partner was basking in the rays, admiring the big creature their friend sat on.

“Chamberlain” a husky voice said from behind Antoine.

Zephyr stood with their hands cupped behind their back, the blind Qunari stood out of the tent both them and the Elf were initially in discussing their training sessions.

“We should proceed with communication to your spirit, Chamberlain”

“I know, just... give me a moment”

The Warden continued to watch the group having fun out in the desert lands, Claude and Clement trotted up to their big cousin as she hopped off Stormwing, the young woman spreading her arms wide allowing the two Dwarf boys to jump in.

Amir clearly chuckling at the boys’ adorableness, a sweet smile earned from Etienne.

The Qunari approached Antoine slowly before kneeling down beside the Elven Warden.

“She’s grown so much, still so strong”

“Mila?” the blind Crow inquired.

“Has been since she was very little.... may I ask you something, Zephyr?”

“Is it a personal question?”

“...yes”

Zephyr let out a long, calming sigh, “go on”

“What is your spirit like?”

The blind one turned to Antoine with a raised eyebrow, one mirroring the man’s own brow in front of them with a slit in it, “why do you ask?”

“Well, I am merely curious, I had no idea you were possessed until a week ago and you definitely seem more experienced than I am, perhaps comparing our demons would be helpful... plus, if you’re interested in my niece I’d prefer to know more about you”

Antoine formulated the last part of his sentence with slight cheek, making Zephyr roll their cloudy eyes in their sockets.

“Respectively, Chamberlain Ivo, Mila and I are... friends” the Qunari said with slight uncertainty, “besides... she deserves much more, or at least someone better than me”

“Come on... that isn’t true, I think you’re a great person”

“You barely know me”

“I believe that’s your problem then”

“Excuse me?”

Antoine smirked and laced a hand over the hornless Qunari Crow, “you know how... Evka and I were apart because I lied about the whole... lycanthropy thing”

“Well, you actually lied about being possessed, she already knew about the lyc-”

“Yeah yeah, not important right now, my point is... being honest and open about who you are, it can do more for a relationship than you think, even telling your partner things you think may upset them is very important... trust me...”

Zephyr didn’t say anything, just turned their head towards where Mila and the others were hanging out, “I will... keep that in mind”

Antoine smiled at the Qunari happily before they continued.

“As for your query about Succour”

“What?”

“The spirit that follows me, they presented themself to me at very young age, shortly after we moved to Treviso... after the attack... they were drawn to me, a helpless, recently crippled child with little family left alive, the introduced themself as a Spirit of Succour, they aid me in times of dire need, when I set out to complete contracts, but mostly they help me see or rather navigate my surroundings to avoid any physical accidents” Zephyr explained to the Elf.

“So... they're like a guide dog but... a demon?”

“When you put it that way, I suppose so”

“Huh, do you think my spirit is a Succour as well?”

Zephyr let out a tiny snicker, covering their already covered mouth with their fist, “apologies Chamberlain, the way you formulated that sentence was... amusing”

“Haha, I don’t think I ever heard you laugh before”

“I did not laugh”

“Yeees, you did”

Zephyr’s head turned away from the older person again, ignoring his amusement towards the Qunari’s slip of emotion.

Suddenly, Antoine notices Mila and the twins coming their way, “hey, you two done training already?” the young woman asked, the boys crawling onto their father’s lap.

“Actually, we-”

“Yes, we are!”

Zephyr practically snaps their neck to turn to Antoine, ready to protest until the Elf suggests, “Mila, why don’t you bring Zee for a ride on one of the griffons?”

“Hold on-”

“Yeah, come on Zeph, it’ll be fun!”

No even waiting for an answer, the young Human woman began dragging the blind Qunari over to where Amir and Etienne were, the couple chuckling at the Crow being taken over against their will.

Zephyr looked back at the Elf as if to give him a death stare, to which Antoine just smiled mischievously at them.

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{She’s so cute}

Clement sat with his mother on the couch, his baby sister on her back in Evka’s lap, giggling up at the two, her yellow and green eyes sparkling with pure joy.

“She is a little darling, isn’t she?”

{You think she’ll look more like Papa when she grows up?}

“Hmm, maybe... but maybe she’ll look more like-”

Evka lifts her head, realising that she wasn’t signing, leaving her younger son a little lost, “oh, sorry baby, I was thinking”

{It’s okay, Mama, what were you saying?}

Before the woman could think of someway to explain what she was gonna say, Antoine entered the living room with their older son trotting up to the couch, “we’re home”

“Mama, Mama, I caught a fish, Papa helped me catch a fish!”

“Really, what kind?”

“A big one!”

Evka turned to look at her husband standing behind the couch, holding a cooler in his arms, “Silver Breams, we got enough for dinner, and Claude caught one all by himself” Antoine announced proudly, his eldest son vibrating with excitement.

“That’s amazing, sweetie, I’m so proud of you”, the Dwarven woman said, ruffling her son’s dark-brown hair.

Claude moved to look at his little sister who looked at him obliviously, “hey sis, I caught a fish today, I promise we’ll take you fishing some day when you’re big enough”

“Baa~”, Marigold reached up to her big brother happily, not understanding a word he was saying.

As the boys were paying attention to their baby sister, Antoine returns from the kitchen, leaning against the back of the sofa also admiring his little daughter in his wife’s lap.

“Hello, mon petite fleur, how are you?”

“Baa ba~”

The Elven man chuckled sweetly, reaching a hand down to tickle the girl’s nose, making her laugh with an adorable little grab of her father’s finger.

“Awww~” Claude adored his sister.

“Boys, do you want to help me clean the fish for dinner?”

“Okay, come on, Clemmie”, the older twin dragged his little brother towards the kitchen area, “don’t forget to wash your hands, my sons!”

“We won’t!” Claude yelled back.

Antoine walked around to sit with Evka and Marigold before going into the kitchen, “how are you, mon coeur?”

“I’m doing okay~”

“Hmm, good~”, the man placed a soft kiss on his wife’s lips, his long fingers tucked her shortened hair behind her ear.

“Tomorrow, I was thinking that we could... go down to lake, drop the children up to Kage... so it’s just the two of us~”

“Are you trying to lure me into a swimming lesson with your body?”

The Elf let out a dramatic, offended gasp, planting his palm on his chest, “I would never, is it so wrong that I want to spend a night of passion with the love of my life~?”

“Hmmm, in the lake specifically?”

“Well... y’know I’ve been looking to try new things and... being with you in the lake on a beautiful, starry night would be a dream come true~”

“So, the other nights we’ve been together weren’t?”

“Non, non, my darling, everything I do with you is a dream come true~”

“Nice save~”

Antoine smirks before leaning in to kiss Evka again, only to be stopped by a little voice beneath them.

“Papa~”

The Elf and the Dwarf look down at Marigold in shock, Evka was the first to open her mouth “did she just-”

“Papa~”, the little girl tried to reach up towards her father with sweet smile, saying her first word repeatedly at him, calling for her dear Papa.

“Awww, Mari’s first word, looks like you’re her favourite~”

The woman looked to the man their baby girl was calling, Antoine just stared silently at his daughter with tears pouring down his cheeks.

Evka just leaned into her husband as he took Marigold in his arms, crying and laughing as he kissed her forehead, “she adores you~”, the Dwarven woman pressed a loving smooch on her husband’s temple as he continued to weep happily, Marigold calling up to him unknowingly making him burst into tears.

“MARIGOLD CAN TALK?!?!”

The couple looked up to see Claude and Clem standing there with their aprons and gloves on, the older twin pointing in surprise at his baby sister, “Papa, Papa~!”

Antoine cupped a hand over his mouth as he cried more and more each time Marigold called for him.

His wife and sons rushed to form a group hug around him and the baby Elf girl who was giggling with her family surrounding her.

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“Don’t let go of me”

“Haha, don’t worry, we aren’t going further than the shallows~”

“Still. Don’t.”

Antoine chuckled at his spouse, guiding her through the low waters of the lake.

Both completely bare under the surface.

The Elf stared at his gorgeous wife as she held onto him, her muscular arms locked onto his waist.

The Warden couple remained in the shallows of the lake as Antoine promised, the two held each other as one admired the other.

Antoine looked down into his dearest wife’s sky-blue eyes, the reflection of the moonlight made them sparkle and look even more beautiful than ever. The height difference between them had Evka in the water just up to her breasts, meanwhile Antoine had nearly half of his torso exposed.

The man’s scars displayed for all to see, and by all, his amazing wife.

Evka rested her ear on her husband’s chest, her left hand travelling up to the wolf bite scar on his shoulder, while her right hand gently and carefully traced the plethora of whip scars on his back.

“Are you enjoying the water, my sparrow~”

“Hmm, I love being with you like this, so yes~”

The Dwarf reached up and tucked the Elf’s long hair behind his pointy ear, it flicked excitedly at her touch, “that’s so cute when your ears do that~”

Antoine blushed before kneeling down in the water, now at eye-level with Evka.

