Work Text:
"Are you sure this is actually a good idea?" Cullen frowned, unable to hide the worry in his voice entirely.
Aodren chuckled, giving him a glance between two vigorous but gentle brush on Falon's soft coat, making it shine under the rays of the early spring sun. The Halla snorted, shaking his antlers - which made Cullen take a step back and didn't help to ease the worry that was kitting his brows.
"I'm sure," Aodren smiled confidently. "What is troubling you?"
"Falon is... A Halla," Cullen muttered. "And I'm not dalish."
Aodren raised an eyebrow, looking at him curiously before checking Falon's hooves for any hidden stones that could hurt him.
"I don't see any problem here. If I offered you to ride Falon, it's because I trust you - I wouldn't have, otherwise."
Oh, Cullen had no reason to doubt Aodren's trust in him. Truth be told, his lover was worse than a mother hen when his Halla was concerned. As far as he knew, Master Dennett was the only one allowed to take care of the hart when Aodren was leaving him at Skyhold.
Or rather, nobody but the horse master was willing to take care of Falon when the Inquisitor was away and the Halla stayed within the walls of the fortress. Cullen's guess was that they were all too impressed by the huge animal to dare come closer to him when Aodren wasn't nearby.
Falon wasn't scary, per se. It was quite the contrary: there was a feeling of gentle strength coming from him, which was very soothing. His big brown eyes were always soft, shining with something akin to kindness and understanding. Still, there were so many legends and mysteries around hallas and their relationship with dalish elves that despite their curiosity, everybody just stayed away carefully. Besides, they all knew that should anything happen to Falon, Aodren would claim their heads without thinking twice, and Cullen wasn't particularly willing to see his lover going feral.
So, yeah. All in all, being offered the possibility to ride Falon was... A bit terrifying. It was as if Cullen was about to discover some ancient forbidden knowledge, one that he shouldn't be allowed to know. On top of that, even though he wasn't a bad horse rider, he wasn't a very good one either. He was used to saddles and stirrups, not that strange thick saddle blanket girthed with a sturdily woven cotton strap. Even the bridle Aodren was using was different than those he was used to: it looked more like a rope halter and there was no snaffle to it. He had no idea how he was supposed to get on the hart's back unless he used a ladder, and the chances were high that even if he managed to get there he would fall within five minutes.
Falon stretched his neck, extending his head to sniffle Cullen's face gently. Could he smell fear? Cullen closed his eyes briefly at the thought, then scratched the soft nose with the tip of his fingers, repressing a sigh. He knew it was important for Aodren, but he didn’t have a very good feeling about all this.
"Love..." he tried again, uncertainty clear in his voice.
Aodren looked back at him, then let out a tiny chuckle seeing his lover's face and came closer to him to kiss his cheek.
"Everything will be all right," he said with such self-confidence Cullen was tempted to believe him.
"Honestly, love, I feel I’m about to make a fool of myself in front of you and I’d rather not," he eventually admitted. "I appreciate the incredible chance you're offering me, but I can't ride Falon,” he added in a more serious tone. “I will hurt him. Maker, I will certainly hurt myself too!"
Aodren rolled his eyes with a teasing smile – did Falon just roll his eyes too? – and shook his head with a chuckle, making him frown deeper.
"Vhenan, I trust you. Don't you trust me?" he asked softly.
“That’s lame, love,” Cullen sighed. “You know I do.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about. I promise.” Aodren kissed the corner of his lips. “I’ll ride in front of you, all you’ll have to do is hold on to me. And we can stop at any time. Okay?”
Cullen hesitated, giving the halla a glance. He knew he shouldn’t worry that much, that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It would also make Aodren happy and truly, it should be more than enough of a reason to agree.
“All right,” he nodded, his throat tightening slightly.
He received a wide and bright smile in response, followed right away by a passionate and fierce kiss that almost made him stumble backwards. It really was important for Aodren, wasn’t it?
Still smiling, Aodren joined Falon in two quick strides, almost bouncing of happiness. As if he knew exactly what his rider expected from him, Falon lowered his head, allowing Aodren to take hold of his antlers, then lifted him off the ground. In a supple and swift movement, Aodren was seated on his back, as if all this was perfectly natural and easy.
Well, it might be for him, but Cullen’s problem remained: how was he supposed to get up there?
“Commander.”
He turned his head to face Master Dennett, who had joined him so quietly he hadn’t noticed him sooner. A discreet and lopsided smile was stretching the horse master’s lips as he handed him a wooden stepladder.
“He doesn’t realise, right?” he added in a lower tone, giving Aodren a quick look. “Have fun. And you’re welcome.”
Cullen took the stepladder with a thankful look; Dennett wasn't a man of many words, but he was right. No matter how good his intentions were, Aodren truly didn't realise that riding Falon wouldn't be as easy for Cullen as it was for him.
He came closer to the Halla with a quiet sigh. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of people in the courtyard at the moment, and those who were there didn't seem to pay attention to them. Truth be told, they were so used to their Dalish Inquisitor by now that seeing a huge red hart among them wasn't worthy of their astonishment anymore. At least they wouldn't see him make a fool of himself.
