Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Varric]

"Oral means mouth. You... You've kissed Summer I imagine?" At the nod, the dwarf continues, "replace your tongue with your cock. Or her mouth with her flower. There's some adjustments but similar concept. And as long one of you is dressed from the waist down, it should be easy to ensure none of your seed gets in her. That means the whole time, mind you. There's a burst at the end but it... leaks the whole time."

He coughs, recalling common complaints  he's heard. "Two- three tips. One, watch your teeth and tell her the same. Two, don't grab her head and control her movements, least not without asking first. Let her control the pace and depth. Last, warn her before you finish so she doesn't choke or catch it in the eye."

[Carver Amell]

Carver, beet red -- and half cocked -- just nods, vigerously, to signal his understanding.

[Varric]

"Good. And remember your manners about it. Ask, don't demand or expect. Thank her, both with words and recip- returning the favor. If she says no or changes her mind after saying yes, that's her right and your duty as a good man to allow. Ruthless with enemies, competitive with rivals, polite to strangers, kind to friends, and everything for Clan. Remember that and you'll do alright."

[Carver Amell]

Carver nods again. "O--okay. I mean. Yes, sir. I'll do my best. I won't-- I won't let you down."

[Varric]

Good kid, the dwarf thinks again. So damn earnest but good kid. "You have any questions? Anything you're not completely clear on? I know this is... awkward to talk about, but just compare whatever question you're not sure you're up for asking against explaining to your family- and Summer's- that she's carrying a babe. Or hells, her slapping you and never speaking to you again." He polishes off his drink, then refills it from the stock bottle in his desk. "So... take another sip or two if you need it, but ask."

[Carver Amell]

He nods, taking another sip. "this is a dumb one but... but what do I do with my hands when we're making out?"  he asks, blushing a bit more. 

They talk for some time, Carver indulging his thirst for understanding and Varric doing the best he can to give him accurate information. By the end of it, he's got a good idea what to do with Summer -- and more than a little thirst for practical experience.

[Carver Amell]

Saturday afternoon, and the Hawke family is gathered in the kitchen making supper. As usual, Bethany's in charge; Leandra, in a rare pleasant mood, is helping chop vegetables and pretending she has control of her own kitchen anymore. Another few minutes and the whole mess will be in the stewpot; at that point, Marian and Bethany could rush off to Varric's for lessons and Carver could go look for Summer. She'd been avoiding him more recently, and he's not sure why -- did he push too fast? Was she growing tired of him? Or was she simply busy? After all, at fifteen, they were getting close to the end of mandatory schooling, so they'd be adults soon if they chose not to continue in school. And Carver had no intention of continuing on. 

Speaking of graduating, however...

"I just think we should go on a trip and find out. Maybe there's a good university in Nyra that Bethany could go to."

[Bethany]

Bethany offers her twin a warm smile. They're not as close as they once were- not after Summer, not after Tasting Wine, as Bethany thinks of it. But he's her twin, whose soul touched hers as their bodies grew and formed. Come what may, that's not a bond easily broken. Dulled, perhaps, but still very much intact.  "Pa- haps after Varric finishes his work here, in another year and change, so Mar and I could stay together. We could go up now, to look around though."

[Leandra Hawke ne Amell]

Leandra's back stiffens. All of them. Just as I thought. All of them, readying themselves to abandon me, just like their father. Probably thought this entire conversation up a'fore hand. Ungrateful. What did I do to deserve such ungrateful people? "Absolutely not! I can't stop Marian if she wants to go gallivanting around with her... employer.... but you two are still children and I'll not permit it. Still of half a mind to forbid you from seeing him at'all," she adds sourly, an oft repeated but never serious refrain. The coin she gets from the arrangement is too good. And the way that Tethras brutalized not just that poor boy Joey, but Goodman Riggers after that dispute over land ownership. Cruel man, that dwarf. Cold and unfeeling, uncaring of another's pain.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian cringes inwardly. Carver... we don't need her permission once you're adults. Why bring this up now? Why the strife?

Marian loves her little brother, but he can take care of himself. Whatever he does, wherever he goes in life, she's sure he can handle it, maybe with a little help from Varric. It's Bethany she worries about. Bethany she has to protect. 

Bethany she feels guilty over not being able to fully open herself to.

Marian Hawke doesn't trust anyone with her heart, not really. Varric is the closest, followed by Bethany, but even with the pair of them she keeps secrets. She doesn't tell them she's let Drake use her body finally; she doesn't tell them how she enjoyed herself ,but only a little, and how she cried afterward, when he'd finished and left her in the barn with a horse blanket over top of her. She doesn't want them to know how ashamed she is for giving in. Sex should be more than this, should mean more than this, but she doesn't know how to get there, how to make it happen. Maybe when I get to Nyra. Maybe I'll even be able to date a woman. For some women that makes all the difference.

"Of course, Mother," she says absently. "As you say."

[Carver Amell]

Carver scowls. "No, not as she says! If you're going to Nyra, you need to look at universities, and we may as well go with you. Make sure you're safe somewhere. I'm sure there's--"

He stops, something nagging at him, and listens. His heart skips a beat, and he stills, holding his breath. No, that sound is unmistakable: the bells, the town bells. It's past noon, that can't be the normal chimes, which means there's an emergency. An attack of some kind. He reaches for the club at his belt. "Stay here. I'll see what's what."

[Bethany]

Bethany doesn't really use weapons- her kind of magic is highly complicated and doesn't leave a lot of time or brainspace to work on such things- but she quickly goes to get their best carving knife from the block.  "You come back safe, Packbrother," she says softly, eyes fierce. "Don't need a hero, I want my brother, understood?"

[Leandra Hawke ne Amell]

Packbrother? What nonsense is- bah. Shaking off the thought, Leandra rushes to her room to grab her coin stash from her room. "Marian, get the rucksack from the basement and fill it with smoked meat and dried fruit!" she shouts back. "Probably just old Janis being a worrywart but best to be ready, just in case."

[Bethany]

As soon as the other two are out of the room, Bethany reaches over to grip Marian's wrist tightly. She doesn't say anything, just... looks into her most loved person's eyes for a moment, then lets go.

[Carver Amell]

Carver returns a few minutes later -- too soon to have found someone in charge and been informed. His face is pale as death, and his knives are out: not the club, but a pair of hunting knives he has been using to learn to make traps, to skin kills, to defend himself.