Whumpcember Day 10- Freezing (Dragon Age 2 FemHawke & Varric)
Takes place during Act 1 before the mission in the Deep Roads.
@whumpcember
--
Growing up in Ferelden, Marian Hawke had experienced her share of cold; especially in Lothering where during the winters the snow could pile up almost to the roof. Escaping to Kirkwall, she'd thought that the winters would be somewhat milder since the city was by the Waking Sea.
She was wrong.
"Maker, this wind is brutal." Marian groused as a gust of wind whistled through the streets, drawing the shawl she had closer around her. "How do you deal with it?"
"Layers. Lots of layer and furs if you can afford it." Varric replied, dodging a pile of near frozen horse droppings. "This isn't even the coldest it's gotten. I remember ten years ago when the harbor froze nearly two miles out. Ice was so thick that you could walk on it no worries. Another time there was a blizzard so bad that it took the city the rest of the winter to dig out."
Marian let out a groan, "Don't say such things, Varric. You're just going to jinx it."
Turning the corner and seeing the entrance to The Hanged Man, Varric just smiled, "It's your second winter in the city, you should be used to it by now."
Marian sighed as they walked into the tavern and the warmth surrounded her like a welcome embrace. Flexing her near frozen fingers, she threaded her way through the crowd towards the stairs and Varric's suite of rooms. Standing in front of the fireplace, she felt her muscles start to warm up and relax. "I don't think I'll ever get used to it."
--
They needed money for firewood.
The winter had been usually cold, at least that was according to those who'd grown up in the city, and they'd had to spend more than usual to keep Gamlen's house heated. So if Marian wouldn't have to dip into the funds she'd been setting aside for Varric's expedition, she needed to take a few jobs. Her reputation working for the smugglers meant that those that knew were approaching her with 'job opportunities' since she knew the best routes in and out of the city to avoid detection. And while Marian knew those guaranteed a payout, she was trying to find more legitimate jobs.
"But those are few and far between. Not everyone wants to work with a Ferelden still." Marian thought as she stared at the household accounts. She'd promised Bethany that she'd take care of Leandra and Carver, and over the past few years she'd realized that that meant she'd have to do things that her younger sister might not have approved of.
"Guess that it's the smuggling jobs until something else comes along." Marian thought as she memorized the details of the job that would get them the coin they needed to get them the firewood that they needed plus some in case the winter decided to stretch itself out.
--
Hawke was missing.
She'd asked Varric if he was up for a quick smuggling job, but he'd replied that he was knees deep in his latest novel and didn't want to stop mid-stream; if he did then who knows if he'd ever finish the draft before his editor started sending daily letters asking where it was.
Hawke had just let out a laugh and said she better get to read it first before he sent it off before bounding down the stairs towards the main floor of the tavern, calling over her shoulder that she'd be back the next day.
"That was yesterday and normally she'd at least stop by to see if she could get a few free drinks from me in exchange for telling me about it for my next serial." Varric thought as he idly tapped the end of his quill against the paper. "She could just be resting at Gamlen's, it snowed pretty awful last night; had to make the mountain pass difficult to get through."
But the feeling in his gut told Varric that something wasn't right.
So he cleaned up his drafts and hightailed it to see Carver, and somewhat discreetly see if Hawke wasn't just sleeping it off, but she wasn't at home so her brother agreed to help look for her. Then it was to the City Centre and the guard's quarters to ask Aveline if she'd seen the quick witted warrior. She hadn't either and reluctantly agreed to join their small party to go hunt down the woman. One last stop in Darktown for Blondie just in case they needed a healer and they were on their way.
In the interest of time, and hoping that Aveline would ignore the fact that they were traveling through smuggling tunnels, Varric decided to use the Merchant's Guild route he knew would get the to the highlands the quickest. Stepping out into the snow covered pass, the cold air slapped Varric's face and he wished he'd brought his fur lined jacket. "Or at the least my shirt that closes all the way up." he thought, trying to suppress a shiver.
Glad for the snowshoes so he wasn't head deep in the snow, Varric called out Hawke's name as loud as he dared without causing an avalanche, "Hawke!"
"If she's unconscious she won't hear us." Aveline said, drawing her cloak tighter around her.
