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

Ch. 11 *Fade*

NALIA
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I land on my back with a hard thud against stone. It stings, running up and down my spine as I groan, sitting up. What happened to us? We were falling and then...we're here?

I look around at everything. It's all rocky, tainted green and wet. The sky is grey, with green swirls that seem to flash.

"Where are we?" Stroud asks, gazing around. I look to see Hawke, whose standing upside down on a rock.

"What is this? Are we...are we dead?" Hawke asks, a little panicked. "Is this the afterlife? The Chantry lied to us!"

"No, this is the Fade," Solas says, staring up at the greenish sky with a fascination in his eyes. "Nalia opened a rift, we came through, and survived!" He laughs softly.
"I never thought I'd find myself here physically. Look! The Black City, almost close enough to touch..."

I raise an eyebrow. It's nice to see that someone is happy to be here, unlike the rest of us.
"But how could that be?" I look at my hand that holds the Anchor. I knew it could close rifts, but open them...? That's a new trick.

Solas turns to face Cole. "Cole? How does it feel to be back home?" He asks.
For a moment, Cole doesn't do or say anything. But suddenly, I hear him breathe heavily, throwing his hand over his head, stumbling backwards. "I can't be here! Not like this! Not like me!" He looks around, eyes seeing everything and nothing all at once. "I need to leave, I-I need..."
He's frantic. Tripping over his own feet, arms swinging out in the air, his breathing becoming faster by the second.

He's going to have an anxiety attack if I don't help calm him down.
I stand up, walking to his side. "It's alright, just take it easy."

"This place is wrong," he says, "I made myself forget when I made myself real. But I- I know it wasn't like this!" He walks away from me, going to a rock and touching it before pulling his hand away instantly, as if what he touched just burned him.

"The stories said you walked out of the Fade at Haven, was it like this?" Hawke asks, which has me turn towards him.

"I...I don't know," I whisper, walking forward, staring at this place that we're stuck in. "I still can't remember what happened the last time I did this." I shake my head, "we need to move. We're not safe here..."

I motion them to follow, and soon, we head out into the unknown. Solas is in awe over every little detail, whereas the rest of us are completely screwed in the head.
He tries to make this seem like a fascinating experience, but I'm more concerned about Cole. He's not doing well, not at all...I try my best to calm him, but nothing is working.

I stand beside Cole, whose shaking uncontrollably. "Wrong, wrong, wrong! Wringing me out!" He begins to hyperventilate, "can't relax, can't release!"

"It's alright Cole, we'll get you out of here soon," I say, but my words aren't enough for him...he still isn't calming down.
He's going to pass out if I don't do something.

So I go to the only thing I haven't tried yet.
Physical force.

I grab him by the arm and drag him away from the others so that we can talk.

"What are you doing?!" He shouts, trying to get out of my grip. "Nalia!"

When we're far enough away, I push him against a rock, one hand holding him still. "You need to relax," I say firmly, "you're hurting yourself right now. I understand that this is a scary experience, but you aren't in it alone. Solas is here, and I'm here too..."

His eyes widen, and he slows his breathing, but I can feel his heart pound through my palm. "Nalia..." He whispers.

I let him go, reaching down to hold his hand. Just for him to physically feel that I'm here for him.