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The fire never seemed to need refueling in the dining hall, but Lucanis had noticed that it did often burn a little lower in the evening as the others would take their leave. Day and night weren't reflected in many places, but it felt like this space at least understood the hours well enough to feel more like a home. The light was low now, with Emmrich and Neve finally heading their ways after a lively talk about one of the cases the two of them were working on together for the Shadow Dragons.
Dishes were cleaned and put away, the coffee maker stored, with the urn keeping several cups warm for anyone to enjoy in the late evening. Lucanis sipped at his last cup, and debated whether to go get a book to read. He'd finished the last of Bellara's serials last night, and didn't feel like the dry text on blade maintenance in the Anderfels that Davrin had loaned him would be good for staying awake. Informative, but unhelpful in the moment.
You could just sleep. Spite will keep watch.
"Yes, I am sure you will," Lucanis frowned at the demon, who was standing near the doors. "And then everyone else will watch you try to go through the Eluvian again. Or better yet, try to climb that spinning death chandelier in the Library. Thank goodness you sometimes listen to Rook, even when you won't listen to me."
I want to see what it looks like from the top.
"I know," Lucanis sighed, taking another sip of coffee. "What are you doing over there, anyway? Everyone has gone."
I smell Rook. And many other things.
"Rook? She could be in the courtyard," he furrowed his brow at the demon, who returned a withering stare. "Wait. What other things?"
Water. The soap flowers. Old wood and bees. A bonfire.
"What?"
Shh! She's here!
Spite moved back and away just as the door opened gently and Rook backed inside, carrying a very wide, flat box with a hinged lid. It looked familiar, but Lucanis couldn't quite place where he had seen it before as she started to turn awkwardly into the room. The demon gave Lucanis a pointed look.
"Rook, let me help with that," Lucanis stood and walked across the room quickly, trying his best to not look hurried.
"Oh, good, you're still up!" Rook flashed Lucanis a smile, and he noticed there was a smudge of something purple along her cheek, matching her hair, and a bit of dirt on her nose. Neither had been there at dinner and he resisted the impulse to reach over and brush them away. She held out the box with a grin, and Lucanis took it in hand, shifting his posture a little to accommodate the weight. "I was hoping I'd catch you and Spite."
"Should I put it on the table for you?" Lucanis hefted the box and, at her nod, carried it over to the dining table and set it down carefully. As he looked at the lid, he realized that there was a card on top, with his name and Spite's in Rook's spidery handwriting. Lucanis looked up in surprise at Rook whose face held a worried question.
"It is. For. Us?" Spite asked through him, and for once, Lucanis was happy to let the demon do the talking as Rook nodded in relief.
"Yes, Spite, for both of you."
Rook brought something for us. She likes us! Rook likes Spite!
"Rook, you really didn't need to get us anything," Lucanis averred, suppressing the urge to wince as Spite celebrated loudly, standing next to Rook with a triumphant grin.
A present for SPITE.
His thoughts flashed briefly to the wyvern tooth dagger she'd picked up for him in the market the first day they'd gone shopping together. The tea set that reminded him of the one his grandmother had favored when he and Illario were younger. Both sitting on display near his bed, some of his only reminders of home. He had only managed to buy her favorite coffee in return.
"I didn't get it, exactly," Rook waved her hands a bit, looking a little flushed as she shifted her weight between her feet. "I made it. Them. Oh, just open it and I'll explain."
Lucanis lifted the lid, which tilted up easily on well-oiled hinges. Inside, were several compartments, some long rectangles, and other small squares, each with their own lids, or containing sealed bottles, each with little dots of different color. The inside of the lid itself has a stylized map of Treviso, clearly hand-drawn with specific landmarks. Leaning closer, he could recognize the Cantori Diamond, the sunken district, the art gallery, the markets, and Cafe Pietra, all inked in different colors for the districts they were in.
"What. Is it?" Spite leaned them both closer, and again Lucanis felt like they were united in their curiosity.
"I made one of these for myself when I left Salle, to take some of the city with me," Rook pointed to the top corner of the map, where there was a small key with the colors listed for each district. The usual tightness in her eyes when she talked about her former home was missing, replaced by something softer. "You said that Spite was having trouble with places, so I thought something like this might help and be.. nice. It's like the scent boxes you see some of the best vintners use to help buyers understand their work."
