Chapter Text

Chapter One: We Have The Same Last Name

Davrin could’ve sworn his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Ava had asked Davrin to come with her on a quick supply run, and she expressed that she liked to talk to the locals who populated the farmer’s markets and night market’s during the mornings and evenings for bits of information. She just wanted to make sure her homeland and the surrounding village she grew up in was alright. Davrin had teased her and asked why she didn’t invite Lucanis to go shopping with her. The two of them had grown closer after her birthday, but not close enough to accompany her on these shopping trips.

He stood in the middle of a Rivaini farmer’s market holding a wicker basket filled to the brim with fruit. Ava Laidir, who went by Rook to the rest of the Veilguard, was holding a smaller big with tools. Davrin blinked, then rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He focused on Ava again. She had put down her bag and she was hugging a man. It wasn’t brief and Davrin thought it may have pushed the boundaries of what constituted a friendly hug.

The man’s hands were resting low on her hips and he pulled Ava closer to him. Ava wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest. One of the man’s hands moved from her hips to her hair, his fingers tangling in it.

Davrin suddenly felt awkward. Ava and the mystery man were hugging by the blacksmith tent as if they were the only two in the world. He suddenly thought of Lucanis, his friend who was head over heels in love with Ava. When Davrin first joined the Veilguard and met everyone, he immediately noticed a spark between Ava and Lucanis. They were opposites in many ways, but they clicked. Ever since Ava’s birthday, the two seemed to be a lot closer. She wore the earrings he gave her every day, and when he woke up in the morning he saw Lucanis and Ava heading towards the training area to continue her dagger lessons. Things seemed to be going great between the two of them.

It was for that reason that Davrin hoped he was misconstruing this moment. The mystery man wasn’t Ava’s brother or relative as far as Davrin could tell—the man had dark red hair and his skin had a slight tan, while Ava had the same skin color and curly black hair as Davrin.

Ava and the mystery man ended their hug. The man grabbed Ava’s hands and touched his forehead to hers and began speaking to Ava. She looked him straight in the eye without moving back or hardly blinking. Then hurt flashed across her face. She broke eye contact with him and kept her head down as the man continued speaking. Davrin began walking towards them.

“Ava, are you ready to go?” Davrin said. Ava pulled her hands away from the man and looked up at Davrin. She was upset, but she forced a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Ava answered.

“Vivi, who is this? One of your Veilguard companions?” The man said. He was almost as tall as Davrin, and now that he was closer he could see the man was very muscular. He was wearing a blacksmith smock and a bit of soot was on his right cheek. The man didn’t seem angry, but he was suspicious and curious.

“Yes,” Ava said. “This is Davrin. He’s a Grey Warden. Davrin, this is Michael Laidir. He's a blacksmith from my hometown.” Davrin opened his mouth to speak, but Ava cut him off. She turned towards the man–Michael–and said something to him in Rivaini. He responded then stepped away from them and headed back to his shop.

Ava’s steps were quick as she made her way out of the farmer’s market. Davrin kept up with her, but he noticed how nervous she was. Before they crossed into the eluvian, Davrin finally said, “That man has the same last name as you.” He had already started connecting the dots together, but he wanted Ava to tell him the truth.

Ava sighed and shifted her bag back onto her shoulder. “He’s my ex-husband after all so it makes sense that we’d have the same last name.”

Davrin was stunned into silence. Ava was very open about her childhood, her family, the adventures she went on when she joined the Lords of Fortune. A marriage never made its way into any of their conversations. Did anyone else know? Did Lucanis know?

It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Ava had a life before them and she was entitled to not speak about it. If she had told him she was married, they would have laughed about it. But Davrin saw how Ava’s ex-husband looked at her and held her. There was still some love there on his end.

Could that be why she hadn’t admitted her feelings to Lucanis?

Before Davrin could comment, Ava stepped through the eluvian. He followed behind her, and didn’t say a word to her for the rest of the way until they parted ways and went to their rooms. Giving her space was a good idea. She wasn’t upset at him, but perhaps at seeing her ex-husband. Davrin ruffled Assan’s hair and said, “Looks like we’ll need to keep an eye on Ava.”

Unfortunately, for him, Ava already had a bottle of hard liquor in her hand and she had just thought of something fun, the perfect distraction, to take her mind off seeing her ex-husband.