Taliesen Arainai - Tumblr Posts
Sleeping in the same bed for the first time. for baby crows au?
Thanks for the prompt! Had lots of fun with this, they're just lil baby crowlings! Just lil guys! Although I have realised I have no idea how to write children haha. If they're acting older than their years its cause of uhhhhh trauma.
@dadrunkwriting
The boys were squirming once again, and now Talisen had started snoring right in her ear. Rinna elbowed the human boy in the ribs, he grumbled in his sleep, rolled over and started snoring again. Oh well. At least he was snoring in Zev’s ear now. Thoroughly awakened Rinna sat up in the bed, blinking at the moonlight streaming in through the window. The dormitory wasn’t much to speak of- it was filled with children of all ages, with enough beds for perhaps a quarter of their number. It was on purpose, she suspected, to see how the recruits would react. If they would force others out, if they would tough it out curled up on the floor, or if like the three of them had, if they would make alliances. Zev and Talisen were a few years into their training by now both about 9, Rinna at 10, was at the end of her first year. The two boys had been the only ones to survive their first year. Rinna wasn’t going to go the same way as the rest of their class. Removing Zevran’s leg from where it rested atop her legs she swung her feet down to sit on the side of the bed. Rubbing her eyes she looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the small shivering body of a young girl.
She was a pale gangly thing- probably about 7 years old, all elbows and knees. Her hair was black, though it was more of an ashy black than the midnight tones poets would wax on for hours. She looked more like a half drowned cat than a elven girl. And yet. For all her scraggly appearance, she was good. Very good. She had only joined the class a few days ago, but the girl was fast, smart, and very stubborn. Rinna only realised the girl was awake when a pair of spiteful grey eyes met her own. Despite her shivering, the child wasn’t crying- hadn’t cried or wailed or wept as far as Rinna had seen. So instead of rolling back into bed, pressing against the boy’s skin for warmth in the chilly Antivan night, she padded over to the child. She crouched down in front of the girl, the tattered fabric of her nightgown brushing against her toes. “I’m Rinna. Well, Rinnala, but nobody calls me that.” The girl glared at her, like a feral cat weighing the benefits of swiping at a tom getting too close. “And?” Rinna almost laughed. The girl has quite the mouth on her for a seven year old. It was almost impressive. But then again, who knew what the girl had been through. She didn’t look remotely Antivan after all. “What’s your name then?” Spelling out the question. “Mara. Mara Tabris.” “And how did you get here then Mara?” The girl opened her mouth to answer and then snapped it shut again. After a moment of pondering she squinted over Rinna, “why do you care?” Rinna swivelled around so that she was sitting next to the girl- to Mara. For all her bluster, the girl’s skin was cold enough to match her pale skin. “Is niceties not a good enough reason?” “No?” She said it like a question- though more as if she was confused how Rinna wasn’t keeping up with her. It stirred something in Rinna’s chest, though she wasn’t sure what. For some reason she wanted to wrap her arms around the shivering girl and pull her close. She shrugged, “fair enough I suppose.” They drifted into silence, but Rinna did not return to their bed and the pile of warm bodies on it. Mara broke the silence, voice toneless and sullen as every word other word she had yet spoken. “You can go you know?” “Oh I don’t know, maybe I’m enjoying your lovely company.” “I’m not lovely.” “Yeah I had gathered that…” she sighed, and decided to go all in. She would sort it out with the boys in the morning. “Look why don’t you come with me? You can share with Zev, Talisen and I?” Still the girl looked hesitant. Damn, she had good instincts for a 7 year old, even if her caution was unfounded this time around. Rinna continued, “you haven’t been here long, but I can already tell that you’re good. You’re smart, you’re quick, and you’re very good at letting people underestimate you. I won’t bind you to it, but we could use you on our side. How does that sound?” The girl shrugged, “fine,” though Rinna was sure she was more nervous about it than she let on. But Rinna stood and pulled Mara up with her, half leading, half dragging her over to the bed. She climbed in, settling amongst the boys’ tangle of limbs and patted the space next to her. Mara climbed in and Rinna wrapped her arms around the shivering elven child, staying there until they both fell asleep. When she woke, Mara wasn’t shivering anymore.
happy friday my crabby friend! how about "things you didn’t say at all" for the pairing of your choice?
