ROGUE🖤 (Cole x OC! Lavellan) ✓ [COMPLETED]

Ch. 8 *A Memory From My Past*

NALIA
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I finger comb my hair, crawling out of the tent after a nice night's sleep.

Blackwall is up early, stoking the fire with logs he's found around camp. Solas is leaning against a tree, his staff in hand as he stares into a golden sunrise.
He's been so quiet ever since we talked that day...it worries me.
I don't want to lose him, and already it feels like he's slipping through my fingers.

I stand up. "Morning," I yawn, stretching. "We'll have breakfast, then leave. We're still a couple hours away from Dennet's farm."

To be honest... I'll be so happy when we get horses. So far, we've had to walk just to get anywhere and it's starting to hurt.

Blackwall nods. "I have some eggs, if you'd like some of those."

"Elf, remember?" I giggle, reaching into my bag and pulling out an apple. Elves are vegans. We don't eat meat, or anything from an animal. To honor the Ancient ways...

I take a big bite out of my apple, savoring the sweet, sweet taste as the juice runs down my face. "Mmm, so yummy," I say through my mouthful before I jump suddenly, seeing Cole appear in front of me.

"Cole! You..." I swallow, nearly choking, "you startled me."

"Tastes bud exploding in flavor, lick the rest of it before it dries..." He whispers, looking everywhere but at me.

I raise an eyebrow, only to then glance down at the apple in my hand. What would happen if I offered him a piece?

"Would you like some?" I stretch out my hand, offering him to have a bite.

"I don't eat," he says simply. Oh, right. Spirit.
He looks and seems so much like a man that I forget that he's...what he is.

"Oh," I pull it away, embarrassment turning my cheeks pink, "I...didn't know," I apologize, before I walk to Blackwall and sit beside him as he cooks eggs. My heart is pounding out of my chest. Why do I feel so awkward around him?

I try my hardest not to glance at Cole, but it's a struggle. I glance at him from the corner of my eye, only to see him sit down beneath a tree, holding a pine cone and examining it closely.

"Inquisitor?" Blackwall says, "can't you hear me?"

"Huh?" I turn to look at him as he holds a canteen of water, passing it to me. "Forgive me, my mind was lost in space just now."

"What is he anyway?" Blackwall nods towards Cole.

I swallow a gulp of water. "He's a spirit," I say, preparing any answer I can muster in my head for his upcoming questions. He's bound to ask a million questions, all of which I've tried to answer for everyone, but deep down, have no idea if what I'm saying is correct or not.

Silence stretches between us for a moment, until I hear him exhale a deep breath. "You're already pressured enough as it is, being Inquisitor. So, I won't talk anymore on the matter."

Blackwall stands up, approaching Solas to discuss something with him. Honestly...that is a relief. It's nice to have someone respectful...

I tuck some hair behind my ear, reaching into my bag to pull out a ribbon.

I wrap it underneath my hair, tying it up into a bun. Out of habit, I find myself humming an old lullaby my mother would sing to me when I was a child. For a while, I had forgotten about it, but tying my hair back helped me remember.

A memory flashes before my eyes.

"You have such long, beautiful hair, ma vhenan," mother runs a hand down through it, fingers going through the knots. "I wish mine were like that.
A younger version of me giggles, looking over my shoulder at her. "And to think I wanted to cut it," I reply with a smile.
Mother smiles back as well, pulling me into an embrace.