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ramblinganthropologist · 2 days ago

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Rook Appreciation Day 2 - de Riva

I realize people are doing this for other people's Rooks... but I'm having too much fun doing it for mine so I'm gonna keep on keeping on for @rookappreciationweek

Summary: Cy's a Crow of many thoughts... mostly because they're not actually a Crow. Or are they? Nope, definitely not... maybe. That's what they're working with when it comes time for grocery shopping in Treviso with Lucanis. At least they got coffee out of it?

---

Even with the Antaam wandering, the markets were still as busy as ever.

Truthfully, Cy was glad to see it as they stepped down from the ledge that led to the Cantori Diamond. If this had been any other city, it probably would’ve scared people that they had just dropped down from the roof. However, this was Treviso, and there were so many Crows and Fledglings about that the people who lived there were pretty much used to it.

As long as they weren’t getting dropped on with a dagger buried in their gut, people were willing to overlook a lot.

The sun had just started to set over the city, making the murky water of the canals sparkle like some sort of magical oil slick. Years of training had taught the elf not to go anywhere near them – shit, blood, dead bodies – but they were nice to look at from afar.

But again, don’t go swimming in them – most Fledgling from outside Treviso learned that one the hard way. They had been pretty sharp, so they had avoided that particular horror of training by the skin of their teeth.

“You coming or what, Lucanis?”

Their answer came with the near-silent sound of feet touching on the ground. Lucanis was a quiet sort, even when he wasn’t preparing to kill someone. Maybe that set him apart from Cy, who could be a little on the loud side when they weren’t in murder mode. It could’ve been the difference in their backgrounds – when it came down to it, the Dellamorte was Antivan through and through.

Unlike Cy – they were Ferelden to the core, and sometimes the mabari must bark.

“I was waiting for a clear landing spot.”

His tone was cool, though the dark circles under his eyes said his sleep had been even more disturbed than usual. It was why Cy had agreed to accompany him to the markets for the shopping trip. It wouldn’t do to have him drown in a canal from falling asleep standing up – not only would they lose a friend, but it would be bad for business.

Well, Lucanis’ business. Cy might’ve played a good game, but… well, papa had taught them well when it came to playing it close to the chest. Honestly, if they’d be less friendly, they might’ve just let him drown but damn the fact they had become allies.

You can’t drown your ally – it doesn’t look good to the rest of the gang and it’s really hard to explain when you need to find another assassin. Ones of Lucanis’ caliber were few and far between to say the least… and he was pleasant. And pleasant to look at…

Ok, that one was just their hormones talking.

“Can’t get much clearer than this if you ask me.” They gave the man a thumb’s up. “Anyway, what’s on the list for this week? Do you want to split the list up?”

Lucanis gave them a rather blank expression – he was good at that. “Last time you went shopping on your own, you almost picked poisonous berries.”

“Well, I don’t see why they were in the civilian part of the market anyway.” Cy felt their cheeks go ruddy – that one hadn’t been acting. Berries, like mushrooms, looked way too much like each other sometimes. At least the other assassin had saved them before they had accidentally killed half their friends. “But fine. You pick, I’ll hold the bags and try not to kill our friends by mistake again.”

“I am sure they would appreciate that.” There was a hint of amusement in the man’s tone – it almost knocked Cy clear on their ass. “Anyway, first things first, we need to get more coffee.”

Naturally – the Lighthouse had plenty of late nights, which meant they needed all the coffee they could get. Lucanis had his own stash – that sometimes they snuck from when he wasn’t looking – but the general supply had gotten low recently. If they wanted to keep everyone awake and solving the big problems, they needed more.

“Well, let’s make sure it’s just the regular stuff.” Cy stuck out their tongue. “Did you see what Neve did to her coffee the other day?”

“You mean when she boiled it?” Lucanis shook his head. “Mierda…”

“Took the words out of my mouth there…” That part was true – enough time in Treviso had turned Cy over to the wonders of coffee and the many crimes one could commit against it. If there was jail time for bean abuse, then the detective deserved a life sentence in max security. Truly, it had been like walking into a horror scene when he’d found out.

How she managed to drink that stuff was beyond him… must’ve just needed it for the caffeine boost to keep her big brain going on the case.

“Pretty sure if we concentrated it, Viago could use it as a new poison.” Now Cy chuckled as they headed towards the entrance to the market. “He’d probably call it ‘Andoral’s Death’ or something like that, you know he loves to pun his poison names.”

