[Memory time!]
Ali is dressed in something other than a suit for once in his life, as he has chosen a t-shirt and jeans for the laborious task of weeding the flower bed. He could use his fire if he did it in small, contained blasts right at the weeds, but the neighbors are around and he would rather they didn't start asking questions. So, by hand it is.
"Whatcha doin'?"
Ali pauses in his work to glance up to a young boy, maybe 5 or 6. This boy has white hair and light green eyes, and yet despite looking nothing alike Ali smiles warmly at the boy.
"Weeding the flowers. Your papa normally handles it, but he's not feeling well today so I'm doing it."
The boy looks a little confused as he says, "Isn't fire faster?"
"Well yes, it would be," Ali says, speaking a bit quieter now so only the boy hears, "But we're trying to act like humans, remember?"
This seems to make sense to the boy, so he smiles widely and says in return, "And humans don't have magic!"
"Exactly. Now, do you want to help me here? Or would you like to keep playing?"
"Can I have the little shovel?"
Ali smiles a little and picks up the trowel, which he hands over to the boy, who is making grabbyhands for it. "Just fill in any holes you dig, okay?"
"'kay!" And then the boy takes the trowel and runs off to the backyard without another word.
This does not bother Ali in the slightest, and he just returns to his weeding. After about ten minutes though, he starts to hear some strange dragging noises, followed by a soft thump. This happens four times, with a few minutes of quiet in between, before Ali finally gets up to investigate. "Chance?"
He has to walk around the side of the house and towards the backyard before he finds his answer: four tall sunflowers are standing up against the wooden fence, facing the house. The boy- Chance- is now in the act of dragging the fifth over. Ali still seems unbothered by this, and in fact he just chuckles lightly. Leave it to Concord's kid to do things the hard way instead of asking for help. "Are the sunflowers ready for picking?"
Chance sounds a little out of breath as he speaks. "Yeah! Gonna put them right here. " With that, he tips up the fifth sunflower and plops it against the fence like the rest. Then he stands up, looking to Ali excitedly. "And I did no magic!"
Ali smiles warmly. "You did a good job too. Now we can cut off the heads and take them inside then-"
"Not yet!" Chance points to the window on the second floor, the one that goes to Ali and Concord's bedroom. "Now Papa can see!"
Oh, how Ali's heart melts when he hears those words. What a thoughtful child. So young, and he's already thinking of others. Ali just scoops up Chance in a hug, praising Chance while he giggles. "You're the most thoughtful person I know, my little sunflower. How about we go make your papa some lunch?"
"'kay!"
Ali is dressed in something other than a suit for once in his life, as he has chosen a t-shirt and jeans for the laborious task of weeding the flower bed. He could use his fire if he did it in small, contained blasts right at the weeds, but the neighbors are around and he would rather they didn't start asking questions. So, by hand it is.
"Whatcha doin'?"
Ali pauses in his work to glance up to a young boy, maybe 5 or 6. This boy has white hair and light green eyes, and yet despite looking nothing alike Ali smiles warmly at the boy.
"Weeding the flowers. Your papa normally handles it, but he's not feeling well today so I'm doing it."
The boy looks a little confused as he says, "Isn't fire faster?"
"Well yes, it would be," Ali says, speaking a bit quieter now so only the boy hears, "But we're trying to act like humans, remember?"
This seems to make sense to the boy, so he smiles widely and says in return, "And humans don't have magic!"
"Exactly. Now, do you want to help me here? Or would you like to keep playing?"
"Can I have the little shovel?"
Ali smiles a little and picks up the trowel, which he hands over to the boy, who is making grabbyhands for it. "Just fill in any holes you dig, okay?"
"'kay!" And then the boy takes the trowel and runs off to the backyard without another word.
This does not bother Ali in the slightest, and he just returns to his weeding. After about ten minutes though, he starts to hear some strange dragging noises, followed by a soft thump. This happens four times, with a few minutes of quiet in between, before Ali finally gets up to investigate. "Chance?"
He has to walk around the side of the house and towards the backyard before he finds his answer: four tall sunflowers are standing up against the wooden fence, facing the house. The boy- Chance- is now in the act of dragging the fifth over. Ali still seems unbothered by this, and in fact he just chuckles lightly. Leave it to Concord's kid to do things the hard way instead of asking for help. "Are the sunflowers ready for picking?"
Chance sounds a little out of breath as he speaks. "Yeah! Gonna put them right here. " With that, he tips up the fifth sunflower and plops it against the fence like the rest. Then he stands up, looking to Ali excitedly. "And I did no magic!"
Ali smiles warmly. "You did a good job too. Now we can cut off the heads and take them inside then-"
"Not yet!" Chance points to the window on the second floor, the one that goes to Ali and Concord's bedroom. "Now Papa can see!"
Oh, how Ali's heart melts when he hears those words. What a thoughtful child. So young, and he's already thinking of others. Ali just scoops up Chance in a hug, praising Chance while he giggles. "You're the most thoughtful person I know, my little sunflower. How about we go make your papa some lunch?"
"'kay!"
[ haha. yeah! ]
Oh. I have friends like that too.
Oh. I have friends like that too.
[ awwww. this is such a sweet memory.
anders is FROWNING. ]
Humans have magic.
anders is FROWNING. ]
Humans have magic.
Mine's bigger. And the breasts make it so much worse.
They don't in my world, I should specify.
Somehow I didn't think so.
[ your life is SO sad, rat boy. ]
[ your life is SO sad, rat boy. ]
They give birth to thousands of Darkspawn ...
[ its a competition and hes WINNING. ]
[ its a competition and hes WINNING. ]
Nothing? They just don't exist. The closest thing are the mages, but they're not strictly human as they can live for centuries.
Plus, Chance was 5. The goal there was to keep him from growing a forest in the backyard with his magic, not to teach the nuance of humans versus mages.
Plus, Chance was 5. The goal there was to keep him from growing a forest in the backyard with his magic, not to teach the nuance of humans versus mages.
I'll pass, but thank you for the kind offer.
[even sadder when some of his happier memories are hanging out with Anders.]
I know you have happy memories... why don't we concentrate on yours?
I know you have happy memories... why don't we concentrate on yours?
[He is going to be put in the middle of an argument here isn't he?]
You know, Chance is an adult now, but he's still just as kind and thoughtful.
[Ali is so proud. Both of his kids are the best.]
You know, Chance is an adult now, but he's still just as kind and thoughtful.
[Ali is so proud. Both of his kids are the best.]
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