Varric chose to ignore the statement and continued trudging forwards, "Hawke, you out here!?"
"Marian!" Carver called out, narrowing his eyes against the brightness of the snow.
"Hawke! You still owe for those fines last month!" Aveline called out, knowing that if the woman could hear her then she'd protest. But silence greeted them.
"Search the ground for any signs of footprints, there would not be many traveling through here this time of year." Fenris said, starting to scout ahead of the small party.
They fell silent after that, spread out and focused on the ground-hoping for some sign that Hawke was still alive.
After what felt like an eternity, Carver let out a whistle to draw everyone's attention and they made their way towards him. "Look, footprints." He pointed to the ground where an indentation could just be seen. "Looks like they go off in this direction."
Varric looked in the direction that Carver indicated and in the fading sun could just make out the outline of a cave. "Even if it's not her, we need to find shelter soon. Otherwise we'll be icicles when they find us."
"Maybe who ever made the footprints is still in there and can tell us what happened." Aveline said, unslinging her shield from her back and making sure that her sword wasn't hindered by her cloak.
Anders nodded in agreement and readied his staff while Varric got Biance out and Carver made sure that his sword was ready as well.
Inside the cave it was a touch warmer than outside, but not by much. Their breath still created white clouds in the air and Anders created some mage lights so they could see.
What Varric wasn't expecting was for Marian Hawke to be illuminated by said lights; propped up against the cave wall, eyes closed and slumped over herself.
"Maker's kickers." he cursed as Carver sheathed his sword and made a beeline towards his sister. "Blondie, you're up."
Anders nodded, setting his staff against the wall and kneeling opposite of Carver.
Marian was freezing. The snow had been heavier than she'd expected it to be and that had caused all sorts of problems until she'd realized that she'd be stuck in the mountains without any supplies to get her through the cold night. It had been luck that she'd found the cave and had hoped that Carver or someone would miss her enough to come looking.
Feeling warm for the first time since setting out, she opened her eyes expecting to be greeted to the damp of the cave-not the whitewashed walls of a room in Ander's clinic. Confused, she tried to sit up and discovered that she was nearly being held down by multiple blankets.
"You gave us quite a scare."
Marian looked over to see Varric in the doorway, a bowl of something in his hands. "Oh?" she asked in a rough voice. Clearing it, she tried again, "Did I get bitten by wolves and almost turn into a warewolf?"
"Not as dramatic. Nearly became a human icicle though." Varric carefully set the bowl of hot soup on the small nightstand by the cot. "Good thing we brought Blondie along, he said that a few more hours and it would have been off to see the Maker for you."
Marian carefully pushed back the blankets so she could sit up and brushed the stray hairs out of her vision, "At least you missed me enough to go looking for me."
"Y'know Chuckles, if you needed the coin I would've let you borrow it. Didn't have to be so dramatic and nearly freeze to death."
Marian huffed in amusement, "You know me, I have to make a statement. Besides, we'd just gotten out of the smuggling guild-what makes you think I wanted to go into debt right after that?"
"Could've called it an advance on our delving findings." Varric shrugged, knowing that the casual way they were talking was the way they communicated; through jokes and playing it off like it was no big deal. "Unlike the Merchant's Guild I have reasonable terms. At least you wouldn't lose a limb if you couldn't pay it back."
At that Marian let out a laugh and knew the words that they weren't saying. "At that, how can I say no?"
"Just promise next time you decided on a 'quick job' you at least take two other people."
"I promise to cut other people next time."
"Good. Now drink your soup so I can go back to my writing."
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a sapphic lit primer 🌸
also known as, an opportunity to insist you read my favourites
if you’ve ever found yourself wanting to read more sapphic books, but not quite sure where to start, let this be the post for you! if you’re looking for even more sapphic books, i hope you find something in here too.
there are a few books on here i’ve not read, that i wanted to include to raise awareness of them, more than anything. those are marked by *. as such, you will probably also see a fair few more well known books and authors missed off (but i promise i know about them!).
this is not meant to be at all exhaustive! it’s a collection of sapphic books that i’ve read and would rec, meaning there are still tons more out there. & you can find some of those more at @sapphicreadsdb, readsrainbow (which i co-run with @tenderpotter), sapphiclitbot on twitter & my list of every sapphic book i’ve read.
as ever, this was meant to be a relatively short post. haha.
