The Encounter

...

     Eira was still on the floor, her back against the wall. Merrill crouched in front of her. Eira couldn't see her properly, her vision was blurred with red. She could make out Merrill's figure but could only hear murmurs. She couldn't make out what was being said. She tried to get up but the impact of the blast had gotten her pretty good. She raised her hand and released the spell she cast on Merrill, just as the magic pulse hit them. Merrill looked at herself, finding Eira's rock armour on her, surprised at how quick she had cast the spell, not even realising she had it on. That would explain why Eira received such a huge blow from both sides. Eira was starting to hear again but still had the blurry vision of red.

      "It was for protection haha" Eira smirked, with blood dripping down her face.

     "Oh by the Creators, when did you even cast this?! And why on ME and not on YOU?! Oh no, your heads bleeding! Your eyes are covered in blood! Hang on while I find a clean towel to clean you up with!!" Merrill runs around like a wild nug, looking for clean cloths and towels. She finds one on the table in her lounge and pours some clean water on it,  ran to Eira's side, knelt down beside her and started to clean her face and eyes of the blood.

     "Merrill... Can you just, help me up please? I'm really am fine. Are you hurt? Are YOU okay? Don't worry about me, I can handle this-" before Eira could finish, Merrill cuts her off, with a stern and concerned tone.

     "But Hawke! You need to be cleaned up! Let me just fix you up! Oh by the Dread Wolf, this is going leave a scar on your pretty face! What have you done, protecting little ol' me-" Merrill started to slowly and gently clear some of the blood from Eira's view.

     "Oh Merrill, you're such a sweet heart, but right now, we have other pressing matters than me bleeding" Eira was trying to get onto her feet but Merrill was wiping her face, causing Eira to giggle and struggle on the floor.

     "... I was blabbering again wasn't I? I'm so sorry! Here, let's get you up!"Merrill helped Eira up to her feet, grabbed her arm and put it around her shoulder. She had to grab onto Eira by the waist to support her weight, underestimating how heavy she really was.

Eira raised her hand, placed it on her head and started to heal herself, causing the bleeding to stop and the wounds to seal up, without a trace.

     "Healing magic, it heals everything, see? No scar in sight! And you thought I was going to have a scar on 'my pretty face' "Merrill's blushed at her own comment as Eira restated it, and looked away as she still had Eira's arm around her. They both slowly start to make their way into Merrills room, where the fully functional Eluvian was. Merrill was struggling to support Eira's full weight with her fragile figure.

     "Has anything come out of the Eluvian Merrill? Thank you, by the way, I think I can walk fine now, I didn't mean to weigh you down." Before Merrill could answer Eira, she quickly releases her grip on her arm and shuffles out from underneath her and took a few steps back.

     "Oh don't be silly, it was nothing, haha, really.' Merrill dusts herself from the dust. " And no, nothing has come out of it. There's this mist however surrounding it, such a wonder. Its... Purple? Must be the magic seeping through"

     Merrill was sweeping herself from the dust that the rock armour had caused. As Merrill was dusting herself clean, Eira was starting to hear strange noises and whispers coming from the Eluvian as she was approaching closer to it. She motioned at Merrill to hush and listen to the strange voices she though, only she could hear.

     "Wait... Can you hear that too? I can hear voices, but its fuzzy. It can't just be me. Or did that magic pulse really do a number on me?" Eira looked back at Merrill, hoping she wasn't the only one able to hear the strange voices.

     "No, I can hear them too and it doesn't seem to be spirits or demons speaking....." Both of them were now quiet, trying to listen to these strange murmurs and whispers.

     "You're right Daisy... They... Sound like us! For the love of Andraste, what is going on?!"