“Ma chère Evka, je t'aime plus que tout, je veux être avec toi toujours jusqu'au jour de ma mort~”

Evka chuckled, not knowing at all was her husband just said besides “my dear Evka, I love you” at the beginning, but that was more than enough for her.

“I love you even more, sweetface, come here~”

The woman pulled her husband into a prolonged, passionate kiss while wrapping her legs around him under the water.

They pleasantly enjoyed one another that night.

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Evka woke up bright and early in the morning, sunlight attacked her through the curtains making her whine as she turned away from the violent daylight rays.

As she turned over, the woman spread an arm over to where her husband usually slept, only to find he wasn’t there.

Managing to sit up, Evka also noticed that Marigold wasn’t in her bassinette.

Antoine, being a light-sleeper, obviously got up to feed their daughter, meaning the two were likely in the kitchen right now.

Evka let out a big yawn, stretching her arms up and cracking her sore back as she got out of bed.

On her way to the kitchen, she could hear her dear husband’s voice emanating from her destination, along with the tiny giggles and babbles of their infant girl.

“Do you like it, mon petite fleur?”

“Papa~!”

Evka peeked around the corner to see something so incredibly sweet she could feel her heart wanting to jump out of her chest, Antoine leaned against the counter with Marigold in his arm, the baby girl marvelled at the special jewellery around her father’s neck, more specifically, the Marigold necklace he’s worn every single day since Evka gave it to him.

“Your Mama gave it to me for our twentieth anniversary, isn’t it beautiful~?”

“Papa~”

The Elf snickered, adoring that the only word his daughter still knew was him.

“Well, it’s a Marigold, just like you, my sweet daughter~”

Marigold laughed in joy as her father smooched her golden hair, “... you know, you’re named after your Nana... my Mama, and you look just like her~”

Evka’s heart quickly hushed, listening to her husband’s memory.

“She had such a hard life... and having me on her own on top of everything she went through... she’s at peace now, and... I promise, I will never let anything like that happen to you, ma cherie”

Completely oblivious to what her father was saying, Marigold gently bapped the man in the face, making him chuckle at her sweetness.

“Heh, I wish she could’ve met you... she’d love you~”

Antoine leaned his cheek on his daughter’s head; small tears trickle down his face.

“Antoine?”

The Elf quickly wiped his tears away as Evka entered the room, looking up at him with pure love in her eyes, “darling, hi, good morning, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I slept okay... missing your mom?”

Antoine’s eyes widened before they drooped down along with his ears, “I dreamt last night... that she was here with us... hugging and loving our children, watching them play with happiness in her eyes... I wish she could know them, and they could know her... I wish she’d met you too”

“Oh Ann...”, Evka leaned on the counter next to her partner, placing a hand around his waist.

“Sorry...”

“No, no, what did we say about apologising when we don’t need to?”

“...”

“Don’t”

“I can’t help it!”

Evka and Antoine laughed as the Dwarf came in for a hug, “I would’ve loved to meet her too” Evka admitted, rubbing her lover’s back and kissed his tear-marked cheek.

“You would have loved each other~”

Marigold patted her tiny hand on her mother’s head as the woman loved her father for a moment, “hi sweetie, come here”

Evka gingerly lifted her daughter out of her father’s hold.

Antoine waved to his little girl as she was taken into her mother’s arms, Mari reached back to her father desperately, “Papa!”

“Now, now, my little one, your Mama is gonna go change you into some daytime clothes, okay?”

The infant girl settled down when she got a little nuzzle from her dear Papa, “je t’aime, mon petite fleur~”

Evka smiled at Antoine before also receiving a nuzzle and a little kiss from the man.

As the Elf watched his wife walk off with their daughter, he continued to think about his family, living and otherwise.

The long, cold days him and his mother would spend in their little shed constantly stuck with him, barely ever seeing the sun until the night his mom silently, peacefully passed away in her sleep next him.

All the moments of Antoine’s life from then, arrested for stealing some food, being ‘saved’ by a lord before he could be executed, getting raped nearly every night since his adolescence as well as being belittled for it, getting called ‘the lord’s favourite pet’ and beaten by other servants... then, just before it was all over... when he laid there, his pain about to end.

Evka.

His beautiful saviour, then companion, girlfriend, wife and mother of their wonderful kids.

Sometimes, Antoine would wonder what would’ve happened if Evka hadn’t shown up.

But he knew.

He wouldn’t be him, he would have become a monster that would eventually be slain, or better, he would’ve just succumbed to his injuries.

Claude, Clement and Marigold, they wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Evka.

And Antoine will never forget that he’ll spend every waking moment of his life making his love happy until either on or the other dies.

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{1 year }

*KNOCK, KNOCK*

Antoine was about to get up from the breakfast table before Claude jumped up and yelled, “I’ LL GET IT!!!”

The now five-year-old Dwarf boy grabbed a small stool from the side of the front door to open it up, finding exactly who he was expecting behind it.

“UNCLE KAGE!!”

The Qunari Warden laughed as the dark-haired boy jumped into his arms, “UNCLE LUCANIS, UNCLE SPITE!!!” Claude yelled again as the two behind Kage joined in, the demon encasing them in his glowing purple wings.

“Kage, Lucanis, Spite, mes amis, it is so good to see you all again!”

“It’s great to see you again too, Ann, where’s Evka?”

“She’s just getting Mari changed, how are you all doing?”, the Elf asked before all of a sudden, Layla came flying into the living room... literally.

“That is how we are doing” Lucanis chuckled, pointing at his younger daughter’s newfound wings.

“LAYLA, mon cher, you got your wings!!”

“I know, I was just a late bloomer, I guess!”

Claude gasped and ran up to the now winged Qunari girl, “cooool, you can fly now?!?”

Layla giggled as she fluttered her wings for her little cousin to see, “not that well, since they’re just new, but my Pa will train me until I can go up on my own”

“You. Grew. Up. So Quick. My. Girl”

“We’ll always still fly together, Pa, don’t worry”

Spite smiled as he leaned into Lucanis, watching his daughter twirl in the middle of the living room.

“We’ll be taking over the skies someday” Bianca said, entering the room with the three boys scuttling past her.

“Uncle Antoine!” two of the triplets yelled excitedly before tackling the Elven Warden, while Luno stood with his big sister, “hello, my dear nephews!”

Antoine picked up Draven and Aster and hugged them tight.

Clement walked into the room with one of his books in his arms, catching the attention of his older cousin, “hey Clem, enjoying your new book?” the eldest Qunari girl leaned down and asked the Dwarven boy, signing along with her words.

{Yep, Papa said he’d get me the next addition for me and Claude’s birthday this year, I can’t wait}

Luno sneaks up beside his big sister, observing her conversation with his older cousin silently before the last two people came in.

“Hello all!” Evka greeted her family, walking into the living area with her now one-year-old daughter attached to her side.

Only one and the little Elf girl was already two thirds of her own mother’s height.

Marigold looked incredibly adorable, she had on a cute little yellow dress that had white trims and a white bow wrapped around her waist. Her hair just about the same length as her Mama’s, the golden locks ending at her neck.

“Awww, look at the little princess~!”

“You look beautiful, mi flor” Lucanis expressed to his little glowing Niece, making her smile brightly.

“Thank you, Uncle Luci!”

The family settled down and talked for hours, catching up on what they had been up to, fun events coming up and most of all...

Reminiscing on their lives, them and their children’s futures as well as who they will be and what they will do in the world.

Although the majority of the kids have not yet specified what they are interested in doing, aside from Clem who continues to express his love for writing and storytelling, the rest are either too young or generally unsure.

But whatever or whoever their children choose to be, Kage, Lucanis, Spite, Antoine and Evka will love them and support them no matter what.

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“It’s so nice of you all to visit, my darlings”

The Warden couple walked with Emmrich along one of the paths in the Necropolis gardens, the Lich carried Marigold in his arms, the little girl looked around in wonder as multiple wisps curiously fly around the girl, earning a happy chuckle out of her.

“Of course, mon ami, you know we love seeing you, Mari enjoys being in your company as well, don’t you mon fleur?”

The little Elf frantically nodded her head ‘yes’, which earned her a little nuzzle from the Lich holding her.

“And we’re always here for you, Emmrich, anything you and Strife need-”

“My dear, you two need not worry about us too much... I know it’s only been a year but... we are getting better”

Antoine placed a comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder, “we’ll all miss Wylan... but we know you and Strife have to the worst, it is okay that you are still grieving... but don’t start pushing us away”, the Elf’s words received a saddened sigh from the skeletal man.

Emmrich’s glowing eyes turned towards his Niece again, Marigold continued to admire the various flowers and spirits that lingered in the gardens, her double-coloured eyes sparkling in amazement.