(i promise i did put links on this post, but for some reason those aren’t working on the blog page. dashboard version seems fine, i think.)
🌼 middle grade
🌻 contemporary
hurricane child by kacen callender
in the role of brie hutchens... by nicole melleby
hazel hill is gonna win this one by maggie horne
candidly cline by kathryn ormsbee
how to become a planet by nicole melleby
proud of me by sarah hagger-holt
the science of being angry by nicole melleby
middletown by sarah moon
p.s. i miss you by jen petro-roy*
almost flying by jake maia arlow*
in the key of us by mariama j lockington*
kenzie kickstarts a team by kit rosewater & sophie escabasse*
⚔️ fantasy
the strangeworlds travel agency by ld lapinski
the tea dragon society by kay o’neill*
📜 historical
tell no tales by sam maggs & kendra wells*
⁉️ mystery/thriller
goldie vance by hope larson
pepper’s rules for secret sleuthing by briana mcdonald
drew leclair gets a clue by katryn bury*
🦇 paranormal/horror
artie and the wolf moon by olivia stephens
🧪 science fiction
our sister, again by sophie cameron
🌼 young adult
🌻 contemporary
we are okay by nina lacour
this is what it feels like by rebecca barrow
the gay girl’s guide to ruining prom by siera maley
the liar’s guide to the night sky by brianna r. shrum
i kissed shara wheeler by casey mcquiston
the flywheel by erin gough
amelia westlake by erin gough
how to make a wish by ashley herring blake
taking flight by siera maley
like water by rebecca podos
don’t date rosa santos by nina moreno
all the invisible things by orlagh collins
orpheus girl by brynne rebele-henry
the henna wars by adiba jaigirdar
you should see me in a crown by leah johnson
love and other natural disasters by misa sugiura
rise to the sun by leah johnson
epically earnest by molly horan
if you still recognise me by cynthia so
truth be told by sue divin
thieves by lucie bryon
ask the passengers by a. s. king
starting from here by lisa jenn bigelow
annie on my mind by nancy garden
laura dean keeps breaking up with me by mariko tamaki
the stars and the blackness between them by junauda petrus
the last true poets of the sea by julia drake
i kissed alice by anna birch
fiebre tropical by juliana delgado lopera
melt my heart by bethany rutter
laurel everywhere by erin moynihan
every body looking by candace iloh
something certain, maybe by sara barnard
⚔️ fantasy
a dark and hollow star by ashley shuttleworth
the scapegracers by h. a. clarke
girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust
down comes the night by allison saft
engelsfors by mats strandberg & sara b. elfgren
summer of salt by katrina leno
from dust, a flame by rebecca podos
spellbook of the lost and found by moïra fowley-doyle
girls made of snow and glass by melissa bashardoust
out of the blue by sophie cameron
witch, cat & cobb by j. k. pendragon
girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan
the afterward by e. k. johnston
the never tilting world by rin chupeco
the midnight lie by marie rutkoski
the dark tide by alicia jasinska
the midnight girls by alicia jasinska
sweet & bitter magic by adrienne tooley
wench by maxine kaplan
way of the argosi by sebastian de castell
ash by malinda lo
the raven and the reindeer by t. kingfisher
the last magician by lisa maxwell
shatter the sky by rebecca kim wells
we set the dark on fire by tehlor kay mejia
queen of coin and whispers by helen corcoran
ghost wood song by erica waters
these feathered flames by alexandra overy
the bone spindle by leslie vedder
into the crooked place by alexandra christo
edie in between by laura sibson
crier’s war by nina varela
the winter duke by claire bartlett
sofi and the bone song by adrienne tooley*
girls at the edge of the world by laura brooke robson*
dauntless by elisa a. bonnin*
📜 historical
dangerous remedy by kat dunn
forgive me if i’ve told you this before by karelia stetz-waters
the pearl thief by elizabeth wein
heavy vinyl by carly usdin & nina vakueva
valiant ladies by melissa grey*
a curse of roses by diana pinguicha*
⁉️ mystery/thriller
far from you by tess sharpe
the girls i’ve been by tess sharpe
people like us by dana mele
summer’s edge by dana mele
the truth about keeping secrets by savannah brown
