Bond of the Grey

Revival

Displaced dirt floated through the air, settling to the ground as the battlefield calmed. Soldiers collected fallen allies, counting casualties as others built pyres. The standing aided the injured, walking back to the supply camp to be healed. Red tinged the creek running through the ravine, meeting up with the larger river ahead. Blood of enemies and allies soaked the ground and dripped into the waterway. Few remaining enemies retreated to the river, only to be taken down by the Inquisitor and her party on their journey to the elven temple. Though the battle proved a victory for the Inquisition, the losses continued to climb.

But Caoilainn lived. The breath of those surrounding the Grand Enchanter while she worked to heal the Warden Commander released in unison, echoing through the gully when Caoilainn's gasp confirmed her survival.

"Maker!" Alistair yelled, watching Caoilainn emerge from his arms. Starving for air, she lunged forward her fingers grazing her neck as she heaved. "Thank the Maker, Caoilainn. You're alive."

It took but a moment for her heaving to mellow, breath caught, quenched by the humid air of the Arbor Wilds. Her palm came to her forehead and slid past her hairline as she observed her surroundings. The dark emptiness that had engulfed her faded away, dissolving. Eyes wide, she reoriented herself with consciousness and the environment.

Body regulated, breathing normalized, and life aligned with memory, she turned to Alistair, resting on her knees. The people surrounding them made space though Fiona stayed nearby to monitor Caoilainn.

Large silvery-blue eyes locked with Alistair's concerned hazel stare. Seconds dragged; her watery gaze, grateful and tired mirroring the energy of the ravine. Her cheeks cooled from the rush of heat flowing through. Alistair's discomfort, present on his face and lined by worry called her attention.

Her history haunted what should have been a loving reunion. She recalled her shame; Alistair's anger from the night before replayed in her mind. 'Ten fucking years, Caoilainn. I'm done trying.'

She had been doubtful of her worthiness for Alistair, and lured into the convenience and chemistry with her Lieutenant; she had cheated. Ten years of infidelity resulted from her weakness of will, compounded by grief, and magnified by her infertility; she had used Nathaniel as a distraction. But Alistair's confidence and his persistent devotion to remedy their relationship won over her defenses, breaking down her walls when he found her at Skyhold prior the journey to the Arbor Wilds.

Though she had still questioned her worth, she told Nathaniel of the end of their casual amour in favor of her commitment to Alistair the night before the battle. But Alistair assumed the worst of the conversation and projected years of repressed anger in one short argument, resigning his willingness to continue their marriage.

Determined to have another chance with him, Caoilainn abandoned her post with the Wardens during the battle at the Arbor Wilds that day. In a decisive moment, she made Alistair her priority and put aside her responsibilities as Warden Commander. It resulted in the nearly fatal blow from which she just woke.

Now having been revived, she knelt across from Alistair, wordless. Her brows wrinkled in a plea, begging for forgiveness as her mouth turned to an awkward grin. Caoilainn laughed, lacking any other reasonable response to the strange emotions troubling her. Her simper, a giggle that grew to an inviting chuckle, asking Alistair to agree with the ridiculousness of their situation.

Alistair did not agree. The sound of her laughter he had but moments ago feared he would never hear again now insulted his presumptive grief. Fear and sorrow had led his imagination to the harrowing reality of life without Caoilainn while he waited for her to survive, and now she laughed. Rather than join the humor, his concern grew annoyed and frustrated. A stern face, displeasure expressed by creased brows and a frown though his playful sarcasm carried through his interruption.