Tabris X Alistair - Blog Posts

Dragon Age: Origins - epilogue drawings

I REALLY LOVE ROMANCE WITH ALISTAIR

Stories of Thedas: Kallian

🌹ao3🌹

9:31 Dragon

Grey clouds reflected perfectly off the surface of Lake Calenhad until Kallian couldn't tell where it stopped and the sky began. It was a gloomy, frosty day, but at least it was calm. A soft breeze would ripple across once in a while, making the sky dance in the waters until it blew past, and all was still again. 

Growing up in the alienage, she had never seen a lake. Though it wasn't her first time noticing one, it was her first time really looking. Redcliffe was a dim noise behind her; the news of Arl Eamon's sudden good health was rapidly spreading, and with it, hope blossomed. 

Kallian let herself sit there for a while. Orzammar was next, a sprawling underground city. There would be no lakes there, no rivers or waterfalls. They wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow, and so, she let herself rest.

"Kall?" A quiet voice called, and she turned to see Alistair stood nearby, uncertainty clear in the set of his brow.

She smiled and gestured for him to sit with her with a nod of her head. 

He did so wordlessly, knees drawn up to lay his arms across, and Kallian moved slightly to lean her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I think I might be the first person in my family to ever see a lake," she mused. "Well, apart from my mam."

"Really?" Alistair asked in surprise, before chuckling.  "I've always felt like I couldn't escape it."

Kallian laughed in return as he kissed her head, resting his own against hers.

"Just… I know there's a lot of crap," she began quietly. "Death, pain, dirt… but I used to tell stories of places like this. My dad painted them, even though he'd never seen them himself… I wish I could show him, y'know?"

"You will," Alistair whispered, resolute. "One day."

Kallian smiled, warmed by his own determination for her family. She laced her fingers with his, pressing close.

They stayed there, silent, basking in each other's presence as they watched the grey clouds slowly turn orange and pink, the setting sun peeking through until it disappeared beyond the lake.

I COME BEARING PROMPTS: "are you falling asleep?" for Kallian x Alistair (Allian? Kalistair? I like Kalistair)

thank you effe!! 🥰

some kallistair for my first ever @dadrunkwriting :3 [prompt]

rated g. warden tabris/alistair. 481 words. pre-relationship tension. there's only one bed 👀

Shale kept watch, both on their surroundings and on Zevran. Morrigan had her own little camp not too far away. Bodahn and Sandal slept in their caravan. Sten and Pether shared a tent. Leliana and Wynne shared another.

That left one.

Between Ciarth taking up far too much space than he needed, and Alistair being as big as he was, Kallian felt... squished.

Her mabari had fallen asleep as close as possible, almost cuddling with one leg thrown across her. She didn't mind, it was winter after all. Plus he was cute.

It did, however, ensure that she and Alistair were pressed up against each other, arm to arm.

Despite their flirting – Kallian refused to see it as more than that – tent sharing was always a very clinical, matter-of-fact affair with the two of them in a way it wasn't with anyone else. There were no whispered conversations, no huddling for warmth, and no stifled giggles. Just two quick goodnights and a see you in the morning.

Things felt... different after the Circle Tower.

"Are you asleep?" Alistair whispered, breaking their longstanding tradition.

"Yes," she replied automatically, staring up into nothingness. He huffed a laugh.

"Are you... are you falling asleep?" he tried again.

"'m trying to."

"Sorry. It... it's just been on my mind."

Kallian didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about, it was just too... complicated otherwise.

"Don't worry about it," she whispered after a while. "It was the demon, it doesn't... it doesn't mean anything."

"But what if it does?" he answered with no hesitation, like an arrow to her chest.

"What do you mean?" she asked weakly.

"Nothing," Alistair sighed, before doing the unthinkable. He turned around to face her, laying on his side. Slowly, she shifted to do the same, trying not to disturb Ciarth too much.

"You mean a lot to me, Kall," he muttered, impossibly close and a million miles away. It was too dark for her to properly see him, only a hazy outline that sent her heart hammering against her chest.

"Regardless of..." he trailed off. "You're the only other Warden in Ferelden. You're my friend. I don't want things to be weird just because–"

"They're not weird," she lied quickly. "You... you mean a lot to me too, Al."

If it was just earlier during the day. If the moon hadn't been obscured by dark clouds. If their tent had been closer to the campfire.

Kallian might have been able to make sense of the heavy tension that had softly landed over them. She might have been able to make out more than just Alistair's shallow breath, and her quaking fingertips.

"Goodnight," he whispered, his breath ghosting over her lips. Impossibly close. A million miles away.

"Goodnight," she murmured. "See you in the morning."

some little dragon age doodles and words from these prompts :3

left is kallian and alistair's handprints, middle is the intended wedding party favour for kall's wedding to nelaros (little pots of tea, entirely made by cyrion), and right is welsh and translates to "in this house kallian tabris was born, hero of ferelden and the alienage".