i hope you’re listening by tom ryan
eight pieces of silva by patrice lawrence
bad things happen here by rebecca barrow
the things we don’t see by savannah brown
the hollow inside by brooke lauren davis
throwaway girls by andrea contos
you’re next by kylie schachte
a lesson in vengeance by victoria lee
the sullivan sisters by kathryn ormsbee
cold by mariko tamaki
the killing code by ellie marney*
rules for vanishing by kate alice marshall*
🦇 paranormal/horror
the dead and the dark by courtney gould
to break a covenant by alison ames
shallow graves by kali wallace
wilder girls by rory power
afterlove by tanya byrne
house of hollow by krystal sutherland
specter inspectors by bowen mccurdy
burn down, rise up by vincent tirado
hollow by shannon watters & branden boyer-white
missing, presumed dead by emma berquist
perfectly preventable deaths by deirdre sullivan*
the dark beneath the ice by amelinda bérubé*
ghost walk by kay solo*
🧪 science fiction
joyride by jackson lanzing & collin kelly
crownchasers by rebecca coffindaffer
the good luck girls by charlotte nicole davis
cosmoknights by hannah templer
jane, unlimited by kristin cashore*
🌼 adult
🌻 contemporary
summer of the cicadas by chelsea catherine
take a hint, dani brown by talia hibbert
in the event of love by courtney kae
night tide by anna burke
beautiful world, where are you by sally rooney
spell heaven and other stories by toni mirosevich
far from home by lorelie brown
once ghosted, twice shy by alyssa cole
spindrift by anna burke
cow girl by kirsty eyre
the split by laura kay
tell me everything by laura kay
everyone in this room will someday be dead by emily austin
transcendent kingdom by yaa gyasi
the fat lady sings by jacqueline roy
conversations with friends by sally rooney
flamingo by rachel elliott
the wrong end of the telescope by rabih alameddine
a map of home by randa jarrar
mostly dead things by kristen arnett
patsy by nicole dennis-benn
little fish by casey plett
undone by bryce oakley
satisfaction guaranteed by karelia stetz-waters
tack & jibe by lilah suzanne
all at sea by cheyenne blue
i kissed a girl by jennet alexander
january embers by hildred billings
the simple answer by lily seabrooke
under the rainbow by celia laskey
the world cannot give by tara isabella burton
la bastarda by trifonia melibea obono
the one hundred years of lenni and margot by marianne cronin
all are welcome by liz parker
the romance recipe by ruby barrett
disoriental by négar djavadi*
the thirty names of night by zeyn joukhadar*
bastard out of carolina by dorothy allison*
among other things, i’ve taken up smoking by aoibheann sweeney*
marriage of a thousand lies by s. j. sindu*
honey girl by morgan rogers*
too much lip by melissa lucashenko*
delilah green doesn’t care by ashley herring blake*
the secret lives of church ladies by deesha philyaw*
the barrens by kurt & ellie johnson*
28 questions by indyana schneider*
there are more things by yara rodrigues fowler*
⚔️ fantasy
the unbroken by c. l. clark
the jasmine throne by tasha suri
wild and wicked things by francesca may
the true queen by zen cho
isola by brenden fletcher
the impossible contract by k. a. doore
foundryside by robert jackson bennett
the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson
the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo
the bone shard daughter by andrea stewart
blackheart knights by laure eve
the velocity of revolution by marshall ryan maresca
the gracekeepers by kirsty logan
in the vanishers’ palace by aliette de bodard
the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon
thorn by anna burke
penhallow amid passing things by iona datt sharma
sing the four quarters by tanya huff
city of lies by sam hawke
moontangled by stephanie burgis
burning roses by s. l. huang
a master of djinn by p. djèlí clark
ashes of the sun by django wexler
fireheart tiger by aliette de bodard
bestiary by k-ming chang
the black coast by mike brooks
night flowers shirking from the light of the sun by li xing
the councillor by e. j. beaton
silverglass by j. f. rivkin
water horse by melissa scott
high times in the low parliament by kelly robson
into the broken lands by tanya huff
