Halam'shivanas:The sweet sacrifice of duty

All new, faded for her

The fire was dancing in the dark and the moon was hiding behind some clouds. Solas looked up at it and wondered how he ended up alone with the inquisitor in the wilderness.

It had all happened so fast. He had asked for help to save one of his old friends. Aniel had only asked a few questions and had accepted that his friend was a spirit with ease, and suddenly they where on their way to the spot he had marked on the map.

It was remarkable how open-minded she seemed to be. He had half expected her to tell him that she did not have time to save a spirit, or for her to reluctantly agree to help him.  

Solas looked at the female elf; she was sleeping with her back against a tree. They had decided to take turns to guard their camp and he was first out.

He somehow found it comfortable to watch her sleep. To watch how the blond hair fell down over her shoulders and how her chest rose and fell as she was breathing.

For a moment he felt content over the fact that she had choose to only bring him with her.

He knew she liked to be surrounded by friends.

Solas stirred around in the fire with a stick to keep it alive. Some embers flew up into the sky like tiny fireflies. It was time to switch with Aniel but he did not feel like waking her up. He did not feel tired and it was something about her calm sleeping face that he liked.

He took out one of his traveling sketchbooks and before he knew it the papers was filled with drawings of her.

He let out a small cough when he realised what he was doing and hastily hide his book when he saw how her eyes slowly opened.

Half asleep she looked around, for a moment it looked like she was going to fall asleep again.

" Maker! How long have I been sleeping? Why did you not wake me up?" She asked when she realised the time.

She still looked half asleep, eyes half opened and her hair was a bit messy. Solas chuckled softly and put a log on the fire.

" I simply saw no need in waking you up, as I'm capable of guarding. " He answered with a calm voice.

She gave him a small frown and told him it was only right to take turns. To his surprised she moved from her sleeping spot and sat down next to him. Their shoulder were touching and he felt it getting warmer.

" Well you need some sleep. Let me make up for oversleeping by offering you a lap to rest your head on. " She casually said and gestured towards her thighs.

Solas felt his ears and cheeks getting warmer but kept his usual calm face.

" I have no need to rest my head; in fact I don't feel tired at all. " He said and hoped that his voice sounded normal.

He was so focused on keeping himself under control; that when she pulled his arm he lost his balance and ended up with his head on her lap.

She gently pushed him down when he tried to sit up.

" Sleep, you need it." She said with a calm and firm voice.

Solas stared into the fire, his body was tense, and it could simply not be possible to relax in this position. Not when she was so close.

Aniel must have noticed how tense he was; for he felt gentle cresses on his cheek and she hummed a soft melody. Before he knew it he had drifted to sleep.

It was morning when he woke up, he found himself resting his head against Aniel's jacket. It had the same fresh and sweet scent as its owner.  Like rain he thought.