“Wylan’s passing.... it will always leave a hole in our hearts, but being like this, being with you all, my family, it’s more than enough to make the emptiness easier to handle... I love you both so dearly, and you my little girl~”

“Love you too, Uncle Emmy!”, the toddler wrapped her little arms around the Lich’s bony neck, the man hugging her back softly with a laxed exhale.

Antoine and Evka joined in, giving their dear friend a big, warm embrace.

“Would you like to come see him?” Emmrich asked.

“Of course” the Dwarven woman said as they continued on their way.

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The four sat there under the Willow tree above their poor boy’s statue.

Pompon Dahlia’s decorated the chamber nearly top to bottom.

The Devil’s Bloom placed in Wylan’s statue hands.

“I wish I met Wylan” Marigold said, looking up at the stone statue centred in the room, “he was a wonderful boy... you two would’ve gotten on very well”.

Antoine and Evka watched as their daughter tried to reach up to touch the boy’s memorial statue, her Uncle smiling down at her as he lifted the Elf girl back onto his lap.

“Now, now darling, I think it’s time to head home... it’ll be past your bedtime soon”.

Right on queue, the little girl yawned and rubbed her eyes at the same time saying, “I’m not tired though...”.

Emmrich chuckled, “come now, my love... you can visit us whenever you wish~”.

The Warden Elf smiled and held his arms out to receive his sleepy daughter, Antoine had Marigold laid over his shoulder as they began to leave.

Evka looked up at her child half-asleep in her husband’s arms.

Marigold stared at the memorial as they walked out.

Smiling and waving at Wylan’s statue before muttering, “...see you soon, cousin~”

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Claws drawn, fangs bared.

Antoine shredded and ripped apart so many practice dummies within the span of a couple minutes.

Zephyr and Lucanis stood and observed the Lycanthrope’s progress, as of recent, Antoine had been adapting to the transformations, now being able to partially turn now without ruining his clothes.

A very bottom-line issue, but he was quite happy at the fact he could wear his favourite, nice clothing without tearing them apart.

“Mierda...”

“Hmm?” Zephyr replied to the other Crow.

Lucanis gawked at his close friend, the guy who was always chill and laid back, now ferociously tearing into the practice mannequins they were using to practice his fighting skills in his lycanthrope form.

The assassin would’ve never imagined he’d see Antoine in such a vicious state.

“This is just... wow”

The blind Qunari raised an eyebrow at the First Talon, “are you distressed, First Talon?”

“What? No... just surprised is all”

“You’ve known that Chamberlain Antoine had been a Lycanthrope for over a year now, how are you surprised?”

“Not at his transformation, I... I just didn’t think he could have so much rage in him... he’s one of my closest friends, but I guess I don’t really know so much about what goes on with him on the inside”

Zephyr fell silent, politely requesting Succour to describe the scene going on in front of them.

“Tearing. Ripping. Gutting. Disembowelling. Beheading..... DEVOURING.... whomever makes the poor decision to meddle in the Chamberlain’s affairs will suffer a gruesome and rightfully cruel fate” Succour describes blankly into their host’s ear.

The blind Qunari took a breath, trying to understand what the higher Crow meant from what he said.

“Are you... afraid of him?”

Lucanis quickly turns to the slightly confused Zephyr, arching his brows in shock, “NO, he is my friend, lycanthrope or not, he is my friend... why should I be afraid of him?”

After saying that, the assassin couldn’t help but notice a slight... sadness in Zephyr’s blurry eyes, the blind Crow looked down slightly ashamed, “it is a reasonable response... people get scared of new, possibly dangerous, things... even if it happens to be someone they once loved...”

Lucanis could not shake the feeling that he had hit a nerve for the young Qunari.

Zephyr crossed their arms as they faced front, right in the general direction of the wolf man currently dismembering and severing the dummies apart like they just destroyed everything and everyone he knows and loves.

“Even the people you think love you unconditionally can leave for something you did... or the thing you are... love is always conditional... people are just so blinded by the idea of ‘everlasting love’ that they forget about reality and lose themselves in a fantasy for so long they end up losing everyone who ever cared about them because they’re delusional...”

Lucanis was totally stunned by what the other Crow was saying, the venom in their tone stabbed into the man’s heart like them were the sharpest, strongest blade in Antiva.

Although, through his shock... the assassin felt sympathy.

He didn’t really know much about Zephyr and their past either, hells, nobody really did besides their grandmother and prehaps Mila when they are ready.

Zeph’s talon-like nails nearly tore the skin of their bicep as the Qunari squeezed themself tight.

They are hurting.

Lucanis could tell that for sure.

The blind Crow felt a gentle hand grasp their shoulder, turning their head toward the other assassin’s direction.

“You’re right...”

Zephyr narrowed their eyes in perplexity, opening their cloaked mouth until Lucanis added on.

“... love is conditional for those who can only give love under conditions, getting hurt or left by a person who once cared for you for one reason that they could care to try and understand... it was not love... someone who loves you WILL love you no matter what, whoever, or whatever you are... all you need to do is find the right people”

Lucanis looked over to Antoine again.

The man was beginning to wind down, his form shrinking and his breath laxing.

“Ann and I... we managed to find good ones, or rather they found us!” the man laughed, remembering when he first met his dear Kage.

“What I am trying to say, Zeph... is that you may shock yourself with how much you can be loved... even if you think no one can, there will always be someone”

Zephyr looked down as they thought to themself.

“... what if I did something horrible... something unforgivable... would I be loved then?”

“Do you like what you did?”

“No...?”

“Are you regretful of what you had done?”

“.... very much”

“If you had a chance to do it again, would you?”

“No”

“Then they would grow to forgive you in time... it won’t say it’d be easy, it won’t, because if love is to be unconditional, it must be work too, showing your care and expressing your concern for your relationship, but also working to keep it together... that’s love”

The Qunari’s eyes laxed again, shifting slowly into their sockets as they thought, subtly glossing over as Lucanis could notice Zeph holding back tears.

“Uuuuuh, Zephyr?”

Suddenly, the Crows’ sudden mini therapy session was interrupted by Antoine’s concerned voice coming from in front of them.

Lucanis turned to look at his dear friend when he jolted back in panic at the sight bestowed upon him.

“QUÉ CARAJO!! ANTOINE, ARE YOU OKAY!?!?”

The older Crow freaked out at the Warden standing there with a severed arm in his hand...

...HIS ARM.

“I- I don’t know what to do- it just came off-”

“Oh, I forgot to mention that”

“WHAT!?!?”

Zephyr very casually got up and approached the mortified Elf, yoinking his own arm from his hand and snapping it back on his body like nothing happened.

“That’s normal after a couple transformations, it’s sort of a side effect of your body changing”, as the Qunari explained, they, again very casually, popped their own hand off their wrist for a moment and then put it back on.

“Mierda... I think I’m going to be sick”

“Is this permanent?” Antoine inquired with concern in his sapphires.

“In terms of still being able to do it, yes, but you can always reattach them, you’ll get used to it and don’t worry it only really happens, on accident, under a lot of stress and pressure”

“Oh... brilliant, so it’ll happen all the time” the Warden muttered sarcastically before the Qunari placed their, once briefly disembodied hand, on the Elf’s back.

“I have these very effective relaxants for extreme stress; I’ll put a word in to get you some”

“WAIT”

Antoine and Zephyr looked at the terrified older assassin across from them, who was frantically inspecting himself.

“WILL THAT HAPPEN TO ME?!?!”

The Elf couldn’t help it; he started laughing hysterically while Lucanis yelled at him that it wasn’t funny.

Lucanis quickly calmed down though when Zeph explained that he won’t experience it as he has gone through any major body transformations.

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2 years

Martin lifted the now two-year-old Elf girl into his arms, twirling around with Marigold in the air, “hey Mari, how have ya been?”

“Great, Uncle Marty!” the golden-haired girl exclaimed with pure joy.

Claude and Clement bolted towards their Uncle at full force, tightly hugging the Warden around his legs, “Uncle Marty!!”

“Aye, there’s my boys!”

Antoine and Evka laugh watching their fellow Warden scoop their children into his arms, walking up to the somehow extra cheery man with smiles, “Martin, it’s been a little bit since we’ve seen you, how are things?” the Dwarven woman asked.

“Ah, everything’s been great, I don’t think I remember the last time I saw are single Darkspawn near Lavendal, or within a five-mile radius”

“Incroyable! And tell me, how have you and Flynn been doing?”

“Absolutely amazing, we went on a picnic the other day, it was lovely”

All three Wardens and the children made their way into the main area of the Grey Hold, the place was running why people laughing and chatting away, completely unlike how it was a decade ago.

Now, with the addition of other children around, the innocence and joy surrounding the village really brightened the atmosphere.

As the group stepped further towards the edge in front of the Grey Hold, the overlook of Lavendal was bright, grass had been growing again and the blue flowers decorating the village were practically glistening.

“Antoine, Evka!”

A woman’s voice called from across the way, a young woman with big, black curls waved at them from a small house towards the end of town.