Falon gave the object a curious look, but he didn’t seem bothered by it and stayed still as Cullen climbed onto it while making a quick internal prayer to Andraste. He patted Falon’s flank a bit awkwardly, nipping at his lips until Aodren’s hand entered his sight.
“Come, vhenan!”
There was no turning back now, wasn’t there? He grabbed his lover’s hand and mounted on Falon’s back, his throat tight, almost feeling sick. He quickly grasped Aodren’s waist, clinging to him nervously. He barely felt his lover’s fingers brushing his hands, too focused on how high above the ground he was.
“You did it!” Aodren’s voice was light and happy, making him smile. “Let’s go!”
Oh Maker. He was definitively going to die of stress if nothing else.
Falon began to move, one step at a time. Cullen tightened his grip on Aodren reflexively, letting out a tiny gasp that made his lover chuckle. The sensation was very different from that of a horse, and yet not that much. Falon’s steps were far lighter and less rocking than what he would have expected given his size. His movements were slow, almost serene, and confident. After a few steps, Cullen could admit it was less frightening than he feared. He knew though that without Aodren he would likely feel dizzy and wouldn’t have a good seat. Still, he felt himself relax slightly, and he even had a look around; it was strange to be so tall, but quite pleasing too. Everything was going well, after all.
And then, Aodren scattered his hopes with a single question.
“Ready to trot?”
Oh no.
“Do we have to?” he asked, hating how whiny he sounded to his own ears.
“We don’t,” Aodren answered kindly. “But it’s funnier. And gallop… Gallop is amazing. The wind in your ears and in your hair, the ground disappearing from your sight as you speed… It feels like flying.”
His voice had taken a dreamy tone as he spoke, and Cullen could easily picture the smile that was undoubtedly stretching his lips.
“Skyhold is in the middle of mountains, isn’t that dangerous?” he eventually said.
“Ma lath,” Aodren chuckled. “Falon is a halla.”
Cullen couldn’t help but smile fondly at the predictable answer, even though it made him roll his eyes slightly. He should have known better.
“A halla isn’t an ibex,” he still retorted.
“No, a halla is better,” Aodren grinned. “I stopped counting how many times we hurtled down the mountainsides by now. We’ll be fine.”
“You’re completely crazy,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”
Aodren clicked his tongue and Falon trotted off. They left the courtyard that was in front of the stables, entering into the larger one where most of the trading activities were taking place. There were much more people around here, and thus much more stares than a few moments ago. But contrary to the teasing laughs he expected, Cullen only saw envious looks. Without thinking, he straightened his back slightly, even though he didn’t loosen his grip around Aodren’s waist; he might not be completely comfortable, he still felt pride that his lover considered him worthy to ride with him. If anything, that was something he could brag about.
Falon’s cadenced strides got them out of the second courtyard very quickly. His hooves were barely making any sound, even on the pavement of the bridge, and the faint echo reverberated by the grey cobblestones disappeared completely when they turned off and reached the snow-covered side of the mountain. Neither the rocks nor the thick layer of snow seemed to bother the halla who was trotting at the same pace, completely unaware gravity existed. Cullen didn’t dare look around too much, placing his head between Aodren’s shoulders and focusing instead on the warmth of his body against his. Luckily, their climbing didn’t last long and he eventually felt the gentle tap of his lover’s fingers on his.
“Look,” the elf whispered.
Trusting him, Cullen did lift his head to glance around them. He let out a tiny gasp, his breath taken out of him.
The scenery from Skyhold was beautiful. From the ramparts, they could see miles away, enjoy sunsets and thunderstorms. But here… It was amazing. Even though they were watching the same view, it was nothing like the one from his room. There was no sound except for their own breathing and the wind’s hushed murmurs; the snow was unscathed, pure white shining under the rays of the sun apart from the few flowers that had managed to pierce through it. Cullen recognized snowdrops – Aodren’s favourite flowers, if he remembered correctly what he had told him one night when they had been talking about everything and nothing.
“I knew you would like it,” Aodren chuckled quietly.
Cullen slowly let his head rest against Aodren’s, lulled by the halla’s movements, and he felt the tense line of his shoulders relax. It was nice, now that the worry of the unknown had faded away. Soothing. Intimate, even. He took Aodren’s hand in his, entwining their fingers.
“Thank you,” he said in a low tone, his voice muffled by his lover’s hair.
“You’re welcome,” Aodren replied softly.
After a few minutes, Cullen realised Falon was leading them back to Skyhold, following a path known only to him, still trotting above the mountainside. He frowned, surprised.
“We’re going back? What about galloping down to the valley?” he asked, at a loss.
“Vhenan, I wouldn’t do that to you,” Aodren scoffed slightly. “You were already under enough stress. Perhaps next time.”
“I think I’d like that,” Cullen hummed thoughtfully. “And who knows, maybe you’ll make a good rider out of me. Hey!” he added, outraged by his lover’s sudden burst of laughter.
“We’ll see, ma lath,” Aodren grinned. “We’ll see.”