Happy Friday Aster!!! intrigued by ❛ i look at you and my heart breaks because all i see is loneliness. ❜ from the for the damaged prompts - for maybe Kallian Tabris & Duncan? 👀 OR Kallian Tabris / Anders unrequited? 👀👀👀

ohhhhh this one is so good, thank you for the prompt!! i might revisit this for kallian & duncan because it's such a good fit for them too, but unrequited kanders came first!

rated g. unreciprocated tabris/anders for @dadrunkwriting. 712 words. anders and the hero of ferelden talk. he thinks about how how they met, among other things.

* * * *

Anders had expected the Wardens to be just another prison; another guarded tower to escape. But Commander Tabris was anything but what he'd expected of the fearsome Hero of Ferelden.

Kallian. That was her name. She'd grumbled about how formal "Commander" was, but no one around the Keep quite knew how to talk to her. She'd saved the whole of Ferelden; how did you speak to someone like that? And on a personal level, she'd saved him too.

When the Warden barged in with two recruits in tow and saw Anders, surrounded by dead templars, he would have been lying if he'd said the fear of the Maker Himself hadn't coursed through him. But she kept him. Rescued him from the Circle, the only way she knew how.

"That's how I was recruited too, you know," she said to him one night as they warmed by the campfire, before lowering her voice dramatically. "Ferelden's Warden-Commander invoking the Right of Conscription to pull someone out of the jaws of the law... I hope you carry on the tradition."

He balked at her. "What?"

"What?" she gave him a small, tired smile before turning back to the fire. "I hope it's one of you, after me. You'd make a good Commander, I think."

"Maker, I'm not sure about that," he laughed self-consciously.

"I am," she said. Anders didn't think she realised how firm she sounded when she talked, how final her words sounded. She brooked no argument, ever. He wondered if the King dared disagree with her.

The King. He'd turned up at the Keep once, early on. Anders didn't know much about him save for him being Maric's bastard, and a Warden too. The Warden; or the other one anyway.

Warden-Commander Tabris and King Alistair had embraced that day, undoubtedly unsatisfying in all their armour. But they held each other anyway, their faces buried in the crook of their necks, the only exposed bit of skin they had.

"Are you the King's mistress?" he blurted out, inwardly cursing.

She snapped her attention to him, wide-eyed and abruptly scarlet. That was a yes, then.

"Why'd you ask that?" she squeaked. He shrugged, and she looked as though she was going to say more, talk to him, like a person. Anders was reminded of how young she was; younger than him.

But she turned away, still flustered and pretending not to be, prodding at the embers of the fire with a stick.

"You just..." He trailed off, trying to think of the best way to word it. Anders wasn't sure how to tell her that his chest tightened whenever he looked at her. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that whatever he felt for her wasn't quite what a subordinate should feel for his Commander. But she was confusing. Talking with her was difficult, yet her presence was a balm. She naturally commanded respect, but held nothing over them. She wanted to be their equal, he thought.

Kallian just looked so lonely.

"If you're not," he started again slowly, against his better judgement. "The next time we're in Amaranthine, maybe we could... go to The Crown and Lion. For a drink. Alone. If you wanted to."

Kallian looked at him again. She wasn't a difficult person to read at the best of times. She looked at him with surprise in the parting of her lips, sadness in the pull of her eyebrows... and something akin to distant longing in her eyes. He knew his answer.

"I-I'd like to, I just... I can't," she muttered, dropping her gaze again.

"Okay," he forced a smile. "Don't worry, I'll ask Oghren instead."

She laughed; thank the Maker. "Oghren?"

"Yes, he's much better company."

"Yeah?" she smirked, raising her eyebrows. He hummed in response.

"Yes," he nodded sagely. "Prettier too."

"Shut the fuck up," she chuckled, grinning.

Kallian was in charge. Not just as Warden-Commander, but as Arlessa, as Bann. But she'd gained the titles, and lost her friends. And despite it all, despite everything she'd done, and everything she was... Ferelden would never accept an elven queen.

Anders looked to the fire. Dying orange flames licked at white wood. None of it was fair. But if she was lonely, he supposed he had to be lonely with her.

Welcome to dadwc!! I’d love to see “The thrill of knowing how alone we are, unknown we are” from the Hozier prompts for Kallian/Alistair 🥰

Thank you, Ro 🥰💖

I took extreme liberties with this prompt I think lmao

rated g. kallian tabris/alistair theirin for @dadrunkwriting. 245 words.

* * *

Ostagar was different without all the noise. The wind howled through the once-more abandoned ruins, and Kallian's blood sang with the presence of darkspawn. She met Alistair's shining eyes – a barely there blue glow ringing the deep brown. Ciarth whined next to her, nudging her leg. They felt it too, then.

"It is strange to be back," Wynne murmured. Kallian hummed in response, still stuck taking in the place. Crude and filthy darkspawn barriers and pyres dotted the place, marring the once pale white walls with dripping black and red. Ostagar was hardly full of good memories for her, but it still made her sick to see it like that.

Alistair was uncharacteristically quiet beside her. She subtly scratched behind Ciarth's ears to grab his attention, nodding ahead when he looked at her. Without a word needed, he trotted off, pushing a grumbling Wynne in front of him.