Mila, now twenty-two, wore a beautiful, tan tunic top with loose pants of the same colour.

The same two accessories she’s had since she was a girl remained on her person, the small silver hammer hung around her neck with twine and her headband wrapped around her noggin.

“Hi, Mila!!” Claude yelled, frantically waving back at his big cousin.

Evka and Antoine snicker at their adorable son, continuing their walk through their old home.

“Oh, Kage should be turning up soon, I’m sure he’s gonna be overjoyed at the state of Lavendal now”, the Elven Warden took his wife’s hand, squeezing it gently as he looked between her and Martin with a joyous smile.

“He’ll be delighted about a few things”

The slight cunning in the Warden’s voice when he said that had both the Elf and the Dwarf intrigued, and a bit suspicious, but they brushed it off just for the moment.

.

“AH! It’s so good to see you five again!”

Mila sprints up to her Aunt and Uncle and gives them a bone-crushing hug before moving onto her cousins, “Mils, you saw us last week” Claude laughed.

“Still missed you guys!”

The curly haired woman nuzzled her little Dwarven cousins before picking up and snuggling Marigold, making the younger girl giggle with excitement.

Mila had a lot of changes in her appearance lately, her necklace and headband likely being the only things that have stayed the same. The woman possessed a number of new piercings, a nose-bridge piercing that resembled two little horns that matched her ear-piercings, underneath were two golden stud nasal piercings mirroring the horned ones, and final one golden brow piercing.

At a glance, you would think she was a Lord of Fortune.

“So, how is Zeph~?” Evka asked her Niece with cheek.

Mila just rolled her eyes and scoffed, but still smiling, “they’re good, we’re going to a game night at Etienne and Amir’s place next weekend”

As the Dwarf proceeded to tease Mila about the tall, handsome Crow she’s singing and dancing with, Holden slowly walked up next to his daughter, the older man cracking his hunched back as he chimed in.

“Yeah, but they’ll need my permission before taking you to Treviso again”

“Daaad”

Mila crossed her arms as she huffed in an annoyed tone, throwing a smirk towards her father.

“After all the incidents you went through there, can you blame me, love?”

“I can handle them, Dad, and Zee does their absolute best to make sure I’ll be safe”

“Yeah, will I still haven’t properly met this Zephyr, so, I don’t trust them”

The last time Zephyr was ever in Lavendel was during Flynn and Martin’s wedding, and the Qunari Crow was just as reserved then as they are now, so the blacksmith never got the opportunity to formally meet the person his daughter has been ‘randomly’ hanging out with.

“Zephyr is a nice person, Holden, trust me when I say that need not worry about them around Mila” Antoine reassured the sceptical older man.

“They’ve been training Antoine, remember, Dad?”

“Huh... oh yeah, that’s right”

Evka raised a concerned eyebrow for a moment, noticing the blacksmith’s state. Holden rubbed his forehead as he scrunched his nose in thought, “yeah, I forgot about that”

“We’ve been training in the Anderfels for two years now-”

“Hello all!” a cheery voice cut through the group.

They turn around to see a very chirpy looking Flynn, the physician had their long, black hair tied into a bun with Brona’s Bloom weaved in-around it and they wore an over-sized blue tunic with light-brown pants.

“Nini Flynn!!”

All three of the kids ran over and hugged their Nini tightly, Antoine noticed Martin growing a slightly concerned face as the children ran to his partner but relaxed when they hugged them more gently.

“Hey sweethearts, are you doing well, causing your Mama and Papa any trouble?”

“No, Nini!”

“Good” the physician said softly before placing a little kiss on each child’s forehead.

Martin staring at them with stary eyes as they approached, “hey love~”

“Marty~”

The couple shared a soft kiss on the lips as they greeted each other, earning a few ‘awes’ from their friends mixed with a disgusted noise out of Claude.

“You two are doing well?”

“Oh yes, we’re doing... very well” Flynn confirmed, exchanging a somewhat devious look with their husband after which caught the suspicion of Evka and Antoine again.

“Come to our place, there’s something we wanna show you”

Mila offered to watch the kids while the Warden couple were being dragged off by the younger Warden couple who were still sporting faces as if they were plotting something.

Evka and Antoine just decided to roll with it until they saw what was going on.

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.

.

Martin and Flynn had a decent place in the village for themselves.

A little cabin like Antoine and Evka’s in Arlathan but slightly smaller, with an open floor from the kitchen and the living room, and two bedrooms, blue flowers decorating the place head-to-toe as well as a couple griffon themed decorations here and there.

“Wow, the place is looking great” Evka commented.

“Thanks, it took a while to spruce it up, and now it truly feels like home~”

Flynn led their friends to the couch while Martin went off to the guest room to get the ‘thing’ they were very vaguely speaking of, meanwhile both the Elf and the Dwarf questioned why it was kept in there.

“Lavendel has really improved over the years, I’m so glad...” Antoine expresses, looking out the window onto the delightful scene of villagers laughing and chatting away while marketplaces were being set up and children played across the vibrant, grassy grounds that used to be dull, soaked mud and dirt.

This place was finally feeling like a safe home for people.

The two Wardens almost couldn’t believe it for themselves, spending years of their life fighting to protect this village and look at it now, safe to say those years really paid off.

“It’s growing into be such a beautiful town~” the physician added, their dark-brown eyes stare out the window with their friends.

“Here we are!”

Martin returned from the guest room, carrying a big, brown, draw-string bag in his hand.

He set it on the coffee table in front of the very puzzled Antoine and Evka before nestling comfortable beside his partner, wrapping his arm around their shoulders.

“We were gonna wait until Kage got here to show you guys, but were too excited”

“What is it?”

“Just... something we’re working on, open it!” Martin said with a coy smile, looking at his partner again before allowing the other couple to take a look.

Antoine and Evka looked at each other, sharing an expression that pose the same amount of confusion and interest.

What are these two playing at?

The Elf was the first to reach out and grab the bag, it wasn’t heavy at all, as he lifted it into his lap, he could feel something pretty light inside of it.

Like... fabric?

“Go on~” Flynn instructed, a big bubbly smile on their face as they leaned against their husband.

Antoine pulled open the string that squeeze the bag shut, partially seeing the item inside raised more questions.

A blanket?

Evka leaned over and looked inside before her husband dug the folded cotton blanket out, it was quite soft, not that big though.

The Elven Warden held out the little blanket again to see the embraided design currently on its front.

The edges were framed with little Brona’s Bloom flowers woven together in a chain looping around the fabric’s perimeter, in the middle were three blue hearts, two big hearts with a smaller heart in the middle.

The two big hearts had initials sewn into them with golden thread, the one on the right had ‘MFML’ in the middle of it, obviously being Martin’s name, while the left heart read ‘FAL’ being Flynn’s initials.

But the little heart in the middle remained blank.

“Aww, it’s beautiful, are you going to hang it up somewhere?”

“No, it’s... for someone, plus it isn’t finished yet” Martin very loosely explained, throwing his fellow Wardens into a confused state again.

“Oh, it looks pretty good to me, what’s missing?”

“The last heart ain’t done... and we won’t be able to finish it for a few months”

Evka’s eyes narrowed and then widened as the realisation hit her faster than it did her husband, “why not, can you not find the right thread?”

The younger couple chuckled at Antoine’s obliviousness as his wife giggled along with them.

“What, what is so funny?”

“Ann, we can’t finish it for the next nine months... not until the baby is born”

The Elf’s sapphire eyes widened to the highest setting, “WHAT!?”

“You’re pregnant?” Evka asked to clarify, to which the physician and the other Warden nodded with happy tears in their eyes.

Flynn placing a hand on their own stomach.

“We’re expecting them in the early Winter~”

Antoine and Evka sprung up from excitement, rushing over to their friends and bombarding them with love and affection as they both embrace them in a snug, loving group hug.

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.

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“YOU’RE PREGNANT?!?!”

Kage couldn’t let go of the Human physician after he had been informed of their pregnancy.

His husband’s standing off to let them embrace as they passed on their congratulations to Martin, joining in a group hug with him and Antoine.

All their hearts fluttering from the growth of their family.

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“So, you knew and kept it from us?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly my place to spill the beans, was it now?”

Mila laughed with Evka as she, Kage, Marigold and the lovely expecting, Flynn sat out in the newfound sunlight of Lavendel while the boys went off to hang out in the Sheltered Glade.

“Now, Flynn, look I know you’re a physician, and you are well capable and know what you’re gonna go through, but Maker we will not hesitate to help you out with anything you need” Kage firmly stated to the pregnant physician, making them chuckle sweetly with his words.

“Thank you, Kage, though, I don’t think that my pregnancy will be the biggest struggle”

“Trust me, when the little one arrives, we will be here for you to help raise them”, Evka gave a reassuring pat on the knee to Flynn as she promised them.

“I can’t wait to meet my new cousin!!” Marigold expresses, practically hopping out of her seat.

