Hawke's hand held Anders' own as the man began to sink back into the grass, not willing to let go of it so easily. He moved back as well, laying down next to the mage and bringing one arm up to rest behind his head. The hand holding Anders' slowly released, moving just a bit to rest against his friend's wrist. A bit more subtle this way, maintaining that contact he desired.
"Let me try to remember it..." Hawke said with a smile, turning his head a bit to look over at Anders before looking at the sky again. "As I'm sure you know, mabari hounds were originally created by a Tevinter magister... But they weren't the first mage-made animal. The first was a bird with stunning red feathers and eyes that shone like rubies. He was a remarkable thing with a beautiful voice, the envy of many. The magister fed him lyrium, which made his feathers glow even brighter... But at quite the price. The glow of lyrium would excite the bird, making him fly about and chirp eagerly each time his master would come to feed him. Seeing as his pet was growing greedy, the magister decided he would no longer give his bird such a thing until it learned to behave itself properly."
Hawke glanced over to Anders, hoping his friend was still paying attention. He wasn't nearly as great a story-teller as Varric but he was trying his best. He only hoped he wouldn't bore his companion.
"Of course, that only served to backfire. Being deprived of his precious lyrium, the bird began to eat anything that sparkled, anything that glistened. Jewels, coins, precious metals - he started to hoard them all in his cage, devouring each item one by one. When night fell, he flew up into the sky and gobbled up every last star, until the sky had turned black. The heat from the stars burned the bird's feathers, making them as black as coals. Knowing he'd misbehaved, the bird chose to conceal himself, not willing to return to his master, not when he could hide so well amongst the night."
He shifted a bit, settling in a bit more, allowing for his hand to idly stroke the back of Anders'.
"It was by the light of the next full moon where the bird met his fate. A hunter had found himself lost in the woods and with no stars to guide him, he'd been wandering for weeks on end trying to find his way. In a tree, he spotted that bird and thinking it was little more than a crow, he shot it through the heart, in hopes of making a meal of it. Well, with a belly still full of stars, the bird's body burst open and the stars all spilled out back into the sky. Injured and sulking, the bird ended up making its way back home to a very angry master. As punishment for its misdeeds, every evening the crow was made to fly to the stars, to make certain they were all remaining lit so that the sky never be darkened ever again. A few times a year though, he gets greedy - he begins to eat those stars again but the wandering hunter is always quick to shoot him down once more."
/makes random shit up, tl;drs so much, idk
"Let me try to remember it..." Hawke said with a smile, turning his head a bit to look over at Anders before looking at the sky again. "As I'm sure you know, mabari hounds were originally created by a Tevinter magister... But they weren't the first mage-made animal. The first was a bird with stunning red feathers and eyes that shone like rubies. He was a remarkable thing with a beautiful voice, the envy of many. The magister fed him lyrium, which made his feathers glow even brighter... But at quite the price. The glow of lyrium would excite the bird, making him fly about and chirp eagerly each time his master would come to feed him. Seeing as his pet was growing greedy, the magister decided he would no longer give his bird such a thing until it learned to behave itself properly."
Hawke glanced over to Anders, hoping his friend was still paying attention. He wasn't nearly as great a story-teller as Varric but he was trying his best. He only hoped he wouldn't bore his companion.
"Of course, that only served to backfire. Being deprived of his precious lyrium, the bird began to eat anything that sparkled, anything that glistened. Jewels, coins, precious metals - he started to hoard them all in his cage, devouring each item one by one. When night fell, he flew up into the sky and gobbled up every last star, until the sky had turned black. The heat from the stars burned the bird's feathers, making them as black as coals. Knowing he'd misbehaved, the bird chose to conceal himself, not willing to return to his master, not when he could hide so well amongst the night."
He shifted a bit, settling in a bit more, allowing for his hand to idly stroke the back of Anders'.
"It was by the light of the next full moon where the bird met his fate. A hunter had found himself lost in the woods and with no stars to guide him, he'd been wandering for weeks on end trying to find his way. In a tree, he spotted that bird and thinking it was little more than a crow, he shot it through the heart, in hopes of making a meal of it. Well, with a belly still full of stars, the bird's body burst open and the stars all spilled out back into the sky. Injured and sulking, the bird ended up making its way back home to a very angry master. As punishment for its misdeeds, every evening the crow was made to fly to the stars, to make certain they were all remaining lit so that the sky never be darkened ever again. A few times a year though, he gets greedy - he begins to eat those stars again but the wandering hunter is always quick to shoot him down once more."