Thanks for the prompt my salady friend! Decided on some angst for my baby crows AU where Tabris grew up as a crow with Taliesen, Rinna and Zev! Enjoy :D
@dadrunkwriting
“Why didn’t you talk to me about this? Why didn’t you tell me about this before you went and fucking killed her!” “You weren’t here Mara!” Taliesen growled at her. She was clenching the arms of the chair as if it was the only thing stopping her from leaping over the table at him and stabbing him in the eye. Both of them in the eye in fact. Zevran spoke next, his voice didn’t have the simmering anger that Taliesen’s did, filled instead with pleading and righteousness. “It had to be done, surely you see this?” Her knuckles were going white now. “No. I. Don’t.” She noticed Taliesen’s mouth beginning to open and cut him off before he could make a noise. “What? You don’t like that? You don’t like the fact that I don’t approve of you killing our…killing my…” she took a deep breath in, hoping it would make the words easier. Taliesen glared, “if you can’t see what was wrong then what’s the point of keeping you as a crow.” She snarled at him, feral and animalistic. “What? You’ll gut me like you did Rinna? Hmm?” “If I had to, then yes. She was a traitor to the crows.” “She was our friend Tal. Since you were 8 years old! Does that mean nothing to you?” “It was a-” “And what about you then Zev? You’re being awfully quiet.” She turned on him, boring into him with her gaze. The other elf couldn’t seem to bring himself to meet her eye, and when he spoke it was barely above a whisper. “She was a traitor. It had to be done.” “I can’t fucking believe this,” Mara said. With her voice it was a disgusted mutter, but the words were a scream in her mind. She stood up to go, shaking her head. “I hope you die long and painful deaths the both of you.” “Mara-,” it was Taliesen this time, “don’t be like this!” He was standing now, reaching out his hand to her. She looked down on it with disgust. Zevran was still in his chair, hunched over as if he wanted to curl up into himself. She shook her head and spat on Tal’s outstretched hand. “I never want to see either of your fucking faces ever again.”
Happy Friday! ngl I'm slightly feral over Baby Crows, so maybe "you make me feel safe." for them? I'm mad crow chicks don't have a fun name that I can include as a tidbit.
I feel the same about crow chicks!! I've been thinking about the phrase 'crowlings' which seems suitably adorable if not scientifically accurate!
Anyway enjoy this lil fic- I can't believe nothing bad is ever gonna happen to these guys! :D
@dadrunkwriting
The four of them were piled into bed like a litter of kittens- all arms and legs draped and splayed in a tangled mess. Rinna was huddled in the middle of it all, clutching her legs to her chest, gnawing her fingernails down to the quick.
This was silly. She was being silly. She faced death every day in their training. Too poor a performance would mean getting kicked out. And kids who were kicked out never came back, and were never seen again.
She took a deep breath in, feigning calm even now, when everybody was asleep, when there was nobody watching her, sizing up her weaknesses.
Light flashed through the open window and she jumped out of her skin, having to cover her mouth to avoid screeching. The heavens rolled and roiled above them, the thunder a deep groaning of some great giant.
No she was being stupid. It was just weather. Weather couldn’t hurt her.
Thunder rolled again and she hid her head between her knees, trying to blot out the sound.
The motion woke up the sleeping boy next to her, his large frame sitting up and blinking. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked out at her blearily. “Rinna…?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just go back to sleep Tal.”
The human boy was suddenly awake, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes and patting her down compulsively, checking her for wounds. “Rinna! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did somebody-“
Rinna pushed his hands away. “Its nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me Rinna! Somethings up!” His voice was rising in pitch now.
Rinna hid her face. “Fine. But be quiet. You’ll wake everybody else up.”
“Oh sorry.”
“It’s just- and don’t laugh at me Tal, or I will fillet you like a fish! But…I’m scared…of thunderstorms…”
“Oh is that all.”
“Yes,” she mumbled into her arm, the darkness covering her beet red face.
“Come here then,” he said, wrapping his large arms around her, “my baby sister was the same.”
Rinna let Taliesen envelop her, feeling the warmth of his skin against her own clammy body. She tucked her head into the crook of his arms. “Thanks Tal. You always make me feel safe.”
Taliesen squeezed her so tight she couldn’t breathe for a few seconds before relaxing. “I’ll always be here for you. Nothing’s ever going to change that, sweet girl.”
“You promise?”
“Promise.”