"Hey," she said quietly, slipping her amoured hand in Alistair's. It was never enough like that, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey," he replied, squeezing her hand in return.

"You okay?"

"No," he sighed, smiling all the same. "But I'm glad we're here."

"Yeah," she muttered, a small smile toying with her lips too as she ignored the three words that suddenly blared in the forefront of her mind.

They stood alone for a little while longer, holding hands, sharing a kiss; the last two Grey Wardens Ostagar had seen in a long time.

How about “Hey! I may be a dumbass but I’m your dumbass!” for Alistair/Shaesa?

omg omg omg I was so happy when I got this prompt and I knew IMMEDIATELY what I wanted to do. So this is a lil scene after Alistair finds out that Shaesa had been previously engaged, and he gets a bit insecure about it cause Shaesa was his first love and finding out she had someone before him that she felt THAT SERIOUSLY about (jokes on him, it was arranged, but he didn't know that lol) sorta freaked him out. He started distancing himself from Shae but she noticed and called him out on it and so this is what happens after that :3 hope you enjoy! for @dadrunkwriting Rated G: Fluffy goodness, ~800 words

Try Again | By Exalted_Dawn

Shaesa stifled a snort into her palm, her smile curling against sword-formed calluses in a cheeky sort of way. Even so, the feeble attempt did little to hide the blossoming up-turn to her lips, or the way her eyes crinkled with joy, so the elf didn’t bother to pretend that she didn’t find this whole situation funny. “Maker, you’re such an idiot,” she chuckled, the words almost breathy as she spoke them, clouding on the brisk morning wind.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Alistair’s face turned an even deeper shade of red (something she hadnt previously thought possible), scrunching in an adorably flustered scowl. “What? And you’ve never made a wrong assumption, hm?” he muttered, scrubbing at the back of his head. “It’s not as if you particularly liked to talk about it in the beginning, and when your father brought it up, I thought-”

Shaesa broke off with a laugh, curling in on herself. She rocked back against the Vhenadahl, using its sturdy trunk to balance against as she finally and truly succumbed to her amusement. She shook her head briskly, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she did. “What? That I’d lost the love of my life? That I’d never want to be engaged again?” She peaked up at the man standing beside her, all wrapped up in scarves and a thick-knit traveling cloak from head to toe. He really was too cute for his own good. It was hardly fair. She sighed deeply, sucking down a centering breath in an attempt to reign in at least some of her laughter, and reached over to grab his hand in hers. “Alistair. Just because I was once, doesn’t mean that I’m still spoken for. Sorta hard to be betrothed to a ghost… y’know?” 

He stared idly at their interlocked hands, fingers woven together tight, and Shaesa watched as something in him settled. His gaze grew distant, more contemplative and sullen. His head dipped in a tentative nod. So he wasn’t entirely convinced, then. 

Huffing, she turned and yanked him to face her, picking up his other hand so she held both aloft between them. She squeezed roughly, her conviction demanding. “Marry me.”

Alistair blinked. “I’m sorry- what?”

“Marry me, you dumbass,” she repeated, stern. 

“Uh-”

Shaesa frowned up at him expectantly, glaring down his baffled confusion. 

“Wait, are you serious?” Alistair asked.

“Of course I am.”

“What do you mean ‘of course you are’????” he quacked, balking. “You just ask like that? Out of the blue? With absolutely no warning or preparation?” 

Shaesa’s frown deepened a fraction. “Well I wouldn’t exactly say it was without planning, or entirely out of the blue. We were talking about it, and it’s been on my mind for some time now. I thought, if you really cared about me being engaged, then-”

Alistairs lips closed over hers, pressing and insistent. Warm, against the Denerim chill. Shaesa signed into the kiss, leaning up into him as he stooped to cup her face, drawing her closer. His thumbs brushed across her freckled cheeks in tender refrain, teasing a flush to them to match his own. 

They parted slowly, breath catching in the air between them. Shaesa could not help the silly, lopsided grin on her lips. “So I take it that’s a ‘yes’, then?”

“Absolutely not,” Alistair puffed indignantly, thunking his forehead against her own. “You don’t even have a ring- let alone flowers or proper mood lighting. I’m not some cheap date, you know. If you were going to propose, I would have liked to see some actual effort.”

“But if I did have all that stuff…?” She tried not to sound too hopeful, in case he was simply deflecting through humor. But her worries were swept away as Alistair grinned something goofy and pecked her nose with another kiss. 

“I suppooooose you’ll just have to ask me again and find out, won’t you?” He grabbed her hand again and tugged her along, back towards the direction of Shaesa’s family home. His ears were pink to their very tip, but his grip was firm and sure.

The nerves in her softened, as did her smile. She squeezed his hand back, stumbling to catch up with him. “You really are a dumbass,” she murmured, love swelling in her chest. How could he have doubted her for a second? As if she ever stood a chance against him.

“Yeah, well,” he started, not even bothering to look back at her. “I’m your dumbass now, so I guess you’re stuck with me. Afraid it's a bit too late for regrets.”

Regrets?

Never.

Never.