Honestly, he might need to suggest that one. A number of poisons could go into coffee without the drinker realizing it. Then-

Shit, no! They weren’t actually a de Riva! There was no way in hell they could just suggest poison ideas to Viago!

That moment of sobriety was all Cy needed to realize they had gotten too close to their cover story. After all, despite what everyone thought, they weren’t actually a true Antivan Crow. Rather, they were just taking up the Arainai family post 9:30 Dragon business of fucking the Crows up. Unlike their papa, they hadn’t made as much of an impact… but it was harder in Treviso. There were the Dellamortes, the de Rivas, and the Cantoris. The Arainai were just one house after all, so it required having an airtight cover story.

And, considered they had been trained by Viago, sometimes it was easy to see why they slipped into the mindset. But they wouldn’t, not again – they couldn’t afford that.

“Is something wrong, Cyrion?”

Lucanis’ voice, deep and intriguing like their favorite cup of coffee, saying their full name brought Cy back to reality. They shook their head, hair temporarily blinding them until they brushed it out of their face once more.

“I was thinking of even worse puns, ones that would make even Viago proud. They were truly the bottom of the barrel, and I don’t intend to torture you with them.”

“That would be much appreciated. The de Rivas corner the market on puns.”

Speaking of markets – they were approaching the entrance now. Since the sun was setting, the lamps and magelights had been lit in order to light the way for nighttime shopping. It wasn’t perfect – not with the Antaam skulking about – but it was pretty damn good all things considered. With the countless voices buying and selling, mingling with the smells of cooking food and the call of performers, it was like a festival all on its own.

This was one of the things Cy loved best about Treviso – that even in the midst of occupation, it fought back in a way the Antaam would never understand.

“It’s a gift, what can I say. You should hear Toni, she-“ They paused, frowning. “Shit, I haven’t seen Toni in a while, what with the whole getting sent out of Treviso thing.”

“Nor have I. I assume she is well, given no one would be foolish enough to harass Viago de Riva’s daughter.”

Well, some idiots who just saw a qunari might. But Toni – Antonia de Riva – was special. And she could more than easily handle herself.

“I’ll have to check on her when we get back to the Diamond. Hopefully she’ll be around.”

Ah, Toni – their weakness. Just from meeting her, all their plans had gone awry. As much as Cy would’ve hated to admit it, they held genuine affection for the young woman. Maybe that was why they hesitated so much with any plans – the thought of her finding out was…

Shit. No, worry about that later. Groceries first.

---

An hour later, as the sun sank low and the sky began to twinkle with stars, Cy and Lucanis finished their shopping. Just as they had promised, they had refrained from buying anything accidentally poisonous and let Dellamorte do the hard stuff. Instead, they were content to carry the bags.

And now, since their shopping trip was done, it was time for a time-honored Antivan tradition of getting coffee before going home.

Unsurprisingly, they found themselves at Café Pietra. It made sense logically – it was one of the closest cafes to the Diamond and the eluvian that would take them back to the Lighthouse. However, logic wasn’t the only deciding factor – Andoral’s Breath had called both their names, and they had come running the moment they heard it.

So, the two found themselves at a small table near the back of the sitting area, Cy carefully nudged the bags out of the way as they settled in, coffee in hand. Just the scent of the coffee was enough to give them 20 years back on their life – and they needed it. With the training they had gone through as a Fledgling, the poison alone probably knocked about a decade or so off their collective life expectancies. And it wasn’t as if assassins had long lifespans to look forward to either– if you weren’t a Talon, you were lucky to make it to your 30’s. Cy was 26. Clearly, they needed all the help they could get at that point.

“At least here we are in agreement.” Lucanis took a sip of his coffee, also Andoral’s Breath. Based on what people heard about the Dellamorte training rituals, he needed the boost in life just as badly. “Though, I’m a bit surprised you like it given you bought such a large amount of chocolate earlier. I would not have expected you to have a sweet tooth.”

That made Cy chuckle and shake their head. They could see the bag, tied with a pink ribbon, sticking out of the top of the groceries. “It’s not for me. Toni loves chocolate, and I wanted to apologize for not saying goodbye when everything went to hell. I couldn’t exactly write her, so I’m hoping this smooths things out between us a little.”

“I think it will help. Antonia is fond of you. No doubt she missed you.” Lucanis’ gaze went away in that moment as he took a sip of his coffee. In that moment, Cy had to wonder what he was thinking about – or who. Everyone knew about his cousin Illario, perhaps it was about him? Maybe he should think about a present for him… though what to get a Dellamorte was beyond them at this point.

Knives, probably. Every assassin needed a good knife, especially if it had room for poison.