The adults around her amused from her excitement.

“Happy that you aren’t gonna be the youngest anymore?” Mila asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“It’s not that bad being younger than everyone, but I like the idea of babysitting!”

“We may take you and your parents up on that” the pregnant physician added, throwing a wink toward the Dwarven woman.

“Well, you’ll still be the baby in your house... unless Mama and Papa decide to pop out one more~” Kage teased, catching his fellow Warden’s surprised attention.

“Would you and Uncle Antoine have another baby?” the young Human woman asked her Aunt, leaning in to listen for an answer.

“Ann and I discussed the possibility briefly, but that was a little bit before I gave birth to Mari, never really brought it up since so... I don’t know”

Flynn crossed their arms as they listened to their friend.

“I’d love to be a big sister!”

Evka grew a soft smile as she pulled her daughter to her side, “we’ll see, baby~” the woman said before planting a kiss on the Elf girl’s head.

.

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The four men sat and watched the little Dwarven twin boys as they played in the flowers, and by play, Clement had his alchemy book with him and was signing the eyes off his big brother, info-dumping about the medicinal properties of Brona’s Bloom as well as their historical and cultural significance to Lavendel.

Antoine had quite the doubt in his mind that his elder son would remember anything his younger twin was telling him, but he let the fascinated boy go on.

“It’s exciting... if not absolutely terrifying, but I think Flynn and I will manage”

Martin expressed his feelings about becoming a father, his words and eyes very obviously crying for advice from his far more experienced friends.

“It’ll be tough, mi amigo, but as your child grows, you’ll find that the gift of being a father will be completely worth it”

“Lucanis is correct, mon ami, and you know that you’ll always have us to come to for help”

“Children. Are. Very. Difficult Sometimes. If. Not. Most Of The Time. But. It. Is Part Of. The. Experience. Both. Love and. Work. Our Children. Were. A Ton of. Work. But. We. Love. Them. As You and The. Physician. Will Love. Your. Child”

The Human Warden’s heart ached from his friends support all around him before he looked down at his fidgeting hands, replaying how he was raised.

“My Dad wasn’t around much.... and when he was, he was distant, never had time for me and my Mum... likely the reason why she went off for someone else, if there’s anything about being a parent I don’t want is to be like him, I wanna make sure that my kid is loved and knows they are loved”

“That they will be, and not just by you and Flynn”

Antoine scooted closer to Martin and put his arm around the younger Warden’s shoulders, “thanks lads... you all have no idea how grateful I am to have you lot in my life”

“Always, amigo”

“Friends. Family. Always Help. Each Other”

The three older men surrounded the Human Warden in an affectionate, supportive hug.

Spite coiling his glowing, purple wings around the little group.

“Thank you... you lads are great friends”

“We’re your family, Marty, never forget-”

“Papaaaaa!”

Antoine lifted his head quickly to look at his son, “Claude, are you okay, what’s wrong?”

“Clemmie is eating the flowers again!”

“Ahh, Clem”

The Elf got up from the grassy floor to go save his son from devouring the garden, meanwhile the other three men laughed their asses off at Clement’s quirky antics.

.

.

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“And there we go!”

Antoine and Marigold just finished planting a fresh, new bed of flowers in front of their porch.

The tall unopened flower buds were surrounded by a flat stone perimeter; the middle five stones were much larger than the others and had painted letters on them representing each household member.

“I can’t wait to see the flowers grow, Papa!”

The golden-haired Elf girl exclaimed and clapped her hands.

“Well, it’ll take them a little while to perk up, and we need to water them every week especially if it doesn’t rain often, okay?”

“How long do they need?”

“Hmm, for Daffodils, it usually takes them around four or five weeks to bloom fully”

“That’s so long” Marigold said with a disappointed little pout, her yellow-green eyes looking down at her stone lined up with her sibling’s.

“I know, petite fleur, but flowers are living things just like us, they grow with time, and the better they are looked after, the stronger they’ll been when they are grown”

“There’s no way they’ll grow faster?”

“Nope, sorry, mon amor, but hey it’s not like they won’t grow, before you know it, you’ll see their beautiful yellow petals bloom next month”

The girl responded with a sad little nod, her eyes still locked onto the closed Daffodils.

“Now, how about some fish stew?”

“Okay!” Marigold perked up almost instantly at the mention of her favourite food, jumping up from the grass and ran inside while her father followed her with a big, loving smirk on his face.

.

{The next day}

.

“Uuuuh, Antoine?” Evka entered through the archway to the kitchen with a stunned look on her face.

The Elf looked up from the vegetables he was chopping at his shook wife.

“Amour, is everything okay?”

“You know how the Daffodils were meant to bloom in a few weeks??”

“Yes... why?”

Evka just lured her husband out into the hall quietly with her finger, “come look”

.

“Mon dieu...”

Antoine could not fathom what he was looking at, his jaw dropped so low that he couldn’t form words.

Tall, bright yellow Daffodils were sprung up in the middle of the stone bed him and his daughter made yesterday, they looked so, incredibly healthy and strong, their petals were so vibrant they were practically glowing.

In just ONE day?

“H- how, we planted them yesterday?!”

“Ask your daughter” Evka said with a, still slightly surprised, smile on her face as she pointed to their little girl standing beside Antoine.

Dimples sat amongst her many freckles as her proud smile widened.

“I made them grow, Papa!”

“But, how?”

The Dwarf placed a hand on her husband’s hip as she said something that made Antoine’s heart skip a beat, “she used magic, Ann”

“What?”

“Magic, Papa, my magic came, I wished hard for the flowers to grow and then, BOOM, they bloomed right in front of me and Mama’s eyes!!”

Antoine stuttered with now even more shock than before.

His little girl got her magic.

This early too.

The Elf had absolutely zero idea of what to say other than, “...wow”

“Who gave you permission to grow up so fast, baby?” the Dwarven woman said as she embraced her daughter.

“Yes... who let you become so strong so soon”

Antoine joined in the hug, light tears escaping his eyelids at the revelation that his baby girl had magic already.

.

“My word!”

Emmrich marvelled at the flowers grown outside his dear friend’s cabin.

“And you said you that you planted these yesterday?” Strife asked, staring at his husband who was knelt down to inspect the magically grown flowers.

“Yeah, but Mari made them grow fast, she’s amazing!!!” Claude praised his little sister; the Elf girl blushed a little at the amount of hype she’s being graced with.

{It’s phenomenal!} Clem signed at Marigold, the two-year-old signing back a thank you.

“Well, that is some serious magic, especially for a two-year-old...”

“I’ll say, I’ve never magical ability this strong for a mage her age!” the Lich exclaimed with pure enthusiasm as he stood, “I can even sense a slight magical binding in the flowers”

“You think they’ll stay bloomed forever!!?” Mari asked excitedly, stars forming in her pupils.

“Maybe not forever, but they’ll certainly live for quite a long time, I believe”

The Elf girl was squealing with happiness, her brothers hugging her tightly while praising her to bits, meanwhile their parents just continued trying to wrap their heads around the whole thing, Mari’s magic was something they thought would be a mid-puberty thing, not when she just about a toddler.

Long story short, they were scared, happy and extremely happy for their daughter, but scared none the less.

“Hey” Strife interrupted the couple’s collective trance with a comforting hand on the younger Elven man’s arm.

“I can already guess this is a lot for you two to take in, but you know we’ll help you both out if things get too complicated”

“And, I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving the little darling some lessons on how to handle her magic and how to use it responsibly, would you like that, my dear?”

Marigold nodded frantically, her smile even wider.

“Well, I think that’ll be great for her, and if it makes her happy”

“Yeah... when-”

“I could take her on weekends! Or late weekdays, whatever works”, Antoine, Evka and Strife all chuckled at the Lich’s eagerness before settling on dates for Marigold’s lessons.

Can it get much crazier than this?

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{3 years}

“He’s so beautiful”

“Mhm, just like his father~”

Evka and Antoine sat beside Flynn in their bed as they admired the little baby boy in their arms.

Beauregard Corwin Licht-MacLeod.

Or Beau for short.

He was the most beautiful little child they’d ever seen, he had light brown skin, similar to Flynn’s, dirty light blonde hair like his father and his eyes were magnificent, an enchanting shade of hazel with sage green inner irises.

Martin came into the room with a glass of water and a bottle of medicine for his spouse, “here you are, love”

“Thank you, Marty~”

The Warden placed them on the nightstand next to Flynn before placing a hand over his three-month-old son, the blanket on top of him was finally finished with his initials sewn into the small heart in the middle.

“Here, I put him down, you get some rest, darling”

“Okay~” the physician obliged instantly, their husband softly taking their infant son into his arms before kissing Flynn on the forehead.

“Wow, you are a lot more lenient than Evka was-”

Evka returned that statement with an elbow jab into her spouse’s ribs.

Getting a laugh out of both Flynn and Martin.

