Sisters of Tevinter

Teeth

    "What the-" Bull looked up with a gruff snort. The silhouette of a thin young man in a wide brimmed hat was swinging its legs on the wall above them. 

    "Cole?" Jor coughed, turning her head to look from where she lay in the dampness. 

     "Who?" The qunari furrowed his brow, squinting his one eye. 

      "He will not remember me. Good. Jormungandr, your breath is pain. But good pain. You enjoy this kind. It distracts you." 

      Bull scoffed. Jor closed her eyes and frowned. "Cole, go find Solas." 

     "I have done that. I heard you wish to speak to him about me. He wants to talk to you about me too. He is full of knowledge, you admire that. He thinks highly of you, even more now that you have been given a mask." 

      "Mask?" Jor murmured. 

      "The sword they gave you was a mask." 

      Of course. The title of Inquisitor. Jor scowled. How unlucky. She'd actually almost forgot. 

      "Boss, who is this kid?" 

      "A friend, Bull." Jor sat up and shook her head wearily. "I need to go find Solas. Cole-" she glanced up at the walls again. No one was there. Jor blinked. Was she going mad?

       Bull blinked once, then looked at her as if he just remembered she was there. "...You alright, boss? Did I win?" He grinned teasingly. 

       Jor sighed and mustered a smile. "Yeah. You win." 

      He offered her his hand and pulled the scholar to her feet. "You're fast. It's annoying." The mercenary grinned, and it was the closest he'd ever come to a compliment. 

       Jor's smile became a little more real. "Thank you. Let me know when I can be a thorn in your side again."

      "I will. You all done? The Chargers are waiting inside with casks of something strong. You can come with me if you like." 

     Jor sighed, shaking her head. "No. I'm done."

  "Alright. Thanks for being entertaining." 

 "Thanks for being entertained." 

  Bull smiled, nodding as he turned and waved her away. "Goodnight, boss."

  "Goodnight, Bull." Jor rubbed her arms as she set off up the stone stairs and into the castle. In the great hall, Jor wiped sweat from her brow in a sweep of her arm, turning a corner and pushing open a door--

     Running headfirst into Solas. The elf dropped his stack of books with a soft huff of surprise and irritation, looking up with the smallest of scowls as he crouched to retrieve them. Then his expression softened slightly. "Inquisitor. Forgive me, I had not seen you."

      Jor was on her hands and knees before he could even finish his sentence, gathering the tomes carefully and stacking them to one side. "I'm so sorry," she blurted. "I was just coming to see you--" After a bath probably. Horror dawned slowly as she realized her condition, hair drawn back by a single clip of steel, sweat sticking her shirt down her back and front, mud caking her knees and knuckles. 

       Solas blinked and seemed to take in this image at the same time. "...Were you thrown from the battlements?" 

       "No I-" Jor sat back on her haunches, flushing with shame as she tried to tuck a dampened strand of hair behind her ear, setting another book carefully in its rightful place. "I was sparring." 

       "I see." Solas took the stack into his arms and stood. "As it happens, I had been seeking you as well." 

       Jor sighed, a helpless smile tugging at her mouth as she rose. "Well... here I am."

      "Here you are indeed. Walk with me." The mage strode down the hall, his books in his arms. Jor trotted beside him, attention rapt. 

       "This title you've accepted. It is a large responsibility." 

        "Yes." 

        "I sense it bothers you." 

        Jor cleared her throat. "It does." 

        Solas lead her on down the hall and through another door, down a spiraling flight of stone stairs. Torches flickered on the walls. "I see. Though I have no doubt you can handle it. Your people admire your words. You stir blood when you speak." 

        "My people?" Jor brushed her hand along the curving stone, scowling. "Since when?" 

         "Certainly you haven't been so ignorant. These soldiers have been yours from the very beginning. Since you stabilized the Breach for the very first time." They reached a lower landing, emerging in a wide chamber, the far wall exposed to the elements and full of rushing water. A waterfall streamed down over the edge, winding its way through the cobblestone floor in a small, bubbling river before roaring downward and joining more to become a silver waterfall outside. The moon turned the water to molten mercury. Work benches were pushed against the walls, dried herbs dangled from the ceiling. 

         Jor sighed. "I don't think I can do it, Solas." 

       "You have yet to fail us." He set his books down with a dusty thud on one of the benches. 

       You weren't at Redcliffe. The scholar bit her tongue. 

      "Unfortunately it is too late to turn back." Solas gave her his curious half smile, moonlight rippled by water danced over his features. "Though I think I can admire your bravery in accepting despite your doubt." 

      "...I couldn't say no to them." 

      "Your people." His smile grew, knowing he was right. It was almost smug. 

     Jor scowled. "You know, you're really starting to rub me the wrong way." 

     Pleased, the elf set to plucking stalks of dry thyme and lotus from the bundles around the chamber. "Have you looked at the stars tonight?" 

      "Of course. When I was flat on my back in the mud." The rogue leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. 

      "Good. Have they changed?" 

       "What?" 

      "Have they changed, Inquisitor." It was less of a question, more of an expectation. He struck a match against the wood and lit a cluster of candles on the table. 

      "...The stars are always moving, Solas." 

      "Yes. Much like you. Much like time." He cast her a glance over his shoulder. "Do you understand?" 

      "You think this is just a movement. That it was inevitable?" 

     "Some would argue it is destiny. If destiny does exist, you are the most tightly bound to it." 

      "Cut me loose please," Jor said flatly. The mage gave a wry, chocolaty laugh that made Jor's hands go numb. 

     "Jormungandr. You are aptly named. Is it not the world serpent that devours her own tail?" 

      "I'd spit it out if I could." 

     "Your bindings are only as strong as you make them, your teeth sink only as far as you tolerate. You may still be tied to fate, but with every movement fate evolves to follow you."