the fire opal mechanism by fran wilde
among thieves by m. j. kuhn
the factory witches of lowell by c. s. malerich
the forever sea by joshua phillip johnson
the final strife by saara el-arifi
brother red by adrian selby
the winged histories by sofia samatar
the vanished queen by lisbeth campbell*
the northern girl by elizabeth a. lynn*
the bladed faith by david dalglish*
the worthy by anna k. moss*
📜 historical
the wicked cometh by laura carlin
the pull of the stars by emma donoghue
she who became the sun by shelley parker-chan
infamous by lex croucher
devotion by hannah kent
under the udala trees by chinelo okparanta
after the wedding by courtney milan
heathen by natasha alterici
mrs martin’s incomparable adventure by courtney milan
the night watch by sarah waters
tell it to the bees by fiona shaw
kept animals by kate milliken
a lady’s desire by lily maxton
the ophelia girls by jane healey
that green eyed girl by julie owen moylan
the perks of loving a wallflower by erica ridley
the companion by e. e. ottoman
her countess to cherish by jane walsh
paris, 7a.m. by liza wieland*
mademoiselle revolution by zoe sivak*
dark earth by rebecca stott*
⁉️ mystery/thriller
dirt town by hayley scrivenor
the lighthouse by fran dorricott
after the eclipse by fran dorricott
the final child by fran dorricott
proper english by k. j. charles
the last place you look by kristen lepionka
the better liar by tanen jones
fortune favors the dead by stephen spotswood
real easy by marie rutkoski
the best bad things by katrina carrasco
the case of the good-for-nothing girlfriend by mabel maney
the kill club by wendy heard
bury the lede by gaby dunn
beloved poison by e. s. thomson
the lady upstairs by halley sutton
ash mountain by helen fitzgerald
last call at the nightingale by katharine schellman
return to blackwater house by vikki patis
payback by charlotte mills*
a reason to kill by eve zaremba*
the heard by andrea bartz*
snare by lilja sigurðardóttir*
amateur city by katherine v. forrest*
the savage kind by john copenhaver*
the dime by kathleen kent*
the verifiers by jane pek*
🦇 paranormal/horror
abbott by saladin ahmed
the animals at lockwood manor by jane healey
black water sister by zen cho
hearts in the hard ground by g. v. anderson
they drown our daughters by katrina monroe
meddling kids by edgar cantero
yellow jessamine by caitlin starling
our wives under the sea by julia armfield
briefly, a delicious life by nell stevens
dead woman’s pond by elle e. ire
tripping arcadia by kit mayquist*
🧪 science fiction
a memory called empire by arkady martine
this is how you lose the time war by max gladstone & amal el-mohtar
the unspoken name by a. k. larkwood
the space between worlds by micaiah johnson
dead space by kali wallace
the quantum thief by hannu rajaniemi
ninefox gambit by yoon ha lee
ancillary justice by ann leckie
motor crush by brenden fletcher & cameron stewart
unconquerable sun by kate elliott
compass rose by anna burke
a big ship at the end of the universe by alex white
the light brigade by kameron hurley
empress of forever by max gladstone
the doors of eden by adrian tchaikovsky
seven of infinities by aliette de bodard
hard reboot by django wexler
last exit by max gladstone
sisters of the vast black by lina rather
gods, monsters, and the lucky peach by kelly robson
so happy for you by celia laskey
battle of the linguist mages by scotto moore
bluebird by ciel pierlot
an ancient peace by tanya huff
god’s war by kameron hurley*
barbary station by r. e. stearns*
this will kill that by danielle l. roux*
valkyrie by meg ludwa*
night sky mine by melissa scott*
the stars undying by emery robin*
🌼 poetry
if not, winter by sappho, trans. by anne carson
floating, brilliant, gone by franny choi
evohe by cristina peri rossi
bestiary by donika kelly
soft science by franny choi
rummage by ife-chudeni a. oputa
the world keeps ending and the world goes on by franny choi
bone by yrsa daley-ward
dream work by mary oliver
living as a lesbian by cheryl clarke*
womanslaughter by pat parker*
oral tradition by jewelle l. gómez*
the black unicorn by audre lorde*
hermetic definition by h.d.*
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