“Well, Flynn’s the professional in this house, it’s no surprise that they’d follow their own medical advice” Martin stated as he approached Beau’s bassinette and gingerly placed the baby boy into bed, making sure to place his special blanket fully over him.

“Night, son~”

Evka and Antoine watched in heartwarming admiration at their fellow Warden with his son.

Trying to fathom how what started as a little family was growing bigger and bigger by the year, neither of them would’ve thought they’d live to have so much love around them.

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“Awww, he’s sooo cute!”

Bianca and Layla leaned above the bassinette where their new baby cousin was sleeping while Claude, Clement and Marigold stood below the now really tall girls.

The little boy let out tiny snores as his older cousins watched him.

“You think he’ll be a fighter like Uncle Marty?” Claude asked with his eyes full of enthusiasm.

“Not sure, maybe he’ll be a physician or a medic like Nini Flynn” Layla added.

Clement paid attention to his cousin’s lips, catching the eye of his eldest cousin in the room, {he does not necessarily have to be like his parents, you guys know}

“We know Clemmie, we’re just lingering on the possibilities” Bianca reassured the curly-haired Dwarf.

“Whatever he’ll grow to be, he’ll definitely be the cutest boy in Lavendel” Layla cooed with his hands cupped against her cheeks.

The other cousins giggling at her adoring aura.

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Mila gently knocked on the door to Zephyr and Amani’s apartment.

A covered plate of peach tarte tatin that Antoine helped her make, the Elven Warden obviously took the many opportunities to tease Mila for asking him how to make a sweet treat for the sweet-toothed Qunari she was visiting.

“Nervous?” the Dwarven woman next to her asked.

“No, just... never been to Zee’s place before... thanks for coming by the way”

The young woman was panicking the whole week after receiving an invitation to Zephyr’s home, not wanting to go alone, she politely requested that her Aunt comes with her.

“Just so you know, I’m mostly here to catch up with Amani, I ain’t pulling you from any awkward moments, hon”

“It’s not gonna be awkward...”

“Mhmm, like all of your interactions with Zeph have been ‘normal’, my dear, romance comes with those moments, you just never see it in the fine print”

A dark blush invades Mila’s cheeks, being careful not to grip the plate and ruin the lovely dessert that her Uncle helped her prepare.

Antoine had to stay back at home with the kids as ‘nobody was available to babysit’ according to Evka, but Mila had suspected that her Uncle wasn’t coming to minimise the ‘crush’ comments, although she’ll get plenty from Evka.

*CLICK, CREAK*

The door opened to reveal Amani sporting her same sweet, grandmotherly aura with a comforting smile gracing her lips.

“Hello, my dears!”

“Hey Amani!”

The old Qunari lady leaned in and gave Evka a big, loving hug before setting her sandy-yellow eyes on Mila, “hello Mila, my darling- oh, you didn’t have to bring anything”

“Hah, yeah, well I just- uuuh, it’s a tart, I thought Ze- YOU and Zee might like it”

The Dwarf shot her Niece a look as if to say ‘reeeeal smooth’.

“Oh, Zeze will adore that, I’m guessing you know how much of a sweetie they are- oh, come in, come in!”, Amani gracefully took the tart from Mila’s hands and stood aside to allow her guests in.

The place was warm and smelled of various flowers.

Lavender, Chamomile, Cloves, Jasmine, the aromas gracefully entered the two ladies' noses with a sweet welcome.

Although the smell of the apartment was quite soft and relaxing, the lights were oddly bright, lighting up every corner of the space which wasn’t usual for Antivan home atmosphere.

Amani led the Dwarf and the Human woman into the living room before taking the tarte into the kitchen, leaving the guests to look around the room.

Evka and Mila observed the living area, it was really bright, veil fire lanterns hung all over the ceiling and a veil fire lite up in the fireplace, it’s clearly no secret that this home was occupied by mages.

The fireplace was surrounded by plush, two lavender couches in front of a polished dark wooden coffee table.

But one thing stood out to both of them.

On the left-hand side of the couches was an old wooden wheelchair that looked like no one had sat in it for a while.

Perhaps it belonged to a departed family member, or maybe it was just decorative.

Either way the girls found it a little unusual but collectively decided not to question it.

“Zephyr is in the greenhouse right now, Mila, do you wanna go get them, sweetie?!” the elder Qunari woman yelled from the kitchen.

“Sure, where is it?”

“The door at the end of the hall, darling”

Evka gave another cheeky wink to Mila before the young woman walked off, returning a bothered look to her Aunt.

.

Mila made her way towards the door at the very end of the hall; the wooden door was ajar and just about showing what was inside as the young woman drew closer.

As Mila walked down the hall, she heard a low, melodic tune emanating from the greenhouse door.

The gentle plucks of a lyre accompanied by smooth humming going along with it became louder as Mila got closer.

Once the young woman arrived at the half open door, she placed her hand on it and slowly pushed it open, listening to the gorgeous music playing behind it.

The greenhouse was full of various exotic flowers in flowerbeds, hanging flowerpots and even vines and plants trailling up the stained-glass walls.

The plants dancing and flowed with the blue-hue white weaving around the room.

Leading towards a person sitting in the centre of the greenhouse, the source of the music and magic filling the space.

Zephyr.

The blind crow was sat in the middle of the glass house and flowers, humming a calming melody that seemed to produce streams of magic that travelled around and through the plants housed in the greenhouse.

Making the various flowers glow and shine, brightening their phenomenal colours.

Mila very carefully approached the Qunari playing, noticing the instrument in their lap.

Their lyre.

As the girl got closer, she started to see the instrument in more detail.

It was not a normal looking lyre at all.

Two massive dark horns curled up and out to create the base hand-held harp design, the top being tied with a thick, very familiar looking red rope with the lyre strings attached between the rope and the base which was still unintelligible.

Until the singing stopped.

“I know you’re there, Mila”

“I know, your singing is beautiful by the way”

Zephyr took a deep breath before setting their terrifying musical instrument down and turning around to the woman standing behind them.

“The greenhouse as well... it’s unspeakable~”

Mila looked around at every inch and corner, no surface of the glass shed had no plants growing out or on it.

The range of flower species was insane, marigolds, orchids, hydrangeas, peonies, lavender, forget me nots, snapdragons, snowdrops, blue bells, as well as wall flowers like bleeding hearts and carnivorous plants such as venus-flytraps, pitcher plants, sundews.

Name a flower, it’s likely in this greenhouse somehow.

“Yes, Tama had bent over backwards trying to obtain as many variants as possible that she could find”

“How... how are some of these even growing together? Antoine told me that certain plants don’t like to grow alongside each other”

“You were witnessing how”

The Qunari stood, their outfit was very different from what Mila had seen them in before, it was simple yet elegant, comfy yet... attractive.

They wore a long, black dress that went down to their feet, with long sleeves that wrapped around their dorsal.

It wasn’t too tight but hugged the Crow’s frame perfectly, capturing their shape so well Mila didn’t even realise how distracted she was by it.

“Mila? Did you hear what I said?”

“Huh?! Oh yeah, uuuhhh”

“You seem distracted, are you feeling alright?”

“YES, I’m fine, what- what were you saying?”

A steel-blue brow arched from Zephyr before they walked over to one of the flowerbeds next to them.

“I play my lyre in here every day; certain sound waves influence the rate of plant growth and even improve their strength and health, and with the addition of magic...”, Zeph paused as the used their long nails to carefully pluck a honeysuckle from the flowerbed before returning to the Human woman, “... plant life and their beneficial properties can be moulded and grown into something new, here”

Zephyr presented the small yellow flower to Mila, “it’s beautiful, thank you”

“Try it”

“What?”

The blind Crow pointed their obsidian black claw to the honeysuckle in Mila’s hand, “snap the stem in half and suck on it”

A large blush instinctively spread across the woman’s cheeks before she reluctantly did what the Qunari asked, she snapped the stem of the honeysuckle and then placed it in her mouth.

It was sweet, but slightly sour and tangy.

“Oh, it’s nice, I've never-”, suddenly, a wave of tingling energy burst through Mila’s body, warmth and motivation, “woah, what-”

“The magic infused in the flower, when consumed, it boosts your energy and stamina for several hours”

“Woah, Maker, I feel like I just slept for twelve hours, that’s amazing”

Although Zephyr’s mask still remained on their face, Mila couldn’t help but feel like they were smiling at her.

“The plants and herbs here in this garden, I use them to make a variety of medicines, the relaxants Chamberlain and I use are made by me as well”

“Magic mixed with alchemy, Antoine and Marigold would love to come here” the woman snickered, still admiring the yellow flower even with it’s bent stem.

As she stared at it, she saw Zephyr retrieving their lyre from the ground where she finally saw the whole instrument.

Safe to say, it gave Mila a bit of a scare seeing what the base was crafted from.

Connected to the big horns was a massive skull, from the formation of the horns on the head suggested that it was a Qunari’s skull.