"But you made one for Treviso? A scent map of the city?" Lucanis asked incredulously, running a finger over the top of one of the drawers. "May I?"
"Of course," Rook smiled. "There's colors to give you an idea of the location, but the pieces should speak for themselves. Most have a feel or texture to them as well as the smell and look."
Lucanis lifted it open the lid gently, setting it off to the side, and looked inside. Nestled in the dark felt-lined interior were coiled pieces of brightly colored fabric intertwined. As he lifted them out, they unwound into two swatches of silk brocade and a rich velvet, with the scent of the market between them. Spices, sweat, leather, baked goods, the pitch used for barrels, fresh fruit, and even the hint of the breeze through the laurel bushes at the edge of the water.
"Rook, this is—" Lucanis cut off, as Spite had stilled completely and stared down at the fabric caught between his fingers. The demon tilted his head this way and that, and Lucanis moved his hand so that he could take a closer look. He let him control their fingers as he moved the fabric back and forth, and additional scents emerged from the heat of his hands.
This is the market . Where we get the chocolate for Rook.
"Yes," Lucanis nodded to Spite, and he could see the smallest flicker of relief in Rook's eyes. Spite remained entirely fixated on the fabric, even as he wound it up to place back onto the felt. "This is remarkable. It is almost like being there, with the different scents spread through the fabrics. However did you learn such a craft?"
"They'll fade with time," Rook tapped the lid for the markets back into place. "But I hoped that you might enjoy some of home, and Spite might understand this world a little better. Places that don't change with thought must be so confusing."
YES!
Lucanis snorted, and waved a hand as Rook gave him a quizzical look, . "Let's just say that Spite agrees with you emphatically. Thank you very much for the gift."
"I'm glad I caught the place well," Rook handed him a small bottle from another part of the box, lavender eyes searching his face for a brief second. "All of that wine tasting had to go to good use somewhere. I'm certainly never going to be the connoisseur that Viago is. I've always liked the aroma boxes, though, and then just scents in general. Not perfumes, or anything that delicate. I'm not good with that sort of thing. But this I can do."
"Viago is.. quite singular about his vices," Lucanis gave a slight smile, and looked at the bottle. Fat, clear glass, with a screw-on metal top. As he twisted it open, the night breeze off of the bay drifted in over the Treviso canals and along the underside of the bridges in the financial district. Damp, salt air, with lacquered gondola and wet stone.
Water and boats. The cat who growled at me. I helped Rook find a secret .
"Apparently, the cat who didn't like him was as impressive as the gondolas," Lucanis smiled as he twisted shut the bottle, and Rook laughed. "He is also very proud of helping you get to that hidden cache near the Bank of Antiva building."
"As he should be, Spite is quite useful in a pinch," Spite grinned at the acknowledgement, but remained fixated on the box, as if anticipating a puzzle to solve. Rook yawned and stretched. "You'll have to let me know how you find the rest of it. I should probably leave you to your evening."
Rook stood, her fingers ghosting across his shoulder as she went to leave. Lucanis knew it was so he would know where she was behind him, but her touch still traced little lines of fire on his skin. He and Spite both turned to watch her pause at the door.
"I should at least try to sleep. Maker help Solas if he decides to interrupt me tonight. I need at least one day without some old elven god yelling at me like I'm a neglectful grandchild."
Say thank you! FOR SPITE.
"Rook," Lucanis stood as she got to the doors. "Spite wants me to thank you on his behalf. I don't think he's gotten many gifts. And I appreciate it as well, even if I don't know the occasion."
"I—" she paused and smiled as something flickered in her eyes. "Emmrich mentioned the other day that you've been together about a year. Is that true?"
"Yes, I think so," Lucanis thought about it for a moment. "Or very close to it? Why?"
"You both fought so hard to get you back home, only for me to whisk you away to the Fade to fight legends and nightmares. The least I could do was give you a little bit of home back," Rook gave a crooked smile and a wink. "Besides, I just thought it might be nice for Spite to have a nameday present."
Rook laughed and walked out to the courtyard leaving man and demon to stare in stark surprise as the doors shut behind her.
Spite has.. a nameday?
"Yes," Lucanis nodded, sitting back down. "I suppose you do."