The Wolf and the Halla

Then In He Came

On this particular evening, Adani had been looking over reports that Cullen had sent up. She was restlessly ruffling through papers filled with reports of rifts and dying soldiers on the battlefield to demons invading towns of families, women and children. This war was not fought only among men. It was fought among the homes of those men, by creatures that could not be trusted to only appear in some place. They appeared many places, where the veil was weak. Wherever they could push hard enough to break it. Unfortunately, sometimes that happened in villages.

She sighed. The reports were always the same. "A small rift breaks the sky above some unheard of Hinterlands village. No survivors." "The men were overran by red templars in their camp. 6 dead, 3 wounded. One unscathed." And so on and so on.

Thus was her evening. She looked through report after report and signed her name at the bottom. Sometimes she caught a name and she would write it down on a different page to have word sent to their families. She read and signed and wrote until her eyes seemed to be crossing.

She closed them a moment and rubbed them with her fingers. Then she stood with a deep sigh and went to stand on the balcony. The mountains were truly beautiful here. It reminded her a bit of growing up in the mountains. Not in the snow, but in the forests and trees.

She was breathing it all in deeply. Accepting that people had died in the name of this cursed war. That Corypheus had used them to take revenge. He wanted her to feel vulnerable and alone. She was accepting that every death was on her shoulders. She could physically feel the weight of those souls on her shoulders. She didn't cry, even though she wished she could. Tears would be a sweet relief. Instead she stood on the balcony watching the sun sink lower, down toward the tops of the mountains, and she breathed in slowly. She felt numb and guilty.

Then, of course he came, as if sensing her unease. There was a knock at her chamber door. She did not answer it. Too lost in her empty hole of despair, she let the knocking happen without the slightest thought of going to answer it.

He opened the door carefully. "Adani?" He waited for a reply that did not come. Uneasily, he walked up the steps. He did not wish to walk in on her slumber or her private time. At the top of the stairs he spotted her on the balcony. "Adani? he asked again.

She turned to him, her eyes were sad. "Hello, Solas." She said softly before turning back to the sunset.

"Are you well?" He asked. She didn't reply, but the way her shoulders slumped and then trembled a bit he knew she was not. He closed the distance between them and turned her to him. A lone tear slipped down her face. He didn't know what to say. So he didn't. He just pulled her into a hug.

Once wrapped in his embrace she crumbled all apart. She began to sob. Not just quietly cry like you would alone at night over a heartbreak. She was sobbing. Crying out and shaking violently. Absentmindedly, she wondered if she had been broken. He helped her to the couch and sat. She curled into him. He didn't say anything just held her and rubbed his hands over her back and through her long red hair, which was free from its regular braid. Somehow saying nothing helped far better, and eventually she calmed.

She did not sit up. She stayed in his arms. "Ir abelas, Solas." She said at last. "I didn't mean for you to see me like this. I'm just a mess. I don't know how to handle this whole ordeal. I'm not as good and prepared as I thought I was."

"You never will be prepared to deal with the costs of war. It is a necessary evil." He kissed the top of her head softly. "However, this evil must be stopped. It is not upon you that these deaths lie. It is upon Corypheus. He is the cause of this madness. Not you, Adani."

She considered this a moment. "How did you know?" She paused "That I was falling apart, I mean."

"I could sense you pulling at the Fade. Searching for the souls of the lost." He looked away sadly. "They are not here, however."

She nodded. Then sat up. She wiped her face clean of the remnants of her breakdown. "I'm okay now." She said. "You're right. Their deaths are not on me. Corypheus must be stopped." He nodded his agreement. She looked away. Back out at the sinking sun, much closer to the mountains now. It looked as though it had spent all day looking forward to kissing the delicate tops of those white caps, and now it would take its time.

Solas' hand wrapped around hers. She glanced at it and then at him. He smiled, a soft and understanding smile that told her everything she needed to know about him. She stood and led them out to the balcony.

"It is beautiful." She stated. He noticed the way the dying light danced off of her green eyes. And the shimmer it gave her red hair. He smiled.

"Indeed, it is." He agreed. Though neither of them were sure if he was speaking of the sunset or of her. She hoped for the latter. "I had a question, Adani."

"Alright." She turned towards him. "Let's hear it then."

"What were you like, before the anchor?" He asked "Has it affected you? Changed you in any way?"

"No, I am who I am." She said. "Why do you ask?"

"You show a wisdom I have not seen since.. my deepest journeys into the Fade. You are not what I expected."

She smiled. "Sorry to disappoint."

"No. It is not disappointing.. it is mostly unpredictable." He smiled. "You have shown subtly in your actions. A wisdom I have not seen in a long time. If the Dalish could raise someone like you, have I misjudged them?"

"No not really. I make my own choices. The Dalish did not change who I am."

"Perhaps that is it then." He looked at her curiously. "It must be. Most people act with so little understanding of the world, but not you."

"So what does this mean, Solas?"

"It means I have not forgotten about the kiss."

She stepped closer. "Good." Closer even until they were mere inches apart. His eyes filled with want yet concern. He shook his head and started to turn away. She grabbed him. "Please, don't go."

"It would be kinder, in the long run.. but losing you would.." He didn't finish his sentence. He turned and his lips found hers. They kissed deeply and intimately. With a longing and a love he had not felt in a long time.

Eventually he pulled away. "Ar lath ma, vhenan." He said. Then he turned and left. And just as he had came, he went. Her heart took a leap. He loves me! She was filled with joy.

She stayed on the balcony awhile. Smiling and thinking of this. This profession of love. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to run and find him, but she wouldn't. She had to give this space. Not rush things.

He had called her his heart. His love. His one. She was taken aback. Suddenly she remembered Revansa, and his profession of love. She had always thought they would eventually marry. But she had never felt this way. Not about anyone. Not ever. She felt as though she was walking on clouds. Floating through the open sky, dancing with the sun.
.....
Solas POV:

What have I done? No good can come of this. He shook his head. Weak willed dog! Why do I do these things? He asked himself. He was angry, but it quickly subsided when he thought of them back on the balcony. When he thought of them at Haven in the Fade. Or when they held hands on the journey here. And when he thought of them in the cavern. When he thought of these things, his anger turned to affection.

I do love her. I love her so much. It is as if the stars willed us together, as if it has been written. It is meant to be. I can feel it in my heart. I have always felt it ever since she woke up and we met at that camp. So he professed it, he was in love with this Dalish elf. He smiled. He was happy. Care free and happy and he thought to himself that maybe that was alright. He could be happy too.