“Soo... where did you get the lyre??”

“I made myself”

Well, that raised even more questions that Mila was trying to decide to ask, the blind Crow began to clear the air, “yes, it is a real Qunari skull and horns, yes, I killed him myself, but you need not worry... he was an Antaam General... killed thousands of locals, he deserved it”

“Well, that’s understandable... still just... a little off putting to look at”

“I apologise if you are uncomfortable, I will put it away-”

“No, no, it’s okay, why did you decide to make him into lyre is my question?”

Zephyr lifted the large Antaam head to their chest as they led Mila out of the greenhouse door, “I initially took his head off his shoulders as a ‘trophy’ perhaps, but the longer it was idle on my wall, the more I felt it could be more than a display, so, I remade his form into an instrument of beauty and good to off-seat his misdeeds”

“Wow... that... makes a lot of sense, that’s a really good idea”

“Really?”

“I mean, if he was no use for good alive, might as well use him for good in death”

The blind Qunari’s misty eyes widened as a dark blue flush covers their cheeks, “I... didn’t think you’d understand...”

“You made an evil bastard into a beautiful, melodic instrument, to be honest... I’m impressed~”

“Oh... thank you”

Mila smiled up at Zephyr, who was blushing like crazy and clutching the large horns of their lyre, “you’re very welcome~” Mila said.

The Crow cleared their throat before going through the threshold into the hallway, “well, I uum- I imagine Tama and First Warden Evka are waiting for us”

“Yeah... Uncle Antoine helped me make a peach tarte tatin, I thought you may like it?”

“How did you know peach was my favourite?”

“Uuuuuh, lucky guess?”

She fished the information out of Amir.

“Well, I’ll give it a try then~”

The two continued down the hall to the living room again as they spoke, more chuckles and quips filled their conversations these days.

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Evka laid back in bed reading a book.

The Dwarven woman laxed in her place with the fire roaring across the room.

“Evkaaa~”

“Hmm?”

The woman looked up from her reading to see Antoine, his pupils the size of coins as he lazily leaned against the doorframe.

He stared at his wife with a pleased smirk.

“Relaxants kicked in?”

“Mhmm~”

“That means bedtime then, come here”

Evka patted the spot beside her on the mattress as she ordered her husband, the Elven man sluggishly walked over to the bed and practically face-planted next to the Dwarven woman.

Antoine rolled on his side to look up at his wife who reached her hand over to tuck his messy hair behind his sharp ear.

“Je t’aime, mon amour~”

“I love you too, sweetface, are you gonna go to sleep~?”

“Mmmm, wanna fuck you~”

The woman rolled her eyes and chuckled as the limp man nuzzled his nose into the palm of her hand, sensually smooching her wrist.

“Those drugs really do it for you, huh?”

“Noooo... my beautiful wife does it for me only~”

Since Zephyr had given Antoine these ‘relaxants’ to keep the wolf down when it gets too much, the Elf had been experiencing a certain side-effect that, even after asking Zeph, they could not explain why the drugs make Antoine ridiculously horny.

“Well, I’m really tired right now, so, do you think you can survive~?”

“I have no problem doing as my love wishes~”, the very high man could fortunately still manage to will himself to listen to Evka.

Scooching himself into a better sleeping position, wrapping his arm around the Dwarf’s waist and nuzzling his face into her hip.

“Comfy?”

“Oui~”

Plump lips lovingly kissed Evka’s belly as Antoine softly rubbed her stomach, “ma beauti, the mother of our children, my amazing wife, I love you so much~”

“You’re adorable, you know that~”

“Adorable for yoooou~”

Maker, he’s even cornier when he’s high.

“Speaking of mother of our children...”

“Hmm~?”

Evka closed her book and set it on the nightstand before laying down closer to her currently cloud-nine husband.

“Do you want another baby?”

Antoine’s dilated eyes widen a little before he buried his face into Evka’s neck, snuggling in against her clavicle as the Dwarf pulled the blankets over them, “personally, I would love to have at least one more child... what about you, mon coeur?”

“I do too, but now that I think about it, we should discuss it more when you’re sober-”

“I’m fiiiiine~”

“Uh huh, sure”

The Elf chuckled mischievously as he uncovered his face from his wife’s bosom, “but really... I want to have another baby with you~”

Evka smiled and tucked Antoine into bed, the Elf’s lanky arms coiling around her wide thighs, “me too~”

“I love you soooo much, mon petite moineau~”

“Love you more, sweetface, now go the fuck to sleep~”

One last giggle out of Antoine before he slowly started to drift off in Evka’s strong arms, the Dwarven woman nuzzling her nose into his soft, long locks.

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{4 years}

“Uuuuuuh, Papa!”

Antoine looked up from the letter he was writing to turn his attention to him being called by a panicked sounding Claude.

“What’s wrong, son?!”

“Papa, can you come here for a minute?”

The Elf quickly got up and made his way toward the living room where his son’s voice was coming from.

“Claude, what is-”

As Antoine rounded the corner, he was stunned with questions at what he was looking at.

His eldest son stood at the end of the couch in pure concern and uneasiness while both he and his father looked at the odd occurrence in the room.

A little, light-haired wolf pup was sat with Clement, happily receiving head rubs from the boy.

“What in the- where did that puppy come from??!”

“Papa...”

Antoine, shook from the site of the little wolf puppy, glanced between it and his son, “wait... where is your sister?!”

“Papa... that’s Marigold”

The man’s eyes widen from Claude’s statement, turning to look at the pup again.

The light, smooth, silky looking fur, the yellow and green eyes.

Maker.

No way.

“M- Mari?”

Suddenly, the little wolf turned to look at Antoine, her ears perking up and her pupils dilating at the site of him.

She pranced over to the man with her togue hanging out her mouth, little woofs and barks erupted from the puppy as she tried to climb up Antoine’s legs.

“Marigold, sweetie, is that you!?! How did this happen?!”

Clement got up from the floor and walked into his father’s line of sight to sign to him, {it was kind of out of nowhere really, Mari just said that she felt a little odd and warm, and then... POOF, she became a wolf}

The Warden looked down at the pup that was confirmed to be his daughter again, she sat there staring at her father with her tiny tail wagging with excitement.

“She’s a Lycan, just like you, Papa!” Claude exclaimed with joy.

Antoine bent over and lifted his little girl into his arms, “huh, well, you are just full of surprises, aren’t you, petite fleur?”

*BARK*

Marigold yipped enthusiastically before gifting her dad a series of lovingly licks on his cheek.

“Hahaha... well, your Mama is gonna love this”

.

“MARI IS A LYCANTHROPE!?!?!”

Evka had just come home from a visit with Emmrich, she wanted to check in with the Lich and the Veil Jumper for Wylan’s anniversary, little did she know she was gonna be incredibly surprised once she got home.

“Yes... she seems to have ‘inherited’ lycanthropy from me... I honestly wasn’t even sure that was possible”

Marigold had turned back into her normal Elf form shortly before her mother returned home, but the distinctly light tuffs of fur stuck to Antoine’s shirt was more than enough physical evidence for his daughter’s transformation.

“Is she hurt? I know that your transformations had been... agony” Evka asked worried for her child’s wellbeing.

“Fortunately, she is fine, she said to me that it just felt like a ‘tingling’ or anything other than pain”

“Well, that’s good”

The Dwarven woman breathed to calm herself until her husband took her hands, “hey, she’s going to be okay, darling”

“I know, I just... it’s all just happening so fast, even if we knew she was, I would’ve thought it’d be more of a puberty thing, y’know?”

“The important thing is that she has people around her who can help, me, Emmrich, I could even set up a session with Zephyr, you don’t need to worry too much, amour?”

Evka just looked down at her spouse’s hands in hers, “yeah... you’re right, I’m just... feeling a little off lately”

“Are you okay?”

The woman shrugged, “I don’t know... might schedule an appointment with Flynn”

“Well, it’ll be a nice opportunity to visit and check up on them and Beau~”

“Mhm, the kids have been missing their baby cousin”, a smile finally grew on the woman’s face, her sky blues meeting Antoine’s sapphires.

“I’ll call them and see how tomorrow sounds~”

“Okay~”

Soft knuckles came up and stroked the Dwarf’s cheek, “you look so beautiful, darling, you’re glowing~”

“Oh shush, not while the kids are awake!”

Evka shoved her husband into his chair before standing up and walking off to check on their daughter, knowing for sure the Elf behind her was eyeing her rear as she walked off.

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“So, Marigold’s a Lycanthrope too, aigh?”

Martin walked alongside his fellow Warden, Antoine, with his one-year-old son sat upon his shoulders.

“Yeah... it’s gonna be an adjustment but I think she will be okay, she has a lot of excellent support around her"

“That she does, you think... you think she’s possessed too?”

Antoine narrowed his eyes to think, “I don’t know, I must ask her about it... if so, we’ll figure it out, how have you three been doing?”