“Let’s just hope you’re right, you don’t wanna get on her bad side.” They chuckled as they sipped at their coffee, sighing in relief as they leaned back. “Ok, this I missed. You can’t get coffee like this outside Treviso.”

It almost made them reconsider attacking the Antaam… almost. In the end, it had worked out as well as could be expected, though the exile had been more than a little rough. But hey, they had gotten a new gender out of it, so it wasn’t all bad…

By their account. Viago had really stuck out his neck for them…

No. Not a Crow. It was fine. It was ok.

“It makes coming back a pleasure.” Lucanis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He only did that when he had headaches, and one in particular caused it more often than not. “No, Spite.”

Cy cocked their head to the side, pointed ear touching their shoulder in the process. “What’s he want now?”

“He wants to try chocolate and refuses to take no for an answer.” The human shook his head. “It’s for Antonia.”

Briefly, Lucanis’ eyes turned a glowing purple. “I want. To Try!”

At least the demon didn’t make more of a scene – the first time they had met in the Lighthouse, he had made his host bleed. That would’ve been a tough one to explain to any onlookers, especially if it happened out of nowhere. Sudden nosebleeds tended to imply poison, and that would be bad for the café’s reputation.

So… they had to act quickly.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got some of my own he can try.” They fished for a smaller bag from their pocket and unwrapped a chocolate before tossing it over. “Here you go, Spite.”

They weren’t sure if it was Lucanis’ reflexes or Spite’s curiosity that won the day, but Lucanis’ hands caught the chocolate and managed to put it into his mouth. Then the glow disappeared as the assassin won control back over his body. He sighed in relief once he had swallowed, sinking back into his chair.

“Thank you, Cyrion. He was getting rather cranky.”

“We really shouldn’t train him that acting badly gets him what he wants, but… it wasn’t the best situation.” Cy shrugged. “Anyway, what does he think?”

The assassin gave him a blank look. “You know he doesn’t taste things. I think it was more the texture he was interested in.”

Briefly, his eyes turned purple again. “Smelled like sugar and sunshine!”

Ok, texture and smell – two out of five weren’t bad on the senses chart.

“Well, glad you liked it, but next time don’t take over like that.” Cy shook their head as they settled back into their seat in order to have some more coffee. All the while, they were very much aware Lucanis was eyeing them.

He… looked amused in a way that was doing awful things to their stomach. In the end, with a rapidly heating face, they sought refuge in their cup of coffee, as if the dark brew would bring them some sanity and comfort. Instead, it was just as their father put it – bean water.

Betrayed by coffee… that hurt.

“Can I ask what you think is so funny?”

Lucanis answered with the delicate sip of his coffee. “You said the chocolate was for Antonia. I wasn’t aware you had a sweet tooth as well, Cyrion.”

Now it was time for Cy’s cheeks to grow mottled as their face got even hotter. Even the tips of their ears turned darker in response as they tried to find a good explanation for it. With none to be found, all they could do was fold in and sulk.

“I mean… most of them are for her.” They managed a somewhat sheepish grin as they rubbed the back of their neck. “It just so happens that a few are for me.”

“Nothing wrong with a little sweetness in life. It was just surprising is all.” Lucanis still had that amused twinkle to his eye, so clearly, he found something funny. In the end, Cy had to give up and concede the point – the other assassin had them there.

But… in their defense… it was really good chocolate. Sunshine and sugar nailed it in one take. If even a demon could see it, then anyone could.

At any rate, it didn’t take them long to finish their coffee after that. With the sun fully sunk below the horizon, and the moon slowly beginning to rise, it was time to head back to the Lighthouse for the night. So, they gathered their purchases and made their way back towards the Diamond, Cy taking point as they threaded their way through the still-lively streets of Treviso.

With any luck, they would be able to find Toni before they left for the Lighthouse. They had a lot of willpower… but in the face of chocolate, there was only so much one could do. And Andraste’s mabari forbid if Lucanis found out they had eaten it all themselves. They’d never hear the end of it.

Maybe killing him once everything was over wasn’t such a bad idea after all… they were going to have to continue to debate that while meditating, especially if they kept making their face heat up like some Fledgling...

#Cy de Riva #They're gonna fuck eventually lol #And Cy isn't gonna go rogue they're gonna wind up a legit reformer crow #And trust me papa Arainai is like well I didn't se that coming #Papa Tabris: I did #Lucanis Dellamorte #and mention of Antonia de Riva #Aka my friend's de Riva the qunari wonder woman #I love her so much <3

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