Dragon Age Has Taken Over My Life

Sparks and Flames (Drabble)

 "That was amazing, boss," Alduinn heard Bull bellow only a second before a strong hand patted him on the back with enough force to knock him over, "really, I didn't know you had that much lightning in you! And the look on that beast's face, priceless!" The Qunari put a hand to his stomach as his hearty laugh rang through the campsite, catching the eye of nearly every soldier in the vicinity.

"Didn't even know dragons could make a look of sheer panic like that!" He laughed again and shook Al with his arm, obviously forgetting how tiny the mage was compared to him. Thankfully, Vivienne appeared on the elf's right, after only a few seconds of the shaking, and Bull straightened up the instant she appeared.

"That was an arcane storm spell, correct," the Madame spoke with a mixture of curiosity and admiration, Al nodded wordlessly, "very few from our time know magics such as that, most of the arcane arts have been lost to us for ages. Finding them would be a miracle, but to successfully cast one is even more so."

"Uh- well you do learn lots from exploring ruins, especially elven ones," Alduinn tried not to blush, but it wasn't every day Vivienne took an interest in his magic, "the ancient elves had perfected the arts of summoning and channelling after all. There's a great deal you can do with mastery of those skills."

"Indeed there is," the Madame de Fer smiled, "but either way, I do have to agree with Bull, that was a fantastic display, my dear~"

"Thank you both," Al couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face, "but I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it if you two hadn't charged in and weakened it first. I probably could've just blown on the beast and it would've fallen right over after the beating you guys gave it."

"Hahaha, thank's boss, but you should really thank Ma'am. I'd never seen anyone, Qunari or human, charge in with that much force or ferocity. Who knew a spirit blade could be that powerful," Bull chuckled.

"Oh you're too kind, my dears~ I suppose I was never was one to wait on the sidelines anyway. I'd much rather do the job myself, sometimes you get a little dirty, but at least it's done right."

"Well you did a damn good job on the beast's tail, that's for sure." the Qunari grinned.

"And by that, he means 'you took it clean off with one swipe'" the elf added with a laugh.

"Well, he kept swinging it at us,it seemed more than appropriate," the Madame couldn't contain a small giggle, "And besides it was Bull who kept it distracted enough for me to do so. Then again, I'm sure a maul to the face would serve as far more than a distraction, even for a dragon."

"Hahaha, well we know I'm good at hard-hitting," Bull flexed his arms and the others laughed.

"You know..." their laughter was cut short by another man suddenly appearing behind Alduinn, "I'm hearing a lot of praise flying about, but none for the devilishly handsome Tevinter mage who valiantly deflected every fireball that came your way. A few of them even left me a little scorched." Dorian made a grand display of brushing away some stray ashes from his shoulders.

"Of course, what would I have done without the cover and the extra magic to complete the spell," Al smiled up at Dorian who blushed, but quickly recovered.

"Well, all I did was give you a power boost, I doubt I could've pulled off a spell that grand." The pyromancer looked away with a grin.

"Oh please, I'm sure you could do it." Al leaned back slightly into Dorian's chest.

"Really now? Well perhaps you'll have to teach me some time," he wrapped an arm affectionately around Alduinn's waist and smiled, "I'll definitely have to tweak it a little though, not enough fire~" Al playfully hit his arm before Bull, Vivienne, Dorian all walked to their respective tents to remove their gear.

As Al wandered into his own tent to do the same, he felt his mind start to wander, as it always did after a battle. He almost instantly found himself thinking about the burst of energy he'd felt when he and Dorian had combined magics like they had numerous times before.

But, there was just something about the way their energies collided that Al believed he'd never fully understand. He'd first experienced the sensation back in Redcliff when it was just the two of them trapped by Magister Alexius and his hordes of demons. With an army closing in on them, the two mages knew their only chance for survival was to work together.

Alduinn was no stranger to combining powers with other mages, even before his time with the Inquisition Al had done it countless times and could have easily been considered a master of the technique. Whether if was leading or following, the elf was flexible enough to perform both roles with relative ease. Although, in most cases, Al found himself bending over backwards and running through hoops to keep the combination from failing. Not all mages were used to combos and, therefore, had little to no consideration, or even awareness, of the strain they were putting on their partner.

Every mage was different and each had their own unique style of casting. Even mages of the same element would find stark differences in their movements and techniques if they looked hard enough. This meaning that combos were not just about awareness of your own style, but of your partner's as well, something Al had been concerned about when Dorian suggested a combo. Surely the overconfident pyromancer would be the type to have no regard for his partner whatsoever. But, to Al's surprise, this was not the case.

The combo didn't feel forced or awkward or even unsteady in the slightest. Instead, it just felt- natural, like they'd done it a million times before. Dorian's movements were forceful and his stances wide, and yet it didn't feel like he was dragging Al along with him, it felt gentle and encouraging. Alduinn found himself effortlessly gliding around the pyromancer, his own precise and graceful steps melding perfectly into Dorian's as he insured no enemy could get within twenty feet of the pair.

Whenever a particularly powerful enemy would arise, Al would feel a reassuring hand on his back, giving him just enough energy to defeat whatever came their way. No barrier was large enough to protect Alexius from their magic, no demon mighty enough to withstand a single blast. With flames dancing around their feet and sparks crackling along their skin, together they were infinite, nothing would stand in their way.

It was no surprise that they came out victorious that day. Obviously, there were complication, but they won nonetheless. And, even though that had been what seemed like ages ago now, Alduinn would never forget that day. He'd never forget how it felt to harmonize with Dorian like that.

As Alduinn peeked his head out of his tent to see Bull and Dorian practically wrestling over the first bowl of soup the cook had made, the elf couldn't help but smile.

"What an idiot," Al muttered to himself. It was at that moment that he'd first become aware that perhaps there was more to their "friendship" than he had initially lead himself to believe. But...maybe that wasn't exactly a bad thing...