“Ah, Flynn’s been a bit concerned about Beau, he’s one and he hasn’t spoken yet”

“Everyone goes at their own pace; some children don’t talk till their several years old”

“Try saying that to Flynn”, the Human Warden rolled his eyes before looking up at his son who was admiring the scenery of his home village.

Evka was currently in with said physician for a check-up, Marigold, Claude and Clement played in the Sheltered Glade with Mila as the two Wardens and little Beauregard watched them.

“I’m sure Beau will start talking when he’s ready, won’t you, little one?”

Greenish-hazel eyes looked down at Antoine, the toddler just replied with a small, careless shrug before returning to observing the environment.

“Said that to Flynn as well, but they still worry themself too much”

“Parenthood will do that”

“As long Beau ain’t getting bullied or anything, I’m happy for him~”

Martin reached a hand up to his child, the little dirty-blonde boy wrapped his small hand around the man’s index finger and smiled at him contently.

“Hello~”

Both men turned to see their dear partners appear from the entrance to the Glade, “slaut, mon cheris, how are you feeling my darling?” the Elven Warden asked his wife as she stood next to him.

“Yeah, it’s just a bug, I’ll be fine”

Flynn walked by as they glanced toward the couple, “hey love~” Martin greeted his spouse as they reached up to hold their son.

“Is Beau doing okay?”

“He’s fine, darling, you know he just likes to sit and watch”

The physician planted a little kiss on their child’s head as Beau snuggled in against his Pama.

“He’s only one, Flynn, give him time”

“I know... sorry”

The Human Warden leaned in and smooched his spouse on the cheek in reassurance, “it’s alright, my love, I just don’t want you to worry too much~”

Antoine and Evka leaned into each other as they observed their friends and family, smiling at how sweet they were with each other.

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Two wolves bolted around the forest.

A big brown Papa wolf, and a little golden puppy.

“You two enjoying yourselves?!” Evka yelled from the picnic blanket her and the twins sat on, watching her husband and daughter let out their energy together.

Antoine halted and trotted up to his wife, nuzzling into her neck and licking her face with love.

“Haha, stop, stop it~!”

Claude jumped up and ran over to his father, “Papa, can I ride on your back, please?”

The brown fur wolf laid down to let his son on top of him, the little Dwarf boy climbed his dad’s pelt and gripped onto him tight.

“Don’t go too fast this time, Claude got sick”

“Mamaaaa!”

Antoine gave Evka one last little lick of the cheek before standing up and running back to the other little wolf, who was standing in the distance forming a playful stance.

The Dwarven woman watched with a sweet chuckle at her beautiful husband and children as they played, her younger son scooting up beside her with his notepad in his lap.

“What are you working on, sweetie?”

{I’m writing my first story}

“Oh, that’s great, sweetheart, what’s it about?”

{It’s a love story, about an exiled noble falling in love with a servant on probation that escaped from their previous occupation and are hiding from the guards, but the noble protects them and makes sure no one will hurt the servant}

“Wow, that sounds like an amazing story, can I read it when you’re finished?”

Clement nodded gladly before returning to his writing, his mother watching him with pride for her son.

Eight-years-old and the boy was writing his own full creative stories, Evka couldn’t feel prouder of the little curly-haired Dwarf.

Her family was growing and thriving significantly with a bright future ahead of all of them.

And she was the currently the only one who knew...

...that their family was gonna grow even more.

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“Over here, Evka!!” Amir yelled, waving over to the Dwarven woman to lead her toward a nice table that Kage was sitting at.

Evka walked up to their spot, greeting her fellow Warden with a big, excited smile.

“Evka, it’s so good to see you!!”

“Hey Kage, it’s great to see you again too!”

The Qunari Warden hoped out of his seat and gave his dear friend a warm, welcoming hug before they sat in their chairs.

“Okay, my loves, what can I getcha?” the bubbly Human man asked, wiping out his notepad and pencil.

“Just a cup of Andoral's breathe for me” Kage ordered, handing his menu to Amir before he turned to Evka.

“Just an herbal tea, please Amir”

“I’ve got you, my dear!”

The man took Evka’s menu happily before waltzing off to retrieve their orders, “no coffee today?” the Qunari asked, clasping his big hands together on the table.

“No, not feeling it, how have things been here, how are the kids?”

“Oh, it’s been a little tense... our sweet Bianca is crushing on someone~”

“Oh, really now? Maker, how did Lucanis react to that?”

“Poorly, he threatened the girl flirting with her right in the middle of the Cantori... in front of everyone”

“Oof...”

“Yeah, I had to threaten him if he didn’t apologise to her, I get where he’s coming from but Maker, he can get a little crazy sometimes”

“So can you, Kage, don’t act so high and mighty~”

“Only when I really need to be”

As the Wardens laughed together, Amir appeared back with their drinks on a tray, “here you are, anything else you two need?”

“I’m good, thank you”

“So am I, thanks Amir”

“Not a problem, sweetheart, just call me if you need anything!”

Amir trotted off with delight as usual, “can you believe someone that high energy is somehow friends with Zephyr?” Kage inquired, taking a sip of his and his husband’s favourite brew.

“Pretty sure Amir just kind of adopted Zeph, and now they are just kind of together no matter what”

“I’m pretty sure that’s most friends now that you mention it”

“Mila is still working up the courage to ask them out”

“Really, it’s been like four years!”

“Took her two to even realise she likes them, Maker knows how long it’s gonna take her to confess”

The two continued to chat and exchange playful banter like they always did back in their recruitment days, sitting on the far wall of Weishaupt with pints of ale, taking shit and making fun of their dickbag superiors.

Nostalgia hit them amazingly in this time before present day came back to the conversation.

“I meant to ask, how are you guys handling Marigold’s... little change?”

“Oooh, it was a shock and it’s gonna be twice as hard now, raising a rambunctious little wolf puppy half the time... but Zephyr, Emmrich and Strife have been a big help, she really enjoys being in the Necropolis gardens and Amani’s greenhouse”

“Heh, you think she’s just in the lessons for the pretty flowers?”

“I would not be surprised, to be honest” Evka replied, earning a laugh out of her fellow Warden as she took a sip of her warm, floral, spiced herbal tea.

“I mean, it’s not just Mari’s lycanthropy that’s gonna be new to our lives...”

Kage’s fiery orange eyes lit up with intrigue, “oh, do tell~”

The Dwarven woman smirked and placed her tea back down, circling the rim with her finger as she spoke, “well... there is actually a reason... I didn’t order coffee today”

“Hmm?”

“I won’t be able to drink any for a few months...”

The Qunari had a slightly confused expression on his face, “why not... are you sick?”

“I suppose you could say something like that~”

The dots slowly connected in Kage’s brain, the man’s eyes opening to the widest they can be as he clocked it.

“Are- are you-?”

Evka nodded, smiling as she placed a hand over her stomach.

“I’m pregnant again~”

Kage tried his hardest not to scream with joy as he expressed his excitement that he was getting another Niece or Nephew, covering his mouth with both hands, muffling laughing and screaming into them.

“Oh, my Gods, when? How far are you? Does Ann know?”

“Slow down-” Evka chuckled, “-few days ago, Emmrich sensed them almost imediately, Flynn says that I’m likely two weeks along and... no, Antoine does not know yet, I’m planning on telling him and the kids when I get home~”

“Ten gold says he’s gonna bolt around the house howling in Lycan form from pure happiness”

“Hah, Maker, that is something he’d do~”

Kage and Evka chuckled together before the Qunari man added, “did you ever think that this would happen to us?”

“Hmm?”

“This. Getting married, having kids, having a home life outside of being a Warden... we came into that life thinking we were just gonna fight darkspawn and archdemons until we dropped dead or got our calling... but we’re making new life now, we made people who are gonna grow and do great things... would you have ever imagined that?”

Evka leaned against the table in thought for a second.

“You know... before I left Orzammar, Alecto wanted me to have a ‘precautionary addition to the family’ and I was not up for that... so I got a divorce and left, or in father dearest’s eyes I was ‘banished’, back then if you told me I would be married to an Orlesian Elf and have four kids with him, I probably would’ve called you insane and punched you”

Kage chuckled at the woman’s statement before he proceeded to listen again.

“But now, I feel so lucky... Wardens don’t always get the happy ending they want, as soon as your blighted, you’ve signed your life away for good... but, something is different somehow, maybe the calling is gone.... maybe we’re free... this is our reward for the years we suffered; we get to live”

Tears welled up in the Qunari’s eyes as he reached out to hold his fellow Warden and best friend’s hands, “I hope to Maker you’re right... but, whatever happens, good or bad, we’ll always have each other, yeah?”

“Of course... love ya, little flame”

“Love you too”

The two Warden’s got out of their seats to embrace each other, sobbing into each other’s hold as they reminisce on their lives.

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The family was happy.

Growing.

Thriving.

Everything was looking up right....

Right?